There’s a new think piece in the National Interest by former Senator Gary Hart and Dmitri K. Simes of Nixon Center about the new efforts to improve the U.S.-Russia relationship.  As may be expected, Hart and Simes put forward a realist argument, landing squarely in that old school of thought that is currently ascending in Washington (Obama even has Kissinger lurking in the shadows to advise on Russia).  When reading Simes, I usually find some compelling and clear arguments as well as numerous points of dispute.  For example, I found the discussion of defining Russia’s interests very interesting in this article, culminating with the following observation:  “U.S. policy makers need to accept that when we ask Russia for help in dealing with Iran, or on other tough issues, we are in fact asking Moscow to adjust its own natural foreign-policy inclinations and to accommodate U.S. priorities.“

Really?