Many news outlets intend to make President Trump's life miserable. Michael Gerson from The Washington Post has referred to a "surrender" from the White House regarding Russian foreign policy.
Yet what Mr. Gerson forgets is that it was Obama who "surrendered" to the Russians. Under his watch, the Russian president became a substantial threat to global stability.
Mr. Gerson, we all know that the Russian Government is not democratic. There have been numerous reports about discriminating against homosexuals and vote rigging. But from a pragmatic perspective, The Washington Post should remember Russia is still a member of the UN Security Council and the G20.
Despite their failure to evolve into a liberal democracy since 2000, when Putin became President, it would be dumb to provoke them further, which is what Hillary Clinton was proposing.
'The emergence of Russia as a threat to peace'
And that brings this article to its next point, Mr. Gerson. Did you criticize Obama in 2009 when he complimented President Putin as a "forward thinking politician?" No, because like many journalists, you believe the former president could do nothing wrong.
Obama issued a red line against Russian involvement in the Middle East, which was never followed through. That is why the current U.S. President ordered a retaliatory strike on Syria this year because Assad did cross that red line.
The former president and the European Union isolated President Putin to the extent that they felt the need to occupy the Ukraine.
So why did Russia choose not to invade the Ukraine in the midst of the instability caused by the 2004 Orange Revolution? Because the U.S. had a president who was a staunch ally of President Putin and kept the Russian threat at bay - George W.
Bush. This proves that having the Russians as an ally, despite their questionable democratic practices, works for the sake of stability. Mr. Gerson, did you condemn Mr. Bush and his father for enjoying a fishing trip with the Russian President in 2007?
He is not the first U.S. leader who sucked up to Putin
To be fair to The Washington Post, President Trump should not become subservient to Putin.
Equally, Washington needs to regain Russian support if they are serious about imposing sanctions against North Korea without the need for war. If Russia can be persuaded to support this measure, it exerts more pressure on China to follow through. That would be a significant boost to the U.S. President's foreign policy.
So before judging the current President's foreign policy, Mr. Gerson, remember he is not the first U.S. leader who sucked up to Putin. Let us hope the U.S. and Russia can cooperate a lot more on international crises.
