Manafort

From: StephenBurant<sburant@verizon.
net>
Senttime: 06/19/201602:33:05PM
To: RobertOtto<robertotto25@gmail.com>
Subject: Fw:Thisisunsettlingtosaytheleast............
AdrianaskedmetoaskyouforyourtakeontheWashingtonPostarticle.
OnSunday,June19,20168:26AM,StephenBurant<sburant@verizon.net>wrote:
IhadreadawhileagothatManafortwasadvisingYanukovychwhenthelatterwasinpower.Thatinformationcausedmetotakenotice.ItisonethingforUScitizenstobeadvisingBritishorLatinAmericanpoliticians,which
happensalot.Butsuchclosenesstocorrupt,authoritarianRussiansandUkrainians?No.
OnSaturday,June18,201610:39PM,AdrianHarmata<aharmata3@gmail.com>wrote:
HaveIbecomeimmunetoTrump?IamactuallymoretroubledbyManafort'srelationshipwiththeRussiansthanTrump'sties.......
HaveyouheardanythingfromBobO.onthisarticle?Iwonderhowmuchiscompletelyaccurate....
http://subscribe.washingtonpost.com/acquisition/?prompt=1&promo=digital03_paywall&oscode=RPWH&wpsrc=CM0000446&page=politics:article%20-%207b6c1998b7a0%20-%2020160617%20-%20inside-trumps-financial-
ties-to-russia-and-his-unusual-flattery-of-vladimir-putin&section=wp%20-
%20politics&prev=&geo=&ctype=article&signedin=logged%20out&mcount=5&sub=0&ismetered=1&destination=http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/inside-trumps-financial-ties-to-russia-and-his-unusual-flattery-of-vladimir-
putin/2016/06/17/dbdcaac8-31a6-11e6-8ff7-
7b6c1998b7a0_story.html&action=3&sub=0&mtr=1&mtrct=5&mtfn=1&t=10002&st=200&loc=1&mvw=5&wa=3&fr=0&dt=0&mx=0&pwo=1&rwb=0&sgn=0&v=2.3&acq_test=1#/paywall/offers/promo/digital03_paywall/oscode/RPWH?
wpsrc=CM0000446&page=politics:article%20-%207b6c1998b7a0%20-%2020160617%20-%20inside-trumps-financial-ties-to-russia-and-his-unusual-flattery-of-vladimir-putin&section=wp%20-
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unusual-flattery-of-vladimir-putin%2F2016%2F06%2F17%2Fdbdcaac8-31a6-11e6-8ff7-
7b6c1998b7a0_story.html&action=3&mtr=1&mtrct=5&mtfn=1&t=10002&st=200&loc=1&mvw=5&wa=3&fr=0&dt=0&mx=0&pwo=1&rwb=0&sgn=0&v=2.3&acq_test=1
From: DavidKramer<David.J.Kramer@asu.edu>
Senttime: 07/10/201608:33:59AM
To: Bob<robertotto25@gmail.com>
Subject: FW:TrumpsRussiaadvisercriticizesU.S.forhypocriticalfocusondemocratization
Justbetweenus.InsightfulcommentsfromEdbelowthePostarticle.
From:EdwardS.Verona[mailto:everona@maglobal.com]
Sent:Friday,July08,20163:06PM
To:DavidKramer<David.J.Kramer@asu.edu>
Subject:FW:TrumpsRussiaadvisercriticizesU.S.forhypocriticalfocusondemocratization
David,
Iimaginethatyouhaveseenthearticlebelow,butincaseyouhavent
FurtherbelowissomethingthatIwroteafteranearlierBloombergarticlefirstbroughtCarterPagesnametolight.Ithought
youmightbeinterested.
Regards,Ed
From:CatalinaPiccato
Sent:Friday,July08,20162:45PM
To:RichardBurtEdwardS.VeronaPhilippeMaze-SencierCarolineWoodwardReneeSlawsky
Subject:TrumpsRussiaadvisercriticizesU.S.forhypocriticalfocusondemocratization
TrumpsRussiaadvisercriticizesU.S.forhypocriticalfocusondemocratization
ByAndrewRothJuly7
WashingtonPost
MOSCOWAnAmericanforeign-policyadvisertoDonaldTrumpchidedtheUnitedStatesonThursdayforanoften-
hypocriticalfocusondemocratization,inequality,corruptionandregimechangeinitsdealingswithRussia,ChinaandCentral
Asia.
CarterPage,anenergyexecutivetappedbythepresumptiveRepublicannomineescampaignforhisbusinessexperienceinthe
formerSovietUnion,toldstudentsandjournalistsgatheredinaMoscowlecturehallthatWashingtonhadmissedopportunitiesto
workwithleaderssuchasRussiasVladimirPutinandChinasXiJinpingbecauseithadignoredprinciplesofrespect,equality
andmutualbenefit.
Pagesremarksputhim,likeTrump,atsharpoddswiththeObamaadministrationandtraditionalRepublicanpolicycircles,which
haveviewedRussiainmoreadversarialtermsoverthewarinSyria,theconflictinUkraineandotherissues.Thebilateral
relationshiphassouredtoColdWar-eralevelsinrecentyears.
PagerefusedtocommentspecificallyontheU.S.presidentialelection,hisrelationshipwithTrumporU.S.sanctionsagainst
Russia,sayinghewasinRussiaasaprivatecitizen.HegavealecturetitledTheEvolutionoftheWorldEconomy:Trendsand
Potential,inwhichhenotedthatRussiaandChinahadachievedsuccessinCentralAsia,unliketheUnitedStates,bypursuinga
respectfulforeignpolicybasedonmutualinterest.
HegenerallyavoidedquestionsonU.S.foreignpolicy,butwhenoneattendeeaskedhimwhetherhereallybelievedtheUnited
Stateswasaliberal,democraticsociety,Pagetoldhimtoreadbetweenthelines.
IfImunderstandingthedirectionyourecomingfrom,Itendtoagreewithyouthatitsnotalwaysasliberalasitmayseem,he
said.Imwithyou.
InameetingwithTheWashingtonPosteditorialboardinMarch,TrumpnamedPage,aformerMerrillLynchexecutiveinMoscow
wholateradvisedtheRussianstateenergygiantGazpromonmajoroilandgasdeals,asoneofhisforeign-policyadvisers.Page
refusedtosaywhetherhisMoscowtripincludedameetingwithRussianofficials.Heisscheduledtodeliveragraduationaddress
FridayattheNewEconomicSchool,aspeechthatsomeofficialsareexpectedtoattend.
TrumphasnotoutlinedaspecificpolicyconcerningRussiaandtheformerSovietUnion,butheisbroadlynoninterventionist,
questioningtheneedfortheNorthAtlanticTreatyOrganizationandcallingforEuropetoplayalargerroleinensuringitssecurity.
PagesappointmentfollowedcriticismthatTrumpwasthinonforeign-policyexperience.Trump,inaMarchappearanceon
MSNBCsMorningJoe,wasaskedwhohistopforeign-policyconsultantwas.Heresponded:Imspeakingwithmyself,
numberone,becauseIhaveaverygoodbrainandIvesaidalotofthings....Myprimaryconsultantismyself.
PageisanoutsidertoRepublicanpolicymakingcircles.ButhehasregularlycriticizedU.S.interventionandonThursdayquoted
PutininRussianassayingthathiscountrydoesnotinterveneintheinternalpoliticsofothernations.
InonearticleforGlobalPolicyJournal,hewrote,FromU.S.policiestowardRussiatoIrantoChina,sanctimoniousexpressions
ofmoralsuperioritystandattherootofmanyproblemsseenworldwidetoday.
PagewrotethatthewarineasternUkrainewasprecipitatedbyU.S.meddlingintheMaidanrevolution,areferencetothe2014
demonstrationsthatledtotheousterofPresidentViktorYanukovych.U.S.officialshaveaccusedRussiaoforchestratingthe
subsequentannexationofCrimeaandofbackingpro-MoscowseparatistsineasternUkraine.
PageisnotTrumpsonlyadviserwithtiestoformerSoviet-blocpolitics.PaulManafort,hiscampaignmanager,servedasa
consultantforYanukovychbeforetheRussian-backedUkrainianleaderwasoverthrown.
DearColleagues,
IspenteightyearslivingandworkinginMoscow,bothasaForeignServiceOfficercoveringtheenergysectorand,later,
asanoilandgasindustryexecutive.IworkedanothertwoyearsinKazakhstanheadingthelocalofficeofamajorU.S.
oilandgascompany.Icannotbeaccusedofbeingoneofthepeoplefromafar,sittinginthecomfortoftheirthink
tanksinWashington.Withthatsaid,Itakethelibertyofmakingafewbynomeansexhaustiveobservationson
CarterPage'sbackgroundandviews.
WithPage'sappointmentasanadvisortotheTrumpcampaign,UkrainiansteelmagnateVictorPinchuk(see
highlightsbelow)nowhasalinktobothTrumpandHillaryClinton.Between2009and2013,whileClintonwas
SecretaryofState,Pinchukdonated$8.6milliontotheClintonFoundation.In2008Pinchukmadea$29million
commitmenttotheClintonGlobalInitiative,makinghimthesinglelargestbenefactorofthatorganization.
WhateverotherimplicationstheremightbetotheassociationwithPinchuk,attheveryleastthiswouldseemto
impedeTrumpfromraisingClinton'spotentiallydamagingrelationshipwithaforeignoligarchasanissueduring
thegeneralelectioncampaign.
Accordingtothearticle,PagewasassignedtoMoscowbyMerrillLynchin2004andbeganbuildingrelationships
withGazpromexecutives.AtthattimeGazpromshareswereringfencedtopreventforeignersfromowningthose
thatwerepubliclytradedinMoscow.ForeignerswerelimitedtopurchasinghigherpricedADRs.Russianbuyers,
especiallygovernmentinsiders,acquiredsubstantialblocksofGazpromsharesinanticipation(and
foreknowledge)oftheliftingoftheringfence.Thesharepricerosemeteoricallyoncetheringfencewas
eliminatedinDecember2005.Itwasundoubtedlyalucrativeopportunityforanybodyintheequitytrading
business.
Pagesaysthathe"advised"Gazpromonsomeofitslargestdeals,specificallythepurchaseof"astakeinthe
Sakhalinoilandgasfield".ThisreferstooneofthemostcolorfulepisodesofcorporateraidingofthePutinera.
ThefieldinquestionanditsassociatedLNGplantwasSakhalin2,thenwhollyownedbyaninternational
consortium(SakhalinEnergy)ledbyShell.Previously,GazpromhadshownlittleinterestintheRussianFarEast,
focusinginsteadonitsEuropeanmarketsandupgradingitsinfrastructureinRussia'smorewesterlyregions.
However,whentheSakhalinprojectwasapproachingcompletion,GazpromorsomebodyintheKremlin
decidedthatitwasunseemlyforaforeigncompanytoexportthefirstoilandLNGfromRussiatoAsiaPacific
markets.Onthepretextofhavingcommittedegregiousecologicaldamage,Shellanditsconsortiumpartners
wereeffectivelyforcedtosellhalfoftheprojectandyieldlegalcontroltoGazprom.TherolethatPagemight
haveplayedinthisisunclear(andwaslikelyminor,ifany),buthismentionofitisinteresting.Indeed,thetactics
usedbyGazprominexpropriatingthepropertyrightsoftheconsortiumarelikeTrump'suseofeminentdomain
onlyonsteroids.
Finally,PagesaysthatheadvisedtheTurkmenistangovernmentin2008onattractingforeignequityinvestment.
ItisworthpointingoutthatthefollowingyearGazpromthecompanyPagewaspreviouslyadvisingsabotaged
themaingaspipelinebetweenTurkmenistanandRussiabyshuttingoffthevalveswithouttellingthe
Turkmenistanis.Theresultingpressurebuildupcausedaruptureandexplosionofthelineandamajor
compressorstation.AtthetimeGazpromwastryingtoreduceitspurchasesofTurkmenistanigasand,tomany
observers,thetechnicaldisruptionofthepipelineseemedintendedtoavoidcostly"takeorpay"provisionsinthe
contract.SuchtacticsarebynomeansunusualforGazprom.
Regards,Ed
From: Bob<robertotto25@gmail.com>
Senttime: 04/29/201606:22:55AM
To: DavidKramer<David.J.Kramer@asu.edu>
Subject: WhyIsDonaldTrumpaPatsyforVladimirPutin?--NYMag
WhyIsDonaldTrumpaPatsyforVladimirPutin?
TheuniversalheadlinesummaryofDonaldTrumpspreparedforeign-policyspeechyesterdaywasthatitlackeddetails.
Trumpscampaignencouragedthisconclusionbyleakinginadvancethatitwouldcontainfewspecifics,andmedia
correctlyprimedtothinkofTrumpasanignorantblowhardcovereditassuch.Butthespeech,infact,containedan
importantandsomewhat-curiousidea:TheUnitedStatesshouldformacloserrelationship,evenanalliance,withRussia.
TogetthethrustofTrumpspoint,ithastobereadinfullcontext,whichhepresentedincounter-positionwithhispolicy
towardChina:
WedesiretolivepeacefullyandinfriendshipwithRussiaandChina.Wehaveseriousdifferenceswiththesetwo
nations,andmustregardthemwithopeneyes,butwearenotboundtobeadversaries.Weshouldseekcommon
groundbasedonsharedinterests.
Russia,forinstance,hasalsoseenthehorrorofIslamicterrorism.Ibelieveaneasingoftensions,andimproved
relationswithRussiafromapositionofstrengthonlyispossible,absolutelypossible.Commonsensesaysthiscycle,
thishorriblecycleofhostilitymustendandideallywillendsoon.Goodforbothcountries.
SomesaytheRussianswontbereasonable.Iintendtofindout.Ifwecantmakeadealundermyadministration,a
dealthatsgreatnotgood,greatforAmerica,butalsogoodforRussia,thenwewillquicklywalkfromthe
table.Itsassimpleasthat.Weregoingtofindout.
FixingourrelationswithChinaisanotherimportantstepandreallytowardcreatinganevenmoreprosperous
periodoftime.Chinarespectsstrengthandbylettingthemtakeadvantageofuseconomically,whichtheyaredoing
likeneverbefore,wehavelostalloftheirrespect.
WehaveamassivetradedeficitwithChina,adeficitthatwehavetofindawayquickly,andImeanquickly,to
balance.AstrongandsmartAmericaisanAmericathatwillfindabetterfriendinChina,betterthanwehaveright
now.LookatwhatChinaisdoingintheSouthChinaSea.Theyrenotsupposedtobedoingit.
Inthebroadthematicsense,TrumpistreatingRussiaandChinathesame:promisingvaguelytomakegreatdealswith
them.Aslightlycloserread,however,revealsthatheisproposingvirtuallyoppositepoliciestowardthem.Trumpidentifies
waysinwhichChinaisactingagainstAmericaninterests:byrunningatradesurpluswithus,andbyexpandingintothe
SouthChinaSea.TrumpproposestomendrelationswithChinabystandinguptothemandforcingthemtorespectus
asequals,aftertheyhavesuppliedunilateralconcessionstous.
HisdepictionofAmericanrelationswithRussiaiscompletelydifferent.TrumpdoesnotidentifyanyhostileRussian
behaviorthatmustchange.Thisistellingsince,havingsingledoutChinasmuscle-flexingintheSouthChinaSea,he
ignoresRussiasmuchmoreflagrantbullyingofitsneighbors,suchasUkraine,whoseterritoryithasgobbledup.Instead
heidentifiessharedinterestswithRussiaoppositiontoIslamicterrorismandproposestoendthishorriblecycle
ofhostility.DescribingAmerican-Russianrelationsasacycleofhostilityassignstheblametobothsides,ratherthanto
Putinsaggressiveness.
SoTrumpissignallingaclearturninAmericanpolicy,whichunderhisadministrationwouldrampuphostilitytoward
ChinaandwinddownhostilitytowardRussia.ThisisinkeepingwithTrumpslong-standingviewsonbothcountries(not
justChina,whichhehasmockedandtaunted,sometimesinpidgin,fromtheoutsetofhiscandidacy.)Trumphasdeep
affectionforRussiaanditscorrupt,misogynisticdictator.IthinkIwouldjustgetalongverywellwithVladimirPutin,
TrumpannouncedinJuly.LastDecember,afterPutinpraisedTrump,theRepublicanfront-runnerreturnedthefavor:Itis
alwaysagreathonortobesonicelycomplimentedbyamansohighlyrespectedwithinhisowncountryandbeyond.
Whenaskedabouthisembraceofadictatorwhohasmurderedjournalists,Trumprepliedlastyear,Itsneverbeen
proventhatheskilledanybody.So,youknow,youresupposedtobeinnocentuntilprovenguilty.
Commentslikethisaremerelythesuperficialmanifestationofadeepeningalliance.FranklinFoerhasalongand
fascinatingreportforSlateonPaulManafort,theTrumpcampaignmanager(andlong-standingconfidant)whohasalso
workedtounderminePutinsenemiesinUkraine.And,asMichaelCrowleydetailsinPoliticomagazine,RussiaToday,
theKremlinpropagandaorgan,routinelylionizesTrump.Bothstoriesdepictsidesofthesamephenomenon:Russias
campaigntocultivateinfluenceintheWestbycorruptingmembersoftheAmericanmediaandpoliticalEstablishment.
Tothedegreetheyhaveattackedhimonforeignpolicy,Trumpscriticsinbothpartieshavemostlyconfinedthemselvesto
thethemesthataredigestibleextensionsofhispersonalstyleheisignorant,inconsistent,temperamentallyunfittolead,
andadangertoblunderthecountryintowar.Allofthosechargesaretrue,yettheymanagetodenysomethingthat,ina
candidatewithoutsuchflamboyantdrawbacks,woulditselfbeacampaign-threateningscandal:TrumpisVladimirPutins
stooge.
SentfrommyiPad
From: KyleWilson<wilsonkyle81@gmail.com>
Senttime: 05/25/201601:22:14AM
BoboLo<bobolo_uk@yahoo.co.uk>CooperJulian<j.m.cooper@bham.ac.uk>carolinavendilpallin<carolina.vendil.pallin@foi.se>
teagueeliza@aol.comkeith.bush017@gmail.comRichardConnolly<r.connolly@bham.ac.uk>Phil<phil_hanson@btinternet.com>Roderic&
To:
MandyLyne<rodericlyne@hotmail.com>JohnBesemeres<john.besemeres@anu.edu.au>KlausSegbersFU<segbers@zedat.fu-berlin.de>
RodricBraithwaite<rqbraithwaite@mac.com>StephenFortescue<s.fortescue@unsw.edu.au>SilvanaMalle<silvana.malle@univr.it>
Subject: Fwd:Snyder
Subject:Snyder
HispointsaboutTrumparenoteworthy
TheWarsofVladimirPutin
TimothySnyder
JUNE9,2016ISSUE
PozdrowieniazNoworosji[GreetingsfromNovorossiya]
byPawePieniek
Warsaw:KrytykaPolityczna,240pp.,z34.90
EntscheidunginKiew.UkrainischeLektionen[DecisioninKiev:Ukrainian
Lessons]
byKarlSchlgel
Munich:CarlHanser,352pp.,21.90
NothingIsTrueandEverythingIsPossible:TheSurrealHeartoftheNew
Russia
byPeterPomerantsev
PublicAffairs,241pp.,$25.99
ThomasDworzak/MagnumPhotos

