Seems like this is the 21 century example of Clausewitz's war by other means. Putin has been at "war " with the west since he came to power. Guerilla warfare- the logical way a weaker side will carry on the battle. They don't have the military might to win, so use the "soft underbelly" of the west- weaponizing free speech.
Hitler practiced In front of a mirror, trump on Twitter and the camera. Putin and RT financed it, a natural out evelotion of KGB/Stasi-
Trump Putin Orban Spy (apologies to John Le Clarre)
Honestly, the safe assumption has always been that there are more Tenet Medias out there, especially after RT was labeled and crippled. Such lines of effort are nearly costless relative to the return on investment *and* because there are virtually no meaningful costs imposed on Russia for these actions, nor are substantial costs imposed on Americans who work for these outlets.
Some Americans may align with the RT mission, including those of Tenet, but sometimes the Americans may just want a paycheck. One example of the latter is when, many years ago, DOD shuttered an information program operating abroad. Despite knowing the end date of the contract, GDI and similar outfits, suddenly and without warning fired the skilled contractors working the program. This included former PSYOP operators. Only seeking a paycheck, more than one landed at RT because they were approached with a rich salary and needed to pay bills, not because they aligned with their mission. Regardless, it was the wrong thing to do and nothing was done on the US side, despite the awareness of the potential and then of the actual actions of these people.
Now, consider the people who see a shared objective, and there are a bunch of people willing to sell out their country thinking they are doing something else. Look back at Cambridge Analytica and there were a bunch of former PSYOP operators and other DOD contractors and firms doing similar work for a paycheck or because they supported a particular candidate while at the same time flying the red, white, and blue while failing to acknowledge or accept that they were actually working against the oaths they had taken.
I struggle to understand why Russians persist in being the a$$hole on the block. Is it a cultural thing? I mean culture and Russian does seem like an oxymoron, but is it something in the water that creates reptiles like Putin? Do ‘on the street’ Russians understand that they are pariahs in the global mix but is there no desire to be better? Perplexing.
Seems like this is the 21 century example of Clausewitz's war by other means. Putin has been at "war " with the west since he came to power. Guerilla warfare- the logical way a weaker side will carry on the battle. They don't have the military might to win, so use the "soft underbelly" of the west- weaponizing free speech.
Hitler practiced In front of a mirror, trump on Twitter and the camera. Putin and RT financed it, a natural out evelotion of KGB/Stasi-
Trump Putin Orban Spy (apologies to John Le Clarre)
A rhythmic cadence of history
Honestly, the safe assumption has always been that there are more Tenet Medias out there, especially after RT was labeled and crippled. Such lines of effort are nearly costless relative to the return on investment *and* because there are virtually no meaningful costs imposed on Russia for these actions, nor are substantial costs imposed on Americans who work for these outlets.
Some Americans may align with the RT mission, including those of Tenet, but sometimes the Americans may just want a paycheck. One example of the latter is when, many years ago, DOD shuttered an information program operating abroad. Despite knowing the end date of the contract, GDI and similar outfits, suddenly and without warning fired the skilled contractors working the program. This included former PSYOP operators. Only seeking a paycheck, more than one landed at RT because they were approached with a rich salary and needed to pay bills, not because they aligned with their mission. Regardless, it was the wrong thing to do and nothing was done on the US side, despite the awareness of the potential and then of the actual actions of these people.
Now, consider the people who see a shared objective, and there are a bunch of people willing to sell out their country thinking they are doing something else. Look back at Cambridge Analytica and there were a bunch of former PSYOP operators and other DOD contractors and firms doing similar work for a paycheck or because they supported a particular candidate while at the same time flying the red, white, and blue while failing to acknowledge or accept that they were actually working against the oaths they had taken.
I struggle to understand why Russians persist in being the a$$hole on the block. Is it a cultural thing? I mean culture and Russian does seem like an oxymoron, but is it something in the water that creates reptiles like Putin? Do ‘on the street’ Russians understand that they are pariahs in the global mix but is there no desire to be better? Perplexing.