Ukraine: How Much More Can The U.S. Even Do?

How much more can the U.S. even do? 

The answer: Not much. Marina Koren in National Journal.

The Big Money Underbelly Of Obama's Sanctions

Lobbyists in U.S. breathe sigh of relief at modest scale of sanctions. 
"In Washington, the narrow scope of the sanctions drew sighs of relief from the city's lobbyists, many of whom have energy and banking clients that could stand to lose tens of millions of dollars should tensions escalate further between the U.S. and Russia. According to one lobbyist with foreign clients, the sanctions amounted to the narrowest action the United States could have taken while still appearing to 'take action.'...The sanctions 'are surgical and designed not to create future problems.' For those lobbyists who represent Russian business interests in the United States that could draw Treasury Department scrutiny under the new sanctions, the answer is just to change the payment structure, said another lobbyist on background. 'The funding mechanism is the easiest thing to get around,' said the lobbyist, referring to the new prohibition on conducting business with the sanctioned Russian officials. 'All it takes is a nonprofit group that will pay you to do the work,' thereby creating a diversionary paper trail -- one that doesn't trace back to a sanctioned individual. The casual attitude of both the lobbyists and the Russians regarding the sanctions was compounded by the fact that some key players in Putin's Crimea strategy escaped any sanctions at all." Luke Johnson and Christina Wilkie in The Huffington Post.

West's sanctions deliver only slap on the wrist. "The sanctions President Obama announced Monday to punish Russia and its collaborators in Ukraine are intended to inflict economic pain. So a fair measure of their adequacy was the reaction Monday of the Russian stock and currency markets: Both spiked upward in celebration. While Vladi-mir Putin matches or exceeds the most pessimistic expectations of his belligerence -- over the weekend, Russian forces extended their invasion from Crimea to an adjacent area of Ukraine -- the United States and its allies so far are delivering less than they threatened, or than markets expected, in retaliation. Unless the West quickly steps up measures against the oligarchs, bag men and banks that prop up the Russian regime, the result will likely be more aggression....Mr. Obama said Monday he will 'calibrate our response based on whether Russia chooses to escalate or de-escalate.' Since a de-escalation looks at this point like wishful thinking, we'll know that the president's calibrations are adequate when they cause Russia's markets to plunge rather than rally." Editorial Board.