Susan Rice on Trump/Putin

Former Ambassador to the UN and former National Security Adviser to President Obama, Susan Rice, has weighed in on the Trump-Putin relationship.   It appeared in the New York Times.

Reminding us of the tradition of an outgoing president leaving a personal letter in the presidential desk for the incoming president, offering perhaps some wisdom but mostly good wishes.   President Obama left such a letter for President Trump.

Rice then imagines what if, instead of Obama, it had been President Vladimir Putin writing a letter for President Trump?   What advice would he offer to this man he had helped get elected in order to advance his (Putin's) own agenda?   Rice suggests:

"Mr. Putin's objectives are plain:   to restore Russia to global greatness at the expense of the United States and to divide Europe by weakening NATO and the European Union.   In Mr. Putin's zero-sum calculus, when the United States and Europe founder, Russia benefits.  The Russian leader knows that America's global power rests not only on our military and economic might but also on our unrivaled network of alliances from Europe to Asia. . . .  Accordingly, Mr. Putin seeks to drive wedges between the United States and its closest partners, to strain and ultimately rupture its alliances.

"If Putin were calling the shots, he would ensure that America's reliability is doubted, its commitments broken, its values debased and its image tarnished.  He would advise the new president to take a series of steps to advance those aims."

According to Ambassador Rice, these would include:  withdrawing from the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Paris climate agreement;  criticize NATO and cast doubt on America's willingness to defend our allies;   corrode the European Union by praising Brexit;  send Stephen Bannon to stoke European anti-establishment movements;  and undermine Europe's most powerful country, Germany, in part by installing a right-wing flamethrower as our ambassador to Germany.

In addition to these moves, Rice says Putin would probably advise that Trump start a trade war with our closest allies.   Combine that with withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal, then threaten sanctions on European countries for abiding by the deal, "which has worked as intended."

Then Rice has Putin suggesting that Trump find ways to insult and disadvantage our allies, all the while complaining that we are the victims being taken advantage of.   And to cap this all off, Trump might ensure that countries will revile America by:   "disparaging African nations and Haiti with a vulgarity;  calling Latin American migrants rapists and criminals;  halt most refuge admissions;  ban Muslims from several countries from entering the United States;  restrict legal immigration;  and separate children from their parents at the border."

Now, the amazing thing about this imagined prescription from Putin to Trump is that everyone of these things has been done by President Trump.

And that's not all:    Rice obviously wrote this before Trump's Friday morning, totally unexpected call for the G-7 group to readmit Russia to its membership -- even though Russian has done absolutely nothing to alter the behavior (invading Ukraine and annexing Crimea) that got him kicked out in 2014.

So, what do you think?    As the headlines are saying about this latest move from Trump:    "Putin has gotten a good return on his investment in getting Donald Trump elected president."

Rice concludes her essay by saying:   "There is no evidence that Mr. Putin is dictating American policy.  But it's hard to imagine how he could do much better, even if he were."

Ralph