What a soap opera. This story is hard to write about because
it constantly changes. But despite the clamour in the media, it's pretty safe
to say that virtually every angle of the Russia Conspiracy has all but
collapsed.
And then today, three indictments were handed down. But what
does it mean?
It is of course too early to be able to say much. However I
will say this. The Intercept/Greenwald link (published in late September 2017) helps
to demolish one of the key planks of the Russia conspiracy. Since then it has
been revealed that the famous 'dossier' deserves more than a little scepticism.
In fact, by the criteria being employed to go after Trump, maybe Hillary
Clinton should herself be investigated!
Understand I say this as someone who is not a fan of Trump or
any of the people on his team. Are Manafort et al. honest people? Of course
not. Trump is perhaps the dirtiest and most dishonest of them all.
But aside from all that, there's still something fishy going
on. I continue to insist the narrative fails on multiple fronts and for all the
noise and media clamour (especially today)... there's still no evidence of a
Kremlin-Trump alliance accompanied by an orchestrated plot to turn voters away
from Hillary Clinton through a conspiracy with Wikileaks and Facebook ads.
In fact the suggestion is not only silly, but stupid.
First of all the notion of foreign countries buying ads and
donating money to US elections is nothing new. Doesn't anyone remember the Clinton-China
scandal in 1996? It happens all the time and the US does it more than any other
country in the world. That statement does not require any moderation or
qualification. The US has a virtual bureaucratic octopus devoted to subverting
democracy around the world.
The United States is the quintessential hypocrite nation, the
empire of the lie. It professes to stand for democracy and liberal values and
yet in reality its track record demonstrates that it is perhaps the greatest
enemy to these very ideas. The truth is all too often stranger than fiction and
that's certainly true when it comes to the history of the United States of
America.
That said, just because the US is ten times worse than any
other country when it comes to subverting democracy... does that let Putin off
the hook?
Not in the least, but the evidence regarding the 2016
election just isn't there. And even today, it's still not there. We're still
waiting to see something credible. Every angle that has been suggested falls
apart and often very quickly. The media trots out the story but then doesn't
report the subsequent collapse. Some stories, like the supposed hacking of the
electrical grid just fade away.
Read and listen carefully to the coverage regarding the
Manafort and Papadopoulos indictments. Money laundering? Is anyone surprised?
Buying dirt on an opponent? Many have done it, including the Clintons.
But what about the big plot that's being pushed?.... nothing,
at least so far. I insist the only reason the narrative has taken hold is
because the public is largely ignorant of history and geopolitical realities.
Conspiracies exist, and some have been pretty massive. They're often built on a
combination of fact, circumstantial evidence and inference. Virtually all ideas
and constructs are. And yet they have to make some sense to be entertained as
credible or even plausible. This one doesn't. If Putin did conspire to place
Trump into the White House, he must (by this point) be very disappointed. It
hasn't gone well and the prognosis isn't good either.
Why have the indictments come down so quickly? I heard one analyst
suggest this shows the Mueller team is 'on the ball and working hard'. They're
sending a message to the people they're pursuing.
Of course there's another possibility.
Their case is weak and so much so that they're going after
these figures connected to the Trump campaign for a bunch of other 'stuff'.
Why?
To flip them. It's standard practice. You threaten to throw
the book at them unless they flip and 'play ball'. If they turn state's
evidence and 'spill the beans' about Trump or help Mueller dig up some
additional dirt, they'll get off easy.
At this point if Mueller has a weak case, that's his best
angle. This will scare everyone and shake things up. If you shake a tree,
leaves and other things start to fall. People will mess up, panic and some will
start talking. Stir the pot and see what comes out.
At this point, that's what I think is happening.
I could be wrong. Maybe more will come to light.
As I've said before even if a grand plot is unveiled in which
Putin did indeed seek to subvert the US election... I don't really care. The US
deserves it, especially given that they directly meddled in Russian politics
during the 1990s... and that's just for a start.
And you can be sure... with no doubts whatsoever... that the
US is already pouring money into the Russian system in order to subvert and
make trouble for the Russians in 2018. I believe they have been doing all they
can to make trouble for Putin and anyone allied with him for more than a
decade. The US has also been involved in some very nefarious business within
Russia and on its periphery. If anyone has a right to be fearful and angry...
it's probably Vladimir Putin.
Again I say this as someone who thinks Putin is an evil man.
Evil, but not illogical or reckless.
The US has had their sights set on Russia since the 1990s and
Putin in particular since Bush's second term.
Of this I am 100% certain. History points to it as does the
limited amount of data and reporting available at this time. More will be
available in the future. It always trickles out but usually years after
everyone stopped paying attention.
Finally, while I don't know Assange personally I know enough
about him to say that I don't believe for a moment he would participate in a
plot to collude with Putin and Trump to defeat Hillary Clinton. It's really
quite absurd. I think it's safe to say that Assange despises both Trump and
Putin. The fact that he also despises the Clintons does not mean that he would
form an alliance with Trump and the Kremlin and place all of his credibility on
the line... just to see Hillary lose?
If so, he must also be disappointed as Trump, Pompeo and
others in the administration have called for his head. Cui bono? Not Assange,
not Putin either.
All we can do is continue to watch.
And watch the media spin the story. To be honest they're not
even that good at it. It's just that their audience is that clueless. The
recent kerfuffle over the JFK documents demonstrated that. The coverage was a
travesty. When it comes to Dallas in November 1963, you can count it.
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