Our relationship is not at an all-time low with Russia

It’s mind boggling that President Trump and newspapers across the nation reported that America’s relationship with Russia is at an all-time low. It’s an absolutely absurd statement and while headlines like this may sell newspapers, they are more fiction than the truth. Fake news at its best. 

Who am I to judge this statement as false? I was in the United States Air Force for 20 years and our relationship is nowhere near rock bottom with Russia. Five minutes of research would have pushed the story from the front page to page 20 of any legitimate news organization. But that doesn’t sell newspapers, does it? 

Anyone who lived through the Cold War Era, or has read a few history books on the subject of America and Russia, would laugh at today’s media created crisis. Can anyone with a straight face say relations today are worse than the Cuban missile crisis – when we were the closest to nuclear war with Russia? Or worse than when the Berlin Airlift was going on at a time when the Russians tried to starve millions of Germans? Google Operation Vittles.

Are our relations worse today than when we fought a proxy war against them in Afghanistan? Worse than when Stalin basically ordered the North Koreans south to kick off the Korean War causing over 54,000 American causalities? Worse than the nuclear arms or space races? Worse than the Vietnam War?

Since the absurd headlines that America’s relationship is “at an all-time low with Russia” were printed last week, these same newspapers are now reporting every time a Russian aircraft flies into Alaskan airspace. And will the Russian hacking story ever go away? The media loves a crisis and they are attempting to scare the public into buying their fiction. I’ll also remind you this is the same media that told you that Vladimir Putin and President Donald Trump are best friends and working together. 

It’s irresponsible for President Trump to make that statement and just as irresponsible for the media to put the statement on the front page and now give the story legs. Anyone with half a brain and over 40 years old can give you a dozen examples when our relationship with Russia was far worse than today.