Classic Russian Intelligence operation being used to influence Congress

[John Kettler]

One of the stocks in trade of  intelligence organizations is an influence operation designed to get manipulate the enemy or other party into acting in such a way as to benefit the initiating group. During the Cold War, for example, Russia heavily influenced the anti-war movement against the Vietnam War and dit it again in connection with the nuclear disarmament movement, where the Russians proclaimed Peace, but the idiots failed to realize Peace was, in fact, global Communism.These were strategic moves.  The former was successful, the second less so.

What has been happening now is that Putin has been exposed as being connected to billions of dollars of fraud and theft, making him one of the richest people on the planet. We owe this bombshell to Russian lawyer, Magnitsky, who worked for a powerhouse US businessman named Bill Browder. Magnitsky was murdered after presenting overwhelming evidence to the Russian authorities and various journalists that Putin not only was directly involved in the theft of $230 million from a Russian business which was part of Browder's investment portfolio, but got it all. Magnitsky was killed to save Putin and associates. Putin thought he and his cronies were untouchable, but a resultant piece of US legislation called the Magnitsky Act, which Browder made his cause  to bring into being and get it passed, enabled US and other authorities to act against Putin et al.'s assets, which are all in the west.

As such, the Magnitsky Act was and is a mortal threat to Putin directly and everyone tied to him. The influence operation was designed to get the Magnitsky Act repealed, and the moves were made via a not what it seemed NGO, hiring lobbyists and working with certain members of Congress to repeal it. Bill Browder testified about what the Russians were doing, how they were doing it, how they entrapped people, etc. He's been subject to all sorts of harassment, including repeated death threats. He made it clear that Magnitsky was murdered as a proxy for him. Browder  is a man who won't be cowed and won't shut up, either. Make no mistake.

In his very recent testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, he was describing a Grade One intelligence operation which evidently deeply penetrated both the Legislative and Executive branches of the US Government. In his testimony, he tied the murder of Magnitsky to the subsequent murders of Nemstov and others. Much the same circle in that influence operation has been  tied for years to efforts to lift the sanctions on Russia. Any competent intelligence officer would agree this is an intelligence operation carried out against the centers of power of what is still called the Main Enemy by the Russians, the US. Any intelligence agency would consider the damage which has already been done to the foe to be quite the coup, and we are just beginning to come to grips with what has happened.

It is precisely this sort of chaos, distraction and diversion of focus which creates the window for Putin to make one or more moves he likely wouldn't dare try otherwise. This should, in my view, be a matter of acute concern for any neighboring country to Russia not already aligned with it. Equally, it should likewise command the attention of NATO and the US. From a host of security levels, we are in severe-grave danger of having Putin, ever the opportunist, taking one or several carefully calculated pre-planned actions designed to further his publicly declared goal of restoring the Russian Empire. A friend sent me an excellent article on this from Huffington Post U.K., but because it might be deemed political, when it really is about an intelligence disaster, I'm not going to post the link, just the title. I consider this must reading for anyone with an interest or concern regarding what Putin may do next. Putin may not have the military strength the USSR had, but he has now unmistakably demonstrated yet another potent weapon in his hybrid warfare arsenal. We are now no longer talking about cyberattack against Ukraine, but a strategic level nonmilitary attack (with enormous possible military impact) against the very core of the United States Government. To my knowledge, nothing like this has ever been done to the US, and it has triggered a multitude of crises. Suspect this is but the top of a horrible and very scary iceberg.

Bill Browder’s Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing Could Explain Anthony Scaramucci’s Bizarre Behaviour

Deliberate?

Regards,

John Kettler

 

 

[Aragorn2002]

Very interesting, John. History repeats itself. After reading 'Stalin's Secret Agents', the subversion of Roosevelt's Government by M.Stanton Evans and Herbert Romerstein (Read this book!) it's not hard to belief.

[Apocal]

1 hour ago, John Kettler said:

Putin thought he and his cronies were untouchable, but a resultant piece of US legislation called the Magnitsky Act, which Browder made his cause  to bring into being and get it passed, enabled US and other authorities to act against Putin et al.'s assets, which are all in the west.

