The White House wants to warm up to Moscow, eventually. But CIA veterans say we tried that.
SEA ISLAND, Georgia — The Russian intelligence officers picked up the American spies from Moscow’s Metropole Hotel and drove them a few short blocks to an ornate, lushly appointed guest house. It used to be the home of a wealthy Jewish dentist before being turned into a meeting place for Russia’s intelligence services.
The 17th-century mansion served as the backdrop of a 2007 summit of CIA officers, FBI agents, and their Russian counterparts, as the Bush administration tried to build a cooperative relationship with Moscow on counterterrorism.
Over glasses of cognac and the occasional shot of chilled vodka, the Russian and American officers sat across from each other at a long conference table, in what turned into an interrogation instead of the hoped-for bridge-building exercise. The Russians probed the Americans to find out where their sources were, how big their networks were and any potential weaknesses to exploit later.
“It was worse than a polygraph,” one former senior intelligence officer told The Daily Beast. “They used different people to ask us the same questions over and over, each time phrased in slightly different ways, as if to see whether we were lying,” and to trick information out of them.
That interaction is emblematic of 20 years of U.S. attempts to reach out to Moscow, with the initially Pollyannaish new American administration seeking cooperation, and the Russians using each opportunity to gather intelligence on their enemy to advance their own interests.
Read more ....
WNU Editor: Talk about the coffee pot calling the tea kettle black. Of course Russian intel officers will prioritise what they want over what the American intel officers may want. But to read this article and hear these former CIA and intel officers whining and crying about how they did not get what they want from the Russians .... and then get treated badly when passing through Russian friendly countries when everything goes south in the U.S.-Russian relationship .... that is a little bit too much even for me. Bottom line .... Russia is not an ally of the U.S.. The U.S. is not an ally of Russia. Approach each other on shared interests .... but do not expect a long term relationship.
As for President Trump .... I will always remember what he said to everyone when the Miss Universe contest was held in Moscow and repeated when he became President .... Trump Discusses Security Concerns He Had While Visiting Moscow (ABC News). Bottom line .... the impression that I have is that he has no illusions on who and what the Kremlin is.
9 comments:
Let's see here:
1) few short blocks to an ornate, lushly appointed guest house.
2) wealthy Jewish dentist
3) Over glasses of cognac and the occasional shot of chilled vodka
4) Bush administration
5) initially Pollyannaish new American administration
6) President Vladimir Putin, who once led Russia’s FSB
7) When the relationship breaks down, counterterrorist officials who’ve
visited Moscow and therefore revealed their identity to the Russians
8) Anything that they can use to get some sort of leverage to try to
recruit somebody.”
9) so obvious that they provided a comic coda to the entourage.
(who's laughing now)
There is more, but I and I'm sure the reader tires. This is what we paid and kept paying our money for plus the journalism in this piece is as poor as the intelligence work it describes. Ms. Dozier is just a representative of the news people who think they are players. Her work speaks for her and them.
I was watching a documentary about this from the 60's, and nothing has changed since the days of Kaos and Control
Editor,
Your editor comments are spot on. There's little I could add, however, I would suggest treating Russia as the equal and in some ways superior power that they are. This would be an excellent start.
Bottom line: LIFT THE SANCTIONS. They NEVER should've been imposed in the first place. Once this is done, perhaps earnest negotiations can begin that might end Cold War 2. This is a war we lack the resources to effectively prosecute, can't afford, and DON'T NEED!!
Working together where we have common interests would be a great start. Once the US decided to insert itself in the Syrian Civil War, I suggested placing US forces under ghe command and control of the Russians. This would have minimized the risk of misunderstandings and would have ensured a more effective front against ISIS. As for Syria's rebels, they are little different from Al Qaeda/ISIS. and, as I patiently expkained, Assad could not be removed as the Russians would never allow it AND we might have been able to procure their assistance against Iran "death to America." Now due in large part to collosal stupidity on the part of US leaders these worthwhile goals are in tatters.
