One of the main foreign policy goals set out by President Trump after his election in November was a normalization of US-Russia relations. While that hope appears a distant memory now, with US and Russian officials seemingly agreeing that ties are worse than ever, it apparently never got better in the first place.
In an interview today, Russian President Vladimir Putin reported that the level of trust with the United States on a day-to-day, working basis began getting worse after Trump took office. This is a surprise, as the Kremlin had welcomed Trump’s election and was expressing high hopes for improved relations.
Of course, those improved ties never came to pass, with the administration abandoning plans to ease sanctions on Russia shortly thereafter, and backed off more or less all the stated plans of shifting US policy in Syria toward a focus on ISIS, which culminated last week in the US attacking the Syrian government outright.
While the Obama Administration of the last few years was every bit as hostile toward Russia as the Trump Administration is, they never presented themselves as anything but hostile. Putin’s comments suggest Russia had high hopes for rapprochement with Trump, and the dramatic reverse by the new administration had badly eroded Russia’s trust in anything they say.
Hey Raimondo, ain’t this one another peach for ya!
“the dramatic reverse … eroded Russia’s trust in anything they say.”
Most people like to be trusted, and try to behave in a way that evokes trust. Then there’s the peculiar behavior of a country passionately attached to another … the priority, there, is to please that other, who has very different priorities on whether you’re trusted.
Trump and the Generals (who I think are ASC and Chatham) have a plan. I don’t know what it is geopolitically, but I know it is to discredit Russia and the alternative media at the same time (best case scenario is the opposite – where Putin and randoms on youtube are vindicated). If I had to guess it is to assert the Anglo-American power group by tearing the UK from the EU. North Korea might simply be a vent for Chinese expansion, to slow expansion in the South China Sea. Iran is next. Then Russia. Then the EU. And we’re not even through North Korea yet.
https://posttrumpanalysis.wordpress.com/2017/04/13/tillerson-confirms-u-s-strategy-is-to-accuse-russians-of-lying-about-the-u-s/
McMaster made it seem like the US will do single high profile events several times, increasingly escalatory, in an attempt to ring concessions. He made a joke about how it is many “one offs.” This is why I think it is the ASC. The hostility to the various world powers, particularly Russia, is coming from the The US (these generals – I don’t think this is neoconservatives), UK (Chatham) and NATO (the transatlantists).
This is all about breaking up Eurasian unity via Chinese weak knees and potentially poor fire discipline.
The Sino-N.K. split was engineered simply by helping N.K. develop nukes. While a problem in and of itself, this split is being played to split China from Russis-Syria as well under Trump-Kushner.
Infowars has even promoted the idea that Trump’s ‘brilliant’ diplomacy may have China attack North Korea for them.
The actual damage being done by the ordinance is quite small; the diplomatic damage between Eurasian partners, quite large, especially to the gatehouse of Eurasia, China.
“Infowars has even promoted the idea that Trump’s ‘brilliant’ diplomacy may have China attack North Korea for them.”
Hmm … that’s not exactly my own prediction, but it’s a first cousin thereof.
Both infowars and you are wrong in my opinion. China is not going to allow the US to attack N.Korea anymore than the US is going to allow China to attack Israel.
I’m going on record with that prediction. Unless China trades N.Korea to the US for something significant in return. Not too likely and hard to imagine.
It would give China free run to turn S.Korea into rubble though, which is always a possibility. American arrogance often limits American thinking.
We have reached a point at which US wars are not going to be tolerated anymore. Russia is showing distinct indications of that on a couple of fronts already and it’s going to be more plain when Russia stands its ground on Iran. Same with China. The allliance goes mostly unspoken so far.
Its not clear that China is any less dependent on South Korea than the U.S. as a trade partner.
No-one with any sense should want South Korea taken out of the world economy just now. Even N.K. would do so reluctantly, out of military necessity.
Allowing for that it is the Wiki, nonetheless S.K. is said to be the fourth largest economy in Asia and 11th largest in the world. Literally too big to fail, or in this case, to be failed.
If war happens, then the logic of war takes over, but before it does, everyone should be counting how many eggs they have in the S.K. basket for the breaking.
It lacks that tabloid-y breathlessness Infowars has, but the final conclusions about China in N.K. closely mirrors the retracted Chinese Global News editorial.
An omission common to both is, what do the N.Koreans think about foreign occupation and weighting that as serious.
N.K. could be far more unpleasant to occupy than it was as a ‘client’. China famously fell out with Vietnam after the Vietnam war; it seems good fences makes for good neighbors with China. China has a very uneasy relationships with cultural minority populations desiring greater political independence.
Korea may not be the pushover everyone expects. Most of the U.S. grand interventions ran into unexpectedly lengthy resistance. The idea that the Chinese might be invited and welcomed into N.K. seems a lot like the Soviet invitation into Afghanistan.
