October 7,
2019
Democratic
activist Jason Kander has added his support to impeaching President Donald
Trump, arguing that the commander in chief has been compromised by Russian backing
and is now actively advancing Moscow's foreign policy goals.
Kander — who
served as the Secretary of State for Missouri, a member of the Missouri House
of Representatives and founded the anti-voter suppression Let America Vote
organization — said Sunday that Trump's alignment with Russian policy is
"reason enough to impeach."
The former Army
intelligence officer said on Twitter that Trump "has
no strong convictions on foreign policy other than when he's advancing Russia's
agenda or defending [Russian President Vladimir] Putin."
Kander claimed
that in both Syria and in Ukraine, "Trump basically switched which side we
were on in a war. He switched us to the Russian side. Counter to America's
interest, over and over, he does what's best for Russia."
The U.S. has
pursued a relatively complex and fluid strategy in Syria since the civil war
there broke out in 2011. Washington initially supported and armed opponents of
President Bashar al-Assad, later pivoting to focus on fighting ISIS.
Russia has
supported Assad's forces throughout the conflict and the Kremlin has been
critical of U.S. involvement in the country. As the war dragged on into Trump's
tenure, the U.S. dropped its goal of unseating Assad though continued taking
action against government forces.
Trump wants U.S.
forces to withdraw from the country entirely, despite warnings this would leave
American allies there near-defenseless against possible Syrian, Russian and
Turkish attacks.
In Ukraine,
meanwhile, the U.S. is still supporting Kiev against the Russian-backed
separatist forces occupying the country's eastern Donbas region. Washington has
sent military aid and training missions to the country to help bolster Ukrainian
forces against the Russian threat.
Though Trump's
most pressing current scandal centers around his delay of aid to Ukraine, the
U.S. is still supporting Kiev in its fight against Russia. However, the current
furore could well damage ties
between Ukraine and the U.S., particularly if
support for the country is politicized.
Kander argued
that the president "is obviously compromised." He added: "Why
are we acting as though there's any chance in the world he's not?
"It doesn't
even matter if there's Russian money in his businesses or whether there's a pee
tape," Kander said, referring to unproven salacious reports about the president's
visit to Moscow in 2013.
