Conversion of Democratic Party into War Party
and Hillary Clinton policy toward Russia

Hillary is a neocon in the democratic clothing. That means that she follows neocons foreign policy on Russia. And they view Russia as an important obstacle for creation of global neoliberal empire controlled by the USA. Look at what neocon propagandists such as Robert Kagan write (for example http://thepolitic.org/russia-the... ; note that "autocracies" are states that neocons do not like ;- ) , and you will understand how Hillary views Russia (she actually appointed this cold war relic as a advisor to State Department. "Kagan has served on the 25-member State Department's Foreign Affairs Policy Board under Secretaries of State Hillary Clinton and John Kerry"). See more about him http://rightweb.irc-online.org/p...

Historically Clinton's State Department was neocons paradise and, as such, was very hostile to Russia. It was meddling in Russia internal affairs in 2011-2012 trying to organize a color revolution in this country (under former student of Condi, ambassador McFaul) and block the reelection of Putin. This attempt failed.

She (and Obama) also pressed President Medvedev not to veto Libyan resolution in UN, which made possible military intervention of France and USA. The latter served as the launchpad of the civil war and penetration of ISIS into the country. Mercenaries and arms supplies from Libya later served important role in destabilizing Syria and fueling civil car, as the "regime change" was the battle cry of the US neocons from the time of Iraq war.

And they managed gradually restore their influence under Obama after Iraq war fiasco. Like in case of restoration of Louis XVI before, the saying "They have learned nothing, and forgotten nothing" is pretty applicable. As a result we have ISIS controlling a part of Syria.

Now after Ukrainian events in which Clinton protégé Victoria Nulans ( who was Ambassador to NATO under W administration after leaving Cheney’s office and is married to Robert Kagan) took an active part -- Google "Nulandgate" for details) one can be pretty certain that Hillary views Russia as an enemy and, given the possibility, will try to weaken and, if possible, dismember Russia by supporting Islamic, or any other separatist movements within the country.

If elected, she will definitely continue Obama policy of isolation of Russia and imposing sanctions. But hopefully she will be too preoccupied with trying to block the attempts to impeach her for "emailgate" and health problems. That could save us from the open armed conflict with Russia. Which given that fact that she is proven neocon warmonger and the saying "They have learned nothing, and forgotten nothing" is perfectly applicable to her too is a distinct possibility.

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What is Hillary Clinton's stance on Russia - Quora

7 Answers

Scott LoweTop Writer 2014, 2015, 2016

University of New South Wales

Attended the ADFA campus 2010-2012

Australia

Lived in Australia my whole life.

2m answer views74.6k this month

Top Writer2016, 2015, and 2014

Top Question Writer2016

Published WriterNewsweek

Scott Lowe, One of the few people who read Hard Choices in its entirety

3.6k Views ·

Scott has 90+ answers in

Politics of the United States of America

Clinton's stance on Russia has been more fully explored over the last few weeks as she touts her foreign policy experience as one of the key aspects of her Presidential tilt. She wants to differentiate herself from the other contenders on both sides of the aisle as the only one with the chops to deal with the complex and sometimes violent world outside the U.S., and that she can deal with the actors who want to undermine and weaken the country. Due to Russia's central role in the biggest world issues of the day, it is natural that she has been asked how she would deal with the country as President.

For example, at the first Democratic Presidential debate, Clinton was asked by Anderson Cooper about whether or not she underestimated Vladimir Putin while she was Secretary of State with the infamous 'reset' and what she would do in response to Russian involvement in Syria. Her response was revealing:

CLINTON: Well, first of all, we got a lot of business done with the Russians when Medvedev was the president, and not Putin. We got a nuclear arms deal, we got the Iranian sanctions, we got an ability to bring important material and equipment to our soldiers in Afghanistan.

There's no doubt that when Putin came back in and said he was going to be President, that did change the relationship. We have to stand up to his bullying, and specifically in Syria, it is important - and I applaud the administration because they are engaged in talks right now with the Russians to make it clear that they've got to be part of the solution to try to end that bloody conflict.

Clinton makes a point here that she has repeated a few times, like in an interview with Judy Woodruff a little while before the debate:

Complete transcript of Hillary Clinton interview

JUDY WOODRUFF: You've dealt with President Putin. You favored the so-called "re-set" with Russia in 2009. My question is: Did you and others in the administration misread Putin and underestimate what he was capable of doing?

HILLARY CLINTON: Well, remember when President Obama came into office, Putin was not president, Medvedev was president, and Medvedev turned out to be a good partner on a set of issues that we were really concerned about. Number one, how we were going to impose international sanctions on Iran. I worked hard on that, put together the coalition. Russia went along with that.

JUDY WOODRUFF: But Putin was always in the background.

HILLARY CLINTON: Well, he was, but he letting Medvedev make the decisions backed up by him. We got the New START Treaty to lower the nuclear arsenals, we got permission to send lethal material across Russia, so we could resupply our troops in Afghanistan. We got some very important results from the reset.