VladimirPutinatanice-skatingeventinSochi,Russia,beforetheOlympics,
April2013

1989,theyearthatthePolishwarreporterPawePieniekwasborn,was
understoodbysomeintheWestasanendtohistory.Afterthepeaceful
revolutionsinEasternEurope,whatalternativewastheretoliberaldemocracy?
Theruleoflawhadwontheday.Europeanintegrationwouldhelptheweaker
statesreformandsupportthesovereigntyofall.PeterPomerantsev,thesonof
SovietdissidentswhoemigratedtoBritainin1978,couldreturntoRussiato
workasanartist.KarlSchlgel,adistinguishedGermanhistorianofRussian
migrs,couldgostraighttothesourcesinMoscow.
ButwastheWestcomingtotheEast,ortheEasttotheWest?By2014,a
quarter-centuryaftertherevolutionsof1989,Russiaproposedacoherent
alternative:fakedelections,institutionalizedoligarchy,nationalpopulism,and
Europeandisintegration.WhenUkrainiansthatyearmadearevolutioninthe
nameofEurope,RussianmediaproclaimedthedecadenceoftheEU,and
RussianforcesinvadedUkraineinthenameofaEurasianalternative.
WhenPieniekarrivedinKievinNovember2013asayoungmanoftwenty-
four,hewasobservingthelatest,andperhapsthelast,attempttomobilizethe
ideaofEuropeinordertoreformastate.Ukrainianshadbeenledtoexpect
thattheirgovernmentwouldsignanassociationagreementwiththeEuropean
Union.Frustratedbyendemiccorruption,manyUkrainianssawtheaccordasan
instrumenttostrengthentheruleoflaw.Moscow,meanwhile,wasdemanding
thatUkrainenotsigntheagreementwiththeEUbutinsteadbecomeapartofits
newEurasiantradezoneofauthoritarianregimes.
ADVERTISING
inReadinventedbyTeads
Atthelastmoment,RussianPresidentVladimirPutindissuadedtheUkrainian
president,ViktorYanukovych,fromsigningtheEUassociationagreement.The
Russianmediaexulted.Ukrainianstudents,whohadthemosttolosefrom
endlesscorruption,gatheredonNovember21onKievscentralsquare,the
Maidan,todemandthattheagreementwiththeEUbesigned.Pieniekarrived
afewdayslater.AfterpolicebeatthestudentsonthenightofNovember30,the
youngmenandwomenwerejoinedbyhundredsofthousandsofothers,people
whowouldbravethecold,andworse,forthenextthreemonths.
TheEuromaidan,astheprotestswerecalledatfirst,wasmulticulturaland
anti-oligarchical.Ukrainiansweretakingrisksforalocalgoalthatishardto
understandbeyondthepost-Sovietsetting:Europeanizationasameanstoundo
corruptionandoligarchy.Byenrichingasmallclique,writesPieniekinhis
collectionofreportagefromUkraine,Yanukovychbroughtthestatetothebrink
ofactualcollapse.InDecember2013Russianleadersmadefinancialaidto
Yanukovychsgovernmentcontingentuponclearingthestreetsofprotesters.
Thegovernmentssubsequentescalationofrepressionfirstthesuspensionof
therightstoassemblyandfreeexpressioninJanuary2014,andthenthemass
shootingofprotestersinFebruaryturnedthepopularmovementintoa
revolution.OnFebruary22,YanukovychfledtoRussia.(Twoyearslater,his
politicalstrategist,PaulManafort,wouldresurfaceintheUS,playingthesame
roleforDonaldTrump.)Afterthefailureofitspolicyofrepressionbyremote
control,RussiainvadedUkrainesCrimeanpeninsula.ByMarchRussianswho
hadtakenpartinthatcampaignwerearrivingintheindustrialDonbasregionof
southeasternUkraine,Yanukovychsonetimepowerbase,tohelporganizea
separatistmovement.1
InhabitantsofsoutheasternUkrainehadjustasmuchreasontobedissatisfied
withcorruptionasanyoneelse,anditwasreasonabletofearthattherevolution
inKievwasnothingmorethanaswingofthependulumfromsomeoligarchsto
others.Justhowthesesentimentsmighthavebeenresolvedthroughnegotiations
orelectionswewillneverknow,sincetheRussianinterventionprecludedboth,
bringinginsteadfearandbloodshedthatchangedeveryonespolitical
calculations.Sloviansk,asmallcityintheDonbas,wasanearlygatheringpoint
forseparatists.WhenPieniekarrivedthereinApril2014,hefoundtheplace
crawlingwitharmoredpersonnelcarriers,andunderstoodthatlocaloppositionto
therevolutioninKievwassupportedbyoutsideforces.TheRussiancitizenIgor
Girkin,aveteranoftheCrimeaninvasionandthecommanderoftheseparatist
forces,hadmadeSlovianskhisheadquarters.
UnderGirkinssupervisionapeoplesmayorarrestedtheelectedone,andthe
newauthoritiesmurderedtwopeoplewhoopposedthem.WhentheUkrainian
governmentsentpolicementoinvestigatethecrime,theywerearrestedbythe
separatistsandphotographedinhumiliatingpositionsimagessuggestingthe
localdissolutionofUkrainianstatepower.AsPieniekreported,powernow
residedintheformerheadquartersoftheUkrainianstatepolice,whichRussian
soldiersandofficersusedastheirbase.
ByMarch2014CrimeahadbeenannexedbyRussia,andinAprilfurther
RussianannexationsofUkrainianterritoryseemedpossible.Putinspokethat
monthofaNewRussia(Novorossiya),meaningDonetskandfiveother
regionsofeasternandsouthernUkraine.TheGermanhistorianKarlSchlgel
wasfollowingPutinslanguagewithinterest.Asherecallsinhisnewbook,
PutinmaintainedthattheuseoftheRussianlanguagebeyondRussiasborders
justifiedRussianinvasion.Iftheunityoflanguagegroupswereacceptedasa
principleofrule,theninternationalstateborderswouldceasetomatter.
WorldWarIIbeganfromsucharguments(thinkoftheAnschlussandtheend
ofAustria,theSudetenlandandthedestructionofCzechoslovakia,andDanzig
asapretextforwaragainstPoland).ThusthefoundersofEuropeanintegration
insistedthatstatebordersberespectedandissuesofhumanrightsberesolved
withintheirnecessarilyimperfectconfines.Pieniekwascontinuallystruckby
thefactthatseparatistscharacterizedtheEuropeanorderasfascist,evenas
theyspokeofthesignificanceofcommonlanguageandcommonblood.What
theymeant,herealized,wassimplythateveryonewhodoesnotsupportRussia
isafascist.
Ukraineisabilingualcountrywithacosmopolitanrulingclass.Becausealmost
allUkrainiansspeakRussianaswellasUkrainian,theybelongtowhatPutin
callstheRussianworld(russkiimir).Yetthisworld,asSchlgelshows,is
bynomeansalignedwiththepoliticsofMoscow.Ashemovedthroughthe
Ukrainianeastandsouthin2014,makingeruditehistoricalsketchesofcities,he
foundanappealingvariety.Kharkiv,auniversitytownneartheRussianborder,is
governedbypeoplewhotakeasympatheticviewofRussiabuthaverejected
separatism.Dnipropetrovsk,theonetimeSovietrocketcity,becamethe
gatheringpointofRussian-speakingUkrainianvolunteerswhofoughtagainst
separatistsandRussians.CosmopolitanOdessaexcelledinmockeryofPutin.2
ThecityofDonetskfelltotheseparatistsforlocalreasons.3Inspring2014,its
localoligarchswereindecisiveandtried,disastrously,toplayKievandMoscow
againsteachother.Thishadlittletodowithethnicitythemostimportant
Donetskoligarch,RinatAkhmetov,isaVolgaTatar.Withlocalpoweruncertain,
RussianveteransoftheCrimeancampaigncouldtraveltoDonetskatatime
whenUkrainiancentralauthoritieshinderedsuchpeoplefromreachingother
eastUkrainiancitiessuchasKharkiv.AfterwardRussiantroopscouldmoveinto
DonetskacrossaborderthatUkrainianauthoritieswereunabletocontrol.Some
oftheRussianregularsoldierswereSiberians,andmanyoftheirregularswere
Chechens.ThuspeoplewhodidnotspeakRussianwerekillingpeoplewhodid
inordertodefendtheRussianlanguageinaplacewhereitwasnever
threatened.4Schlgelwrites:
ThecityofDonetsk,oncehometoamillionpeople,becameaghosttown,
terrorizedbybandsofcriminals,Chechenwarveterans,specialforces,Russian
hightechexperts,andpeoplewhohavemadecareersinpublicrelations.
Thatlastcategorywasasimportantasalltheothers.
DespitetheannexationofCrimeainMarch2014andseparatistcontrolofthe
cityofDonetskinApril,byMayRussiawasfacinghumiliatingdefeat.
ThroughoutthecountrytheRussianinterventionhad,asPienieknotes,
strengthenedthesenseofUkrainianidentity.TheCrimeanmodelofRussian
controlwasirrelevantinalmostallofUkraineandwasfailinginthesoutheast.
InCrimeaRussiahadanetworkoflocalturncoats,considerablesupportfrom
localRussians,andmilitarybasesfromwhichtolaunchaninvasion.Without
suchresourcesthelimiteddetachmentsofRussianspecialforces,knownin
Ukrainefortheirlackofinsigniaaslittlegreenmen,couldnotcontrolthe
southeast.FourofthesixsoutheasterndistrictsthatPutincalledNewRussia
hadproducednoseparatistmovement.TheseparatistholdontheDonetskand
Luhanskregionswaspartialandshaky.
TheUkrainianleadershipnowdecidedtofight.AlthoughtheUkrainianarmed
forcesweresmall,theyquicklydrovebackseparatists.Ukraineusedairpower
todeploytroopsanddestroysomeofthearmortheseparatistshadseizedfrom
UkrainianforcesorobtainedfromRussia.InMay2014Kievwasabuzzwith
rumorsofaUkrainianoffensiveonDonetsk.Tostoptherout,Moscowhadto
bringdowntheUkrainianairforce.InJuneRussiantroopscrossedtheborder
withtanksandantiaircraftbatteries.AboutadozenUkrainianaircraftwere
quicklyshotdown.5
TheRussiandecisiontoescalatebroughtaboutamajorwarcrime.Oneofthe
numerousRussianmilitaryconvoysinthoseweeksdepartedfromitsbasein
KurskonJune23.ItwasadetachmentoftheRussian53rdAirDefense
Brigade,boundforDonetskwithaBUKantiaircraftmissilelauncherbearingthe
marking332.OnthemorningofJuly17,thisBUKlauncherwashauledfrom
DonetsktotheUkrainiantownofSnizhne,andthenbroughtunderitsown
powertoafarmsteadsouthofthattown.
Butforwhathappenednext,thistransportofaRussianweaponwouldhave
simplybeenoneofseveralphotographedbylocalsandignoredbytheworld.
MalaysianAirlinesFlight17,carrying298passengersfromAmsterdamtoKuala
Lumpur,wasflyingjustthenoversoutheasternUkraine.At1:20itwasstruckby
hundredsofhigh-energyprojectilesreleasedbytheexplosionofa9N314M
warheadcarriedbyamissilefiredfromthatBUKlauncher.Theprojectiles
rippedthroughthecockpitandinstantlykilledthecockpitcrew,fromwhosebody
partssomeofthemetalwaslaterextracted.Theaircraftwasblowntopiecesat
itscruisingaltitudeof33,000feet,itspassengersandtheirbaggagescattered
overaradiusofthirtymiles.6
SchlgelcouldfollowtheconvoyoftheBUKonhiscomputerscreen.The
youngjournalistPieniekracedtothesitewherethelargestpiecesof
wreckageandanumberofcorpseswerefound.Althoughhewasthefirst
reporteronthescene,onedayafterthecrash,itsstoryhadalreadybeentoldon
Russiantelevision.TwoRussiannetworksclaimedthatUkrainianaircrafthad
shotdowntheplane.Threeothernetworksprovidedamotive:Ukrainian
authoritieshadintendedtoshootdownanaircraftcarryingPutin,andhadmade
amistake.Longbeforethe298corpseshadbeenassembledandidentified,the
victimshadbeendefinedintheRussianmedia:theRussianpresidentandhis
people.
Inthedaysthatfollowed,Russianmediapurveyedfurtherversionsofthe
disaster:fictional,contradictory,andsometimesgrotesque.WhatRussianscall
thezombiestory,thattheCIAfilledtheplanewithcorpsesandexplodeditby
remotecontrol,enjoyssurprisinglongevity.TheRussiantacticsareeasierto
mockthandismiss.AlargemajorityofRussians(86percentin2014,85percent
in2015)blameUkraineforshootingdowntheflightonly2percentblamedtheir
owncountry,withmostoftheremainderoptingfortheUnitedStates.7
HowdidRussiareachapoint,initsmediaandpolitics,wherethefactof
RussiansoldiersmistakenlyshootingdownacivilianairlinerduringaRussian
invasionofaforeigncountrycouldbetransformedintoadurablesenseof
Russianvictimhood?Forthatmatter,howdidRussianstakesoeasilytotheidea
thatUkraine,seenasafraternalnation,hadsuddenlybecomeanenemy
governedbyfascists?8HowdoRussianstakeprideinaRussianinvasion
whileatthesametimedenyingthatoneistakingplace?Considerthedarkjoke
nowmakingtheroundsinRussia.Wifetohusband:Oursonwaskilledinaction
inUkraine.Husbandtowife:Weneverhadason.
BoththehistorianSchlgelandthetelevisionproducerandwriterPeter
Pomerantsevmakethecasethatthisextraordinaryflexibilitywasthe
consequenceofearlierdevelopmentswithinRussiaitself.Theso-called
Ukrainiancrisis,maintainsSchlgel,isaboveallaRussiancrisis.
AsthereleaseofthePanamaPapershasonceagainconfirmed,Russiansand
Ukrainiansconfrontthesamecentralproblem:theweaknessoftheruleoflaw.
UnlikeUkraine,Russiahasnaturalgasandoil,astrongarmy,andapropaganda
apparatusthatcanbeusedtodelay,distract,andconfuse.Schlgelobservesthat
theRussianleadershipfailedtousetheprofitsfromenergyexportstodiversify
theeconomyduringtheflushfirstdecadeofthetwenty-firstcenturywhen
priceswerehigh.Weshould,hethinks,seethepoliciesofinstitutionaloligarchy,
militarybuildup,andmediacoordinationasinternalandmisguidedRussian
choicesthatmadeforeignwarslikely.Henotesthatotherobservershavefound
theRussianpropagandaofethnicjusticeandantifascismmoreappealingthan
thebasicsofpoliticaleconomy.PropagandaconceitsofthiskindallowRussians
todefinethemselvesasthevictimstheypermitoutsiders,asSchlgelnotes,to
discussthewarwithoutknowinganythingaboutRussiaitself.
PomerantsevspentthatglitteringdecadeofmismanagementinMoscow,andhe
becamethechroniclerofothershopesandlosses.Hisbookpresentsitselfas
thememoirofayoungartistwithafilmhewantstomakebutcannot.Itwould
beaboutthesuicidesofRussianfashionmodels,thebeautifulgirlswhoseemed
todosowellinpost-SovietRussiabutthentooktheirownlivesbyjumpingfrom
buildings.Hedescribesagenerationoforphaned,high-heeledgirlsseeking
security,andnotfindingit,fromoldermenwhogrewwealthyduringthe2000s.
Themoodofthebookisoneofvertigo,ofcrashesthatcanbedelayedand
deniedbutnotavoided.Theimagesofoneofhissuicidemodelswerecirculated
inMoscowlongafterherdeath,promisingenchantment.
JeromeSessini/MagnumPhotos
Unarmedanti-governmentprotestersbeingfireduponbysnipers,Maidan
Square,Kiev,February2014
PomerantsevarrivedinMoscowasthemediumoftelevisionwasbroughtunder
statecontrol.InOctober2002,Russiansecurityforceskilled129hostages
duringanattackonChechenterroristswhohadtakenoveraMoscowtheater.
Televisioncamerasrecordedthedeathsofthehostages.Afterthat,
Pomerantsevsays,thelastprivatetelevisionchannelwasbroughttoheel,and
thestatebegantoorchestrateamisleadingpluralism:theTVstationslooked
different,butsaidthesamething.Leadersofacceptedpartiesmightgetmoreor
lesstimeondifferentchannels.Theirpresencewasmeantonlytoconfirmthe
inevitabilityofPutin.
AsPomerantsevrecalls,whenthebeetroot-facedcommunistsandthespitting
nationalistsrowonTVdebatingshows,theviewerisleftwiththefeelingthat,
comparedtothislot,thePresidentistheonlysanecandidate.Pomerantsev
considersthefateofawomanwhocreatedherownapparentlylegitimate
chemicalbusinessawayfrompropagandaandpolitics.Butthereisnoescape:
entrepreneursinRussiaarevulnerabletoarbitraryfiscalandlegalreviewsatthe
whimsofrivals,andshewasarrested(ostensiblyfordealinginillegalnarcotics).
Behindbarsthesurrealbecomesunavoidable:Blackiswhiteandwhiteis
black,asPomerantsevparaphrasesthebusinesswoman.Thereisnoreality.
Whatevertheysayisreality.[She]begantoscream.
AlthoughPomerantsevpresentssuchstoriesasanelementofapostmodern
world,amoreearthboundreadingmightbethatRussia,likeUkraine,hasfailed
inthemoderntaskofestablishingtheruleoflaw.ManyRussians,forthat
matter,reactedtothisfailureinmuchthesamewayasUkrainiansdidin2013.
ShortlyafterPomerantsevleftMoscow,Russiansprotestedthefalsified
parliamentaryelectionsoflate2011.Putinclaimedthatmembersofopposition
groupshadrespondedtoasignalfromSecretaryofStateHillaryClinton,and
Russianpolicearrestedtheirleaders.ThisisonereasonmuchoftheRussian
eliteopenlybacksTrumpoverClinton.(Theother,ofcourse,istheirconviction
thatTrumpwilldestroyUSpower.)
ThoughtheRussianmediafollowedPutinslinein2011,theveryfactofthe
protestsseemedtoshowthatmediacontrolandcoordinationwerenotenough.
TheemergingstratagemwastomergeRussiannewswithforeignnews:to
makeitseemasifmuchthathappenedabroadwasaboutRussia,sinceforeign
leadershadnothingontheirmindsbutthedisruptionofRussianpolitics.Inthis
wayRussiasgrowingsocialandeconomicproblemscouldbeignoredevenas
Russiansbelievedthattheywereatthecenterofworldattention.
Aftertheprotests,Putinturnedawayfromthemiddleclassandembraced
nationalpopulism.TherejectionoftheEUasdecadentandthecreationofthe
Eurasianalternativealsoarosefromthisexperience.SowhenUkrainians
protestedinfavoroftheEUinlateNovember2013,Russianleadersunderstood
thiswithinthestorylinetheywerewritingforthemselves.Ratherthandwelling
onthesimilaritiesbetweenUkrainianandRussianproblemsandthe
uncomfortableabilityofUkrainianstodemandreform,theRussianmedia
definedtheEuromaidanasaneruptionofEuropeandecadence.
TheEuropeanUnionwasalreadycalledGayropanowtheEuromaidanwas
calledGayeuromaidan.OnceRussiantroopsinvadedCrimea,happyendings
gavewayontelevisionscreenstosplendidlittlewars.Russiaseconomicdecline
continued,butthiscouldnowbepresentedasthepriceofforeignglory.Through
September2015,themainsubjectcouldbeUkraine.ThatOctober,itchangedto
Syria.
ThenewRussianwarsareaBonapartismwithoutaNapoleon,temporarily
resolvingdomestictensionsindoomedforeignadventures,butlackingavision
fortheworld.Idealsarerecognizedinordertobemocked.Thisisanewtype
ofKremlinpropaganda,writesPomerantsev,lessaboutarguingagainstthe
Westwithacounter-modelasintheColdWar,moreaboutslippinginsideits
languagetoplayandtauntitfrominside.Authoritarianismisthebestofall
possiblesystemsthethinkinggoesbecausetheothersare,despite
appearances,nobetter.Lyingintheserviceofthestatusquoisperfectly
justified,sincetheothersidesliesaremorepernicious.
Allproblems,inthisworldview,arisefromillusoryhopesofimprovement
arousedbyforeignpowers.Policepowerisauthentic,whereaspopular
movementsarenot.Killingintheserviceofthestatusquoisnecessary,since
nothingismoredangerousthanchange.InthepartsofsoutheasternUkraine
underRussianandseparatistcontrol,millionsofpeoplehavelosttheirhomesand
thousandstheirlives,butthepropertyoftheoligarchsisuntouchedandthose
separatistswhobelievedtheywerefightingagainstoligarchyhavebeen
murdered.9
Mustprotestsforjusticebringforeigninvasion,stupefyingpropaganda,and
squalidmurderinthenameofmaintainingthewealthofafew?Thisisthe
essenceofRussianforeignpolicy:enforcingtheprinciplethatpubliceffortsto
changepoliticsforthebettermustbringwarandnormalizationtousethe
termmadenotoriousaftertheRedArmyanditsWarsawPactalliesputdown
thePragueSpringin1968.Pomerantsev,whoisconcernedwiththeconnections
betweenthelate-Sovietandthepost-Soviet,deftlyrevealsthesignificanceofthe
revolutionsof1968asaturningpointinSovietpoliticsandindissidentpolitical
thought.
WhenSovietforcescrushedtheCzechoslovakshopesforsocialismwitha
humanface,PomerantsevsmotherwasaSovietschoolgirl.AKGBofficer
whohadtakenpartintheinvasionlatervisitedherclassroom,regalingthe
childrenwithstoriesofthedefeatoftheCzechoslovakreformmovement.Until
thenthegirlhadbelievedtheofficialversion:thattheSovietarmyhadintervened
tostopaWestern-backedfascistcoup.Surprisedbywhatshewashearing,she
asked:Youmeantheywerenthappytoseeyou?ThelooktheKGBman
gavehersaiditall:shewastounderstandthattheofficialversionwasalie,and
thatthedutyofSovietcitizenswastoknowinglylivewithinsuchlies.
AftertheinvasionofCzechoslovakia,SovietleaderLeonidBrezhnevpromised
fraternalassistancetoanyEasternEuropeancountrythatseemedtodepart
fromtheofficialline.ToSovietcitizensBrezhnevproposedreallyexisting
socialism,thenotionthatdespitethedrearinessoflifenothingbetterwas
possible.ForKGBmeneducatedinthe1970s,suchasVladimirPutin,instability
andchangeweretheenemiesmorethananyparticularidea.Workinginthe
1980sinEastGermany,hecoulddeludehimselfthatthestatusquowasdurable
thoughbythenEastGermanstabilitydependeduponWesterneconomies.It
wouldnotoccurtohimthatBrezhnevsbetonenergyexportsandforeign
interventionwasamistakeonceinpower,Putinwouldrepeatit.Thevalueofa
barrelofcrudeoil(intodaysdollars)whentheUSSRinvadedAfghanistanin
1979waspeakingat$101whentheUSSRself-destructedin1991itwas$34.
WhenthatRussianBUKconvoyarrivedinDonetskinJune2014,thepriceofoil
waspeakingat$112asIwriteitis$39.
EasternEuropeandissidentssuchasPomerantsevsparentsdrewadifferent
lessonfromthewreckageof1968:theimportanceoftruthasthefoundationofa
lifeindignityatermthatUkrainiansappliedtotheirrevolutionin
2014.10Schlgel,achildoftheWesternEuropeanstudentmovementsof1968,
istroubledthatmembersofhisowngenerationpreferstagnationtorevolution.
Hewantstoknowwhythegenerationwhoseownmemoriesaredirectedto
ParisinMayof1968didnotreacttoKiev.Whydidsofewpeoplewhoidentify
withtheleftnotseetheUkrainianrevolutionassuch,andnotcondemnthe
counterrevolutionaryRussianinvasionaccordingly?Partoftheansweristhat
manyintheWestwhoremember1968recallParisandnotPrague,andso
forgetthereactionarymilitarismoftheBrezhnevdoctrine.Schlgelis
fundamentallyconcernedaboutadeep,metaphysicalillness.Hewritesthathis
owngeneration,whichhasknownEuropeinbettertimes,prefersnostalgiato
knowledge.AlifelongstudentofRussia,hesawhisownjourneytoUkraineas
anhourofverificationandself-verification.
TherewasnoOrwelloftheUkrainianrevolution,butreadersofSchlgeland
Pieniekwillgetsomethingliketheeverydaygritandpoliticalinsight
ofHomagetoCatalonia.Pieniekriskedhislifetoseewhathesaw,asdid
otherbraveandtalentedWesternjournalists.11Alongtheway,perhaps,he
benefitedfromtheseeminglyinnocuousnatureofhiswork.Becauseseparatists
believedthatonlytelevisioncoveragemattered,theykeptaskingwherehis
cameramanwas.Perhapsbecausehewasfilingforprint,Pieniekfoundit
easiertoextendconversationsandmovefromonesideofthelinestotheother.
Afterhespentdayswithaseparatistthetwomenrealizedthattheyhadboth
beenontheMaidanonthesameday,theonebeatingandtheothergetting
beaten.ItsayssomethingaboutPieniekstactthathekepttherelationship
going.Pieniektakesnostandsandstrikesnoposes,butmodestlyexemplifies
theolddissidentidealofseekingaftersmalltruths,atrisktooneself,inaworld
ofbiglies.
Withsimilarhumility,PomerantsevpresentshisRussianfriendsassimilartohis
Westernfriends.Theirworldisjustaturnofthekaleidoscopeaway.Sincethe
publicationofhisbook,PomerantsevhasnotedtheaffinityofTrumps
propagandawiththeRussianmodel.ThefragilityofRussiaspresentregimeis
littleconsolation,sinceitsmethodsofrulecouldworkintheWesthere,says
Pomerantsev,isgoingtobethere.Ifthesinofintellectualsinthetwentieth
centurywastoproposeutopianvisions,thatofthetwenty-firstistodenyall
possibilityofchange.Schlgelfearsanewtrahisondesclercs,anabandonment
ofthesearchfortruththat,saysPomerantsev,bringsthebottomlessskepticism
thatmakespoliticalactionseempointless.Wecannotgiveup,Schlgel
concludes,onthedifferencebetweenfactandfiction.Somethingsaretrue,
andsomethingsarepossible.
1. 1
ForalegalaccountingoftheseeventsseeThomasD.Grant,Aggression
AgainstUkraine:Territory,Responsibility,andInternational
Law(PalgraveMacmillan,2015).
2. 2
AsSerhyYekelchyknotes:Ukrainianvolunteersandconscriptsare
moreoftenthannotthemselvesspeakingRussian,meaningthattheyare
fightingforacivicratherthananethnicconceptofUkrainianidentity.
SeeTheConflictinUkraine:WhatEverybodyNeedsto
Know(OxfordUniversityPress,2015),p.18.
3. 3
Onprewarloyalties,seeGrigorePop-ElechesandGraemeRobertson,
DoCrimeansActuallyWanttoJoinRussia?,TheWashingtonPost,
March6,2014.
4. 4
InFebruary2014Ukrainianauthoritiesproposedtherepealofalawthat
allowedRussiantobedeclaredaregionallanguage.Theydidnotinfact
repealit.The(nearlyuniversal)useofRussianintheDonbaswasnot
affectedeitherbythepassageofthelaworthediscussionofitsrepeal.

5. 5
InMay2014Ukrainehelddemocraticpresidentialelections,legitimizing
theneworder.PutinhasnowadmittedthedirectRussianmilitaryrolein
bothCrimeaandintheDonbas.AthisDecember17,2015,press
conferencehesaid:Weneversaidtherewerenotpeopletherewho
carriedoutcertaintasksincludinginthemilitarysphere.TheRussian
militaryjournalistArkadyBabchenkocharacterizedsuchcircumlocutions
asinfantilismraisedtotherankofstatepolicy.
6. 6
BothRussianandUkrainianofficialshaveclaimed,falsely,nottopossess
therelevantweapons.Threemajorreportsallowastraightforward
reconstructionoftheevent:thatoftheDutchSafetyBoard,releasedon
October13,2015,andtheopen-sourceseriesofinvestigationscarriedout
bytheinvestigativejournalismwebsitesBellingcatandCorrect!v.
Whereasthefirstfocusesonthedestructionoftheairplane,thelattertwo
describethemovementsoftheRussianBUK.InDecember
2015BellingcatsubmittedtoDutchprosecutorsalistofRussiansoldiers
believedtohavepersonalknowledgeofthecircumstancesoftheshooting
downofMH17.
7. 7
LevadaCenter,reportofJuly27,2015.
8. 8
Inthe2014parliamentaryelections,whichtookplaceunderthepressure
ofwar,neitherofthetworight-wingpartiesclearedthe5percent
thresholdforparticipation(RightSectorreceived1.8percentand
Svoboda4.7percentofthepopularvote).
9. 9
SeeAndriyPortnov,HowEasternUkraineWasLost,Open
Democracy,January14,2016.
10. 10
SeeKieranWilliams,TheRussianView(s)ofthePrague
Spring,JournalofColdWarStudies,Vol.14,No.2(Spring2012).
11. 11
Traditionalprintreportingprovidedthehumanizingcountertotheeasier
tropesofpropaganda.SeeTimJudah,InWartime:Storiesfrom
Ukraine(London:AllenLane,2015).
From: teagueeliza@aol.com
Senttime: 07/29/201606:25:59AM
To: robertotto25@gmail.com
Subject: Fwd:160724(DefOne/Tucker)HowPutinWeaponizedWikileakstoInfluencetheElectionofanAmericanPresident
Dagestangetsamention
-----OriginalMessage-----
From:BoboLo<bobolo_uk@yahoo.co.uk>
To:BoboLo<bobolo_uk@yahoo.co.uk>RodricBraithwaite<rqbraithwaite@mac.com>JulianCooper<j.m.cooper@bham.ac.uk>
CC:StephenFortescue<s.fortescue@unsw.edu.au>KlausSegbers<segbers@zedat.fu-berlin.de>KyleWilson
<krwilson66@icloud.com>RobertHorvath<rghorvath@yahoo.com>carolinavendilpallin<carolina.vendil.pallin@foi.se>Elizabeth
Teague<teagueeliza@aol.com><keith.bush017@gmail.com><keith.bush017@gmail.com>RichardConnolly
<R.Connolly@bham.ac.uk>PhilipHanson<phil_hanson@btinternet.com>RodericLyne<rodericlyne@hotmail.com>John
Besemeres<john.besemeres@anu.edu.au>FriedErc<ErcFried@aol.com>SilvanaMalle<silvana.malle@univr.it>DG
<davidjeglass@gmail.com>SiriolHugh-Jones<siriolhj@yahoo.co.uk>
Sent:Fri,29Jul201614:17
Subject:Re:160724(DefOne/Tucker)HowPutinWeaponizedWikileakstoInfluencetheElectionofanAmericanPresident
Uponconsultingtheinternet,IseethatYeltsinscored53.8percentofthesecond-roundvote,comparedtoZyuganov's40.3percent
(http://www.electoralgeography.com/new/ru/countries/r/russia/russia-presidential-election-1996.html).ThelatterpredictablywontheRed
Belt,andpartsofsouthernSiberia,butlostinmostotherplaces.Interestingly,helostinPrimoryeandKhabarovsk,wherethelocal
strongmenNazdratenkoandIshaevwereabletodeliverthevote,andinChechnya(militaryvote),Dagestan,andTatarstan(Shaimiev).
OnFriday,29July2016,13:53,BoboLo<bobolo_uk@yahoo.co.uk>wrote:
Dearfriends,
Theseareallfascinatingreminiscencesandinsights.
Formypart,IarrivedinMoscowasFirstSecretaryintheAustralianEmbassyafewdaysbeforetheDecember1995Dumaelections,
andlivedthroughthesix-monthpresidentialelectioncampaign.
Afewcomments,forwhatthey'reworth:
1.Yeltsin'spopularityratingincreasedfrom2-3percentinJanuary1996to,ifmemoryserves,53percentinthesecondroundofthe
presidentials(versusZyuganov's38percent).Aremarkablechangeinfortunes,tosaytheleast!
2.So,howdidhedidhedoit?Well,alltheoligarchsgotbehindhimsothattherewasamassivediscrepancyinfinancialoutreach.
Then,theelectronicmedia(controlledbyseveraloftheoligarchs)gaveblanketpositivecoveragetoYeltsin,andcorrespondingly
negativecoveragetoZyuganov.Oneparticularexamplecomestomind-thetwocandidates'respectivedancingperformances.Yeltsin
wasshownrockingandrollingonafinedayinRedSquareinfrontofayoung,enthusiasticaudiencehavingagreattime.Zyuganovwas
shownmakingadog'sdinnerofaRussianfolkdance.Hewasfilmedfromabove,sothateveryonecouldseehisbaldingpate(compared
toY'sfineheadofhair),andsweatingprofuselyfromhisarmpitsandotherorifices.Hisaudiencewasalsohiscore,clapped-outand
grumpyCommunistPartyconstituency.Thesymbolismcouldnothavebeenmorestark,andboydidtheelectronicmedialaborthe
point!
3.AfriendofminewasplayingtenniswithGusinskyaboutamonthbeforethefirstround.GusinskysaidtherewasasplitintheYeltsin
campaboutwhattodowiththepresidentialelections-whethertogoaheadwiththem,ortocancel/postponethem.The'siloviki'(I
know,notatermthatcameintofashionuntillater!)closetoYeltsin,namely,KorzhakovandSoskovets,wereallforcanningthe
electionsonthebasisthattheycouldn'triskZ.comingtopower.Chubais,however,wasstronglyoftheviewthathecoulddelivera
positiveresult,andthattosuspendtheelectoralprocesswouldbebothhighlydamagingandunnecessary.Asweknownow,hewas
abletopersuadeYeltsin.
4.Irememberatthetimethattheamountofelectoralfalsification(ballotstuffing,etc.)wasnotdeemedtobeespeciallysignificant.The
figurecirculatingwasintheorderof5percent-obviouslyimportantintheeventofaclosecontest,butnotenoughtoinfluence
proceedingsgiventhegeneralexpectationthatYeltsinwouldwinthesecondroundhandily.
5.Weretheelectionsfreeandfair?No.Infact,theformulationthenwasthattheelectionswere'free,butnotfair'.Interestingly,though,
adiplomaticcolleagueofminetoldmethathisEmbassy'slinewasthat'theelectionsshallbedeemedfair'.
6.PartofthecheatingcamefromthepretensethatYeltsinwasthisvigorous,dynamic,andforward-lookingleaderincontrasttoatired,
regressiveZyuganov.Theirony,ofcourse,isthatYeltsinwasalreadyextremelyill,andcollapsedsoonafterbeingre-elected(remember
theclassicformulation-'workingonpapers'),whereasZyuganov,regressivethoughheundoubtedlyremains,isstillverymuchwithus.
Bobo
OnFriday,29July2016,13:04,RodricBraithwaite<rqbraithwaite@mac.com>wrote:
Icantkeepup.
However,ItOowasinRussiaatthetimeofthe1996election,intheweekbeforethesecondround.Isawacouple
ofZiuganovsteamatthattime:Masliukov,Surikov,andthatamazingeconomistwomen-wasitKoryagina?My
strongimpressionwasthat,despitetheirmansstrongshowinginthefirstround,theynotonlydidntexpecthimto
win-theyweaghastatthepossibilitythathemight.Theyobviouslyfearedthatwithvictorywouldcomethe
responsibilityofsortingthecountryout,andhadnoideahowtosetaboutit.
OnthedayofthesecondrounditselfwewerehavingdinnerwithPiontkovski.Iaskedhimifhedvoted.Hesaidhe
hadnt,becausehecouldntbeareithercandidate.Itoldhimheshoulddohiscivicduty,andthatthoughitwasnt
mybusinesstosayso,IthoughtheshouldvoteforYeltsin.Sohewentoutforawhile,andcamebacklater
mumblingsomethingthatledmetobelieveheddonethat.MuchlaterIdiscoveredthathehadntbeennearthe
pollingboth.
FourorfivemonthsearlierGaidarandIhaddisagreedwhenwebothspokeatadinnerinLondon.Hewassaying
thattheendofcivilisationwouldoccurifZiuganovwon.IsaidthatIthoughtthatwasagreatexaggeration:indeedit
mightbesalutaryifZiuganovwon,madeafoolofhimself,andsodemonstratedthattheCommunistswerenotthe
answer:thescenariowhichworkedinseveralEastEuropeancountries.GaidarsaidthatifZiuganovwon,hed
makesuretherewerenomoreelections.Whoknows?
AsforBobosdepressingviewofcurrentpoliticsthroughouttheworld,thatswhatyougetifyouwinaColdWar.IN
thiscountrythingsaresettlingdownunderMay:areliefafteraweekoflivinginabananarepublic.Itseemstome
thatthelatestfiascoisonemorestageinBritainsdeparturefromempire.Perhapswellendupasanormal
country(whateverthatmeans),withnomoreambitionstopunchaboveourweight.
On29Jul2016,at11:18,JulianCooper<j.m.cooper@bham.ac.uk>wrote:
Stephen

DontforgetthatitwasMedvedevwhofocusedattentionontheissueofthe1996presidentialelectioninan
commentmadeataclosedmeetinginFebruary2012:
http://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2107565,00.html

Yes,theVoronezhmekhanicheskiizavod,amajorproducerofliquidfuelledrocketengines,thenandnow;afilial
oftheKhrunichevstatespacescienceproductioncentreoftheRoskosmosstatecorporation.Alsoinvolvednowin
importsubstitutionactivitiesinthefieldofequipmentfortheoilandgasindustry.

