As the Russia scandal unfolds, we increasingly learn the depth and long-term approach the Russians have taken in planning this attack on our democracy. We should give some thought to their approach and why they took it.
Donald Trump didn’t fall into the Russian sights in 2016, he fell into their sights on 1984. We know this from numerous sources and this is one.
investigaterussia.org/…
The history of Russia’s pursuit of Trump isn’t of interest to me for this piece, but the link above will give you any particulars you wish to examine. My interest is in why?
Well, we know a good bit about how the Russian's proceed because we have gained access to their field manual on recruiting assets. If you would like a long write up, this one from the Daily Beast does the trick:
www.thedailybeast.com/…
This article with CNN is simpler, but focuses on Carter Page and his case:
www.cnn.com/…
I want to reiterate this. At the fall of the Soviet Union, we got access both to their recruitment manual but also to Russian spies that laid out their process and how they chose targets. Trump first met with Russians in 1984 and immediately after began hawking for Russia in the news (there are your first clues folks). So what were the Russians looking for in a target? The easiest layout I’ve heard was provided in an interview on Who, What, Why. Recruitable assets have certain characteristics: They are ambitious, vain, corruptible, narcissistic, unfaithful, lousy analysts, and suggestible. It should be clear that they understand that some Americans value the accumulation of wealth over most other things. Yeah, you don’t have to dig far to find every one of those characteristics in Trump. I would like to remind everyone, the Russians were and still are, masters at this. They knew, and know, how to spot targets and how to develop them. Even if you don’t buy the notion that they “recruited” Trump, you have to understand that he would have been a prime target, based on their recruitment matrix, and he was right there, all over Russia and the old Soviet Block countries, looking for money and how to make more of it. The notion they wouldn’t look is ridiculous. The question becomes, was he for sale?
Here’s another question. Who else? Yeah, see Trump isn’t the only greedy, rich, semi-incompetent American out there. One question that comes up over and over in my mind is why do so many of these powerful rich Americans continue to support Trump despite the obvious evidence of his guilt? We understand Paul Manafort, he’s simply another asset. Same with Carter Page. But why are the Koch’s on board? Why are the Mercers on board? Why Steve Bannon and so many others? Even if you just take it as a lust for power, you have to recognize that every one one of these guys has the same personality flaws that make them potential targets for Russian influence.
That thread runs pretty deep. And there will be many who will say, “come on, isn’t that a bit paranoid?" Too paranoid to think Fox News? Rupert Murdoch? Well, I don’t have to look far to get my answer. I only have to go back to WWII and the Nazis. The powerful Americans who were influenced by Nazi Germany and who supported Hitler was quite high. Ford, Disney, leaders at GM and IBM, the Bush family and many many others. Why? Clearly, they weren’t recruited. Instead, they placed their greed and their lust for power over their country, over the democratic values held by our country. One doesn’t have to look far today to see folks who have placed their relationship with Russia, and the money to be made there, over our democracy. Start with Rex Tillerson, a man warned off of his relationship with Russia, who used the power of Exxon Mobil to ignore government sanctions against an enemy state. Look at every member of the Trump and Kushner family, and no, Jared wasn’t introduced to lousy behavior by Trump, he got that from Daddy.
The notion that rich and powerful Americans would place their money over America, and would be easy targets for influence by Russian money, as wielded by Russian Oligarchs, is as obvious as Apple Pie. The notion that Trump, and those we already know about, are only the tip of the iceberg should not be just a notion. While we are digging through the Trump files, we should give a good hard look to anyone with a Russian relationship, and just maybe at those who have too tight a relationship with China, while we are at it.
Yes, we live in a time where being conservative no longer means being fiscally responsible, often enough it means just the opposite. What conservative means today is taking care of me first, often enough at the expense of others. It means greed and the solicitation of money with no particular concern about where that money comes from. In other words, conservative means I’m a good target for recruitment by foreign powers who are working against my own country. Yes, ambitious conservative means, the Russians are looking, and what will they find?