With an eye on the election: why the Democrats condemned Trump's plans to cut back on containment of Russia

Democratic congressmen condemned the White House’s administration’s plans to cut spending on the so-called European containment initiative aimed at countering Russia and redirect some of the funds to build a wall on the border with Mexico. The text of the corresponding letter addressed to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Defense Mark Esper was published on the website of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives of the United States Congress.

“In this letter, we express our deep concern over the decision to redirect $ 1 million from the funds allocated for the European Containment Initiative (EIS) to President Trump’s border wall project. This is a blatant case of misappropriation of appropriations intended to strengthen the security of our European allies and to strengthen their support, ”the letter says, signed by 19 Democratic congresses.

Representatives of the Democratic Party also urge respect for the powers of Congress and immediately stop spending “critical funds to fuel President Trump’s failed initiative to build the border wall.”

“Reorientation of funds allocated to the European containment initiative is fraught with undermining US security, as it will entail a reduction in the combat readiness of American forces in Europe, failure to fulfill obligations to allies and partners, and will also make it clear to Russia that funds intended for Europe can be directed for other purposes, ”the message says.

It is noted that the corresponding decision of the White House administration makes an “undesirable impression” on the US allies and partners. The letter also indicates that now US-Russian relations are “in an unprecedented deplorable state” and Russia “continues to pose a threat to the United States” and its allies.

“In addition, this reckless reduction in funding for our containment efforts in Europe directly contradicts the administration’s adopted national security and defense strategies, which call for the strengthening of our NATO allies and our own deterrence potential,” the Democrats say.

• Capitol
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• © Sarah Silbiger

In their letter, they also called on the White House administration to “clearly show” that the United States “remains firmly committed to containing Russian aggression against the United States”, its allies and partners, and “returning to the spending of the UIS funds for their intended purpose” .

“As long as the president invents misleading stories about a national emergency, allegedly caused by the situation on the southern border, in order to redirect funds to build the wall, the United States and our allies are facing a tangible threat of Russian aggression,” the letter said.

Representatives of the Democratic Party in Congress again recalled Russia's "interference" in the 2016 presidential election. Once again, they accused Moscow of conducting a "misinformation war" against the United States and its allies, and also called the "aggressive" military activity of the Russian Federation in the Middle East.

As a leading researcher at the Center for Security Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences Konstantin Blokhin noted in an interview with RT, with their letter the Democrats are simultaneously trying to “kill several birds with one stone”, in particular, “support the image of Russia as an enemy” and also try to prevent the head of the White House from building a wall on the border with mexico.

“Moreover, the Democrats are thus trying to once again accuse Trump of exceeding his official powers, as well as once again recall the notorious Russian threat," the expert explained.

Focus on internal issues

Recall that at the end of April, Bloomberg reported that the US Secretary of Defense ordered that some of the funds intended to finance Russian counteraction projects in Europe be redirected to a wall project on the border of the United States with Mexico.

As the agency noted, we are talking about projects under the so-called European containment initiative, a multi-year program that is designed to counter “aggression” from Russia in the region by restoring the US military presence there and building up the military potential of partners.

In particular, Bloomberg claims that funds will be redirected from projects to form and expand military infrastructure, including in Norway, Germany and Spain, with a total value of $ 545 million. According to the agency, more than $ 200 million of this amount can be redistributed in favor of construction. walls on the mexican-american border.

Later, Adam Smith, chairman of the House’s Armed Services Committee, confirmed that the Trump administration had notified Congress of its intention to redirect some of its funds for building military facilities in Europe to erect a fence on the US border with Mexico. This is stated on the official website of Smith.

As Konstantin Blokhin noted, the current situation, when the presidential administration decides to reorient funds to build a wall on the US border with Mexico, "exposes the fundamental differences between Trump’s policies and the ideas of the Democrats."  

“Trump is in favor of solving problems within the United States, in particular for the construction of fences and the tightening of migration policy. He considers it unprofitable to invest American money in expanding the military presence in Europe. He, on the contrary, demands that Europeans themselves pay for it. Democrats see the actions of the head of the White House as a blow to Euro-Atlantic solidarity, which is considered the cornerstone of the existing world order, ”the expert said.

Moreover, Trump “does not consider Russia an existential threat,” Blokhin notes.

“For him, the main opponent of the United States is China. However, the crisis due to the pandemic and the threat of a new wave of migration are forcing the head of the White House to concentrate even more on internal problems. Not to mention the fact that rabid globalism is generally contrary to Trump’s views, ”the analyst said.

In addition, according to Blokhin, despite the statements of the Democrats that relations between Russia and the United States are supposedly at a record low level, in reality, the countries are "increasing the number of common points of contact and areas of mutually beneficial cooperation."

“Now we are seeing signs of improving and warming relations between Moscow and Washington. In particular, this is evidenced by the mutual assistance of the two countries in a pandemic, ”said the expert.

• Wall construction on US border with Mexico
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• © Jose Luis Gonzalez

"Preparation of the electorate"

It is worth noting that the Democrats regularly make accusations against Russia. The last series of such statements appeared after in February the American media began to publish new materials about the "interference" of the Russian Federation in the 2020 elections in the United States.

So, the US presidential candidate for the Democratic Party, Joe Biden, at a meeting with voters said he was not surprised by this information and “guarantees” that Russia is involved in this. Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren, in turn, said that Russia's "interference" in the US election was a threat to US national security.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump noted that US media reports about "Russian intervention" is another "disinformation campaign" launched by Democrats in Congress. He wrote about this on his page on Twitter.

• US President Donald Trump
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• © Kevin Lamarque

The Russian side has repeatedly rejected allegations of Moscow "interfering" in the election. Thus, the Russian Embassy in the United States called on American politicians to stop allegations against Russia, stressing that the Russian position on this issue is “simple and understandable”: “The Russian Federation does not“ intervene ”in the internal processes of other countries.”

As for the “threat” from Russia, which is also often referred to by representatives of the Democratic Party, in particular in a new letter, the Russian side has repeatedly denied this thesis.

In March, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova noted that Russia "is not threatening anyone, and it’s NATO that collects the shock fist at the Russian border."

“Under the pretext of commitments under the North Atlantic bloc, the United States is systematically increasing the grouping of its forces in Eastern Europe in the immediate vicinity of our country and regularly increasing funding for relevant military programs,” the representative of the foreign ministry said.

An expert at the International Institute for Humanitarian and Political Studies, Vladimir Bruter, said in a conversation with RT that the democrats were not going to leave the topic of the “Russian threat”.

“She is systematically fueled by representatives of the Democratic Party. However, in reality no military threats emanate from Russia. It is simply convenient for US political elites to declare the danger of Russia, this can explain anything, ”the analyst noted.

As Konstantin Blokhin predicts, reactions from the State Department and the Pentagon to the Democrats letter will either not follow at all - “they’re already used to it,” or the departments will limit themselves to short explanatory comments.

“Nothing extraordinary will happen. Democrats in the presidential administration are condescending, realizing that their new statements to the US Congress are just an instrument of political struggle, ”the analyst said.

As Vladimir Bruter explained, the vast majority of Hispanics who live in the United States, especially Mexicans, traditionally vote for Democrats.

“And on the eve of the presidential election, which will be held this fall, it is beneficial for the representatives of the Democratic Party to emphasize again that they are categorically against building a wall on the US-Mexican border. This is a kind of preparation for their electorate so that it is sufficiently charged for active participation in the elections in favor of the Democrats, ”the expert concluded.