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| From 2008 |
Too bad the US intelligence community, members of the US Congress and the US media did not, over the past twenty years, pay the kind of attention to Putin and Russia they are paying now.
If only one good thing comes out of Trump's debacle in Helsinki, it is that the intelligence community, Congress, and the media will now shine a spotlight on Putin and Russia brighter than ever before, if only because they collectively perceive Putin to be Trump's new best friend.
Congress previously did little (aside from passing the Magnitsky Act) as Putin grew stronger and evolved into a dictator while shaping plans to reform the old Soviet Union, assassinate whistle-blowers and opponents inside and outside of Russia, and covertly campaign to destroy union in Europe and the United States.
We did nothing.
I know. I was there, witness to the early part of it.
All resources post 9/11 went into counter-terrorism.
Not only.
American politicians did not want to do anything that embarrassed the Russian government. Clinton for sure, George W. to a large extent. Only when Obama finally realized Putin had zero respect for him and had quadrupled intelligence activities inside the United States did he finally act, though it was too little, too late.
All the while, American lobbyists, banks and real estate developers were raking in dirty Russian money.
There is plenty of shame to go round.
