John Chuckman
EXPANSION OF COMMENT POSTED TO AN ARTICLE IN RUSSIA TODAY
“Middle East officials flocking to Moscow – is there a big deal to be made before Putin meets Trump?”
“Amid the flurry of visits there is some speculation in the media that a grand deal between the US and Russia”
I rather doubt it.
Some comments here speak to the issue of dependability. The truth is America has always been an undependable partner. There is a long and pretty ugly record.
And likely no one appreciates that better than a clear-thinking, hard-headed pragmatist like Putin.
There is also the matter of Trump’s own demonstrated unreliable, almost unstable, character and personality to be added to the general lack of American dependability.
Both America and Trump will adhere to anything so long as they are getting something out of it, something tangible, something valuable.
That’s why America has the appearance of a long loyal and stable relationship with Israel. Every key American politician receives regular tangible benefits – campaign funds plus favorable publicity treatment from the mainline press which help guarantee their jobs - by keeping up appearances with Israel.
Of course, Israel also brings the benefit of serving as an American pied-a-terre in a strategically important region and as a surrogate actor in many dark activities. So, tolerance for its atrocious public behavior has almost no limit.
And it is the same for an institution such as NATO. NATO enables America literally to occupy and heavily influence one of the world’s major economic actors and American competitors.
Fear of Russia is nonsense, especially today, but there very much is American fear of Russia and the NATO countries doing a lot of business together, of forming a huge and valuable economic marriage of resources, industry, and markets. NATO effectively prevents that, a very real benefit to America.
The stresses being felt today in NATO I believe actually reflect the fact that America perceives that Europe is nevertheless gradually moving towards that rather ideal economic marriage. Trump’s response is to demand new resources from NATO, compensation, a form of disguised Mafia protection money, as it were.
Principles play absolutely no role for America’s major actors, ever, except as stuff to make speeches with.
So why do people still try to do deals with America? Because it is so big that it simply cannot be ignored.
