Threat – Trump and the Russian Connection

The Challenge here is to use your creative talent to bring light into the current distress in the world around you, in whatever form that talent takes. Please remember that we are reaching out to a world that is facing upheaval and possibly a great number of changes. Let us reach out to that world and bring it the lessons we have learned by becoming artists and writers. “The word for this challenge is Threat.”

As both a writer and a U.S. citizen, the word “threat” has been in my vocabulary lately. I think many Americans have had that word in mind in recent weeks and even months when we think of the political situation in our country. The current administration has found out that Russia hacked the 2016 Presidential Election communications which may have affected the results of the election. Even if it did not affect the results of the election, it is alarming that Russia could have such easy access to computer records in our country.

The question is how do we know this is true and how is it a threat to the U.S.? That Russia did, indeed, hack into the computer records of those who had access to private election records. That Russia is a threat to the security of the U.S.

U.S. intelligence agencies were able to get evidence that Russian agencies tried to hack into the White House and the State Department. They also tried to hack into campaign  officials for the Clinton campaign. They did this by sending out thousands of phishing emails and hoping someone clicked on them. John Podesta, campaign manager for Hilary Clinton, did. They targeted Clinton because they thought if Trump won the election, he was more likely to lift sanctions against Russia.

What is President-Elect Donald Trump’s connection to Russia? Trump has sold many high-end condos in New York and Florida. Russians seem to like Trump’s condos. He and his children have also traveled to Moscow to discuss building condos and other business dealings in Moscow. Nothing much came of that. Trump did make many powerful friends in Russia, including the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, since he has been not only interested in Russia but very complimentary of the country.

How is this a threat to the U.S.? First, U.S. President’s, according to the Constitution, are not supposed to profit from their relationships with other countries. There is a definite conflict of interest here. Second, if you factor in Rex Tillerson’s appointment to the position of Secretary of State, it appears that a foreign country has captured a number of U.S. interests given that country’s relationship with the man soon to be our President and with the man  soon to be our Secretary of State. Rex Tillerson is a former Chairman of Exxon/Mobil and possesses much insider information about our oil and gas industry.

We must understand why this is so serious. Russia is another superpower like the United States. They do not have the same value system as the U.S. It is an authoritarian society while ours is a republic. World War II ended in the 1940s. It is now 2016. Generations of Russia’s have lived under Communist rule . They do not understand a market economy or a republic. Putin is a former KGB (Secret Police) officer.

The entire explanation for the animosity between Russia and the U.S.deserves its own blog post. But, briefly, after World War II, a Cold War began between the two superpowers. There were no diplomatic relations. There was constant fear, on both sides, that someone would push the red button. But, the Cold War eased in 1989 and gradually diplomatic and trade relationships between the two countries were established. There is, and has never been, trust between the governments and no understanding between the people.

If it is true that Russia has American secrets and did, indeed, try to throw the American election to Donald Trump, it is alarming and a threat to our country. Vladimir Putin does not wish us well. He wishes Russia well. Chances are, he considers those concepts mutually exclusive. If Donald Trump is either ignorant of this or complicit, that, in itself, is a threat.

 

#amblogging #amwriting #writing #Russia #politics

*This post is in response to Creativity Challenge 26