The tragic situation in Ukraine has garnered global attention as the United States and European allies apply pressure to end the bloodshed and reach a diplomatic resolution. With fires burning, guns shots reverberating, and death toll and injured counts rising, this is the last place anyone should be drawing on to get political potshots or play politics. Yet, some on the right have demonstrated their desperation to link Hillary Clinton to any headline.
There are those who are once again trying to distort Hillary Clinton’s record, especially as Secretary of State, for their own political gain. The United States’ relationship with Russia has always been complicated, but the truth is, Secretary Clinton led the efforts that resulted in two critical accomplishments: 1) convincing Russia to join in to enact the toughest sanctions in Iran’s history, which led to a halt of the Iranian nuclear program; and 2) playing an integral role in the passage and adoption of the New START Treaty with Russia, an arms control treaty that reduced the number of nuclear missile launchers by half. Secretary Clinton’s work led to Iran putting its nuclear program on pause, and the critical treaty that imposes stringent limits on strategic weapons in the Russian arsenal. Simply put, the world is a safer place.
The Republicans are disgracefully politicizing the Ukrainian tragedy by trying to link Hillary Clinton to the problem, but the gap between Hillary Clinton’s past achievements and Ukraine’s present-day problems is simply too wide. The only basis for their argument is a Fox News interview with George Will in which he analyzes the impact U.S. foreign policy has had on the Ukraine situation, but the interview never mentions Hillary Clinton or insinuates in any way that she is linked to the conflict. Not all Republicans are guilty of such tactics; in fact, many of them – including Dick Cheney, Bob Gates, and John McCain – have praised Hillary Clinton’s role as Secretary of State. When asked about her performance, Senator McCain said “I think she did a fine job. She’s a rock star.” We couldn’t agree more.