The views expressed by contributors are their own and not
the view of The Hill
An unprovoked but not unanticipated war rages in the
Ukraine. It is a war entirely of Vladimir
Putin’s
making. Despite his delusional “justifications” about
protecting Russian borders and guarding against having a
NATO member as a neighbor, the whole world understands that
this is a power play to reconstitute the former Soviet
Union. If Putin wants to return to a time when the USSR
existed, then the world, led by the United States and
Europe, should give it to him. We can resurrect the
containment doctrine of George Kennan and Dean Acheson, and
isolate Russia.
While the sanctions the United States and European Union are
imposing now are good starting points, more significant
actions are called for. Unfortunately, Russia’s economy and
the Russian people will pay for Putin’s madness.
Beginning in 1947 and continuing until 1989, the Truman
Doctrine (influenced by Kennan and Acheson) contained the
Soviet Union. Containment limited its expansion (and the
expansion of puppet regimes) and created an arms race and an
isolated economy that eventually led to their demise, the
fall of the Berlin Wall and disintegration of the USSR.
A modern-day revival of containment would be more economic
than military. The United States can eliminate the ability
for U.S. based companies to do any business with Russia,
stop all oil imports from Russia, and block completion of
the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. Some of this is in the works
right now. Our NATO allies need to join in. We should refuse
Russia access to our airspace and to internet-based
ticketing and reservation systems. Most of the Aeroflot
fleet is presently comprised of Boeing and Airbus aircraft,
which gives us the ability to cut off Russian access to
parts and maintenance.
Except for China, Iran and India, the international
community has largely been united in applying sanctions to
Russia and in going after the Russian oligarchs’ assets. The
FOPs, “Friends of Putin”, are under the microscope. In
addition to freezing bank accounts, several oligarchs have
had their multi-million-dollar yachts seized and their
private jets grounded, and many mansions in London, Lake
Como and the South of France are being investigated.
We must go further by blocking Russian access to the Swift
Banking System, seizing assets of Putin personally, and
banning Russia from all sporting competitions - a move
which, while seemingly small, will aid in diminishing
Putin’s popularity back home. A Putin who is unpopular at
home, combined with unhappy oligarchs who fear the loss of
their personal, ill-gotten fortunes, is a combination that
could lead to a change in Russian leadership in time to save
what remnants of freedom remain in their country.
As we contain and cut off the Russian government from the
rest of the world, we should simultaneously increase the
free flow of information to the people there. Internet
access, social media contacts, and all other means of
providing real information to combat government propaganda
should be supported. Access to information has always aided
the spread of freedom and democracy. The Russian people
deserve to have that opportunity. Radio Free Europe was a
great success in the Cold War and now the Agency for Global
Media can replicate this in Russia the way they are doing
it in Iran right now. All of these actions must continue
well past the Ukraine conflict, and until Russia returns to
post-Cold War reforms and accepts the sovereignty of the
Baltic states as well as Ukraine.
The United States is at a crossroads, and it is critical
that we show strength and skill in thwarting Russia’s
aggression. What we do today with respect to Russia will be
closely watched by China, as it eyes a takeover of Taiwan,
as well as Iran and the other rogue nations of the world. It
is time for the United States to lead as it always has, on
the basis of freedom and human rights and opposing
authoritarian oppression.
Francis Rooney was
a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives,
representing Florida's 19th District from 2017-2021. He also
served as the U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See from 2005
until 2008.
Book:
From
the centuries-long prejudices against Catholics in
America, to the efforts of Fascism, Communism and
modern terrorist organizations to “break the cross
and spill the wine,” this book brings to life the
Catholic Church’s role in world history,
particularly in the realm of diplomacy. Former U.S.
ambassador to the Holy See Francis Rooney provides a
comprehensive guide to the remarkable path the
Vatican has navigated to the present day, and a
first-person account of what that path looks and
feels like from an American diplomat whose
experience lent him the ultimate insider’s
perspective. Part memoir, part historical lesson,
The Global Vatican captures the braided nature of
religious and political power and the complexities,
battles, and future prospects for the relationship
between the Holy See and the United States as both
face challenges old and new.
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In THE GLOBAL VATICAN (Rowman & Littlefield, November
2013), Ambassador Francis Rooney provides an
unprecedented inside look at the Catholic Church, its
role in world politics and diplomacy, and the
extraordinary relationship between the United States and
the Holy See. He argues that U.S. foreign policy has
much to gain from its relationship with the Holy See,
and vice versa. No institution on earth has both the
international stature and the global reach of the Holy
See—the “soft power” of moral influence and authority to
promote religious freedom, human liberties, and related
values that Americans and our allies uphold worldwide.
