Those in US who call for detente with Russia are branded Putin’s puppets – The Nation’s chief-editor

Any person calling for a better relationship between the US and Russia nowadays risks being branded an agent of the Kremlin, Katrina vanden Heuvel, the editor and publisher of The Nation magazine told RT.

Many establishment people in the US, who have been traumatized by Donald Trump’s election as well as domestic political debate over the ties between the two nations, got hurt, the veteran staff member of the progressive US publication told RT’s Sophie Shevardnadze.

“Trump was a shock to the American system, and I think for many Americans, particularly Democrats, I am sad to say. Instead of looking deeply into themselves and looking at their own pathologies and problems that America has, the financial crisis, the inequality, the disinformation, the dark money, the suppression of the vote, it’s easier to blame others,” she said.

Since Russia was blamed for imposing Trump on the country, he and Russian President Vladimir Putin got intertwined in the minds of many, and opposing one means automatically opposing the other.

As a consequence, advocating a detente between the two nations is framed as almost treasonous. People, “who call for better relations with Russia are sometimes called pro-Russian or Putin’s puppets.”

Vanden Heuvel believes Trump is an accidental figure in the oval office and is apparently shielding himself from the entire “Russiagate” narrative by surrounding himself with neoconservative hawks and has already taken plenty of hostile steps towards Russia.

I am no fan of Trump, by any measure, ‘The Nation’ is one of his leading critics, but he is a hostage, in some ways, of these larger forces around him, whether it’s [Defense Secretary James] Mattis, or [State Secretary Mike] Pompeo, or [National Security Advisor John] Bolton.

Trump’s tenure in Vanden Heuvel’s opinion may have some stabilizing effect in terms of traditional supporters of US policies finding their own voice. The renewed debate in Europe on having its own EU army is one of the latest examples.

“My problem with this idea of independent European military force is that I do think that Europe should seize this opportunity of the Trump era to become more independent from America, it saddens me though that it’s in the context of militarization,” she said.

I do think that Europe should find its own way on a whole set of issues, not just military force. Maybe it can maintain relations with Iran, which it should… Or climate…

Watch the full interview with Katrina vanden Heuvel.

Think your friends would be interested? Share this story!