タグ: Putin

US Election Interference 2020 – It was Russia.

A declassified report by the US National Intelligence Council released on 10 March 2021 clearly points the finger at Russia for election meddling in 2020. The report concludes that Russia with the knowledge and probably direction by President Vladimir Putin sought to again influence the US 2020 election and undermine faith in the US election process.

The report also states that there was no evidence at all to support any claims that China was trying to interfere in the US 2020 election despite repeated assertions by Donald Trump himself, Attorney General William Barr and National Security advisor O’Brien.

Russian efforts in the 2020 US presidential election included efforts to:

  • Denigrate Biden’s candidacy
  • Denigrate the Democratic Party
  • Support Trump
  • Undermine the electoral process
  • Heighten sociopolitical division in the US

According to the report, Russia deployed its intelligence services, state media and troll farms to influence and damage the US election, and to influence its outcome. The Russian narrative was embraced by the Trump campaign during and after the election, and by Donald Trump himself with his repeated and baseless claims of election fraud by the Democrats.

Also mentioned in the report are attempts at election influence in 2020 by Iran, Cuba, and Hizballah (In favor of Biden). There is a link to the report below. It is a short 5-10 minute read and provides a summary of the key points in the report. Please let us know your thoughts on this matter.

US DNI Declassifed reprot on 2020 election meddling

Photo: Stuart Rankin via flickr.

 

2013-Putin Has A Banner Year

Vladimir_Putin_April_2013_interview_to_the_German_ARD-003.jpg(Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

by David Parmer

Russian President Vladimir has had a very good year indeed. It seems like he has moved from success to success. Putin’s American counterpart, Barack Obama’s, year seems to have been just the opposite, with reporters at his final press conference of 2013 asking him if this was the worst year of his presidency. Putin had his own end-of-year press conference, but for him, this year was a record of personal and national achievement.

In September, as the clock ticked down on an attack on Syria, Russia not only urged the U.S not to attack, but also put forth a bold plan to get international inspectors on the ground in Syria to remove its chemical weapons. The plan was accepted and the inspectors began their work. Score one for Putin and world peace.

Putin’s next bold move was to grant political asylum to Edward Snowden, former NSA contractor and leaker of classified information. Putin described Snowden as “noble” but said he had never met Snowden. In his press conference Putin noted that  he was not going to justify U.S. surveillance, but that it was conducted for the purpose of combating terrorism.

Putin’s final big success of the year was to get Ukraine to side with Russia instead of the European Union. Russia provided a massive loan and substantially cut the price of gas.  Putin described Russia’s interest in Ukraine as fraternal. While Russia did not overtly oppose Ukraine’s Association Agreement with the EU, it clearly looked out for its own economic interests.

And finally, neighbors Russia and China had a year of improving relations, with meetings taking place between President Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Putin said he had a good working and personal relationship with Xi. Improved military ties with China were also promoted in 2013. 

What will happen in 2014 for Putin and Russia is anybody’s guess, but the year begins with the Sochi winter Olympics, and the Olympics generally gives a major boost to any country’s national prestige. So maybe once again Vladimir Putin will be on the fast track to continued success.