As White House officials take increasingly hard-line stances against Russia, Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad’s most powerful patron, President Trump himself has continued to push for rapprochement between Washington and Moscow.
Here’s what the president tweeted early Thursday morning.
Things will work out fine between the U.S.A. and Russia. At the right time everyone will come to their senses & there will be lasting peace!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 13, 2017
While better relations with Russia would undoubtedly be a good thing, there’s no reason to believe that the Kremlin has any intention of letting down its guard. In fact, Russian state media is already turning on Trump after running flattering “news” reports about the billionaire businessman turned Commander-in-Chief during the 2016 presidential election. Negative coverage of Trump has dovetailed with his decision to launch cruise missile strikes against the Syrian regime’s Sharyat Airbase, where U.S. Central Command believes Assad’s warplanes departed from before dropping sarin gas on rebel-held territories in Idlib province.
Beyond Trump’s unexpected policy shift on Syria, the Russians have very little incentive to play nice with the U.S.
Here are 5 reasons why things will not work out just fine between the “U.S.A. and Russia.”
1. Putin has imperialistic ambitions. As the totalitarian leader of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin enjoys a near-monopoly on power in his home country. All major military and diplomatic decisions must first go through the former KGB operative. In order to understand Russian foreign policy, one must first understand the conniving mind of Putin. It’s no secret that Russia’s economy is taking a hit as the price petrol remains stagnant. As any student of history knows, financial turmoil at home leads to social unrest. Recent protests in Moscow are reflective of the Russian people’s anxieties about the future. To maintain control of Russian civil society, Putin needs to project a tough-guy image, one that’s premised on chauvinism. The best way to do this is through military force abroad. Putin’s annexation of Crimea and bombing campaign in Syria have not only helped secure naval facilities and military compounds in the Middle East and Eastern Europe respectively, but these bold actions in full view of the powerless so-called international community have ginned up excitement at home. For Putin, power plays abroad serve to distract the rapidly shrinking middle-class and maintain an aura of invincibility. It goes without saying that Russia’s imperial excursions directly undermine U.S. interests abroad. Not only do they threaten the sovereignty of U.S. allies and NATO partners (particularly in Eastern Europe), but they disrupt global stability, ensuring regional conflicts and sectarian violence for the foreseeable future.
2. Russia is still bitter about losing the Cold War. Putin has made no secret of his bitterness toward the United States as a result of the decades-old Cold War. Here’s what Putin said in April of 2015:
Above all, we should acknowledge that the collapse of the Soviet Union was a major geopolitical disaster of the century. As for the Russian nation, it became a genuine drama. Tens of millions of our co-citizens and co-patriots found themselves outside Russian territory. Moreover, the epidemic of disintegration infected Russia itself.
For Putin and his hawkish political allies in the Kremlin, the Cold War never ended; the possibility for a renewed Soviet Union lives on in every geopolitical chess piece Russia moves. Indeed, Russia’s interference in Syria (by interference we mean dropping barrel bombs over civilian homes and hospitals) on behalf of its client Assad marks a high-point for Russia’s imperialistic aspirations. Not since the Cold War ended has Russia stationed troops in the Middle East. Today, Russian soldiers, planes, and tanks occupy Syria. Despite recent U.S. military operations in Syria, Russian military personnel haven’t moved an inch. From what it looks, they’re there for the long-haul.
3. Putin uses America and the West as a foils. The West is the perfect enemy for Vladimir Putin. Echoing political talking points often adopted by the “anti-imperialist” wing of the American Left, Putin and his vast network of Kremlin propagandists (see: RT) use modern technology, including social media, to spread canards about the United States. From conspiracy theories about the war in Iraq to sophistry about the U.S. federal system, Russian trolls have engaged in a “disinformation” to trash America’s historical legacy and moral credibility. Supplying WikiLeaks with hacked material to undermine the American people’s faith in their own electoral system and reveal classified information of immense importance to U.S. national security isn’t what friends do. As the world’s sole remaining superpower, the United States may be the only deterrent against Russia’s expansionist impulses. That’s why the Russians have launched a cyberwar against us. Make no mistake, Russia’s demonization of the United States on state-run media outlets is just the tip of the iceberg. Russian FSB officers, sitting behind computer screens and harassing U.S. diplomats across Europe, are actively working to create a world where America is just another country, not a powerful force for moral good. It’s a long-term and uphill battle, but the Russians are committed to regaining their hegemonic status, if ever there was one.
4. Russia supports causes and groups hostile to the U.S. Moscow’s support for the genocidal Syrian regime isn’t limited to veto votes at the United Nations Security Council. Since the Russian military made its way into Syria in 2015, it has been bombing U.S.-backed and U.S.-trained allies to ensure that their client Assad retains power. The handful of anti-Assad opposition forces we have supported at various points during the Syrian civil war have been targeted by Russian warplanes without mercy. In addition, Russia’s de facto alliance with Iran is designed to push America out of the Middle East and undermine longtime U.S. allies, particularly the Saudis.
5. We tried diplomacy before; it didn’t work. Remember the Russian reset? We saw Hillary Clinton hand foreign minister Sergey Lavrov a red-button with improperly translated Russian writing as a symbol of America’s renewed interest in developing a friendly relationship with Russia. In the years since 2009, Russia has run roughshod on international norms. Foreign minister Lavrov ran circles around Clinton’s State Department successor, Secretary John Kerry, after brokering fake ceasefire agreements between the Syrian regime and opposition forces. After Assad used chemical weapons in Ghouta in 2013, the Obama administration stuck a deal with the Russians ensuring that the Syrian regime would remove all chemical weapons from the country. Clearly, that never happened, despite Russia’s insistence to the contrary. To this day, Russia claims that Assad hasn’t used chemical weapons on his own people. Putin and his chief diplomat Sergey Lavrov are liars. There’s no reason for the United States to trust any commitments or any agreements signed by Moscow.