Russia's military seemingly toeing the line with U.S. after armored vehicle 'deliberately rammed' American troops
Russian military aggression is on the rise against the U.S. — but President Trump has seemingly not responded to it.
Russian warplanes are increasingly flying close to Alaskan airspace, forcing the U.S. to run interception efforts more often than it has in recent years. Russian fighter jets kept zooming within 100 feet of a U.S. Air Force bomber over the Black Sea, and a Russian helicopter recently hovered close to U.S. forces. And just last week, a Russian armored vehicle "deliberately rammed" into an American patrol in Syria, injuring seven U.S. troops, The New York Times notes.
But President Trump hasn't given much public attention to the threats — something both Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and Trump's own former officials have called him out for. They say it's a continuation of Trump's lack of public confrontation with Russian President Vladimir Putin over reports that Russia placed bounties on U.S. troops' heads in Afghanistan. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo did tell the Times that "America will respond" to the armored vehicle situation.
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Biden brought up the ramming incident in a Monday speech, asking "Did you hear the president say a single word? Did he lift one finger?" to respond to it. Russia similarly escalated aggression during the Obama administration, but reportedly to a lesser extent. "Never before has an American president played such a subservient role to a Russian leader," Biden continued, calling Trump's lack of action "not only dangerous," but "humiliating and embarrassing."
Brett McGurk, a former national security official who served under both former President Barack Obama and Trump, meanwhile tweeted some harsh criticism of his own. Kathryn Krawczyk
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Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
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