As such, the Magnitsky Act was and is a mortal threat to Putin directly and everyone tied to him.

The seizure of $230 million of assets in the west is a mortal threat to Putin...? The dude is probably a multi-billionaire. While I'm sure he wouldn't be thrilled at losing money, I doubt he is going to lose sleep over it either.

Isn't this off-topic though?

 

[DreDay]

8 hours ago, John Kettler said:

One of the stocks in trade of  intelligence organizations is an influence operation designed to get manipulate the enemy or other party into acting in such a way as to benefit the initiating group. During the Cold War, for example, Russia heavily influenced the anti-war movement against the Vietnam War and dit it again in connection with the nuclear disarmament movement, where the Russians proclaimed Peace, but the idiots failed to realize Peace was, in fact, global Communism.These were strategic moves.  The former was successful, the second less so.

What has been happening now is that Putin has been exposed as being connected to billions of dollars of fraud and theft, making him one of the richest people on the planet. We owe this bombshell to Russian lawyer, Magnitsky, who worked for a powerhouse US businessman named Bill Browder. Magnitsky was murdered after presenting overwhelming evidence to the Russian authorities and various journalists that Putin not only was directly involved in the theft of $230 million from a Russian business which was part of Browder's investment portfolio, but got it all. Magnitsky was killed to save Putin and associates. Putin thought he and his cronies were untouchable, but a resultant piece of US legislation called the Magnitsky Act, which Browder made his cause  to bring into being and get it passed, enabled US and other authorities to act against Putin et al.'s assets, which are all in the west.

As such, the Magnitsky Act was and is a mortal threat to Putin directly and everyone tied to him. The influence operation was designed to get the Magnitsky Act repealed, and the moves were made via a not what it seemed NGO, hiring lobbyists and working with certain members of Congress to repeal it. Bill Browder testified about what the Russians were doing, how they were doing it, how they entrapped people, etc. He's been subject to all sorts of harassment, including repeated death threats. He made it clear that Magnitsky was murdered as a proxy for him. Browder  is a man who won't be cowed and won't shut up, either. Make no mistake.

In his very recent testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, he was describing a Grade One intelligence operation which evidently deeply penetrated both the Legislative and Executive branches of the US Government. In his testimony, he tied the murder of Magnitsky to the subsequent murders of Nemstov and others. Much the same circle in that influence operation has been  tied for years to efforts to lift the sanctions on Russia. Any competent intelligence officer would agree this is an intelligence operation carried out against the centers of power of what is still called the Main Enemy by the Russians, the US. Any intelligence agency would consider the damage which has already been done to the foe to be quite the coup, and we are just beginning to come to grips with what has happened.

It is precisely this sort of chaos, distraction and diversion of focus which creates the window for Putin to make one or more moves he likely wouldn't dare try otherwise. This should, in my view, be a matter of acute concern for any neighboring country to Russia not already aligned with it. Equally, it should likewise command the attention of NATO and the US. From a host of security levels, we are in severe-grave danger of having Putin, ever the opportunist, taking one or several carefully calculated pre-planned actions designed to further his publicly declared goal of restoring the Russian Empire. A friend sent me an excellent article on this from Huffington Post U.K., but because it might be deemed political, when it really is about an intelligence disaster, I'm not going to post the link, just the title. I consider this must reading for anyone with an interest or concern regarding what Putin may do next. Putin may not have the military strength the USSR had, but he has now unmistakably demonstrated yet another potent weapon in his hybrid warfare arsenal. We are now no longer talking about cyberattack against Ukraine, but a strategic level nonmilitary attack (with enormous possible military impact) against the very core of the United States Government. To my knowledge, nothing like this has ever been done to the US, and it has triggered a multitude of crises. Suspect this is but the top of a horrible and very scary iceberg.

Bill Browder’s Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing Could Explain Anthony Scaramucci’s Bizarre Behaviour

Deliberate?

