Business Insider: Two Winners Emerge After US Rift Over Russia

With evidence of Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election, global audiences pay attention to US policies and messages on the subject. The Trump administration had made plans for a new round of sanctions for Russia after a suspected chemical attack in Syria. US ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley announced the sanctions without knowing that Donald Trump had reversed the decision. After other aides suggested “confusion,” Haley retorted, “With all due respect, I don't get confused.” The quarrel exposed US policy divisions, eroding the US image as a reliable ally. “It is not atypical for government officials to internally disagree on substantive policy issues,” write Sonam Sheth and Eliza Relman for Business Insider. “That's doubly true in the absence of a sitting secretary of state to spearhead US foreign policy.” They suggest that Trump expresses anger when other officials release tough criticism on Russia, as Haley did about Russian aggression in Ukraine, or when the administration is perceived as taking the “toughest stance against Russia,” as when the United States expelled more spies than Europe did after a UK poisoning. Trump boasts about his toughness on Russia, but Haley has emerged as the fiercer critic. Other countries struggle to assess the US stance. Haley could be a 2020 candidate for US president. The article concludes that Haley “comes out looking principled, while the White House appears incompetent.” – YaleGlobal

Business Insider: Two Winners Emerge After US Rift Over Russia

US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley emerges as tough critic on Russia after White House reverses a sanctions decision; Putin benefits from US policy confusion
Sonam Sheth and Eliza Relman
Thursday, April 19, 2018

Read the article from Business Insider about a US reversal on new sanctions for Russia.

Sonam Sheth is a reporter who covers politics and national security, with a focus on the Russia investigations. She attended Rutgers University and majored in Economics with a minor in Political Science. Eliza Relman is a politics reporter at Business Insider. She writes about national politics with a focus on the White House. Eliza graduated from Dartmouth College with a degree in history and public policy.

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