Julian#

From:StephenFortescue[mailto:s.fortescue@unsw.edu.au]
Sent:28July201623:00
To:segbers@zedat.fu-berlin.de
Cc:JulianCooperRodricBraithwaiteKyleWilsonRobertHorvathBoboLocarolinavendilpallinElizabethTeague
<keith.bush017@gmail.com>RichardConnollyPhilipHansonRodericLyneJohnBesemeresFriedErcSilvanaMalle
DG
Subject:Re:160724(DefOne/Tucker)HowPutinWeaponizedWikileakstoInfluencetheElectionofanAmericanPresident

Klaus,
Interesting.Thanksforthat.Iwouldhavesuspectedsomethingfishywasgoingoniftheydidn'ttrytogetyoudrunk.
Anumberofmywife'srelativescomefromVoronezh.OneofthemwasthechiefengineeroftheVoronezh
MekhanicheskiiZavod(Ithinkthat'sthename-anywaythebigdefenceplant),whobecametheheadofthelocal
privatisationagencyandhadalotofrespectforChubais.Idon'tremembertalkingtohimaboutYeltsin.Iimaginehe
wouldhavehadmixedfeelings,butnodoubtwhosesidehewouldhavebeenon.Heorganizedsomeinteresting
meetingsforme,whichImightgettheopportunitytodescribesomeothertime-andyouyourkolkhoz.
Stephen
SentfrommyiPad
On28Jul2016,at22:59,prof.dr.klaussegbers<segbers@zedat.fu-berlin.de>wrote:

atthattime,iwasanofficialelectionobserverinvoronezh'(city)andoblast'(irmemeberacolorful
kolkhoz).
theosceandeuroparliamentdelegationsdidn'thavehardevoidenceoffalsificationsonelectionday.
unlessyoutakeattemptstomakeforeignobserversdrunkobverversasfalsifications(icouldresistthe
worst).
talkingaboutmediaimpactisadifferentstory.
mostrussiansitalkedtothendidn'thaveastronglikingforbne.slightlymoredislikedzyuganov,though.
also,weshouldn'tforgetthatthenbnewasn'ttheonestandingonthetankinfrontofthewhitehousebut
theonelettinghisdaughterandothersgrabstuff,andlettingkorzhakovrunningthecountryforawhile,
cumberezovskyietal..
themajorissueforthensuccessfulrussiansandmanywesternobserverswasnotthenationalismor
nostalgic'communism'ofzyuganovbutthecompleteinabilityofhis'team'tocontinueinstitutional
reformsandintegratingthecountryintotheworld(whatwasontheagendathen,wemaycomparewith
today,havingtearsinoureyes).
klaus
Am28.07.2016um14:43schriebStephenFortescue:
NodoubtvariousofuswillhavequibbleswithvariousthingsSimeshastosay.I'vegot
onequestion,Isupposeoflargelyhistoricalrelevance.It'shisreferencestothe
'demonstrablyfraudulent'natureand'massiveelectoralfraud'ofthe1996elections.These
arecharacterizationsofthoseelectionsthatoneseeseverywherethesedays,indeedasif
theyareestablishedhistoricalfacts.Istheclaimthatthecountingwassimplyfaked,and
thatifthevoteshadbeencountedascastZyuganovwouldhavewon?Ifthatistheclaim,
isthereevidence?It'sagenuinequestion-itmightwellexistandI'mjustnotawareofit.
IwasinRussiaatthetime,andIdon'trememberthenasenseofsurpriseordisbeliefin
theoutcome-butIguessImovedincirclesinwhichonewouldnothaveexpected
scepticism.
I'mofcoursewellawareofthepointsSimesmakesaboutmediasupportforYeltsinand
soon(andmaybethat'sallhemeansby'fraudulent').IremembertheTVcampaigns-I
rememberseeingYeltsin'sfamousdancingonstage-andthereasonablyrelentless
documentariesontheevilsoftheSovietpast.AsfarasIcouldtellthedocumentaries
wereallhistoricallyaccurate,buttherewascertainlysomethingaboutthe
timing.IalsorememberZyuganov'scampaign,whichgotenoughcoveragethatIwas
awareofitanditscontent,andmysenseatthetimewasthatYeltsin'sdancingwouldbe
moreelectorallyeffectivethanZyuganov'stimidlyandtediouslycrudenationalism.AndI
rememberthedealwithLebed,whichwasseenasgivingYeltsinabigchunkofvotesin
thesecondround.IhavetoadmitthatIhavenomemoryofYavlinskybeingaviable
candidateunderanyimaginablecircumstances.
Togetbacktomyquestion,isthereevidencethatYeltsinwontheelectionnotthrough
hardcore,butthroughstraightdownthelineballotboxstuffingand
countfalsification?
Stephen
SentfrommyiPad
On28Jul2016,at19:09,JulianCooper<J.M.COOPER@bham.ac.uk>wrote:
Changingthesubjecttosomeextent,thelatestfromDimitriSimes
http://nationalinterest.org/print/feature/russiaamericadestined
conflict16726

Julian

Cc:RodricBraithwaiteJulianCooperKyleWilsonRobertHorvathBoboLo
carolinavendilpallinElizabethTeague<keith.bush017@gmail.com>Richard
ConnollyPhilipHansonRodericLyneJohnBesemeresFriedErcSilvana
MalleDG
Subject:Re:160724(DefOne/Tucker)HowPutinWeaponizedWikileaksto
InfluencetheElectionofanAmericanPresident

Iagreewithyou-andMashaHessen.Ican'ttellfromherehowbigallthis
reallyisintheUScampaign,andwhyamIcommentingonaplaceI've
barelyevenvisitedinmylife,butiftheDemocratsarerelyingontheRussian
cardtogetthemovertheline,we'vegotabigproblemandifwethinkPutin
isthesourceofallourproblems,we'vegotanevenbiggerproblem.
Stephen
SentfrommyiPad
On27Jul2016,at21:57,prof.dr.klaussegbers<segbers@zedat.fu-
berlin.de>wrote:

stephen,ithinkit'snotsomuchabouttheKremlinbutabout
politicallygiftedclownssensingopportunities.theyfeelhow
manypeopleareclue-andhelplessfacingsocialandcultural
challengesrelatedtoglobalization.theypersonalizethese
feelingsprovidingforculprits('lockherup'),andoffering
simplified(andmostlynotviable)solutions('let'sbuildawall').
thisisthelinkbetweenputin,orban,erdogan,trump,xi
(exploitingtheanti-elitefeelingsbypromotinganti-corruption)
and,maybe,natanyahu(inowlessaboutthelastone).

IclaimnoexpertiseinthesemattersandI'mgoing
justontheevidencecontainedinthevarious
articlesreferredtointhiscorrespondence,butit
seemstomethatJuliaIoffehasgotitright
regardingpossiblefinanciallinksbetweenPutin
andTrump.Theevidenceisverythin-infact
nonethatanyRussianpartnersTrumpmighthave
areclosetoPutin.AsIoffepointsout,Trump's
lackofbusinesssuccessinRussiawouldsuggest
thelackofaconnection,ratherthantheotherway
around.Butbythesoundofithegenerallysent
hissontoMoscow,somaybehewasn'teven
tryingveryhard.
Noneofthat'stosaythathedoesn'tpresenta
viewoftheworldwhichisveryattractivetothe
Russians,andthatthey'rehopefulthathe'llwin.I
knownomoreaboutcomputerhackingthanabout
hotelfinancing,butthatevidencedoessoundmore
convincing,andwhywouldn'twebelieveit.
Idon'tknowhowbigallthisRussianstuffisinthe
campaign,butonecan'thelphavingthenasty
feelingthatEstoniabeinginthesuburbsofSt
PetersburgandHilaryisawarmongermightbe
attractivepropositionstomorevotersthanIliketo
thinkabout.HasanyoneintheUSmentioned,
say,China,theSouthChinaSeas,etc,orarethey
mattersofnoimport?
Onaslightlydifferentissue.Inthepresidential
websitereportofyesterday'sSecurityCouncil
meeting,Putinissaidtohavereportedonthe
forthcomingvisitofErdogantoRussiaandPutin's
telephoneconversationswithErdoganand
Netahanyu,allinonesentenceandasiftheywere
alllinked.AmIgettingtooKremlinological,or
aretheyalllinked?
Stephen
SentfrommyiPad
On27Jul2016,at18:25,RodricBraithwaite
<rqbraithwaite@mac.com>wrote:
Idbeveryinterestedincomments
ontheJoshMarshallarticle.

R

On26Jul2016,at
09:42,JulianCooper
<j.m.cooper@bham.ac.uk>
wrote:

Anotherview:
http://nationalinterest.org/feature/the
hawks%E2%80%99
electionstrategy
pushingnewcold
war17113

Julian

From:KyleWilson
[mailto:krwilson66@icloud.com]
Sent:26July2016
00:11
To:RobertHorvath
BoboLoJulianCooper
carolinavendilpallin
<teagueeliza@aol.com>
<keith.bush017@gmail.com>
RichardConnollyPhil
Roderic&MandyLyne
JohnBesemeresKlaus
SegbersFUFriedErc
RodricBraithwaite
StephenFortescue
SilvanaMalle
Cc:DG
Subject:Fwd:160724
(DefOne/Tucker)How
PutinWeaponized
WikileakstoInfluence
theElectionofan
AmericanPresident
SentfrommyiPad
Beginforwarded
message:
Sentfrom
myiPad
Begin
forwarded
message:
Date:26
July
2016
at
01:19:32
AEST
To:undisclosed-
recipients:
Subject:Fwd:
160724
(DefOne/Tucker)
How
Putin
Weaponized
Wikileaks
to
Influence
the
Election
of
an
American
President
for
whatever
it's
worth
...
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/trump-
putin-
yes-
it-
s-
really-
a-
thing
TPMEDITOR'S
BLOG
Trump
&
Putin.
Yes,
It's
Really
a
Thing
ByJOSH
MARSHALLPublishedJULY
23,
2016,
4:15
PM
EDT
Over
the
last
year
there
has
been
a
recurrent
refrain
about
the
seeming
bromance
between
Donald
Trump
and
Russian
President
Vladimir
Putin.
More
seriously,
but
relatedly,
many
believe
Trump
is
an
admirer
and
would-
be
emulator
of
Putin's
increasingly
autocratic
and
illiberal
rule.
But
there's
quite
a
bit
more
to
the
story.
At
a
minimum,
Trump
appears
to
have
a
deep
financial
dependence
on
Russian
money
from
persons
close
to
Putin.
And
this
is
matched
to
a
conspicuous
solicitousness
to
Russian
foreign
policy
interests
where
they
come
into
conflict
with
US
policies
which
go
back
decades
through
administrations
of
both
parties.
There
is
also
something
between
a
non-
trivial
and
a
substantial
amount
of
evidence
suggesting
Putin-
backed
financial
support
for
Trump
or
a
non-
tacit
alliance
between
the
two
men.
Let
me
start
by
saying
I'm
no
Russia
hawk.
I
have
long
been
skeptical
of
US
efforts
to
extend
security
guarantees
to
countries
within
what
the
Russians
consider
their
'near
abroad'
or
extend
such
guarantees
and
police
Russian
interactions
with
new
states
which
for
centuries
were
part
of
either
the
Russian
Empire
or
the
USSR.
This
isn't
a
matter
of
indifference
to
these
countries.
It
is
based
on
my
belief
in
seriously
thinking
through
the
potential
costs
of
such
policies.
In
the
case
of
the
Baltics,
those
countries
are
now
part
of
NATO.
Security
commitments
have
been
made
which
absolutely
must
be
kept.
But
there
are
many
other
areas
where
such
commitments
have
not
been
made.
My
point
in
raising
this
is
that
I
do
not
come
to
this
question
or
these
policies
as
someone
looking
for
confrontation
or
cold
relations
with
Russia.
Let's
start
with
the
basic
facts.
There
is
a
lot
of
Russian
money
flowing
into
Trump's
coffers
and
he
is
conspicuously
solicitous
of
Russian
foreign
policy
priorities.
I'll
list
off
some
facts.
1.
All
the
other
discussions
of
Trump's
finances
aside,
hisdebt
load
has
grown
dramatically
over
the
last
year,
from
$350
million
to
$630
million.
This
is
in
just
one
year
while
his
liquid
assets
have
also
decreased.
Trump
has
been
blackballed
by
all
major
US
banks.
2.
Post-
bankruptcy
Trump
has
been
highly
reliant
on
money
from
Russia,
most
of
which
has
over
the
years
become
increasingly
concentrated
among
oligarchs
and
sub-
garchs
close
to
Vladimir
Putin.
Here's
agood
overviewfromThe
Washington
Post,with
one
morsel
for
illustration
...
Since
the
1980s,
Trump
and
his
family
members
have
made
numerous
trips
to
Moscow
in
search
of
business
opportunities,
and
they
have
relied
on
Russian
investors
to
buy
their
properties
around
the
world.
Russians
make
up
a
pretty
disproportionate
cross-
section
of
a
lot
of
our
assets,
Trumps
son,
Donald
Jr.,
told
a
real
estate
conference
in
2008,
according
to
an
account
posted
on
the
website
of
eTurboNews,
a
trade
publication.
We
see
a
lot
of
money
pouring
in
from
Russia.
3.
One
example
of
this
is
the
Trump
Soho
development
in
Manhattan,
one
of
Trump's
largest
recent
endeavors.
The
project
was
hit
with
a
series
of
lawsuits
in
response
to
some
typically
Trumpian
efforts
to
defraud
investors
by
making
fraudulent
claims
about
the
financial
health
of
the
project.
Emerging
out
of
that
litigation
however
wasnews
about
secret
financing
for
the
project
from
Russia
and
Kazakhstan.
Most
attention
about
the
project
has
focused
on
the
presence
of
a
twice
imprisoned
Russian
immigrant
with
extensive
ties
to
the
Russian
criminal
underworld.
But
that's
not
the
most
salient
part
of
the
story.
As
theTimesput
it,
"Mr.
Lauria
brokered
a
$50
million
investment
in
Trump
SoHo
and
three
other
Bayrock
projects
by
an
Icelandic
firm
preferred
by
wealthy
Russians
in
favor
with
President
Vladimir
V.
Putin,
according
to
a
lawsuit
against
Bayrock
by
one
of
its
former
executives.
The
Icelandic
company,
FL
Group,
was
identified
in
a
Bayrock
investor
presentation
as
a
strategic
partner,
along
with
Alexander
Mashkevich,
a
billionaire
once
charged
in
a
corruption
case
involving
fees
paid
by
a
Belgian
company
seeking
business
in
Kazakhstan
that
case
was
settled
with
no
admission
of
guilt."
Another
suit
alleged
the
project
"occasionally
received
unexplained
infusions
of
cash
from
accounts
in
Kazakhstan
and
Russia."
Sounds
completely
legit.
Read
both
articles:
After
his
bankruptcy
and
business
failures
roughly
a
decade
ago
Trump
has
had
an
increasingly
difficult
time
finding
sources
of
capital
for
new
investments.
As
I
noted
above,
Trump
has
been
blackballed
by
all
major
US
banks
with
the
exception
of
Deutschebank,
which
is
of
course
a
foreign
bank
with
a
major
US
presence.
He
has
steadied
and
rebuilt
his
financial
empire
with
a
heavy
reliance
on
capital
from
Russia.
At
a
minimum
the
Trump
organization
is
receiving
lots
of
investment
capital
from
people
close
to
Vladimir
Putin.
Trump's
tax
returns
would
likely
clarify
the
depth
of
his
connections
to
and
dependence
on
Russian
capital
aligned
with
Putin.
And
in
case
you're
keeping
score
at
home:
no,
that's
not
reassuring.
4.
Then
there's
Paul
Manafort,
Trump's
nominal
'campaign
chair'
who
now
functions
as
campaign
manager
and
top
advisor.
Manafort
spent
most
of
the
last
decade
as
top
campaign
and
communications
advisor
for
Viktor
Yanukovych,
the
pro-
Russian
Ukrainian
Prime
Minister
and
then
President
whose
ouster
in
2014
led
to
the
on-
going
crisis
and
proxy
war
in
Ukraine.
Yanukovych
was
and
remains
a
close
Putin
ally.
Manafort
is
running
Trump's
campaign.
5.
Trump's
foreign
policy
advisor
on
Russia
and
Europe
isCarter
Page,
a
man
whose
entire
professional
career
has
revolved
around
investments
in
Russia
and
who
has
deep
and
continuing
financial
and
employment
ties
to
Gazprom.
If
you're
not
familiar
with
Gazprom,
imagine
if
most
or
all
of
the
US
energy
industry
were
rolled
up
into
a
single
company
and
it
were
personally
controlled
by
the
US
President
who
used
it
as
a
source
of
revenue
and
patronage.
That
is
Gazprom's
role
in
the
Russian
political
and
economic
system.
It
is
no
exaggeration
to
say
that
you
cannot
be
involved
with
Gazprom
at
the
very
high
level
which
Page
has
been
without
being
wholly
in
alignment
with
Putin's
policies.
Those
ties
also
allow
Putin
to
put
Page
out
of
business
at
any
time.
6.
Over
the
course
of
the
last
year,
Putin
hasaligned
all
Russian
state
controlled
media
behind
Trump.
As
Frank
Foerexplains
here,
this
fits
a
pattern
with
how
Putin
has
sought
to
prop
up
rightist/nationalist
politicians
across
Europe,
often
with
direct
or
covert
infusions
of
money.
In
some
cases
this
is
because
they
support
Russia-
backed
policies
in
others
it
is
simply
because
they
sow
discord
in
Western
aligned
states.
Of
course,
Trump
has
repeatedly
praised
Putin,
not
only
in
the
abstract
but
often
for
the
authoritarian
policies
and
patterns
of
government
which
have
most
soured
his
reputation
around
the
world.
7.
Here's
where
it
gets
more
interesting.
This
is
one
of
a
handful
of
developments
that
tipped
me
from
seeing
all
this
as
just
a
part
of
Trump's
larger
shadiness
to
something
more
specific
and
ominous
about
the
relationship
between
Putin
and
Trump.
As
TPM's
Tierney
Sneedexplained
in
this
article,
one
of
the
most
enduring
dynamics
of
GOP
conventions
(there's
a
comparable
dynamic
on
the
Dem
side)
is
more
mainstream
nominees
battling
conservative
activists
over
the
party
platform,
with
activists
trying
to
check
all
the
hardline
ideological
boxes
and
the
nominees
trying
to
soften
most
or
all
of
those
edges.
This
is
one
thing
that
made
the
Trump
convention
very
different.
The
Trump
Camp
was
totally
indifferent
to
the
platform.
So
party
activists
were
able
to
write
one
of
the
most
conservative
platforms
in
history.
Not
with
Trump's
backing
but
because
he
simply
didn't
care.With
one
big
exception:
Trump's
team
mobilized
the
nominee's
traditional
mix
of
cajoling
and
strong-
arming
on
one
point:changing
the
party
platform
on
assistance
to
Ukraine
against
Russian
military
operationsin
eastern
Ukraine.
For
what
it's
worth
(and
it's
not
worth
much)
I
am
quite
skeptical
of
most
Republicans
call
for
aggressively
arming
Ukraine
to
resist
Russian
aggression.
But
the
single-
mindedness
of
this
focus
on
this
one
issue
-
in
the
context
of
total
indifference
to
everything
else
in
the
platform
-
speaks
volumes.
This
does
not
mean
Trump
is
controlled
by
or
in
the
pay
of
Russia
or
Putin.
It
can
just
as
easily
be
explained
by
having
many
of
his
top
advisors
having
spent
years
working
in
Putin's
orbit
and
being
aligned
with
his
thinking
and
agenda.
But
it
is
certainly
no
coincidence.
Again,
in
the
context
of
near
total
indifference
to
the
platform
and
willingness
to
let
party
activists
write
it
in
any
way
they
want,
his
team
zeroed
in
on
one
fairly
obscure
plank
to
exert
maximum
force
and
it
just
happens
to
be
the
one
most
important
to
Putin
in
terms
of
US
policy.
Add
to
this
that
his
most
conspicuous
foreign
policy
statements
track
not
only
with
Putin's
positions
but
those
in
which
Putin
is
most
intensely
interested.
Aside
from
Ukraine,
Trump's
suggestion
that
the
US
and
thus
NATO
mightnotcome
to
the
defense
of
NATO
member
states
in
the
Baltics
in
the
case
of
a
Russian
invasion
is
a
case
in
point.
There
are
many
other
things
people
are
alleging
about
hacking
and
all
manner
of
other
mysteries.
But
those
points
are
highly
speculative,
some
verging
on
conspiratorial
in
their
thinking.
I
ignore
them
here
because
I've
wanted
to
focus
on
unimpeachable,
undisputed
and
publicly
known
facts.
These
alone
paint
a
stark
and
highly
troubling
picture.
To
put
this
all
into
perspective,
if
Vladimir
Putin
were
simply
the
CEO
of
a
major
American
corporation
and
there
wasthis
much
moneyflowing
in
Trump's
direction,
combined
withthis
much
solicitousnessof
Putin's
policy
agenda,
it
would
set
off
alarm
bells
galore.
That
is
not
hyperbole
or
exaggeration.
And
yet
Putin
is
not
the
CEO
of
an
American
corporation.
He's
the
autocrat
who
rules
a
foreign
state,
with
an
increasingly
hostile
posture
towards
the
United
States
and
a
substantial
stockpile
of
nuclear
weapons.
The
stakes
involved
in
finding
out
'what's
going
on'
as
Trump
might
put
it
are
quite
a
bit
higher.
There
is
something
between
a
non-
trivial
and
a
substantial
amount
of
circumstantial
evidence
for
a
financial
relationship
between
Trump
and
Putin
or
a
non-
tacit
alliance
between
the
two
men.
Even
if
you
draw
no
adverse
conclusions,
Trump's
financial
empire
is
heavily
leveraged
and
has
a
deep
reliance
on
capital
infusions
from
oligarchs
and
other
sources
of
wealth
aligned
with
Putin.
That's
simply
not
something
that
can
be
waved
off
or
ignored.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Forwarded
message
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
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From:Don
KEYSER<dwkeyser@gmail.com>
Date:
Mon,
Jul
25,
2016
at
8:01
AM
http://www.defenseone.com/technology/2016/07/how-
putin-
weaponized-
wikileaks-
influence-
election-
american-
president/130163/?
&utm_term=Editorial%20-
%20Early%20Bird%20Brief
How
Putin
Weaponized
Wikileaks
to
Influence
the
Election
of
an
AmericanPresident
Evidence
suggests
that
a
Russian
intelligence
group
was
the
source
of
the
most
recent
Wikileaks
intel
dump,
which
was
aimed
to
influence
the
U.S.
election
July
24,
2016
By
Patrick
Tucker
Close
your
eyes
and
imagine
that
ahacking
group
backed
by
Russian
President
Vladimir
Putin
broke
into
the
email
system
of
a
majorU.S.political
party.
The
group
stole
thousands
of
sensitive
messages
and
then
published
them
through
an
obliging
third
party
in
a
way
that
was
strategically
timed
to
influence
the
United
States
presidential
election.
Now
open
your
eyes,
because
thats
what
justhappened.
On
Friday,
Wikileaks
published
20,000
emails
stolen
from
the
Democratic
National
Committee.
They
reveal,
among
other
things,thuggish
infighting,
a
push
bya
topDNCofficialto
use
Bernie
Sanders
religious
convictions
against
him
in
the
South,
and
attemptsto
strong-
armmedia
outlets.
In
other
words,
they
reveal
the
Washington
campaign
monster
for
what
itis.
But
leave
aside
the
purported
content
of
the
Wikileaks
data
dump
(to
which
numerous
other
outlets
have
devoted
considerable
attention)
and
consider
the
source.Considerable
evidence
shows
that
the
Wikileaks
dump
was
an
orchestrated
act
by
the
Russian
government,
working
through
proxies,
to
undermine
Hillary
Clintons
Presidentialcampaign.
This
has
all
the
hallmarks
of
tradecraft.
The
only
rationale
to
release
such
data
from
the
Russian
bulletproof
host
was
to
empower
one
candidate
against
another.
The
Cold
War
is
alive
and
well,
Tom
Kellermann,
theCEOof
Strategic
Cyber
Ventures
toldDefenseOne.
Heres
Subscribe
the
Receive
dailytimeline:On
emailJune
14,
updates:
cybersecurity
Subscribe
to company
the CrowdStrike,
under
Defense
One
contract
with
daily.
theDNC,
Be announced
the in
firsta
to blog
post
receive
that
updates.
two
separate
Russian
intelligence
groups
had
gained
access
to
theDNCnetwork.
One
group,FANCYBEARorAPT28,
gained
access
in
April.
The
other,COZYBEAR,
(also
called
Cozy
Duke
andAPT29)
first
breached
the
network
in
the
summer
of2015.
Cybersecurity
company
FireEye
firstdiscoveredAPT29
in
2014
and
was
quick
to
point
out
a
clear
Kremlin
connection.
We
suspect
the
Russian
government
sponsors
the
group
because
of
the
organizations
it
targets
and
the
data
it
steals.
Additionally,APT29
appeared
to
cease
operations
on
Russian
holidays,
and
their
work
hours
seem
to
align
with
theUTC+3
time
zone,
which
contains
cities
such
as
Moscow
and
St.
Petersburg,
they
wrote
in
their
report
on
the
group.OtherU.S.officialshave
said
that
the
group
looks
like
it
has
sponsorship
from
the
Russian
government
due
in
large
part
to
the
level
of
sophistication
behind
the
groupsattacks.
Its
The
the
Cold
same
War
group
is
that
alive
hit
and
theState
well
Department,
Tom
the
Kellermann,CEOof
White
Strategic
House,
and
Cyber
the
Ventures
civilian
email
of
theJoint
Chiefs
of
Staff.The
groups
modus
operandi
(a
spearphishing
attack
that
uploads
adistinctiveremote
access
tool
on
the
targets
computer)
is
well
known
to
cyber-
securityresearchers.
In
hisblog
poston
theDNCbreachesCrowdStrikesCTODmitri
Alperovitchwrote
Weve
had
lots
of
experience
with
both
of
these
actors
attempting
to
target
our
customers
in
the
past
and
know
them
well.
In
fact,
our
team
considers
them
some
of
the
best
adversaries
out
of
all
the
numerous
nation-
state,
criminal
and
hacktivist/terrorist
groups
we
encounter
on
a
daily
basis.Their
tradecraft
is
superb,
operational
security
second
to
none
and
the
extensive
usage
of
living-
off-
the-
land
techniques
enables
them
to
easily
bypass
many
security
solutions
theyencounter.
The
next
day,
an
individual
calling
himself
Guccifer
2.0claimedto
be
the
culprit
behind
the
breach
and
released
key
documents
to
back
up
the
claim,writing:Shame
onCrowdStrike.
Related:What
the
Joint
Chiefs
Email
Hack
Tells
Us
About
theDNCBreach
Related:The
Ukrainian
Blackout
and
the
Future
ofWar
Crowdstrike
stood
by
their
original
analysis,
writing:
these
claims
do
nothing
to
lessen
our
findings
relating
to
the
Russian
governments
involvement,
portions
of
which
we
have
documented
for
the
public
and
the
greater
securitycommunity.
Other
security
firms
offered
independent
analysis
and
reached
the
same
conclusion.
The
group
Fidelis
undertook
theirown
investigationand
found
Crowdstrike
to
becorrect.
A
Twitter
user
named@PwnAlltheThingslooked
at
the
metadata
on
the
docs
that
Guccifer
2.0
provided
in
his
blog
post
and
found
literal
Russiansignatures.
His
findings
were
backed
up
by
Dan
Goodin
atArs
Technica.
Given
the
evidence
combined
with
everything
else,
I
think
its
a
strong
attribution
to
one
of
the
Russian
intelligence
agencies,
@PwnAllTheThingsremarked
toMotherboard.
Motherboardreporter
Lorenzo
Franceschi-
Bicchierai
actually
conversed
with
Guccifer
2.0
over
Twitter.
The
hacker,
who
claimed
to
be
Romanian,
answered
questions
in
short
sentences
that
were
filled
with
mistakes
according
to
several
Romanian
native
speakers,
Bicchierifound.
A
large
body
of
evidence
suggests
that
Guccifer
2.0
is
a
smokescreen
that
the
actual
culprits
employed
to
hide
their
involvement
in
thebreach.
That
would
be
consistent
with
Russian
information
and
influence
operations.
Russian
propagandists
have
been
caught
hiring
actors
to
portray
victims
of
manufactured
atrocities
or
crimes
for
news
reports
(as
was
the
case
when
Viktoria
Schmidt
pretended
to
have
been
attacked
by
Syrian
refugees
in
Germany
for
Russias
ZvezdaTVnetwork),
or
faking
on-
scene
news
reporting
(as
shown
in
a
leaked
video
in
which
reporter
Maria
Katasonova
is
revealed
to
be
in
a
darkened
room
with
explosion
sounds
playing
in
the
background
rather
than
on
a
battlefield
in
Donetsk
when
a
light
is
switched
on
during
the
recording),
notes
aRANDreportfrom
earlier
inJuly.
The
use
of
Wikileaks
as
the
publishing
platform
served
to
legitimize
the
information
dump,
which
also
containsa
large
amount
of
personal
informationrelated
to
democratic
donors
such
as
social
security
and
credit
card
numbers.
This
suggests
that
Wikileaks
didnt
perform
a
thorough
analysis
of
the
documents
before
they
released
them,
or
simply
didntcare.
Its
the
latest
installment
in
a
trend
that
information
security
researcher
Bruce
Schneier
callsorganizational
doxingand
that
Lawfares
Nicholas
Weaver
callsthe
weaponization
ofWikileaks.
The
most
remarkable
example
of
which,
prior
to
theDNCincident,
was
the
June
2015
the
publication
of
several
sets
ofNSArecords
related
to
government
intelligence
collection
targets
inFrance,Japan,BrazilandGermany.
The
data
itself
was
not
remarkable,
but
it
did
harmU.S.relations
and
may
have
compromisedNSAtradecraft.
Wikileaks
doesnt
seem
to
care
that
they
are
being
used
as
a
weapon
by
unknown
parties,
instead
calling
themselves
a
library
of
mass
education.
But
the
rest
of
us
should,Weaverwrites.
The
evidence
so
far
suggests
its
a
weapon
that
Putin
used
to
great
effect
lastweek.

