Political and Security Questions to Ponder and to Resolve
If Putin and Russia wanted a Trump presidency (not just the defeat of Hillary or Bernie), could there be even more behind why they would want Trump?
I hope and pray this is only idle speculation!
As with many other nations, Russian intelligence regularly gambles on future events. It is a heritage from the Cold War, the KGB, and continues under Vladimir Putin.
At various stages of Donald John Trump's career, even well before his election to the presidency in the 2016 Election, Trump declared that he just might consider running for the presidency.
Back then Trump had a series of financial crises.
Putting two and two together Trump might have looked to be worth "the gamble" by a KGB, or the FSB that succeeded it. Putin was trained to make such gambles.
Serious FBI and Mueller Team investigation of how Trump coped with his bankruptcies and regained financial standing have surely been questions that needed answering in the ongoing investigations. While Trump's personal and business tax returns over the years have usually not been available to the public, they are available to investigators, if any investigation leads to a criminal proceeding involving the president.
For now we will leave the investigations aside and ponder what Russia and Putin might want in return, if they were to seek to capitalize on any such gamble.
Would they want to diminish the role of the North American Treaty Organization (NATO)?
Would they want to reduce America's prominent role in international affairs?
Would they want to see America's National Debt grow by leaps and bounds?
Would they want to do whatever they could to further reduce America's national unity?.
Would they want strained relations between America and its trading partners?
Would they want America's borders to remain easily crossed by Russian infiltrators?
Would they want to see America at enmity with Communist China and North Korea?
Would they want to see inflation in America's economy, and the gap between America's rich and poor continue to widen?
Would they want America's traditional allies to begin to see America as an unreliable, even unpredictable partner?
Would they want Americans to increasingly distrust their own government?
Would they seek directly and indirectly to weaken America's military?
There are many other objectives Russia would seek to obtain, if they had the power and the means to do so.
Since the end of the Cold War and the virtual bankruptcy and dissolution of the Soviet Union, Russia's return to greatness, if it was ever to happen, increasingly depended on the weakening of America by any possible means.short of war.
If the answer to my questions is "Yes, they would" and there is any chance President Trump has allowed himself to be compromised by Russian intelligence, the American public can watch closely to see whether or not Trump's behavior and actions have at any time furthered those Russian interests, and how often that is happening...while the current investigations continue.
" “The condition upon which God hath given liberty to man is eternal vigilance.” (John Philpot Curran, Dublin, 1790)
____________
© 2018 Demas W. Jasper All rights reserved.
Recognizing that political speeches are first crafted by presidential speech writers, it might be salutary to read this article again: https://hubpages.com/politics/President-Trumps-Speech-Before-Congress
Comments
AUTHORKen, My wife and I are satisfied that Pres. Trump is smarter than many voters give him credit for being, and less flawed by far than the Democrats present him as being. I fear for VP Biden's health, but were he to be elected, and if he chooses a lady American as his VP, she might very well become our first female president. I don't wish that on him, and I will be watching very closely at the VP nominee he promotes.
Demas,
I believe you and I have like minded views in that we would like to have another option to consider that we deem viable.
Unfortunately, I no longer have confidence that the Democrats are capable of doing that. As flawed as Trump is, it is entirely likely the Democrats give us a candidate that would be a horror show for our economy, or who is even more divisive and aloof (Bloomberg).
- AUTHOR
Good reply Ken. Certainly Trump has upsides. I remain vigilant. I voted for him in 2016 hoping my concerns were needless and that he would "grow into the office." Has he done that? Next November will decide that question.
I just browsed down your article and there was the comment section. If you get the notice about this comment just roll down the page. Everything appears to be all right.
Demas allow me to answer your questions as best I am able.
*** Have past allies been reassured by this President?
Israel yes, Saudi Arabia yes, South Korea yes, Japan Yes...
The petulant, arrogant, self-absorbed nations like Germany and France, probably not. They don't like being told fair trade will be enforced, they don't like being told America will no longer pay the freight for their Defense.
Trump's tough love is good for them, and more importantly good for America and its job growth.
*** Have Democracies been encouraged and supported?
Well what does 'support and encourage" mean to you? ... During the Obama administration we overthrew Libya, tried to overthrow Syria, and through the CIA and State Department orchestrated the subversion of the Ukraine government.
Prior to that Bush Jr. toppled Iraq and occupied Afghanistan, two decades later are those countries are better off for our interference?
