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It has been said that Russia is an enigma wrapped in a puzzle. President Donald Trump does not have the faintest idea of how to deal with Vladimir Putin or the ruthlessness of Russia. Trump does not understand what previous American presidents recognized that diplomacy must be based on strategic interest, not rapport.

Trump is vastly unprepared to negotiate with a character like Putin, who possesses the same brutality and makeup as Joseph Stalin. Like Stalin, he wants to re-establish the USSR.

Trump must learn that he is not dealing with a CEO of a corporation but with a tyrant. Putin only understands one thing, power, thus in dealing with him Trump should demonstrate force, mighty capabilities.

Rather than showing steel, Trump has been placating Putin. He praised him in December for not retaliating after President Obama sanctioned Russia over election meddling. Trump might know business, but when it comes to understanding the history of the U.S and the world, he is lost.

Trump is wasting his time in showering praise on Vladimir Putin. He will soon discover that Putin doesn’t view the world in the same transactional, let’s-get-this-done way.

America’s feelings toward Russia are the coldest in 30 years, and I believe that Trump does not know how to achieve a détente with Russia. He will learn in the Oval Office that conducting diplomacy is very different from doing business.

Having a new Cold War will not benefit the U.S or Russia. It could bankrupt both nations and lead to a hot war. With both sides having thousands of strategic nuclear warheads a confrontation could be game over.

Trump should forget about making friends with Vladimir Putin and concentrate on the foreign policy that contained Russia in the past by protecting our strategic interests. How will Trump react when he realizes that Putin has deceived him? Trump is a prideful vindictive man who does not control his emotions which will get him and possibly the world in trouble.

To go head to head with Putin, Trump needs to set aside his habits and intuitions about deal making. They are irrelevant to superpower diplomacy, where most deals and agreements are never really final. Under no circumstances should Trump attempt to cozy up to Russia. In studying Russian history, I’ve come to realize that Russian leaders will only respect a country that stays true to its principles, knows its strategic interests and understands power. Donald Trump is a dangerous man with power, and his narcissistic personality and pattern of behavior toward those who cross him suggest that things will not end well.

Bill Sarnak

Harding

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