The Democrats' Putin dilemma

[uawchild]

While Obama and Clinton ridicule Trump's vow to "get along great" with the Russian leader, the administration is quietly trying to open a dialogue of its own.
By Michael Crowley
07/30/16 07:41 AM EDT

...
But some Democratic national security veterans fear that a potentially dangerous level of hostility to Russia has emerged in recent weeks. They say the growing rivalry between Washington and Moscow, stoked by campaign rhetoric aimed at discrediting Trump, may be taking on a life of its own, making global problems harder to solve and increasing the risk of an accidental conflict—potentially even a nuclear one.

“We’re sleepwalking into a new Cold War,” said William Perry, who served as Secretary of Defense under Bill Clinton from 1993 to 1996, an era of relatively warm relations between the U.S. and Russia. “There’s hardly any debate about it, and the public doesn’t understand the danger.”

Perry said he is particularly concerned that poor communication, an arms buildup on both sides, and jangled nerves increase the possibility of an accidental or unintentional nuclear confrontation. “In case anyone thinks that’s an academic concern, I can tell you that’s not academic,” Perry said, recalling a night when we was awoken at 3 a.m. by a night duty officer and informed that radar was showing hundreds of Russian missiles en route to the U.S.

At the moment, the Obama administration’s top worry is not nuclear war but ending the Syrian civil war, which has left more than 400,000 people dead, fueled the Islamic State and al Qaeda, and flooded the Middle East and Europe with refugees. With Obama's approval, Kerry has been working closely with Lavrov — the two men have spoken dozens of times this year — to strike an agreement that would begin limited military cooperation between Washington and Moscow in Syria. Many U.S. officials believe the Syrian conflict can only be settled with Russian assistance.


http://www.politico.com/story/2016/07/democrats-putin-dilemma-226446

[JayhawkSD]

1. Endangering the nation for political gain

This line right here should be in all caps and headlined.

"growing rivalry between Washington and Moscow, stoked by campaign rhetoric aimed at discrediting Trump"

Think about that for a moment. How responsible is it to be causing dissention between nations for the political gain of one political party?