Regards,

John Kettler

 

 

Ok let's start out by stating the fact that Putin has never stated his goal as restoration of Soviet Union. Moreover he has taken clear steps not to pursue those steps (I.e. Insisting that Donbass stays in Ukraine) that have cost him losing a lot of support from Warhawks and nationalists.  That's a fact.

 

Second, what would be his benefit in causing the kind of damag against US Government? More sanctions and isolation? What's in it for him?

[AttorneyAtWar]

What does this have to do with CM: Black Sea?

[Sgt.Squarehead]

9 hours ago, Apocal said:

Isn't this off-topic though?

Massively. 

2 hours ago, Raptorx7 said:

What does this have to do with CM: Black Sea?

SFA. 

[LukeFF]

32 minutes ago, Sgt.Squarehead said:

Massively. 

SFA. 

It's Kettler being Kettler.

[John Kettler]

Apocal,

That isn't what I said. I said a Russian firm in Bill Browder's investment portfolio was defrauded of $230 million, all of which went right to Putin. It was in investigating this and other matters that the Russian lawyer Magnitsky ran afoul of Putin and was ultimately killed, leading to the Magnitsky act which put Putin's and cronies billions, all in the west, at direst risk of freezing, seizure, etc. Russian efforts to reverse the Act were described by me and in the article. It's not off topic, for we have been talking for months about Putin's next move, both generally and in terms of CMBS possibilities. It is precisely this Russian influence op which has, I believe, created precisely the sort of window Putin needs to press his expansionist agenda at the expense of the neighbors. If this isn't germane, I have no idea what is.

DreDay, Raptorx7 and Andy,

Let's start out by having a recheckof  what I wrote, for I specifically said "restoring the Russian Empire" and nothing at all in that or any similar phrase where I used the word "Soviet" in any form. This NY Post and supporting infographic directly discuss Putin's game plan. If it was ever Russian, and in Eurasia, he wants it back. 

http://nypost.com/2014/05/03/putins-vengeful-plan-to-recapture-the-old-russian-empire/

People are familiar with the Nazis' underlying mythos and racial beliefs, but what Putin is doing is based on a mythos and mystical ideology, too. It is called Eurasianism.

http://www.standpointmag.co.uk/node/6476/full

(Fair Use)

"Black Wind, White Snow: The Rise of Russia’s New Nationalism (Yale, £25) by the Financial Times’s former Moscow bureau chief Charles Clover is required reading. This is a vivid panoramic history of bad ideas, chasing the metastasis of the doctrine known as Eurasianism from chit-chat in gilded Tsarist salons and chipped crockery in Parisian exile, to secretive histories scrawled in the hutches of the Gulag and the backrooms of gloomy Soviet universities, to becoming Putin’s favoured ideology. Black Wind, White Snow works as a succession of intellectual biographies of Russia’s great Eurasianists, from Petr Savitsky in Paris to Alexander Dugin, ubiquitous on Russian newscasts today. They tell the story of Russia’s new nationalism, and how its myths and fairytales went from talking-points at cranks’ tea parties to being officially published by the Russian General Staff, infectiously popular within the Kremlin elite, and namechecked by the president himself as he aims to build his Eurasian Union. Clover tells the story of these men as infected with an idea, a latent 1930s’ ideology, which only now has gone viral in Putin’s country.   

Black Wind, White Snow is the inverted narrative of Russia’s late 20th century. Instead of tracing the familiar, comforting stories of those who overcame Soviet tyranny, it traces the lives and minds of the bitter, strange and resentful losers whose imagined Eurasian fantasia was championed by the security establishment which slowly but relentlessly overpowered 1990s’ liberalism. " 

From a Russian source, here is an extensive discussion of how serious is Putin's investment in this Russian Empire concept. The Romanovs are now everywhere, churches closed under Stalin have been restored, Tsarist monuments have been returned to their former state, etc. While some in the populace yearn for a Stalin, what Putin's government is fostering isn't Communism but Russian Imperialism using Nicholas II as the exemplar and icon. Indeed, Nicholas II and his family are now icons in Russia, available in myriad forms.

