(CNN) -- America's response to the most dangerous security crisis Europe has faced in decades has been all speeches and symbolism with no actions of substance. On Wednesday, President Barack Obama hosted Arseniy Yatsenyuk, the new interim Ukrainian Prime Minister, for lunch at the White House, supposedly a thumb in the eye of Russian President Vladimir Putin and a sign of America's commitment to Ukrainian sovereignty. On Thursday, Secretary of State John Kerry announced that the U.S. will take "very serious" steps if Russia does not back down by Monday from its attempt to annex Crimea. But while the White House was serving lunch and the State Department was issuing stern warnings, the President was also refusing to lift a finger to actually deter Putin's aggression. According to The Wall Street Journal, the Obama administration, "wary of inflaming tensions with Russia," has refused to act on Ukraine's emergency request for military aid, including arms and ammunition, except to send military rations.
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Gingrich, Graham: U.S. has protested but hasn't gone beyond symbolic measures
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They say Obama's meeting with Ukrainian leader and Kerry's condemnation aren't sufficient
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Authors: U.S. should have accepted Ukraine's emergency request for military aid
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They say it is crucial to send a message that the U.S. will respond strongly to aggression
Unless the President is willing to back up his words with military aid, he's not serious about stopping @placeholder's armed aggression.