STEPHANIE MACLAUGHLIN – The 2016 Presidential election has been riddled with controversy and deception, leaving many Americans at odds with who to vote for. The newly elected president will serve a pivotal role in combating the major issues affecting the United States such as the economy, terrorism, health care, and foreign policy.
One of the major foreign policy issues the next President of the United States will face is the relation between the United States and Russia. Under President Vladimir Putin, Russia has taken many steps to expand its international power, in many cases to the detriment of the United States.[1] During the recent Presidential election Russian hackers, “Cozy Bear” and “Fancy Bear,” conducted a cyber espionage that penetrated the Democratic National Committee and Hilary Clinton’s presidential campaign.[2] The hackers released a number of emails to Wikileaks, DCLeaks.com, and Guccifer 2.0.[3]
The Obama administration has publicly alleged that the Russian government was responsible for leaking emails from the Democratic National Committee.[4] The director of national intelligence and the Department of Homeland Security, James R. Clapper Jr., stated: “Only Russia’s senior-most officials could have authorized these activities.”[5]
Donald Trump and Hilary Clinton have competing views on the relationship between the United States and Russia. Donald Trump has alluded to the idea of creating a new alliance with Russia stating: “I believe an easing of tensions, and improved relations with Russia—from a position of strength only—is possible, absolutely possible. Some say the Russians won’t be reasonable. I intend to find out.”[6]
Hilary Clinton on the other hand, views Russia as a bully and has stated in the past that she believes Putin doesn’t have a soul.[7] Clinton has received throngs of negative feedback for how the Obama administration handled Russian relations during her term as Secretary of State.[8] In 2009 Clinton presented Putin with a red reset button that had the word “reset,” inscribed in both English and Russian.[9] The reset button served as a symbol of mending the relationship between the United States and Russia.[10] However, at the end of her tenure as Secretary of State, Clinton sent Putin a private memo revoking the “reset”.[11]
The new President will determine how the United States will proceed with Russian relations and hopefully they will mend this relationship and the problems associated with it.
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[1] Paletta Damian, Clinton v. Trump, Where They Stand on Foreign Policy Issues, The Wall Street Journal (2016), http://graphics.wsj.com/elections/2016/donald-trump-hillary-clinton-on-foreign-policy/.
[2] Gregg Michael, The Simmering U.S./Russian Cyber War, The Huffington Post, (August 14, 2016), http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/the-simmering-usrussian-cyber-war_us_57ac896fe4b08c46f0e4c9fb.
[3] Hirschfeld Julie and Harris Gardiner, Obama Considers ‘Proprtional’ Response to Russian Hacking in U.S. Election, The New York Times, (October 11, 2016), http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/12/us/politics/obama-russia-hack-election.html?_r=0.
[4] Id.
[5] Id.
[6] Paletta Damian, Clinton v. Trump, Where They Stand on Foreign Policy Issues, The Wall Street Journal (2016), http://graphics.wsj.com/elections/2016/donald-trump-hillary-clinton-on-foreign-policy/.
[7] Id.
[8] Wolking Matt, Six Years Ago Today: President Obama’s Failed Reset with Russia, (March 6, 2015), http://www.speaker.gov/general/six-years-ago-today-president-obama-s-failed-reset-russia.
[9] Id.
[10] Landler Mark, Lost in Translation: A U.S. Gift to Russia, The New York Times, (March 6, 2009), http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/07/world/europe/07diplo.html.
[11] Paletta Damian, Clinton v. Trump, Where They Stand on Foreign Policy Issues, The Wall Street Journal (2016), http://graphics.wsj.com/elections/2016/donald-trump-hillary-clinton-on-foreign-policy/.
