THE SO CALLED RUSSIAN HACK

A CRISIS IN CREDIBILITY FOR THE U.S. MEDIA AND THE CIA


At the conclusion of the U.S. 2016 Presidential Election, there have been claims that Russia hacked Democratic Party organizations in order to help President Elect Donald Trump to win the election. Now, trying to blame Russia for interfering with a U.S. election is a very dangerous accusation to make, given the current tensions that already exist between Russia and the U.S. But not only are these accusations dangerous, they display an incredible level of hypocrisy. For instance, the United States has been interfering with elections in other countries since the end of World War II. One of the most infamous examples being the 1953 Iranian Coup. (The Washington Post, 10-13-16).

Yet despite the fact that the United States has been interfering with other governments for more than 60 years, our own government is deeming it appropriate to impose sanctions on Russia for supposedly interfering with the United States election, even though there is a lack of actual proof that this happened.

So what is this "hard evidence" that people are citing?

THE ANONYMOUS "INTELLIGENCE" THAT DID NOT ACTUALLY COME FROM INTELLIGENCE DEPARTMENT:

One of the latest developments in this situation was an official statement issued by James Clapper, the Director of National Intelligence, on January 11th, 2017. He first expressed his dismay that intelligence leaks have been appearing in the press, and said that these leaks were damaging to national security.

"I expressed my profound dismay at the leaks that have been appearing in the press, and we both agreed that they are extremely corrosive and damaging to our national security (James Clapper | Director of National Intelligence, 1-11-17)."

Then he also addressed the fact that there was a security document circulating among the media, members of Congress and the Congressional staff that was not actually an Intelligence Agency document.

"We also discussed the private security company document, which was widely circulated in recent months among the media, members of Congress and Congressional staff even before the IC became aware of it. I emphasized that this document is not a U.S. Intelligence Community product and that I do not believe the leaks came from within the IC. The IC has not made any judgment that the information in this document is reliable, and we did not rely upon it in any way for our conclusions. However, part of our obligation is to ensure that policymakers are provided with the fullest possible picture of any matters that might affect national security (James Clapper | Director of National Intelligence, 1-11-17)."

THE INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY'S REPORT ON RUSSIAN HACKING:

However, even though there was a document floating around that was not actually from the intelligence community, the Intelligence Department has in fact released their own statement.

On December 29th, 2016, the FBI and DHS released a joint report that supposedly had enough incriminating evidence to link the Russian government to hacks of Democratic Party organizations. The report makes clear reference to the hacks of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and Hillary Clinton's campaign chairman John Podesta, though the report does not directly mention him by name. This 13 page report provides technical details regarding tools and infrastructure supposedly used by Russian civilian and military intelligence services to “compromise and exploit networks and endpoints associated with the U.S. election, as well as a range of U.S. government, political, and private sector entities.”

And yet according to The Hill, experts say that this 13 page report provides little in the way of actual forensic proof to confirm the Russian government's involvement. Truth Dig has also reported that of the report's "895 indicators" — the ip addresses that were supposed to incriminate the Russian government— none of them actually led to the Russian government.

OBAMA ISSUES SANCTIONS:

But even with the lack of clear tangible evidence in this intelligence report, President Barack Obama still issued a press release on December 29th using the DHS-FBI report to justify increasing sanctions against Russia.

CONGRESSIONAL HEARING ON SUPPOSED RUSSIAN HACK:

Even though the election results have already been decided, the investigations continue. On January 5th, 2017, there was a Congressional Hearing where key intelligence officials addressed their concerns over Russia before the Senate Armed Services Committee. Although most Republicans seemed disinclined to address the intelligence community's concerns over Russia, Democrats and the leading Republicans on the committee — Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) — eagerly questioned intelligence officials about Russian interference in the election and seemed ready to embrace their conclusions about the Kremlin’s motives (The Washington Post, 1-5-17).

They wasted no time at all in publicly digging into Russia's alleged hacking of the presidential race. In this hearing, Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, invited the nation's top intelligence leaders to testify about “foreign cyberthreats” — how Russia tried to influence the 2016 campaign, and what the United States should do about it.

The Intelligence lineup at this hearing included Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper Jr, Mike Rogers, Adm. Mike Rogers, commander of the U.S. Cyber Command and director of the National Security Agency, and Defense Undersecretary for Intelligence Marcel J. Lettre II.

In the hearing they concluded that Russia "definitely meddled in the U.S. campaign," and McCain was also vocal about his desire to thoroughly investigate Russia. Another vocal hawk, Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.), said the following about Obama's Russia sanctions: “What Obama did was throw a pebble...I’m ready to throw a rock.”

The country’s top intelligence official testified to Congress on Thursday that Russia’s meddling in the 2016 presidential campaign went "well beyond hacking to ­include disinformation and the dissemination of 'fake news.'" “Whatever crack, fissure, they could find in our tapestry . . . they would exploit it,” said Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper Jr (The Washington Post, 1-5-17).

