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Matt Armstrong @mountainrunner
, 6 tweets, 2 min read Read on Twitter
Good defense of RFE/RL, VOA, etc again the false equivalency or RT (RussiaToday), Sputnik, etc by @washingtonpost EXCEPT... /1 washingtonpost.com/opinions/globa…
Because of Obama Admin, current BBG CEO, and one board member, "which have been insulated” is now "was insulated" as there is no more board and the CEO is a political appointment (POTUS's nominee is still pending). /2
For years, including in a May 2015 article, I argued that requiring RT to register as a Foreign Agent would be counterproductive: no upside, all down. Obama Admin declined to req registration when RT launched in in US 2010. /3 warontherocks.com/2015/05/rt-as-…
In summary, RFE/RL, VOA etc benefited not just operationally but also by the optics of political insulation provided by the board. /4
The board's structure was defective, for sure, a fact compounded by successive admins not doing their job to put the right ppl on the board or refresh the board, but my/others efforts to restructure were, in hindsight, rebuffed in favor of shortsighted elimination. /5/
*AGAINST not again
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Reactions to this article reflects our naivete & belief the US is in a bubble. There is a name for this activity: public diplomacy. Identify influencers & well, influence them to influence their government, their policies, and society at large. wsj.com/articles/the-n…
We have practiced it officially — as in sponsored by the federal government — for a century beginning with the Box Indemnity Scholarships. We have used third-parties, cut-outs, direct engagement, and encouraged independent engagement with foreign publics since then.
What's new in this story is our government is the target of discrete -- neither overt nor overt -- practice that we are apparently so naive & unaware that it appears novel, despite us having a deep association with such practices.
Read 5 tweets
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Reactions I'm seeing to this article reflects our naivete & belief the US is in a bubble. There is a name for this activity: public diplomacy. Identify influencers & well, influence them to influence their government, their policies, and society at large.
wsj.com/articles/the-n…
We have been practicing it officially — as in sponsored by the federal government — for a century beginning with the Box Indemnity Scholarships. We have used third-parties, cut-outs, direct engagement, and encouraged independent engagement with foreign publics since then.
What is new here is that it is being applied to us on a broad scale and that we are apparently so naive and unaware of the practice that it appears novel, despite us having a deep association with such practices.
Read 5 tweets
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Q: "Are we going to be able to shift our culture to lead with information and influence? We have done it before." A: Today is not like yesterday when Oval deeply involved. Authorities/Money may come from Congress, but this WH won't lead or execute. thestrategybridge.org/the-bridge/201…
Try as we might, we cannot ignore the leadership from the WH, or lack of. Department’s and agencies may try as they will. They may even form interagency planning committees, and the NSC may well be involved, but without the coordination and support of Oval’s bully pulpit.
We may continue try to overcome absent leadership/failure to ack threat posed, but we cannot have an effective defense, or offense, or offensive-defense, at tactical level against a strategically minded, committed, well-funded, full-spectrum bunch — not single — of adversaries.
Read 3 tweets

Related threads

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THREAD

@DrJillStein #Russia #Trump #TrumpRussiaConspiracy
In December 2015, @DrJillStein attended the 10th Anniversary gala of #RT, along with #Flynn and was seated next to #Putin

@DrJillStein #Russia #Trump #TrumpRussiaConspiracy

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2.Prior to that in August 2015 Experts in National Security raised alarm of big #Russian Military and Cyber activity against @NATO Countries.

@DrJillStein #Russia #Trump #TrumpRussiaConspiracy

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Trump: Day 573
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Day 678 since Donald Trump admitted to sexual assault — yet he’s still in the Oval Office
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⁦@JVLast⁩  weeklystandard.com/jonathan-v-las…
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🤔“I think that’s an incredible offer,” Trump asserted about an offer from Vladimir Putin to invite Robert Mueller to witness the Russian authorities question the 12 GRU Russians who allegedly hacked into the DNC computers that altered the election.

washingtonpost.com/opinions/globa…
👁️👁️🦷🦷But in return, Putin wanted similar access to Americans “who have something to do with illegal actions on the territory of Russia.”

time.com/5340167/donald…
💰💰Not only that: Vladimir Putin singled out Bill Browder in his tirade in Helsinki on July 16, claiming Browder earned $1.5 billion in Russia and didn’t pay taxes—either in Russia or the U.S.
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(1)
 @FareedZakaria’s @WashingtonPost column claims U.S. President Donald Trump’s #IranDealWithdrawal is “raising tensions in the most unstable part of the globe, the Middle East.”
Reminder: #Obama’s JCPOA allowed #Iran to wreak havoc across the region.
washingtonpost.com/opinions/globa…
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 @FareedZakaria can’t “understand the rationale behind Trump’s decision” because supporting appeasement vis-à-vis #Iran won’t allow you.

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Maybe (God forbid) another 500,000 people have to die in Syria...
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 @FareedZakaria blows his cover & shows he is an #Iran apologist by raising the issue of “regime change.”

This places him alongside the Iranian regime, as Tehran is gravely concerned over its future.

The question is, why is Zakaria suddenly so worried? That’s quite telling.
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When @JZarif says, "#Iran never raced towards a bomb, nor will it race towards a bomb," rest assured it is the exact opposite.
We will realize how Tehran sought nuclear arms for decades. For a country sitting on an ocean of oil & gas, a "peaceful" nuclear program is meaningless.
A very telling cartoon about #NorthKorea & #Iran, as Pyongyang signals indications to set aside its nuclear weapons/ballistic missile program. This is leaving Tehran as now sole target of the international community's soon-to-come pressures.
For those who describe #Iran's FM @JZarif as a "moderate" or "reformist"

"We will exit the NPT. / We will launch advanced enrichment," he says in response to Trump's May 12th #IranDeal deadline.
asremrooz.ir/vdciu5ar3t1app…
Read 198 tweets
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1. Here we go, more evidence that Trump is Putin's agent.

bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
2. Seriously though, it's hard for me to believe that people can still believe Trump works for Putin. But I guess they do.
3. Example 1 of continued Trump Derangement Syndrome. A Democrat Congressman from a week ago. He accuses Trump of treason:

Read 24 tweets

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