Former UN Ambassador John Bolton said the US has “a policy of appeasement” towards Russia under President Obama, and “it is entirely understandable that something like [the shooting down of a Malaysia Airlines plane over Ukraine] has happened because of the way Putin has perceived American weakness.”
“We need some leadership,” he continued. “I don’t see it at the moment.” Bolton was asked how the US should react if Russia was behind the attack on a Malaysia Airlines flight today in an appearance on Thursday’s The Kelly File on the Fox News Channel.
He argued the attack on the airline “should be a wakeup call, not simply in the context of the conflict in Ukraine, but for the United States and Europe generally about what Russia’s up to and how we should respond.”
According to Bolton, “we’ve got to begin to treat Russia like the adversary that Putin is currently demonstrating it to be. I think that means going back into Poland and the Czech Republic and re-establishing our missile defense program there.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
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