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Schindler: We Are Now in Cold War 2.0
Subhead: "Putin has given up on the White House—and that’s terrible news for Trump"
http://observer.com/2017/07/trump-putin-russia-sanctions-diplomatic-operations/
To call Putin’s push-back excessive is charitable. This sends an indelible message to Washington that the Kremlin seeks no parley with America. We are now unquestionably in Cold War 2.0—and perhaps worse. After all, you only shut down the other side’s diplomatic facilities in your country when you’re in an actual war with them. None of this bodes well for peace and international harmony.
That said, the person who ought to be really worried here is Donald Trump. He was elected with clandestine Kremlin help and he regularly hoisted fulsome praise on Vladimir Putin—and now it’s all fallen apart. Only six months into his presidency, Moscow has assessed that Trump is a naif, an incompetent weakling who cannot deliver what Russia needs. He is therefore expendable.
As stereotypical Chekists, Putin and his retinue wanted chaos in America in 2016 and that surely Trump has delivered, with myriad assistance from Russia’s intelligence agencies. The mounting political crisis that the president has put himself in will eventually be his undoing, and the Kremlin is content to watch the unfolding mess in Washington consume American politics for months, perhaps years to come.
Now that Trump is expendable to Moscow, he ought to worry that leaks unflattering to him and his entourage may go public. We know that Russian hackers pillaged Republicans as well as Democrats in 2016, while only the latter have been disseminated by Kremlin fronts. Not to mention Trump’s decades of shadowy financial dealings with Russian oligarchs, which the Kremlin surely knows all about. Putin is biding his time and, right now, he’s holding most of the important cards. He may ultimately decide Trump’s political fate, which now resides in Moscow’s hands.
That said, the person who ought to be really worried here is Donald Trump. He was elected with clandestine Kremlin help and he regularly hoisted fulsome praise on Vladimir Putin—and now it’s all fallen apart. Only six months into his presidency, Moscow has assessed that Trump is a naif, an incompetent weakling who cannot deliver what Russia needs. He is therefore expendable.
As stereotypical Chekists, Putin and his retinue wanted chaos in America in 2016 and that surely Trump has delivered, with myriad assistance from Russia’s intelligence agencies. The mounting political crisis that the president has put himself in will eventually be his undoing, and the Kremlin is content to watch the unfolding mess in Washington consume American politics for months, perhaps years to come.
Now that Trump is expendable to Moscow, he ought to worry that leaks unflattering to him and his entourage may go public. We know that Russian hackers pillaged Republicans as well as Democrats in 2016, while only the latter have been disseminated by Kremlin fronts. Not to mention Trump’s decades of shadowy financial dealings with Russian oligarchs, which the Kremlin surely knows all about. Putin is biding his time and, right now, he’s holding most of the important cards. He may ultimately decide Trump’s political fate, which now resides in Moscow’s hands.
7 replies
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= new reply since forum marked as read
I think it's telling how scared cheeto is about his russian connections if they haven't made a statement about Russia's retaliatory measures which seem extremely strong. 