--
klaussegbers
<gp-center-logo.jpg>
professorforpoliticalscience
director,centerforglobalpolitics
freeuniversityofberlin
garystr.55,d-14195berlin
phone+493083852088
fax+493083853616
urlhttp://www.global-politics.org
urlhttp://www.oei.fu-berlin.de/politik
urlhttp://www.segbers.eu
--
klaussegbers
phone+493083852088
fax+493083853616
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To: EugeneRumer<rumereugene@gmail.com>RobertOtto<robertotto25@gmail.com>
Subject: PaulManafortisntaGOPretread.Hesmadeacareerofreinventingtyrantsanddespots.
SentfrommyiPad
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Subject:PaulManafortisntaGOPretread.Hesmadeacareerofreinventingtyrantsanddespots.
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To:RomaHadzewycz<staff@ukrweekly.com>,rl<romashka1@aol.com>
From:ForeignPolicyInitiative<info@foreignpolicyi.org>
Subject:FPIOvernightBrief:August23,2016
To:walter<waz2102@caa.columbia.edu>
FollowandSupportFPI

FPIOvernightBrief
August23,2016
TableofContents
MiddleEast/NorthAfrica,Asia,Security,Russia/Europe,Americas,Africa,Ideas,Events
Announcements TheMust-Reads
Ifyousupportourmissionandwork,pleaseconsidermaking ISISincreasinglyturnstochildsuicidebombers
atax-deductibledonationtoFPItoday.
FPIsKahn:Russia,Iranescalatemilitaryties
BesuretoencourageyourcolleaguestosignupfortheFPI
BretStephens:Thenewdictatorsclub
OvernightBrief.
UNofficialcallscrisisinAleppotheapexofhorror
ISWispublishingregularupdatesonthesituationinIraqand
Syria,andAEI'sCriticalThreatsProjectisdoingsofor Insidethebrutal,bureaucraticworldofISISinLibya
theYemenconflict.
Obamaconfrontsnewpoliticaldynamicsontrade
Miller,Payne:Thedangersofnuclearno-first-use
WaPo:BidenneedstogiveErdogansometoughadvice
IranexpandingterrornetworkinLatinAmerica
MiddleEast/NorthAfrica
Iran
TheWhiteHouseandStateDepartmentgaveconflictingexplanationsMondayfortheadministrationsalleged$400millionransompaymentto
Iran,withPresidentObamasspokesmanstillinsistingthemoneywaspartofanoldarmsdealandaspokesmanatFoggyBottomconcedingagain
thatitwasleveragetogainthereleaseoffourAmericanhostages.WashingtonTimes
Sen.RoyBluntwantsSecretaryofStateJohnKerrytoprovide"adetailedaccounting"ofthe$400millioncashpaymenttoIranthatwaslinkedto
thereleaseofAmericanhostagesheldthere.WashingtonExaminer
TheStateDepartmentwarnedMondaythatAmericanstravelingtoIranrunariskofbeingarrestedanddetained,inanoticethatupdateditsprior
warningaboutIrantravelfrommid-March.WashingtonExaminer
FPISeniorPolicyAnalystTzviKahnwrites:RussiasrecentuseofanIranianairbasetobombtargetsinSyriareflectsaburgeoningstrategic
partnershiprootedinsharedregionalobjectives.ThoughTehranterminatedthearrangementtodaylikelyduetodomesticperceptionsthatit
renderedtheIslamistregimeasubordinateofMoscow,theepisodedemonstratesthatbothcountries,workingintandem,seektoundermineU.S.
interestsandleadershipintheregion.WashingtoncannolongerregardeithergovernmentaspartnerstodefeattheIslamicState.ForeignPolicy
Initiative
LeeSmithwrites:If,asRosett'sstorysuggests,the13paymentstheJudgmentFundsenttotheStateDepartmentrepresentsthe$1.3billionin
interest,theadministrationhassomequestionstoanswer.Wastheinterestpaidincashlikethe$400million,orbywire?Ifthelatter,whywasthe
$400millionpaidincash?TheWeeklyStandardBlog
Syria
IranonMondayannulledpermissionforRussianplanestoflybombingrunsintoSyriafromanIranianbase,onlyaweekafterhavinggranted
suchextraordinaryaccess,sayingthattheKremlinhadbeenunacceptablypublicandarrogantabouttheprivilege.NewYorkTimes
TurkeyshelledIslamicState-heldterritoryacrosstheborderinSyriaonTuesday,keepinguparetaliationcampaignforaweekendbombingthat
rippedthroughaweddingcelebrationandkilled54people.WallStreetJournal(subscriptionrequired)
Foryears,theSyriangovernmentandU.S.-backedKurdishforcessharedcontrolofHasakah,acityinSyriasnortheast.Butlastweek,the
KurdishmilitiaknownasthePeoplesProtectionUnits,orYPG,launchedanassaultongovernment-controlledareasofthecity,activistssaid
markingariftbetweenonetimealliesandfurtherblurringthelinesbetweenthewarringsidesinSyriasbloodyinternecinecivilwar.LosAngeles
Times
ThetopaidofficialattheUnitedNationsgaveagloomyassessmentoftheSyriareliefeffortonMonday,sayingnoconvoydeliverieshadbeen
madetobesiegedareasthismonthandthatthesufferinginAleppo,onceSyriascommercialepicenter,wastheapexofhorror.NewYorkTimes
AfteryearsoftacitlyallowingthecreationofanautonomousKurdishregioninnorthernSyria,PresidentBasharal-Assadsregimeistreatingthe
ethnicminoritysgrowingpowerasathreat.WallStreetJournal(subscriptionrequired)
IransparliamentspeakerAliLarijanisaysRussianwarplanesarestillusinganIranianmilitarybasetostriketargetsinSyria.RadioFree
Europe/RadioLiberty
TheUSandRussiahaveyettofinalizeanagreementoncoordinatedeffortsinSyria,withPentagonspokesmanPeterCookwarningMondaythat
theclockisrunningonthewindowforthoseconversations.DefenseNews
U.S.SecretaryofStateJohnKerrysaidtalksbetweentheUnitedStatesandRussiaonmilitarycooperationinthefightagainsttheIslamicState
terroristgroupinSyriaarenearinganend.RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty
TheU.S.militaryveeredtowarddeclarationofano-flyzoneinSyriaMonday,butstoppedshortofusingthecontroversialtermthatwouldsetthe
stageforadirectconfrontationwiththeSyrianairforce.MilitaryTimes
TheUnitedNationsisreadytodeliveraidintoSyria'sAleppo,butneedscommitmentsfromallpartiesinthewar-notjustRussia-toabidebya
48-hourhumanitariantruce,theU.N.aidchief,angeredbylackofassistancetocivilians,saidonMonday.-Reuters
Turkey
BloodstainsandbrokenbodiesleftafterTurkeysdeadliestbombingthisyearcruellyunderscorethecomplexrivalriesswirlingamongtheTurkish
government,theSunnimilitantsofIslamicStateandmembersofTurkeyslargestethnicminority,theKurds.LosAngelesTimes
AnoddthinghashappenedinTurkey.Usuallydeeplypolarized,thetwosidesarelargelyunitedintheiroppositiontomilitarycoupsandthe
movementofFethullahGulen,aMuslimclericwholivesinself-exileinPennsylvaniaandhasbeenaccusedbyTurkeyoforchestratingthefailed
uprising.NewYorkTimes
ThelandmarkagreementthathaltedatorrentofmigrantsflowingfromTurkeyintoEuropeisnearingcollapseinthewakeofthefailedTurkish
coupandthesubsequentnationwidecrackdown.WashingtonPost
TurkeyvowedMondaytofightIslamicStatemilitantsathomeandto"cleanse"thegroupfromitsbordersafteraweekendsuicidebombingata
Kurdishwedding,anattackthatcameamidrecentgainsbySyrianKurdishmilitiaforcesagainsttheextremistsinneighboringSyria.Associated
Press
Withsuspicionsonbothsidesmounting,theUnitedStatesisstrugglingtopreserveitswobblypartnershipwithTurkeyasitentertainsacloser
relationshipwithRussiaandfumesoveraU.S.-basedclericitblamesfororchestratinglastmonth'sfailedcoupattempt.AssociatedPress
Turkishauthoritiessuspended95Istanbulpoliceofficers,includingpolicechiefs,onMonday,broadcasterCNNTurkreported,thelateststepsina
sweepingcrackdowntotargetsecurityforcesfollowingafailedcouplastmonth.-Reuters
TurkeyiswithdrawingitsambassadortoAustria,theTurkishforeignministersaidMonday,amidagrowingdiplomaticspat.AssociatedPress
Editorial:Mr.BidenoughttocandidlytellhishostthattheUnitedStatesdidnotinstigatethecoupandthatitwillnotrelinquishMr.Gulentoa
witchhunt.Mr.Erdoganmaynotwanttohearit,buthealsoshouldberemindedthatcrushingtheruleoflawwilldimTurkeysprospects.Mr.
Erdoganmaybaskinthecrowdstoday,butusingthecoupasapretexttopurgethemedia,academiaandotherspheresofindependentvoiceswill
notstrengthenthenationinthelongrun.WashingtonPost
ReturntoTop
Asia
EastAsia
AstheChineseeconomyslows,theregimeisrampingupanassaultondissidentsandothersitbrandsastroublemakers.Callittherepression
index.Oneofthebestindicatorsofthecountryseconomicdirectionisnowapoliticalone.WallStreetJournal(subscriptionrequired)
AsiafacesaredrawingofthegeopoliticalorderifDonaldTrumpbecomesUSpresidentaprospectthatalarmsWashingtonsallieswhile
handingagifttoChina,itsprincipalrival.FinancialTimes
Interview:AstheintersectionofAsia-Pacificcountriesmaritimeinterestsbecomesincreasinglycomplex,theregionalmaritimecommonshavein
turnbecomeasalientfactorinthestrategiccalculusofU.S.interests.HowtheUnitedStatesinteractswithvestedplayersandrespondsto
contingencieswillhaveimplicationsforthefutureoftheregionalsecurityarchitectureandshapethecontentofinternationalnormsintheyearsto
come.Againstthiscriticalbackdrop,NBRinterviewedAdmiralJonathanGreenert(ret.),formerU.S.chiefofnavaloperationsandthecurrent
holderofNBRsJohnM.ShalikashviliChairinNationalSecurityStudies.NationalBureauofAsianResearch
KoreanPeninsula
SouthKoreaandtheUnitedStatesbeganannualmilitarydrillsMondaydespiteNorthKorea'sthreatofnuclearstrikesinresponsetotheexercises
thatitcallsaninvasionrehearsal.AssociatedPress
NorthKoreahaslaidlandminesintheDemilitarizedZone(DMZ)betweenthetwoKoreas,theSouth'sYonhapnewsagencyreportedonTuesday,
astensionroseonthedividedpeninsulaafterthestartofannualU.S.-SouthKoreanmilitaryexercises.-Reuters
BruceKlingerwrites:WashingtonmustsharpenthechoiceforNorthKoreabyraisingtheriskandcostforitsactionsaswellasforthoseofits
enablersparticularlyBeijingwhohavewillinglyfacilitatedtheregimesprohibitedprogramsandillicitactivitiesandcondoneditshuman
rightsviolations.WashingtonTimes
SoutheastAsia

AmidrisingtensionswiththeObamaadministrationanditsneighborsacrossEastAsia,ChinawillholdaweekofnavaldrillswithRussiainthe
SouthChinaSeanextmonth,thetwocountriessaidMonday.WashingtonTimes
PhilipBowringwrites:InachallengetoChinasclaimtoalmosttheentireso-calledSouthChinaSea,Indonesiaannouncedlastweekthatitwill
designatethewatersoffitsnortherncoast,aroundtheNatunaandAnambasislands,astheNatunaSea.Thisismorethanjustpetty
nationalism.ItsahelpfulmarkerthatthetermSouthChinaSeaisarecentinventionwithnobasisinhistory.WallStreetJournal(subscription
required)
ReturntoTop
Security
Defense
NavalAirForcesCommanderViceAdm.MikeShoemakerisstillatalosstoexplainhowtheNavysufferedthreeClassAmishapsandthreelost
aircraftinaneight-dayperiodinMayandJuneofthisyear.But,headded,it'sjustashardtoexplainhowthefleetwentthepreviouseightmonths
withjustonemishap.Military.com
TheF-35IntegratedTestForceatEdwardsAirForceBase,California,completed25weaponstestmissionsoverthecourseofamonth,JPO
officialsannouncedtoday.Thesemissionsincluded12weaponsdeliveryaccuracytestsand13weaponsseparationtestsonatleastfivedifferent
weaponssystems,officialssaid.DODBuzz
TheNavyisdevelopinglighter-weightanti-submarinetechnologydesignedtobetterenableitsLittoralCombatShiptotrack,locateanddestroy
enemysubmarinesallwhilerecognizingpotentialrivalsRussiaandChinacontinuetorapidlydevelopnewsubmarineweaponsand
technologies.ScoutWarrior
NuclearWeapons
KeithPayneandFranklinMillerwrite:ThespectrumofmilitarythreatstotheUnitedStatesandourallieshasexpandedconsiderablyasRussia
andChinahavepursuedmilitarybuildupsandaggressivepoliciesinEuropeandAsiarespectively.USadoptionofano-first-usepolicynow
wouldonlyreflectwillfulUSdetachmentfromtheseglobalrealities,andwouldbeperceivedassuchbyfriendsandfoesalike.BulletinofAtomic
Scientists
Intelligence
TheonlineleakofdatapilferedfromtheNationalSecurityAgencymorelikelycamefromanagencyinsiderthanfromhackerslinkedtoRussia,
accordingtoanexpertontheintelligencecommunity.WashingtonExaminer
ReturntoTop
Russia/Europe
WesternEurope
GOPpresidentialnomineeDonaldTrumpcallsitanunmitigateddisasterforGermany,butGermansthemselvesaremoreevenlydividedover
ChancellorAngelaMerkelsopen-doorpolicyformigrantsseekingtoenterthecountryfromSyria,Afghanistanandotherworldcrisisspots.
WashingtonTimes
Innearlyeveryterroristepisodehere[inFrance],ordinaryindividualsriskedtheirownsafetytotrytohalttheattackortolendahandtothe
woundedratherthanrunningaway.Someoftheselocalheroesarerecognizedrightaway,thoughothersneverreceiverecognitionandsome
receiveitonlybelatedly.NewYorkTimes
NicolasSarkozyannouncedhiscandidacyforthe2017FrenchpresidentialelectionsMonday,fouryearsafterhepledgedtoretirefrompolitics
whenhewasdefeatedbySocialistFranoisHollande.WallStreetJournal(subscriptionrequired)
EasternEurope
IntheshadowofMoscowsaggressioninCrimeaandeasternUkraine,thelargelysymbolicEstonianpresidencyhasgainedweightpartlythanks
toincumbentToomasHendrikIlvesstrongargumentsfortheEuropeanUnionandNATOtostandbyEstoniaanditsBalticneighbors.-Politico
AnnaNemtsovawrites:Inbothcountries,coverageofthepoliticalchaosintheUnitedStatesthenorthstarofpoliticsforbothanti-American
andpro-AmericanfiguresinthispartoftheworldisstirringpublicdiscontentanddoubtaboutthefutureinUkraine,andasenseofconfidence,
evenarrogance,inRussia.-Politico
EuropeanUnion
LeadersfromFrance,GermanyandItalyproposedMondaytostepupcooperationinareassuchasintelligencesharingandborderdefense,
withoutgivinganysignthattheywillgrowclosereconomicallyinresponsetoBritishvotersrecentdecisiontoleavetheEU.WallStreetJournal
(subscriptionrequired)
Germany,FranceandItalywillbethethreemostimportantnationsleftintheEuropeanUnionafterBritainsstunningdecisioninJunetoleavethe
bloc.YetallaresubstantiallyweakenedbynaggingdomesticproblemsatacriticalmomentwhenEuropeneedsanewdirection.NewYorkTimes
TheleadersofGermany,FranceandItalydeclaredtheywouldnotallowBritainsdeparturefromtheEUtopropeltheblocintoreverseasthey
discussedplanstodeepenintelligenceco-operationandbolsterapan-Europeaninvestmentplan.FinancialTimes
ReturntoTop
Americas
UnitedStatesofAmerica
HannahThoburnwrites:Trumphasalreadyprovenhimselftobeanegothatiseasilymanipulated,hasbeenopentotheideaofrecognizing
Russias2014annexationofCrimea,andisopenlylaudatoryofPutinsrule.TheKremlinpreferstheuncertaintyofaTrumppresidencytoaClinton
leadershipthathasbeenvocalaboutitsdesiretoholdthemtoaccountfortheirvariousinvasionsandhumanrightsviolations.Itdoesntlooklike
theyregoingtogetit.TheCipherBrief
LatinAmerica
IranissolidifyingitsfootholdinLatinAmerica,sparkingconcernsamongU.S.officialsthattheIslamicRepublicwillenlisttheseregionalalliesin
itspushtolaunchterrorattacksonU.S.soil,accordingtoconversationswithcongressionalsources.WashingtonFreeBeacon
IthasnotbeenthatlongsinceColombiasbloodyhistoryhasledtoitsownexodus.ButthathasreversedasColombianearsapossiblepeace
agreementandVenezuelasinksdeeperintodespairwiththeunpopularPresidentNicolsMaduroatthehelm.FinancialTimes
PresidentNicolasMadurohasseta48-hourdeadlineforministerstodismisssomepublicworkerswhorequestedarecallreferendumagainsthim,
aSocialistPartyspokesmansaidMonday.Hundredsofpublicworkershavealreadysaidtheyweredismissedforsigningapetitionfora
referendumagainsttheunpopularpresident,accordingtotestimonyseenbyReuters,humanrightsgroupsandlocalmedia.-Reuters
Kickingoffasix-daytourofLatinAmerica,IranianForeignMinisterMohammadJavadZarifsaidonMondayinHavanahisvisitwouldopena
newchapterintheIslamicRepublic'srelationswithCommunist-ruledCuba.-Reuters
LuisFleischmanwrites:Thecountriesoftheregionneedtotiltthebalancetobuildaregionthatsupportsdemocracyandostracizestyranny.The
movementisslowbutbetterthannone.WeneedmoreKuczynskisandAlmagrosinLatinAmerica.WeurgeLatinAmericanleaderstotakea
principledpositionnowandrepudiatetheMadurosandtheOrtegasoftheregion.TheAmericasReport
ReturntoTop
Ideas
BretStephenswrites:Perhapsitsineverystrongmansnaturetoseekandadmirehispoliticalreflectionwhereverhefindsit,whetheritsinaczar,
anayatollah,asultanorageneralsecretary.Thenagain,whatmainlyunitestheleadersofthenewdictatorsclubisthesharedperceptionthat
theystandtoloseverylittleinworkingagainstacountrytheydetestandapresidenttheycontemn.WallStreetJournal(subscriptionrequired)
MarkKennedywrites:ThoseleadersforwhomtheNavyhasnamedaircraftcarriersserveasexamplestobefollowed.AbrahamLincoln,Theodore
Roosevelt,DwightEisenhower,RonaldReagan,andGeorgeH.W.BushareallguidestowhomRepublicansshouldlookforinstructiononhowto
leadinawaythatattractsotherstoAmericasside.HarryTruman,JohnStennis,andCarlVinsonserveasguidestoDemocratslookingtorebuild
Americasstick.ForeignPolicysShadowGovernment
ReturntoTop
Events
HowObamaDefiedWashingtonandRedefinedAmericasRoleintheWorld
GermanMarshallFund
August23
ReturntoTop
TheFPIOvernightBriefisadailyproductoftheForeignPolicyInitiative,whichseekstopromoteanactiveU.S.foreignpolicycommittedto
robustsupportfordemocraticallies,humanrights,astrongAmericanmilitaryequippedtomeetthechallengesofthe21stcentury,and
strengtheningAmericasglobaleconomiccompetitiveness.Tosubmitcommentsorsuggestions,emailovernight@foreignpolicyi.org.
From:ForeignPolicy<fp@foreignpolicy.com>
Subject:SituationReport:U.S.No-FlyZoneinSyria?TopGeneralSkepticalOverRussianDealKurdsinNewFight
RussianHackfailAndLotsMore
To:waz2102@columbia.edu
S i t u a t i o n R e p o r t : U . S . N o - F l y Z o n e i n S y r i a ? T o p G e n e r a l S k e p t i c a l O v e r R u s s i a n D e a l K u r d s i n N e w F i g h t R u s s i a n H a c k f a i l A n d L o t s M o r e

Ifyouhaveproblemsviewingthisemail,viewitinabrowser.Pleasefeelfreetoforwardittoafriend.

SITUATIONREPORT

TheNationalSecurityDailyBrieffromForeign
Policy

Tuesday,August23,2016 SUBSCRIBETOFP

FollowUs:

ByPaulMcLearywithAdamRawnsley
Nofly?Noway.AmericanjetsscrambledovernorthernSyriatwicelastweektochase
awaySyrianwarplaneswhichhadbombedU.S.-backedKurdishforces--coming
uncomfortablyclosetoagroupofAmericancommandosadvisingtheKurds.Afterward,
U.S.militaryleadersissuedasternwarningtoboththeSyriansandRussiansnottofly
combatoperationsinareaswhereAmericansareoperating.
Ifthatsoundslikeano-flyzone,thePentagonwouldrespectfullydisagree.Spokesman
PeterCookinsistedMondaythatwearegoingtotelltheSyriansandanyoneelsewho
maythreatenourforceinthatareathatwewilldefendthemandtheyhavearightto
defendthemselves.But"it'snotanoflyzone,"hesaid.
Inalongback-and-forthwithreportersduringaMondaypressconferenceatthe
Pentagon,Cookalsoswipedatanissuethathaslongbeenthefocusofdebate:whether
theUnitedStateswoulduseforcetoprotectU.S.-backedKurdishandSyrianArabrebels
onthegroundinSyria.Thoseforcesthataretakingthefightto[ISIS]andpartneredwith
us,willenjoythesupportoftheUnitedStates,Cooksaid,adding,we'regoingto
continuetosupport,andprotect,andprovidethatmilitarysupportforourcoalitionforces
and...ourcoalitionpartneredoperationsontheground.
DangerousnewfightfortheKurds.TheSyrianbombingrunscomeamidheavy
clashesbetweentheSyrianregimeandKurdishforces,whohavemostlykeptashaky
peaceinnorthernSyria.TheWallStreetJournalpointsoutthatthefightingcomes
amidawarmingofrelationsbetweenTurkeyandMr.AssadsalliesRussiaandIran.
TurkishPresidentRecepTayyipErdoganmetwithRussianPresidentVladimirPutinin
MoscowthismonthfollowedbyavisitbyTurkeysforeignministertoIran.Kurdish
leadersseetheregimesnewaggressiontowardtheirforcesasasignofa
rapprochementbetweenSyriaandTurkeyinaconflictwithconstantlyshiftingalliances.
OnTuesday,SyrianKurdishforcessaidthatafterdaysofintensefightingwiththeSyrian
army,theyhadgainedcontroloveralmosttheentirecityofHasakah,andthat
governmentforcesweresurroundedinafewbuildingsinthecenterofthecity.
Dealornodeal.ThetopAmericanmilitaryofficerinIraqsayshesskepticalthat
WashingtonandMoscowcanreachanyrealagreementtoshareintelonISISandNusra
frontinSyria,butthathecangetthejobdone,regardless.Lt.Gen.StephenTownsend,
whotookcommandonSunday,said"asasoldier,I'mfairlyskepticaloftheRussians,"
andheshesitant"tobelievethecoalitioncancooperatewiththem."SecretaryofState
JohnKerrysteamisleadingthetalkswithRussia,butspeakinginKenyaonMonday,
Kerrydidntsoundlikeamanwhowasabouttostrikeadeal.itismyhopethatweare
reachingtheendofthosediscussionsonewayortheother,hesaid,adding,itis
possiblethatsomethingcouldbeagreedatuponbeforetheendofthemonthbutIcan't
tellyouwhetherit'slikely.Iwouldn'texpressoptimism--Iwouldexpresshope."
Hackslack.Warismessy,andmistakesaremade.ButinRussiasinformationwar
againsttheWest,mistakesaremadeandthenpublishedforalltheworldtosee.FPs
EliasGrollflagsagoodone,writingthataftertwosupposedlyindependenthacking
groups,believedbysecurityexpertstohavetiestotheKremlin,postedthesame
documentsstolenfromaphilanthropyrunbyGeorgeSoros.Butthehackincludeda
twist:Someofthedocumentstakenbyonegroupwerealteredinabidtotryandlink
SorostoRussiananti-corruptionactivistAlexeiNavalny,revealinghowhackers
likelyworkingforMoscowareeditingdocumentstosmeartheirvictims.
China
ChinesemilitaryjetsflewintoSouthKorea'sairdefenseidentificationzone(ADIZ)just
asthetwocountries'foreignministersaresettomeet.TheKoreaTimesreportsthat
threeChineseplanesshowedupatthemarginsofthetwocountries'ADIZs,prompting
SouthKoreatoscramblefighterjetstointerceptthem.Theincidentcomesbefore
Wednesday'smeetingofforeignministersfromJapan,China,andSouthKoreafor
talksinTokyo.ThetalksarelikelytotouchondisagreementbetweenChinaandSouth
KoreaoverthedeploymentofaU.S.TerminalHighAltitudeAreaDefense(THAAD)
systemtodefendagainstNorthKoreanballisticmissiles.Chinaopposesthedeployment,
fearingthesystemcouldbeusedtotargetChinesemissiles,aswellasNorthKorean
ones.
Europe
FinlandismovingquicklytosignanagreementwiththeUnitedStatesonclosermilitary
cooperation,Reutersreports.Thedealdoesn'tinvolveNATOorcommitmentsfor
collectivedefense,butwouldincreasejointtrainingandinformation-sharing.Themove
followsincreasedanxietiesintraditionallyneutralFinlandoveranincreasingly
aggressiveRussia.Finnishofficialsaretryingtohurrytheagreementthroughinthe
waningdaysoftheObamaadministrationbeforeanewadministrationcomesin.
LithuaniahassignedadealwithGermany'sRheinmetalltoarmorupitsmilitary,
accordingtoUPI.Thedeal,worth$441million,willsupply88Boxerinfantryfighting
vehiclesequippedwith30mmcannons.Thevehiclesareexpectedtobedelivered
through2021.
RegisteratForeignPolicy.comtoreceiveSituationReportandotherFPnewsletters.
TRENDINGONFOREIGNPOLICY.COM

NeverTrump.And
NeverHillary ThePartyIsOver American
ClintonEither. inRio

LeadershipCan
SurviveTodays

byPeterFeaverWill byRiordanRoett

Inboden

Storm
byMarkR.Kennedy

Thisemailwassenttowaz2102@columbia.edubyfp@foreignpolicy.com.

