Is German diplomacy getting too chummy with Russia?

TheLocal.de ^ | 29 Aug 2016 17:04 GMT+02:00 | (DPA/The Local)

[ETL]

Yeah and in the meantime Putin is the only leader standing up for Christianity...

Putin: Defender of Christian Faith and Morality?

September 2014

(excerpt from a long, detailed article)

First and foremost, in any review of the basics regarding Putin, the most outstanding fact is that he is a creature of the Soviet KGB, a truly diabolical organization nonpareil, which stood for murder, terror, and grand deception.

It was the Soviet Communist Party's tool for the brutal suppression of religion, including the persecution of Christians: denying them jobs and education; spying on and entrapping them; arresting and imprisoning them; torturing them in unspeakable ways; desecrating and demolishing their church buildings; infiltrating their agents into churches to subvert them. The KGB destroyed thousands of Christian churches, monasteries, convents, and schools, and slaughtered millions of Christians.

But it did not destroy the churches utterly. There remained an underground church, whose members were always at risk of discovery, arrest, torture, and martyrdom. Above ground, the KGB took control of the Russian Orthodox Church, which became a very useful organ of the Soviet atheist state.

In January 2009, Vladimir Mikhailovich Gundyaev, better known as Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, was elected, from a short list of three candidates, to be the 16th Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, the highest position of authority in the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC). The election was called to fill the post that had been left vacant by the death of Patriarch Alexy II, who had headed the ROC since 1990.

Documents from the KGB archives have confirmed what sensible observers had long ago deduced from his actions: that Patriarch Alexy II (also spelled Alexi or Alexei) was a long-serving KGB agent (code-named Drozdov, "Blackbird"), in other words, a traitor to his Christian brethren and the God he claimed to serve. Putin's KGB/FSB was taking no chances with his replacement. All three candidates - Metropolitan Kliment of Kaluga and Borovsk (code-named Topaz), Metropolitan Filaret of Minsk and Slutsk (code-named Ostrovskii), and Metropolitan Kirill (code-named Mikhailov) - also have been reliably identified as agents of the KGB/FSB.

Russia expert David Satter, a former Moscow correspondent for the Financial Times (of London) and the Wall Street Journal, wrote of the election in 2009 for Forbes:

According to material from the Soviet archives, Kirill was a KGB agent (as was Alexei). This means he was more than just an informer, of whom there were millions in the Soviet Union. He was an active officer of the organization. Neither Kirill nor Alexei ever acknowledged or apologized for their ties with the security agencies.

Because Patriarch Kirill is of central importance to the myth of Putin as the Saul-to-Paul, Christian persecutor-to-Christian champion, it behooves us to more closely examine the man. He has publicly presided over, and provided official benedictions and exhortations for, Putin's cynical and Stalinesque exploitation of Russian nationalism and Russian Orthodoxy. Josef Stalin, who had very nearly consummated the annihilation of the Russian Orthodox Church begun by Vladimir Lenin, reversed course in 1941. The reason? His erstwhile partner in crime, Adolf Hitler, had turned on him and had invaded Russia.

Stalin, needing all the help he could get, cut a deal with ROC Metropolitans Sergius, Nikolay, and Alexy. In exchange for their support in rallying the Russian people, he would cease (temporarily) the persecution and allow the reopening of churches and theological schools. In fact, Stalin's Soviet government paid for the rebuilding of many of the churches. The ROC was thus placed even more firmly under the control of the NKVD, which was later to be reorganized and renamed as the KGB. ..."

much more at link

http://www.thenewamerican.com/world-news/europe/item/19162-putin-defender-of-christian-faith-and-morality

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"For 16 years Putin was an officer in the KGB, rising to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel before he retired to enter politics in his native Saint Petersburg in 1991.

He moved to Moscow in 1996 and joined President Boris Yeltsin's administration where he rose quickly, becoming Acting President on 31 December 1999 when Yeltsin unexpectedly resigned. Putin won the subsequent 2000 presidential election, despite widespread accusations of vote-rigging,[3] and was reelected in 2004."

