Inaugurating a post title referring to an idea I’ve written about from time to time: events congruent with an undeclared war between Russia and the West. Of course, that’s all speculation on my part, and perhaps Special Counsel Mueller’s part, you understand. I’m thinking of events such as the Russian interference with the midterm elections, and the Brexit debacle being endured by the Brits.
But the official kick-off entry comes from Politico:
Members of the U.S. Congress have slammed a decision by the Trump administration to downgrade the diplomatic status of the EU embassy in Washington, saying the move and the way it was carried out “needlessly denigrate transatlantic relations.”
In a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, 27 Democratic Members of Congress say they are “deeply troubled” by recent reports of the downgrade.
The lawmakers also complain that “disturbingly, this step … occurred without Congressional consultation or apparent notification to the European Union.”
“Both the substance of this decision and the undiplomatic way in which it was carried out needlessly denigrate transatlantic relations,” the letter says.
Diplomatic relations are the bedrock on which international peace is founded. It’s not hard to imagine Trump obeying a directive from Moscow to direct this blow, as minor as it may seem, at an entity that is already under assault by the Brexiteers (who should be called nationalists, as that’s what they are) as well as by various nationalist groups in France, Germany, Italy, and other nations. As a giant bloc with little to block economic trade, the European Union is a formidable economic and military foe to Russia, and with the Americans to back them up, Russia is effectively held in check.
A Europe once again preoccupied by intra-continental rivalries, constraints on trade, and unable to move in a coordinated way is Russia’s dream, and so every blow that can be directed against the EU is a plausible candidate to be considered, in reality, another move by Moscow against its adversaries. Is it? Since no plausible reason for this American move has been offered, it remains a good candidate. The fact that the Republicans refuse to criticize this move doesn’t speak to their foreign relations experience, but to the implicit threat of retaliation by the Trump Election Machine. Remember, the Republicans effectively have no one with foreign relation experience in official positions, with one exception: John Bolton. Unfortunately, he holds to neo-conservative views, and they have been discredited because of their advocacy for the last two wars, and their barbaric approaches to them. Bolton may have experience, but he hasn’t the wisdom to learn from it.