The timing of Francis Rooney’s assignment to the Holy
See came at a momentous period for both America and the
Catholic Church. America was four years out from 9/11
and locked in difficult wars in two countries, including
a conflict in Iraq—of which the Holy See had strongly
and vocally disapproved. The Bush Administration was
making progress in bringing democracy, freedom, and
stability to Iraq and Afghanistan, but it was difficult
on both fronts. And the Catholic Church had its own
challenges—the first of these facing Pope Benedict XVI
was succeeding the beloved Pope John Paul II. A decline
of active participation and growing secularization in
much of the Western world threatened the Church at the
same time that the abuse scandal continued to expand.
Still, the Church remained a powerful moral voice in the
world, and Rooney worked with the Holy See to achieve as
much diplomatic alignment as possible on crucial issues.
As Francis Rooney argues, the United States and the Holy
See remain two of the most significant institutions in
world history, one a beacon of democracy and progress,
the other a sanctum of faith and allegiance to timeless
principles. Despite these differences between the first
modern democracy and the longest surviving Western
monarchy, Rooney maintains that both were founded on the
idea that “human persons” possess inalienable natural
rights granted by God. This had been a revolutionary
concept when the Catholic Church embraced it 2,000 years
ago, and was equally revolutionary when the Declaration
of Independence stated it 1,800 years later.
Given our mutual respect for human rights, it seems
obvious that America and the Catholic Church would be
natural friends and collaborators in world affairs. But
this wasn’t the case for nearly 200 years of American
history. As THE GLOBAL VATICAN demonstrates, both the
United States and the Holy See had to overcome deeply
held convictions and perceptions—entrenched
anti-Catholicism on the part of Americans;
antidemocratic, monarchical reflexes on the part of the
Holy See. President Reagan established full diplomatic
relations with the Holy See in 1984 because, among other
reasons, he realized that he could have no better
partner than Pope John Paul II in the fight against
communism—and he was right. Since the fall of the Berlin
Wall, the Holy See has continued to play a crucial role
as a diplomatic force while maintaining formal relations
with 179 countries—a number surpassed only by the United
States.
The Church is one of the leading advocates and providers
for the poor in the world, fights against the scourge of
human trafficking, and advances the cause of human
dignity and rights more than any other organization in
the world. The Holy See also plays a significant role in
pursuing diplomatic solutions to international
predicaments, whether, for example, promoting peace
between Israel and Palestine, helping end the civil war
in Lebanon, or helping to secure the release of nearly
one hundred political prisoners from Cuba in 2010.
Francis Rooney contends in THE GLOBAL VATICAN that
American values and foreign policy goals can be advanced
in many parts of the world, including the Middle East,
China, Latin America, Cuba, and Africa, through closer
diplomatic ties with the Holy See. He notes that the
past few years have seen cordial but cooling relations
as President Obama has visited the Vatican just once
since taking office, and the Obama Administration has
demonstrated little more than a perfunctory interest in
the Holy See’s diplomatic role in the world. This is a
regrettable lost opportunity.
The power and influence of the Holy See is often
underestimated. A benevolent monarchy tucked into a
corner of a modern democracy, the Holy See is at once a
universally recognized sovereign—representing more than
a billion people (one seventh of the world’s
population)—and the civil government of the smallest
nation-state on earth. It has no military and only a
negligible economy, but it has greater reach and
influence than most nations. It’s not simply the number
or variety of people that the Holy See represents that
gives it relevance; it’s also the moral influence of the
Church, which is still considerable despite
secularization and scandals.
As THE GLOBAL VATICAN illustrates, the Holy See
advocates powerfully for morality in the lives of both
Catholics and non-Catholics, and in both individuals and
nations. One may disagree with some of the Church’s
positions and yet still recognize the value—the real and
practical value—of its insistence that “right” should
precede “might” in world affairs. At its core, the
Catholic Church is a powerful and unique source of
noncoercive “soft power” on the world stage—it moves
people to do the right thing by appealing to ideals and
shared values, rather than to fear and brute force.
There are limits to the Church’s ability to influence
the actions of societies and nations, of course, because
it cannot force its will with economic or military
leverage. But it is precisely in these failings that its
greatness lies—the Church appeals above and beyond
might, money, or political power to a deeper recognition
in human beings of what is good and right. Ultimately,
the Church has power through its consistent defense of
enduring principles—it stands for the same thing every
day, and in every place.
As the author and historian Hilaire Belloc put it, “the
Church is a perpetually defeated thing that always
outlives her conquerors.” And Francis Rooney proves that
there is much good still to come from the Church,
especially in areas where the Holy See and the United
States find themselves in alignment.
Ambassador Francis Rooney:
“We are
entering a dangerous phase of the Ukraine conflict.
A losing, cornered Putin is a risk because of his
tactical, and worse, nuclear weapons.”
“The Ukranians
are driving them back from so called ‘annexed’
areas.”
