The recent spat between presidential campaign orbits over who will be tougher against Vladimir Putin would lead one to think that America’s number one enemy is the Russian Federation. Forget the Islamic State, North Korea, and Iran, not to mention poverty, economic stagnation, deadly pandemics, and global warming. Both Democrats and Republicans have used Russia and their opponents’ alleged sympathies for it as political fodder. But they seem to quickly forget how rebuilding and touting a friendlier relationship with the Kremlin has also been pursued and claimed as a significant political accomplishment.
In March of 2009, then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made a big show in Geneva of the Obama administration’s successful pursuit of a renewed relationship with Russia. In a widely covered “reset” ceremony with the Russian Foreign Minister, Clinton praised the virtues of stronger ties with the Russians and basked in credit for the success. Soon thereafter, President Obama traveled to Russia and managed to charm the Russian president into allowing the U.S. military to traverse Russian airspace in order to resupply the war effort in Afghanistan. Obama even went so far as to dismantle plans to build a missile defense shield in Europe to the eternal delight of the Kremlin.
Today, however, Democrats decry the suggestion that America should pursue cooperation with Russia and chastise Republicans, especially their party’s presidential nominee, for wanting to reset our relationship with Putin. Oh how quickly and conveniently we forget.
But it was not long after Obama’s and Clinton’s own cozying to Russia that Republicans themselves were demonizing the Russians. The year was 2012 and Mitt Romney was locked in a heated battle to unseat Barack Obama and win the White House. And in the heat of debate, Romney shockingly asserted that Russia was our greatest geopolitical threat.
Mitt Romney
Democrats were aghast and balked at the thought of pegging Russia with such an offensive and hostile label while Obama mocked his opponent by saying that the 1980s were calling “to ask for their foreign policy back.” Republicans naturally rushed to Romney’s defense and jumped on the anti-Russia bandwagon.
But before Obama came on the political scene, it was again Republicans who were happily resetting and building a cozy U.S.-Russia relationship. In 2001, President George W. Bush famously praised Putin as trustworthy after gazing into his eyes - and evidently his soul. Democrats laughed, but Republicans embraced the opportunity for a positive partnership with our former co-superpower turned enemy turned friend turned alleged enemy again.
The reality is that any American leader needs a cooperative relationship with the Russian Federation and its leaders. Russia is no longer a natural enemy of the United States, but it does share an interest in defeating our real enemies, like ISIS. So it is laughable that either Democrats or Republicans would criticize the other for valuing and pursuing closer ties to Russia. They have all done it before, sometimes to the great benefit of American interests. And they will all do it again, when its both necessary and convenient.
