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demmiblue

(36,865 posts)
Thu May 21, 2020, 11:22 AM May 2020

Trump to Withdraw From 'Open Skies' Arms Control Treaty

Source: WaPo

President Trump has decided to withdraw from another major arms control accord, according to senior administration officials, and will inform Russia on Friday that the United States is pulling out of the Open Skies Treaty, negotiated three decades ago to allow nations to fly over each other’s territory with elaborate sensor equipment to assure they are not preparing for military action.

Mr. Trump’s decision will be viewed as more evidence that he also may be poised to exit the one major arms treaty remaining with Russia: New START, which limits the United States and Russia to 1,550 deployed nuclear missiles each. It expires weeks after the next presidential inauguration.

American officials have long complained that Moscow was violating the Open Skies accord by not permitting flights over a city where it was believed Russia was deploying nuclear weapons that could reach Europe, as well as forbidding flights over major Russian military exercises.+

And, in classified reports, the Pentagon and American intelligence agencies have contended the Russians are also using flights over the United States to map out critical American infrastructure that could be hit by cyberattacks.

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/21/us/politics/trump-open-skies-treaty-arms-control.html?referringSource=articleShare

19 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Trump to Withdraw From 'Open Skies' Arms Control Treaty (Original Post) demmiblue May 2020 OP
This will mostly benefit Russia. tinrobot May 2020 #1
Trust but Verify 1984-2020 RIP Thomas Hurt May 2020 #2
Trump is a madman bucolic_frolic May 2020 #3
Being told what to do by a puppet master dictator in an historical enemy state. usaf-vet May 2020 #10
Well, whattya know... this withdrawal benefits Russia more than anyone Dennis Donovan May 2020 #4
How does it benefit Russia more? sarisataka May 2020 #11
If it's something good or useful, he'll kill it. dalton99a May 2020 #5
Someone, several people/agents/actors are pushing him. He didn't dream this up or study it Bernardo de La Paz May 2020 #6
Best investment Putin ever made. OAITW r.2.0 May 2020 #7
So now Russia can take over Ukraine. Lonestarblue May 2020 #8
Hardly. Devil Child May 2020 #9
Ok I agree with this DVRacer May 2020 #12
Thanks for your perspective. CaptainTruth May 2020 #13
It is a legacy policy that since DVRacer May 2020 #18
Thanks DVRacer for adding a dose of sanity n/t Devil Child May 2020 #16
He would let Russia roll tanks into Germany and call it a good thing Baclava May 2020 #14
Trump Needed to Kill the Treaty to Open the Skies to His Space Force eringer May 2020 #15
Did anyone tell trump... Catch2.2 May 2020 #17
Vlad gets to hide his military preps and Donald get to tell Vlad America's military preps. keithbvadu2 May 2020 #19

usaf-vet

(6,189 posts)
10. Being told what to do by a puppet master dictator in an historical enemy state.
Thu May 21, 2020, 12:18 PM
May 2020

JUST IMAGINE any Democratic president doing this!

Now IMAGINE President Obama doing this!

EXPLODING Republican heads EVERYWHERE!

Dennis Donovan

(18,770 posts)
4. Well, whattya know... this withdrawal benefits Russia more than anyone
Thu May 21, 2020, 11:33 AM
May 2020

Can it be more fucking obvious what Trump's ultimate goal is for the US?? It's to help Putin achieve all of HIS goals for the US.

How can this be happening like this in the open, and yet it's still considered "fringe" to even consider that Trump is actively helping Russia *on Putin's orders*?

I mean, I'm trusting my lying eyes on this one.

sarisataka

(18,663 posts)
11. How does it benefit Russia more?
Thu May 21, 2020, 12:44 PM
May 2020

If they are restricting our flights over critical areas while we are giving them full access? They lose that if we withdraw.

Not that I favor withdrawing, we should fix the issue rather than scrap the whole thing

Bernardo de La Paz

(49,007 posts)
6. Someone, several people/agents/actors are pushing him. He didn't dream this up or study it
Thu May 21, 2020, 11:44 AM
May 2020

tRump doesn't read. He surely had no idea of what "Open Skies Treaty" even meant. Or means, if the last time it was explained was more than five minutes ago.

Lonestarblue

(10,011 posts)
8. So now Russia can take over Ukraine.
Thu May 21, 2020, 11:46 AM
May 2020

With no US flights over Russia, the US will not be able to notify Ukraine of massive military movements near their border with Russia. Ukraine’s days as an independent nation may be numbered because Trump will do nothing for them. I wonder what other promises Trump has made to Putin during their secret meetings and phone calls that are not recorded.

DVRacer

(707 posts)
12. Ok I agree with this
Thu May 21, 2020, 01:11 PM
May 2020

I was Navy Intel and this is a good thing. We were being abused in its use of allowing hostile nations overflights of the U.S.
Honestly we do not need to utilize this to achieve our intelligence goals anyway and it mostly benefits Moscow. Since they do not have anywhere near the capability we have.

CaptainTruth

(6,594 posts)
13. Thanks for your perspective.
Thu May 21, 2020, 01:34 PM
May 2020

With all the new surveillance capabilities we've developed since Open Skies was implemented I've wondered just how beneficial it really is.

DVRacer

(707 posts)
18. It is a legacy policy that since
Thu May 21, 2020, 03:21 PM
May 2020

The China issue with the forced landing of a Navy plane years ago. We would be best served to avoid. This policy change was more likely than not originated by the Pentagon. It also avoids intercepts that always run the risk of going south.

eringer

(460 posts)
15. Trump Needed to Kill the Treaty to Open the Skies to His Space Force
Thu May 21, 2020, 02:14 PM
May 2020

In the White House, the good news was that Trump got his Space Force. The bad news was that it can't operate due to treaty restrictions. Easy solution -- do away with the treaty.
If there is a silver cloud to Covid -19, its that Trump doesn't have the money anymore to militarize space.

keithbvadu2

(36,829 posts)
19. Vlad gets to hide his military preps and Donald get to tell Vlad America's military preps.
Thu May 21, 2020, 06:13 PM
May 2020

Vlad gets to hide his military preps and Donald get to tell Vlad America's military preps.

Win/win for Vlad and Donald.

Not so much for America.

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