However, at the hearing, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and others cast doubt on the idea that Russia would want to help Trump.

“Donald Trump has proposed to increase our defense budget, to accelerate nuclear modernization, to accelerate ballistic missile defenses, and to expand and accelerate oil and gas production, which would obviously harm Russia’s economy,” Cotton said. “Hillary Clinton opposed or at least was not as enthusiastic about all those measures.”

But McCain and Graham, two longtime national security hawks, were adamant that more needs to be done to punish and deter Russia. Graham did not specify what form of punishment he would like to see, though he and McCain have said in recent days that they want to impose stronger sanctions on Russia.

Yet one question we would like to pose is the following: Can we really trust James Clapper? The same man who lied about the NSA's mass surveillance of millions of Americans?

OTHER VOICES CLAIMING ELECTION HACK

In terms of other forms of evidence that are supposed to prove the Russian election hack, there are the infamous findings from cyber firm CrowdStrike that are supposed to prove the Russian hack of the DNC (CrowdStrike, 6-15-16).

But the Intercept brought up a good counterpoint to CrowdStrike's findings: "We should also bear in mind that private security firm CrowdStrike’s frequently cited findings of Russian responsibility were essentially paid for by the DNC (The Intercept, 12-14-16)."

WIKILEAKS DENIES RUSSIA'S INVOLVEMENT

WikiLeaks editor Julian Assange also directly denies that he received the Democratic leaked emails from the Russian government, and one of his associates, former British Ambassador Craig Murray, told the U.K. Guardian that he knows who “leaked” the Democratic emails and that there never was a “hack,” i.e. an outside electronic penetration of an email account.

For more information, check the sources we cite below.


OFFICIAL STATEMENTS FROM THE INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY ON CLAIMS OF RUSSIAN ELECTION HACK

DNI Clapper Statement on Conversation with President-elect Trump (January 11th, 2017)

In this statement, James Clapper states that leaks of intelligence reports in the press have been corrosive to national security.

Joint Report from the Department of Homeland Security and Federal Bureau of Investigation on Russian Malicious Cyber Activity (12-29-16)

The new intelligence report, citing 895 indicators supposedly proving hack from Russian government.

Joint Statement from the Department Of Homeland Security and Office of the Director of National Intelligence on Election Security (10-7-16)

An older report that said there was no hard proof of the Kremlin's involvement.


OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE FROM PRESIDENT OBAMA AND SANCTIONS

Statement by the President on Actions in Response to Russian Malicious Cyber Activity and Harassment (Whitehouse.gov, 12-29-16)

In this press release, President Obama supports the claims of the intelligence community and issues sanctions against Russia.


NEWS ARTICLES ON POST-ELECTION HYSTERIA AND HYPOCRISY

News on Intelligence Reports

National Intelligence Director Admits U.S. Government Fell For ‘Fake News’ (We Are Change, 1-12-17)

Declassified US Intelligence Report on Russia: a Critical Review (Counter Punch, 1-9-17)

Allegations Against Russia Less Credible Every Day (David Swanson, 1-8-17)

Shocker: 'Proof' of Russia's Trump Support Was Compiled During Obama's Election (Sputnik News, 1-7-17)

FBI, DHS release report on Russia hacking (The Hill, 12-29-16)

Was Claim by Department of Homeland Security and FBI About Russian Hacking Fake News? (Truthdig, 12-31-16)

WaPo Does It Again: CIA “Secret” Assessment Discredited By Top US Spy Agency, FBI And CIA Itself (Mintpress News, 12-15-16)

Former NSA Officer William Binney: CIA Lying About Russians Hacking DNC (Sputnik News, 12-15-16)

Here’s the Public Evidence Russia Hacked the DNC – It’s Not Enough (The Intercept, 12-14-16)

Why has the CIA changed its tune? Chairman of House intelligence committee says latest statements on Russian 'election hack' conflict with earlier briefings (The Daily Mail, 12-13-16)

Top U.S. spy agency has not embraced CIA assessment on Russia hacking (Reuters, 12-13-16)

The ‘Slam Dunk’ That Isn’t – The CIA, Russia And The Hacking Of The 2016 Presidential Election (The Huffington Post, 12-12-16)

US Intel Vets Dispute Russia Hacking Claims (Consortium News, 12-12-16)

Did Russia Elect Trump? (The American Conservative, 12-12-16)

There is no basis for any claims about a “stolen” presidential election (National Interest, 12-12-16)

Stop the CIA Coup (Information Clearing House, 12-12-16)

McCarthy’s Ghost Smiles as Dems Point the Finger at Russia (Common Dreams, 12-8-16)

White House Response

White House fails to make case that Russian hackers tampered with election (Ars Technica, 12-30-16)

