Opinions

Pay for the war: Why is it so important for the US to declare Russia a terrorist state

As long as the White House is in no hurry to recognize Russia with terrorism. But it is very important that Congress still made such a decision in the old US administration, Joe Biden's Presidential Administration, political pressure is exercised through assistance to Ukraine. We have been seen in the media for a long time. Meanwhile, the US is approaching the intermediate elections to the Congress, which will take place on November 8.

Republicans and Democrats will compete for all 435 seats in the House of Representatives and for 35 out of a hundred in the Senate, and the Republican Party has the opportunity to receive the majority in the House of Representatives. Congress will meet for the first time in the new composition on January 3, 2023. The announcement of the United States of Russia by the state-existence of terrorism before the new Congress meets is an extremely important matter.

This can not only help Ukraine accelerate victory, but also help unite US politicians in support of Ukraine. And that's why. Although the United States is not the largest military donor of Ukraine, if you calculate in the percentage of GDP (here are the leader of Latvia, Estonia and Poland), they are the largest donor in absolute terms. According to the US State Department, US taxpayers have provided $ 17.

6 billion in military assistance to Ukraine since February 24, when Russia has been brutally and unprovoked into Ukraine. For comparison, the rest of the world provided $ 13 billion in security assistance to Ukraine.

Particularly important is the moment that the United States is given to Ukraine by some of the most modern weapons systems that have already allowed Kiev to change the situation on the battlefield - and can, if assistance will accelerate, help to create a shield of air defense around Ukrainian cities. The IMF is currently predicting that the US GDP will reach $ 25,035 billion in 2022, so assistance to Ukraine is only 0. 08% of US GDP.

However, since the ghost of recession raises its head around the world, the US expenses for war in Ukraine are concerned about some Americans. However, they do not have to worry. The Central Bank of Russia is still retaining its share of its foreign exchange reserves in the United States, which is estimated, up to $ 100 billion. But the US does not have access to them as well. And that's wrong.

Instead of asking for US taxpayers to continue paying for the war against the Russian Federation, it may be wiser to eliminate Russian assets in the United States and start using them to help Ukraine. The longer Russia will fight, the more its own money will be directed to Ukraine. Despite the radicality, such a step is neither unprecedented nor impossible.

In April this year, Professor Harvard Lawrence Tribib, who taught constitutional law there, and Jeremy Levin, who is currently studying at the Harvard School of Rights, published an article in New York Times. Trib and Levin argue: "Since the reserves in question are Russian state property - unlike the assets of oligarchs, they are not protected by ordinary protection provided by our legal system of private property.

Guarantee of the fifth amendment against confiscation of property by the state" Without proper judicial procedure, it "applies only to" persons "and not to foreign governments, as the Supreme Court proposed in 1992, and since then several federal courts have been approved.

Protection against" seizure "of property without" fair compensation "also applies to Only "private property", a category that clearly excludes Russia's sovereign reserves, even if they are conveniently located within the United States and in dollars. " The Russian government, of course, can challenge the liquidation, most likely, using laws known as "sovereign immunity". And here it can be useful for Russia's declaration of the state-existence of terrorism.

Terrorists, including terrorist states, cannot use the same protection as law -abiding organizations. Russia cannot behave in a robust, and then expect that it will treat it gently and gently. Forcing Russia to pay for the US military assistance to Ukraine will be a victory for all for democracy, for Ukraine and the US. Help liga. net. At the beginning of September 2022, US President Joe Biden was opposed to Russia's recognition by the existence of terrorism.

And at the end of July, The New York Times wrote that US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken resists calling to recognize Russia as a state-existence of terrorism. The White House believes that such a definition can have unpredictable consequences for Ukraine and the world. However, on October 9 it became known that the US Congress had entered the law on the recognition of Russia by the state-existence of terrorism. A draft law on recognition of Russia's actions in Ukraine was also entered.