From:VRT
Subject:NYTHEADLINE:Ukrainian-Americans,LongFondoftheG.O.P.,GreetDonaldTrumpWithDespair
To:
Ukrainian-Americans,LongFondofthe
G.O.P.,GreetDonaldTrumpWithDespair
BySHERYLGAYSTOLBERGAUG.22,2016
Photo
TarasSzmagalalastweekatSt.JosaphatEparchialCemeteryinParma,Ohio.Thecemeteryhasamonument
dedicatedtoUkrainianfreedomfighterswhofoughtanddiedinWorldWarII.CreditJeffSwensenforTheNew
YorkTimes
PARMA,OhioAsaproudUkrainian-American,TarasSzmagalahasworkedfordecadestoelect
Republicans,thepartyheassociateswithfreedom.HerananethnicoutreachprogramforRichardM.
Nixons1972campaignandadvisedPresidentGeorgeBushastheSovietUnioncrumbled,when
Ukrainebecameanindependentnation.
Mr.Szmagala,83,willmarkWednesdays25thanniversaryofstatehoodataparadeandfestivalon
SaturdayinthisClevelandsuburb,wheretheblueandyellowflagofUkrainefliesalongthemain
thoroughfareinUkrainianVillage.
Butthereisapalloverthefestivities.HisnameisDonaldJ.Trump.
Ukrainian-AmericanshavefeltathomeintheRepublicanPartysinceFranklinD.RooseveltandStalin
dividedcontrolofEuropeatYalta.ButacrosstheUnitedStatesandespeciallyinswingstateOhio,
whereMr.Trumpbecamethepartysnomineetheyarewatchingthe2016presidentialracewitha
mixofconfusionandfear.
ThepartysdeadasfarasImconcerned,Mr.Szmagaladeclared.
AsifMr.TrumpsadmiringstatementsaboutPresidentVladimirV.PutinofRussiaand
hisquestionableexplanationofeventsinUkrainewerenottoughenoughtostomach,then
camenewsthatPaulManafort,untillastweekMr.Trumpscampaignmanager,wastangledupina
corruptioninquiryanddesignatedtoreceivemillionsinsecretcashpaymentsfromthepartyofapro-
Russianleaderhehadhelpedtoelect.
Allsummer,UkrainiansmanyofthemalreadywaryofHillaryClinton,theDemocraticnominee
havebeenobsessingoverAmericanpolitics.TheUkrainianWeekly,aNewJersey-basednewspaper
thathasbeencarefullytrackingthethreatofaRussianinvasionofUkraine,isawashinpolitical
commentary,includingarebukeofMr.TrumpbythecountrysambassadortotheUnitedStates.
AvoteforTrumpisavoteagainstUkraine!wroteonelongtimeRepublicanfromMorristown,N.J.,in
alettertotheeditor.
NearlyonemillionAmericansareofUkrainiandescent,clusteredaroundcitieslikeNewYork,
Philadelphia,Chicago,DetroitandCleveland,wheretheUkrainianMuseum-Archives,arichrepository
offolkart,periodicalsandimmigrationdocuments,chroniclesthehistoryofapeoplewhohavefelt
oppressedbyRussiafor350years.Currentlyondisplay:PoliticsandUkrainian-Americans,an
exhibitincludingaphotographofayoungMr.SzmagalawithNixon.
Mr.Szmagala,standingnexttoRichardM.Nixon,rananethnicoutreachprogramforNixons1972
campaign.CreditJeffSwensenforTheNewYorkTimes
Thereare,ofcourse,loyalDemocratsherethemuseumsresidentscholar,AndrewFedynsky,once
chiefofstafftoaDemocraticcongresswoman,isone.ButmanyUkrainian-Americansaredeeply
skepticalofPresidentObamaandMrs.Clinton,whomtheyregardasnotaggressiveenoughin
protectingUkraineagainstanincursionfromRussia.
SotheabsenceofafriendlyRepublicanisgeneratingaparticulardespair.
Itsveryconfusing,saidEugeneLuciw,aPhiladelphialawyerwhoisactiveinUkrainianaffairsthere.
ItsbeendifficulttowrapyourhandsaroundMr.Trump.
Mr.ManafortsabruptdeparturedoesnotchangethatmanyUkrainianswanttoknowwhyhewas
hiredinthefirstplace.Still,saidAndriyFutey,theexecutivevicepresidentoftheUkrainianCongress
CommitteeofAmericawhoisinKiev,Ukrainescapital,fortheanniversarycelebrationandtomeet
withgovernmentleaderstherewasasighofrelieftherewhenMr.Manafortquit.
HereinParma,ClevelandscenterofUkrainianculturalandreligiouslife,theangstcoupledwith
whatmanycallabittersweetcelebrationofanationwhoseindependencefeelsthreatenedisclear.
AtSt.VladimirUkrainianOrthodoxCathedral,whereagranitemonumenttovictimsoftheman-
madefamine,whichtheUkrainiangovernmentrecognizesasagenocide,standsinagarden,asmall
groupofparishionersgatheredlastweekasablack-robedpastorservedtheMoleben,aprayerforthe
healthandwell-beingofthesick.
GeneBoyko,75,whosegrandfatherwasbanishedtoSiberiabyStalin,wasamongthemheandhis
parentsescapedduringWorldWarIIandarrivedinNewYorkwhenhewas10.
Whenwegothere,evenasa10-year-old,Iwantedtokisstheground,hesaid.Hehaslongvoted
Republican,butiswaitingforthedebatestomakeuphismindaboutMr.Trump.
OksanaZavhorodnyuk,44,sellspirogiandotherUkrainianfoodsinParma.IdontlikeTrump,shesaid.
Hesnotinhismind,youknow?Itslike,notpresidentforAmerica.CreditJeffSwensenforTheNewYork
Times
AtStateMeats,alocalbutchershopandsmokehouse,GeorgeSalo,theowner,waspreparingtomake
severalthousandpoundsofkielbasatheworldsbest!heboastedforthecomingparade.Mr.
Salo,31,tookovertheshopwhenhewas17,afterhisfatherdied,andlearnedbusinessbyreading
booksincludingsomebyMr.Trump,whomheadmiresasanentrepreneur.
Butasfortheelection,ImtellingeverybodyImvotingforGaryJohnson,hesaid,referringtothe
Libertariannominee.
Atthetakeoutrestaurantnextdoor,OksanaZavhorodnyuk,44,wasservingschnitzelandjumbo
pirogifrombehindacounter.Shewrinkledhernosewhenaskedaboutthepresidentialrace.
IdontlikeTrump,shevolunteered,inEnglishthatisstillhalting,thoughshehasbeenherefor25
years.HelikesRussiahelikesPutin.Hesnotinhismind,youknow?Itslike,notpresidentfor
America.
TheTrumpcampaignsaysitisnotconcerned.Mr.TrumphastremendoussupportinOhio,andhe
willcontinuetosharehismessageofchange,hisspokeswoman,HopeHicks,wroteinanemail.
UkrainiansarrivedinAmericainfourdistinctwaves,beginninginthelate1800s,andmanyeventually
settledinsuburbslikeParma.InOhio,theyarepartofabroadblocofvoterswhotracetheirancestry
toEasternandCentralEuropeannationsincludingPoland,Estonia,Lithuania,Latvia,theCzech
RepublicandSlovenia,thehomelandofMr.Trumpswife,Melania.
Inthisswingstate,politiciansofbothpartiesaggressivelycourtwhattheycalltheethnicvote.Last
week,SenatorRobPortman,anendangeredOhioRepublican(andco-chairmanoftheSenateUkraine
Caucus),metprivatelywithethnicleadershere.Onebigissue:AttheRepublicanNationalConvention
inJulyinCleveland,theTrumpcampaignstrippedthepartyplatformoflanguagecallingforthe
UnitedStatestoprovidelethalweaponstoUkraine.
GeorgeSaloinhisbutchershopinParmasUkrainianVillage.HeadmiresMr.Trumpasanentrepreneurbut
said,ImtellingeverybodyImvotingforGaryJohnson,theLibertariannominee.CreditJeffSwensenforThe
NewYorkTimes
Democrats,seizingonapotentialvulnerabilityforMr.Trump,areincreasingtheirownethnicoutreach
thisyear,aneffortthathasbeencaughtupinRussianpoliticalintrigue.
Thepersonalemailsofthewomanrunningtheoutreacheffort,AlexandraChalupa,wereamongthose
hackedattheDemocraticNationalCommittee,abreachAmericanintelligenceofficialsattributeto
Russianspies.Ms.Chalupa,whoisofUkrainiandescent,hadbeenresearchingMr.Manafortwhile
consultingforthecommitteewhenthehackoccurred.Shehasbeentravelingthecountry,talkingto
Democratsaboutwhatshehasfound.
IdtalkabouttheRussiaconnectionandwhatwewereseeing,shesaidinaninterview.Peoplewere
terrified.
Still,Mrs.Clintonmayhaveanuphillbattle.ThePodestaGroup,aWashingtonfirmco-foundedby
JohnD.Podesta,hercampaignchairman,hassurfacedinthesamecorruptioninvestigationthathas
entangledMr.Manafort.
TheuneaseisaboutManafort,theuneaseisaboutPodestaallofthemhavebeengettingmoney
funnelinginfromRussia,saidMichaelKoziupa,aUkrainian-AmericanleaderinNewJersey.
ForMr.Szmagala,aretiredClevelandtransitofficialwhohasdevotedhislifetoUkrainianaffairsand
Republicanpolitics,thecampaignisespeciallypainful.HehasfondmemoriesofaflightaboardAir
ForceTwowithGeorgeBush,thenthevicepresident.AndafterUkrainedeclareditsindependence,
Mr.Bush,thenthepresident,senthimthereaspartoftheofficialdelegationforasomberceremonyat
BabiYar,asiteofmasskillingsbytheNazis.
Mr.SzmagalahasbeenadelegatetoRepublicanconventionsinthepastthisyear,thoughnational
Republicansgatheredinhisbackyard,hestayedaway.HehasnevervotedforaDemocratfor
president,andismindfulofOhiosstatusasaswingstate.HeisnoteagertovoteforMrs.Clinton.
Butifitsclose,hesaid,Illdoit.Itllhurt,butIlldoit.
Correction:August22,2016
Anearlierversionofthisarticleandapicturecaptionmisstatedtheyearofthepresidentialelection
inwhichTarasSzmagalaassistedRichardM.Nixon.Itwas1972,not1968.
FollowSherylGayStolbergonTwitter@sherylstolberg
Findoutwhatyouneedtoknowaboutthe2016presidentialracetoday,andgetpoliticsnewsupdates
viaFacebook,TwitterandtheFirstDraftnewsletter.
Senttime: 08/06/201608:25:48AM
FW:[LATEAUGFRIEVE&WEEKENDREADING][PB/VRT..PING&PONGI]FIRST:NYTREPORTSOlympicOfficialsSetRUs
Subject: RosterMoreThan100AreBarredBBCREPORTS:Rio2016Olympics:Russians'havecleanestteam'as271athletesclearedtocompete..
[PING...
Attachments: Briefing_JOH-28.07.16.ppt
Sent:Friday,August05,20167:17PM
Subject:Fwd:[LATEAUGFRIEVE&WEEKENDREADING][PB/VRT..PING&PONGI]FIRST:NYTREPORTSOlympicOfficialsSetRUs
RosterMoreThan100AreBarredBBCREPORTS:Rio2016Olympics:Russians'havecleanestteam'as271athletesclearedto
compete..[PING...
Date:Fri,Aug5,2016at10:14PM
Subject:[LATEAUGFRIEVE&WEEKENDREADING][PB/VRT..PING&PONGI]FIRST:NYTREPORTSOlympic
OfficialsSetRUsRosterMoreThan100AreBarredBBCREPORTS:Rio2016Olympics:Russians'havecleanestteam'as
271athletesclearedtocompete..[PINGANDPONGII][PB/2X]DB:TrumpCampaignChangedUAPlatform&
DiscardedMinutesofMeetingNYT:ThePerilsofWritingOffMr.Trump[HU/2X]RUBuildup???Yeah!!'GunsofAugust
Redux'..[C/AY]BriefingsfromtheGeneralStaffofUkrainianAF[PARTII
From:PeterBorisow<apb.uke@earthlink.net>
Date:Fri,Aug5,2016at10:41AM
Subject:OlympicOfficialsSetRussiasRosterMoreThan100AreBarredforDoping-TheNewYorkTimes[ED:
Whichmeansthatmore270willclear?Nay!!!..Guesswhat:Yea!!SeeNextMemo!!]
To:"Waz(Columbia)"<waz2102@columbia.edu>
Attheendoftheday,RussiamoneyprevailsintheOlympics.Putin'shypocriticallamentsaboutcollectivepunishment(something
thatjustneverhappensinRussia--askanyCrimeanTatar)frameRussia'scase.RussiancorruptionofthecoreoftheOlympic
CommitteeofferedtoomanywaysofRussiandoperstosnaketheirwaythroughthesystem.EasilymanipulatedbyslickRUPR
whiningabout"goodsportsmanship",theUS/EU,onceagain,failedtoleadtheOlympicstoanythingresemblingfairnessor
justice.Russiancashandendemiccorruptionprevailed.Thelessonlearnedis:"Cheatallyouwant.Ifyougetcaught,youmay
gettossed,butRussiawillprevailbecausetheycan'tpossiblycatchusall!"Onceagainthe"West"hasfailedtomusterthecourage
tostandbehinditsallegedconvictionsandfacedownRussia'sperversionofthosevalues.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/05/sports/olympics/rio-russians-barred-doping.html?smprod=nytcore-iphone&smid=nytcore-
iphone-share&wpmm=1&wpisrc=nl_daily202&_r=0

From:VRT
Subject:GetALoadofThis:Rio2016Olympics:Russians'havecleanestteam'as271athletesclearedto
compete[ED:Andtheworldmedia(alotofAPno-namestringersinthemix)haskeptharpingabout'corruptionin
UA'???JeezwhatcanyouthensayaboutIOC???]
To:wolodymyrzarycky<wzarcusur@gmail.com>
Rio2016Olympics:Russians'havecleanestteam'
as271athletesclearedtocompete
FromthesectionOlympics
Sharethispage
RussiawillbeabletohaveaboxingteamatRio2016,whichstartsinBrazilon5August
Russiawillhave271athleteseligibletocompeteattheRioGames,saystheInternationalOlympicCommittee(IOC).
Thisismorethantwo-thirdsoftheiroriginalentrylistof389athletes,despitetheWorldAnti-DopingAgency(Wada)
recommendingablanketbanafterastate-sponsoreddopingscandal.
Russia'sOlympicCommitteepresidentAlexanderZhukovsaidhiscountrywillhave"thecleanestteam"attheGames.
TheOlympicsopeningceremonytakesplaceonFriday.
"TheRussianteammayhaveexperiencedthetoughestchecksoftheOlympics,becausetheyhadtogothroughmultipletestsand
checked,"saidZhukov.
"Ontopofallthat,RussianathletesaregoingthroughadditionaltestingwhichistakingplaceattheOlympicVillage.
"So,asofnow,theRussianteamisprobablythecleanestinRio."
Zhukovsaiditwasa"flagrantinjustice"thatsomeRussianathleteswouldnotbeinRio.
Hesaid:"AthletessuchasYelenaIsinbayevaandSergeyShubenkovwhohaveneverbeenassociatedwiththeissueofdopingand
whoareabsolutelycleancannottakepartintheOlympicsGames,butmanysportsmenlike,forexample,theAmericanrunner
JustinGatlin,whohaveserveddopingbans,will."
IsinbayevawonOlympicgoldinthewomen'spolevaultatLondon2012whileShubenkovistheworld110mhurdleschampion.
Readmore:Inorout?TheRussiansinRio
Russia'sOlympicCommitteepresidentAlexanderZhukovheldapressconferenceontheeveoftheOlympics
Will271bethefinalnumber?
TheIOCaskedindividualfederationstodecidewhetherRussianscouldcompeteafteranindependentlycommissionedWada
reportfoundevidenceofafour-year,state-run"dopingprogramme".
ItsaidfederationsshouldnotallowRussianstocompeteiftherecouldbeanydoubtabouttheirdopingrecord-andthatany
athletespreviouslysanctionedshouldnotbeinRio.
Athree-personIOCpanelthenratifiedthegoverningbodies'decisions-andannouncedonThursdaythat271athleteshad
satisfieditsstrictcriteria.
ButtheROCsaysanotherfivecasesarestillpending-threetrackcyclists,onewrestlerandonecanoeist.
Additionally,theCourtofArbitrationforSport(Cas)hasaskedforthecasesofanotherthreeathletestobelookedat
againaftertheyappealedagainstbeingbanned.
InpartiallyupholdingtheappealsofrowersAnastasiaKarabelshikovaandIvanPodshivalov,andswimmerYuliaEfimova,Cas
saidtheIOCcouldlegitimatelyblockRussianathletesfromcompetingifithadanydoubtoverwhethertheyhadeverdoped.
ButitsaidtheIOCwaswrongtoinsistRussianathleteswhohadpreviouslybeensanctionedcouldnotgototheGames,calling
thedecision"unenforceable".
ThissupportsanearlierCasdecision-knownastheOsakarule-whichestablishedathletescouldnotbepunishedtwiceforthe
samedopingoffence.
AnditmeansathletesbannedfromRiobecausetheyhavepreviouslybeensanctionedfordopingcouldnowchallengethedecision
tomakethemstayathome.
Cashasalreadyheard18casessinceitsdivisioninRiowasopenedon26July,arecordforoneOlympics.
From:PeterBorisow<ap.borisow@comcast.net>
Subject:DailyBeast:TrumpCampaignChangedUkrainePlatform,LiedAboutIt,DiscardedMinutesofMeeting:Itis
evenworsethanyouthink!
To:PeterBorisow<ap.borisow@comcast.net>
Beginforwardedmessage:
Subject:Itisevenworsethanyouthink
TrumpCampaignChangedUkrainePlatform,LiedAboutIt,DiscardedMinutesofMeeting
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/08/03/trump-campaign-changed-ukraine-platform-lied-about-it.html?
via=mobile&source=twitter
"Meanwhile,recordsforthemeetingseemtohavedisappeared.Aco-chairforthenationalsecurity
platformsubcommitteetoldTheDailyBeastthattheminutesforthemeetinghavebeen
discarded.TheRepublicanNationalCommitteehadnocommentwhenaskedwhetherthiswas
standardprocedureforallthesubcommittees."
From:PeterBorisow<ap.borisow@comcast.net>
Subject:ThePerilsofWritingOffMr.Trump-TheNewYorkTimes
To:PeterBorisow<ap.borisow@comcast.net>
Thisisthecoreofthedilemma--It'sveryearlyinthegame.Manafortissmartenoughtoknowyouhavetogetthebadbitsout
earlysothey'reoldhatbyelectiontime.Allcampaignshaveupanddownmoments.Thetrickistocrestclosesttoelectionday.
Fewelectionsarewononatidalwavethatstartsrightaftertheconventions.Therearestill3monthstoelection.Alotcould
happen.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/05/opinion/the-perils-of-writing-off-mr-trump.html?&moduleDetail=section-news-
1&action=click&contentCollection=Opinion&region=Footer&module=MoreInSection&version=WhatsNext&contentID=WhatsNext&pgtype=article
From:hunter@
Subject:RERUNS[ED:Yeah!!'GunsofAugustRedux']
To:WalterZaryckyj<waz2102@caa.columbia.edu>
Cc:

RussianTroopBuildupAlongUkraineBorderRaisesWar
Fears
Print
Comment(9)
Share:
FILE-Apro-RussiarebelstandsguardinDonetsk,easternUkraine,Oct.29,2015.
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August04,20164:30PM
MOSCOW
Russia'ssteadybuildupofmilitaryforcesalongitsborderwithUkraineisraisingconcernsthat
Moscow,whichannexedCrimeain2014andthenbeganbackingseparatistsineasternUkraine
militarilyincludingwithRussiantroopsmaybeconsideringanovertmilitarycampaignagainst
itssouthwesternneighbor.
RussianDefenseMinisterSergeiShoigusaidintelevisedremarkslastweekthatthemilitaryhad
createdfournewdivisions,ninebrigadesand22regimentssince2013anddeployedtheminthe
SouthernMilitaryDistrict,adjacenttosouthernUkraine,aswellasinRussia'srestiveNorth
Caucasusregion.
"Inrecentyears,themilitary-politicalsituationonthesouthwesternstrategicdirectionhasbecome
moreacute,"ShoigusaidincitingtherationaleforMoscow'smilitarybuildupintheregion."Mainly,
thisisduetothegrowingmilitarypresenceofNATOineasternEurope,thesituationinUkraineand
theactivitiesofinternationalterroristgroups,includingintheNorthCaucasus."
InaninterviewwiththenewspaperVedomosti,RussianmilitaryexpertRuslanPukhovnotedthat
alongwithreactivatingthe1stGuardsTankArmyinRussia'sWesternMilitaryDistrict,nearits
borderwithnorthernUkraine,Moscowplanstoformtwootherarmoredgroupsfordeploymentnear
theUkrainianborder.
FILE-AUkrainiansoldierlooksoversandbagsashestandsinatrenchclosetothesmalleasternUkrainiancityofPervomaysk,near
Lugansk,Sept.13,2014.
AccordingtoPukhov,alongRussia'sborderwithnorthernUkraine"wherethreeyearsagothere
wereabsolutelynotroops,"Moscowseekstodeploythreemajorgroupsforforces"capableof,ifthe
needarises,mountingarapidattackinthedirectionofKyiv,whichisonly270kilometersfromthe
borderthrough[thenorthernUkrainiancityof]Chernigov."
Furthersouth,wrotePukhov,Moscowwantsto"createtwopowerfulpincerstoflankand
strategicallyencirclethemaingroupoftheUkrainianarmyinLeft-bankUkraine.Thatisthehistoric
nameofthepartofUkraineontheeastbankoftheDnieperRiver.
'Enemy'seenaseasytarget
AnarticlethatappearedlastweekintheNezavisimoyeVoyennoyeObozreniyeapublication
whichfrequentlyfeaturesmaterialreflectingtheofficialpositionoftheRussianauthoritieswas
headlined:"UkrainehasbecomeRussia'sstrategicadversary:Moscowdoesnotexcludethe
possibilityofamajorwar."
AlexanderGolts,anindependentRussianmilitaryanalystwhoisavisitingresearcheratSweden's
UniversityofUppsala,saysitisnotsurprisingthatUkraineisnowopenlybeingreferredtoinRussia
asan"enemy."
"ItisclearthatUkrainenowisanythingbutastatefriendlytoRussia,"hetoldVOA'sRussian
service."Inandofitself,theUkrainianarmy,ofcourse,isnotastrategicproblemforRussia.In
Moscow,however,theyareguidedbyphantomscenarios,inwhichUkrainewilleventuallybecome
partofNATO.OneofRussia'sexcusesforitsactionsinCrimeaandtheDonbasisthatitwasacting
topreventUkraine'spossibleentryintotheNorthAtlanticalliance."
AccordingtoGolts,RussianDefenseMinisterShoigualreadyconsidersUkrainepartofNATO.
FILE-Pro-RussiantroopspreparetotravelinatankonaroadnearthetownofYanakiyevo,Donetskregion,easternUkraine,June20,
2014.
Inaddition,someobserverssaythereisawidespreadbeliefamongRussianmilitaryofficialsthat
Ukraine'scapitalKyivcouldbe"takeneasilyandwithlittlebloodshed."
KonstantinSivkov,aRussianmilitaryreserveofficerwhoheadstheAcademyofGeopolitical
Problems,aMoscow-basedresearchinstitution,toldthenewspaperVzglyadbackinApril2014that
theRussianarmycouldbeinKyivin"twoorthreedays."Laterthatyear,then-EuropeanUnion
CommissionpresidentJoseManuelBarrosowasquotedassayingthatPresidentVladimirPutintold
himinatelephonecallthathecould"takeKyivintwoweeks."
RussianofficialslaterclaimedPutin'scommentsweretakenoutofcontext.
GoltssaidthecommentsaboutRussianforceseasilytakingtheUkrainiancapitalarenottoofar
fromthetruth,butadded,"Themainproblemisthatamilitaristictypeofstrategicthinkingprevailsin
Russiatoday,unfortunately."
Globalchallenge,threat
ObserverssaysuchcommentsexplainwhyRussiaiswidelyaccusedofbeingaggressiveand
unpredictable.
Earlierthisyear,U.S.SecretaryofDefenseAshCarternamedRussiafirstamongfiveglobal
strategicchallengesfacingtheUnitedStates.Aroundthesametime,then-BritishForeignSecretary
PhilipHammondsaidRussiarepresented"achallengeandathreat"becauseit"ignoresthenorms
ofinternationalconductandbreakstherulesoftheinternationalsystem."
RussianliberalpoliticianLeonidGozmantoldVOAthatbellicoseRussianrhetoricshouldbetaken
"veryseriously."
FILEAprotesterholdsaphotoduringamassdemonstrationinMoscowagainsttheRussianannexationofCrimeain2014.
"Youcanargueaboutthetruthofthespecificassessmentsmadebyourspecificinternational
opponentsconcerningthelevelofthreatfromRussia,"hesaid."But,unfortunately,itisimpossible
[toignore]thatweannexedCrimeaandsupportahybridwarintheDonbasthathaskillednearly
10,000people,andwhoknowshowmanymorewilldie."
Spiralofhate
Still,GozmanexpressedhopethattheRussiangovernmentwouldnotembarkonsomething"as
stupidasadirectwarwithUkraineandthecaptureofKyiv"which,hesaid,wouldleadsooneror
latertoa"worldwar."
"WehavetreatedUkrainelikeanenemy,startingawaronitsterritory,"Gozmansaid."Citizensof
Ukrainewerekilledatthehandsofourvolunteersandvacationers,headded,referringtoRussian
militarypersonnelwhohavefoughtalongsideRussia-backedseparatistsineasternUkraine,
ostensiblyvolunteeringduringtheirvacations.
"Ofcourse,Ukrainetreatsusaccordingly,"Gozmansaid."It'saviciouscircle,aspiralofhate.Ifwe
don'twantthat,wehavetostopthewar."
MOSCOWTIMES
Largely Unnoticed, Full-Scale War May Be Returning to Ukraine
July was the deadliest month in the Donbass for over a year.
Aug.04201619:38
ByOlaCichowlasandMatthewBodner
Whilsttheworld'sattentionisfocusedonSyria,theU.S.electionandtheworstrefugeecrisissincethe
SecondWorldWar,easternUkraineonceagainteetersontheunthinkable.Lastmonthwasthedeadliestthe
regionhasseeninoverayear,sparkinggrowingfearsoftheconflictre-escalatingtoitspreviousintensity.
Theconflicthaskilled10,000peoplesinceitbeganinApril2014.Whilecasualtieshavecontinuedatamuch
reducedlevelsincespring2015,inrecentmonthsbothsideshavereturnedtousingheavyartillery,including
howitzersandgradmultiplerocketlaunchers.InJuly,theUnitedNationsreportedthateightdiedand65
wereinjured.
Withescalatingviolence,itisgettingmuchharderforinternationalorganizationstomonitorthesituation.
Humanitarianassistancemissionshavealsobeenhinderedbythemilitaryup-tickandpoliticalproblemswith
defactoauthoritiesintheseparatiststateletsofLuhanskandDonetsk.
Justlastweek,monitorsfromtheOrganizationforSecurityCooperationinEurope(OSCE)wereheldat
gunpointbyseparatistforces.Theescalationofhostilitiesandtheaccompanyingciviliancasualtiesin
easternUkraineoverthelasttwomonthsareveryworrying,saidtheUNHighCommissionerforHuman
RightsZeidRa'adAlHusseininarecentreport.
SeparatistforcesineasternUkrainehaveheightenedtheirrhetoric.Thisweek,DenisPushilin,theself-
declaredchairmanoftheDonetskPeople'sRepublic(DPR),toldpro-KremlinnewspaperIzvestiathatthere
wasariskoffull-scalemilitaryoperationsreturningtotheconflict.TheDPRstoodreadytoretaliate,he
said.
TensionsarerisinginKiev,too.
Ukraine'sheadofNationalSecurityandDefenceOleksandrTurchynovspokeofre-introducingmartiallaw
infrontlineregions,somethinghasnothappenedsince2014.WhenNadiyaSavchenko,afamousUkrainian
pilotrecentlyreleasedfromaRussianprison,spokeoftheneedforreconciliationwiththeeast,she
immediatelyprovokedabacklashfromKievpoliticians.AndPrimeMinisterVolodymyrGroysmanhassaid
electionscouldnotbeheldinDonbasuntiltheRussianarmywithdrawsfromUkraine.
SuchelectionsareacentralpartofthepeacesettlementsignedbyleadersofUkraine,Russia,Germanyand
FranceinMinskinFebruary2015.Fewnowbelievetheywilleverhappen.
InMoscow,theconflicthaslargelyvanishedfromRussiantelevisionscreens.Statepropagandastreamshave
mostlyswitchedattentiontoRussianforcesfightinginSyria,andtheescalatingpoliticalcrisesintheWest.At
thesametime,therearestill40,000RussiantroopsonstandbyonUkraine'sborder(andnobodyknowshow
manymoreinsideUkraine).
TheWest,distractedbyitsowncrises,istiredoftheconflictandKiev'softendisappointingeffortstoreform
asystemitspeoplefoughttooverthrowinFebruary2014.TheriseofAmericanandEuropeanpopulismhas
workedinMoscow'sfavor,underminingthehithertounitedfrontonsanctionsagainstRussia.U.S.
presidentialcandidateDonaldTrump'srecentcommentsonCrimea,thatheaspresidentwouldlookat
recognizingthepeninsulaasRussianterritory,hasraisedalarmbellsinKievwhilebeingwelcomedin
Moscow.
Whenthewarbegan,manythoughtitwillturnintoanotherfrozenconflictonRussia'sborders.Withnoend
insight,theconflictineasternUkraineisshowingfewsignsoffrigidity.
------Forwardedmessage----------
From:OfficeofMilitaryAdviser,PermanentMissionofUkraine<ukrmilad@gmail.com>
Subject:BriefingsfromtheGeneralStaffofUkrainianAF[ED:PARTII]
To:wolodymyrzarycky<wzarcusur@gmail.com>,waz2102@caa.columbia.edu
BriefingsfromtheGeneralStaffofUkrainianAF.
Withbestregards
Andriy

ColonelAndriyYakovliev
DeputyRepresentativeoftheMinistryofDefenseofUkraine
tothePermanentMissionofUkrainetotheUnitedNations,
DeputyMilitaryadviser
Tel.:1(212)759-7003,ext.120,128
Fax:1(212)335-9455
Senttime: 08/04/201610:02:57AM
FW:[DIGESTOFDIGESTS][ODOD---ALL'MUSTNOTE'ITEMS/DICKINSONPIECEIS'MUSTDISSEMINATE']...[JDDD]A
Subject: belatedbutmajorvictoryforRussia'sstrikingLONG-HAULTRUCKERS+7MoreStories..[PB]WhatVladInterferesinUSElections.
[MK]TheDesi...
Attachments: PutinIsCullingHisInnerCircle.docxForeignAidAssetsTransferFromTobyhannatoUkraine.docx
Sent:Thursday,August04,20169:36AM
Subject:Fwd:[DIGESTOFDIGESTS][ODOD---ALL'MUSTNOTE'ITEMS/DICKINSONPIECEIS'MUSTDISSEMINATE']...[JDDD]A
belatedbutmajorvictoryforRussia'sstrikingLONG-HAULTRUCKERS+7MoreStories..[PB]WhatVladInterferesinUSElections.
[MK]TheDesi...
Date:Thu,Aug4,2016at12:35PM
Subject:[DIGESTOFDIGESTS][ODOD---ALL'MUSTNOTE'ITEMS/DICKINSONPIECEIS'MUST
DISSEMINATE']...[JDDD]AbelatedbutmajorvictoryforRussia'sstrikingLONG-HAULTRUCKERS+7More
Stories..[PB]WhatVladInterferesinUSElections.[MK]TheDesiretoPleaseDictators[FirstRatePiecebyXX'sJohnS]
[VLAD/K]PutinCullsInnerCircleFromTobyhannatoKyiv
To:
From:Deychak,Orest<Orest.Deychak@mail.house.gov>
Date:Thu,Aug4,2016at9:54AM
Subject:UkraineNYT(2),WP,AC
To:"Deychak,Orest"<Orest.Deychak@mail.house.gov>
TheNewYorkTimes
UkraineRejectsRussia'sProposedAmbassadortoKiev
ByREUTERSAUG.4,2016,9:27A.M.E.D.T.
Continuereadingthemainstory
KIEVUkrainehasrejectedRussia'sproposedcandidateforitsnextambassadortoKiev,aseniorUkrainianforeignministry
officialsaid.
MikhailZurabov,whowasMoscow'senvoyinKievduringanti-Russianstreetprotests,Russia's2014annexationofCrimeaand
itsinvolvementintheseparatistconflictineasternUkraine,steppeddowninJuly.

TheKremlinhasproposedMikhailBabich,whohasheldanumberofseniorofficialpostsinRussiaincludingwiththeFSBsecurity
service,butUkrainianforeignministryofficialOlenaZerkalsaidKievhaddecidednottoconsidertheproposal.
"Thewayitwasproposed,ithasbeenremovedfromtheagenda,"shesaidinatelevisedinterviewonchannel5onWednesday,
withoutgivingfurtherdetailonwhythecandidatewasrejected.
"Ithinkthiswillnothaveanysortofimpact.What'smore,theroleoftheformerambassadorinbuildingnormalrelationswas
completelyminimal,"shesaid.
InremarkstonewsagencyInterfaxUkraine,UkrainianForeignMinisterPavloKlimkinsaidtherejectionwas"notaquestionof
thecandidatesoranythingconcrete,butaboutcreatingapositivedynamicinwhat'shappeningwithinthecontextofRussian
aggression."
UkrainereplaceditsownambassadortoMoscowwithatemporaryrepresentativein2014followingthecollapseinrelations
betweentheformerallies.
KremlinspokesmanDmitryPeskovsaiditwouldcontinuetoofferBabichasapotentialambassadortoUkraine.
"However,iftheUkrainiansidetakesadecisiontolowerthelevelofourdiplomaticrelationsandconsidersthisreducedmodeof
diplomaticrelationstobeappropriate-that'sthedecisionoftheUkrainianside,"hetoldjournalists.
KievandNATOaccuseRussiaofsupportingpro-RussianseparatistsineasternUkrainewithtroopsandweapons,fuellinga
conflictthathaskilledover9,400.TheKremlindeniesinvolvement.
(ReportingbyNataliaZinetsWritingbyAlessandraPrenticeEditingbyRichardBalmforth)
TheNewYorkTimes
CivilianCasualtiesHighestinaYearinUkraine:U.N.RightsBoss
ByREUTERSAUG.3,2016,6:03A.M.E.D.T.
Continuereadingthemainstory
GENEVACiviliancasualtiesfromshelling,minesandboobytrapsineasternUkraineareattheirhighestinayearas
governmentforcesandpro-Moscowseparatistsconstantlyviolateaceasefire,theU.N.rightsbosssaidonWednesday.
UnitedNationsHighCommissionerforHumanRightsZeidRa'adAlHusseinsaidatleast69civilianshadbeenkilledorwounded
inJune,doublethefigureforthepreviousmonth,withthefigureat73inJuly.