http://www.pravoslavie.ru/english/96323.htm

Putin isn't trying to bring the Donbas into Russia because that would only remind people of what he did in Crimea and make the sanctions worse. Also, I believe he would have to pump a considerable amount of money into it immediately upon its actual annexation, for that is the poor part of Ukraine, based on what I've read. But from actions, Putin is playing the long game, and western governments aren't good at it generally. Putin will bide his time, keep his plans updated, then strike when an opportunity, whether happenstance or by design, presents itself. I am arguing that this influence op is creating exactly the sort of dislocation, havoc and distraction which would make it possible for him to strike. If he gobbled up territory of real value, then the sanctions, tightened after the fact, wouldn't have as much bite because he would've made real gains in a bunch of areas. The fly in the ointment for Putin and all his plans are that he's in Russia, but his money is here. This makes him and his cronies vulnerable, which is why he initiated the influence operation to remove the dagger to his throat. I maintain that not only is influence op, together with still unfolding fallout, germane to our ongoing CMBS discussions of Russian military plans and behavior, but it has suddenly created a whole new strategic dynamic which Putin can use to pounce. Further, were I his neighbors or other interested parties opposed to him, I'd be wondering-worried whether he had something similar going there, ops whose mere disclosure could cause further upheaval. 

In assessing whether a threat really exists, three elements must all be met. They are declaratory policy, capabilities and the will to act. Putin checks all three boxes and has done this a bunch of times. But now the game is much tougher for the West. By hitting the US in the devastating way he has, Putin has shown his hybrid warfare is a strategic weapon, not just a local or regional one. If that's not relevant to CMBS, national security and international security, I don't know what is!

Regards,

John Kettler

Edited August 3, 2017 by John Kettler

[Apocal]

3 hours ago, John Kettler said:

Apocal,

That isn't what I said. I said a Russian firm in Bill Browder's investment portfolio was defrauded of $230 million, all of which went right to Putin. It was in investigating this and other matters that the Russian lawyer Magnitsky ran afoul of Putin and was ultimately killed, leading to the Magnitsky act which put Putin's and cronies billions, all in the west, at direst risk of freezing, seizure, etc.

That's pretty much the part that is unbelievable, considering they can just move their wealth faster and easier than influencing politics in another country. It's the same conspiracy nonsense you continuously peddle and people wish you would stop. Mind control isn't real, there was not a nuke used at Kursk, the Polish army didn't move a division into the Ukraine, there aren't twenty-seven levels of classification above the President of the United States and Putin didn't put all personal wealth in the west.

[John Kettler]

Apocal,

First, that information on where Putin's fortune is didn't come from me. Instead, it was in the reporting. Here's some supporting evidence.

https://panamapapers.icij.org/20160403-panama-papers-global-overview.html.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/whats-known-about-putins-wealth-after-the-panama-papers/

http://panamapapers.sueddeutsche.de/articles/57161f07a1bb8d3c3495bc36/

The tax haven countries are all, last I checked, in the West. Second, 1) conspiracies exist, for people get jailed all the time for the criminal variety; 2) it's readily demonstrable they have had historical impact (see The Black Hand's bomb and the murder of Archduke Francis Ferdinand, leading directly to the outbreak of WW I) and 3) you don't have to like it, but the revolutionary Sounds of Silence technology I presented solid information about was used in the Gulf War and worked very well.

Here are ten (10) studies assessing a far lower tech method of mind control called subliminals. As you can see, the effects are real and measurable.

http://www.mindpowernews.com/ScienceOfSubliminals.htm

The Frey Effect and the work done on it as regards not merely mind control but also remote influencing of basic bio-functioning are many tiers beyond that. 

There is also the CIA's Project Pandora, which you will find highly related to Sounds of Silence.
 

As for the rest, 1) I've said until I was blue in the face, Steve didn't want me to start posts on them (save the non-attributed intelligence material, which was a later add-on), which I've extended to not discussing them at all, even when heavily baited, and 2) PM me if you wish to have a fair fight on those self same topics, for as you perfectly well know, I can't defend myself under these conditions. Frankly, I wish Steve would flatly prohibit everyone from bringing up the topics he's asked me not to discuss. This would save a lot of hassle generally, lower my stress and level the playing field. As it is, I've been slated I don't know how many times and been "hit" throughout with almost total impunity.

