Romney Was Right About Russia
By William A. Galston (he is the close to a left column, at least, nor a rabid one on the WSJ)
President Obama owes Mitt Romney an apology. And so does President-elect Trump.
In an interview with Wolf Blitzer on March 26, 2012, Mr. Romney said that Russia is “without question our No. 1 geopolitical foe.” He went on to explain: When countries such as Iran and North Korea cross the line, “when Assad . . . is murdering his own people” and we go to the United Nations looking for ways to stop them, “Who is it that always stands up with the world’s worst actors? It’s always Russia.” In the final presidential debate of the 2012 election, Mr. Obama mocked Mr. Romney’s thesis: The 1980s are “calling to ask for their foreign policy back because, you know, the Cold War has been over for 20 years.”
There it is, the Obama syllogism: The Cold War is over, and therefore Russia cannot be our principal geopolitical foe. This is faulty logic and even worse empirical analysis. What was evident in 2012 is even clearer today: Because Vladimir Putin believes that the collapse of the Soviet Union was, as he said in 2005, the greatest geopolitical disaster of the 20th century, he is determined to reverse it by all means necessary. His incursion into Georgia, his seizure of Crimea, his role in the “frozen conflict” in eastern Ukraine—all these are part of a ruthlessly consistent strategy.
(snip)
Trump cheered on the Brexiteers and urged the British government to appoint Nigel Farage as its U.S. ambassador. Never mind that the collapse of European unity, flawed as it is, would open the door to expanded Russian influence throughout the Continent. Putting America first is what every American president should do, but no American president should ever put our allies last. When it comes to foreign policy, Mr. Trump is a bull who doesn’t know he’s in a china shop. This is why his choice for secretary of state is of more than customary importance.
The signs are not encouraging. He passed over Bob Corker, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, who is respected on both sides of the aisle and would have been confirmed with few if any dissenting votes. Instead, he toyed with Mitt Romney, whose views on Russia he must have known, parading him repeatedly before the television cameras while allowing his senior aides to trash him, before selecting Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson, one of the few men whose pro-Russian credentials match his own.
(snip)
All of this would be comical were its implications not so serious. Mr. Putin’s toxic blend of authoritarianism and assertive nationalism is gaining adherents across Europe and inspiring autocrats around the world. If he can distort democratic politics in the United States and get away with it, he can do so anywhere.
More..
http://www.wsj.com/articles/romney-was-right-about-russia-1482277097
(Googling the title can allow one to read the whole story)
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