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Ok, so let's talk about how Russia co-opts institutions.
Case study: INTERPOL /1

Nov 2016, when we weren't paying attn, China & Russia engineered their election to key Interpol leadership posts /2
foreignpolicy.com/2016/11/10/chi…

Yes, this is as bad as it sounds. Both countries abuse Interpol to target political/economic opponents. China: /3

foreignpolicy.com/2017/04/21/int…

So, great, we were busy and distracted and allowed abusers of interpol to co-opt its power to prevent freedom of movt, etc. /5

But now we are empowering the entrenchment of that abuse by relying on the institutions the Russians have co-opted. How? /6

By using institutions when we doubt their soundness. SecDef says Interpol will database of ISIS fighters, for ex /7
defense.gov/News/Article/A…

But Russia has problematic connections to ISIS. See: /8

thedailybeast.com/vladimir-putin…

Also, Interpol has just signed new info sharing agreement with -- of course! -- FSB-aligned Kaspersky Lab: /12

thehill.com/business-a-lob…

Taken together -- there are many reasons to believe Interpol is not the best partner to keep ISIS fighters from targeting Europe/US /13

We still believe institutions are sound and good -- even though Russia has become masterful at undermining and subverting them /14

We need a full diplomatic team that can oversee how we interact with these institutions, and how candidates for them are put forward /15

... to ensure that our interests are represented in them. Right now we are in a self-defeating cycle -- /16

of ignoring institutional relationships, which then weaken without American involvement, which then don't serve our interests... /17

... and then we withdraw or walk away. The post WWII-era hasn't been good for America by accident. It was good b/c we shaped it to be /18

Enough of handing intel to Russia, China that they use against us. Enough of losing institutions that we helped build. Enough. /19

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