ARRA News Service
News Blog for social, fiscal & national security conservatives who believe in God, family & the USA. Upholding the rights granted by God & guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution, traditional family values, "republican" principles / ideals, transparent & limited "smaller" government, free markets, lower taxes, due process of law, liberty & individual freedom. Content approval rests with the ARRA News Service Editor. Opinions are those of the authors. While varied positions are reported, beliefs & principles remain fixed. No revenue is generated for or by this "Blog" - no paid ads - no payments for articles. Fair Use Doctrine is posted & used.
Blogger/Editor/Founder: Bill Smith, Ph.D. [aka: OzarkGuru & 2010 AFP National Blogger of the Year]
Contact: editor@arranewsservice.com (Pub. Since July, 2006)
    Home Page
   

One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors. -- Plato (429-347 BC)

Wednesday, February 21, 2018

The Real Russian Threat

by Newt Gingrich: The indictment of 13 Russians for interfering in the American election is the tiny tip of a large iceberg. We are beginning to be forced to confront how dangerous and how determined President Putin and his machine is to remake the world in an anti-Western manner.

We are faced with a determined opponent whose president apparently authorized an effort to either manipulate the political future of the United States or simply incite division. This pattern is not limited to the United States. President Emmanuel Macron of France has openly complained about Russian intervention in French politics. In Britain, there have been clear cases of Russian dissidents poisoned in a classically Russian style. In Estonia, Georgia, and Ukraine, we have seen even more overt and aggressive intervention by the Russians.

In Estonia, the internet was overwhelmed in 2007 in wide-ranging cyberattacks.

In Georgia, there have been a combination of cyberattacks, and militia and military actions.

In Ukraine, we have seen direct warfare in the seizing of Crimea and eastern Ukraine (the former through overt Russian forces and the latter through local militias heavily reinforced by Russian forces). There have also been cyber operations, propaganda campaigns, and targeted assassinations in Ukraine – including in Kiev, the nation’s capital city.

In terms of direct actions and provocations, there is no other country in the world that has made as many active efforts to irritate and undermine other countries as Putin’s Russia.

Despite Russia’s long pattern of active, multi-faceted aggression in multiple countries, our foreign policy establishment continues to deal with each provocation on a case-by-case basis.

Our elites have managed to avoid reality in dealing with Putin and his Russia for two decades. In 2001, President George W. Bush said, “I looked the man in the eye. I found him to be very straightforward and trustworthy… I was able to get a sense of his soul.”

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton launched a “reset” on March 6, 2009, albeit with a reset button that was spelled wrong. Instead of saying “reset” in Russian, the button said overcharged. Then she allowed the Russians to acquire a good bit of our uranium.

President Barack Obama, in March 2012, told then-Russian President Dmitry Medvedev that he would be easier to deal with after the election: “This is my last election … After my election I have more flexibility,” Obama said. The two leaders did not realize their microphones were on, as Obama promised to be more flexible on missile defense and other issues after the election. Medvedev promised to tell Putin, who was set to replace him as president a few weeks later.

The foreign policy establishment has approved of this Alice in Wonderland approach to Russia as part of a larger, disastrous misunderstanding of reality. With the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the American foreign policy establishment embraced the fantasy of a “new world order,” in which the United States would work with like-minded countries to create order and use diplomacy instead of violence to settle differences.

Tragically for their well-meaning dream, the world refused to go along. From the violence of Islamist supremacists, to the determination of Hamas and Hezbollah to destroy Israel, to the North Korean and Iranian nuclear programs, to the resiliency of the Taliban in Afghanistan, to the military buildup of China, to Russian aggression, the foreign policy elite has been wrong about the nature of the emerging world. It makes one wonder why they are considered elite.

The recently published National Security Strategy report is a first major effort to turn American policy back towards realism and an honest assessment of the threats which could endanger us.

China may be the bigger long-term threat, but Russia is clearly the more active disrupter of the world order today.

The Russians have adopted and developed a doctrine called “hybrid warfare.” Essentially, it argues that competition between states and non-state actors can be fluid. Hybrid warfare escalates and winds down activity by simultaneously using various traditional and non-traditional tactics – such as psychological campaigns, cyber campaigns, low-level violence with thugs and gangs, limited warfare with regular forces, and major war. Theoretically, this doctrine could include, if necessary, the use of nuclear weapons.

