Tag: Russia

Trump’s tragic clowning — and his global surrender to China and Russia — have exposed America as a declining empire

AlterNet logoMany Americans who were children sometime between the 1950s and the 1980s no doubt remember Game of the States. It was (and evidently still is) a simpleminded catch-and-carry board game through which multiple generations learned vague, generic facts about the 50 states. That game is probably the reason I know all 50 state capitals to this day. Massachusetts and Georgia are tough because the answers are too obvious; South Carolina and West Virginia are tough because the answers seem almost intentionally confusing.

But the most important teaching tool in Game of the States was its playing surface, which depicted the United States floating in a sea of blue, an innocent island of Idaho potatoes, Missouri hams and Pennsylvania steel. If as economic history the game was completely devoid of context or dynamics, as geography it was even worse. Canada? Mexico? What and where are they, exactly? Both our neighboring nations appear to have vaporized. If any trade exists with them or anyplace else in the outside world, it’s entirely invisible.

Far too much about America is explained by Game of the States. We have an ingrained national tendency to behave as if the rest of the world simply doesn’t exist — or, on a slightly more sophisticated level, as if it were just a colorful backdrop for our vastly more important national dramas. The only time “foreign policy” plays a significant role in American politics — for liberals or conservatives or really anyone — is when a major overseas war becomes an unavoidable and damaging issue, as with Vietnam in 1968 and 1972, and Iraq in 2008. Continue reading.

Russia Trying to Stoke U.S. Racial Tensions Before Election, Officials Say

New York Times logoRussian intelligence services are trying to incite violence by white supremacist groups to sow chaos in the United States, American intelligence officials said

WASHINGTON — The Russian government has stepped up efforts to inflame racial tensions in the United States as part of its bid to influence November’s presidential election, including trying to incite violence by white supremacist groups and to stoke anger among African-Americans, according to seven American officials briefed on recent intelligence.

Russia’s lead intelligence agency, the S.V.R., has apparently gone beyond 2016 methods of interference, when operatives tried to stoke racial animosity by creating fake Black Lives Matter groups and spreading disinformation to depress black voter turnout. Now, Russia is also trying to influence white supremacist groups, the officials said; they gave few details, but one official said federal investigators are examining how at least one neo-Nazi organization with ties to Russia is funded.

Other Russian efforts, which American intelligence agencies have tracked, involve simply prodding white nationalists to more aggressively spread hate messages and amplifying their invective. Russian operatives are also trying to push black extremist groups toward violence, according to multiple officials, though they did not detail how.

 

U.S. markets crater as coronavirus, oil prices trigger brief halt in trading

Washington Post logoOil prices dive to the $30s while investors flee for safe havens like U.S. treasuries and gold, amplifying recession fears

The stock markets suffered stunning declines Monday — with the Dow Jones industrial average losing 2014 points — as the threat of a coronavirus-fueled oil war and ongoing panic about the spreading disease grew and triggered a rare forced halt to trading early in the session.

The Dow Jones industrial average cratered 7.8 percent to close at 23,851. The S&P 500, a broader measure of stocks, shed 7.6 percent by the close and the tech-heavy Nasdaq tumbled 7.3 percent.

The New York Stock Exchange tripped the so-called “circuit breaker” at a time of relentless volatility for global markets, which have been battered for weeks as the coronavirus outbreak continues to unfold. The forced 15-minute break initially appeared to have a stabilizing effect, but selling resumed before the end of the regular trading. Continue reading.

Russian interference reports rock Capitol Hill

The Hill logoReports this week that Russia is attempting to interfere in the 2020 race sent congressional Democrats reeling, with many lashing out at Republicans and blaming President Trump.

The New York Times reported Thursday that intelligence officials recently briefed the House Intelligence Committee about Russia interfering in the presidential race in an effort to get Trump reelected.

A day later, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said he had been briefed on similar attempts to meddle in the elections, with The Washington Post reporting the Kremlin has sought to help his White House bid.

Trump administration issues new sanctions related to Russia’s takeover of Crimea

Washington Post logoThe Trump administration on Wednesday placed sanctions on leading Russian-backed officials in Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula that was part of Ukraine before Russia claimed it in 2014 and set off the biggest East-West confrontation since the Cold War.

