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Chula Vista · 07-10-2017, 12:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by djchameleon

Further solidifying that other countries no longer look to the US as the "leader of the free world".

This is being promoted by almost everyone right now. So sad. I'm truly upset about it.

Re: Russia - Putin laid a trap and Trump walked right into it. He got played like a violin.

Quote:

On paper, Vladimir Putin should not have had the upper hand going into the meeting.

To start with, Russia has been living with sanctions put in place more than three years ago because of their annexation of Crimea.

And most Americans, save a few people including the President of the United States, are confident that Putin led the Russian intervention into the American election and into many other elections around the world.

President Obama booted out nearly three dozen spies in December and closed two compounds, and there are many, from both parties, calling for an additional round of sanctions on Russia.

We should have had some leverage. So what happened?

To start with, the Russians are skilled public manipulators.

They know how to stage-manage and how to set the expectations for global events. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is a smooth operator who knows how to charm cameras and international audiences. He is visible at international events and followed by a gaggle of adoring state-run media. He also rarely shies away from answering questions, holding press conferences, or reading out meetings. He has been on the international scene as foreign minister for 13 years, and as the UN ambassador for 10 years before that, and it shows.

Putin may have less of a warm diplomatic bedside manner, but he understands the art of presentation and how to set a trap.

And set a trap is exactly what he just did.

The Russians telegraphed in advance of the meeting that their agenda was to 1) publicly mend the relationship, 2) gain a better understanding of US policy, and 3) discuss joint concerns over terrorism. They scored on all three.

Their previewing kept expectations low and made clear that there simply would not be enough time to talk about Ukraine.

And how did the United States preview the meeting and set the table for the most important diplomatic engagement this summer?

Just yesterday, President Donald Trump questioned the validity of American intelligence on foreign soil and then questioned whether other countries or actors were involved in the hacking.

But before that, H.R. McMaster, the President's national security adviser, previewed the meeting with President Putin by saying there was "no specific agenda -- it's really going to be whatever the President wants to talk about."

The problem is that the expectation-setting and previewing of important diplomatic meetings does more than just fill wire reports and cable air time. It sends the message about what the United States expects to accomplish, how prepared we are for the engagement and also puts the difficult topics on the table that are the core purpose of these meetings.

Immediately following the meeting, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson appeared on television making clear that President Trump had repeatedly raised Russian meddling in the meeting. That sounded like a positive development until he said President Trump has decided to focus on "how do we move forward from something that may be an intractable disagreement at this point."

This statement was quickly followed by Foreign Minister Lavrov appearing on television to say that President Putin had denied involvement, Trump said reports of meddling were exaggerated and he accepted Putin's denials.

Leading American intelligence agencies, Republicans and Democrats in Congress and many members of his own administration are confident that the Russians intervened in the American election last year. But a simple assurance from President Putin overrides that.

You don't get a lot of shots at pressure in diplomacy. And after you've let your adversary off the hook, you certainly don't get to apply that pressure again. As far as the Russians are concerned, the public case is closed.