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Are we now friends with Russia? Our own Intelligence agencies have just released that Russia wanted to destabilize our democracy by hacking into our elections but we are friends??? Is anyone else starting to read Russia and Republican interchangeably? And Trump trusts Putin more than our own Intelligence? This is getting really weird. Maybe Trump's new Secretary of State nominee and Putin buddy Rex Tillerson can straighten it all out.
Are we now friends with Russia? Our own Intelligence agencies have just released that Russia wanted to destabilize our democracy by hacking into our elections but we are friends??? Is anyone else starting to read Russia and Republican interchangeably? And Trump trusts Putin more than our own Intelligence? This is getting really weird. Maybe Trump's new Secretary of State nominee and Putin buddy Rex Tillerson can straighten it all out.
I hear The Twilight Zone theme every time someone posts here to tell me the new Russia is now a democratic and capitalistic paradise and Putin, the ex-KGB officer, is a true man of the people.
Liberals don't like Russia because they are not PC, they don't have gay marriage and transgender bathrooms, silly crap like that. Russia is still a very powerful country due to their military and ginormous size. We are long time competitors politically but as OP points out, have been on the same side during major conflicts.I think it stupid to deliberately have conflicts with Putin like Obama has done. I'm not saying we won't have differences but we should continually seek good relations with Russia in my opinion.
And yet, just a few years ago, Obama and the left claimed that Russia wasn't a problem. Obama chastised Romney for trying to continue the cold war. Now its The Russians are coming, the Russians are coming.
The United States and "Russia" (aka. Prussia, USSR, Russia) have been allies and friendly towards one another for the majority of our nations' existance.
We had treaties and alliances signed by Thomas Jefferson. We fought side by side in WW1 and WW2.
Then Stalin destroyed US/Soviet relations with his adherence to Communism, imperialism, and abysmal human rights record.
Reagan famously ended the Cold War when reformist Mikhail Gorbechev promoted Perestroika and Glasnost.
Putin and George W. were friendly and Putin supported our anti-terrorism efforts after 9/11.
Hillary presented a 'reset button' in 2009.
From personal experience, I speak to Russians often via Amateur Radio and visit with them at IT conferences - they LOVE the united states... they are not our enemy.
So tell me liberals - why all of a sudden do we hate the Russians again? They no longer oppress their people, they embrace and encourage capitalism, and generally fight alongside us whenever major conflicts break out.
is this just an example of "the friend of my enemy (Trump) is my enemy"?
Well, as I've already said before - as it turned out to be, Russia is not a clear-cut "Democrats vs Republicans" issue. It all depends what beliefs one adheres to. If it's the idea of "American exceptionalism," the idea that America should sit on top of the world and all other countries should serve exclusively her interests, then Russia shouldn't be regarded as friend, no matter what guise it's in, but a potential competitor, that needs to be eradicated at all cost, employing such unsavory force as radical Islam including.
But if one doesn't believe in American exceptionalism and accepts multi-polar world, then Russia indeed is a country that is not hostile to the US (excluding the post-revolutionary times of 1917, when America was regarded there as the main bastion of world's capitalism, whereas capitalism was working directly against Russian national interests at that point in time.)
So for example Democrats Clintons were adhering to idea of American exceptionalism, as much as conservatives Zbignev Brzezinsky, John McCain, Lindsey Graham. So to them destruction of Russia was/is imperative.
Bernie Sanders on another hand ( being a democrat) does not promote hostile policies towards Russia.
Neither apparently a Republican Donald Trump.
And yet, just a few years ago, Obama and the left claimed that Russia wasn't a problem. Obama chastised Romney for trying to continue the cold war. Now its The Russians are coming, the Russians are coming.
No, it isn't.
I hated the first Cold War and don't want to see it repeated. Nevertheless, Putin is not really Trump's or America's best friend, even though Trump seems to think so.
There is quite a large middle ground in between Reagan's "evil empire" and Trump's "Putin thinks I'm brilliant." I know, because I've always occupied that ground.
The Russian People are not our Enemies.
The Russian Leaders on the other hand are not our Friends.
Simple as that.
But Russian people for the most part support their current leader now, as corrupt as he is, for their own reasons.
In their eyes this current option is hundred times better, than the one they had twenty + years ago, backed by Clintons - the one who destroyed the nascent democracy there and pushed the devastating economic reforms, that gave birth to today's oligarchy and enforced one-party system.
What you see here is the bombing of the Russian parliament by that particular president, that was backed at time by Clintons, that shrewdly used him, promoting the idea of "American exceptionalism" and looking forward to disintegration of Russia in the long run, thus removing this country as a potential competitor from the world scene once and for all. It's when Clintons plans didn't quite work out, and the ailing Yeltsin ( then president of Russia,) passed all this concentrated power in his hands to a KGB officer, corrupt by shrewd never the less, Clintons didn't like it a bit, and that's when hostile policies towards Russia continued, promoted by them and other Republicans - (Graham, McCain (just an example.))
Tried to influence our election. My god, we have doing this exact same thing to others for how long? Iran: Result The Shah
We don't have the moral high ground on that one. How many countries got stuck with corrupt, brutal leadership because we influenced their elections?
Nah, that one was avoidable. The UK wanted to weasel out of its agreements with the government of Iran - to divvy up profits more equitably, train the Iranians in how to run the oil extractions & refineries, open the books on the industry to Iran, & etc. Because of budget issues, & UK frankly didn't have the manpower on hand for a fait accompli, they tried to get Pres. Truman to intervene on UK's behalf. Truman refused, saying it was an internal matter to the UK/Iran, & that UK should honor their agreements.
UK then put the request to incoming Pres.-elect Eisenhower, & dressed it up an anti-Communism. The Dulles bros. couldn't wait, & Eisenhower went for it. We dispatched CIA, who spread money & promises, & had the Iranian PM Mossadegh, thrown out. We reinstalled the Shah, who purged the Communist elements in Iran - & put in Savak, their internal security organs. We helped train them - & then we failed to monitor the political/social situation there, & the Shah went from marginal to bad to worse.
I hear The Twilight Zone theme every time someone posts here to tell me the new Russia is now a democratic and capitalistic paradise and Putin, the ex-KGB officer, is a true man of the people.
Russia clearly is NOT democratic - that is a no.
Capitalistic paradise? That is a yes, particularly when we speak about the crony capitalism.
As for Putin "being a true man of the people" - remove the word "true" here, since he is a part of oligarchy, but for the most part he is widely supported by general population for the reasons I mentioned above.
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Just a gal who cain't say No