The sanctions targeting seven officials and a railway company connecting Russia with Crimea were handed down by the Treasury Department two days before Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is scheduled to meet with officials in Ukraine. The United States has never recognized Moscow’s seizure of Crimea and still considers it a part of Ukraine.

Most of the officials facing sanctions represent the port city of Sevastopol, which had been home to Russia’s Black Sea naval fleet since the time of Catherine the Great in 1783 until the demise of the Soviet Union. Many residents are retired Russian navy officers who settled and stayed even when it became part of Ukraine. Many never learned to speak Ukrainian, and Crimeans voted to become part of Russia in 2014. Continue reading.

Schiff tells Senate Ukraine interference conspiracy was ‘brought to you by the Kremlin’

The Hill logoHouse impeachment managers on Thursday zeroed in on President Trump‘s mention of a debunked theory on his call with Ukraine, alleging during the second day of their opening arguments that the president stood to benefit in his reelection campaign from the idea that Kyiv interfered in the 2016 election. 

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) spent several minutes Thursday afternoon focusing on the theory that Ukraine was involved in the 2016 hack of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), one that Trump has continued to mention despite his own advisers repeatedly pushing back on it as debunked.

Mentioning statements from Trump’s former aides, including impeachment witness and former White House Russia expert Fiona Hill, Schiff described the theory as “brought to you by the Kremlin” and alleged Trump was motivated by his own political ambitions in raising it with Ukraine.  Continue reading.

Putin Thanks Trump for Helping Russia Thwart Terrorist Attack

New York Times logoThe Russian president called the American president to thank him for a tip about an attack said to be aimed at St. Petersburg.

MOSCOW — President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia called President Trump on Sunday to thank him for a tip from American intelligence agencies that helped prevent a terrorist attack in Russia, the Kremlin said in a statement.

The announcement offered no details about what information the United States had passed along.

But the Federal Security Service, the main successor agency to the K.G.B., told Russian media it had detained two suspects preparing an attack on a crowded location in the northern city of St. Petersburg on New Year’s Eve. Continue reading

U.S. Cybercom contemplates information warfare to counter Russian interference in 2020 election

Washington Post logoMilitary cyber officials are developing information warfare tactics that could be deployed against senior Russian officials and oligarchs if Moscow tries to interfere in the 2020 U.S. elections through hacking election systems or sowing widespread discord, according to current and former U.S. officials.

One option being explored by U.S. Cyber Command would target senior leadership and Russian elites, though probably not President Vladimir Putin, which would be considered too provocative, said the current and former officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the issue’s sensitivity. The idea would be to show that the target’s sensitive personal data could be hit if the interference did not stop, though officials declined to be more specific.

“When the Russians put implants into an electric grid, it means they’re making a credible showing that they have the ability to hurt you if things escalate,” said Bobby Chesney, a law professor at the University of Texas at Austin. “What may be contemplated here is an individualized version of that, not unlike individually targeted economic sanctions. It’s sending credible signals to key decision-makers that they are vulnerable if they take certain adversarial actions.” Continue reading

Congress looks to Mediterranean allies to counter Turkey, Russia

The Hill logoLawmakers seeking to counter Turkey and Russia are investing in new efforts in the Mediterranean region to bolster U.S. allies like Israel, Greece and Cyprus.

Congress passed legislation last week as part of a $1.4 trillion spending package that makes the U.S. a key player in the market for natural gas in the region through a security and energy partnership with Eastern Mediterranean countries.

The measure strengthens military ties with Greece and lifts a decades-old arms embargo on Cyprus, reaffirming the U.S. commitment to the countries and positioning the allies to keep Turkey’s regional ambitions in check. Continue reading

 

Trump faces pivotal year with Russia on arms control

The Hill logoThe coming year is poised to be pivotal for U.S.-Russia arms control talks.

The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), the last major treaty constraining the U.S. and Russian nuclear arsenals, is set to expire in early 2021.

That means President Trump has to get serious in 2020 about engaging in arms control talks with Russia, supporters of renewing the treaty say.

Continue reading