Hawks say Sanders will be weak on Russia. But Putin should fear a President Bernie | Ben Judah and David Adler
(The Guardian Russia)

Whereas recent US foreign policy has emboldened the Kremlin, Sanders actually understands how to undermine itHe may not be running, but Vladimir Putin is already a formidable presence in the 2020 US presidential campaign. From concerns about Russian aggression abroad to anxieties about electoral interference at home, Putin has become a question to which all presidential candidates are expected to have a strongly worded answer - particularly in the wake of Donald Trump´s failed impeachment, in which the Democratic party sought to make the case that `all roads lead to Putin`.The conventional wisdom in US foreign policy is that military competition is necessary to contain Putin and circumscribe the Russian sphere of influence. `The United States aids Ukraine and her people so that they can fight Russia over there, and we don´t have to fight Russia over here,` said the Republican adviser Tim Morrison during the impeachment hearings - a quote then repeated by Adam Schiff, chairman of the House intelligence committee, in his opening argument.Sanders has long been a leading advocate of military restraint, and he is campaigning on a platform of `responsible foreign policy` that promises to end America´s `endless war` Related: Mike Bloomberg has a terrible past. Will his money stop scrutiny of it? | Zaid Jilani Continue reading...