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.
While the GOP passes everything the a##clown wants and gives us the big finger.
Just keep this up and you'll be minus this site to post on.
If I misread your reply, then I do apologize.
he’ll be suspending his campaign over this in 3....2.....1.....never mind...
I think the author is mistaken here. I don't think Trump disputed the contention.
Oceander says: “Before the nominating convention I’ll pull for Rubio and Cruz, but never Trump.
Then you are one of two kinds...sold out for Amnesty and BAD trade like TPP or ignorant.
The same people who own Rubio, his chief of Staff CESAR CONDA and GROVER NORQUIST & Karl Rove own Gowdy AND Paul Ryan! BOUGHT AND PAID FOR!! FOLLOW THE $$! Conda brought Ryan into DC Politics!
You all need to understand this!
The Rubio Deception
https://klsouth.wordpress.com/2013/05/05/the-rubio-deception/
[snip] To understand Rubio, you have to understand his Chief of Staff; a man by the name of Cesar Conda. Who is Cesar Conda? He’s a pro-amnesty immigration lawyer, who once worked as a DC lobbyist for the Association of Immigration Lawyers [video], mutual friend and close associate of fellow amnesty pusher Grover Norquist, who together have carried out their three-decade long Amnesty Jihad. Like Norquist, the amnesty pushers on the left like Cesar Conda.
Norquist, a corporate lobbyist and co-founder of the Islamic Institute, has had ties to CAIR, radical Islam, known terrorist financiers and unsavory relationships with Muslim activist for years. This video warrants particular scrutiny of Norquist, who actively promotes and advances the Islamic agenda. These are Norquist’s bedfellows; it’s why he actively petitioned support for the “Ground Zero Mosque†and it’s why he is very active in “Muslim outreach.â€
Norquist is on the Advisory Board of The Hispanic Leadership Fund, member of the Council on Foreign Relations [CFR], Founder of Americans for Tax Reform [ATR] and good pal of felon Jack Abramoff and GOP stooge Karl Rove whose Crossroads GPS group has been a major donor to Norquist’s fund. Secret emails exclusively obtained by Breitbart News show the libertarian Cato Institute, Norquist’s ATR, and Rubio colluding on immigration reform “messaging†after the Boston Marathon bombing.
And, then there is Norquist’s lobbying on behalf of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Norquist’s primary interest in DC is Norquist. For his part, he is hitting the media trail attempting to combat what he calls the “bitter enders†who oppose the bill by trying to counteract the effect of “a handful of radio talk-show hosts who talk loudly.†Also assisting Rubio, Conda and Norquist in their Amnesty scheme is the Southern Poverty Law Center [SPLC], a Soros-backed group. SPLC’s history.
Cesar Conda sat on the Editorial Advisory Board with George Soros of the publication, The International Economy Magazine. He also actively worked to promote and advance Judge Sotomayor’s nomination. Conda was a lobbyist for the powerhouse private prisons GEO Group who supported open borders and government money for incarcerated illegal aliens. He also lobbied for the US Chamber of Commerce, who supports the Gang of Eight Amnesty bill. His paw prints also extend to the expensive bank bailouts, something Rubio claims he was against.
Conda is a domestic policy wonk. His government experience runs deep. In fact, Conda has weaved and bobbed between so many roles in Washington he was included in Roll Call’s “Fabulous Fifty†list of top congressional aides. He undertook policy roles spanning the 1996 Dole-Kemp to Mitt Romney’s 2008 Presidential Campaigns. Both Conda and Norquist worked together to destroy prop 187 in California in the 1990’s.
But, what also sets Rubio’s office apart is Cesar Conda’s supposed continued ties, major abuse of power, and financial relationship with his lobbying firm, Navigators Global. Navigators clients included GlaxoSmithKline, AT&T, Visa and Citigroup, which got $45 billion under the bank bailout. Rubio’s ties to K-Street are extensive. His deputy chief of staff, Sally Canfield, is a former lobbyist for Sanofi-Aventis, a French drug company.
And, from 1997 to 2005 Rubio himself, was a lobbyist. Consider what one of his most vocal critics said about him here, which likely put a halt to Romney selecting Rubio as VP candidate. Consider: City commissioner, lawyer, lobbyist, one-time GOP Party of Florida American Express card holder, top-echelon House leader and, ultimately, House Speaker, oh and Jeb Bush water boy. Florida is a politically corrupt state. From 2000 to 2010, there were 781 federal convictions on corruption charges. That’s an average of one every five days for 10 straight years.
Like Conda, Rubio has amnesty as a core belief. He is John McCain with an ‘accent’; and without a military record of crashing planes. His past record is relevant. And, all you have to do is look at history. This page provides history of the efforts of Floridians to enact immigration enforcement legislation in the 2008 Florida Legislative Session. The result was that legislation was thwarted, at the time, by House Speaker Marco Rubio.
Rubio stalled and “blocked†all immigration enforcement bills in Florida stating: “There is nothing the state of Florida can do unilaterally to solve global warming. And there is nothing we can do unilaterally to solve immigration.†Rep. Juan Zapata, R-Miami and Miami Rep. David Rivera, the son of Cuban exiles, usually ran anti-enforcement interference
[snip]
So if I compare Cruz and his supporters or any other candidate, to Nazis who followed a mass murdering madman, would that be OK with you?
That exactly what your friend Oceana did today.
You're suggesting Trumps supporters just bend over and take it?
BTTT!
Thanks for connecting the (amnesty/TPA) dots :^)
“Thanks for connecting the (amnesty/TPA) dots :^)”
Trump is the only candidate doing that....when you find one that is pro TPA, they are all about cheap foreign labor.
They fall for it, hook, line and sinker every time.
Trump may not be the answer but, at least, it's a shot. Currently, the only one we've got.
You ought to be thrown off this website for comments you made on this site today. In fact, I find it rather inquisitive that has yet to happen.,
A bit strident, aren't we?
Oceander's posts seem milder than yours...
Oh, and, I find your sentence structure "inquisitive" - trying to impress, are we?
You’re better at making gifs, than political “thought”; kid.
Shemaker stick to your last !
Shoemaker
Great post, AuntB; BRAVA !
When I see it, I will call them on it, either side of the Cruz-Trump divide.
I believe when summer and fall arrive, we'll do well to have unity and common purpose and I believe all the name calling lately creates an animus that will make comity very difficult when it's needed most.
Hell, there are folks who post smart stuff on this forum and I can't post an agreement because of past offenses. And I'm sure there are those who avoid my postings for the same reason.
And I don't like that state of affairs.
No problem. We all are entitled to out Opinions here.
My point about the way Bush gazed into Putin’s eyes was simply that he had misplaced trust in him as POTUS.
Of course, he didn’t give Putin a Reset Button like The Butcher of Benghazi / the Grandmother of ISIS did.
So? What a line of BS. Trump for President.
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