Think of hybrid warfare as a series of dials for various modes of aggression, which Russia can turn up and down as needed. This creates a multi-layered, non-linear system of strife that is very difficult for traditional defense and foreign policy doctrines to analyze and counter. This, of course, assumes that the activist state remains in control of the dials.

Caught between Western economic and technological superiority and China’s enormous population, which is increasingly backed by a larger and more advanced economy, the Russians are increasingly turning toward modernized, usable nuclear weapons – a very dangerous prospect.

The Cold War was dominated by hydrogen warheads designed to kill entire cities. While President Eisenhower had favored tactical nuclear weapons, after 1960 a consensus grew that any nuclear war would risk being uncontrollable – and even small battlefield nuclear weapons could lead to city-killing thermonuclear exchanges.

Russia lost an estimated 31 million soldiers and civilians in World War II. It lost 300,000 soldiers and more than 1 million civilians during the siege of Leningrad (now St. Petersburg). An estimated 1.1 million soldiers were killed, wounded, missing, or captured, and 40,000 civilians died at Stalingrad (now Volgograd). Putin and his allies are keenly aware of the danger of mass death in a real war. They are determined to win such a war through tactical nuclear weapons, if need be.

In developing a strategy for containing, deterring, and if needed, defeating the Putin regime, we must remember every day that they already have 6,800 nuclear weapons, 1,710 of which are deployed strategic warheads (vastly more than any country except the United States).

It is obvious from the details of the indictments that the Russian effort to interfere with the American election had to have had Putin’s knowledge and approval.

This level of systematic hostility combined with the Russian behavior around the world is going to require a national security response rather than a criminal justice response.

Clearly, the Russian threat, and how we deal with it, is the real Russia problem.
----------------------
Newt Gingrich is a former Georgia Congressman and Speaker of the U.S. House. He co-authored and was the chief architect of the "Contract with America" and a major leader in the Republican victory in the 1994 congressional elections. He is noted speaker and writer. The above commentary was shared via Gingrich Productions.

Tags: Real, Russian Threat, Putin, regime, Newt Gingrich, commentary, To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!
Posted by Bill Smith at 5:30 PM - Post Link

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home


View U.S. National Debt

Don't miss anything!
Subscribe to the
ARRA News Service
It's FREE & No Ads!

You will receive a verification email
& must validate you subscribed!

You Then Receive One Email Each AM
With Prior Days Articles / Toons / More


Also, Join & leave conservative posts & comments on
Facebook.com/ARRANewsService


Recent Posts:
Personal Tweets by the editor:
Dr. Bill - OzarkGuru - @arra
#Christian Conservative; Retired USAF & Grad Professor. Constitution NRA ProLife schoolchoice fairtax - Editor ARRA NEWS SERVICE. THANKS FOR FOLLOWING!

Action Links!
State Upper & Lower House Members
State Attorney Generals
State Governors
The White House
US House of Representatives
US Senators
GrassFire
NumbersUSA
Ballotpedia

Facebook Accts - Dr. Bill Smith
Pages:
ARRA News Service
Arkansans Against Big Government
Alley-White Am. Legion #52
Catholics & Protestants United Against Discrimination
End Taxpayer Funding of NPR
Overturn Roe V. Wade
Prolife Soldiers
Project Wildfire 4 Life
Republican Liberty Caucus of Arkansas
The Gold Standard
US Atty Gen Loretta Lynch, aka Eric Holder, Must Go
Veterans for Sarah Palin
Why Vote for Hillary (Satire)
FB Groups:
Arkansas For Sarah Palin
Arkansas Conservative Caucus
Arkansas County Tea Party
Arkansans' Discussion Group on National Issues
Blogs for Borders
Conservative Solutions
Conservative Voices
Defend Marriage -- Arkansas
FairTax
FairTax Nation
Arkansas for FairTax
Friends of the TEA Party in Arkansas
Freedom Roundtable
Pro-Life Rocks - Arkansas
Republican Network
Republican Liberty Caucus of AR
Reject the U.N.

