A Newly Declassified Document Suggests Things With Russia Could Have Turned Out Very Differently

[Xolodno]

https://www.yahoo.com/news/newly-declassified-document-suggests-things-190929591.html

Once in a great while, a diplomatic memorandum—the outline of a proposed change in policy sent from a foreign service officer to his political masters back in Washington—has momentous impact. The most famous of these is George Kennan’s “Long Telegram” of February 1946, which urged “a long-term patient but firm and vigilant containment of Russian expansive tendencies.”

The newly discovered memo, written in March 1994 by Wayne Merry, chief of the U.S. Embassy’s internal politics division at the time, didn’t make the same impact as Kennan’s for two reasons. First, Merry did not go public. Second, unlike Kennan’s memo, Merry’s was at odds with U.S. policy and was ignored, then buried, and its author was blackballed, by the policymakers at the time. In fact, it was buried so deeply that it was declassified just last week as the result of a lawsuit filed under the Freedom of Information Act by the National Security Archive, a private research firm at George Washington University.

As we learned from his first term in office, Trump thinks he knows everything about everything; he doesn’t read; he demands that even policy memos be no longer than a page or two; he tends to dismiss those who dispute his assumptions.

We are in a lot of trouble.

[Blue_Tires]

1. Fascinating... Never heard of this.

[druidity33]

2. K&R, nt.

[Xolodno]

4. Doesn't surprise me, but it is interesting.

H W Bush told his admin to NOT take a victory lap over the collapse of the USSR. Rumsfeld and Cheney ignored that and set in motion to keep Russia proper unstable so we could dictate to them. Basically Iran 2.0, keep the central government weak and the citizens who object, poor. We seem to not learn from history.

When there was unrest in Iran, I took a look at some GOP sites, they were screaming we should help those protesting the government. Thus begs the question, "How Stupid Can You Be?". Helping them will only unite them, they hate the US Government with a passion, nor do I blame them. We come off as condescending and arrogant, then dictate without even understanding what is going on in the populace. And our oligarch's insert themselves with our blessing to rob them.

When we strong armed companies to leave Russia as a punishment and people here and GOP sites were cheering, I was shaking my head. To make inroads, a lot of investment by corporations were made. Now, we just handed over all theses industries for pennies on the dollar to Russian business interests. Putin was probably doing a jig.

Our foreign policy, nor does it matter which party, is often entrenched with bureaucratic advisors who serve under both parties, by people who only take the limo to the capital. They don't know or see what is happening on the ground. Which is why we are usually caught off guard. And the ones that do see things on the ground, get ignored, such as this case. He was right, but I bet it doesn't make him feel better.

[harumph]

3. I was preaching this in the 90's too - but I'm a nobody.

We were excessively focused on creating a market economy at the expense of fledgling democracy. And the ideologues are still at it.
See Iraq, that the Bush admin wanted to become some sort of "model" free market economy. Bunch of Havard and Yalie fucks.

[Xolodno]

5. LOL!

I wanted to go to Yale. But my brother got Gillan-Bare Syndrome and my parents would drag us to the long term care hospital every day. My grades for that year in high school tanked. Did get into a good university, just not an Ivy League. Looking back, maybe for the better.

But I agree, you have to be aware of cultures, traditions, etc. The one size "free market economy" doesn't always fit for everyone. China is an economic powerhouse and they practice Market Socialism now, seems to be working for them, to the irritation of free market proponents. Economic systems should not be treated like a religion.

[usonian]

6. That's heresy, you know.

If you don't have holy water, beer will do.
🍺Blessings! 🍺