Obama: US Will ‘Ratchet Up the Pressure on Russia,’ Can’t Play ‘Whack-a-Mole’ By Sending Troops to Yemen

Photo by Gurinder Osan/Hindustan Times via Getty Images(NEW DELHI) — President Obama on Sunday weighed in on the situations in Yemen and Ukraine, vowing to keep Americans in Yemen safe while issuing stern words to Russia and Russian President Vladimir Putin for their actions in Ukraine.

“We have a profound interest…in promoting a core principle,” Obama said at a joint press conference with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday, that “large countries don’t bully smaller countries.” He reiterated that the U.S. will continue to take the same approach that it has in the past, to “ratchet up the pressure on Russia.”

In addition, Obama spoke of the importance of “making sure that we’re continuing to provide the support that Ukraine needs to sustain its economy during this transition period, and to help its military with basic supplies and equipment.”

The president also touched on the situation in Yemen, where attacks on the capital city and the resignation of much of the government have led to questions about whether the U.S. would evacuate its embassy. For now, the embassy is operating with a reduced staff. Obama said Sunday that the “top priority has and always will be to make sure that our people on the ground in Yemen are safe.” Calling the nation “a dangerous country in a dangerous part of the world,” Obama reaffirmed that counterterrorism activity there would continue. “We continue to go after high-value targets inside of Yemen…and we will continue to maintain the pressure that’s required to keep the American people safe.”

Obama also said that he hoped to go after terrorist networks in Yemen without an “occupying U.S. army,” because “the alternative would be for us to play whack-a-mole every time there is a terrorist actor inside of any given country, to deploy U.S. troops.” Such a strategy, he said, would not be sustainable.

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