Trump has not toppled or occupied any nations under his watch, if anything he has tried to wind down our involvement in a variety of ruined nations where we have been seriously involved.
...has the USA been made more fiscally sound?
He has rewritten NAFTA, challenged China's unimpeded raping of our nation, threatened to tariff/tax companies that take their manufacturing to another country, rolled back prohibitive to business regulations, etc.... the nation is far stronger fiscally, economically, and job growth is at a never before seen level, people are actually getting raises after decades of seeing none.
... has the USA's standing in the world been increased?
I don't see that as relevant, so long as they respect the power of the nation, via trade agreements and military aggression, that is all that matters... if a bunch of elitist snobs don't like Trump, I could care less.
...has Putin been held up to public scrutiny and vilified?
Why does he need to be? What purpose would that serve to our Nation's best interests?
- AUTHOR
the Impeachment, such as it was, is over. Time marches on into a new election cycle. Have allies past and present been reassured by this president, have democracies been encouraged and supported, has the USA been made more fiscally sound, has the USA's standing in the world been increased, has Putin been held up to public scrutiny and vilified? The price of liberty is eternal vigilance, and that price is never "Paid in full."
What was the crime that Mueller was given the special counsel to investigate.
Was it the Trump Russian Collusion to Influence the election?
Oh wait, that isn't a federal crime. What was the crime? What did he find?
What exactly are your concerns?
-
-
As we approach the one year anniversary of this article and the finalizing of the Mueller investigation, it is worth reviewing what has already happened in terms of indictments and prosecutions, as well as an increasingly nervous and erratic president. Like him or not, McCabe's remarks and reactions to his own insights echoed my own. Highly classified portions of the Mueller probe will probably not be made public. I have seen nothing to diminish my stated concerns.
Hillary would have been fantastic! Read her plans.
And here is another good read:
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/03/12/chri...
I’m sure you have seen the news about a Steele associate who was poisoned, along with his daughter? Spray can, nerve gas.
Kinda like how Jong Un killed his brother.
And they wonder why Trump’s accuser dropped charges due to death threats......
Lie down w dogs, get fleas.
Demas
"The Man Behind The Dossier". Mr. Steele is not a political hack. "
Does that give credibility to his report, which to this date has not been useful in providing any evidence of anything.
There is nothing to the Russian nor Trump influence and the Mueller investigation has lost its way. Indicting 13 Russians that will never be able to go to trial or give any evidence to support anything is meaningless.
And as I mentioned Rod Rosenstein pretty much neutralize any connection to Trump, and it had zero impact on the election. Mueller like CNN is dumpster diving in Russia looking for anything.
What exactly is Mueller investigating now. Remember when he started the investigation there wasn't even any crime mentioned to investigate.
:)
- AUTHOR
Good discussions going on here. I recommend that those interested should read the book entitled "The Man Behind The Dossier". Mr. Steele is not a political hack. The men Trump is listening to on the tariffs, include one with his own personal ties to Russia and to the steel industry (buying low and selling high).
Hillary would indeed have been a disaster. I know why Trump won and predicted it in a Hub I wrote in July 2016. Now I am just saying "Watch not only his behavior in office, but his actions while the investigations draw to a close. If you see smoke, there is fire to come."
Demas del if u wish
Why would Russia want to bet on a very long shot like Donald Trump. The Russians that Mueller indicted started in 2014. And there was no way that anyone would have said that Hillary wasn't going to win the presidency.
Did the Russians help Trump win the republican primary with 16 of the republicans best and most experienced politicians. What did we hear from the media all during the campaign. You don't need Russians when the media is acting like they were part of the Clinton campaign.
We heard things like Trump isn't serious, Trump will drop out of the primary. Then when he won the primary, it was Trump will drop out before the election, he really doesn't want the job. This media hype did as much damage to his potential voters, they would say why throw away my vote when Trump isn't serious.
Trump didn't get any outside help to win the primary, and that was a long shot. While Hillary was able to cheat Sanders out of the primary. And while Hillary kept whining that the DNC email servers were hacked, she never questioned the authenticity of their content. The content showed what they were doing to Bernie from the beginning even before the primary started.
The main stream news media protected Hillary Clinton, about her health, why she wasn't campaigning, why she didn't do any press conferences. In contrast they made every single item about Trump look like some big problem. That is trying to influence the election isn't it.
The entire 2016, the main stream news media told everyone that it was impossible for Trump to beat Hillary. They claimed day after day that it was not possible for Trump to win the Electoral College. Yes, it was the elector college that was needed and still is to become the president.