The Russians weren’t that good;the Obama administration was that bad (Washington Post, 12-19-16)

What Obama Said to Putin on the Red Phone About the Election Hack (NBC News, 12-19-16)

Congressional Hearing

Top U.S. intelligence official: Russia meddled in election by hacking, spreading of propaganda (The Washington Post, 1-5-17)

Six big takeaways from the extraordinary congressional hearing on Russian hacking (The Washington Post, 1-5-17)

Election hypocrisy

Hypocrisy Behind the Russian-Election Frenzy (Common Dreams, 12-13-16)

Hillary Clinton Lost. Get Over It And Stop Blaming Russia, WikiLeaks And ‘Fake’ News (The Huffington Post, 12-13-16)


THE LONG HISTORY OF THE U.S. INTERFERING IN THE ELECTIONS OF OTHER COUNTRIES

The long history of the U.S. interfering with elections elsewhere, (The Washington Post, 10-13-16)


TROUBLING CONCERNS ABOUT THE CIA'S CREDIBILITY

CIA DIRECTOR JOHN BRENNAN LIES ABOUT DRONE ATTACKS

In 2011, After much urging from the ACLU to reveal public information on the clandestine Drones Program, the White House's top counter-terrorism advisor John Brennan broke the silence by telling reporters the following: "in the last year 'there hasn't been a single collateral death because of the exceptional proficiency, precision of the capabilities that we've been able to develop (ACLU).'"  Obama then nominated him to head the CIA. Ever since, it's been found that this statement was a profound lie.

Obama's Drone Attacks (World Future Fund)

Secret US documents show Brennan’s ‘no civilian drone deaths’ claim was false (The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, 4-11-13)

Civilian Deaths from CIA Drone Strikes: Zero or Dozens? (ACLU, 7-19-11)

US claims of ‘no civilian deaths’ are untrue(The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, 7-18-11)


DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE, JAMES CLAPPER, LIES ABOUT NSA SURVEILLANCE

James Clapper lied in a testimony about his knowledge of the NSA's massive surveillance program of American citizens. Then he claimed he had "forgotten about the program" when he misled congress.

Attorney: Spy chief had 'forgotten' about NSA program when he misled Congress (The Hill, 5-8-15)

Latest Explanation For James Clapper Lying About 'Essential' NSA Spy Program: 'He Forgot About It' (Tech Dirt, 3-11-15)

James Clapper says he misspoke, didn't lie about NSA surveillance (CBS News, 9-18-14)

James Clapper's testimony one year later (Politifact, 3-11-14)

Darrell Issa, Other Lawmakers Want Obama to Fire James Clapper for 'Lying to Congress' (Huffington Post, 1-27-14)

 


CIA AND DISASTER IN LIBYA

The Libyan revolution was President Obama's first major foreign intervention. This was framed as an extension of the Arab Spring, and NATO involvement was pitched as a humanitarian affair. The CIA worked actively to help send in rebels to topple Qaddafi and Obama ordered airstrikes against the Libyan government. These Libyan rebels who helped topple Qaddafi were portrayed as some kind of freedom fighters, but the reality was the little was said about the actual ideological leanings of these rebels. Which isn't surprising considering that later, the Libyan rebel commander admitted that his fighters had Al-Qaeda linked jihadists who fought against allied troops in Iraq.

Prior to the U.S. and NATO backed invasion, Libya had the highest standards of living of any country in Africa, according to the U.N.'s Human Development Index rankings for 2010. Yet after the intervention, the country descended into chaos and is now widely regarded as a failed state.

It is important to keep in mind that when Qaddafi was overthrown, the Libyan armories were looted and massive quantities of weapons were sent by the Libyan rebels to Syria. The weapons included anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles smuggled into Syria through Turkey, a NATO ally. While a great deal of attention has focused on the fact that the State Department did not provide adequate security to the U.S. embassy in Benghazi, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Seymour Hersh released an article in April of 2014 which exposed a classified agreement between the CIA, Turkey and the Syrian rebels to create what was referred to as a “rat line”. The “rat line” was the covert network used to channel weapons and ammunition from Libya, through southern Turkey and across the Syrian border. It was at this time that jihadist fighters from Libya began to flood into Syria. And we will describe the CIA's involvement there below.

