Long time readers know I view the Russian invasion of the Crimea, followed by the increased output of oil by the United States, and the interference in the 2016 and 2020 elections, as a series of maneuvers in an undeclared war between Putin’s Russia and the United States.
So astute readers will no doubt being asking Why was there little to be seen in the 2016 – 2020 period, beyond American warnings of attempts to interfere in the 2020 election?
Because in Donald J. Trump, President Putin had a patsy with whom it was better to treat politely as Trump labored to keep Putin, widely rumored to have a hold on Trump, happy. Certainly, top secret information flowed from Trump to Putin, and it started virtually from Day One. How else did Putin benefit?
Ask a Russian expert, not me. I can pick out the obvious stuff, such as top secret information and the opportunity to sell Russian arms to former American ally Turkey. But what else could there be? Back to the real story:
But Trump only lasted a single term, and, regardless of his ceaseless whining, he’s not returning. It only makes sense, therefore, for Putin to get in the next counterstroke while President Biden and his people work to unwind the foolishness we saw from Trump and his people.
And what is the counterstroke?
Ransomware. CNN/Politics provides a terse summary of recent events in an alarmingly titled article, “Ransomware attacks saddle Biden with grave national security crisis“:
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said during a congressional hearing on Monday that Biden would make clear when he saw the Russian leader that “states cannot be in the business of harboring those who are engaged in these kinds of attacks.”
His comment came after Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm Sunday warned that “very malign actors” had the US in their sights after attacks on a pipeline, government agencies, a Florida water system, schools, health care institutions and, even last week, the meat industry and a ferry service to millionaire’s playground Martha’s Vineyard.
“Even as we speak, there are thousands of attacks on all aspects of the energy sector and the private sector generally … it’s happening all the time,” Granholm told Jake Tapper on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
Alarmingly, the former Michigan governor said that foreign hackers have the capability to shut down the US power network, and counseled firms against paying ransoms demanded by hackers.
Fortunately, it appears that at least some American officials recognize this as a war:
Maine Sen. Angus King, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, warned that the US was now reaping the consequences for failing to respond sufficiently boldly to past attacks by China, Russia and North Korea.
“We have been a cheap date. And you can’t defend yourself simply by bobbing and weaving and patching. The adversary has to understand they will pay a price, there will be a cost for attacking the United States or for attacking our critical infrastructure,” King said, also on “State of the Union.”
And others, sad to say, don’t:
Unlike after the attacks on New York and the Pentagon in 2001, the new threat is exposing fractured US political unity. Republicans were quick to seize on the aftermath of the recent hack on the Colonial Pipeline that sparked gas shortages, panic buying and long lines at the pumps last month to suggest Biden was weak and had lost control. Ex-President Donald Trump, who is seeking a political comeback, claimed Saturday that cyberattacks showed lost respect for US leaders since he left office.
Such political opportunism raises doubts over whether Biden would be able to unite Washington around him, if he needed to muster a counter-attack from a major breach of US cyber defenses by a hostile foreign power.
Trump was “strong” enough to deter attacks? Highly doubtful. The people he nominated for important positions were amateurs, at best, who often were opposed to the purposes of the agencies they headed. The last Director of National Intelligence, John Ratcliffe (R-TX), had no experience in the area, and was rejected once by the Senate for a history of mendacity on the subject. One can only imagine then-President Trump putting the squeeze on then-Majority Leader Senator Mitch “Moscow” McConnell (R-KY) to get his patsy approved on the second try.
No, Putin’s move with ransomware is designed to give the Republicans, who’ve forgotten where their loyalties, not to mention their best interests, lay, the opportunity to attack President Biden, trying to make him look bad.
Nevermind that when Trump was faced with a challenge, he retreated into magical thinking and endless lying.
It’ll be interesting to see if President Biden, and his Press Secretary Jenn Psaki, are up to the challenge of portraying this for what it is: the latest move in an undeclared war between autocratic Russia and democratic America.
Do the Republicans have any idea which side they should be on?
PS Don’t put too much faith in this report. Post-event recovery is not much of a discouragement.
