US News

US-Russia unwelcome mats

A ban for a ban!

Russia yesterday named 18 Americans forbidden from entering the country in response to Washington imposing sanctions on 18 Russians for alleged human-rights violations.

The list released by the Foreign Ministry includes John Yoo, a former US Justice Department official who wrote legal memos authorizing harsh interrogation techniques; David Addington, the chief of staff for former Vice President Dick Cheney; and two former commanders of the Guantanamo Bay detention center: retired Army Maj. Gen. Geoffrey Miller and Navy Adm. Jeffrey Harbeson.

Neither Washington nor Moscow put high-ranking or politically prominent figures on their lists, perhaps aiming to limit the effect on US-Russian relations that have deteriorated despite President Obama’s bid to “reset” relations with Moscow.