Nobody ever comes right out and says what exactly would go wrong if the US and Russia established better relations, but there are many people in the US Senate who just know that no good could come of it. From David Kowalski at antiwar.com:
When Rex Wayne Tillerson presented himself before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, one thing became perfectly clear: when it comes to America’s dealings with Russia, the Republican establishment is gearing up to fight Trump’s Russia “reset redux” tooth and nail.
At his hearing, Tillerson met a fiery response from senators who expressed disgust over his ties to Russia’s Vladimir Putin. Tillerson came under particularly harsh scrutiny from Marco Rubio, who grilled the Secretary of State nominee over Russian involvement in the Democratic Party hacks and was “troubled” by Tillerson’s reluctance to support automatic sanctions against nations accused of launching cyberattacks against the U.S. Rubio also condemned Tillerson’s uncertainty over keeping the sanctions leveled against Russia in response to the hacks and refusal to call Putin a “war criminal.” Sadly, for all his bluster and bravado, Rubio went ahead and endorsed the Committee’s nomination of Tillerson on January 23rd.
The irony of Rubio (and several of his colleagues) taking Tillerson through the ringer is that the former Exxon chief actually broke with Trump on Russia, calling the invasion of Crimea illegal and asserting that he would have armed Ukraine with defensive weapons. Tillerson expressed support for defending European allies in the face of Russian aggression and insisted that Moscow be held accountable for its actions. His tough stance on Russia was later echoed by Defense Secretary nominee General James Mattis and CIA pick Mike Pompeo.
To continue reading: Trump and the Senate Are Headed for War
