Srikandi גבורה - Walaupun pentadbiran Obama menegaskan bahawa menyokong Ukraine pilihan raya Presiden adalah penting untuk kepentingan negara, beberapa ahli-ahli elit politik Amerika Syarikat mempersoalkan kos terlibat.
Semasa pendengaran 2 jam Rumah Jawatankuasa Hal Ehwal Luar, Penolong Setiausaha Negara Amerika Victoria Nuland berkongsi ‘assessment’ beliau peranan Amerika Syarikat dalam krisis Ukraine dan pilihan raya presiden yang akan datang.
Tetapi serta merta dia datang di bawah api dari Dana Rohrabacher, kongres republik dari California.
"Kami memang mempunyai pilihan raya yang sah sebelum ini, dan presiden yang sah telah dikeluarkan selepas keganasan jalanan utama. Terdapat gambar-gambar orang berjalan di sekitar yang kami diberitahu telah neo-Nazi," Rohrabacher mencabar Nuland.
Nuland dihadapi masa yang sukar datang dengan jawapan.
"Pertama sekali majoriti orang-orang yang telah mengambil bahagian pada Maidan adalah penunjuk perasaan aman. Ada juga ibu dan nenek dan veteran, "kata Nuland, tetapi sebelum dapat diteruskan, Rohrabacher mengingatkan diplomat kehadiran besar ganas radikal Ukraine.
"Saya melihat gambar tersebut dan saya juga melihat ramai orang membaling bom api ke kumpulan anggota polis. Ada orang menembak ke dalam barisan polis. Jadi, ya, terdapat ibu-ibu dengan bunga, tetapi ada juga pejuang jalanan yang sangat berbahaya yang terlibat mereka dalam demonstrasi. Persoalannya ialah: berada di sana kumpulan yang terlibat neo-Nazi"?
Nuland tidak dapat memberikan jawapan yang muktamad, dengan berkata bahawa "terdapat banyak warna Ukraine terlibat termasuk warna yang sangat hodoh."
Untuk rekod, Nuland dikemukakan dan dibacakan kenyataan di mana beliau berkata bahawa dasar Amerika Syarikat ke arah Ukraine adalah berdasarkan kepada 4 tiang.
Pertama sekali Washington menawarkan "kewangan, teknikal dan bukan maut bantuan keselamatan" bagi pilihan raya 25 Mei.
"Selain 92 juta dalam FY2013 wang Negeri/Usaid dan $ 86 juta dalam dana FY2014, kami menyediakan tambahan $ 50 juta dalam bantuan teknikal dan jaminan pinjaman dolar $ 1 bilion di bawah kuasa yang diluluskan oleh Kongres pada 1 April."
Bantuan pilihan raya Amerika Syarikat termasuk "$ 11 juta bagi aktiviti pilihan raya tidak berat sebelah, termasuk usaha untuk menyokong pendidikan pemilih dan penyertaan sivik" dan juga penyertaan sebagai pemerhati di dalam pungutan suara yang akan datang.
"Selain 100 pemerhati OSCE kita menghantar, Amerika Syarikat menyokong 255 pemer-hati jangka panjang dan lebih 3300 pemerhati jangka pendek," kata Nuland.
Bantuan kewangan juga melibatkan "$ 18 juta dalam bantuan keselamatan bukan maut kepada tentera Ukraine dan Negeri Sempadan Perkhidmatan Pengawal bagi memboleh-kan mereka untuk memenuhi misi teras mereka."
Yang ke-2 Amerika Syarikat, Nuland digariskan, sedang bekerjasama dengan rakan-rakan antarabangsanya "untuk meninggalkan pintu terbuka untuk diplomatik de- balas Rusia harus perubahan sudah tentu," mendakwa bahawa Kiev dilaksanakan terma perjanjian Geneva, manakala "Rusia dipenuhi tiada komitmennya."
Yang ke-3, Washington semakin meningkat sekatan ekonomi Rusia yang Nuland mendakwa membuahkan hasil.
"Ekonomi Rusia . . . sudah lengkokan di bawah tekanan sekatan ini yang dikenakan di peringkat antarabangsa. Penilaian kreditnya adalah berlegar di atas status ringan," kata Nuland.
Tidak semua orang bersetuju, dengan Ted Poe, Texas Republikan, berkata ramai yang tidak yakin bahawa sekatan memang mengemukakan apa-apa kesan.
"Saya tidak fikir ia berhasil," katanya. "Dalam keadilan semua, saya tidak fikir ia berhenti Rusia daripada melakukan apa-apa."
Sementara itu, Nuland menyatakan bahawa langkah terakhir Amerika Syarikat sedang dalam hal Ukraine adalah meyakinkan sekutu NATO daripada komitmen Amerika Syarikat serta "memberi sokongan kepada negeri lain seperti barisan hadapan Moldova dan Georgia."
