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People are silhouetted as they pose with laptops in front of a screen projected with binary code and a Central Inteligence Agency (CIA) emblem, in this picture illustration taken in Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina October 29, 2014. (Photo: Reuters/Dado Ruvic/File Photo/Illustration)
For months now, our country has endured the tacit denigration of American ingenuity. Countless statements--from elected officials, activist groups, journalists and many others--have ignored our nation's superb blend of dazzling high-tech capacities and statecraft mendacities.
For months now, our country has endured the tacit denigration of American ingenuity. Countless statements--from elected officials, activist groups, journalists and many others--have ignored our nation's superb blend of dazzling high-tech capacities and statecraft mendacities.
Fortunately, this week the news about release of illuminating CIA documents by WikiLeaks has begun to give adequate credit where due. And not a moment too soon. For way too long, Russia has been credited with prodigious hacking and undermining of democracy in the United States.
Many Americans have overlooked the U.S. government's fantastic hacking achievements. This is most unfair and disrespectful to the dedicated men and women of intelligence services like the CIA and NSA. Far from the limelight, they've been working diligently to undermine democracy not just overseas but also here at home.
Today, the massive new trove of CIA documents can help to put things in perspective. Maybe now people will grasp that our nation's undermining of democracy is home-grown and self-actualized. It's an insult to the ingenious capacities of the United States of America to think that we can't do it ourselves.
Contrary to all the public relations work that U.S. intelligence agencies have generously done for them, the Russians don't even rank as peripheral to the obstacles and prospects for American democracy. Rest assured, throughout the long history of the United States, we haven't needed foreigners to get the job done.
In our current era, can Vladimir Putin take any credit for purging huge numbers of African Americans, Latinos and other minority citizens from the voter rolls? Of course not.
Did Putin create and maintain the barriers that prevented many low-income people from voting on November 8? Only in his dreams.
Can the Kremlin hold a candle to the corporate-owned cable TV channels that gave Donald Trump umpteen free hours of uninterrupted air time for speeches at his campaign rallies? Absolutely not.
Could any Russian operation claim more than a tiny sliver of impact compared to the handiwork of FBI Director James Comey as he boosted Donald Trump's prospects with a pair of gratuitous announcements about a gratuitously re-opened probe of Hillary Clinton's emails during the last days of the 2016 campaign? No way.
Is Putin anything but a miniscule lightweight in any efforts to manipulate the U.S. electorate compared to "dark money" American billionaires like the Koch brothers? Give us a break.
And how about the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution? The Kremlin can only marvel at the way that the CIA, the NSA and the bipartisan leadership in Washington have shredded the Fourth Amendment while claiming to uphold it.
To sum up: The CIA's efforts to tout Russia add up to jaw-dropping false modesty! The humility of "deep state" leaders in Langley is truly awesome.
Let's get a grip. Overwhelmingly, the achievements of thwarting democracy in America have been do-it-yourself operations. It's about time that we give adequate credit to the forces perpetuating this country's self-inflicted wounds to American democracy.
To loosely paraphrase the beloved comic-strip character Pogo, when the subject is grievous damage to democracy at home, "We have met the ingenuity and it is U.S." But we're having a terrible time recognizing ourselves.
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Norman Solomon is the national director of RootsAction.org and executive director of the Institute for Public Accuracy. The paperback edition of his latest book, War Made Invisible: How America Hides the Human Toll of Its Military Machine, includes an afterword about the Gaza war.
For months now, our country has endured the tacit denigration of American ingenuity. Countless statements--from elected officials, activist groups, journalists and many others--have ignored our nation's superb blend of dazzling high-tech capacities and statecraft mendacities.
Fortunately, this week the news about release of illuminating CIA documents by WikiLeaks has begun to give adequate credit where due. And not a moment too soon. For way too long, Russia has been credited with prodigious hacking and undermining of democracy in the United States.
Many Americans have overlooked the U.S. government's fantastic hacking achievements. This is most unfair and disrespectful to the dedicated men and women of intelligence services like the CIA and NSA. Far from the limelight, they've been working diligently to undermine democracy not just overseas but also here at home.
Today, the massive new trove of CIA documents can help to put things in perspective. Maybe now people will grasp that our nation's undermining of democracy is home-grown and self-actualized. It's an insult to the ingenious capacities of the United States of America to think that we can't do it ourselves.
Contrary to all the public relations work that U.S. intelligence agencies have generously done for them, the Russians don't even rank as peripheral to the obstacles and prospects for American democracy. Rest assured, throughout the long history of the United States, we haven't needed foreigners to get the job done.