Now, when Putin decided, in the fall of 2011 that he wanted to go back and be president and basically announced it, we knew that we were going to have a lot tougher time, because he was taking back the presidency to assert himself, and therefore assert Russia. And we have seen that, and we have seen it in Ukraine, we've have seen it in Syria, so we had to adjust our policies because of that.

You also can see her view on Russia through her statement on her campaign website that a Clinton Presidency means:

Standing up to Putin. Hillary has gone toe-to-toe with Putin before, and she'll do it again. She'll stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our European allies and help them decrease dependence on Russian oil. With our partners, Hillary will confine, contain, and deter Russian aggressions in Europe and beyond, and increase the costs to Putin for his actions.

Taking all of that together, Hillary Clinton's stance on Russia is one of distrust and wariness, but with a pragmatic acknowledgment that the U.S. has to work with Russia on certain issues. She has been increasingly vocal about Russia's moves inside Syria and Ukraine, and probably sees Russia as one of the key geopolitical rivals for the U.S. in the next few years. She wants to use the relationships with key allies and partners to limit Russia's actions. However, there are some issues on which she believes they can work together on.

To dig a little bit deeper into specific issues, here is what I think Hillary Clinton's stance is for some of the big-ticket items in the relationship:

Russian involvement in Syria

Clinton was an initial supporter of arming and training moderate opposition forces in Syria at the beginning of the Syrian civil war. At the moment, she is a supporter of a no-fly zone over the country, humanitarian corridors to get aid to civilians, supports toppling Bashar al Assad, but does not support sending additional American troops into the country.

As for Russian involvement, she has stated she would not be willing to shoot down Russian plans which are in operation in Syrian airspace. She believes that the U.S. needs to be firm with Russia, set clear boundaries and stick to them. This does not preclude cooperation though, as she has stated that a no-fly zone will need to be put in place with Russian help.

Russian involvement in Ukraine

Clinton sees Russian involvement in Ukraine as a clear violation of international law, and a throwback to the sort of 19th century gunboat diplomacy that has no place in the 21st century. She compared the initial invasion of Crimea and the giving of Russian passports to Crimean residents as reminiscent of German moves before World War II Hillary Clinton Compares Russia Moves To Nazi Aggression.

Vladimir Putin

Clinton famously said during the 2008 election that Vladimir Putin 'doesn't have a soul'. She has also called him "thin skinned and autocratic" in her book Hard Choices. She believes that Putin sees politics as a zero-sum game, and that his second go at President has only made him even more dangerous to the international order that Clinton wants to maintain.

Putin, of course, has not been too complementary about Clinton either, saying in response to some of the comments she made regarding Crimea:

QUESTION (via interpreter): Mr President, it is very convenient that you are meeting with Mr Obama on June 6. Perhaps, it would be worse if you were meeting with Hillary Clinton. Only a few days ago, she said that what Russia is doing in Eastern Europe resembles what Hitler was doing in the 1930s.

VLADIMIR PUTIN: It's better not to argue with women. But Ms Clinton has never been too graceful in her statements. Still, we always met afterwards and had cordial conversations at various international events. I think even in this case we could reach an agreement. When people push boundaries too far, it's not because they are strong but because they are weak. But maybe weakness is not the worst quality for a woman.

It is fair to say that there is no love lost between the two. She clearly sees Putin as the main reason why the U.S.-Russian relationship is so bad, and that he needs to be 'stood up to' rather than acquiesced.

Russia and human rights and democracy

Clinton was criticised by the Russians for some of her comments after the 2011 Russian parliamentary elections, and was accused of setting the tone of the protests and basically being the power behind them. Her comments were fairly standard that she believes that the Russian people, like all people, deserve to have their voices heard. Clinton did make human rights a central issue during her time as Secretary of State, but her rhetoric sometimes does not match up with her record, and I believe that while she fully supports human rights and will lead on that much more strongly than other candidates, she is probably also willing to be more pragmatic about some situations. In regards to Russia, there really is little downside to criticising the rigged elections and the lack of independent media in the country.

Russian cooperation on nuclear weapons and proliferation

As she said in both her interview with Judy Woodruff and the debate, she sees the new START treaty that was agreed to between the U.S. and Russia as one of the key accomplishments on the 'reset'. She also sees the work Russia did in curbing the Iranian nuclear program, and helping to finalise what has the potential to be a game-changing deal, as another positive development and one that the U.S. should build on. In fact, I would say that nuclear non-proliferation is one of the few issues that she would be willing to work with Russia on from day one.

It would be simplistic and inaccurate to say that Clinton is anti-Russian. As long as Putin is in charge though, which could be the entirety of a Clinton Presidency, Clinton will never fully embrace Russia as an equal power and will seek to keep his ambitions in check during her time in the Oval Office. She will want to keep him, and by extension Russia, at arm's length, unwilling to trust them to do anything but whatever helps Putin re-establish Russia as a great power again.

