As the crisis in Ukraine enters its fifth month since ousted
President Viktor Yanukovych turned down an EU association deal in November, Russian
troops have left their bases in Crimea and occupied the peninsula. Russian
President Vladimir Putin claims the move is essential to protect ethnic
Russians, who are allegedly at risk from militant nationalist, anti-semitic,
and otherwise violent groups. While this claim is shaky at best, given Crimea’s
strategic importance to Russia (whose Black Sea fleet is stationed at
Sevastopal), it is not altogether shocking that Russia would move to secure the
region in the face of growing instability in Ukraine.
What remains less clear are the options now open to US President
Barack Obama in responding to the crisis. Wishy-washy and inexact condemnations
and threats have left much to be desired, and many are already claiming that
foreign policy is at an all-time low in Obama’s second term. One side of the
aisle points out his weakness,
while the other calls attention to the irony
of this rhetoric. Yet few of these voices offer any tangible actions the
President could take to diffuse the crisis, if not end it altogether. The
following are some of the options the Obama administration has when it comes to confronting Russia on its recent incursion.
