Donald Trump’s praise of Vladimir Putin as “very smart” does not diminish the need for strong retaliation against Russia over its outrageous cyberespionage. The president-elect’s insouciance flies in the face of the alarm sounded by his country’s intelligence agencies, as well as those of close allies such as Britain, about persistent, Kremlin-directed attempts to interfere in the electoral processes of Western democracies. Asked about Moscow’s hacking Mr Trump said we should “get on with our lives”, adding that “the whole age of the computer has made it where nobody knows exactly what’s going on”. It’s hard to know what to make of that beyond seeing it as the latest of the excuses the president-elect has made for egregious behaviour by Mr Putin. Mr Trump is in the unprecedented position of lining up with the Russian leader against an incumbent US President.
Mr Trump is wrong to dismiss Russian hacking as some sort of minor nuisance. Barack Obama’s retaliation in expelling 35 Russian diplomats may have been tardy. It may, as respected Republicans such as Senator John McCain and House Speaker Paul Ryan believe, be too little too late. But it is the most serious breach in Washington’s relations with Moscow since the Cold War and deserves support from the incoming president.
Mr Trump’s desire for improved relations with Russia is understandable. But he needs to realise it is a regime which, as The Times notes, “has assassinated political opponents, murdered journalists, jailed dissidents, repressed homosexuals, shot down a civilian airliner, altered the boundaries of Europe through force, and enabled the tyrant Bashar al-Assad to prevail”.
Intelligence agencies believe Russian hackers stole data that was passed on to WikiLeaks to damage Hillary Clinton’s chances. There is evidence they have been doing the same to influence upcoming French and German elections. Mr Trump needs to do better than just shrug his shoulders. Falling for the same illusions Mr Obama held about Mr Putin for too long would be a bad start to the Trump term in the White House.
Mr Trump is wrong to dismiss Russian hacking as some sort of minor nuisance. Barack Obama’s retaliation in expelling 35 Russian diplomats may have been tardy. It may, as respected Republicans such as Senator John McCain and House Speaker Paul Ryan believe, be too little too late. But it is the most serious breach in Washington’s relations with Moscow since the Cold War and deserves support from the incoming president.
Mr Trump’s desire for improved relations with Russia is understandable. But he needs to realise it is a regime which, as The Times notes, “has assassinated political opponents, murdered journalists, jailed dissidents, repressed homosexuals, shot down a civilian airliner, altered the boundaries of Europe through force, and enabled the tyrant Bashar al-Assad to prevail”.
Intelligence agencies believe Russian hackers stole data that was passed on to WikiLeaks to damage Hillary Clinton’s chances. There is evidence they have been doing the same to influence upcoming French and German elections. Mr Trump needs to do better than just shrug his shoulders. Falling for the same illusions Mr Obama held about Mr Putin for too long would be a bad start to the Trump term in the White House.
