Posted on 12/27/2015 1:29:43 PM PST by Yashcheritsiy
The phrase "follow the money" is supposed to help explain human behavior, especially in politics. So why has Donald Trump embraced Russian President Vladimir Putin? Why has he denied the evidence of Putin's killing of Russian journalists and dissidents? A savvy businessman, Trump is certainly not dumb. There must be something else to it.
Reports dating back to 1987, during the time of the old Soviet Union, reveal that Trump has been seeking business in Russia and attempting to build a "Russian Trump Tower" in Moscow and perhaps other Russian cities.
At this particular time in history, with Putin's cronies under financial sanctions because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Putin's praise for Trump may signal another attempt to get the capitalists and their money back into Russia. Such a ploy depends on Trump and others rehabilitating Putin by claiming that he is fighting terrorism in Syria, not bolstering a long-time Soviet/Russian client state. Thanks to the effectiveness of the Russia Today (RT) channel, which saturates the U.S. media market, especially cable television, Putin is indeed looking like a statesman on the world stage.
Trump's relationship with Russia goes far back. In 1987, before the collapse of the Soviet Union, he was meeting with Soviet officials and negotiating the building of "luxury hotels" in Moscow and Leningrad. A story at the time said Trump had met Soviet Ambassador Yuri Dubinin, who mentioned how much his daughter had admired the "opulent" Trump Tower in New York City. This led to an invitation to Trump to visit the USSR. The story said Dubinin wrote a letter to Trump, who hosted a meeting with Soviet officials in New York.
The invitation to Moscow was issued by Intourist, the giant Soviet in-country travel organization which operated all the hotels for foreigners in the Soviet Union. Intourist was created in 1929 by Joseph Stalin and run by KGB officials. Intourist hotels were designed for wealthy foreigners, and virtually all the Intourist guides were KGB informers. In fact, one aspect of their jobs was the recruitment of foreigners.
However, Trump expressed concern about "Soviet regulations on joint ventures, which require that the Soviets hold a controlling 51 percent interest" in such projects. Trump wanted majority control.
The book The Global Emerging Market: Strategic Management and Economics, by Vladimir Kvint, said that as far back as 2008, the Trump Organization had registered its trademarks in Russia in the areas of real estate development and construction. Trump's son, Donald Jr., said in an interview at the time that his father was looking at investing in Russia and China. These were considered top A-list countries. Donald Jr. is the executive vice president of Development & Acquisitions at the Trump Organization.
Trump wasn't the only businessman who thought the new Russia would prove hospitable to foreign investment. American businessman Bill Browder ran an investment fund in Russia called Hermitage Capital. Once a Putin fan, he thought private property rights were going to be protected. However, he was deported in 2005, his assets stolen, and his lawyer, Sergei Magnitsky, was tortured and killed. Browder now says, "The Russian regime is a criminal regime. We're dealing with a nuclear country run by a bunch of Mafia crooks. And we have to know that."
Cases like that didn't stop Congress in 2012 from voting for Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) for Russia. It passed the Senate by 92-4 and the House by 365-43. Despite the ominous trends, including Putin's invasion of the former Soviet Republic of Georgia in 2008, big business thought a lot of money could still be made in Russia. In 2013, Trump was himself back in Russia holding his "Miss Universe" pageant. "I have plans to start business in Russia," Trump told the Russian media. "I am currently in talks with several Russian companies to build a skyscraper on the model of Trump Tower in New York."
One of Trump's contacts was Russian billionaire Araz Agalarov and his company Crocus Group. He owned Crocus City Hall, where the Miss Universe finals were being held. He confirmed that his company, Crocus Group, had been participating in real estate talks with Trump. Later that year Agalarov was given an outstanding citizen award by Vladimir Putin at a ceremony held in the Kremlin. He has been called "The Donald Trump of Russia."
Rather than treat China and Russia as business opportunities, Trump said in his 2011 book Time To Get Tough that China is "not our friend" and is stealing our jobs, technology, and military capabilities. It appears that a business relationship with China had soured since the time Donald Jr. was considering investing there. Trump's attacks on China have been a big hit on the campaign trail.