In our current era, can Vladimir Putin take any credit for purging huge numbers of African Americans, Latinos and other minority citizens from the voter rolls? Of course not.
Did Putin create and maintain the barriers that prevented many low-income people from voting on November 8? Only in his dreams.
Can the Kremlin hold a candle to the corporate-owned cable TV channels that gave Donald Trump umpteen free hours of uninterrupted air time for speeches at his campaign rallies? Absolutely not.
Could any Russian operation claim more than a tiny sliver of impact compared to the handiwork of FBI Director James Comey as he boosted Donald Trump's prospects with a pair of gratuitous announcements about a gratuitously re-opened probe of Hillary Clinton's emails during the last days of the 2016 campaign? No way.
Is Putin anything but a miniscule lightweight in any efforts to manipulate the U.S. electorate compared to "dark money" American billionaires like the Koch brothers? Give us a break.
And how about the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution? The Kremlin can only marvel at the way that the CIA, the NSA and the bipartisan leadership in Washington have shredded the Fourth Amendment while claiming to uphold it.
To sum up: The CIA's efforts to tout Russia add up to jaw-dropping false modesty! The humility of "deep state" leaders in Langley is truly awesome.
Let's get a grip. Overwhelmingly, the achievements of thwarting democracy in America have been do-it-yourself operations. It's about time that we give adequate credit to the forces perpetuating this country's self-inflicted wounds to American democracy.
To loosely paraphrase the beloved comic-strip character Pogo, when the subject is grievous damage to democracy at home, "We have met the ingenuity and it is U.S." But we're having a terrible time recognizing ourselves.
Norman Solomon is the national director of RootsAction.org and executive director of the Institute for Public Accuracy. The paperback edition of his latest book, War Made Invisible: How America Hides the Human Toll of Its Military Machine, includes an afterword about the Gaza war.
For months now, our country has endured the tacit denigration of American ingenuity. Countless statements--from elected officials, activist groups, journalists and many others--have ignored our nation's superb blend of dazzling high-tech capacities and statecraft mendacities.
Fortunately, this week the news about release of illuminating CIA documents by WikiLeaks has begun to give adequate credit where due. And not a moment too soon. For way too long, Russia has been credited with prodigious hacking and undermining of democracy in the United States.
Many Americans have overlooked the U.S. government's fantastic hacking achievements. This is most unfair and disrespectful to the dedicated men and women of intelligence services like the CIA and NSA. Far from the limelight, they've been working diligently to undermine democracy not just overseas but also here at home.
Today, the massive new trove of CIA documents can help to put things in perspective. Maybe now people will grasp that our nation's undermining of democracy is home-grown and self-actualized. It's an insult to the ingenious capacities of the United States of America to think that we can't do it ourselves.
Contrary to all the public relations work that U.S. intelligence agencies have generously done for them, the Russians don't even rank as peripheral to the obstacles and prospects for American democracy. Rest assured, throughout the long history of the United States, we haven't needed foreigners to get the job done.
In our current era, can Vladimir Putin take any credit for purging huge numbers of African Americans, Latinos and other minority citizens from the voter rolls? Of course not.
Did Putin create and maintain the barriers that prevented many low-income people from voting on November 8? Only in his dreams.
Can the Kremlin hold a candle to the corporate-owned cable TV channels that gave Donald Trump umpteen free hours of uninterrupted air time for speeches at his campaign rallies? Absolutely not.
Could any Russian operation claim more than a tiny sliver of impact compared to the handiwork of FBI Director James Comey as he boosted Donald Trump's prospects with a pair of gratuitous announcements about a gratuitously re-opened probe of Hillary Clinton's emails during the last days of the 2016 campaign? No way.
Is Putin anything but a miniscule lightweight in any efforts to manipulate the U.S. electorate compared to "dark money" American billionaires like the Koch brothers? Give us a break.
And how about the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution? The Kremlin can only marvel at the way that the CIA, the NSA and the bipartisan leadership in Washington have shredded the Fourth Amendment while claiming to uphold it.
To sum up: The CIA's efforts to tout Russia add up to jaw-dropping false modesty! The humility of "deep state" leaders in Langley is truly awesome.
Let's get a grip. Overwhelmingly, the achievements of thwarting democracy in America have been do-it-yourself operations. It's about time that we give adequate credit to the forces perpetuating this country's self-inflicted wounds to American democracy.
To loosely paraphrase the beloved comic-strip character Pogo, when the subject is grievous damage to democracy at home, "We have met the ingenuity and it is U.S." But we're having a terrible time recognizing ourselves.