Post by DADDY O on Dec 19, 2016 21:36:52 GMT
Why a Russian Hacking Inquiry Is in Donald Trump’s Best Interests
Uncertainty over the issue would cloud the president-elect’s agenda
It may not seem that way, and he may not act that way, but President-elect Donald Trump actually has some powerful reasons to support a full inquiry into what Russian hackers did and didn’t do to interfere with this year’s presidential campaign.
He has two reasons in particular. The first is that a cloud of uncertainty will hang over his election as long as the charges that Russia somehow intervened to help him remain unexplored and unanswered. Mr. Trump may fear that an inquiry will somehow delegitimize his victory, but the Russian role now has become such a visible and dominant topic that the opposite likely is true: Questions will linger mostly if the issue is shoved under the rug.
The second reason is more substantive. Mr. Trump shows every sign of wanting to execute a significant shift in America’s strategic posture in the world. He seems to want to get along better with Russia while doing more to confront China, a pivot that turns much foreign-policy thinking of the past decade or so upside down.
Donald Trump signaled during the campaign that he would take a more cordial stance towards Russia. However, allegations of hacking during the election may hamper negotiations on issues including Ukraine, Syria and arms control.
Mr. Trump clearly thinks a better relationship with Russia can offer powerful benefits to the U.S., particularly in the battle against Islamic extremists, while also believing China is so clearly taking advantage of the U.S. economically that it needs to be challenged more directly.
Both propositions are debatable, of course, and they will be debated. But the prospects of making a persuasive case for the kind of change toward Russia that Mr. Trump wants actually will be undercut if it appears that move is part of some kind of payoff for election-year help. Trump loyalists think that suspicion is ludicrous—which is why they should want it addressed head-on.
Even Hillary Clinton’s supporters appear to recognize that there is little chance that the most thorough inquiry would be able to draw some direct line between Russian hackers’ efforts to disperse unhelpful Democratic emails and her ultimate loss at the polls. After Monday’s meetings across the country by members of the electoral college, Mr. Trump will be on the official path to the presidency, and that won’t change.
Uncertainty over the issue would cloud the president-elect’s agenda
It may not seem that way, and he may not act that way, but President-elect Donald Trump actually has some powerful reasons to support a full inquiry into what Russian hackers did and didn’t do to interfere with this year’s presidential campaign.
He has two reasons in particular. The first is that a cloud of uncertainty will hang over his election as long as the charges that Russia somehow intervened to help him remain unexplored and unanswered. Mr. Trump may fear that an inquiry will somehow delegitimize his victory, but the Russian role now has become such a visible and dominant topic that the opposite likely is true: Questions will linger mostly if the issue is shoved under the rug.
The second reason is more substantive. Mr. Trump shows every sign of wanting to execute a significant shift in America’s strategic posture in the world. He seems to want to get along better with Russia while doing more to confront China, a pivot that turns much foreign-policy thinking of the past decade or so upside down.
Donald Trump signaled during the campaign that he would take a more cordial stance towards Russia. However, allegations of hacking during the election may hamper negotiations on issues including Ukraine, Syria and arms control.
Mr. Trump clearly thinks a better relationship with Russia can offer powerful benefits to the U.S., particularly in the battle against Islamic extremists, while also believing China is so clearly taking advantage of the U.S. economically that it needs to be challenged more directly.
Both propositions are debatable, of course, and they will be debated. But the prospects of making a persuasive case for the kind of change toward Russia that Mr. Trump wants actually will be undercut if it appears that move is part of some kind of payoff for election-year help. Trump loyalists think that suspicion is ludicrous—which is why they should want it addressed head-on.
Even Hillary Clinton’s supporters appear to recognize that there is little chance that the most thorough inquiry would be able to draw some direct line between Russian hackers’ efforts to disperse unhelpful Democratic emails and her ultimate loss at the polls. After Monday’s meetings across the country by members of the electoral college, Mr. Trump will be on the official path to the presidency, and that won’t change.
