Trump, Putin and the CIA

Submitted by Matthew on 11 January, 2017 - 12:05 Author: Charlotte Zalens

The CIA’s report to US senators — that Russia intervened in the US presidential election to help the election of Donald Trump — is extraordinary. That’s not just because of the fact that Russia seemingly interfered in an election in the world’s most powerful country, but also because the US intelligence agency chose to make it public.

Corey Robin comments on US socialist website Jacobin: “That the nation’s security agencies could go public with this kind of accusation, or allow their accusation to go public, is unprecedented. The United States traditionally does this kind of thing, covertly, to other countries: that is the prerogative of an imperial power... that an imperial power would admit that it happened... That’s the real shocker.”

Trump’s pro-Putin and pro-Russian views are no secret. However the jury is out on the extent to which US foreign policy towards Russia will change. Russian commentator Viktoria Zhuraleva wrote “Against him is the majority of the Republican Party, the Pentagon, the CIA and the State Department. There may not be any improvement in relations with Moscow. The best Trump may be able to do in this situation is block only even more aggressive measures.”

Others speculate that Trump could normalise Russia’s annexation of Crimea and back pro-Russian fighters in the east of Ukraine.

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