Russia poisons relations with the West
Alexei Navalny, Russia's top opposition politician who was poisoned on Aug. 20, is out of a coma.Navalny's case should prompt the U.S. and NATO nations to emerge from their own stupor regarding Russia, which is increasingly testing the West with its poisonous behavior.In the U.S., an intelligence consensus suggests that just as Russia targeted the 2016 election, it's doing the same in 2020 _ once again on behalf of President Donald Trump, who has refused to respond to the latest intelligence reports with any alacrity.He's also failed to confront Russian President Vladimir Putin over any number of provocations, including reports that Russia has placed bounties on U.S. troops serving in Afghanistan.In the Navalny case, the G-7 issued a statement on Tuesday that confirmed that he was poisoned with the Soviet-era chemical agent Novichok, which has been used on other Russian targets. While the G-7's call for a transparent investigation are appropriate, they're impossible in Putin's Russia. "This attack against opposition leader Navalny is another grave blow against democracy and political
