No. I think the US, China and the RF (among others) spend resources in trying to encourage domestic dissent and unrest in competitor powers. Machiavelli discusses it, at length. The approach is as old as states themselves. In fact, Professor Michael Hudson notes that when antique powers would attack competitor cities, they would usually offer to forgive the debts of the citizens, to undermine the will of debtors to resist.
The US has at least two media operations focused on delegitimizing the Russian government to its citizens and a whole bunch of “civil society” organizations (NED, Soros etc) which are also focused on the same. I am make no judgement on whether these efforts are “moral”. Just saying that trying to foment rebellion is an age old tactic and there is absolutely no evidence that Russia ever stopped doing it. Or for that matter that they applied additional resources to it recently. The same can be said about China and Uighurs. I dont know how oppressive China is to its Uighur population, but I have doubts about the US really caring so much about Muslim human rights.
Other US career bureaucrats have told lies in the past. You might be right, and the evidence might be persuasive. But surely we should focus on the evidence and not reputations? One might think US career bureaucrats have the best interests of the US as their priority, rather than the truth itself.
I’m trying to imagine a world where a US bureaucrat concluded "no, there was nothing there and an important US politician mendaciously lied about the RF wrong doing. It would have been quite a problematic conclusion to have drawn. It would be like a Russian court finding Putin guilty of corruption. What troubles me is that no one was prosecuted in open court? The key prosecution of the Internet Research Agency was aborted when it required the US to present evidence. Purportedly because it would have revealed intel secrets.
But I’m often wrong, and I don’t see why this isnt another one of those times. I will go away and read Mueller. Of course, I will read it with a biased eye, cos I have preconceptions which its always hard to override.
RF is very heavily armed. So is the US. That’s not a reason to push for adversarial relations with the RF. Not unless you own a lot of Defense stocks. Which btw have performed wonderfully over the last 5-10 years.
