Obama administration rebuts critics over response to Russian aggression

When George Bush was president, we went to war in Iraq, we went to war in Afghanistan; that did not in any way deter Russia from going into Georgia in 2008… Frankly, in terms of the steps that we’ve outlined and the steps that we’re taking, they go far beyond any previous steps that have been taken in response to Russian aggression.

— Benjamin J. Rhodes, President Obama’s deputy national security adviser, refuting Republican criticisms that the Obama administration’s foreign policy is partly to blame for Russian aggression and that the United States’ response to the seizure of Crimea has been weak. Under George W. Bush, the U.S. imposed no real costs on Russia in response to the invasion of Georgia, as Rhodes mentioned.