Patriots
Exchange
Links

Request Via
Article Comment

Links to ARRA News
A Patriotic Nurse
Agora Associates
a12iggymom's Blog
America, You Asked For It!
America's Best Choice
ARRA News Twitter
As The Crackerhead Crumbles
Blogs For Borders
Blogs for Palin
Blow the Trumpet Ministry
Boot Berryism
Cap'n Bob & the Damsel
Chicago Ray Report - Obama Regime Report
Chuck Baldwin - links
Common Cents
Conservative Voices
Diana's Corner
Greater Fitchburg For Life
Lasting Liberty Blog
Liberal Isn't Amy
Marathon Pundit
Patriot's Corner
Right on Issues that Matter
Right Reason
Rocking on the Right Side
Saber Point
Saline Watchdog
Sultan Knish
The Blue Eye View
The Born Again Americans
TEA Party Cartoons
The Foxhole | Unapologetic Patriot
The Liberty Republican
The O Word
The Path to Tyranny Blog
The Real Polichick
The War on Guns
TOTUS
Twitter @ARRA
Underground Notes
Warning Signs
Women's Prayer & Action
WyBlog

Editor's Managed Twitter Accounts
Twitter Dr. Bill Smith @arra
Twitter Arkansas @GOPNetwork
Twitter @BootBerryism
Twitter @SovereignAllies
Twitter @FairTaxNation

Editor's Recommended Orgs
Accuracy in Media (AIM)
American Action Forum (AAF)
American Committment
American Culture & Faith Institute
American Enterprise Institute
American Family Business Institute
Americans for Limited Government
Americans for Prosperity
Americans for Tax Reform
American Security Council Fdn
AR Faith & Ethics Council
Arkansas Policy Foundation
Ayn Rand Institute
Bill of Rights Institute
Campaign for Working Families
CATO Institute
Center for Individual Freedom
Center for Immigration Studies
Center for Just Society
Center for Freedom & Prosperity
Citizens Against Gov't Waste
Citizens in Charge Foundstion
Coalition for the Future American Worker
Competitive Enterprise Institute
Concerned Veterans for America
Concerned Women for America
Declaration of Am. Renewal
Eagle Forum
FairTax
Family Research Council
Family Security Matters
Franklin Center for Gov't & Public Integrity
Freedom Works
Gingrich Productions
Global Incident Map
Great Americans
Gold Standard 2012 Project
Gun Owners of America (GOA)
Heritage Action for America
David Horowitz Freedom Center
Institute For Justice
Institute for Truth in Accounting
Intercollegiate Studies Institute
Judicial Watch
Less Government
Media Reseach Center
National Center for Policy Analysis
National Right To Work Foundation
National Rifle Association (NRA)
National Rifle Association (NRA-ILA)
News Busters
O'Bluejacket's Patriotic Flicks
OathKeepers
Open Secrets
Presidential Prayer Team
Religious Freedom Coalition
Renew America
Ron Paul Institute
State Policy Network
Tax Foundation
Tax Policy Center
The Club for Growth
The Federalist
The Gold Standard Now
The Heritage Foundation
The Leadership Institute
Truth in Accounting
Union Facts



Blogs For Borders

Reject the United Nations

Presidential Prayer Team

Thousands of Deadly Islamic Terror Attacks Since 9/11


FairTax Nation on FaceBook
Friends of Israel - Stand with Israel
Blog Feeds
Syndicated - Get the ARRA News Service feed Syndicated!
ARRA Blog Feed

Add to Google Reader or Homepage

Add to The Free Dictionary

Powered by Blogger


  • To Exchange Links - Email: editor@arranewsservice.com!
  • Comments by contributing authors or other sources do not necessarily reflect the position the editor, other contributing authors, sources, readers, or commenters. No contributors, or editors are paid for articles, images, cartoons, etc. While having reported on and promoting principles & beleifs beliefs of other organizations, this blog/site is soley controlled and supported by the editor. This site/blog does not advertise for money or services nor does it solicit funding for its support.
  • Fair Use: This site/blog may contain copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Such material is made available to advance understanding of political, human rights, economic, democracy, and social justice issues, etc. This constitutes a 'fair use' of such copyrighted material as provided for in section Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107 of the US Copyright Law. Per said section, the material on this site/blog is distributed without profit to readers to view for the expressed purpose of viewing the included information for research, educational, or satirical purposes. Any person/entity seeking to use copyrighted material shared on this site/blog for purposes that go beyond "fair use," must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
  • © 2006 - 2020 ARRA News Service
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.