I don't believe that the "Clintonistas" are quite as reality blind/short sighted as the incumbant administration, but the point is taken. However, the foreign policy direction of the United States is largely directed by the POTUS, and his instructions are (supposed to be) carried out by the State Department.
We'll have to see how Mr. Obama does in this area.
It was absolutely lousy policy for anyone to assume (especially considering Russia's energy reserves that had yet to be developed) that they would forget how they were treated by the US w/r/t post cold war policies once they started to get their act together financially. The Russians have very long memories, where the current US administration likes to pretend that no one remembers that they say or do (despite most of it being on film), and their few remaining supporters seem to enjoy going along with it for reasons I don't personally understand.
The rest of the world does not operate in "short attention span" mode, where US policy typically does. Since the republicans started claiming that anyone that points out errors of the past puts whoever says so into the "blame america first" bucket, and therefore their patriotism is questionable is to provide a serious disservice to the country. The resulting ignoring the facts has put the US into a severely weakened position globally and only seeks to make our policy makers look dishonest.
The time is long overdue to the US to take a calculated, long term view of both domestic and foreign policy, and devise strategies that will advance our position, values, and friends accordingly.
Cancel completely the missile defense project being developed in Poland and the Czech Republic, and turn over to Russia responsibility for defense of Europe from any/all missile attacks coming from Asia.
Recognizing that Russia is closely connected to the Stae of israel, because Russian-Jewish emigres have been an important part of the Israeli colonization since the earliest days of the Zionist movement. The U.S. should welcome Russian participation in the quest for an equitable and peaceful resolution of the Palestinian situation.
Let Russia be the stabilizing force for the northern half of the Asian continent, from the Caucasus to Outer Mongolia.
Basically, let Russia take care of about a third of the world. I think that they can handle that and I think that they want to.
