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Related: About this forumRussian Report Confirms Attack On US Election
Dec 7, 2017
Rachel Maddow shares the details of a Russian media report that explains that the reason Russian intelligence cyber experts were arrested for treason a year ago is that they were the sources that helped the U.S. figure out who was responsible for the DNC hack.
Gothmog
(145,486 posts)Sophia4
(3,515 posts)The US Constitution, Article I, section 8 gives Congress the power to regulate commerce with foreign nations.
Trump and Putin may have thought that Trump as president could lift the sanctions on his own. But Congress can decide on sanctions under the authority granted it by the Constitution.
Big mistake, Trump. Big mistake.
My opinion is that lifting sanctions may have been the price for Russia's help for Trump in winning the election. We don't know for sure. It looks that way. We will find out.
L. Coyote
(51,129 posts)If sanctions was the goal, Trump wasn't the only chess piece that was in play.
Sophia4
(3,515 posts)One was rapprochement by the US with Russia.
Another was development of oil resources in the Arctic and of oil and gas markets in Europe.
Another was to destroy or at least severely weaken NATO.
Another was to give Russia more say if not total dominance in the Ukraine and perhaps in other Eastern European countries.
The list goes on, but those are the primary goals as I see it. Just my guess. I'm not an expert, but I have lived on the edge of Eastern Europe, have ties to it and some understanding of some of the issues.
I worked for an oil company for a short but very important time in my life.
I speak a couple of European languages besides English.
So that is my point of view. Just an opinion. And just a very brief summary.
Pretty much Russia's goals in Europe and for an alliance (if you could call it that) with the US.
By the way, I would favor a better relationship with Russia, but not one that is achieved the way Putin's relationship with the US and with Trump appears (assuming my guesses are correct) to have been and is being accomplished.