"Kami telah bekerja dengan Berikat NATO kami untuk menyediakan jaminan darat ke kelihatan, laut dan di udara - bahawa Perkara 5 Perjanjian NATO bermakna apa yang dikatakannya."
Dalam pada itu, satu-satunya cadangan ketara kepada menyelesaikan krisis Ukraine dicapai oleh Presiden Putin dan OSCE Pengerusi - dalam - pejabat dan Presiden Swiss Didier Burkhalter semasa rundingan di Moscow pada hari Rabu, telah diabaikan oleh kerajaan di Kiev.
Menolak pelan OSCE, Kiev telah mengemukakan pelan kabur menganjurkan sendiri" meja bulat perpaduan negara" dengan " wakil-wakil semua kuasa politik dari semua wilayah dan masyarakat awam.
"Pada masa yang sama Kiev berjanji ‘pledged’ tidak kira perkembangan lain untuk terus" operasi anti-pengganas "terhadap tenggara Ukraine, yang kementerian Luar Rusia berkata terus terang bercanggah dengan persetujuan yang dicapai di Geneva.
Penolong Setiausaha Negara Amerika Syarikat bagi Eropah dan Hal Ehwal Eurasian Victoria Nuland (US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Victoria Nuland. (AFP Photo / Nicholas Kamm)
Nuland has tough time justifying US involvement
in Ukraine . . .
While the Obama administration insists that supporting Ukrainian Presidential elections are vital to national interests, some members of the US political elite are questioning the costs of getting involved.
During a two hour House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing, the US Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland shared her assessment of the US role in Ukraine's crisis and the upcoming presidential election.
But instantaneously she came under fire from Dana Rohrabacher, a republican congress-man from California.
“We did have legitimate election before, and the legitimate president was removed after we had major street violence. There were pictures of people running around that we were told were neo-Nazis,” Rohrabacher challenged Nuland.
Nuland faced a hard time coming up with answers.
“First of all the vast majority of those who were participating on Maidan were peaceful protesters. There were mothers and grandmothers and veterans,” Nuland said, but before being able to continue, Rohrabacher reminded the diplomat of vast presence of violent Ukrainian radicals.
“I saw those pictures and I also saw a lot of people throwing fire bombs at groups of policemen. There were people shooting into the ranks of police. So, yes, there were mothers with flowers, but there were also very dangerous street fighters engaged in those demonstrations. The question is: were there neo-Nazi groups involved?”
Nuland could not provide a definitive answer, saying that “there were many colors of Ukraine involved including very ugly colors.”
For the record, Nuland submitted and read out a statement where she said that US policy towards Ukraine is based on four pillars.
First of all Washington is offering “financial, technical and non-lethal security assistance” for the May 25 election.
“In addition to $92 million in FY2013 State/USAID funds and $86 million in FY2014 funds, we are providing an additional $50 million in technical assistance and the $1 billion dollar loan guarantee under the authority passed by Congress on April 1st.”
The US electoral assistance includes “$11 million for non-partisan election activities, including efforts to support voter education and civic participation” as well as partici-pation as observers in the upcoming poll.
“In addition to the 100 OSCE observers we are sending, the United States is supporting 255 long-term observers and over 3300 short-term observers,” Nuland said.
Financial aid also involves “$18 million in non-lethal security assistance to the Ukrainian armed forces and State Border Guard Service to enable them to fulfill their core missions.”
Secondly the US, Nuland outlined, is working with its international partners “to leave the door open for diplomatic de-escalation should Russia change course,” claiming that Kiev implemented the terms of the Geneva deal, while “Russia fulfilled none of its commitments.”
Third, Washington is steadily increasing economic sanctions Russia’s which Nuland claims is bearing fruit.
“The Russian economy ... is already buckling under the pressure of these internationally imposed sanctions. Its credit ratings are hovering just above junk status,” said Nuland.
Not everyone agreed, with Ted Poe, a Texas Republican, saying many are not convinced that sanctions do indeed produce any effect.
“I don't think it's worked,” he said. “In all fairness, I don't think it's stopped Russia from doing anything.”
Meanwhile, Nuland stated that the last step US is taking in regards to Ukraine is reassuring its NATO allies of US commitment as well as “providing support to other frontline states like Moldova and Georgia.”
“We have worked with our NATO Allies to provide visible reassurance - on land, sea and in the air—that Article 5 of the NATO Treaty means what it says.”
In the meantime, the only tangible proposals on resolving the Ukrainian crisis reached by President Putin and OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Swiss President Didier Burkhalter during negotiations in Moscow on Wednesday, were ignored by the government in Kiev.
Rejecting the OSCE roadmap, Kiev has put forward its own vague plan of organising “national unity roundtables” with “representatives of all political forces from all regions and civil society.”
At the same time Kiev pledged regardless of other developments to continue its “anti-terrorist operation” against southeastern Ukraine, which the Russian foreign ministry says bluntly contradicts the agreement reached in Geneva.
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