TRUMP GIVES RUSSIA ULTIMATUM ON COLD WAR ERA TREATY

….Donald and the man that appears to have something on the president.

Russia’s noncompliance with the INF treaty is deeply concerning

Many people have the idea that Russia’s Vladimir Putin has something on President Trump, and whatever it is causes Trump to kowtow to Putin on major issues.  I have had all kinds of issues with Trump, but I have felt that if he stayed away from the nuclear stuff, I have hoped that all would be okay.

Well, now the Trump administration has announced that the United States will be pulling out of the nuclear arms treaty with Russia, ending a cornerstone Cold War agreement and raising fears of a new nuclear arms race in Europe and Asia.

I agree that it is pretty clear that Russia is violating the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) which leaves the United States at a disadvantage because the US is in compliance, while Russia is violating the agreement.  Of course, as usual, Russia denies that they are violating the treaty.

President Trump said “We cannot be the only country in the world unilaterally bound by this treaty, or any other.  We will move forward with developing our own military response options and will work with NATO and our other allies and partners to deny Russia any military advantage from its unlawful conduct.”

It is proper to call-out Russia on violating the treaty Russia as they are deploying a currently banned missile, while China has never faced any of the treaty’s constraints.  The Chinese are also deploying what a senior US official said was more than 1,000 intermediate-range missiles that are currently banned by the treaty.

Russia has as usual, accused the United States of violating the INF Treaty through its missile defense systems in Europe, an allegation that the US State Department has denied.

So, we have issue that Trump is correct that we need a “new treaty”, but as it is with Trump now withdrawing from the INF Treaty, Trump has also left the Iran nuclear deal and the Paris Climate Accord and he threatens to pull out of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and the World Trade Organization (WTO).  This latest withdrawal from the INF Treaty has fueled concerns that he will decline to extend the new START nuclear arms reduction treaty with Russia.  That would most likely risk a return to the early days of the nuclear arms race.

In other words, instead of working to get new or revised treaties, Trump is once again, “Throwing the baby out with the bath water.”

Trump has been fact checked that he has told over 8,000 lies or misrepresentations since he had assumed his office.  And none of those lies represents the damage he has caused with his foreign policies changes towards our allies and his proclaimed love for other authoritarian leaders and out-right dictators.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who has become a Trump puppet, has said that, effective this week, the United States will suspend participation in the INF agreement.  This starts a six-month countdown to a final US withdrawal. That leaves a very slim chance that Russia would end their missile programs widely seen as an absolute violation, which ending the missile program could actually salvage the treaty.

“The United States is hopeful that we can put our relationship with Russia back on a better footing, but the onus is on Russia to change course from a pattern of destabilizing activity, not just on this issue but on many others as well,” Pompeo said when announcing the decision.

Putin, like his take-over of Crimea, has made it clear that he wants to return to what was before known as the USSR, and all of its number of nations.  So, any free and sovereign nation that is on the Russia’s border could be in harm’s way of being invaded and taken over by Russia.

The point is that Russia is a small economic power today.  In fact, as of today, Russia economic worth is only $3.7 trillion, while China’s is $23.3 trillion and the United States is $19.4 trillion.  Russia is only the 6^th largest economic power, but Russia is still a major nuclear power.  Putin has made it clear that he will use the nuclear power he has at his disposal to achieve his goal of returning Russia to being a major world power.

The INF treaty has been a central element of Europe’s security strategy for more than three decades and its signing was considered a crucial moment in Cold War arms control, eliminating more than 2,600 missiles and ending a years-long standoff with nuclear missiles in Europe.

But the Trump administration has argued that Russia has not been complying with the pact since 2014 and that it puts the United States at a military disadvantage against China, which is not bound by the treaty.

Democrats have warned that ripping up the treaty was the wrong way to steer Russia, or China, into a new treaty that is more responsive to today’s modern weapons and threats.

“The Trump Administration is risking an arms race and undermining international security and stability,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said in a statement. “Russia’s brazen noncompliance with this treaty is deeply concerning, but discarding a key pillar of our nonproliferation security framework creates unacceptable risks.”

Of course, Trump scoffed at that argument.  “Honestly, I don’t think she has a clue; I really don’t,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “I don’t think Nancy has a clue.”

The truth is that Nancy has been involved with these kinds of governmental treaties for decades.

If the president wants to know who hasn’t got a clue, he just needs to look into a mirror.

Copyright G. Ater 2019