11. This a long paragraph with a lot of speculation and comments about ex-UK intelligence official Christopher Steele's charges about Trump and the Russians: the authors admit it's a "dossier of unverified allegations." It has that in common with all the other information they present in the article with reference to Russian meddling. Again, if the Russians are anything like the US, then they probably meddle around when they get the chance, but to write a big long speculative proof-less article about "what some officials believe" is just propaganda not journalism.
12. Trump calls the dossier "fake," the Russians call it "pulp fiction," McCain gave it to the FBI and some "of his colleagues" want it investigated. All well and good. But we don't know if it's pulp fiction or not, yet many of its more salacious allegations have already become part of pop culture re Trump and are a staple of late-night TV comedians such as Colbert and others: the "Golden Shower", etc.
13. A revealing paragraph that may expose the real motives behind this witch hunt.
Many in the intelligence community are worried about Putin's long-term game plan, as they see it; i.e.' to disrupt America's world domination that "has shaped the postwar [WWII] world." The alleged hacking is a way to create hostility towards Putin, Russia, and WikiLeaks (which has revealed many of the criminal dirty secrets of the US and its allies).
14. This paragraph summarizes the White House consensus of what Putin is doing.
He has started an "offensive" outside of what he considers "his sphere of influence." By the way, the US sees the entire world as its sphere of influence either actually or potentially so conflict is inevitable. He wants to, according to this view, break up the EU and NATO (both of whom, by the way, expanded into the traditional Russian "sphere of influence") and he wants to "unnerve" the US. Most importantly he wants to change the world system set up by the US and that we have "benefitted (sic) from for seven decades" (Samantha Powers). Well, we replaced the socialist USSR, which didn't compete with us for markets, with the capitalist Russian Federation and now there is an equally greedy class of Russian capitalists out to win markets and influence away from our capitalists. What did the US expect.
15. The relations with Russia were not reset properly -- with the US dominant and calling the shots -- and so many on both sides are talking about "the second Cold War." [Putin and Russia (being both economically and militarily weaker) have tried to avoid a new Cold War but the US and NATO have ridden rough-shod over Russian interests and evidently left Russians thinking they have no choice but to push back.]
16. NATO says Russia is being aggressive because it has called the NATO build-up on its borders "provocative" and because it objected to the US-installed new ground-based missiles in Romania. [Russia also pushed back in Ukraine against the US/NATO-backed coup against the pro-Russian president and has supported the Syrian government against US support of attempts to overthrow it. Every "aggressive" Russian action seems to have been in response to a US "poke."]
17. This paragraph describes the world according to Robert Gates, former secretary of war, I mean 'defense,' under Bush 43 and Obama. Relations between Obama and Putin were "poisonous" (partially due to Obama's needless belittling of Russian self esteem). Trump has to improve relations without giving in to Putin's aggression (push backs) and "thuggery." This has to be done without giving Putin a big victory. A tall order as any "victory" for Putin is considered unacceptable. By the way, a compromise in which the US has to also give up something as well as the Russians, is considered a Putin victory!
18. Dmitry Trenin (Carnegie Moscow Center) reports that "the Kremlin" expected that if HRC won the election she would militarily intervene in Syria perhaps setting up no-fly zones. Trump won and the fear of a Russian-US military "collision" has diminished. [Trump is unpredictable, so don't be too sure! He has recently bombed Syria, perhaps to quell speculation he is too friendly with Putin.]
19. Sergie Rogov (Institute for US and Canadian Studies, Moscow) says US relations with Russia are the worse they have been in a generation: it's 1983 all over again.
This is the end of part two. From reading part two of The New Yorker Article you will not have learned anything at all about whether or not the Russian government or Putin had anything to do with the "hacking" of the DNC or if they interfered with our elections. Maybe we will learn something in part three.
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
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