I remember watching CNN on Election Night where they had one of their analysts go over each state and show why Trump couldn't win.
This guy was trying to convince us with his facts and projections that even in the last hours of election night, there was zero chance Trump would be president.
His win came from his platform that resonated with voters that were tired of the establishment and their non results. He also did relentless campaigning, while Hillary was hardly seen. That was hard work, and he won because of it, and not because of any help from the Russians.
Hillary had one platform, I am not Trump. And today, even after her landslide EC loss of 304 to 231 the democrats are still using it for their platform.
And remember all the polls during 2016 that kept showing the Trump was way behind Hillary. Another influence on the election. The news should be the facts, but the New Media today ignores facts and make their own opinions look like facts.
My point is that Trump had far more negativity against his campaign from the news media. They also used the Bill Bush 11 year old event that was private. They also trotted out any women that could say the word Trump.
Here is another point as to why the Russians would want Hillary to Win. She was a willing partner with Russia on the Uranium One deal Her veto could have killed that deal. She and Bill were properly rewarded through his speaking engagements and the donations to the Clinton Foundation.
In addition, she and the DNC paid twelve million dollars to Christopher Steele for an opposition paper to discredit or get dirt on Trump. The Steele report was then used to get a FISA warrant to spy on Trump and his associates. They started with Carter Page who was an FBI asset and he had been in Moscow so they got a warrant to spy on him and anyone he came into contact with. He was radioactive, and that included anyone that was part of the Trump team.
How do you justify spying on the presidential candidate, and then on president elect, and finally on the president. That is why they had Carter Page spied on for a year. That was the original warrant and three 90 day extensions.
Then Obama had Susan Rice unmasked some of the names in the spied data. That gave them General Flynn. But General Flynn got fired for lying, and not collusion. So what did a year of spying on Carter Page and indirectly on Trump yield.
Apparently, nothing because is over a year since the spying stopped and their are no indictments from it. How could the court justify any extensions without more evidence and probable cause. Yet they did, and apparently they used the bogus information from the Steele Report to do so.
Now, Hillary Clinton and the DNC have ties with Russia, and yet the media is silent on that.
Where was the Russian Influence?
How did it Work?
Did it help Trump? And how do we know?
Well, Rod Rosenstein said about the Mueller indictment that no Americans knowingly were involved with the Russians. And there was absolutely no affect on the election by them.
If Russia was this threat to the US, why did president Obama and Sec of State Hillary Clinton allow the Russians to purchase 20% of all the US production of Uranium. Which they could easily sell to Iran. And thanks to president Obama giving them over a billion dollars in cash they could afford to buy it from Russia.
As for peace at home. Look what Hillary and Obama caused with all Black Lives Matter, Abortion and others. It happened on president Obama's watch and he did nothing to stop it.
Also it was Hillary and Obama that started the Resist president Trump. How is that keeping peace at home, actually doing their job in congress. Did any of the democrats in congress, or Hillary or Obama come out and say stop the violence. Resisting the president is working against America.
No, in fact the senators, and representative from the Blue states even wished he would die or be assassinated. I did also forget to include the influence from Hollywood which is a blue state. To this day, they have used every opportunity to divide the country against Trump.
In the 1860s the democrats divide the country over slavery. In 2016, the democrats once again divided the country, and it was basically rooted in president Trump. While none of the issues, like Black Lives Matter or Abortion or the Wars were caused by Trump, they still attacked him as if he had been president or in congress for the last several decades.
Yes, he inherited these problems, which others like Obama just let get bigger. But, they were not caused by him.
Anti Trump is dividing the country, and it is the democrats that don't care. They want Trump out of the presidency, and they don't care what happens to the country or the people.
The new democrat platform should read.
If you are American we don't care about you?
If you are illegal aliens, we want you in our country, and we the democrats will make you psuedo Americans. And if you commit crimes other than illegal entry, and especially felonies,we have setup up sanctuary cities and states to protect you.
And don't worry, we will fix it so you can even vote, while you get free education, free medical, welfare, and even driver licenses. We will make sure that no one asks you if you are eligible to vote.
-
-
I’m sorry, but if Hillary won, and refused to implement a law voted on by congress, there would already be impeachment hearings going.
Republicans will never hold themselves to any standards. They will allow Trump do ruin us because he’s a Republican, and that gives them power.
