From Texas to Ukraine, from Middle
East to Africa, we are facing the geopolitical game played by the old KGB playbook—and again and again, the Western democracies are blind to it.
Insanity is repeating the same action and expect a different result…
Thread on hybrid war 1/xx
Since 1999, a criminal government, headed by Putin, runs Russia as a mafia state. By 2018, a conglomerate of officials, security forces and organized crime has consolidated power and took under control all aspects of political and social life.
Its wealth generates from appropriating the national natural resources, mainly oil, gas and diamonds, as well as the major assets. Each year, the Kremlin siphoned out of Russia, laundered and stored in the Western banks and offshores an estimated 40–50 billion dollars.
Since 2014, motivated by the need to protect these assets, the Kremlin has been waging a hybrid war against the Western democracies, openly speaking about establishing “a new, Post-West world order.”
The West needs to acknowledge the threat, run research and training programs to understand the Kremlin’s strategy and take an immediate action by developing and implementing a united response to the attack.
The long-term goal of the Kremlin hybrid war: the expansion of the Russian economic and geopolitical interests as a guarantee of the personal wealth and power of Putin and his allies.
“…not a shooting war, a war of geopolitics and trying to undermine our systems,” - Dr. Galeotti
The Kremlin’s short-term goals include: 1. Weakening and dissolution of the EU and NATO 2. Removal of the economic sanctions against Russia 3. Destabilization of the US 4. Normalization of the military intervention in Ukraine and Syria
By 2018, the Kremlin has built a strong network of agents of influence and weaponized all aspects of the political, economic and cultural life in the US:
→political system (In 2018, special counsel Robert Mueller charged 13 Russian nationals and three Russian entities with an illegal “information warfare” scheme to disrupt the 2016 presidential election and assist the candidacy of Donald Trump….
…Other means of undermining the political system include bribing, recruiting, blackmailing and manipulating Senators, Congressmen and local politicians; donations to parties, using “Manchurian candidate” model; lobbying; sending “phishing” emails to officials…
… hacking election system; supporting political parties, leaders, social movements, including separatists, nationalists; supporting “independence” referendums around the world, etc.)
→financial system (funding Western startups and companies through the Kremlin-funded venture funds, money-laundering, corporate raiding, etc.)
→judicial system (court trials, Interpol Red Notices extradition, denaturalization)
→business industry (running conferences, offering business opportunities and deals, shares in offshore companies, etc.)
→science (climate change denial, history re-writing, etc.)
→arts (funding exhibitions, shows and films normalizing the Kremlin policy; recruiting Western celebrities, political leaders and public figures by offering free publicity, financial incentives, career opportunities, etc.)
→educational system (inciting conflicts in traditionally liberal colleges, infiltrating colleges, etc.)
The Kremlin uses multiple covert and overt strategies (called “active measures”) and combines traditional and non-traditional methods such as organized crime, terrorist acts, etc.
The traditional warfare is also used (in Ukraine, Syria, African Republic.)
One of the most successful operations of this hybrid war is the mind war (also called cyberwar, information warfare, hybrid war, brain war, non-linear war, psychological war, etc).
Mind War Main Goals:
→Demoralizing the population of the US and EU by planting discord, mutual hatred and distrust by means of disinformation, confusion and manipulation of the consciousness.
→Corrupting democratic values and morals.
→Dehumanizing other demographic groups perceived as enemies.
→Creating a new collective mentality, identity and self-image in the West.
I will do a separate thread on the mind war methods. None of it is new. It is my article from 2018 for @BylineTimes (when it was an online platform):
Yet, it is unrecognized; we are not fighting back. The consequences of a mafia state taking over are direbyline.com/2018/08/07/a-m…
🚨#protestforPalestine are used by Russia, China and Iran to sow division, confusion in order to demoralize Americans; undermine the U.S. globally and to influence the US presidential elections outcome. 2 important new articles: quotes/links. 🧵👇🏼
“Russia is seeking to exploit America’s divisive debate over Israel’s offensive in Gaza through overt and covert propaganda, with the aim of aggravating political tensions in the U.S. and tarnishing Washington’s global image”
“In its ongoing information war against the United States, Russia has shifted its focus in recent months to the Israel-Hamas conflict, seeking to inflame existing divisions in the West and to portray Washington as fueling the violence”
1. Launches the largest air strike on #Ukraine since the start of the full-scale war
2. Runs a concert “Future is Ours” next night, w/6,200 attending, in a venue owned by Putin’s ally. Fails to prevent mass murder of which it was warned.
The concert for 6,200 (full venue) is held despite the US and other countries’ warnings of imminent terrorist attacks the same night. #Crocus belongs to Agalarov family close to #Putin and instrumental in #Trump #Moscow Trump Tower and 2016 scandal
🔴🔴🔴 The Kremlin stages a propagandist event at Times Square, New York on March 16, 2024 to coincide with the celebration of Putin's sham election victory and the 10th anniversary of the annexation of Crimea.
While the video below is fake, Russian festivities were real. 🧵
Russian Youth of America (aka “Russian Youth in America,” the “Youth Russian Society” and the “Young Russian Society”) organized the event at Times Square on March 16, 2024. roscult.org/event/times-sq…
Russian Youth of America's mission: “Creation of a major network of Russian youth in the USA.” In 2016, it distributed free T-shirts “I am Putin’s Friend.” Participants wore the uniform of Stalin’s secret police, responsible for millions of death and the predecessor of the KGB.
In the 1990s, #Trump’s cousin who worked for the Trump Organization was reported by Ivana Trump to click his heels and say, “Heil Hitler” on entering Donald Trump’s office. vanityfair.com/magazine/2015/…
Ivana Trump: ...#Trump kept a book of Hitler’s collected speeches, My New Order in a cabinet by his bed. Trump said Marty Davis, "a Jew" gave him a copy of Mein Kampf. Davis said it was a copy of My New Order, Hitler’s speeches, not Mein Kampf, and noted that he was not a Jew.
March 17 2018: analysts, journalists, politicians gathered in NY to warn the world (again) of the danger #Putin brings to the world if re-elected.
March 16 2024: a review from under fire in Ukraine, 2 years into the full-scale Putin war.
There'll be more if we don't stop him.
David Satter, journalist: Putin and the FSB carried out the 1999 apartment bombings. This terrorist action similar to the Reichstag fire brought Putin to power. The West accepted the Russian government's explanation of the apartment bombing and left it without consequences.
Arkady Babchenko, journalist: “The most powerful and terrible weapon Putin has is propaganda. Goebbels must be applauding from the grave. Pumping of hatred through propaganda is the foundation of Putin’s reign...
#Transnistria, a mini-USSR, with pro-Russian authorities and the Kremlin-brainwashed population, is the tool.
In the 90s, Russian “peacekeepers” were stationed in Transnistria after a brief but intense armed conflict.
In 2022, FSB had 3 scenarios for capturing Moldova:
->forming a corridor to Transnistria thru southern Ukraine, w/the subsequent recognition of the region;
->the capture of the whole territory of Moldova;
->access to the borders of Transnistria w/o recognition of its independence
These scenarios were assessed as too risky. Other methods suggested: cultivating puppet political parties to lobby Moldova’s return to Russia; preparing a referendum; creating “a government in exile” + “Moldovan volunteer battalions for the war with Ukraine.”