“There is no
apparent conflict resolution mechanism in place.
The Ukrainians and Russians aren’t talking, and
without Western pressure they probably won’t. We
need to develop a forum for discussing conflict
reduction and ultimately resolution of the war.”
“Can the
United States figure out how to contain any nuclear
deployment to tactical weapons or less? This is
reminiscent of the Cuban Missile Crisis, but we now
have a divided nation. There is divided opinion on
whether to keep funding Ukraine at all. In one
sense we abetted Putin’s ambitions by our inaction
after the Crimea invasion. President Obama even
joked about it. Now the joke is on him, and more
importantly, our national security.”
###
Ambassador Francis Rooney represented Florida’s 19th Congressional
District in the United States House of
Representatives from 2017 to 2021. From 2005 to
2008 he served as the United States Ambassador to
the Holy See, appointed by President George W. Bush
and subsequently wrote a book about diplomacy and
the US-Holy See relationship titled The Global
Vatican.
As further background, I’ve included Ambassador
Francis Rooney’s op-ed below that he wrote at the
beginning of the war, and I hope we can arrange for
him to come on the show…
Best regards,
Stephen
If Putin wants a Cold War, the world
should give him one
By Former Rep. Francis Rooney (R-Fla.), opinion
contributor — 03/08/22
02:30 PM EST
The views expressed by contributors are their own
and not the view of The Hill
An unprovoked but not unanticipated war rages in the
Ukraine. It is a war entirely of Vladimir
Putin’s
making. Despite his delusional “justifications”
about protecting Russian borders and guarding
against having a NATO member as a neighbor, the
whole world understands that this is a power play to
reconstitute the former Soviet Union. If Putin wants
to return to a time when the USSR existed, then the
world, led by the United States and Europe, should
give it to him. We can resurrect the containment
doctrine of George Kennan and Dean Acheson, and
isolate Russia.
While the sanctions the United States and European
Union are imposing now are good starting points,
more significant actions are called for.
Unfortunately, Russia’s economy and the Russian
people will pay for Putin’s madness.
Beginning in 1947 and continuing until 1989, the
Truman Doctrine (influenced by Kennan and Acheson)
contained the Soviet Union. Containment limited its
expansion (and the expansion of puppet regimes) and
created an arms race and an isolated economy that
eventually led to their demise, the fall of the
Berlin Wall and disintegration of the USSR.
A modern-day revival of containment would be more
economic than military. The United States can
eliminate the ability for U.S. based companies to do
any business with Russia, stop all oil imports from
Russia, and block completion of the Nord Stream 2
pipeline. Some of this is in the works right now.
Our NATO allies need to join in. We should refuse
Russia access to our airspace and to internet-based
ticketing and reservation systems. Most of the
Aeroflot fleet is presently comprised of Boeing and
Airbus aircraft, which gives us the ability to cut
off Russian access to parts and maintenance.
Except for China, Iran and India, the international
community has largely been united in applying
sanctions to Russia and in going after the Russian
oligarchs’ assets. The FOPs, “Friends of Putin”, are
under the microscope. In addition to freezing bank
accounts, several oligarchs have had their
multi-million-dollar yachts seized and their private
jets grounded, and many mansions in London, Lake
Como and the South of France are being
investigated.
We must go further by blocking Russian access to the
Swift Banking System, seizing assets of Putin
personally, and banning Russia from all sporting
competitions - a move which, while seemingly small,
will aid in diminishing Putin’s popularity back
home. A Putin who is unpopular at home, combined
with unhappy oligarchs who fear the loss of their
personal, ill-gotten fortunes, is a combination that
could lead to a change in Russian leadership in time
to save what remnants of freedom remain in their
country.
As we contain and cut off the Russian government
from the rest of the world, we should simultaneously
increase the free flow of information to the people
there. Internet access, social media contacts, and
all other means of providing real information to
combat government propaganda should be supported.
Access to information has always aided the spread of
freedom and democracy. The Russian people deserve to
have that opportunity. Radio Free Europe was a great
success in the Cold War and now the Agency for
Global Media can replicate this in Russia the way
they are doing
it in Iran right now. All of these actions must
continue well past the Ukraine conflict, and until
Russia returns to post-Cold War reforms and accepts
the sovereignty of the Baltic states as well as
Ukraine.
The United States is at a crossroads, and it is
critical that we show strength and skill in
thwarting Russia’s aggression. What we do today with
respect to Russia will be closely watched by China,
as it eyes a takeover of Taiwan, as well as Iran and
the other rogue nations of the world. It is time for
the United States to lead as it always has, on the
basis of freedom and human rights and opposing
authoritarian oppression.
Francis
Rooney was a Republican member of the U.S.
House of Representatives, representing Florida's
19th District from 2017-2021. He also served as the
U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See from 2005 until
2008.
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