Carlos Felipe Blanco

Carlos Felipe Blanco

116 Views

Robert Kagan and Other Neocons Are Backing Hillary Clinton

"Two rising stars in the Democratic foreign policy establishment, Amanda Sloat and Julianne Smith, also spoke. The way they described Clinton's foreign policy vision suggested that if elected president in November, she will escalate tensions with Russia, double down on military belligerence in the Middle East, and generally ignore the American public's growing hostility to intervention."

Hillary has also stated publicly that "Putin has no soul" (to which Putin replied "at least I have a brain): Hilarious! Hillary Clinton says that Putin has no soul. Listen to his reply!

and recently referred to Russia as an "adversary":

Clinton says Russia behind DNC hacking, draws line to Trump

So I think we all have to cross our fingers that Putin will continue to be more diplomatic and mature than the US politicians for at least 4 more years..

Written Aug 1 · View Upvotes

Nelson King, Been observing and analyzing since the Soviet era

182 Views

She would further strain the relationship with Russia. Her work as secretary of state is what put us in this mess in the first place. Her state department provided the foundation for the crisis in Ukraine. She would try as much as possible to continue with the Obama sanction regime, starving Russia's economy of cash. Even though these sanctions are receiving a lot of backlash from other members of the EU like Italy.

Hillary Clinton would try to make Russia 'toe the line'. She wants Russia to fall in line and recognize that the USA is boss but that will never happen. Russia is too strong for that. She does not want to partner with Russia, she wants to essentially 'control' Russia but this is fantasy. Germany, Poland and other EU member states, most countries actually, bend to the will of the USA and she would love for Russia to do the same but that plan will fail. Just ask Obama. So then she will have to continue with the 'Resurgent Russia' rhetoric to justify NATO's eastward expansion and more spending. This woman could potentially start world war three because no one has warned her so far, not to poke the bear.

It is a good thing though, that she is less likely to win the elections on November 8th. Trump is the more sane candidate. Hillary is a warmonger and all you need to do is look at her record from Iraq to Libya to Syria. My worry is that if she were to become president she would pick a fight with Russia. And that is not a fight she can win. Only Russia can beat Russia.

Written Aug 2 · View Upvotes

Abbey Laurel-Smith, 2016 Presidential Candidate "SmithieForPresident"

145 Views ·

Abbey has 150+ answers in

Politics of the United States of America

Her stance on Russia is in line with the views of some highly unpopular State department neocons. But the CIA and the DOD see things differently. And like it or not, she might be forced by the Congress to break up the State department.

There is a rebelious cloud brewing, and her State department (neocons) might not survive whatever push comes next. The world has changed a lot since she resigned and will even be a lot different by the time she get sworn into office.

Too many complaints.

• Downgrading on terrorism and focusing on Russia was her biggest mistake. It is a treasonous offense, Bill's wife or not, she didn't play fair with Chuck Hagel.
• Her democratic ally and pet, Saudi Arabia, was on the verge of firing off mid-range missiles into Damascus - over Israeli territory. The coup in Turkey (CIA pushed or not) saved Netanyahu from the mother of all wake-up call.
• Spain, Portugal, Italy, Malta and Greece trusted her less. Reset button with Russia is hurting their economy more than anything else. They have all been negotiating submarine and Naval supply bases with Russia.
• Hungary, Bulgaria, some Slovak states and maybe Austria are no longer willing to go along with policies that are not beneficial to their sovereign interest.
• If Merkel is still in the office by the time Hillary get sworn in, She (Angela Merkel and France) will be too busy uprooting certain caliphates that are about to pop up in Germany, France, Belgium and Switzerland.

In short, her advisers are not retail minded enough to be considered "Euro thrifty"

Red light and a risky tendency to be more reckless than any of Dubya's adventure. Bill started fifteen wars as President. His wife might even do more. Said enough.

Written Aug 3 · View Upvotes

Andries Wulff

109 Views

It'll probably be a charade like with the Cuban Missile Crisis, in which Khrushchev and JFK got to demonize each other, while playing hero in front of their own crowds. In the end, an entirely self-inflicted "crisis" was resolved, but not before the risk of some idiot falling asleep over a giant red "launch" button.

"Oh, so you don't have soul either?!"

Written Aug 2 · View Upvotes

Mark Allan, Hillary was the original cyber bully.

535 Views

The best way to find what Hillary's stance is on anything, is not to ask her, but ask her pollsters. Hillary also gauges her contributors to see who will give money or stop giving money if she takes a stance on anything.

Written Sep 28, 2015 · View Upvotes

Drac Smith

49 Views

She'll take Russian money as quickly as Chinese money. Depends on who pays her the most and what the highest bidder wants for those bribes.

Written Aug 2 · View Upvotes

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