TRUMP AND RUSSIA – AT 12:31 P.M. ET:   It is time for the administration to clarify its views on Russia.  The president has been far rougher on Moscow than his predecessor, who never met a dictator he didn't like. 

At the same time, Mr. Trump has issued a statement saying we need Russian assistance to get things done in Korea and elsewhere.  Problem is, where is that assistance?

The more thoughtful Europeans, all three of them, are sounding the alarm about Moscow's intentions, and we should listen closely.  From the New York Post: 

British Prime Minister Theresa May will call for European allies to “stand shoulder to shoulder” against the Russian threat that will continue for “years to come.”

“As a European democracy the United Kingdom will stand shoulder to shoulder with the EU and with NATO to face these shared threats together,” May will tell European Union members in an address later Thursday in Brussels, adding that “united we will succeed.”

Moscow’s military-grade nerve gas attack on former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia earlier this month in Salisbury was “an indiscriminate and reckless act against the United Kingdom” amounting to “attempted murder using an illegal chemical weapon that we know Russia possesses , ” she will say, according to released portions of her prepared speech.

Russia’s use of the Soviet-era Novichok nerve agent was a “clear violation” of international law and constitutes a threat against all European nations that requires a unified response , she will say .

“The Russian threat does not respect borders, and as such we are all at risk,” May will say.

COMMENT:  Trump is pursuing a tough, but cautious policy toward Moscow.  It may succeed, but, if it doesn't, the president must reverse course or suffer the same humiliation as his predecessor. 

Russia is not our friend.  Prime Minister May understands that. 

March 22, 2018