Changes

*'''21 July.''' '''Anne Applebaum'' of the ''Washington Post'' writes a “Trump presidency could destabilize Europe.” The issue, she explained, was Trump’s positive attitude toward Putin. “The extent of the Trump-Russia business connection has already been laid out, by Franklin Foer at ''Slate'',” wrote Applebaum. She named Carter Page and his “long-standing connections to Russian companies.” Applebaum repeats the kenard that the “Trump’s campaign team helped alter the Republican party platform to remove support for Ukraine” from the Republican National Committee’s platform. Maybe, she hints, that was because of Trump aide Manafort’s ties to Ukrainian President [[Viktor Yanukovych|Victor Yanukovich]]. The Manafort-Yanukovich relationship is an important part of the ''Steele dossier''. So is the claim that in exchange for Russia releasing the DNC emails, “the TRUMP team had agreed to sideline Russian intervention in Ukraine as a campaign issue.” For Applebaum, it was hard to understand why Trump would express skepticism about the [[North Atlantic Treaty Organization]], except to appease Putin. She referred to a recent interview in which Trump “cast doubt on the fundamental basis of transatlantic stability, NATO’s Article 5 guarantee: If Russia invades, he said, he’d have to think first before defending U.S. allies.”<ref>https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/global-opinions/how-a-trump-presidency-could-destabilize-europe/2016/07/21/9ec38a20-4f75-11e6-a422-83ab49ed5e6a_story.html?sw_bypass=true</ref> The talking points come directly from Hillary Clinton opposition research, FusionGPS and the ''Steele dossier''.

*'''21 July.''' '''Anne Applebaum'' of the ''Washington Post'' writes a “Trump presidency could destabilize Europe.” The issue, she explained, was Trump’s positive attitude toward Putin. “The extent of the Trump-Russia business connection has already been laid out, by Franklin Foer at ''Slate'',” wrote Applebaum. She named Carter Page and his “long-standing connections to Russian companies.” Applebaum repeats the kenard that the “Trump’s campaign team helped alter the Republican party platform to remove support for Ukraine” from the Republican National Committee’s platform. Maybe, she hints, that was because of Trump aide Manafort’s ties to Ukrainian President [[Viktor Yanukovych|Victor Yanukovich]]. The Manafort-Yanukovich relationship is an important part of the ''Steele dossier''. So is the claim that in exchange for Russia releasing the DNC emails, “the TRUMP team had agreed to sideline Russian intervention in Ukraine as a campaign issue.” For Applebaum, it was hard to understand why Trump would express skepticism about the [[North Atlantic Treaty Organization]], except to appease Putin. She referred to a recent interview in which Trump “cast doubt on the fundamental basis of transatlantic stability, NATO’s Article 5 guarantee: If Russia invades, he said, he’d have to think first before defending U.S. allies.”<ref>https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/global-opinions/how-a-trump-presidency-could-destabilize-europe/2016/07/21/9ec38a20-4f75-11e6-a422-83ab49ed5e6a_story.html?sw_bypass=true</ref> The talking points come directly from Hillary Clinton opposition research, FusionGPS and the ''Steele dossier''.

:*Jeffrey Goldberg of the ''Atlantic'' publishes an article entitled, ''It’s Official: Hillary Clinton is Running Against Vladimir Putin'' using the same opposition research material from the ''Steele dossier'' paid for by Hillary Clinton: “The Republican nominee for president, Donald J. Trump, has chosen this week to unmask himself as a ''de facto'' agent of Russian President Vladimir Putin.” Trump’s admiration for Putin and other “equivocating, mercenary statements are unprecedented in the history of Republican foreign policymaking.” However, insofar as Trump’s fundamental aim was to find some common ground with Putin, it’s a goal that has been a 25-year U.S. policy constant across party lines. Starting with George W.H. Bush, every American commander-in-chief since the end of the Cold War sought to “reset” relations with Russia. But Trump, according to Goldberg, was different. “Trump’s understanding of America’s role in the world aligns with Russia’s geostrategic interests.” Goldberg alleged “watered down” the RNC’s platform on Ukraine and “questioned whether the U.S., under his leadership, would keep its [NATO] commitments,” including Article 5. Thus, Goldberg concluded: “Donald Trump, should he be elected president, would bring an end to the postwar international order.”<ref>https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2016/07/clinton-trump-putin-nato/492332/</ref>

:*[[Jeffrey Goldberg]] of ''[[The Atlantic]]'' publishes an article entitled, ''It’s Official: Hillary Clinton is Running Against Vladimir Putin'' using the same opposition research material from the ''[[Steele dossier]]'' paid for by [[Hillary Clinton]]: “The [[Republican]] nominee for president, [[Donald J. Trump]], has chosen this week to unmask himself as a ''de facto'' agent of Russian President [[Vladimir Putin]].” Trump’s admiration for Putin and other “equivocating, [[mercenary]] statements are unprecedented in the history of Republican [[foreign policy]]making.” However, insofar as Trump’s fundamental aim was to find some common ground with Putin, it’s a goal that has been a 25-year U.S. policy constant across party lines. Starting with [[George W.H. Bush]], every American [[commander-in-chief]] since the end of the [[Cold War]] sought to “reset” relations with [[Russia]]. But Trump, according to Goldberg, was different. “Trump’s understanding of America’s role in the world aligns with Russia’s geostrategic interests.” Goldberg alleged “watered down” the [[RNC]]'s platform on [[Ukraine]] and “questioned whether the U.S., under his leadership, would keep its [ [[NATO]] ] commitments,” including [[Article 5]]. Thus, Goldberg concluded: “Donald Trump, should he be elected president, would bring an end to the [[Liberal World Order|postwar international order]].”<ref>https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2016/07/clinton-trump-putin-nato/492332/</ref>

<!--*President Toomas Hendrik Ives tweeted “Estonia is 1 of 5 NATO allies in Europe to meet its 2% def expenditures commitment. Fought, with no caveats, in NATO’s sole Art 5 op. in Afg”.<ref>https://twitter.com/IlvesToomas/status/756034230749102080</ref>-->

<!--*President Toomas Hendrik Ives tweeted “Estonia is 1 of 5 NATO allies in Europe to meet its 2% def expenditures commitment. Fought, with no caveats, in NATO’s sole Art 5 op. in Afg”.<ref>https://twitter.com/IlvesToomas/status/756034230749102080</ref>-->

:*According to ''WaPo'', White House officials convened a high-level security meeting, which featured people from the [[National Security Council]], Department of Defense, FBI and Homeland Security. During the meeting, the officials discussed the reports that Russia allegedly hacked the Democratic National Committee.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20161113132652/http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/clinton-campaign--and-some-cyber-experts--say-russia-is-behind-email-release/2016/07/24/5b5428e6-51a8-11e6-bbf5-957ad17b4385_story.html</ref>

:*According to ''WaPo'', White House officials convened a high-level security meeting, which featured people from the [[National Security Council]], Department of Defense, FBI and Homeland Security. During the meeting, the officials discussed the reports that Russia allegedly hacked the Democratic National Committee.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20161113132652/http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/clinton-campaign--and-some-cyber-experts--say-russia-is-behind-email-release/2016/07/24/5b5428e6-51a8-11e6-bbf5-957ad17b4385_story.html</ref>