How can a country both be for and be against a country?

You can love your spouse and be pissed off at them at the same time.

Neither the US or Russia are monolithic governments. We have our hands in lots of different pies at lots of different times. There are some things we agree on, and some things we don’t.

Plus Trump and Putin are buddies right, what’s a little genocide between friends.

I wouldn’t be all that surprised if all this turned out to be something they schemed up to try and deflect from the investigations. Putin would cry himself to sleep if Trump got fired.

Trump is trying to show he isn’t Putin’s puppy, after he called to congratulate Vlad on winning a fixed election and inviting him for a summer weekend at Mar-A-Lago.

They probably agreed to blow some bombs up over Syria, since it will just make the rubble bounce. That way they both look tough.

Maybe you should start by figuring out why you think a country would be required to have a simple “for” or an “against” policy towards another country?

There are so many levels of “it’s not that simple” in the situation that I have no idea where to begin, except with your strange premise that has you wording a question in that way.

@Zaku from news stories. Exiling ambassadors and then doing space missions.

There’s no question relations with Russia are complex and positive in some ways and negative in others, and even calling any one aspect of relations “postive” or “negative” is a reduction of the actual situation with each issue to one vague characterization.

It’s normal and almost always the case that relation between all pairs of countries are a mix of complex things, some of which can be seen as positive, some as negative, and some both in different ways.

What’s weird is feeling a need to reduce the concept to the point where there would be just one “for” or “against” value, and to then wonder “how can” it be otherwise.

Sure it’s ironic or maybe odd to be cooperating yet have military forces possibly clashing in the Middle East, but there is a lot of weirdness in the Middle East, in Putin and the Kremlin, in Trump and Washington D.C., the suggestion of weird deals between Putin, Trump, and/or organized criminals, etc., and space agencies are much more civilized than all of that, so _why is it so surprising to you that you would phrase a question like this starting with “How can…”?

Imagine two business associates who have a personal dislike for each other. They cooperate at work because it is in their mutual best interest, but don’t get along outside of work. The U.S. and Russia cooperate when it is mutually beneficial and fight against each other when their goals conflict.

The US and the UK have a long history of being both allies and enemies. For the last couple of hundred years we have been more on the friends side of the equation and staunch supporters of each others causes but even saying that they are not of the “America, love it or leave it” mindset otherwise Trumps actions would have sent the UK into hiding and refusing to accept any calls or texts.

My Mom always used to tell me I don’t have to like you to love you.
She always said that after I did something that really upset her. Then she grew quiet until she could find a way to forgive me!!!
The US & Russia used to compete for their spot in outer space. Then both realized how expensive it was to go it individually. So, out of financial necessity, they became partners in exploring the next frontier & both are saving some money…Still, that does NOT mean that we automatically approve of every action the other takes & life goes on!!!

@LadyMarissa My mom said I love you and always will, but I do NOT like you right now. Always hurt my feelings so much.

^^^^ That would hurt…I don’t remember my Mom saying anything like that but then again, she hardly ever used the word “love.” But she did do and say some pretty hateful things.

When I was a kid and she’d tuck me in, she’d leave the room and I’d say, “I love you.”
Her response was always, “Me too.” I knew what it was supposed to mean, but that isn’t what it sounded like. Now, as an adult, I think it was a Freudian slip kind of thing. I can see now that she was very self centered. She was all about her.

@KNOWITALL Ever wonder how much of what you had done had hurt her feelings??? I know that when my Mom said it, it was right after I had done something so freaking stupid that I didn’t like myself very much at the time!!! Those times turned into my “learning” experiences where I learned what to NOT do again!!!