CasualtiesineasternUkrainecasualtieswerethehighestsinceAugust2015,Zeidsaidinastatement.
"Civiliansareonceagainhavingtofleetoimprovisedbombsheltersintheirbasements,sometimesovernight,withincreasing
frequencythepriceoftheceasefireviolationsistoohighforthewomen,menandchildrenineasternUkraine,"hesaid.
Forcesmustdisengageandimplementafullandsustainableceasefire,inlinewiththeMinskagreementofFebruary2015,hesaid.
"ThemanycasualtieswehavedocumentedinrecentweekssuggestthatneitherUkrainianforcesnorthearmedgroupsaretaking
thenecessaryprecautionstoprotectcivilians,"hesaid.[ED:TheneweuphemismintheNYTforRUoccupyingforcesin
Ukraineis:'armedgroups'..YaGottaLuv't]
ShellingwasresponsibleformorethanhalftherecordedcasualtiesinJuneandJuly,withtherestduetomines,explosiveremnants
ofwar,boobytrapsandimprovisedexplosivedevices(IEDs).
"U.N.humanrightsteamsonbothsidesofthecontactlinehavedocumentedreportsofcivilianhomeslooted,schoolsand
hospitalsshelledorusedbyUkrainianforcesandarmedgroups,"Zeidsaid.
The12-pointMinskpeacedealwasbrokeredbyUkraine,Russia,GermanyandFranceinFebruary2015.Theaimwastoenda
conflictthattheU.N.rightsofficesaidonWednesdayhadkilledover9,550people,includingsoldiers,civiliansandmembersof
armedgroups,sinceApril2014.
Conditionsincludingacompletecessationoffighting,pull-backofheavyweaponsfromthefrontline,andreleaseofprisonersof
warhavenotyetbeenfulfilled,raisingconcernstheceasefireagreementcouldcollapse.
(ReportingbyStephanieNebehayEditingbyRichardBalmforth)
TheWashingtonPost
Trumpsshallownessrunsdeep
ByGeorgeF.WillOpinionwriter
August3at7:05PM(August4printedition)
WhenhostGeorgeStephanopoulosasked,WhydidyousoftentheGOPplatformonUkraine?removingthecallfor
providinglethalweaponsforUkrainetodefenditselfTrumpsaid:[Putins]notgoingintoUkraine,okay?Justsoyou
understand.HesnotgoingtogointoUkraine,allright?Youcanmarkitdownandyoucanputitdown,youcantakeitanywhere
youwant.
Stephanopoulos:Well,hesalreadythere,isnthe?
Trump:Okay,well,hesthereinacertainway,butImnotthereyet.Youhave[President]Obamathere.Andfrankly,thatwhole
partoftheworldisamessunderObama,withallthestrengththatyouretalkingaboutandallofthepowerofNATOandallof
this,inthemeantime,hesgoingwherehetakestakesCrimea,hessortofImean...
WhatTrump,inthatwordsalad,callsthecertainwaythatPutinisinCrimeaiscalledannexation,enforcedbytheRussianarmy.
ButTrumpchannelinghisinnerWoodrowWilsonandhisprincipleofethnicself-determinationsayswhathashappenedto
CrimeaissortofdemocraticbecausefromwhatIveheardthepeopleofCrimeawouldratherbewithRussiathanwherethey
were.
Readfullcolumn:http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/global-opinions/trumps-shallowness-runs-
deep/2016/08/03/f7311b20-58d3-11e6-831d-0324760ca856_story.html
AtlanticCouncil
AUGUST3,2016
HowtheInternationalMediaEnablesRussianAggressioninUkraine
BYPETERDICKINSON
http://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/new-atlanticist/how-the-international-media-enables-russian-aggression-in-ukraine
Ifanyonehadattemptedtoreporton"German-backedforces"inNazi-occupiedFranceor"pro-Sovietforces"duringthePrague
Spring,theywouldhavebeendismissedaseitherhopelesslymisinformedordeeplydisingenuous.Whilelocalcollaboratorsand
convenienteuphemismswereplentifulinbothinstances,therewasneveranydoubtastowhowasreallyincontrol.Thiscommon
senseapproachseemstohavebeenlostinUkraine,wheretheinternationalmediahasplayedakeyroleincreatingtheambiguity
thathasallowedRussiashybridwartosucceed.
WhyhasthemediabeensocautiousaboutRussiasroleintheconflict?Itisnotduetoalackofevidence.ProofofRussian
involvementhasbeenoverwhelmingsincetheearlydaysofthefightingineasternUkraine.Almostalloftheinitialleadersofthe
breakawayrepublicswereRussiancitizens.InternationaljournaliststhemselveshavewitnessedconvoysfullofRussianweapons
crossingtheborderandinterviewedRussianofficersintheconflictzone,whileevenpro-KremlinreportersinUkrainehaveslipped
upbybroadcastingfootageofequipmentonlyavailabletotheRussianmilitary.
Onlinesleuthshaveproducedconvincingevidenceofcross-borderRussianartilleryattacksonUkrainianpositions,whilethesocial
mediaselfiesofRussiansoldiershaveexposedtheirdeploymentinUkraine.TherehavebeeninstancesofentiregroupsofRussian
troopscaptureddeepinsidetheUkrainiancombatzone,whichtheKremlinhasdealtwithbydisowningsomeandclaimingothers
simply"gotlost."
TheMH17incidentisworthyofawholechapterofitsown:sophisticatedanti-aircraftsystemsarenotdeployedacross
internationalbordersandintoconflictzonesinisolation.
ThenthereisthewholesubjectoftheRussian"volunteers"and"vacationers,"amotleycrewofRussianmilitarypersonnel
operatingalongsidearmyveterans,mercenaries,far-rightfanatics,andcriminaldregs.Figureheadsforthesefightershave
repeatedlyputtheiroverallnumberatfiftythousandastaggeringfigurewhenonerecallshowearlyinsurgencyposterboyIhor
"Strelkov"GirkinadmittedattheheightofthefightinginMay2014thathehadstruggledtorecruitonethousandDonbasresidents.
WhatemergesisapictureofamanufacturedinsurgencyinspiredbyKremlinoperatives,armedbytheRussianmilitary,manned
predominantlybyRussianfighters,andledfromMoscow.Nevertheless,mostinternationalnewsoutletscontinuetohedgetheir
bets.Manyreporton"pro-Russianforces,"despitetheredundancyofsuchtermswhendiscussingRussiannationals.
HeavyweightsliketheBBCandCanadasCBCacknowledgetheRussianfactorwhilestillreferringtoa"UkrainianCivilWar."
Therearenumerousreasonswhythemediahasbeensoneuteredinitschoiceofwording.Onekeyfactoristhecommitmentto
objectivitythatmarksWesternjournalism(intheory,atleast).Thisdedicationtotelling"bothsidesofthestory"hasbeen
masterfullyexploitedbytheKremlin,whichhasmanagedtoshiftthemiddlegroundbydemandingtheinclusionofitsown
narratives.AclassicexampleofthiswasthedepictionofUkrainespopularuprisingagainstanauthoritarianregimeasaCIA-led
fascistcoup.
Whenfacedwithsuchstrikinglydifferentnarratives,therecanbenomeaningfulbalance.Instead,journalistscaneithermakea
judgmentcallorremainstringentlyneutral.Thevastmajorityhaveoptedforthelatter.Tohavedoneotherwisewouldhavemeant
abandoningthecoreethicalobligationsofmodernjournalism.Yetbyavoidingcommonsenseconclusions,theyhaveprovidedan
invaluableservicetotheKremlin.
Theinternationalmediahasalsotakenitsleadfromthepoliticalarena.Russiasdenialsofinvolvementrequirenofurther
explanation,butUkrainemustalsoacceptafairshareofresponsibility.Kyivhasrefusedtoofficiallyacknowledgeastateofwar
andhaschosentoportraytheconflictasananti-terroristoperation.Thereareanumberoflegalandstrategicargumentsforthis,
notleastthedesiretokeepinternationalfinancingchannelsopenwhiledenyingtheKremlinanyopportunitytoembarkonafull-
scalemilitaryinvasion.Evenso,ithascreatedmoreconfusion.
Thereasonsforreticenceonthepartofinternationalpoliticalleadersarehardertofathom.Somehavespokenfranklyabout
Russianmilitaryaggression,whileothershavesoughtthesafetyofgeneralreferencesto"Russianinvolvement,"whilecallingonall
sidestoceasehostilities.PerhapstheyhopetokeepRussiasexitoptionsopenandavoidafull-scalemilitaryconfrontationwiththe
Kremlin.
Thisisnottosaytherehasbeennoprogress.Intheearlydaysoftheconflict,manymediaoutletschosetoportraythefightingas
anexclusivelyUkrainiandomesticaffair,employingtermssuchas"Ukrainianrebels"and"anti-Kyivseparatists."Thesemonikers
havegraduallybeenreplacedby"Russian-backedforces"and"pro-Russianforces."TheUSStateDepartmentsoughttotakethis
evolutionastepfurtherbyintroducingthephrase"combinedRussian-separatistforces"inspring2015.Thistechnicallyaccurate
butsomewhatawkwardtermhasfailedtoshiftperceptions.Itposesquestionsratherthanprovidingclarity:isRussiamerely
providingsomemilitaryadvisers?Whataretherelativeproportionswithinthiscombinedforce?Outsideobserversmayreachthe
conclusionthatRussiasinvolvementisanythingbutdecisive.
InlightofthechallengespresentedbyRussiashybridapproachtointernationalconflict,theinternationalcommunityclearlyneedsa
newlexicon.TheconceptofRussianhybridwarfarehasgonemainstreamoverthepasttwo-and-a-halfyears,buthasyetto
translateintothekindofunambiguousterminologycapableofaccuratelyportrayingwhatRussiaisdoingineastUkraine.Onenew
wayofdescribingthemilitaryunitsineastUkrainecouldbe"hybridRussianforces":thiswouldhighlightRussiasoverall
responsibility,whileacknowledgingthattheforcesinquestionaremixedincompositionanddifferfromconventionalarmedforces.
Likewise,whatisvariouslycalled"theUkrainecrisis"or"theUkraineconflict"wouldbemoreaccuratelydescribedasa"Russian
hybridwar."
Ithaslongbeenclaimedthatthepenismightierthanthesword,andthishasneverbeentruerthanintheinformationage.The
internationalmediahasplayedakeyroleinenablingRussiashybridwaragainstUkraineitcannowhelptoturnthetideby
adoptingterminologythataccuratelycapturestherealitiesbehindthebloodshed.
PeterDickinsonisthepublisherofBusinessUkrainemagazineandLvivToday,andeditor-at-largeatTheOdessaReview.
HewaspreviouslychiefeditorofUkraineTodayandWhatsOnKyiv.
Seehttp://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/new-atlanticistandscrollforadditionalrecentblogsregardingUkraine.
From:JohnBDunlop<jbdunlop@stanford.edu>
Subject:AbelatedbutmajorvictoryforRussia'sstrikingLONG-HAULTRUCKERS:"'PLATON"willbefrozenfor
threeyears,"http://www.gazeta.ru/auto/2016/08/02_a_9742031.shtml
To:"howard@jamestown.org"<howard@jamestown.org>
Cc:"paul.goble@gmail.com"<paul.goble@gmail.com>,"waz2102@caa.columbia.edu"<waz2102@caa.columbia.edu>
AbelatedbutmajorvictoryforRussia'sstrikingLONG-HAULTRUCKERS:"'PLATON"willbefrozenfor
threeyears,"http://www.gazeta.ru/auto/2016/08/02_a_9742031.shtml
AshasbecomeknowntoGazeta.ruinthegovernmenttheyarepreparedtocorrecttheawaitedlevies
fromthePlatonsystem,leavingthemattheirpresentleveluntil2019[i.e.,beyondthe2018presidential
election].
And:TimMAK,AlexaCORSE,TRUMPcampaignchangedUKRAINEplatform,LIEDabout
it,thedailybeast.com,8/4
TopTrumpaidePaulMANAFORTsworethatthecampaignhadnothingtodowiththeradicalchange
intheRepublicanPartypositiononUkraine.Hewaslying.
And:KYIVdoesnotagreetotheappointmentofanewambassadorfromRussiatoUkraine[ultra-
hardlinerMikhailBABICH],http://echo.msk.ru/news/1814178-echo-html
And:PESKOV:WeasbeforeareofferingBABICHforthepostofambassadorto
Ukraine,http://graniru.org/Politics/Russia/m.253553.html
PeskovisthreateningUkrainewithadowngradeindiplomaticrelations.
And:UkraineintelidentifiesDOZENSofRussiancitizensfightinginUkraine(LIST,
PHOTOS),unian.info,8/4
And:IntheDonetskPeoplesRepublictheydonotexcludearenewalofFULL-SCALEMILITARY
ACTIONSintheDonbas,http://graniru.org/Politics/World/Europe/Ukraine/m.253547.html
And:MikhailFISHMAN,TheKremlinsFINALWARNING:WhyYaroslavlsex-mayorisserving12.5
yearsinjail,themsocowtimes.com,8/4
And:RussiadevelopingCHEMICALWARFAREROBOTS,themoscowtimes.com,8/4
From:PeterBorisow<ap.borisow@earthlink.net>
Date:Thu,Aug4,2016at12:30PM
Subject:3reasonsRussiasVladimirPutinmightwanttointerfereintheU.S.presidentialelections|Brookings
Institution
However,mostimportantly--becausehecan.And,hecangetawaywithit.Onceagain,herubsUS/EUnoseinpooand
nobodydoesanythingaboutit.
It'saverypowerfulmessagetotherestoftheworld,aswellastothepeopleofRussia,whotaketoitlikethecrowdsinthe
Colosseumtooktonewgamesinthearena.
"MynameisPutin,rulerofrulers:
Lookonmyworks,yeMighty,anddespair!"
(WithallduerespectandapologiestoShelley)
http://www.brookings.edu/2016/08/03/3-reasons-russias-vladimir-putin-might-want-to-interfere-in-the-u-s-presidential-elections/?
utm_campaign=Brookings+Brief&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=32468054
From:MiraKyzyk<mirakyzyk@gmail.com>
Subject:TheDesiretoPleaseDictators:WhyTrumpsCrimeaGaffeMatters
TheDesiretoPleaseDictators:WhyTrumpsCrimeaGaffeMatters
"It'seasytodismissfar-offCrimeaasamatteroflittleimportancetoAmericansinanelectionyear,especiallysincedefactothe
peninsulareallyisRussiasnow,andUkrainelacksthepowertochangethepost-2014statusquo.YetCrimeamattersforseveral
reasons,rangingfromthepragmatictothephilosophical.
Inthefirstplace,ifRussiacanoccupypartsofneighboringcountriesthatincludeethnicRussiansanytimeMoscowfeelslikeit,we
canexpectPutintodothisagain.Probablysoon.ItsnotliketheWestsacquiescenceinallowingGermanytousesimilarlogicto
occupyAustriaandthentheSudetenlandinthelate1930sexactlysatedAdolfHitler."
http://observer.com/2016/08/the-desire-to-please-dictators-why-trumps-crimea-gaffe-matters/#.V6LxNjEIYWQ.twitter
OPINION
TheDesiretoPleaseDictators:WhyTrumps
CrimeaGaffeMatters
RussiasillegaloccupationwasnotapoliticalissueintheUSuntilDonaldTrumpmadeit
one
ByJohnR.Schindler08/03/168:45am
RepublicanPresidentialcandidateDonaldTrump.(Photo:JoshuaLott/GettyImages)
ItsAugustandwereofficiallyinthisyearspresidentialcontestinaseriousway.Nowthatbothparties
haveanointednomineesattheirconventions,campaigningbeginsinearnestwiththeelectioninearly
Novemberonlythreemonthsandmuchhardelectoralsloggingaway.
HillaryClintonscoronationinPhiladelphiaattheDemocraticconventiongotofftoarockystartlastweek
withrevelationsofmessysquabblingandshadydealingsthanksto20,000stolenDemocraticNational
CommitteeinternalemailsthatappearedonthewebsiteofWikileaks,theprivacyorganizationthat,asI
explainedindetail,nowfunctionsasanarmoftheKremlin.
DonaldTrumphasdonehimselfandtheRepublicanpartynofavorswithhisreactiontotheWikileaks
operation,however.InitiallydismissingallegationsofRussianinvolvementasajoke,Trumpthenasked
Moscowtolocatethemorethan30,000emailsthatClintonandherstaffdeletedinEmailGate.While
itshighlylikelythattheKremlinindeeddoeshaveHillarysmissingemails,encouragingahostileintelligence
servicetopillagethecommunicationsoffellowAmericansrepresentsagenuinelynoveldevelopmentinour
politics.
Tomakemattersworse,TrumpthenattackedtheparentsofaMuslimsoldierwhowaskilledinIraqwhile
servingasanofficerintheU.S.Army.MakenomistaketheKhanfamilyappearedattheDemocratic
conventioninapoliticalroleandtheybadmouthedTrumpthere.Thatsaid,theopticsofgoingafterthe
grievingparentsinpublicaresobadastodefybeliefthatanybodywoulddoitrepeatedly.AttackingGold
Starparents,too,isanoveldevelopmentinourpolitics.
ItsapparentthattheDemocratslaidacunningtrapforTrumpwiththeKhans,knowinghowthemediawas
likelytocoverthestory,andtheRepublicannomineewalkedstraightrightintoit,mouthblazing.Itsno
wonderthatTrumpspollsnumbershavebeendroppinginrecentdayswhileHillarysarerising.
Amidalltheseunforcederrorsinasingle,disastrousweekfortheGOP,Trumpmadeanotherstatementthat
hasntgottentheattentionitdeserves,betweentheRepublicannomineesotherhighlypublicizedgaffes.
ThiswasacommenthemadeaboutCrimea,theUkrainianregionontheBlackSeathatwasannexedby
Russianforcesinearly2014,settingoffwhatItermedatthetimeColdWar2.0.OnSundaysThis
WeekprogramonABC,TrumpappearedtoacceptMoscowsoccupationofCrimea,indicatingthat,as
president,hewouldlookatrecognizingRussianrulethere,addingmemorably,thepeopleofCrimea,
fromwhatIveheard,wouldratherbewithRussiathanwheretheywere.
Makingmattersworse,TrumpthendeniedRussiasmilitaryinvolvementinUkraine,statingtwiceof
PresidentVladimirPutin,HesnotgoingintoUkraine.Thisoverlooksthewell-knownfactthatsince2014
occupiedCrimeahasbecomeamajorRussianmilitaryvenue,withtheKremlinpubliclyboastingofa
hundrednewunitsstationedonthepeninsula.MoscowsforcesinCrimeaincludetheBlackSeaFleet(with
acruiser,adestroyer,fourfrigates,fivesubmarinesplusnumeroussmallervessels),whiletheair
forcerecentlyshowcaseditspowerinamemorabledemonstrationofstrengthoverCrimea.Andletsnot
forgetthetwowholeRussianarmycorpsninebrigadesplusfiveregimentsthatoccupyasubstantial
chunkofeasternUkraineandareinvolvedindailycombatoperationsagainstUkrainianforces.
TrumphassignaledtoMoscowandeveryoneelsehowlittle
Article5wouldmeaninhisadministration.
Bizarrely,whenchallengedbyABCsGeorgeStephanopoulos,Trumpsemi-backtrackedandwentonto
blamePresidentObama:OK,well,hesthereinacertainway,butImnotthereyet.YouhaveObama
there.AssomeonewhohasbeensharplycriticalofthisWhiteHousesditheringpolicyinUkraine,letme
stateclearlythattheonlypeoplewhoblameObamaforPutinsannexationofCrimeaareKremlin
propagandists,usuallyofthepaidvariety.
TherearetwooptionstoexplainsomanyerrorsbyTrumpinafewsentences.Eitherheiscluelessabout
CrimeaandUkraine,beingtotallyunfamiliarwiththebasicissues,anddecidedtopontificateonthesubject
regardlesswhileonnationaltelevision.OrheisconsciouslyparrotingKremlinpropaganda.Thereisnothird
choicehere.
ThatTrumpisseriouslydeficientinmattersofforeignaffairsandnationalsecurityisnosecret,sincehe
seemstolackbasicawarenessofanymilitaryissues,thereforethathesimplytalkedonliveTVwithout
knowinganythingcannotberuledout.
However,theTrumpcampaignhasshownunusualinterestinallmattersRussian,eventhoughthenominee
cantquiteexplainjustwhathisrelationshipwithPutinactuallyis,orifoneexistsatallthis,too,cameup
intheStephanopoulosinterview.SeveraltopcampaignstafferspossesstroublingtiestotheKremlin,asIve
previouslyelaborated,whileTrumpspeoplechangedtheGOPspartyplatformattherecentconventionin
ClevelandandnottoUkrainesbenefit.
There,theplatformsproposedlanguageonUkrainewasweakenedfromprovidingthatcountrylethal
defensiveweaponstomerelyappropriateassistance.AlthoughTrumpandhiscampaignhavedeniedthey
werebehindtheverbiagechange,thishasbeenproventobealie.
HereonesuspectsthehandofPaulManafort,Trumpscampaignchairman,whoworkedforseveralyears
asatopadvisertoViktorYanukovych,Ukrainesthuggishandthievishpresidentwhowasthrownform
officeinearly2014andpromptlyfledtoRussia.Thiswasnosurprise,sinceYanukovychwasverymuch
MoscowsmanandheenjoyedacloserelationshipwiththeKremlinanditssecurityservices,whichwere
allowedfreereigninUkraineaslongasYanukoyvchwasboss.
OnceitbecameapparentthatTrumpscommentsonCrimeawereadebacle,hiscampaignchangeditsstory.
Thecandidatehimselfham-handedlytriedtowalkbackhiswords,whilehiscampaignco-chairbizarrely
statedthatTrumpwasthinkingaboutsomethingelsewhenhesaidthatPutinwasntgoingtogointo
Ukraine.
TrumpthenretortedthattryingtopryCrimeaawayfromRussianowwouldstartWorldWarIIIa
statementthatistruebututterlymissesthepoint.IfObamadecidednottofightRussiaoverCrimeaawise
choicesinceJointChiefsofStaffwouldhavebalkedanywaythenextpresident,whoeveritmaybe,will
neverseektoturnbacktheclock,giventhethousandsofnuclearweaponsinRussiaspossession.Thisis
straw-manningbyTrumpthatmeritsderision.
However,publiclyacquiescinginRussiasviolenttheftofCrimea,whilelyingabouttheKremlins
misconductinUkraine,representsapoliticalandmoralturningpointfortheTrumpcampaign.Simplyput,
onlyRussiaplusitsfriendsandvassalsrecognizeMoscowsoccupationofCrimea.Therestoftheworldhas
beenadmirablyclearthatthetheftofCrimeawasanillegalactthatoughtnotberecognized.
TheTrumpcampaigndoesntseemtooconcernedaboutfacts
thesedays.
TheUnitedNationshasspoken,withaMarch2014GeneralAssemblyresolutionrecognizingUkraines
sovereigntyandterritorialintegrity:100memberssupporteditwhileonly11votedagainst.TheUnitedStates
alongwiththeEuropeanUnionhavespokenwithonevoiceontheCrimeaissue,enforcingeconomic
sanctionsonRussiathathavecausedrealpainforPutin.RecognizingRussiasillegaloccupationwasnota
political,muchlessapartisan,issueinourcountry,beyonditsoddfringesuntilDonaldTrumpmadeitone.
Itseasytodismissfar-offCrimeaasamatteroflittleimportancetoAmericansinanelectionyear,especially
sincedefactothepeninsulareallyisRussiasnow,andUkrainelacksthepowertochangethepost-2014
statusquo.YetCrimeamattersforseveralreasons,rangingfromthepragmatictothephilosophical.
Inthefirstplace,ifRussiacanoccupypartsofneighboringcountriesthatincludeethnicRussiansanytime
Moscowfeelslikeit,wecanexpectPutintodothisagain.Probablysoon.ItsnotliketheWests
acquiescenceinallowingGermanytousesimilarlogictooccupyAustriaandthentheSudetenlandinthelate
1930sexactlysatedAdolfHitler.
IfthecountriesoftheformerSovietUnionthatincludeRussianminoritiesthatsmostofthemare
reallyMoscowstobecarveduponethniclines,theKremlinsknivesareready.Andsomeofthe
countriesthatwillbecarvedupbelongtoNATO,andtheywillbesuretoinvokeArticle5,theAlliances
collectivedefenseprovision,whentheRussiansarrive.
NotthatTrumpseemstothinkNATOsworthmuchanyway.HavingcalledtheAtlanticAlliancevery
obsoletewhilestatingthat,aspresident,hewouldonlycometotheaidofNATOmemberswhowereinhis
goodgraces,TrumphassignaledtoMoscowandeveryoneelsehowlittleArticle5wouldmeaninhis
administration.
Ourallieshavenoticed.InEstonia,wherefearsofRussiaareacuteasIrecentlyexplainedandtheir
cyber-savvypresidentshamesTrumpsonlinetrolls,seniorofficialsareopenlyworriedaboutapossible
Trumppresidency.TopsecurityfolksinalltheBalticstatesnowplainlycalltheRepublicannomineethe
KremlinsmananddreadhispossiblemovingintotheWhiteHouseinJanuary.
IthardlyhelpsthatNewtGingrich,theGOPstalwartwhosclosetotheTrumpcampaign,recentlycastigated
NATOmemberswhoarentpullingtheirmilitaryweight,blowingoffEstoniaasbeinginthesuburbsofSt.
Petersburg.ThiswastakenbyEstoniansasanunambiguoussignalthatArticle5wontapplytothemina
Trumppresidency.
ThiswasaperversemisstatementbyGingrich,giventhatlittleEstoniaisoneoftheveryfewNATO
membersthatactuallyspendsthenotionallyrequiredtwopercentofGDPondefense.Anybodyeven
cursorilyinformedaboutNATOknowsthatEstoniapuncheswellaboveitsweightintheAtlanticAlliance.
NottomentionthatEstoniaisinSt.PetersburgssuburbsonlyinGingrichsmind.Theactualdistancefrom
thebordertoRussiassecond-biggestcityisahundredmilesthesamedistancethatPhiladelphiaisfrom
ManhattanbuttheTrumpcampaigndoesntseemtooconcernedaboutfactsthesedays.UsingGingrichs
logic,southTexasisrightfullyMexicossinceMonterreyisonlyhundredmilesfromtheRioGrande.
LetsbeclearthattheCrimeaissuehasimpactsfarbeyondtheBaltics.Ourrivalsworldwidewatched
Putinssmash-and-grabofCrimeawiththeLittleGreenMenofGRU,hismilitaryintelligenceservice,with
intenseinterest.Thisplaybookcannowbecopiedbyothercountries,particularlyifPresidentTrumpwont
doanythingaboutit.
WouldTrump,ascommander-in-chief,simplyletChinaoccupyTaiwan,asthePeoplesLiberationArmy
hasdreamedoffordecades?WhataboutallthosetinylittleislandsintheSouthChinaSeathatBeijing
nakedlycovets?ThesearequestionsthattheRepublicannomineenowneedstobeasked,plainlyand
directly.
Cometothinkofit,Iranhasdesignsbeyonditsborderstoo.Asdoseveralothercountriesthatarenot
exactlyfriendsofours.Afterthecatastropheof1914-45,whentwoworldwarskilledsome75million
peoplebetweencombatandgenocide,theworld,ledbytheUnitedStates,establishednewinternational
normsthatsoughttominimizetheterritorialconflictsthatcausedthehorrorsofthetwentiethcenturys
blood-drenchedfirsthalf.
Thateffortwasimperfectanditsnot-always-efficientdiplomaticmechanismscansometimesseem
downrightsilly.Butthepost-1945worldorder,ledbyAmerica,hasbeenfarmoresuccessfulthananything
beforeit.Warsreallyarerarernow,whilemajorconflictseemsallbutunthinkable,especiallyamong
nuclear-armedpowers.
Theancientshadatakeonforeignrelationsthatwasmemorablyexpressedasthestrongdowhattheycan
andtheweaksufferwhattheymust.Thislawofthejungleledtocountlesswarsrightuntilthemid-
20thcentury,whentheappallingcostoflettingaggressorssimplydoastheywishedbecameobvioustoall
buttheblind.
DonaldTrumpsforeignpolicyvision,withitsdesiretopleasedictatorsuntiltheyhopefullybehave,seemsto
bemorecomfortablewiththenormsoftheancientsthanwiththoseofthecurrentcentury.Thisiswhy
Crimeamatters.Trumpsconceptofinternationalrelationswillonlyencouragemoreaggressionagainstthe
weakwhilequitepossiblyunleashingmajorwarandgeopoliticalhellwithit.
Disclosure:DonaldTrumpisthefather-in-lawofJaredKushner,thepublisherofObserverMedia.
JohnSchindlerisasecurityexpertandformerNationalSecurityAgencyanalystandcounterintelligence
officer.Aspecialistinespionageandterrorism,hesalsobeenaNavyofficerandaWarCollegeprofessor.
HespublishedfourbooksandisonTwitterat@20committee.
From:VladK
Subject:UkeNews
Thanks for including me on your distribution. Attached are two articles for your reading.
Senttime: 08/04/201608:57:04AM
FW:AbelatedbutmajorvictoryforRussia'sstrikingLONG-HAULTRUCKERS:"'PLATON"willbefrozenforthreeyears,"
Subject:
http://www.gazeta.ru/auto/2016/08/02_a_9742031.shtml
From:JohnBDunlop
Sent:Thursday,August04,20168:57AM
To:howard@jamestown.org
Cc:paul.goble@gmail.com'waz2102@caa.columbia.edu'
Subject:AbelatedbutmajorvictoryforRussia'sstrikingLONG-HAULTRUCKERS:"'PLATON"willbefrozenforthreeyears,"
http://www.gazeta.ru/auto/2016/08/02_a_9742031.shtml
AshasbecomeknowntoGazeta.ruinthegovernmenttheyarepreparedtocorrecttheawaited
leviesfromthePlatonsystem,leavingthemattheirpresentleveluntil2019[i.e.,beyondthe2018
presidentialelection].
And:TimMAK,AlexaCORSE,TRUMPcampaignchangedUKRAINEplatform,LIEDaboutit,
thedailybeast.com,8/4
TopTrumpaidePaulMANAFORTsworethatthecampaignhadnothingtodowiththeradicalchange
intheRepublicanPartypositiononUkraine.Hewaslying.
And:KYIVdoesnotagreetotheappointmentofanewambassadorfromRussiatoUkraine[ultra
hardlinerMikhailBABICH],http://echo.msk.ru/news/1814178echohtml
And:PESKOV:WeasbeforeareofferingBABICHforthepostofambassadortoUkraine,
http://graniru.org/Politics/Russia/m.253553.html
PeskovisthreateningUkrainewithadowngradeindiplomaticrelations.
And:UkraineintelidentifiesDOZENSofRussiancitizensfightinginUkraine(LIST,PHOTOS),
unian.info,8/4
And:IntheDonetskPeoplesRepublictheydonotexcludearenewalofFULLSCALEMILITARY
ACTIONSintheDonbas,http://graniru.org/Politics/World/Europe/Ukraine/m.253547.html
And:MikhailFISHMAN,TheKremlinsFINALWARNING:WhyYaroslavlsexmayorisserving12.5
yearsinjail,themsocowtimes.com,8/4
And:RussiadevelopingCHEMICALWARFAREROBOTS,themoscowtimes.com,8/4
From: KyleWilson<krwilson66@icloud.com>
Senttime: 07/29/201605:15:43AM
To: DavidWall<dfrwall@gmail.com>
Subject: Fwd:160724(DefOne/Tucker)HowPutinWeaponizedWikileakstoInfluencetheElectionofanAmericanPresident
SentfrommyiPad
Beginforwardedmessage:
From:RodricBraithwaite<rqbraithwaite@mac.com>
Date:29July201610:03:38pmAEST
To:JulianCooper<j.m.cooper@bham.ac.uk>
Cc:StephenFortescue<s.fortescue@unsw.edu.au>,KlausSegbers<segbers@zedat.fu-berlin.de>,KyleWilson
<krwilson66@icloud.com>,RobertHorvath<rghorvath@yahoo.com>,BoboLo<bobolo_uk@yahoo.co.uk>,
carolinavendilpallin<carolina.vendil.pallin@foi.se>,ElizabethTeague<teagueeliza@aol.com>,"
<keith.bush017@gmail.com>"<keith.bush017@gmail.com>,RichardConnolly<R.Connolly@bham.ac.uk>,Philip
Hanson<phil_hanson@btinternet.com>,RodericLyne<rodericlyne@hotmail.com>,JohnBesemeres
<john.besemeres@anu.edu.au>,FriedErc<ErcFried@aol.com>,SilvanaMalle<silvana.malle@univr.it>,DG
<davidjeglass@gmail.com>
Subject:Re:160724(DefOne/Tucker)HowPutinWeaponizedWikileakstoInfluencetheElectionofan
AmericanPresident
Icantkeepup.
However,ItOowasinRussiaatthetimeofthe1996election,intheweekbeforethesecondround.Isawacoupleof
Ziuganovsteamatthattime:Masliukov,Surikov,andthatamazingeconomistwomen-wasitKoryagina?Mystrong
impressionwasthat,despitetheirmansstrongshowinginthefirstround,theynotonlydidntexpecthimtowin-they
weaghastatthepossibilitythathemight.Theyobviouslyfearedthatwithvictorywouldcometheresponsibilityof
sortingthecountryout,andhadnoideahowtosetaboutit.
OnthedayofthesecondrounditselfwewerehavingdinnerwithPiontkovski.Iaskedhimifhedvoted.Hesaidhe
hadnt,becausehecouldntbeareithercandidate.Itoldhimheshoulddohiscivicduty,andthatthoughitwasntmy
businesstosayso,IthoughtheshouldvoteforYeltsin.Sohewentoutforawhile,andcamebacklatermumbling
somethingthatledmetobelieveheddonethat.MuchlaterIdiscoveredthathehadntbeennearthepollingboth.
FourorfivemonthsearlierGaidarandIhaddisagreedwhenwebothspokeatadinnerinLondon.Hewassayingthat
theendofcivilisationwouldoccurifZiuganovwon.IsaidthatIthoughtthatwasagreatexaggeration:indeeditmight
besalutaryifZiuganovwon,madeafoolofhimself,andsodemonstratedthattheCommunistswerenottheanswer:the
scenariowhichworkedinseveralEastEuropeancountries.GaidarsaidthatifZiuganovwon,hedmakesurethere
werenomoreelections.Whoknows?
AsforBobosdepressingviewofcurrentpoliticsthroughouttheworld,thatswhatyougetifyouwinaColdWar.IN
thiscountrythingsaresettlingdownunderMay:areliefafteraweekoflivinginabananarepublic.Itseemstomethat
thelatestfiascoisonemorestageinBritainsdeparturefromempire.Perhapswellendupasanormalcountry
(whateverthatmeans),withnomoreambitionstopunchaboveourweight.
On29Jul2016,at11:18,JulianCooper<j.m.cooper@bham.ac.uk>wrote:
Stephen