"On 25 July 1998, Yeltsin appointed Vladimir Putin head of the FSB (one of the successor agencies to the KGB), the position Putin occupied until August 1999. He became a permanent member of the Security Council of the Russian Federation on 1 October 1998 and its Secretary on 29 March 1999."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Putin

[ETL]

Yeah and in the meantime Putin is the only leader standing up for Christianity and the only one fighting ISIS on the ground.

From Aug 23, 2015:

"a recent investigation conducted by Novaya Gazeta, one of the few independent newspapers left in Russia, complicates this cozy tale of counterterrorist cooperation. Based on extensive fieldwork in one village in the North Caucasus, reporter Elena Milashina has concluded that the "Russian special services have controlled" the flow of jihadists into Syria, where they have lately joined up not only with ISIS but other radical Islamist factions.

In other words, Russian officials are adding to the ranks of terrorists which the Russian government has deemed a collective threat to the security and longevity of its dictatorial ally on the Mediterranean, Bashar al-Assad."

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/08/23/russia-s-playing-a-double-game-with-islamic-terror0.html
____________________________________________________

Understanding Provocation [Provokatsiya]

March 29, 2014

One of the most powerful tools the Kremlin has in its secret arsenal of Special War is provocation, what they call provokatsiya.

While Moscow cannot claim to have invented this technique, which has existed as long as there have been secret services, there's no doubt that Russians have perfected the art and taken it to a whole new level of sophistication and deviousness. At times, it can become a strategy all on its own (not always, mind you, with edifying results).

Provokatsiya simply means taking control of your enemies in secret and encouraging them to do things that discredit them and help you. You plant your own agents provocateurs and flip legitimate activists [in this case, dupe actual Jihadis -ETL], turning them to your side.

When you're dealing with extremists to start with, getting them to do crazy, self-defeating things isn't often difficult. In some cases, you simply create extremists and terrorists where they don't exist. This is causing problems in order to solve them, and since the Tsarist period, Russian intelligence has been known to do just that.

While this isn't a particularly nice technique, it works surprisingly well, particularly if you don't care about bloody and messy consequences. ..."

http://20committee.com/2014/03/29/understanding-provocation/
_________________________________

In other words, it's like starting a fire, or pouring gasoline on a fire, in order to be the 'big hero', being first on the scene to put it out. Except in this case, you get to grab control of the buildings and town you helped 'saved' from the fire you helped to start.

[Olog-hai]

While being allied with Iran, and being part of the P5+1 (along with Germany) that supported Obama’s JCPOA enabling Iran’s nuke weapons program. Now what’s wrong with that picture?

[DesertRhino]

Please don’t engage him. His spam attack postings eat up all our bandwidth.

[Olog-hai]

PS. Is saying that socialism is “very like the Bible” making a stand for Christianity?

I can understand Trump wanting to make allies out of former foes. And it is certainly within his acumen to make it on his terms. The more national security briefings that Trump reads, the more he will be able to fashion foreign policy towards such a goal.

[ETL]

You, being a longtime Putinista, would of course consider such exposure of your guy Putin and his true agenda “spam”. No great mystery there.

[ohioman]

FU. And enough of the endless copy and paste posting. Our immediate enemy are the crazy muslims. We should team up with the Russians and defeat the Islamic radicalism as found in ISIS, which is exactly what Trump is saying. The Cold War is over.

[Little Ray]

Hmmm.
Last time the Germans got chummy with the Russkis, Poland was invaded and we ended up with a World War.

[Olog-hai]

The Russians are supporting Iran’s Islamic terrorism. They are on Obama’s side in this respect. As is Germany. JCPOA and P5+1. The more Trump reads national security briefings, the more he will see this.

[ETL]

You simple-minded dope. Both Russia and radical islam are our enemies. As are a host of leftist regimes allied with Russia. You ought to try actually reading the “spam”. Might make a smarter, wiser man out of you. MIGHT.