Analyst Nevin Gussack says of Trump, "While his trade and immigration policies would strengthen our strategic and economic posture, his naiveté and ignorance of Russia and even Cuba is very disconcerting." It appears that Trump has flip-flopped on the question of whether he would invest in communist Cuba.
As far as Russia is concerned, there's no talk in the 2011 book of doing business with Putin. But Trump said that he "often speaks highly" of Putin because of his "intelligence and no-nonsense way." An intelligence operative, Putin was in the KGB and ran one of the KGB's successor agencies, the FSB.
Putin certainly has a "no-nonsense" approach to his perceived political enemies. Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya was poisoned, miraculously survived, but was then later shot dead on October 7, 2006, which happened to be Putin's birthday. She had been warning about the KGB's return to power and was investigating the circumstances surrounding the kidnapping and murder of hundreds in the Beslan school massacre in southern Russia in 2004. This event, like the 1999 Moscow apartment bombings, was blamed on Islamists and gave Putin the opportunity, or pretext, to further consolidate his power over the military, the intelligence agencies, and the economy. He assumed virtual dictatorial powers.
The poisoning of Politkovskaya was a hallmark of the KGB's "no-nonsense" way of doing business. Later that same year, dissident former FSB officer Alexander Litvinenko was murdered by poisoning in London, to which he had fled. He wrote the book Blowing Up Moscow: The Secret Plot to Bring Back KGB Terror, about the FSB's role in those 1999 Moscow apartment bombings. He had also named al-Qaeda's number two man, Ayman al-Zawahiri, as having been trained by the KGB.
While Trump's 2011 book denounced "Obama's pandering to the Russians" in areas like sabotaging missile defense for our allies, he said Putin had a "grand vision," the creation of a "Eurasian Union" to replace the USSR. He said Putin wanted to control oil supplies to all of Europe. This was an important insight into how Putin's regime is not defensive, nor reacting to the U.S. and NATO, but is instead aggressive in foreign affairs and trying to dominate its neighbors. However, rather than explain what the Russians were up to with this "grand vision," Trump went on to say "Hats off to the Russians" in getting their way with Obama.
One can fully understand taking Obama to task for giving in to the Russians. But praising the Russians for taking advantage of Obama reflects a trait that is all too common with many conservatives. Their disgust with Obama has blinded them to the nature of our enemies, who exploit his foreign policy to their advantage. They somehow think Putin is acting in America's interests when Obama is not. That's ludicrous.
In his latest book, Crippled America: How to Make America Great Again, Trump notes that Putin is "outmaneuvering" Obama in the Middle East. Trump calls Putin a leader, in contrast to Obama. But what is Putin leading? Trump refers to Iran as "Russia's best friend," without explaining the significance of its alliance with Russia. Trump also says in his book that he doesn't understand "why Germany and other countries watched impassively as Putin marched into Ukraine."
After the invasion of Ukraine and the shoot-down of the Malaysian plane by Russian-backed terrorists, Trump claimed, "I think I became much richer because I can understand people and read people and Putin is not finished. Putin has got a long way to go."
Again, we are left thinking that Trump understands the aggressive intentions of Vladimir Putin.
Yet, when Trump was asked about the nuclear balance with Russia during the most recent Republican presidential debate, he displayed ignorance of the decaying nature of the U.S. nuclear triad, which constitutes our ability to deter and survive a Russian nuclear first strike.
Meanwhile, Putin has just presided over a ceremony honoring the KGB's successor agencies, and the Russia Today (RT) propaganda channel has announced the grand opening of a "cultural center" dedicated to mass murderer Joseph Stalin.
It looks like Putin has outmaneuvered Obama and Trump. It is an opening for Trump's opponents, especially Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Marco Rubio (R-FL). But do they have the courage to "follow the money" and hold Trump accountable for doing business with a criminal regime that threatens the survival of the United States? At the end of this money trail, they may find an explanation of why Trump is so reluctant to hold Putin responsible for his crimes.
Hahahahaha
You didn’t even have to duck, did ya?