There’s no reason to expect China would be any smarter doing something foolish, like allowing the U.S. to give China a Vietnam from which it could not easily retreat from.The idea of giving China its own Vietnam has surely been floated and N.K. would be a very good candidate.
The Atlantic has an interesting story on China-Korean national narratives; “How and Ancient Kingdom Explains Todays China-Korea Relations” (Taylor Washburn Apr.15, 2013).
I reckon this is a game of brickmanship, after reading that tillerson did actually meet Putin while rt first said he(Putin) canceled it. also on al Jazeera a guest mentioned most tomahawk s didn’t actually hit anything significant signaling Russia I suppose.
Tillerson also holds a Russian Order of Friendship, given to him by none other than Putin in 2013. The highest honour bestowed upon foreign citizens has got to mean something.
Its a gesture more to Tillerson (and Exxon-Mobil) and his past work with Russia in oil and gas development, that he can have Putin’s ear direct, than to Trump and the U.S. government.
The only thing that award means is that Russia is interested in friendship, as it has displayed for the last 30 years.. but Washington is not. I saw Tillerson say on live RT yesterday that a congressional investigation into Russia’s meddling in the U.S. election would result in additional sanctions. Tillerson has no power at all, regardless of his acceptance of that award, Washington doesn’t want olive branches.
It may be as much self-interest as anything else, but Russia could be playing far harder and more dangerously right back.
American warmongers seem more upset about their temper tantrums being contained by opponents simply keeping dignity, than any other consideration.
If Putin is disappointed in Trump bombing Syria . many of us Americans are disappointed to ,.especially the Americans that have kept track of all the false flags attacks the traveling Jihadist have done all over in the past . I don’t know how Trump can be so certain the gas even fell from planes . The terrorist had complete control of this town on the ground . The United States itself has very long history of initiatating bombing attacks on false stories , Tonka bay under President Johnson in Viet Nam . Clinton In Yugoslavia everything was false It was the Serbs the largest ethnic group that were ethnically cleansed from over 1/2 the country . Iraq Bush kicked out Saddam a ruler that at least was able to control the country . After Saddam left over Million Iraqi Christians disappeared . I also think Gaddaffi was far better than any body Libya has ever had since . If Russia and Assad did not use the Sarin gas that most likely would mean the USA or their friends used the gas . So now Trump doesn’t look any more civilized than the 3 bozos before him
Antiwar has already reported on former DIA Col. Lang’s interpretation of events. The Syrian Air Force hit an arms dump and accidentally touched off a chemical disaster.
Sputnik news reports through the Syrian MoD that hundreds are dead just now in a similar U.S. strike in Deir Ezzor. If this is so, and not Syrian counter propaganda, then if the IS was hoping that more spectacular civvie casualties would slow down their enemies, it appears not.
Some civvie airstrike disasters are newsworthy and some are not depending on how well they serve the war machine’s overall purposes.
No signs of the MoU on Syrian Flight Safety is being reinstated, or that the deconfliction hotline is reinstated.
Looks like Tillerson came away empty-handed for now.
Trust between Russia and the U.S. was already done with under Obama. Obama promised Putin things would get better after his first term, once he didn’t have to worry about the elections for his second term. So Obama got his second term and Rusia-U.S. relations got even worse.
Obviously trust is out; third time is not a charmer. Reagan was the only guy to score real trust and somewhat deliver and possibly the last ever to do so.
Confusing stock photo Ditz. It can’t been seen as anything other than applause for Hillary at the moment. Well, at least by sane people!
And that’s not good because it drives the Trumpers crazy and isn’t due to her anyway.
Don,
What the hell would you know about sane people? Have you ever even met any?
You should have been able to understand that comment and you also know that I have consistently applauded Ditz. He’s great but in this instance he’s not going to win any friens with a picture of Hillary getting close to Putin.
That used to be the devil’s narrative but now it’s been changed to the winning strategy. Remember? Take two aspirin and call me in the morning Thomas. If you haven’t understood by then, we’ll continue.
Otherwise, Ditz understands even if you don’t.
I doubt that Ditz understands your hallucinatory ravings any better than I do. I know they have something to do with you always being right no matter how much the observed reality differs from your claims, but beyond that it gets really fuzzy really quickly.
When people accuse you of being always right, does it give you a feeling of satisfaction too?
At least Putin knows the score now. If he could outsmart Obama he can outsmart Trump. Then again, can you outsmart crazy? If I were Putin I would hire a team of top notch headshrinkers to figure out how to mindf**k a lunatic.
I like your theory that Putin outsmarted Obama! I don’t need to elaborate on that because you’ve heard it many times.
But it tells me that you’ve been reading my comments and they’re getting through to you!
You’re smart comrade but you have the attitude thing you need to deal with.