Same with this sex scandal . They went after Clinton tooth and nail until they got the blue dress. And they went after Hillary for not leaving him.
Now? Now it’s a different story. Now it’s so what.
I’ve had it.
I want a blue USA far away from red.
- AUTHOR
Dear Ralph and Chris,
As stalemated as Congress is, it is still in session. Some people credit Obama for "an already trending upward economy." The U. S. is resilient still, but is our overall position in the world trending to Russia's advantage, and, if so, what part are Trump's behavior and actions playing.
Certainly Chris' observations include some of those "And I could go on" concerns.
Cost of meds is up. Cost of insurance is up. Thats what the teachers strike is about...the sudden unaffordability of their health insurance.
Foodstamps are down, cause they cut needy people off....vererans and kids.
Hate crimes are up, and we've had our worst gun massacres ever in the last year.
N korea has always been a big charade. Jung Un is allied with Putin, and Putin was helping him the whole time he's been fake threatening the USA.
How come Trump sanctioned everyone who helped N Korea except for one?
Whatever happens there is engineered by Putin, and designed to help him.
The Democratic party was cyber hacked by a foreign enemy, and republicans take the side of the hacker.
It's an abomination, and unforgivable at that.
We see clear as day your opinion of us. Less than zero.
The entire establishment is in a crouched defensive posture right now, so the attacks on Trump regarding everything he says are overblown - they "need" to destroy him for many reasons, but the top one is self-preservation. So far, Trump has been very effective for the American worker; even if he takes a strange pathway to get us there it seems to be working.
North Korea is quieting down
Taxes are lower
America is now the largest energy producer in the world (finally)
Unemployment at record lows
Food Stamp use dropping
Etc.
These are real tangible things that mainstream America is seeing the benefits from.
- AUTHOR
Ralph, these are in fact "What ifs" and I appreciate your phrase "I can appreciate your concern". It is not just "the media" that is concerned about Trump's seemingly impulsive trade moves. Business forums and business leaders are concerned and need at least to be listened to, if the president's own chosen advisers are not.
We can hope that the investigators, our own intelligence agencies, justice, and law enforcement unravel any tangles and get to the end of this fish line sooner rather than later in a non-partisan, unbiased effort (something sorely needed around here).
I am just expressing one citizen's concern over shadows and tweeted snarls that bother me.
Now at least I know I am not alone in my concern.
I see that you have no end to the list of "what if's" and I can appreciate your concern, but your points seem to be heavily influenced by the media. Recent elections in Europe are already demonstrating that Trump is on the right path by focusing on America versus the globalist group think (which is where Climate change resides)
America has been in a trade war for decades - Trump is finally fighting back - don't let the newspapers influence your thinking - we live in the largest, wealthiest, and most coveted market in the world & nothing will stop people from trying to do business in the USA - there have been tariffs for as long as we existed as a nation. The people shouting the loudest are not the ones who need the work, but the international money managers and stock traders who are more concerned about EPS rather than people working.
- AUTHOR
Dear Ralph, I hope you are right. I surely do. Stop for a moment to ponder why Trump withdrew from the climate accords some 150 nations signed (including us), why Trump urged a jump in the National Debt his party has urged we control, why Russia is rumored to have influenced against Romney's selection by Trump to be Secretary of State, why Trump ignores his best advisers and business leaders in jmposing tarrifs on imported steel and aluminum that primarily come from our nation's close allies and neighbors, why he slammed NATO and our NATO partners, why he has angered the British so much that the English people oppose him making a state visit, why inflation is a factor again and combined with the new tarrifs will make exporting American goods increasingly difficult, whyTrump has no apparent intent to draw Americans closer to each other, why he set the Arab world afire by peremptorily recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's rightful capitol, why he has had no stronger reaction to Russia's role in Syria, why he angers Turkey and Pakistan which are being cultivated by Russia, why he has done so little to strengthen Ukraine, why he tried to protect Michael Flynn and fired James Comey, why his original choices for campaign advisers had such strong connections to Russia? And I could go on. Keep your eyes and ears open about a man you seem to believe has done nothing at all that might tend to incriminate himself.
Your debt theory or potential tax issue doesn’t have legs - Lois Lerner’s minions would have leaked that info long ago. Trump has a winning record when it comes to business (from the banks perspective) he’s had hundreds of successful companies and four failures. The odds of him defaulting are less than a half percent; much lower than the national average of 2%
Plus I think Trump would have incriminated himself by now; he does talk a lot
20