As a general observation, I would say you don't seem to be open to anything beyond the standard canon and lash out at me when presented with same. Further, you go on to claim I'm doing things I'm not and then use the all-embracing "people" (not "some people") to describe what you are clearly feeling, though I grant others here share your opinion. But feelings are not facts, and you are not a snowflake. If you need a safe space, try Berkeley!  The truth can be ugly, common belief shattering, terrifying, even government-toppling. Some of the things I've been exposed to have been so devastating I walked around for days in a daze. This is precisely what happened when I, a Hawk and total acceptor of the government line on the whys and wherefores of the Vietnam War, ran squarely into the opposite when I read the unredacted Pentagon Papers in a Military History class in college. It was nothing short of traumatic. The truth simply is, regardless of our preferences, desires, opinions or beliefs.

Regards,

John Kettler

 

Edited August 3, 2017 by John Kettler

[Aragorn2002]

Well said, John, I'm sure the majority of 'people' at this forum enjoy your posts as I do and learned a lot from them.  Don't let left wingers or Putin-defenders stop you. They are afraid of the truth or simply want other people to ignore it. They call everything a conspiracy theory, to make the confusion and chaos even greater and guess who will benefit from that...

 

[sid_burn]

12 minutes ago, Aragorn2002 said:

Well said, John, I'm sure the majority of 'people' at this forum enjoy your posts as I do and learned a lot from them.  Don't let left wingers or Putin-defenders stop you. They are afraid of the truth or simply want other people to ignore it. They call everything a conspiracy theory, to make the confusion and chaos even greater and guess who will benefit from that...

 

I don't think anyone really benefits from causing confusion and chaos on a forum dedicated to an obscure video game series. Also, I'm sure more people would enjoy Kettler's posts if they weren't completely off-topic (this has nothing to do with Black Sea) and if you know...they actually made any sense. But, you know I'm also a CIA crisis actor, so what do I know?

 

Also, @John Kettler we know about you, we are coming for you, we will be seeing you shortly. 

Edited August 3, 2017 by sid_burn

[Jotte]

8 minutes ago, Aragorn2002 said:

Well said, John, I'm sure the majority of 'people' at this forum enjoy your posts as I do and learned a lot from them.  Don't let left wingers or Putin-defenders stop you. They are afraid of the truth or simply want other people to ignore it. They call everything a conspiracy theory, to make the confusion and chaos even greater and guess who will benefit from that...

 

[Rinaldi]

1 minute ago, sid_burn said:

 But, you know I'm also a CIA crisis actor, so what do I know?

Did you enjoy yourself when you killed Vince Foster ((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((( ?

[Aragorn2002]

12 minutes ago, sid_burn said:

@John KettlerI don't think anyone really benefits from causing confusion and chaos on a forum dedicated to an obscure video game series.

How dare you, Sir...

Edited August 3, 2017 by Aragorn2002

[AttorneyAtWar]

38 minutes ago, Aragorn2002 said:

 Don't let left wingers or Putin-defenders stop you.

 

lol wat.

 

[Sgt.Squarehead]

JKs point are usually of interest, often have some basis in fact, but their lack of relevance can be a bit of an issue IMHO.....I'm fairly confident that none of the handiwork of MKULTRA has been modelled in the CM games, numerous though their efforts were:

https://www.illuminatirex.com/list-of-mkultra-subprojects/

IMHO if this thread was in the 'General' section nobody would have a big problem with it, but it isn't it's in the CM:BS section.....It's not like the game doesn't have enough issues already. 

 

[sid_burn]

3 minutes ago, Sgt.Squarehead said:

JKs point are usually of interest, often have some basis in fact

 

lol.

https://johnkettler.com/bek-a-whole-new-way/

 

Sometimes I think Kettler is a practicing Sci-Fi writer and that we are all being rused as he tests potential plotlines on us. 