It’s a shame you cannot recognize when grown ups are trying to deal with messy reality. Rounding up an deporting every alien illegally in this country won’t happen, not even if we reinvent the Gestapo. It’ll simply drive them further underground, further into the arms of liberals, and even more willing to assist liberals with voter fraud, and will alienate legal immigrants and citizens who happen to be of hispanic ancestry, driving even more of the voter base into the arms of the all-too-happy DNC. Creating a legal guest worker status that will allow current illegals to legalize will do none of the above and will, in fact, make it much easier for the government to keep track of these people and identify those few who are a legitimate danger to others.
What children yammer about as “amnesty” adults treat as a reasonable potential approach to dealing with the current illegal alien issues.
Hilarious. I think I’m going to use that one for the rest of my life. :-p Woof, woof.
All I saw was the term “Trump mob” and then a bunch of people get irate about it. Mob, group, team, people, etc.... I thought “mob” was a very slight slight for people to get so up in arms about it. I am not sure what you are talking about with the Nazi reference. I was referring to I think it was the 2nd post on the thread where the poster (neither friend nor foe) simply warned the original poster that the “Trump mob” would arrive soon. They did.
I spoke up because I have been slammed for the use of the term “Trumpettes” which I thought was really rather cute and not intended to be a slam. it was just a play on words like everyone around here does. Some can be insulting, I get that. But Trumpettes is just a people version of trumpets. When I say the hit posts for the ter “Trump mob” it reminded me.
I do find the Trump people on FR getting more and more sensitive, cruel, mob like, and bully-ish. That is my perspective and not directed at an individual. It certainly is not all inclusive. Some are very nice.
No worries. And I definitely agree that GWB’s “gaze” into Putin’s eyes was foolish; Bush definitely misread Putin.
Thomas,
This is news to me.
Do you have a source so that I may be edified?
Is that right? Even when he/she compares Trump and millions of his American supporters to mass murdering Nazis like he/she did today?
Seems Oceander has a little following here which appear includes you. Maybe he/she is favored for some reason and why this individual hasn't been thrown off this site yet.
You folks are looking sharp.
I guess Trump and his supporters can expect more death threats from Democrats, key Republicans, mass murder cartel kingpins and folks right here.
>>>We all are entitled to OUR Opinions here.<<<
Missed it by one keystroke.
Donald will at least listen to what Putin has to say.
please don’t interrupt me with facts while I’m busy shouting this down.
+1
Your asinine, supercilious reply, to AuntB, is offensive, erroneous, and pathetic. We tried amnesty before and it worked sooooooooooooooo well...............NOT !
It is NOT all that difficult to round up illegals. All one has to do is make schools ask for proof of citizenship when families bring children to school and have an ICE AGENT there to take the illegals away; yes, even the anchor babies!
Make businesses ask for proof and have SS numbers checked.
Round up all of the men who hang out at certain places to be picked up for day jobs.
And I'm certain that there are other things that also can be done to flush out the cockroaches and deport them too.
Oh yes and go through the jails too !
The Internet makes an excellent witness.
I knew it all along- the Russkies were desperately trying to close the Luxury Hotel Gap in order to win the Cold War.
Who cares if Trump wants to build a tower or hotel or two in Russia? He doesn’t need to be president and sell out the country to do that.
I’m confident that Trump loves his homeland, the USA, and wants to preserve it for his children and grandchildren.
Most everyone in our govt right now is selling out the country with no regard for their own families. I don’t know where they think they are going to live.
Oh I see. That was not what I was referring to.
Since I looked at it now, I do think the point is that good respectable people can be fooled. But I didn’t say it so I cannot define it.
The Hispanics who can vote are CITIZENS—not illegals. Don’t you think that millions of Hispanic citizens are fed up with illegals running over their neighborhoods, trashing the place, spray painting gang signs all over the place, selling drugs, living twenty to an apartment and undercutting wages for those Hispanics who have been here for many years? Hispanics get a secret ballot like everyone else. When they get to the polling booth, they will vote for what is best for THEM and not what is best for LaRaza. People come here to better their lives and to give their children better opportunities not to go back to a Tijuana north of the border.
Oceander is a male.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.