Condoleezza Rice demands illegal sanctions on 'Putin's inner circle'

Sally Persons
The Washington Times
Mon, 05 Mar 2018 12:35 UTC

© AP Photo/Ben Margot

In this March 15, 2014, file photo, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice gestures while speaking before the California Republican Party 2014 Spring Convention in Burlingame, Calif.

Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Friday that sanctions are the best way to punish the Russians for their attempted meddling in the 2016 election.

"Sanctions saying this person can't travel, this person can't visit. You have to remember, the reach of the United States is very broad, and so when you're listed by the U.S. it really has an effect on what you can and cannot do," Ms. Rice said on Fox News.

She did caution against wide-ranging economic sanctions, saying that the younger generation of Russians need to be separated from President Vladimir Putin and his "inner circle."

"I'd be careful about sanctions on some aspects of the economy because there are some young Russians there for whom contact with the West is really important," Ms. Rice said.

Comment: 'Some' is the operative word - 86 percent of 18 to 24-year-olds are behind Putin.

She also said that Mr. Putin's boasting about having missiles incapable of being intercepted by the U.S.-NATO anti-missile defense system is nothing new.

Comment: Nothing new? Or is it closer to game-changing:

• Did US intelligence totally miss Russia's incredible advances in nuclear parity?
• Yeah, right: US 'not surprised' by Russia's new nukes, boasts about own 'unmatched' arsenal (VIDEO)
• Putin Delivers Landmark 'State of The Union' Speech: Puts The Smack Down on US, Shows Off Latest Russian Nuclear Weapons

Mr. Putin also said his missiles could hit Florida, but Ms. Rice said this is again old news and likely just a case of Mr. Putin trying to show off.

"They've been able to hit Florida since 1980," she said.

Comment: It's disturbing how easily these career imperialists manage to downplay the fact that they've been out-witted and out-gunned, and continue to go on the offensive. That's what makes them so dangerous - their megalomania coupled with a severe case of the Dunning-Kruger effect.

As Putin said, it's time to put aside the war-mongering rhetoric and realize that Russia is not to be messed with:

"To those who for the last 15 years have been trying to fan an arms race, achieve unilateral advantage against Russia, impose sanctions, which are illegal from the standpoint of international law and are aimed at holding back the development of our country, including in the military area, I have this to say: All the things you were trying to prevent through your policies have already happened. You have failed to hold Russia back," Putin said.

"You now have to acknowledge this reality, confirm that everything I said is no bluff - which it isn't - think for some time, send into retirement the people stuck in the past and incapable of looking into the future, [and] stop rocking the boat that we all ride in and which is called planet Earth," he said.