 

[Sgt.Squarehead]

I'm aware of JK's site, I think we may have crossed paths on ATS many years ago before I got utterly sick of the place. 

I believe JK does write fiction stuff too, I'm sure he will confirm or deny.

[LukeFF]

5 minutes ago, Sgt.Squarehead said:

I believe JK does write fiction stuff too, I'm sure he will confirm or deny.

Oh, he's been writing fiction for a long time here and elsewhere, that's for sure. 

[Vergeltungswaffe]

59 minutes ago, LukeFF said:

Oh, he's been writing fiction for a long time here and elsewhere, that's for sure. 

Exactly.

[Erwin]

I know how that cat feels... 

[John Kettler]

Andy,

Apocal claimed mind control doesn't exist. I presented direct evidence it does. As for no one would mind were these last few posts in the GDF, I guarantee you several would mind--and feel compelled to tell me, as well as employ some of the denigrating tactics you see on display here. No, I don't write SF. Details below.

Aragorn2002,

Thank you!

sid_burn

3 hours ago, sid_burn said:

But, you know I'm also a CIA crisis actor, so what do I know?

 

Very clever indeed! Full marks. The only SF I've ever written was in high school and college, as well as being involved in play test of an SF infantry combat game. Without going into any verboten details, I would make the observation that certain things get expressed throughout a culture in response to various stimuli. See, for, example, the way the word "atomic" showed up in myriad products and names. On a personal note, it just so happens, that as a boy,  I once had a really cool toy based on the 280 mm Atomic Annie. I'd post the video showing exactly what I'm describing, but someone would complain about that, too! Another example is how pervasive the whole vampire thing is now and has been for decades here in the US. 

Rinaldi,

Zing!

LuleFF,

Good to see that once again you have nothing positive to say about me. Makes you very predictable. If I ever do write SF, perhaps I'll include a character based on you. Won't require much fleshing out since your "vocal" range is effectively one note!

Vergeltungswaffe,

Please stop posting pictures of yourself. Can't be me, for I'm allergic to cats, and no pets are allowed here.

Erwin,

That's one sour puss!  Probably just as well the cat has no thought balloon.

As a closing thought, I don't understand how this intelligence op I've described can be anything but relevant to CMBS. Certainly, it's far more topical than the discussion of North Korea. Where are the whingers on that?!  If people can't (or won't) connect the dots between a potent influence op, clear evidence Putin can now conduct strategic hybrid warfare, its effects on a host of security issues and the possibilities for depicting various aspects of them within the CMBS system, that is hardly my fault. If we're going to worry about the Suwalki Gap, ought we not pay attention to something causing high level havoc in Washington DC right now and for who knows how long to come which provides Putin with opportunities for, ahem, mischief he simply didn't have before.

 

Regards,

John Kettler

P.S.

NATO as BLUFOR and the Lithuanians as REDFOR recently did training in the Suwalki Gap, now publicly reported as NATO's weakest point.

http://nationalpost.com/news/world/nato-performs-large-scale-drill-in-suwalki-gap-where-russia-could-make-its-first-move-if-war-broke-out/wcm/2ca18b2b-aa1c-40af-8da7-021c8368dd3a

Video at link. No direct URL available.

https://www.newsy.com/stories/nato-forces-conduct-war-games-in-suwalki-gap/

 

Edited August 3, 2017 by John Kettler

[DreDay]

@John Kettler Just out of curiosity - how do you filter your news sources? I ask because you seem to have the most random collection of reference material that I have ever seen. I really apprciate the effort and the amount of time that you dedicate to this forum; but at what point do you apply critical thinking and decide that perhaps a source is not all that reliable and might not be worth basing your theories on?

[MOS:96B2P]

2 hours ago, John Kettler said:

NATO as BLUFOR and the Lithuanians as REDFOR recently did training in the Suwalki Gap, now publicly reported as NATO's weakest point. 

From Fulda Gap 1985 to Suwalki Gap.  Combat Mission Suwalki Gap 2019!!!  

Edited August 3, 2017 by MOS:96B2P