RUSSIAGATE REVISITED
“And if all others accepted the lie which the Party imposed—if all records told the same tale—then the lie passed into history and became truth.” – George Orwell
This past October a group of 30 Democrats from the U.S. congress wrote a letter to President Biden suggesting he pursue negotiations with Russia for peace in Ukraine. They were immediately and loudly condemned by the remainder of the Democratic Party and quickly rescinded the letter. Think about this – let it sink in. A group of legislators was condemned for the outrageous act of suggesting efforts toward peace.
What does it say about a political party, about a society, when the visceral hatred of another people, in this case the Russians, is so deep it negates any rational thought, any care about saving the lives of those involved, or any concern about risking the extinction of all humanity from nuclear war, rather than entertain the slightest hint of Russia’s concerns? From where did this hatred come? History matters.
Look at the names below. Really look at them. Read their short bios. You are looking at some of the most experienced and knowledgeable intelligence, diplomatic, and military professionals in the world. You are looking at Americans who care deeply about America. These individuals comprise the steering committee for the organization called Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS) which was formed in 2002 to protest the lies by the U.S. State and Defense Departments leading to the illegal American war on Iraq and the death of hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians.
Steering Group, Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPs)
William Binney, NSA Technical Director for World Geopolitical & Military Analysis; Co-founder of NSA’s Signals Intelligence Automation Research Center (ret.)
Marshall Carter-Tripp, Foreign Service Officer (ret.) and Division Director, State Department Bureau of Intelligence and Research
Bogdan Dzakovic, former Team Leader of Federal Air Marshals and Red Team, FAA Security (ret.) (associate VIPS)
Graham E. Fuller, Vice-Chair, National Intelligence Council (ret.)
Philip Giraldi, CIA, Operations Officer (ret.)
Matthew Hoh, former Capt., USMC, Iraq & Foreign Service Officer, Afghanistan (associate VIPS)
Larry Johnson, former CIA Intelligence Officer & former State Department Counter-Terrorism Official (ret.)
John Kiriakou, former CIA Counterterrorism Officer and former senior investigator, Senate Foreign Relations Committee
Karen Kwiatkowski, former Lt. Col., US Air Force (ret.), at Office of Secretary of Defense watching the manufacture of lies on Iraq, 2001-2003
Linda Lewis, WMD preparedness policy analyst, USDA (ret.)
Edward Loomis, Cryptologic Computer Scientist, former Technical Director at NSA (ret.)
Ray McGovern, former US Army infantry/intelligence officer & CIA analyst; CIA Presidential briefer (ret.)
Elizabeth Murray, former Deputy National Intelligence Officer for the Near East, National Intelligence Council & CIA political analyst (ret.)
Pedro Israel Orta, former CIA and Intelligence Community (Inspector General) officer
Todd Pierce, MAJ, US Army Judge Advocate (ret.)
Scott Ritter, former MAJ., USMC, former UN Weapons Inspector, Iraq
Coleen Rowley, FBI Special Agent and former Minneapolis Division Legal Counsel (ret.)
Sarah G. Wilton, CDR, USNR, (Retired)/DIA, (Retired)
Ann Wright, Col., US Army (ret.); Foreign Service Officer (resigned in opposition to the war on Iraq)
From VIPS mission statement: “VIPS advocates a US foreign and national security policy based on genuine national interests rather than contrived threats promoted for largely political reasons.” (bold added)
It is now well known that VIPS was absolutely right in 2002 when they stated the lead-up to the U.S. war on Iraq was based completely on lies from the highest officials in the U.S. Government and US intelligence services. Displaying a frightening lack of journalistic integrity, U.S. corporate media was largely complicit. Hundreds of thousands of Iraqi children, women, and men died for a lie.
Now, let us move on to Russiagate and VIPS reaction to the claim that Russia had hacked the Democratic National Committee (DNC) computers to sway the U.S. presidential election in favor of Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton.
Quotations from VIPS in 2016. Please take the time to read the linked articles. US Intel Vets Dispute Russia Hacking Claims:
“A New York Times report on Monday alluding to “overwhelming circumstantial evidence” leading the CIA to believe that Russian President Vladimir Putin “deployed computer hackers with the goal of tipping the election to Donald J. Trump” is, sadly, evidence-free. This is no surprise, because harder evidence of a technical nature points to an inside leak, not hacking – by Russians or anyone else.”
