U.N. Ambassador Haley Announces New Sanctions on Russia, White House Says, NOT SO FAST

Yeah, not so fast there, Missy.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley announced on Sunday morning that the U.S.-led airstrike on Syria this weekend wasn’t the end of retribution for the chemical weapons attack against the rebel-held city of Douma, Syria last week.

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According to Haley, the administration would be levying even more sanctions on Russia, who have been complicit in supporting the regime of Bashar al-Assad.

Or not.

On Monday, the White House looked to blunt the edge of Haley’s statement.

“We are considering additional sanctions on Russia and a decision will be made in the near future,” said White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

Haley said in an appearance Sunday on CBS News’s “Face the Nation” that the sanctions are intended to punish Russia for its support for the Assad government after last week’s apparent chemical attack. Bodies of Syrian civilians were found foaming at the mouth, with some death count estimates ranging between 40 and 50 people.

How much of this was cleared with Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin beforehand is unknown, but Haley went on to assure everyone that Mnuchin would be issuing the additional financial penalties against companies that dealt with the Assad regime, supplying them with equipment or materials that allowed for creating more chemical weapons.

That pretty much means Russian companies.

“So I think everyone is going to be feeling it at this point. I think everyone knows that we sent a strong message, and our hope is that they listen to us,” Haley told CBS.

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President Trump has been reluctant to punish Russia or to call out Vladimir Putin, for most part. He did get a little rowdy after the first reports and images of the chemical attack on Douma, questioning how anyone could partner with an “animal” like Assad.

Both Syria and Russia have denied any involvement in a chemical weapons attack.

The air strike on Friday night was in coordination with France and the U.K., and targeted three, specific sites in Syria.

The U.N. Security Council on Saturday voted against the Kremlin’s draft resolution that sought to condemn “the aggression against the Syrian Arab Republic by the U.S. and its allies in violation of international law and the U.N. Charter.”

That, alone, is shocking enough. That the U.N. would side against Russia and for the U.S. on anything should be marked as a historical moment.

So, for now, no new sanctions. Haley spoke too soon.

I’m sure Russia will do something else to warrant additional sanctions, soon. Just hang on.

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