[SandRat]

The troublemaker

[ohioman]

Go back to your room and hide.

[Snowybear]

So let’s get this straight. Russia is allowing Islamic terrorists to flow into Syria from Russia. And you’re worried about this because...?

Sounds pretty smart to me. Let them pour in and kill them there.

Next.

[ETL]

Our immediate enemy are the crazy muslims. We should team up with the Russians and defeat the Islamic radicalism as found in ISIS, which is exactly what Trump is saying. The Cold War is over.

Your azz is "over".

Cruz had the best answers to the complex problem of islamo-nazi terrorism and a re-emergent Russia, but he was thrown under the bus by people like you who apparently can't grasp complex issues.

________________________

Ted Cruz on Russia, Syria, Obama, 'missile defense', and the New START Treaty with Russia...

"If we want to actually dismantle ISIS, we need to dramatically change course. We need a real, robust campaign that maximizes our overwhelming air advantage.

We need to focus our efforts not on trying to create friends, but on supporting our real ones, especially the Kurds in Iraq and Syria who have actually had success against ISIS."

-snip-

"We can redouble our efforts to develop the defensive weapons that neutralized the offensive Soviet threat -- particularly missile defense, which has seen a 25% budget reduction under Obama, according to an analysis from the conservative Heritage Foundation, and has been constrained by bad arms deals like New START.

We should not only move quickly to install the canceled interceptor sites Putin opposed in Poland and the Czech Republic, but also to develop the next generation of systems that will only increase his discomfiture.

These options do not entail a ground war in Syria, yet would effectively shake us free from the failed policies that have brought us to our current impasse.

These options set us on a new path that puts Putin on notice that the United States is reclaiming our traditional role as leader of the free world."

http://www.cnn.com/2015/10/09/opinions/cruz-syria-putin/index.html

**********************************************************

"I think it would be a mistake to get involved in the Syrian civil war. There have been voices in Washington eager for us to send our sons and daughters over to fight that civil war for some time. I haven't been one of them. I think the touchstone of U.S. military policy should be protecting the national security of this country."

"What we're seeing Putin in Russia do is a direct response to the profound weakness of Obama over six and a half years.

Putin views Obama as weak, as ineffective, and frankly, as a laughingstock. And, as a result, he is moving in, he is invading his neighbors, like Ukraine, he's kidnapping Estonians, and he's moving into Syria to gain a stronger foothold in the Middle East."

https://www.tedcruz.org/news/icymi-cruz-we-have-no-business-getting-in-the-middle-of-the-syrian-civil-war-goal-should-be-to-defeat-isis/

**********************************************************

Ted Cruz:
"We need a coherent plan to address both the specific crisis in Syria and the challenge posed more broadly by Putin's resurgent Russia.

The good news is that America still has options, if our leaders can summon the will to exercise them.

For starters, in Syria we can't double down on the failed strategies that have given Putin his opportunity to intervene.

We are now two years out from President Obama's proposed intervention after al-Assad used chemical weapons against his own people. ..."

http://www.cnn.com/2015/10/09/opinions/cruz-syria-putin/index.html

**********************************************************

"According to the Washington Free Beacon, Russia's nuclear arsenal how has over 100 nuclear warheads above the limit set by the treaty.

Since the treaty was launched, Russia has deployed 111 new nuclear warheads, bringing its total number of deployed warheads to 1,648. That treaty limit is 1,550 warheads - a number that must be reached in 2018.

Comparatively, the numbers of U.S. nuclear warheads, missiles and bombers have fallen dramatically and are already below the limits set by the treaty. Additionally, the United States has decreased the number of warheads in its deployed nuclear arsenal by 250.

While the United States intends to eliminate heavy bombers and launchers, Russia has launched a strategic nuclear force expansion.

Russian President Vladimir Putin also recently announced a new doctrine that placed priority on nuclear forces.

If this raises concern for you, you are not alone.

Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Ala., chairman of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces, said Russia "is in the business of violating treaties."