As for a long range relationship, this would be a worthy goal. If America is to survive, good relations with the world's major powers will be vital. The bottom line is the Russians don't trust and unfortunately they have good reason not to.
Let's see: expansion of NATO to Russia's borders when the negotiated end to Cold War 1 ensured the Russians this would NOT happen, support for endless "color revolutions" in support of regimes hostile to Russia in former Soviet Republics, and support for the Ukrainian coup that was/is hostile to Russia and I could go on illustrates we aren't trustworthy.
Now if DJT understands who and what he is dealing with in the Kremlin, perhaps we can get where we need to be. His initial choice of advisors of men like Michael Flynn, Paul Manafort, Carter Page, and Rex Tillerson was excellent. As people the Russian leaders trust, these people could have been huge assets whom all American patriots should support as the national treasures they are.
A commenter was unavailable for comment.
...something about forced early retirement.
Bposter omfg you reach new levels of autism
"I suggested placing US forces under ghe command and control of the Russians"
This will not happen until Russia is a free democratic country. ..not a country run by thugs and corrupt people like Putin. Are you out of your mind? The US and the west will never accept Russia as leader in anything. Russians even naively cheat during the Olympics where all nations meet to peacefully and fairly engage in sports. Even there the Russians gotta massively dope to compete and to look good. But they got caught with their pants down. Russia today isn't the Russia we used to love. No Tolstoy...no great mathematicians. .. Just thugs,cheaters and corrupt politicians that rape the population and steal from them. A free Russia - that's something we'd love to have as partners - but not a country run by Puton who kills and jails his political opposition. Are you out of your mind?
Non-Lefty Anon,
As other people have pointed out B Poster is troll.
Anon,
It would probably be impossible to place US forces under Russian command and control as there are significant cultural and trust issues that would need to be resolved. The idea in of itself would not be a bad one in the case of Syria. After all in WW2 allied forces were placed under the command of the US so as to facilitate victory. Such would be the case in the fight against ISIS.
"...a free democratic country not run by thugs..." A corrupt non democratic country run vy thugs is an apt description of America. Perhaps corrupt thugs such as those who lead America don't need to be lecturing others on how they need to govern themselves. The case could be made that Russia is freer than the US. I should also remind you, for better or worse, Bernie Sanders is not POTUS now because our c
"democratic" system robbed him of the Ddmocrat party nomination.
Additionally I've lost count on American intereference in the Democratic process of numerous countries subverting it. Sometimes this was justified for American interests. DO NOT lecture others about ideals we do NOT even come close to upholding and thugs such as those who lead the US do not need to be pointing fingers at others.
I find it interesting you bring up the Russian olympic athletes. World class athletes generally "cheat." 1.) To pull off superhuman feats will often require such things. 2.) The audience wants to see extreme accomplishments.
To this end, the Russians did NOTHING here the Americans and others don't do. Bottom line: the Russians were singled out for political reasons. When this went down, the American government should have stood with the Russians in solidarity stating emphatically following up with action that if these Russian athletes aren't allowed to compete we will boycott!!
Furthermore, America is being blamed by Russians as the ringleader of this reinforcing the idea among Russians that America and Americans want to hurt them. Unless this situation is rectified, expect blowback for this. The Russian athletes who were the victims of this injustice will probably need to be compensated or otherwise made whole.
Am I out of mind? I'd say no. As for you, if you think foreginers are interested in you lecturing them on democracy an accusing their leaders of being thugs when our leaders are as bad and worse, you may be out of your mind.
Aizino,
Who am I trolling for? I'm American and am pro-American. Perhaps I'm a troll for America. I want to improve American national security and grow the American economy. I do not represent any foreign country.
"I do not represent any foreign country. "
Not officially representing a country is not the same as volunteering to shill for a country.
Place U.S troops under Russian command in Syria. Really?
Either you are a flaming lib or you are a foreigner.
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