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Thank you Thom for addressing the present reality of irregular warfare. It's not a mealtime topic, but it should be.
Trump and the MAGA establishment are absolutely a direct result of IW. Vladimir Putin understands the US far better than the vast majority of MAGA - and it shows. We have had a sitting president and the entirety of one poli…
Thank you Thom for addressing the present reality of irregular warfare. It's not a mealtime topic, but it should be.
Trump and the MAGA establishment are absolutely a direct result of IW. Vladimir Putin understands the US far better than the vast majority of MAGA - and it shows. We have had a sitting president and the entirety of one political party answering directly to Russia - whether they know it or not. This is what makes Irregular warfare so insidious. You can't see it, unless you're looking for it.
The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) is a good source for anyone interested in the topic. We need massive improvement in countering IW here in the US, a country so out of social and economic balance we've become easily exploitable to foreign interventions.
Oh, and fuck you Rand Paul for hand delivering the names and locations of our intelligence assets to Putin. They were killed, you bag of shit.
“We have had a sitting president and the entirety of one political party answering directly to Russia - whether they know it or not.” My first thought is ‘What is wrong with these people (the R’s in Washington)? Are they in it thinking they will enrich themselves (I.e. “follow the money”), are they collectively groveling for Mr Evil, or are they worried what will happen to them and/or their families if the don’t toe the line?
I think it's fear AND favor.
Today's Republican party appears to be a logical result of decades spent destroying its own legitimacy, rather than actually governing and answering to the people. At some point in time they crossed a critical threshold from which they could never return in good standing. People figured them out: the Republican party stood only with the very rich and power hungry - no exceptions.
What we're seeing now is a predator backed into a corner. They see no way out but to double down on more violence, intimidation, conspiracy, and corruption. And they're doing it in the open now.
There are surely some within the Republican party (probably within the older ranks) that don't want to be a part of this anymore - it's gone too far, even for them - but there's so much inertia now within the party that to get out is probably harder than getting out of the mafia. That's the fear part.
Then there are those relatively new to the party who know exactly what they're signing up for. They want this fight - this hostile takeover of America - and the power and wealth they imagine will come from it. That's the favor part.
It's a bad combination, and one in which I fear will ultimately end catastrophically for everyone - exclusive of party. I hope we find our way through this, but there is certainly no way around it.
Our vote is our only reasonable and acceptable action.
Why aren't we responding in kind?
We need to resist them on the information front. Better messaging — but it is harder to do when you have to tell the truth. Easier to make up fantastic, entertaining, and chaotic lies than to inform and contextualize the truth.
WOW! Can you speak more about this? He is a malignant force in Congress, however, I was unaware that he gave up US assets.