Russia Is Already Winning If you understand what the Kremlin is up to, the news is grim.

[kpete]

But it also gives us a clear path to fight back


..............

The KGB/FSB playbook excels in constructing what it wants us to believe are inescapable traps. They are working hard now to convince us that Trump is already inside one. No matter what is true, and no matter whether Trump is compromised, he has been weakened by their attempted manipulations. In reaction, by failing to see this as an existential threat and not a political one, much of the political elite plays the part that has been scripted for them. Our nation looks weaker and more exposed in the world, our political decision-making will become more divided and obstructionist, and our relationships with our allies will be less open—unless the president-elect acts.

Ironically, coming out of the most divisive election any of us can remember, Trump has an idea to unify us behind, against an enemy that has made it clear it wants to erase what we stand for from history. If Trump were to come out of his defensive crouch and accept the obvious offensive strategy—standing against the Kremlin’s belief that it has free rein to meddle in our society and politics—he could be the architect of a bipartisan consensus on foreign policy that could start bridging the many divides in our politics and in our people. This would be a positive example, reminding the world and our critics that our system is better, and stronger, and lasting, because it adapts and thrives in the face of nightmares. This would reinvigorate our leadership in our alliances, and the values that they are founded upon.

Trump has the tools to aid him in this fight if he chooses to call upon them. He can have no better warrior for this fight than his nominee for secretary of defense, retired General James Mattis. And Rep. Mike Pompeo, in his confirmation hearing to become the next director of the CIA, laid out the beginnings of a vision of the “complex threat environment” against our country and how our intelligence-gathering must adapt to those threats. Trump would also have the support of the strongest voices on the Hill—allies and critics alike—on this issue.

.....................

Putin’s attack wasn’t on Hillary Clinton: it was on American society. We, as citizens, are also the first line of defense, and the core of the coming resistance. The worst element of Obama’s foreign policy—and, ironically, the continuity that Trump sometimes seems to provide on these views—is the embrace of the idea that we are sometimes powerless to do anything, which is used to salve the stinging moral fecklessness of saying it shouldn’t always have to be us. While we engage in this kabuki theater of powerlessness, we allow the environment where Putin acts with a free hand to shape the world to Kremlin interests—and continue erasing the legacy of American power and sacrifice in the world.



the rest:
http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/01/russia-is-already-winning-214648

[Docreed2003]

1. The problem with this line of thought

Is that is assumed that Trump has the capability or know how to be a great statesman. I think it's pretty clear he is quite lacking in that department. He has zero intentions of taking on Russia, and has every intention of weakening any resistance to Russian overreach, i.e. NATO.

[mopinko]

2. Putins attack wasnt on Hillary Clinton: it was on American society

this right here. this.
why that was not the take away from this whole thing just shocks me.
i guess we have come to the point where the partisan divide excuses treason.

[dalton99a]

3. +1