Clouded in secrecy, the classified intelligence that led the CIA to accuse Russia of hacking the election brings up worrying reminders about Russia’s capacity and willingness to meddle in world affairs from the shadows.
- Trumps special relationship with Vladimir Putin under a microscope.
- Has Russia infiltrated the highest levels of US administration?
- Aggressive and proactive, Putin is seeking to remold the world in his image.
- History shows that Russian interference in a foreign elections should not be a surprise.
The war online between the US, Russia and other world powers could potentially come to light s further evidence of sophisticated, coordinated attacks by Russian hacking agents into the institutions of rival world powers has been referenced by the CIA.
Astonishingly, it seems as if the US election itself was in some way targeted by Moscow, with CIA chiefs retaining classified evidence but taking the measure to accuse Russia directly.
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Earlier in 2016, Hillary Clinton accused Russian hackers of stealing more than 19,000 emails from Democratic party officials, but Friday’s announcement marked the first time that the Obama administration has directly pointed the blame at Russia’s administration and Donald Trump’s relationship with international strongman Vladimir Putin.
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A Special Relationship
During his election campaign, Trump lavished praise on strongman Putin. While his rivals and even right-wing supporters were quick to denounce Russian aggression in Europe and Trump stood alone in his admiration for Russia.
Trump also endorsed Putin’s war aims in Syria and suggested that he would not honor NATO commitments against Russian aggression and played down the invasion and annexation of Crimea.
Stunningly, this extended to inviting Russian government agents to hack Hillary Clinton’s email.
The revelations have poured suspicion on Donald Trump’s cozy relationship with Moscow and his unpredictable election victory and many are demanding further investigation.
But this is no isolated incident and just the latest attempt by an aggressive and confident Russia taking advantage of instability in Europe and America to further their cause,
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Online Russian Aggression in Europe and the USA
It is common knowledge that state-owned Russian banks have lent millions to the French National Front and Marine Le Pen.
In addition, German and British intelligence have criticized Russian attacks on democratic institutions in Czech Republic upon revelations that the country’s president received substantial contributions from Russian oil.
“I applaud the administration’s decision to publicly name Russia as the source of hacks into US political institutions. We should now work with our European allies who have been the victim of similar and even more malicious cyber interference by Russia to develop a concerted response that protects our institutions and deters further meddling,” state congressman Adam Schiff, the senior Democrat on the US House intelligence committee.
Trump Under Fire
We are now a month away from inaugurating a president of the United States who has lost the popular vote by nearly three million and whose popularity is already suffering over backtracking on his promises and fresh scandals.
Whether the CIA eventually reveal the evidence that they feel implicates Russia in subterfuge remains to be seen, but we can be sure that this isn’t the last time Russia attempts to manipulate the USA, and with their man in the White House, Putin will certainly be feeling confident.
