30 questions for the “Trump-Russia” crowd

4 min read

nuclear-explosion
  1. Is there any evidence at all that the Russian government tried to influence the US election in a significant way, besides the self-interested claims of the habitual liars in the US spy agencies?
  2. Can any forensic evidence be conclusively tied to the Russian government, given that the locations of IP addresses can be faked, using proxies? If the Russians wanted to conduct a covert op, are they incompetent enough to leave obvious forensic clues? If the American pro-war faction wanted to pin blame on Russia in hopes of starting a long-desired Great War, would they have both means and motive to fake the origins of such actions? Which scenario is more likely?
  3. Is there any evidence at all that any attempts by the Russian government to influence the US election actually had an effect in determining the outcome?
  4. Were Russian actions significantly promoting Trump, as opposed to a variety of issues on both sides of the political spectrum?
  5. If any Russian influence operations can be demonstrated, were such actions above and beyond the level they engaged in during past elections? If not, why not? If they have, why was this not previously discussed by the spy agencies and the media?
  6. In the 2012 election, Mitt Romney expressed that Russia was America’s biggest enemy. Barack Obama disagreed, and, in fact, made private “hot mic” assurances to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev that he would be more “flexible” after the election; in other words, to give Russia preferential treatment, not disclosed to the American people during a democratic election. Should such actions by President Obama be considered treasonous? If not, why not? How do Obama’s actions differ from Trump’s actions?
  7. If Obama held more positive views of Russia than Mitt Romney, especially in the context of his 2009 “reset” towards warmer relations, is it plausible that the Russian government attempted to influence the American election in favor of Barack Obama? If so, how does this differ from the 2016 election? If not, why didn’t the Russians do it then, if they were motivated to do so in 2016? Why did the American spy agencies do nothing to stop this?
  8. Of any Russian influence operations that can be demonstrated, were such actions above and beyond the level engaged in by other governments, corporations, and individuals, including the Israeli lobby, the Saudi lobby, the Chinese lobby, and the American government itself?
  9. Is there any evidence that the Russian government strongly preferred Donald Trump to Hillary Clinton? Are there any specific Russian government statements, business deals, or other evidence specifically alluding to a preference for Trump, besides an alignment on some policy positions?
  10. If alignment on policy positions is the primary evidence, are policy positions, or political beliefs, that happen to align with a government out of favor with America’s spy agencies, now to be considered treasonous? If so, are all Americans subject to this standard, or just President Trump?
  11. Is there such a thing as an un-American belief, politcal opinion, or policy preference?
  12. Why is alignment with Russian policy preferences treasonous, but alignment with Israeli or Saudi or Chinese policy preferences not treasonous?
  13. If the American people, in a democratic election, decide to align more with Russia’s interests rather than Israel’s or Saudi Arabia’s interests, is this a legitimate outcome, or is there an enduring, non-democratic, higher geopolitical purpose for America, that only the spy agencies have the authority to decide on and execute?
  14. Does Hillary Clinton’s receiving millions of dollars in bribes from Russian oligarchs in exchange for her approval of the sale of one fifth of American uranium to Russia constitute treason? If not, why not? What is a similar quid-pro-quo business deal that Trump made with Russia, that has clear national security implications? Why were the spy agencies and the media silent about Hillary Clinton’s deal?
  15. Does Hillary Clinton’s, or other politicians’, meeting with Russian officials constitute treason? Why or why not? Please outline the differences between these meetings and those between Trump and Russian officials.
  16. Could the “Russia hacking” claims be a convenient excuse by Democrats and Hillary Clinton for losing the election, to avoid responsibility, and perhaps criminal liability for colluding to shut Bernie Sanders out of the Democratic primary, and for other crimes such as leaking classified information via unsecured email?
  17. Is it at all suspicious that most of the “Russia hacking” narrative relies not on hard evidence, but on insinuation, argument from authority, and allegations of treason, coming from the most pro-war, pro-torture, elements of the US political establishment and spy agencies?
  18. Is there any evidence whatsoever that Trump knew about any Russian activities, or in any way “colluded”, or discussed, or made a deal, with the Russian government in exchange for help winning the presidency?
  19. If so, why did Trump believe that the Russian government was uniquely suited to intervene directly in the American political process, as opposed to, for example, merely providing money? Why did Trump not simply hire American political consultants and marketing firms, who are more familiar with American culture and politics?
  20. Can the release of information about the criminal wrongdoing of public officials be considered an “attack” or “meddling”? Is truth tainted by a supposed unsavory messenger?
  21. Has history witnessed past episodes of mass hysteria, witch hunts, paranoia, casual allegations of treason against political enemies, and criminalization of political positions, in circumstances of political upheaval?
  22. Does the fact that the US has steadily expanded NATO to Russia’s borders since the end of the Cold War, increasing the military threat to Russia, in contravention of an agreement between George Bush and Mikhail Gorbachev, have any bearing on the current situation?
  23. Does the fact that US is encircling Russia with missile interceptors in bordering countries that can shoot down its nuclear ICBMs on launch, in event of a nuclear war, thus reducing Russia’s nuclear deterrent, have any bearing on the current situation?
  24. Does the fact that the US has engaged in a never-ending stream of reckless, aggressive wars against any regimes it deems inconvenient, since the end of the Cold War, in Serbia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria, and others, have any bearing on the current situation?
  25. Does the fact that the US continually interferes in Russian elections, and many others, using NGOs as cover for CIA operations, have any bearing on the current situation?
  26. Does the fact that the US instigated a coup in Ukraine against the democratically-elected pro-Russia president, in an attempt to take control of eastern Ukraine’s industrial base, and of Russia’s Black Sea port in Sevastopol, have any bearing on the current situation?
  27. Does the fact that the US is conducting an illegal, undeclared war in Syria in an attempt to take control of Russia’s only Mediterranean port, have any bearing on the current situation?
  28. Does the fact that the US spy agencies lie and propagandize as a matter of policy, and have lied about and covered up countless truths from the American people, including Iraq’s “weapons of mass destruction”, and spying on Americans’ communications, have any bearing on the current situation?
  29. Is it possible that a large, pro-war consensus has developed in Washington D.C., comprising both parties, and will do everything possible to destroy anyone who is not actively pushing for a Great War, to feed the insatiable war machine?
  30. Is a nuclear war with Russia the end goal, and is it the inevitable consequence of considering “meddling” as an “act of war”?