The Perennial 'Bad Guy' Posture
CASE A: The current framing of the US-Russia 'missing deal' (Newsweek, 2018) Newsweek's article, citing Russian Ambassador Anatoly Antonov, states, "The U.S. is the bad guy in the missing deal with Russia on a nuclear treaty." The central theme is that US actions, specifically its perceived non-compliance with the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, are responsible for the breakdown in
arms control. The U.S. is depicted as refusing to 'disarm the same missile system it accused Russia of violating,' an accusation of hypocrisy. The narrative suggests that Russian withdrawal or non-compliance is largely a reaction to perceived US provocations, such as the deployment of missile defense systems in Europe. CASE B: Historical parallels in US withdrawal from arms control and
international agreements Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty (2002): The George W. Bush administration withdrew from the 1972 ABM Treaty, which prohibited nationally deployed missile defense systems. The stated rationale was the need to protect the US from 'rogue states' like North Korea and Iran, framing these nations as the looming 'bad guys' (White House, 2002). This move was heavily criticized
by Russia and other European allies, who viewed it as destabilizing. The withdrawal cleared the path for the development and deployment of the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system. Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) (2018): The Trump administration unilaterally withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal, portraying Iran as the inherently untrustworthy 'bad guy' and the deal as 'the worst