Congressmen urge Obama to examine potential Russian violation of INF treaty

U.S. Reps. Mac Thornberry (R-TX) and Devin Nunes (R-CA) this week urged President Barack Obama to examine a potential breach of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty by Russia.

The congressmen in a letter also asked Obama to implement additional sanctions on Russia, along with developing military strategies to combat new Russian weapons.

“This administration is quick to react when the Russians release information relating to the election, but when it comes to violating nuclear treaties, the president only seems willing to drag his feet,” Thornberry said. “To be clear, any Russian involvement in our political process is unacceptable. But this administration’s failure to confront the Russians for cheating on the INF Treaty encourages more Russian misbehavior and leads to a more dangerous world.”

The congressmen said they were concerned that U.S. forces will be soon at risk of being attacked by Russian intermediate range ground-launched cruise missiles. Additionally, former NATO commander Gen. Philip M. Breedlove warned military personnel that it would be next-to-impossible to detect when those types of missiles are launched.

“The ‘strategic patience’ touted by this administration is a ridiculous euphemism for passivity and paralysis that invites further aggressive actions by Russia and other international pariahs,” Nunes said. “‘Strategic patience’ is a misleading description of this administration’s policy – it is more accurate to call it ‘strategic incoherence.’”