Russia! Russia! Russia!
Discover more from Rant! with Alex Finley
Russia! Russia! Russia!
It wasn't a hoax, as I explain with GIFs. You're welcome.
Have you signed up for my Foreign Influence Operations course yet? What are you waiting for? Class 9, about Russian influence operations in the United States, goes up Monday, which is great timing considering the narrative being formed by the recently released Durham report (see my Rant! below).
ALEX’S WEEKLY RANT
It wasn’t a hoax.
This week, Special Counsel John Durham released yet another report about the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election. For those who haven’t been keeping track, this was an investigation into an investigation that had already been investigated and that ignored two other related investigations. It’s possible I missed an investigation in that description.
That is to say, the report is incredibly “inside baseball” and, for those who have not followed this saga every step of the way, it is difficult to understand the much larger context and significance of what is and is not in the report.
One main upshot of the Durham report seems to be this: Hillary Clinton hatched a plan to say Donald Trump was being helped by Russia.
What the report leaves out, however, is this: Donald Trump was, in fact, being helped by Russia, and he welcomed that help.
Most Americans are too busy living their lives to care too much about deep in the weeds spin off investigations in Washington, DC. Which is precisely why it is very easy for a number of Republicans to use the Durham report to conclude stupid things like this:
Of course, it wasn’t a hoax. Russia did indeed interfere in our elections and the Trump campaign looked to capitalize on that, which led to huge counterintelligence and national security concerns. I’ll try to explain it here in very simple terms using GIFs.
An evil Russian president wants to destabilize the West in order to weaken it and strengthen his power.
One dude is auditioning to be President of the United States, in which position his first responsibility will be protecting the Constitution and the democratic ideals enshrined within it.
Upon learning that the evil Russian president has hacked an American citizen and is attacking US democracy, the guy auditioning to be president of the United States responds like this:
So yeah, the FBI rightly had some legitimate counterintelligence concerns that were worth investigating.
I won’t go into details here, since this is actually the subject of the next two classes in my Foreign Influence Operations course. Yes, I had to break up Russian influence into US elections into two classes, because there is so much to cover, no matter what one particular political party tries to tell you. (Sign up for the deep dive!)
Democracy Strikes Back
Finally, though, the US has done something to start pushing back. This week, it was reported that the CIA has launched a video in Russian on Telegram—an online platform widely used in Russia—to encourage Russians to provide the US with information. The video explains how to access an online site where Russians can volunteer information safely and anonymously.
I admire the giant middle finger the CIA is giving to Putin here, making it clear the US is actively recruiting Putin’s subjects to help them work against him. The video is well written, appealing to Russians’ patriotism and making it clear that any change that is to come to Russia must come from Russians themselves.
It’s also a great psychological ploy. Even if few people choose to volunteer to give information to the CIA, the video will certainly make people question who might be giving information to the CIA. That kind of distrust can really rattle a dictatorship, as everyone starts looking to save themselves first. (I discussed the video with Sasha Ingber of Scripps News Service here.)
It’s good timing, too. Tensions between different influential circles in Moscow seem to be on the rise. Russian mercenary groups have been at odds with Russia’s regular military, and their leaders have been vying for Putin’s attention. These groups sometimes even shoot each other.
Furthermore, there are reports that Russia is not allowing senior officials across the government to resign while the “special military operation” continues and threatening them with criminal charges if they do. The move seems to signal that many officials are unhappy with the war and want to distance themselves from it. I know a great online site where those guys could share their frustrations with a sympathetic CIA ear…
THE WEEK’S LINKS
A roundup of stories you should be reading
(Note: I reserve the right to rant in depth about any of these at a future date)
RUSSIA
Cyprus and Malta annul dozens of ‘golden passports’ belonging to Russian nationals sanctioned by EU (Meduza)
Russia to Build ‘Migrant Village’ for Conservative American Expats (The Moscow Times)
I’ve never seen the Kremlin so rattled (The Washington Post)
Inside Roman Abramovich’s Quest for Portuguese Citizenship—An All-Access Pass to the EU (Vanity Fair)
UNITED STATES
FBI Revokes Security Clearances of 3 Agents Over Jan. 6 Issues (NY Times)
Military Caught Leak Suspect Mishandling Secrets Before Arrest but Left Him in Job (NY Times)
YOUR FEEL-GOOD STORY OF THE WEEK
Elizabeth Holmes will start 11-year prison sentence on Mar 30 after losing her bid to remain free (AP)
Alex Finley is a former officer of the CIA’s Directorate of Operations, where she served in West Africa and Europe. She writes and teaches about terrorism, disinformation / covert influence, and oligarch yachts. Her writing has appeared in Slate, Reductress, Funny or Die, POLITICO, The Center for Public Integrity, and other publications. She has spoken to the BBC, MSNBC, CNN, C-SPAN’s Washington Journal, France24, and numerous other media outlets. She was also invited once to speak at Harvard, which she now tells everyone within the first ten seconds of meeting them. She is the author of the Victor Caro series, satirical novels about the CIA. Before joining the CIA, Alex was a journalist, covering Capitol Hill, the Pentagon, and the Department of Energy. She reported on issues related to national security, intelligence, and homeland security. Did she mention she was invited to speak at Harvard?
