Remember Rwanda, Arm Ukraine

On February 26, 2015, Wesley Clark posted an editorial with USA Today urging the United States to take the lead in helping the Ukraine defend itself against Russia. Clark first establishes his credibility by giving the reader more information on previous US involvement with similar foreign affairs.  He later mentions his role as NATO Commander for the peace implementation allowing the reader to trust his argument because he is knowledgeable in the subject. I believe Clark is aiming his editorial for any American interested in foreign affairs but more specifically, for those in power to make decisions to send necessary aide to the Ukraine. Clark's ultimate argument is that diplomacy can't stop wars without military power. Clark doesn't believe that we need to necessarily send troops, but that sending supplies, technology, and equipment which they currently lack could change the fate of Ukraine by giving them power to back up their diplomatic terms. The editorial also answers questions of further retaliation. What if Putin decides to make this a wider war? Clark believes it is better to find out sooner rather than later. He also gives evidence of previous events in Rwanda and Bosnia where the United States waited until several hundred thousand people died before we got involved or  took action. Clark believes we should take the lead, step up, and help Ukraine because we are the only country that can take care of the job. I believe he follows a logical train of thought on the subject and that the United States should help if we are able to.

Homeland Security Funding in Limbo, as House, Senate Fail to Agree

On February 27th, 2015 NPR posted an article regarding the potential partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security. This issue came about several months ago when President Obama took executive actions, giving legal status to millions of undocumented immigrants. Afterward, democrats worked to stop bills that would overturn the president’s actions. As you can imagine, this frustrated the republicans and they responded by suggesting defunding the Department of Homeland Security, the home of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. To further the division, it seems the house and senate cannot agree on a strategy to fix this mess, be it long or short term. I think this article is worth reading because it appeals to many groups, particularly immigrants, and those who work for Homeland Security. I think this article did a wonderful job of explaining the gridlock that congress faces when dealing with certain issues.