Summary
Last week's news that President Donald Trump is considering abandoning the Open Skies Treaty probably brought a yawn from most observers.
We're in a moment of strategic instability between the United States and Russia, when the two nations barely talk. At the same time, we have an erratic president who's heading toward possible impeachment.
Rather than scrapping the agreement, the U.S. should be talking with Russia about how to modernize it.
Just because Trump favors more dialogue with Russia is not a reason for Democrats to oppose it.
Consider how the arms-control structure has gradually crumbled: The U.S. withdrew from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty in 2002; last year, Trump announced that he would quit the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty; GOP senators have also urged Trump to leave the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.
President Vladimir Putin's revenge play for the loss of the Soviet Union has meant pushing back on every front, including Open Skies and other arms-control pacts. America shouldn't reward his belligerence, but it shouldn't ignore major strategic issues with Russia, either.
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