Obama's 2011 Attack on Libya (World Future Fund)

Qaddafi's Last Speech (World Future Fund)

THE COVERT ORIGINS OF ISIS: UNITED STATES, CIA IN LIBYA, SYRIA, IRAQ, AFGHANISTAN (Voice of Detroit, 2-9-15)

A former CIA asset has become a U.S. headache in Libya (The Washington Post, 8-17-16)

CIA sends teams to Libya; US considers rebel aid (Yahoo, 3-31-11)

Obama defends Libya mission (Los Angeles Times, 3-29-11)

Libyan rebel commander admits his fighters have al-Qaeda links (Telegraph, 3-25-11)


CIA AND DISASTER IN SYRIA

The CIA has had an active role in supporting the insurgency in the Syrian Civil War. In early September 2013, Obama told U.S. senators that the CIA had trained the first 50-man insurgent element and that they had been inserted into Syria (Telegraph, 9-3-13). Former CIA Chief David Petraeus spoke out in favor of military action in Syria (New York Daily News, 9-7-13). This was the CIA's attempt to strengthen moderates fighting Bashal al-Assad without increasing the U.S. footprint in the conflict. Yet many of these "moderates" defected to Islamist-led coalitions, while other CIA-backed rebels stopped fighting. CIA-backed groups in northwestern Syria publicly acknowledge their relationship with Al-Qaeda. A commander of Fursan ul-Haq, a rebel group that received TOW missiles through CIA channels, explained that “there is something misunderstood by world powers: We have to work with Nusra Front and other groups to fight” both Assad’s regime and the Islamic State.

Several years later, the situation is still a disaster, and the attempts to overthrow Assad have been a failure.

Hillary Clinton's 2012 War Against Syria (World Future Fund)

CIA Activities in Syria (Wikipedia)

Who planned the terrorist operation in Palmyra? (Oriental Review, 12-14-16)

In Syria, militias armed by the Pentagon fight those armed by the CIA (LA Times, 3-27-16)

Hillary Clinton and the Syrian Bloodbath (The Huffington Post, 2-15-16)

First Syria rebels armed and trained by CIA 'on way to battlefield' (Telegraph, 9-3-13).

Former CIA Chief David Petraeus comes out in favor of military action in Syria (New York Daily News, 9-7-13)


CIA AND DISASTER IN YEMEN

In addition to the countries mentioned above, the CIA has also played a role in advocating for drone war in Yemen and arming extremists. Today Yemen is imploding. Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula is seizing territory on the periphery. U.S. drone strikes have killed Al-Qaeda operatives, but haven't stopped operations in Yemen. The U.S. strategy of counterterrorism in terms of training a strong military presence in the country has not only failed to build a military to defend the state, but has accelerated its implosion. Throughout the period of U.S. and U.K. military assistance to Yemen, Al-Qaeda expanded both its territory and membership. The chaos caused in Syria has also led to the development of an ISIS branch in Yemen.

The CIA’s Push to Expand ‘Killer Drone’ Operations in Yemen (The World Can't Wait)

How the War on Terror Failed Yemen (Foreign Policy, 5-18-16)

How Yemen's Saleh danced on the heads of the CIA (Middle East Eye, 6-4-15)

Yemen Then and Now: The Sad Chronicle of a Failed State (The New Yorker, 5-1-15)

CIA scales back presence and operations in Yemen, home of potent al-Qaeda affiliate (Washington Post, 2-11-15)


CIA AND NAZIS IN UKRAINE

There are troubling concerns about the Alt-Right in Trump's presidency. However, there is little talk of the CIA's involvement with Nazi's in Ukraine.

The Origins of CIA's Relationship with Ukrainian Nationalists PDF (CIA)

Two Year Ago: The U.S. has Installed a Neo-Nazi Government in Ukraine (Global Research, 3-4-16)

CIA: Undermining and Nazifying Ukraine Since 1953 (Strategic Culture, 1-8-16)

Nazi Roots of Ukraine’s Conflict (Consortium News, 1-28-16)

Obama, Pentagon clear way to send US aid to Ukraine neo-Nazis (RT, 1-15-16)

The Media Ignores the CIA in Ukraine (Counter Punch, 7-30-14)


HILLARY CLINTON'S SAUDI CONNECTION

There are many people who are worried about Donald Trump's connections to Russia. But if this is a matter for national concern, then Hillary Clinton's ties to Saudi Arabia should also be investigated.

Julian Assange: Isis and Clinton Foundation are both funded by Saudi Arabia and Qatar (The Independent, 11-4-16)

Hillary Clinton, The Podesta Group And The Saudi Regime: A Fatal Menage A Trois (The Huffington Post, 8-31-16)

Leaked Hillary Clinton emails show U.S. allies Saudi Arabia and Qatar supported ISIS (Salon, 8-11-16)


FORMER CIA CHIEF MICHAEL MORELL RISKS WORLD WAR III

Michael Morell has proposed troubling things that would get the United States involved in a war with Russia.

Who Is Michael Morell? (National Interest, 1-15-17)

Ex-CIA Director, Michael Morell, who endorsed Clinton Calls for Killing Iranians and Russians in Syria  (The Intercept, 8-9-16)

Ex-CIA Chief and Torture Defender Endorses Clinton—Why Are Democrats Cheering? (Common Dreams, 8-5-16)

Morell's Endorsement of Hillary (New York Times, 8-5-16)