DontforgetthatitwasMedvedevwhofocusedattentionontheissueofthe1996presidentialelection
inancommentmadeataclosedmeetinginFebruary2012:
http://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2107565,00.html
Yes,theVoronezhmekhanicheskiizavod,amajorproducerofliquidfuelledrocketengines,thenand
now;afilialoftheKhrunichevstatespacescienceproductioncentreoftheRoskosmosstate
corporation.Alsoinvolvednowinimportsubstitutionactivitiesinthefieldofequipmentfortheoil
andgasindustry.
Julian#
Cc:JulianCooperRodricBraithwaiteKyleWilsonRobertHorvathBoboLocarolinavendilpallinElizabeth
Teague<keith.bush017@gmail.com>RichardConnollyPhilipHansonRodericLyneJohnBesemeresFried
ErcSilvanaMalleDG
Subject:Re:160724(DefOne/Tucker)HowPutinWeaponizedWikileakstoInfluencetheElectionofan
AmericanPresident
Klaus,
Interesting.Thanksforthat.Iwouldhavesuspectedsomethingfishywasgoingoniftheydidn'ttrytoget
youdrunk.Anumberofmywife'srelativescomefromVoronezh.Oneofthemwasthechiefengineerof
theVoronezhMekhanicheskiiZavod(Ithinkthat'sthename-anywaythebigdefenceplant),who
becametheheadofthelocalprivatisationagencyandhadalotofrespectforChubais.Idon'tremember
talkingtohimaboutYeltsin.Iimaginehewouldhavehadmixedfeelings,butnodoubtwhosesidehe
wouldhavebeenon.Heorganizedsomeinterestingmeetingsforme,whichImightgettheopportunityto
describesomeothertime-andyouyourkolkhoz.
Stephen
SentfrommyiPad
On28Jul2016,at22:59,prof.dr.klaussegbers<segbers@zedat.fu-berlin.de>wrote:
atthattime,iwasanofficialelectionobserverinvoronezh'(city)andoblast'(irmemebera
colorfulkolkhoz).
theosceandeuroparliamentdelegationsdidn'thavehardevoidenceoffalsificationson
electionday.unlessyoutakeattemptstomakeforeignobserversdrunkobverversas
falsifications(icouldresisttheworst).
talkingaboutmediaimpactisadifferentstory.
mostrussiansitalkedtothendidn'thaveastronglikingforbne.slightlymoredisliked
zyuganov,though.also,weshouldn'tforgetthatthenbnewasn'ttheonestandingonthetank
infrontofthewhitehousebuttheonelettinghisdaughterandothersgrabstuff,andletting
korzhakovrunningthecountryforawhile,cumberezovskyietal..
themajorissueforthensuccessfulrussiansandmanywesternobserverswasnotthe
nationalismornostalgic'communism'ofzyuganovbutthecompleteinabilityofhis'team'to
continueinstitutionalreformsandintegratingthecountryintotheworld(whatwasonthe
agendathen,wemaycomparewithtoday,havingtearsinoureyes).
klaus
NodoubtvariousofuswillhavequibbleswithvariousthingsSimeshastosay.
I'vegotonequestion,Isupposeoflargelyhistoricalrelevance.It'shis
referencestothe'demonstrablyfraudulent'natureand'massiveelectoralfraud'
ofthe1996elections.Thesearecharacterizationsofthoseelectionsthatone
seeseverywherethesedays,indeedasiftheyareestablishedhistoricalfacts.Is
theclaimthatthecountingwassimplyfaked,andthatifthevoteshadbeen
countedascastZyuganovwouldhavewon?Ifthatistheclaim,isthere
evidence?It'sagenuinequestion-itmightwellexistandI'mjustnotawareof
it.IwasinRussiaatthetime,andIdon'trememberthenasenseofsurpriseor
disbeliefintheoutcome-butIguessImovedincirclesinwhichonewouldnot
haveexpectedscepticism.
I'mofcoursewellawareofthepointsSimesmakesaboutmediasupportfor
Yeltsinandsoon(andmaybethat'sallhemeansby'fraudulent').Iremember
theTVcampaigns-IrememberseeingYeltsin'sfamousdancingonstage-and
thereasonablyrelentlessdocumentariesontheevilsoftheSovietpast.Asfar
asIcouldtellthedocumentarieswereallhistoricallyaccurate,buttherewas
certainlysomethingaboutthetiming.Ialsoremember
Zyuganov'scampaign,whichgotenoughcoveragethatIwasawareofitandits
content,andmysenseatthetimewasthatYeltsin'sdancingwouldbemore
electorallyeffectivethanZyuganov'stimidlyandtediouslycrudenationalism.
AndIrememberthedealwithLebed,whichwasseenasgivingYeltsinabig
chunkofvotesinthesecondround.IhavetoadmitthatIhavenomemoryof
Yavlinskybeingaviablecandidateunderanyimaginablecircumstances.
Togetbacktomyquestion,isthereevidencethatYeltsinwontheelectionnot
throughhardcore,butthroughstraightdownthelineballot
boxstuffingandcountfalsification?
Stephen
SentfrommyiPad
On28Jul2016,at19:09,JulianCooper<J.M.COOPER@bham.ac.uk>
wrote:
Changingthesubjecttosomeextent,thelatestfromDimitri
Simes
http://nationalinterest.org/print/feature/russiaamerica
destinedconflict16726

Julian

Cc:RodricBraithwaiteJulianCooperKyleWilsonRobertHorvath
BoboLocarolinavendilpallinElizabethTeague
<keith.bush017@gmail.com>RichardConnollyPhilipHanson
RodericLyneJohnBesemeresFriedErcSilvanaMalleDG
Subject:Re:160724(DefOne/Tucker)HowPutinWeaponized
WikileakstoInfluencetheElectionofanAmericanPresident

Iagreewithyou-andMashaHessen.Ican'ttellfromherehow
bigallthisreallyisintheUScampaign,andwhyamIcommenting
onaplaceI'vebarelyevenvisitedinmylife,butiftheDemocrats
arerelyingontheRussiancardtogetthemovertheline,we've
gotabigproblemandifwethinkPutinisthesourceofallour
problems,we'vegotanevenbiggerproblem.
Stephen
SentfrommyiPad
On27Jul2016,at21:57,prof.dr.klaussegbers
<segbers@zedat.fu-berlin.de>wrote:
stephen,ithinkit'snotsomuchabouttheKremlin
butaboutpoliticallygiftedclownssensing
opportunities.theyfeelhowmanypeopleareclue-
andhelplessfacingsocialandculturalchallenges
relatedtoglobalization.theypersonalizethese
feelingsprovidingforculprits('lockherup'),and
offeringsimplified(andmostlynotviable)solutions
('let'sbuildawall').thisisthelinkbetweenputin,
orban,erdogan,trump,xi(exploitingtheanti-elite
feelingsbypromotinganti-corruption)and,maybe,
natanyahu(inowlessaboutthelastone).

Am27.07.2016um13:34schriebStephen
Fortescue:
Iclaimnoexpertiseinthesematters
andI'mgoingjustontheevidence
containedinthevariousarticles
referredtointhiscorrespondence,but
itseemstomethatJuliaIoffehasgotit
rightregardingpossiblefinanciallinks
betweenPutinandTrump.The
evidenceisverythin-infactnonethat
anyRussianpartnersTrumpmighthave
areclosetoPutin.AsIoffepointsout,
Trump'slackofbusinesssuccessin
Russiawouldsuggestthelackofa
connection,ratherthantheotherway
around.Butbythesoundofithe
generallysenthissontoMoscow,so
maybehewasn'teventryingvery
hard.
Noneofthat'stosaythathedoesn't
presentaviewoftheworldwhichis
veryattractivetotheRussians,andthat
they'rehopefulthathe'llwin.Iknow
nomoreaboutcomputerhackingthan
abouthotelfinancing,butthatevidence
doessoundmoreconvincing,andwhy
wouldn'twebelieveit.
Idon'tknowhowbigallthisRussian
stuffisinthecampaign,butonecan't
helphavingthenastyfeelingthat
EstoniabeinginthesuburbsofSt
PetersburgandHilaryisawarmonger
mightbeattractivepropositionsto
morevotersthanIliketothinkabout.
HasanyoneintheUSmentioned,say,
China,theSouthChinaSeas,etc,or
aretheymattersofnoimport?
Onaslightlydifferentissue.Inthe
presidentialwebsitereportof
yesterday'sSecurityCouncilmeeting,
Putinissaidtohavereportedonthe
forthcomingvisitofErdogantoRussia
andPutin'stelephoneconversations
withErdoganandNetahanyu,allinone
sentenceandasiftheywerealllinked.
AmIgettingtooKremlinological,or
aretheyalllinked?
Stephen
SentfrommyiPad
On27Jul2016,at18:25,Rodric
Braithwaite
<rqbraithwaite@mac.com>wrote:
Idbeveryinterestedin
commentsontheJosh
Marshallarticle.

R

On26Jul
2016,at
09:42,Julian
Cooper
<j.m.cooper@bham.ac.uk>
wrote:

Another
view:
http://nationalinterest.org/feature/the
hawks%E2%80%99
election
strategy
pushing
newcold
war17113

Julian

From:Kyle
Wilson
[mailto:krwilson66@icloud.com]
Sent:26
July2016
00:11
To:Robert
Horvath
BoboLo
Julian
Cooper
carolina
vendilpallin
<teagueeliza@aol.com>
<keith.bush017@gmail.com>
Richard
Connolly
PhilRoderic
&Mandy
LyneJohn
Besemeres
Klaus
SegbersFU
FriedErc
Rodric
Braithwaite
Stephen
Fortescue
SilvanaMalle
Cc:DG
Subject:Fwd:
160724
(DefOne/Tucker)
HowPutin
Weaponized
Wikileaksto
Influencethe
Electionofan
American
President
Sentfrom
myiPad
Begin
forwarded
message:
Sent
from
my
iPad
Begin
forwarded
message:
Date:26
July
2016
at
01:19:32
AEST
To:undisclosed-
recipients:
Subject:Fwd:
160724
(DefOne/Tucker)
How
Putin
Weaponized
Wikileaks
to
Influence
the
Election
of
an
American
President
for
whatever
it's
worth
...
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/trump-
putin-
yes-
it-
s-
really-
a-
thing
TPMEDITOR'S
BLOG
Trump
&
Putin.
Yes,
It's
Really
a
Thing
ByJOSH
MARSHALLPublishedJULY
23,
2016,
4:15
PM
EDT

Over
the
last
year
there
has
been
a
recurrent
refrain
about
the
seeming
bromance
between
Donald
Trump
and
Russian
President
Vladimir
Putin.
More
seriously,
but
relatedly,
many
believe
Trump
is
an
admirer
and
would-
be
emulator
of
Putin's
increasingly
autocratic
and
illiberal
rule.
But
there's
quite
a
bit
more
to
the
story.
At
a
minimum,
Trump
appears
to
have
a
deep
financial
dependence
on
Russian
money
from
persons
close
to
Putin.
And
this
is
matched
to
a
conspicuous
solicitousness
to
Russian
foreign
policy
interests
where
they
come
into
conflict
with
US
policies
which
go
back
decades
through
administrations
of
both
parties.
There
is
also
something
between
a
non-
trivial
and
a
substantial
amount
of
evidence
suggesting
Putin-
backed
financial
support
for
Trump
or
a
non-
tacit
alliance
between
the
two
men.
Let
me
start
by
saying
I'm
no
Russia
hawk.
I
have
long
been
skeptical
of
US
efforts
to
extend
security
guarantees
to
countries
within
what
the
Russians
consider
their
'near
abroad'
or
extend
such
guarantees
and
police
Russian
interactions
with
new
states
which
for
centuries
were
part
of
either
the
Russian
Empire
or
the
USSR.
This
isn't
a
matter
of
indifference
to
these
countries.
It
is
based
on
my
belief
in
seriously
thinking
through
the
potential
costs
of
such
policies.
In
the
case
of
the
Baltics,
those
countries
are
now
part
of
NATO.
Security
commitments
have
been
made
which
absolutely
must
be
kept.
But
there
are
many
other
areas
where
such
commitments
have
not
been
made.
My
point
in
raising
this
is
that
I
do
not
come
to
this
question
or
these
policies
as
someone
looking
for
confrontation
or
cold
relations
with
Russia.
Let's
start
with
the
basic
facts.
There
is
a
lot
of
Russian
money
flowing
into
Trump's
coffers
and
he
is
conspicuously
solicitous
of
Russian
foreign
policy
priorities.
I'll
list
off
some
facts.
1.
All
the
other
discussions
of
Trump's
finances
aside,
hisdebt
load
has
grown
dramatically
over
the
last
year,
from
$350
million
to
$630
million.
This
is
in
just
one
year
while
his
liquid
assets
have
also
decreased.
Trump
has
been
blackballed
by
all
major
US
banks.
2.
Post-
bankruptcy
Trump
has
been
highly
reliant
on
money
from
Russia,
most
of
which
has
over
the
years
become
increasingly
concentrated
among
oligarchs
and
sub-
garchs
close
to
Vladimir
Putin.
Here's
agood
overviewfromThe
Washington
Post,with
one
morsel
for
illustration
...
Since
the
1980s,
Trump
and
his
family
members
have
made
numerous
trips
to
Moscow
in
search
of
business
opportunities,
and
they
have
relied
on
Russian
investors
to
buy
their
properties
around
the
world.
Russians
make
up
a
pretty
disproportionate
cross-
section
of
a
lot
of
our
assets,
Trumps
son,
Donald
Jr.,
told
a
real
estate
conference
in
2008,
according
to
an
account
posted
on
the
website
of
eTurboNews,
a
trade
publication.
We
see
a
lot
of
money
pouring
in
from
Russia.
3.
One
example
of
this
is
the
Trump
Soho
development
in
Manhattan,
one
of
Trump's
largest
recent
endeavors.
The
project
was
hit
with
a
series
of
lawsuits
in
response
to
some
typically
Trumpian
efforts
to
defraud
investors
by
making
fraudulent
claims
about
the
financial
health
of
the
project.
Emerging
out
of
that
litigation
however
wasnews
about
secret
financing
for
the
project
from
Russia
and
Kazakhstan.
Most
attention
about
the
project
has
focused
on
the
presence
of
a
twice
imprisoned
Russian
immigrant
with
extensive
ties
to
the
Russian
criminal
underworld.
But
that's
not
the
most
salient
part
of
the
story.
As
theTimesput
it,
"Mr.
Lauria
brokered
a
$50
million
investment
in
Trump
SoHo
and
three
other
Bayrock
projects
by
an
Icelandic
firm
preferred
by
wealthy
Russians
in
favor
with
President
Vladimir
V.
Putin,
according
to
a
lawsuit
against
Bayrock
by
one
of
its
former
executives.
The
Icelandic
company,
FL
Group,
was
identified
in
a
Bayrock
investor
presentation
as
a
strategic
partner,
along
with
Alexander
Mashkevich,
a
billionaire
once
charged
in
a
corruption
case
involving
fees
paid
by
a
Belgian
company
seeking
business
in
Kazakhstan
that
case
was
settled
with
no
admission
of
guilt."
Another
suit
alleged
the
project
"occasionally
received
unexplained
infusions
of
cash
from
accounts
in
Kazakhstan
and
Russia."
Sounds
completely
legit.
Read
both
articles:
After
his
bankruptcy
and
business
failures
roughly
a
decade
ago
Trump
has
had
an
increasingly
difficult
time
finding
sources
of
capital
for
new
investments.
As
I
noted
above,
Trump
has
been
blackballed
by
all
major
US
banks
with
the
exception
of
Deutschebank,
which
is
of
course
a
foreign
bank
with
a
major
US
presence.
He
has
steadied
and
rebuilt
his
financial
empire
with
a
heavy
reliance
on
capital
from
Russia.
At
a
minimum
the
Trump
organization
is
receiving
lots
of
investment
capital
from
people
close
to
Vladimir
Putin.
Trump's
tax
returns
would
likely
clarify
the
depth
of
his
connections
to
and
dependence
on
Russian
capital
aligned
with
Putin.
And
in
case
you're
keeping
score
at
home:
no,
that's
not
reassuring.
4.
Then
there's
Paul
Manafort,
Trump's
nominal
'campaign
chair'
who
now
functions
as
campaign
manager
and
top
advisor.
Manafort
spent
most
of
the
last
decade
as
top
campaign
and
communications
advisor
for
Viktor
Yanukovych,
the
pro-
Russian
Ukrainian
Prime
Minister
and
then
President
whose
ouster
in
2014
led
to
the
on-
going
crisis
and
proxy
war
in
Ukraine.
Yanukovych
was
and
remains
a
close
Putin
ally.
Manafort
is
running
Trump's
campaign.
5.
Trump's
foreign
policy
advisor
on
Russia
and
Europe
isCarter
Page,
a
man
whose
entire
professional
career
has
revolved
around
investments
in
Russia
and
who
has
deep
and
continuing
financial
and
employment
ties
to
Gazprom.
If
you're
not
familiar
with
Gazprom,
imagine
if
most
or
all
of
the
US
energy
industry
were
rolled
up
into
a
single
company
and
it
were
personally
controlled
by
the
US
President
who
used
it
as
a
source
of
revenue
and
patronage.
That
is
Gazprom's
role
in
the
Russian
political
and
economic
system.
It
is
no
exaggeration
to
say
that
you
cannot
be
involved
with
Gazprom
at
the
very
high
level
which
Page
has
been
without
being
wholly
in
alignment
with
Putin's
policies.
Those
ties
also
allow
Putin
to
put
Page
out
of
business
at
any
time.
6.
Over
the
course
of
the
last
year,
Putin
hasaligned
all
Russian
state
controlled
media
behind
Trump.
As
Frank
Foerexplains
here,
this
fits
a
pattern
with
how
Putin
has
sought
to
prop
up
rightist/nationalist
politicians
across
Europe,
often
with
direct
or
covert
infusions
of
money.
In
some
cases
this
is
because
they
support
Russia-
backed
policies
in
others
it
is
simply
because
they
sow
discord
in
Western
aligned
states.
Of
course,
Trump
has
repeatedly
praised
Putin,
not
only
in
the
abstract
but
often
for
the
authoritarian
policies
and
patterns
of
government
which
have
most
soured
his
reputation
around
the
world.
7.
Here's
where
it
gets
more
interesting.
This
is
one
of
a
handful
of
developments
that
tipped
me
from
seeing
all
this
as
just
a
part
of
Trump's
larger
shadiness
to
something
more
specific
and
ominous
about
the
relationship
between
Putin
and
Trump.
As
TPM's
Tierney
Sneedexplained
in
this
article,
one
of
the
most
enduring
dynamics
of
GOP
conventions
(there's
a
comparable
dynamic
on
the
Dem
side)
is
more
mainstream
nominees
battling
conservative
activists
over
the
party
platform,
with
activists
trying
to
check
all
the
hardline
ideological
boxes
and
the
nominees
trying
to
soften
most
or
all
of
those
edges.
This
is
one
thing
that
made
the
Trump
convention
very
different.
The
Trump
Camp
was
totally
indifferent
to
the
platform.
So
party
activists
were
able
to
write
one
of
the
most
conservative
platforms
in
history.
Not
with
Trump's
backing
but
because
he
simply
didn't
care.With
one
big
exception:
Trump's
team
mobilized
the
nominee's
traditional
mix
of
cajoling
and
strong-
arming
on
one
point:changing
the
party
platform
on
assistance
to
Ukraine
against
Russian
military
operationsin
eastern
Ukraine.
For
what
it's
worth
(and
it's
not
worth
much)
I
am
quite
skeptical
of
most
Republicans
call
for
aggressively
arming
Ukraine
to
resist
Russian
aggression.
But
the
single-
mindedness
of
this
focus
on
this
one
issue
-
in
the
context
of
total
indifference
to
everything
else
in
the
platform
-
speaks
volumes.
This
does
not
mean
Trump
is
controlled
by
or
in
the
pay
of
Russia
or
Putin.
It
can
just
as
easily
be
explained
by
having
many
of
his
top
advisors
having
spent
years
working
in
Putin's
orbit
and
being
aligned
with
his
thinking
and
agenda.
But
it
is
certainly
no
coincidence.
Again,
in
the
context
of
near
total
indifference
to
the
platform
and
willingness
to
let
party
activists
write
it
in
any
way
they
want,
his
team
zeroed
in
on
one
fairly
obscure
plank
to
exert
maximum
force
and
it
just
happens
to
be
the
one
most
important
to
Putin
in
terms
of
US
policy.
Add
to
this
that
his
most
conspicuous
foreign
policy
statements
track
not
only
with
Putin's
positions
but
those
in
which
Putin
is
most
intensely
interested.
Aside
from
Ukraine,
Trump's
suggestion
that
the
US
and
thus
NATO
mightnotcome
to
the
defense
of
NATO
member
states
in
the
Baltics
in
the
case
of
a
Russian
invasion
is
a
case
in
point.
There
are
many
other
things
people
are
alleging
about
hacking
and
all
manner
of
other
mysteries.
But
those
points
are
highly
speculative,
some
verging
on
conspiratorial
in
their
thinking.
I
ignore
them
here
because
I've
wanted
to
focus
on
unimpeachable,
undisputed
and
publicly
known
facts.
These
alone
paint
a
stark
and
highly
troubling
picture.
To
put
this
all
into
perspective,
if
Vladimir
Putin
were
simply
the
CEO
of
a
major
American
corporation
and
there
wasthis
much
moneyflowing
in
Trump's
direction,
combined
withthis
much
solicitousnessof
Putin's
policy
agenda,
it
would
set
off
alarm
bells
galore.
That
is
not
hyperbole
or
exaggeration.
And
yet
Putin
is
not
the
CEO
of
an
American
corporation.
He's
the
autocrat
who
rules
a
foreign
state,
with
an
increasingly
hostile
posture
towards
the
United
States
and
a
substantial
stockpile
of
nuclear
weapons.
The
stakes
involved
in
finding
out
'what's
going
on'
as
Trump
might
put
it
are
quite
a
bit
higher.
There
is
something
between
a
non-
trivial
and
a
substantial
amount
of
circumstantial
evidence
for
a
financial
relationship
between
Trump
and
Putin
or
a
non-
tacit
alliance
between
the
two
men.
Even
if
you
draw
no
adverse
conclusions,
Trump's
financial
empire
is
heavily
leveraged
and
has
a
deep
reliance
on
capital
infusions
from
oligarchs
and
other
sources
of
wealth
aligned
with
Putin.
That's
simply
not
something
that
can
be
waved
off
or
ignored.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Forwarded
message
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
From:Don
KEYSER<dwkeyser@gmail.com>
Date:
Mon,
Jul
25,
2016
at
8:01
AM
http://www.defenseone.com/technology/2016/07/how-
putin-
weaponized-
wikileaks-
influence-
election-
american-
president/130163/?
&utm_term=Editorial%20-
%20Early%20Bird%20Brief
How
Putin
Weaponized
Wikileaks
to
Influence
the
Election
of
an
AmericanPresident
Evidence
suggests
that
a
Russian
intelligence
group
was
the
source
of
the
most
recent
Wikileaks
intel
dump,
which
was
aimed
to
influence
the
U.S.
election
July
24,
2016
By
Patrick
Tucker
Close
your
eyes
and
imagine
that
ahacking
group
backed
by
Russian
President
Vladimir
Putin
broke
into
the
email
system
of
a
majorU.S.political
party.
The
group
stole
thousands
of
sensitive
messages
and
then
published
them
through
an
obliging
third
party
in
a
way
that
was
strategically
timed
to
influence
the
United
States
presidential
election.
Now
open
your
eyes,
because
thats
what
justhappened.
On
Friday,
Wikileaks
published
20,000
emails
stolen
from
the
Democratic
National
Committee.
They
reveal,
among
other
things,thuggish
infighting,
a
push
bya
topDNCofficialto
use
Bernie
Sanders
religious
convictions
against
him
in
the
South,
and
attemptsto
strong-
armmedia
outlets.
In
other
words,
they
reveal
the
Washington
campaign
monster
for
what
itis.
But
leave
aside
the
purported
content
of
the
Wikileaks
data
dump
(to
which
numerous
other
outlets
have
devoted
considerable
attention)
and
consider
the
source.Considerable
evidence
shows
that
the
Wikileaks
dump
was
an
orchestrated
act
by
the
Russian
government,
working
through
proxies,
to
undermine
Hillary
Clintons
Presidentialcampaign.
This
has
all
the
hallmarks
of
tradecraft.
The
only
rationale
to
release
such
data
from
the
Russian
bulletproof
host
was
to
empower
one
candidate
against
another.
The
Cold
War
is
alive
and
well,
Tom
Kellermann,
theCEOof
Strategic
Cyber
Ventures
toldDefenseOne.
Heres
Subscribe
the
Receive
dailytimeline:On
June
email
14,
updates:
cybersecurity
Subscribe
to company
the CrowdStrike,
under
Defense
One
contract
with
daily.
theDNC,
Be announced
the in
firsta
to blog
post
receive
that
updates.
two
separate
Russian
intelligence
groups
had
gained
access
to
theDNCnetwork.
One
group,FANCYBEARorAPT28,
gained
access
in
April.
The
other,COZYBEAR,
(also
called
Cozy
Duke
andAPT29)
first
breached
the
network
in
the
summer
of2015.
Cybersecurity
company
FireEye
firstdiscoveredAPT29
in
2014
and
was
quick
to
point
out
a
clear
Kremlin
connection.
We
suspect
the
Russian
government
sponsors
the
group
because
of
the
organizations
it
targets
and
the
data
it
steals.
Additionally,APT29
appeared
to
cease
operations
on
Russian
holidays,
and
their
work
hours
seem
to
align
with
theUTC+3
time
zone,
which
contains
cities
such
as
Moscow
and
St.
Petersburg,
they
wrote
in
their
report
on
the
group.OtherU.S.officialshave
said
that
the
group
looks
like
it
has
sponsorship
from
the
Russian
government
due
in
large
part
to
the
level
of
sophistication
behind
the
groupsattacks.
Its
The
the
Cold
same
War
group
is
that
alive
hit
and
theState
well
Department,
Tom
the
Kellermann,CEOof
White
Strategic
House,
and
Cyber
the
Ventures
civilian
email
of
theJoint
Chiefs
of
Staff.The
groups
modus
operandi
(a
spearphishing
attack
that
uploads
adistinctiveremote
access
tool
on
the
targets
computer)
is
well
known
to
cyber-
securityresearchers.
In
hisblog
poston
theDNCbreachesCrowdStrikesCTODmitri
Alperovitchwrote
Weve
had
lots
of
experience
with
both
of
these
actors
attempting
to
target
our
customers
in
the
past
and
know
them
well.
In
fact,
our
team
considers
them
some
of
the
best
adversaries
out
of
all
the
numerous
nation-
state,
criminal
and
hacktivist/terrorist
groups
we
encounter
on
a
daily
basis.Their
tradecraft
is
superb,
operational
security
second
to
none
and
the
extensive
usage
of
living-
off-
the-
land
techniques
enables
them
to
easily
bypass
many
security
solutions
theyencounter.
The
next
day,
an
individual
calling
himself
Guccifer
2.0claimedto
be
the
culprit
behind
the
breach
and
released
key
documents
to
back
up
the
claim,writing:Shame
onCrowdStrike.
Related:What
the
Joint
Chiefs
Email
Hack
Tells
Us
About
theDNCBreach
Related:The
Ukrainian
Blackout
and
the
Future
ofWar
Crowdstrike
stood
by
their
original
analysis,
writing:
these
claims
do
nothing
to
lessen
our
findings
relating
to
the
Russian
governments
involvement,
portions
of
which
we
have
documented
for
the
public
and
the
greater
securitycommunity.
Other
security
firms
offered
independent
analysis
and
reached
the
same
conclusion.
The
group
Fidelis
undertook
theirown
investigationand
found
Crowdstrike
to
becorrect.
A
Twitter
user
named@PwnAlltheThingslooked
at
the
metadata
on
the
docs
that
Guccifer
2.0
provided
in
his
blog
post
and
found
literal
Russiansignatures.
His
findings
were
backed
up
by
Dan
Goodin
atArs
Technica.
Given
the
evidence
combined
with
everything
else,
I
think
its
a
strong
attribution
to
one
of
the
Russian
intelligence
agencies,
@PwnAllTheThingsremarked
toMotherboard.
Motherboardreporter
Lorenzo
Franceschi-
Bicchierai
actually
conversed
with
Guccifer
2.0
over
Twitter.
The
hacker,
who
claimed
to
be
Romanian,
answered
questions
in
short
sentences
that
were
filled
with
mistakes
according
to
several
Romanian
native
speakers,
Bicchierifound.
A
large
body
of
evidence
suggests
that
Guccifer
2.0
is
a
smokescreen
that
the
actual
culprits
employed
to
hide
their
involvement
in
thebreach.
That
would
be
consistent
with
Russian
information
and
influence
operations.
Russian
propagandists
have
been
caught
hiring
actors
to
portray
victims
of
manufactured
atrocities
or
crimes
for
news
reports
(as
was
the
case
when
Viktoria
Schmidt
pretended
to
have
been
attacked
by
Syrian
refugees
in
Germany
for
Russias
ZvezdaTVnetwork),
or
faking
on-
scene
news
reporting
(as
shown
in
a
leaked
video
in
which
reporter
Maria
Katasonova
is
revealed
to
be
in
a
darkened
room
with
explosion
sounds
playing
in
the
background
rather
than
on
a
battlefield
in
Donetsk
when
a
light
is
switched
on
during
the
recording),
notes
aRANDreportfrom
earlier
inJuly.
The
use
of
Wikileaks
as
the
publishing
platform
served
to
legitimize
the
information
dump,
which
also
containsa
large
amount
of
personal
informationrelated
to
democratic
donors
such
as
social
security
and
credit
card
numbers.
This
suggests
that
Wikileaks
didnt
perform
a
thorough
analysis
of
the
documents
before
they
released
them,
or
simply
didntcare.
Its
the
latest
installment
in
a
trend
that
information
security
researcher
Bruce
Schneier
callsorganizational
doxingand
that
Lawfares
Nicholas
Weaver
callsthe
weaponization
ofWikileaks.
The
most
remarkable
example
of
which,
prior
to
theDNCincident,
was
the
June
2015
the
publication
of
several
sets
ofNSArecords
related
to
government
intelligence
collection
targets
inFrance,Japan,BrazilandGermany.
The
data
itself
was
not
remarkable,
but
it
did
harmU.S.relations
and
may
have
compromisedNSAtradecraft.
Wikileaks
doesnt
seem
to
care
that
they
are
being
used
as
a
weapon
by
unknown
parties,
instead
calling
themselves
a
library
of
mass
education.
But
the
rest
of
us
should,Weaverwrites.
The
evidence
so
far
suggests
its
a
weapon
that
Putin
used
to
great
effect
lastweek.