“As the hysteria about Russia’s alleged interference in the U.S. election grows, a key mystery is why U.S. intelligence would rely on “circumstantial evidence” when it has the capability for hard evidence”
“In other words, any data that is passed from the servers of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) or of Hillary Rodham Clinton (HRC) – or any other server in the U.S. – is collected by the NSA.”
Quotations from VIPS addressed to President Obama in 2017. A Demand for Russian ‘Hacking’ Proof:
“As President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take the oath of office Friday, a pall hangs over his upcoming presidency amid an unprecedentedly concerted campaign to delegitimize it. Unconfirmed accusations continue to swirl alleging that Russian President Vladimir Putin authorized “Russian hacking” that helped put Mr. Trump in the White House.
As President for a few more days, you have the power to demand concrete evidence of a link between the Russians and WikiLeaks, which published the bulk of the information in question. Lacking that evidence, the American people should be told that there is no fire under the smoke and mirrors of recent weeks.
We urge you to authorize public release of any tangible evidence that takes us beyond the unsubstantiated, “we-assess” judgments by the intelligence agencies. Otherwise, we – as well as other skeptical Americans – will be left with the corrosive suspicion that the intense campaign of accusations is part of a wider attempt to discredit the Russians and those – like Mr. Trump – who wish to deal constructively with them.
Alleged Russian interference has been labeled “an act of war” and Mr. Trump a “traitor.” But the “intelligence” served up to support those charges does not pass the smell test.”
“As you will have gathered by now, we strongly suspect that the evidence your intelligence chiefs have of a joint Russian-hacking-WikiLeaks-publishing operation is no better than the “intelligence” evidence in 2002-2003 – expressed then with comparable flat-fact “certitude” – of the existence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.”
Quotations from VIPS addressed to Nancy Pelosi in 2020. Intel Vets: To Nancy Pelosi – Did Russia Hack the DNC Emails?:
“The narrative that Russia hacked Democratic National Committee emails in 2016 and gave them to WikiLeaks to hurt Hillary Clinton’s candidacy has become an article of faith for about half of Americans – somewhat fewer than the number misled into believing 18 years ago that there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq – but it is still considerable.
Because of a bizarre, but highly instructive media lapse these past three months, most Americans remain unaware that the accusation that Russia “hacked” the DNC has evaporated. It turns out the accusation was fabricated – just like the presence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. In fact, some of the same U.S. officials were involved in both deceptions.”
Quotations from VIPS member, and 27-year veteran of the CIA, Ray McGovern, in 2022. New York Times Still Burying the Truth on ‘Russian Hack’:
“The emails showed how the DNC had tipped the playing field against candidate Bernie Sanders for the nomination. Someone gave them to WikiLeaks, which posted them just days before the Democratic National Convention. Court testimony has now made it demonstrably clear that that “someone” was not Russia, but this has been kept out of the corporate media. Russian DNC-hacking was all a fake, and “important” people knew that five years ago but have been able to suppress it.”
“In an attempt to distract voters from details on how the Clinton campaign had severely disadvantaged Sanders, the Democrats and their co-travelers in the Deep State blamed the so-called “hack” on Russia.”
“Suffice it to remind that, in addition to distracting attention from the damning information in the emails, the hacking accusation dovetailed nicely with efforts already under way to (a) put Trump into “Putin’s pocket”; and (b) raise the specter of an aggressive Russia, in order to facilitate profiteering by the MICIMATT (Military-Industrial-Congressional-Media-Academia-Think-Tank) complex – always in need of a menacing enemy.”
Please understand – I think Donald Trump was the worst president America has ever had. But, like the claim that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, the claim that Russia hacked the DNC emails to support Trump was, and is, a lie. But in terms of consequences, it is a far more dangerous lie than any of the endless lies told by Trump.
The world is now closer to nuclear extinction than it was at the time of the Cuban missile crisis. But the Democrats, utterly blinded by their visceral hatred of Russia and Vladimir Putin as a result of Russiagate, are like lemmings racing off a cliff. They refuse to even consider peace with Russia, unanimously vote in favor of a near trillion-dollar budget for the merchants of death and the most dangerous entity on Earth – the US Department of “Defense,” and are completely oblivious to the growing prospect of nuclear war. And it is all based on lies.
I will be condemned for writing this article, but I have an aversion to seeing my kids and grandkids die to support the insane ambitions of egomaniac politicians of all stripes.
“In a time of deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” – George Orwell