In a relatively weak initial statement, president-elect Trump has rather diplomatically commented that:
"It’s time for our country to move on to bigger and better things.
Nevertheless, in the interest of our country and its great people, I will meet with leaders of the intelligence community next week in order to be updated on the facts of this situation."
This response follows House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell comments on the sanctions against Russia as being overdue.
As we noted earlier, Trump is relatively boxed in for now, so this initial statement is unsurprising…As Duran.com's Alexander Mercouris noted, like many of Obama’s other recent moves, this one is not really targeted at Russia. The additional sanctions will hardly affect Russia, though the wholesale expulsion of Russian diplomats will undoubtedly complicate the work of Russian diplomatic missions in the US.
The true target of these sanctions is Donald Trump.
By imposing sanctions on Russia, Obama is lending the authority of the Presidency to the CIA’s claims of Russian hacking, daring Trump to deny their truth.
If Trump as President allows the sanctions to continue, he will be deemed to have accepted the CIA’s claims of Russian hacking as true.
If Trump cancels the sanctions when he becomes President, he will be accused of being Russia’s stooge.
It is a well known lawyer’s trick, and Obama the former lawyer doubtless calculates that either way Trump’s legitimacy and authority as President will be damaged, with the insinuation that he owes his Presidency to the Russians now given extra force.
Like so many of Obama’s other moves in the last weeks of his Presidency, it is an ugly and small minded act, seeking to undermine his successor as President in a way that is completely contrary to US tradition.
via http://ift.tt/2htVC9d Tyler Durden