--
klaussegbers
phone+493083852088
fax+493083853616
--
klaussegbers
phone+493083852088
fax+493083853616
Senttime: 08/20/201601:26:06PM
FW:[MIDAUGFRIEVESPECIAL:MANAFORTHADTOGO!!....ANDWHYMANAFORTHADTOGO!!!!][TGO]Fwd:BreakingNews:PaulManafort
Subject:
Resigns......[MB/MK]HowPaulie'sEffortHelpCreateChaosinUkraine[4X].......[AndreaC]WiththeChalupaFamily/PM-RUNex...
From:wolodymyrzarycky[mailto:wzarcusur@gmail.com]
Sent:Friday,August19,20162:24PM
Subject:Fwd:[MIDAUGFRIEVESPECIAL:MANAFORTHADTOGO!!....ANDWHYMANAFORTHADTOGO!!!!][TGO]Fwd:BreakingNews:PaulManafort
Resigns......[MB/MK]HowPaulie'sEffortHelpCreateChaosinUkraine[4X].......[AndreaC]WiththeChalupaFamily/PM-RUNex...
From:wolodymyrzarycky<wzarcusur@gmail.com>
Subject:[MIDAUGFRIEVESPECIAL:MANAFORTHADTOGO!!....ANDWHYMANAFORTHADTOGO!!!!][TGO]Fwd:Breaking
News:PaulManafortResigns......[MB/MK]HowPaulie'sEffortHelpCreateChaosinUkraine[4X].......[AndreaC]WiththeChalupaFamily/PM-RU
NexusGotPersonal......[MK]USCongressionalDelegationinUA/BipartisanSentiment:TheUSmaytightensanctionsonRussia....
From:TamaraOlexy<tolexy@ucca.org>
Subject:BreakingNews...TrumpCampaignManagerPaulManafortResigns
To:
BreakingNews-TheAssociatedPressjusttwitted:"TrumpcampaignchairmanPaulManafortresignsinwakeofcampaignshakeupand
revelationsaboutUkrainework."
--
TamaraOlexy,President
UkrainianCongressCommitteeofAmerica(UCCA)
203SecondAvenue
NewYork,NY10003
Tel:212.228.6840
www.ucca.org
http://www.facebook.com/UCCA.org
http://twitter.com/UkrCongComAm
From:MartaBurachok<marta.burachok@gmail.com>
Subject:Trumpadviserswagedcovertinfluencecampaign[ED:PM'smethods/contactswereunhealthyforeveryone...including,bymost
accounts,DT'sownelectionefforts]

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/6eed1ef61eb744e1aac584f8ac1f7247/trump-advisers-waged-covert-influence-campaign
Subject:SecretLedgerinUkraineListsCashforDonaldTrumpsCampaignChief-TheNewYorkTimes
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/15/us/politics/paul-manafort-ukraine-donald-trump.html?_r=0
SecretLedgerinUkraineListsCashforDonaldTrumps
CampaignChief
PaulManafort,DonaldJ.Trumpscampaignchairman,ranapoliticalconsultingoperationoutofafirst-floorofficeonSofiivskaStreetin
Kiev,Ukraine.JosephSywenkyjforTheNewYorkTimes
KIEV,UkraineOnaleafysidestreetoffIndependenceSquareinKievisanofficeusedforyearsbyDonaldJ.Trumpscampaign
chairman,PaulManafort,whenheconsultedforUkrainesrulingpoliticalparty.Hisfurnitureandpersonalitemswerestillthereasrecently
asMay.
AndMr.Manafortspresenceremainselsewherehereinthecapital,wheregovernmentinvestigatorsexaminingsecretrecordshavefound
hisname,aswellascompanieshesoughtbusinesswith,astheytrytountangleacorruptnetworktheysaywasusedtolootUkrainian
assetsandinfluenceelectionsduringtheadministrationofMr.Manafortsmainclient,formerPresidentViktorF.Yanukovych.
Handwrittenledgersshow$12.7millioninundisclosedcashpaymentsdesignatedforMr.ManafortfromMr.Yanukovychspro-Russian
politicalpartyfrom2007to2012,accordingtoUkrainesnewlyformedNationalAnti-CorruptionBureau.Investigatorsassertthatthe
disbursementswerepartofanillegaloff-the-bookssystemwhoserecipientsalsoincludedelectionofficials.
Inaddition,criminalprosecutorsareinvestigatingagroupofoffshoreshellcompaniesthathelpedmembersofMr.Yanukovychsinner
circlefinancetheirlavishlifestyles,includingapalatialpresidentialresidencewithaprivatezoo,golfcourseandtenniscourt.Amongthe
hundredsofmurkytransactionsthesecompaniesengagedinwasan$18milliondealtosellUkrainiancabletelevisionassetstoa
partnershipputtogetherbyMr.ManafortandaRussianoligarch,OlegDeripaska,acloseallyofPresidentVladimirV.Putin.
Hand-writtenledgersshow$12.7millionincashpaymentsdesignatedforMr.Manafortfromthepro-Russianpoliticalpartyof
ViktorF.Yanukovych.Mr.Manafortdidnotreceiveanysuchcashpayments,hislawyersaid.EricThayerforTheNewYork
Times
Mr.ManafortsinvolvementwithmoneyedinterestsinRussiaandUkrainehadpreviouslycometolight.ButasAmericanrelationships
therebecomearisingissueinthepresidentialcampaignfromMr.TrumpsfavorablestatementsaboutMr.Putinandhisannexationof
CrimeatothesuspectedRussianhackingofDemocratsemailsanexaminationofMr.Manafortsactivitiesoffersnewdetailsofhowhe
mixedpoliticsandbusinessoutofpublicviewandbenefitedfrompowerfulinterestsnowunderscrutinybythenewgovernmentinKiev.
From:PeterBorisow<apb.uke@earthlink.net>
Subject:HowTrumpadviserManafortrevivedhiscareerandbusinessfortunesinUkraine-TheWashingtonPost
Fromhavingtohockhishousein2004,in2005,shortlyaftergoingtoworkforAhmetov,Manafortbuysa$3.7millionNYCapartmentfromDonald
Trump.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/how-trump-adviser-manafort-revived-his-career--and-business-fortunes--in-ukraine/2016/08/18/8bcfb144-
648f-11e6-be4e-23fc4d4d12b4_story.html?wpisrc=nl_headlines&wpmm=1
Subject:HeresHowDonaldTrumpsPaulManafortHelpedCreateChaosInUkraine-TheDailyBeast
To:WalterZaryckyj<waz2102@caa.columbia.edu>,MariaWalchuk<mlwalchuk@gmail.com>,GloriaHorbaty-NewEngland
<gphorbaty@hotmail.com>,IJadlicky<ijadlicky@verizon.net>,MarianRubchak<marian.rubchak@valpo.edu>,mmshevchuk@aol.com,orysia
<ukiebuzz@gmail.com>

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/08/18/here-s-how-donald-trump-s-paul-manafort-helped-create-chaos-in-ukraine.html
HeresHowDonaldTrumpsPaulManafortHelpedCreate
ChaosInUkraine
DonaldTrumpssuddenlydemotedcampaignchiefPaulManafort,ithasbeenrevealed,wasinvestigatedayearagoinUkrainefor
conspiringwithacriminalorganizationandincitingethnichatredandseparatismtopromoteapro-RussiangovernmentinKievatthe
expenseofapro-Americanone.Ayear-oldlegalmemoleakedtoTheTimesofLondoncitesaseniorUkrainianprosecutorwhofound
thatManafortwasidentifiedasorganizingaseriesofanti-NATOandanti-KievdemonstrationsinCrimeain2006demonstrationsthat
forcedthecancellationofscheduled"SeaBreeze"NATOexercisesonthatstrategicUkrainianpeninsula,whichnowisoccupiedand
annexedbyRussia.
ThiswasapparentlydoneattheserviceofViktorYanukovych,whohadbeendeniedthepresidencyandwhosepoliticalcomebacksix
yearslaterwaslargelymastermindedbyManafort.
Yanukovych,athuggishkleptocrat,regainedpowerbycampaigning,atManafortssuggestion,onaplatformthatsupportedanassociation
agreementwiththeEuropeanUnion,whichMoscowvehementlyopposed.ThenYanukovychrenegedontheagreement,whichledto
anotherUkrainianrevolution,whichledtoYanukovychsviolentsuppressionofit,culminatinginhisignominiousnightflightfromKievto
Russiawithstolenpublicfunds.(Thedefector-presidentsPartyofRegionshassincebeenoutlawedinUkraineandisnowcharacterized
bytheprosecutorasacriminalorganization.)
Itwas[Manaforts]politicaleffort,thedocumentreads,toraisetheprestigeofYanukovychandhispartytheconfrontationand
divisionofsocietyonethnicandlinguisticgroundsishistrickfromthetimeoftheelectionsinAngolaandthePhilippines,where
Manaforthadadvised,respectively,guerrillaleaderJonasSavimbiandFerdinandMarcos.
PaulManafort'sPastPoliticalWorkInUkraineMightBeIllegal
WhileworkinginUkraine,ManafortreportedlyhelpedapoliticalpartyswayU.S.policywith$2.2milliontolobbyists.
TheUkrainianprosecutorgoesontosayinthedocumentthatheconstantlysawevidencesuggestingthatPaulManafortconsidered
CrimeanautonomyfromUkraineasatooltoenhancethereputationofYanukovychwithCrimeanvoters.
Manafortwasnotchargedwithanycrimerelatedtotheaboveallegations,although,asinitiallyreportedbyTheNewYorkTimes,heis
currentlyunderinvestigationbyUkrainiananti-graftauthoritiesowingtohisnamesappearanceinablack-bookledgerkeptby
Yanukovychscronies.
TheledgercontainsalistofrecipientsforseeminglyillicitcashdisbursementsinManafortscase,for$12.7millionbetween2007to2012.
Manafortdeniestakinganysuchmoney.HedidnotreplytotheBritishbroadsheet,however,aboutwhetherornothehelpedsow
ethnolinguisticturmoilandsecessionistsentimentsinCrimea.
TheAssociatedPresshasalsofoundthatManaforthelpedrouteatleast$2.2millioninpaymentsfromthePartyofRegionstotwo
prominentWashingtonlobbyingfirmsin2012anddidsoinpossibleviolationoftheForeignAgentsRegistrationAct.
AccordingtoaleakeddocumentthatwasbroughttoVladimirPutinspresidentialadministration,thetakeoverofCrimeamayhave
mootedinmid-February2014,asindependentRussiannewspaperNovayaGazetareported.LikelypreparedinpartbyRussian
Orthodoxbusinessmanandfutureseparatist-financierKonstantinMalofeyev,thetextenvisionedalaunchingoftheprocessofthepro-
RussiandriftoftheCrimeaandeasternUkrainianterritoriesalongwithaPRstrategyinadvanceofreferendumsraisingthequestionof
self-determinationandfurtherpossibilitiesofannexationtotheRussianFederation.Whichismoreorlesswhathappened.Butthatan
AmericanpoliticalSvengalimayhavebeenanearlyproponentcleavingCrimeaawayfromUkraine,evenifformercenaryoropportunistic
reasons,putshimsquarelysideofaratherunsavoryhistory.
AsArkadyOstrovskyshowsinhissuperbhistory,TheInventionofRussia:TheJourneyfromGorbachevsFreedomtoPutins
War,someoftheloudestandearliestproponentsofCrimeanrevanchismwereRussiannationalistsandCommunistswhoalignedred-
browncommoncauseagainstthegovernmentofBorisYeltsin.
Onewastheanti-SemiticmathematicianIgorShafarevichwho,in1993,wroteinthereactionarynewspaperDen(Day)thattheportcity
ofSebastopolisakeytotheresurgenceofthecountry(meaningRussia).Firstofall,itisoneofthehistoricshrinesofRussia.
KhersonesiswhereSaintVladimirwasbaptized,whereadmiralsKornilovandNakhmiovwereburiedSecond,Sebastopoliskeyto
theBlackSeaFleet.Third,SebastopolisakeytoCrimea,whichhasbeentornfromthebodyofRussiabytheunconstitutionaland
voluntaristicdecisionofNikitaKhrushchev[whoassignedittotheUkrainianSovietSocialistRepublicwhenalltherepublicswerepartof
Moscowsdominion].PeopleinCrimeahaveanacutesenseofbelongingtoRussiaandhavethewilltofightforthisbelonging.
AsOstrovskynotes,thiswasalmosttheword-perfectrecapitulationofthechauvinismandjingoismused21yearslaterbyPutinwhenhe
announcedtheannexationofCrimea,threeweeksafterthenear-bloodlessmilitarycoupledbyhisregularandirregularforcesinFebruary
2014.
ItwaswhatDonaldTrump,inhissemi-literatefashion,echoedwhenhetoldABCNewssGeorgeStephanopolousthatthepeopleof
Crimea,fromwhatIveheard,wouldratherbewithRussiathanwheretheywere.(Theywouldnt,asitturnsout.)
SupposingthatManaforthasnowbeenmarginalizedinTrumplandbecauseoftheserevelationsabouthisdirtyworkforoverseasdictators,
wearefacedwiththerathertragicironythatalong-peddledKremlinaccusationthatAmericansinterfereinthesovereigntyandpolitics
ofpost-SovietstatesinRussiasnearabroadturnsouttobetrue,butwithunintendedconsequences.
ManafortsskullduggeryinUkrainehelpedleadtoapopularuprisingagainsthisformerclientnowtheauthoritiesofademocratically
electedgovernmentofUkrainemayhavehelpeddeterminetheelectionforAmericasnextpresidentbyscandalizingoneofitsgray
cardinalsintosubmission.
ItishistoricalironythatthePutinsandYanukovychesoftheworldmightappreciate,ifnotquitecelebrate.
Subject:PaulManafortisntaGOPretread.Hesmadeacareerofreinventingtyrantsanddespots.
PaulManafortisntaGOPretread.Hesmadeacareerofreinventingtyrantsanddespots.
"PlayingtenniswithYanukovychatMezhyhiryamighthavebeentheculminationofManafortslongcareer.Hespentnearlysevenyearscommutingto
Kiev.Overthatstretch,heremadeUkrainianpoliticsandhelpedshiftthecountryintoVladimirPutinssphereofinfluence.Itwasanimpressive
achievement,atleastaccordingtotheethicalcalculusthatgovernsManafortsworld.ButthenalongcameDonaldTrumpanotheroligarchin
desperateneedofhisservices."
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2016/04/paul_manafort_isn_t_a_gop_retread_he_s_made_a_career_of_reinventing_tyrants.html
Subject:UkrainianssawPaulManafort'spoliticalimpactupcloseanditwasn'tpretty|Opinion|TheGuardian
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/aug/19/paul-manafort-ukraine-political-impact-donald-trump-campaign
UkrainianssawPaulManafort'spoliticalimpactupclose
anditwasn'tpretty
Update,10:20amEDT:PaulManaforthasresignedasDonaldTrumpscampaignchairman
PaulManafort,DonaldTrumpscampaignchairman,hasonlyrecentlybecomefamiliartoAmericans.ButinUkraine,Manaforthasplayed
adecisiveroleinpoliticsfornearlyadecadeonethatisbeingcloselyscrutinizedafterhisnamehasappearedindocumentsthatarebeing
examinedinacorruptioninvestigation.ThatiswhyonFriday,IhelpedtomakepublicmoredocumentsrelatedtoManafortsdealingswith
thePartyofRegions,whichheusedtoconsultfor.
IrememberManafortclearlyduringtheinaugurationofVictorYanukovych,theformerpresidentofUkraine.OnacoldFebruarymorning,
menandwomenwearingtailcoatsandeveninggownshurriedtowardstheLeninmonument.Therewasalittlebitofcommotionatthe
entranceRinatAkhmetov,therichestUkrainianmanandtherightarmofYanukovych,wastryingtomakewayforaninconspicuous
American.Itwasonlymeandafewofmycolleagueswhorecognizedthemysteriousstrangersface:itwasPaulManafort.
ManaforthadservedasaconsultanttothePartyofRegionsformanyyears.Hehadjustasmuchcauseforcelebrationasthenewly
inauguratedpresident,sincehewasthemastermindbehindthepresidentsvictory.Thetwohadworkedtogethersince2004.After
Yanukovychselectiondefeatthatyear,Manafortwashiredbyhimandtheyworkedonfourelectioncampaigns(includingonepresidential
andthreeparliamentaryones)together.
TheAmericanconsultantwasrecommendedtoYanukovychbyhisbusinessandpoliticalpartnerRinatAkhmetov,whointurnwas
recommendedbyOlegDeripaska,hisRussiancolleaguefromthecircleoffellowoligarchs.ThatwayManafortpassedfromonepersonto
anotherasarelaybatontolaterbecomeoneofthemostinfluentialplayersintheUkrainianpolitics.
Thequestionisnowifheeverabusedhisposition.So-calledshadowaccountingdocumentsIhaveseenshow$400,000incash
paymentsweremadetohim,whichwereintendedtobespentonconductingexitpolls.Thedocumentsshowafurther$812,000tobe
paidtohimforengaginginternationalobservers.And,thesedocuments,whichIreportedonandwhichwerethefocusofaNewYork
Timesarticlethisweek,listatotalof$12.7mofpaymentsmadetoManafort.
Ukrainiansareconcernedaboutthetheftofpublicmoney.Wewantthechainofcorruptiontoend.Thatiswhymanyaretroubledthat
Manafortsnamehasemergedinthisinvestigation.
ItisnotjusttheselatestrevelationsthatcastashadowoverManafortsnameinUkraine.ManafortwasanadvisortoPresident
Yanukovychwhenhepursuedadivisiveelectoralcampaign,suchasfocusingontheallegedinfringementofrightsoftheRussian-speaking
populationinUkraine.Thiswasntanissuebefore,butafteryearsofdrivingthisideaintotheheadsofvoters,thequestionoftheRussian
languagehasreallybecomeanimportantfactorinUkrainianpolitics.
Subsequently,aftertheescapeofYanukovychin2014,itwasundertheguiseofprotectingtheRussianpopulationthatPutininvaded
Crimea,violatingthepost-warbalanceofpowerinEurope.
ManafortworkedwithVictorYanukovychoneofthemostnotoriousEuropeanpoliticiansfornearly10years.Thisisnotacasual
relationshipbetweentheclientandtheperformer.Suchlong-termcooperationincorporatesageneralworldviewandvalues.Nowvotersin
Americawillhavetoaskthemselves:arethesevaluestheywantintheircountry?
From:AndreaChalupa<andreachalupa@gmail.com>
Subject:PaulManafort
To:AndreaChalupa<andreachalupa@gmail.com>
HiAll,
Excitingday:PaulManafortresignedfromtheTrumpcampaignandwilllikelyfaceaninvestigationfornotdeclaringbeingaforeignagentwhilelobbying
forYanukovychandhisparty.
Iwantedtoshareaninterviewwithmysister,AlexandraChalupa,whoveryearlyoninvestigatedManafortandTrump'sRussiaties.Forherefforts,her
personalemailaccountwashackedbyRussia,asfirstreportedbyYahooNews,therewasanattemptedbreak-inofherhome,hercarwasbrokeninto
withnothingstolen--onlyitemsmovedaroundtoletherknowthattheywerethere,andacreepysongwasdownloadedontoherphonewhichwould
pop-uponitsown--thiswassomethingIwitnessed.
Itwasaveryscarytime,butI'mextremelyproudofher.HereisherlatestinterviewwithMichaelIsikoffinYahooNews:
http://www.yahoo.com/news/paul-manafort-resigns-ukraine-investigators-000000616.html?soc_src=mail&soc_trk=ma
Allmybest,
Andrea
Subject:TheUSmaytightensanctionsonRussia-[UAWIRE]
TheUSmaytightensanctionsonRussia
Friday,August19,201611:08:08AM
IfaggressionagainstUkraineescalates,sanctionsagainstRussiawillbetightened.AmericanpolicyregardingtheCrimeawillnotbereconsideredno
matterwhowinsthepresidentialelectionsintheUSA.SuchstatementsweremadeinKyivbyadelegationfromtheUSCongress.
TheUSCongressisreadytoincreasethepricethattheKremlinwillhavetopayifaggressionagainstUkrainecontinues.Suchamessagehasbeen
broughttoKyivbytheDelegationofAmericanlegislators.AlthoughtheUSAisinthemiddleofelectioncampaign,Ukrainewillbesupported.
"RussiaactsasanaggressorbothintheCrimeaandintheEastofUkraine.Thatswhywetrytokeepthesanctionsineffect.Imconvincedthatif
aggressionisescalated,sanctionswillbetightened.ItwillbethepricethatRussiawillhavetopayforitsactions,"DemocraticSenatorChrisCoons
stated.
TheCongressmenalsorecommendnottopayattentiontosomeirresponsiblestatementsofacandidatefromtheRepublicanPartyDonaldTrump.In
particular,thestatementsregardinghisreadinesstoconductnegotiationswithPutinonthestatusoftheCrimeaintheeventofhiselectionasthePresident
oftheUnitedStates.
"ThepolicyoftheUnitedStatesisthatwedonotrecognizetheannexationoftheCrimeabyRussia.Thereisastrongagreementbetweenbothpartiesin
theCongresstoopposeanyattemptstorecognizethisannexation.Inmyopinion,DonaldTrumpisjustusingpoorelectionrhetoricwhichdoesntreflect
truepositionsoftheabsolutemajorityoftheCongress.Andintheeventofhiselectionhewillhavetodealwithusbeforetakinganystepswhichrun
countertoAmericanpolicy,"Coonssaid.
ThesameviewissharedbytheRepublicans."WestandwiththepeopleofUkraineandwealltogetherhavetoholdthebroadfrontagainstPutins
aggression.IstressthatintheCongressthereisindeedastrongcross-partyconsensusand,ofcourse,intheRepublicanPartyitself,onPutins
aggression.AndAmericawillremainunwaveringregardingtheissueofsanctionsaslongasaggressionintheeastofUkrainecontinues"Republic
CharlesDentsaid.
http://uawire.org/news/the-us-may-tighten-sanctions-on-russia

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