The self-blinding Russia prism

The self-blinding Russia prism

The ‘Russia collusion’ narrative in the U.S. has rendered any diplomacy between the two countries impossible.

Push for tougher retaliation against Russia          

• Russia as main adversary: With two documents in recent months, the National Security Strategy and the Nuclear Posture Review (NPR), the U.S. has declared Russia as its main adversary, slightly above China in the order, and left little room open for reconciliation
• Nuclear first strike threshold lowered: The NPR declares that the era of great power rivalry is back, and has lowered America’s threshold for a nuclear first strike, citing Russia as the main reason
• Defence moves: All-round modernisation of its nuclear infrastructure, by upgrading delivery systems, weapons and defence systems, and widespread battlefield deployment of tactical nuclear weapons are part of the new posture
• Huge costs: All of this is estimated to cost more than a trillion dollars in inflation adjusted dollars, assuming no cost overruns, over the next 30 years.

Dangerous obsession

The current obsession of the American elite with Russia is still counterproductive and potentially dangerous because:

• It disenfranchises U.S. citizens and delegitimizes its democratic process:

By repeatedly asserting that it is impossible to determine the extent of Russian imprint on the Sanders movement or Mr. Trump’s victory, the onus has been shifted to any citizen critical of the American system to first prove that she is not acting on behalf of Russia or, even worse, she is not a Russian bot.

• It has rendered any diplomacy between the nuclear rivals impossible: The ‘Russia collusion’ commentaries presuppose that unless proven otherwise any contact between a Trump official and a Russian is illegitimate and treason.
• Weakening the political system: When a democratically elected President’s authority to pursue diplomacy is undermined, the U.S.’s political system is weakened and the world becomes a more dangerous place.

Conclusion

The Russia prism has not merely bent perspective, but blinded vision in America. Perhaps, deliberately and conveniently