By Stephen Kangal
August 01, 2018
With the shock- waves of the post-Helsinki outrage still manifesting itself both in Capitol Hill and the US media, President Trump’s invitation to Russian President Vladimir Putin to The White House this autumn without the input/ knowledge of national intelligence head Dan Coats is an overt diversionary tactic designed to pour oil on troubled waters.
There are too many contentious issues still unresolved. These include Russia’s proven interference in the 2016 Elections and Mueller’s subpoena of twelve implicated Russian intelligence officers. There are also allegations of Russian interference in gerrymandering results of Brexit referendum in Britain held in 2016 as well as the turbulent uncertainties that Trump generated in the NATO countries.
Add to this the proposed escalation of the Tariff War with China threatening to impose US tariffs on $505bn of Chinese goods to derail growth prospects world-wide.
The proposed censure and potential impeachment of President Trump for his Helsinki debacle is gaining increasing traction. The decks must be cleared first of these debris to avert potential embarrassment as information on the Helsinki saga evolves.
The tapes of the secret bilateral meeting in Helsinki with only interpreters present must be released to clear President Trump of alleged collusion with the enemy. Domestic matters including November mid-term elections for the Senate and Congress must be concluded before Putin can come to the USA.
What is he going there for? He is a virtual persona non grata in Washington and the West at present.
This is also a smokescreen to divert attention from the post Helsinki betrayal of the values and principles of the Free World. Some one has to rein in the Trumpeteer before the USA becomes the epi-centre for all types of confusion, conspiracy theories and turbulence undermining confidence in the contemporary international system.
The suspected Russian Novichock poisoning with military grade nerve agent in Salisbury, England must be resolved and Putin exposed as a danger to Western interests. Russia is also alleged to be mounting cyber attacks on designated targets including energy infrastructure in Britain. Putin is testing the integrity and cohesiveness of the Western alliance to target how far he can challenge its responsiveness with NATO in decline and Britain withdrawing from the EU although not from NATO. This is as a result of demonstrated weakness of Trump.
What is the Trump agenda in prematurely inviting Putin to the USA when both sets of hands have to be sanitised/decontaminated and assurances given that Putin will repatriate or bring with him the suspected twelve Russian agents named to be interrogated by the Mueller Commission.
Mueller will not go to the Kremlin to be given Novichock in his tea or coffee.
It cannot be business as usual in this unpredictable evolving saga so damaging to American foreign policy, domestic politics and diplomatic relations.
The visit has since been postponed to next year in the face of the outrage expressed in Washington.