Concerns over Russia’s role in the US presidential election are
growing with President Barack Obama saying that Washington
would retaliate. No one knows what that retaliation
would be and everyone knows that President-elect Donald Trump
would overturn it because he is a great admirer of Russian President
Vladimir Putin. Pressure however, is growing in Congress to
force Trump to acknowledge the findings of intelligence agencies
that Russia’s hacking led to the defeat of Hillary Clinton. While
trying to deflect the blame to Russia makes good political sense,
the truth is that Clinton’s decision to use a private mail server compromised
her own position. Her close connection to the Clinton
Foundation and how it impacted on her position as Secretary of
State made her look untrustworthy in the eyes of the voters. Surely,
one cannot blame Putin for Clinton’s indiscretions. What is
clear though, is that the Democrats have already launched their
attack on Trump and the attempt here is to embarrass him by getting
Congress to vote against Rex Tillerson, Trump’s nominee for
Secretary of State or force him to take a strong stand against the
Russian president. Tillerson has close business ties with Putin,
which is worrying many in the US who see Russia as a belligerent
state asserting itself on the world stage.