Rogers said Putin has violated several agreements and treaties in the past, and he simply "violates any treaty or agreement that puts limits on capabilities that Mr. Putin and his cronies desire."

"Russia's arguable adherence to the New START Treaty just indicates how bad a deal it is for the United States," he said.

Adm. William Gortney, commander of the U.S. Northern Command, said Wednesday that Russia has read our play book and is "fielding cruise missiles that are very, very accurate, very long range."

Gortney said these missiles have the ability to reach targets in Canada and the United States. He added that Russia has been participating in war game scenarios recently that simulate cruise missile strikes in Alaska.

This news is serious because it appears Russia has no intention of abiding by New START or any other treaty. We should therefore be building up our military and our arsenals instead of depleting them.

source:
http://theminorityreportblog.com/2015/10/11/red-alert-russia-just-did-this-to-its-nuclear-arsenal-and-it-should-put-us-on-high-alert/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter .

[ohioman]

If you are going to drag up your hero Cruz then maybe you should use your “complex” CUT AND PASTE mind and get the hell out of FR. We teamed up with the Russians to defeat the Nazis and can do the same to defeat today’s Nazis - Islamic Terrorism. It is really a simple concept that most on FR can easily understand.

[Ohioan]

Russia may still have ambitions, to be sure. But Putin has succeeded in reversing the Bolshevik cultural pursuits of his people. To pretend otherwise is to miss the opportunity to reawaken traditional patriotism in the West, by embracing the change of direction in Russia as basically a good thing.

That does not mean going along with anything in particular. All issues must be separately analyzed. But a Russia that is openly traditionally Russian, rather than pushing a Leftist world order--such as Clinton & Obama offer--is a Blessing.

[ETL]

Meanwhile the Russians murdered something like 4 times the number of people Hitler did. We don’t need to be sucking up to Putin like Obama and Trump have, helping them grow stronger with dangerous deals on missile defense and nukes. Russia helping out with the terrorist threat is like the Mafia moving into the neighborhood to help get rid of street gangs. They are only doing it to advance their own evil agenda. Once they grab control of the Middle East, they will become more powerful and aggressive in their expansion. Putin longs for the “good old days” of mass-murdering Soviet Union. He has said so openly. He believes Stalin deserves statues in his honor.

[dfwgator]

Let’s see how Putin chooses to commemorate the 100-year anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution next year.

[ETL]

But a Russia that is openly traditionally Russian, rather than pushing a Leftist world order--such as Clinton & Obama offer--is a Blessing.

I'm not 100% convinced that Russia is truly done with their vision for a communist world government. They are, after all, the grand masters of deception.

Something to consider as at least a possibility...

Did Communism Fake Its Own Death in 1991?
American Thinker ^ | January 16, 2010 | Jason McNew

In a [] 1984 book [New Lies for Old], ex-KGB Major Anatoliy Golitsyn predicted the liberalization of the Soviet Bloc and claimed that it would be a strategic deception. ..."

"Golitsyn's argument was that beginning in about 1960, the Soviet Union embarked on a strategy of massive long-range strategic deception which would span several decades and result in the destruction of Western capitalism and the erection of a communist world government."

"Golitsyn published his second book, The Perestroika Deception, after the Soviet Union was dissolved in 1991. This book contained further analysis of the liberalization, in addition to previously classified memoranda submitted by Golitsyn to the CIA. The two books must be read together to get a complete picture of Golitsyn's thesis."

http://www.americanthinker.com/2010/01/did_communism_fake_its_own_dea.html
_______________________________________________

Link to read "New Lies for Old" online:
https://archive.org/details/GolitsynAnatoleTheNewLiesForOldOnes
_______________________________________________

Link to read "The Perestroika Deception" online:
https://archive.org/details/pdfy-TVvzZzfXiMBkMdvD

[ohioman]

Good lord. You think the Russians are a larger threat than either the left or Islamic terror. Trump is right on this one. We will never agree on this one and I would only bet that 10% of those on FR would agree with you..Give it a rest and try not to be a last word queen.