The Washington Post Lead story: "Hacking Democracy"
Last edited Fri Jun 23, 2017, 10:46 AM - Edit history (1)
Obama’s secret struggle to punish Russia for Putin’s election assault
"In political terms, Russia’s interference was the crime of the century. It was a case that took almost no time to solve and was traced to Russian President Vladimir Putin. But because of the ways President Barack Obama and President Trump handled it, the Kremlin has yet to face severe consequences. Through interviews with more than three dozen current and former U.S. officials, The Post tells the inside story of how the Obama administration handled the Kremlin’s meddling in the 2016 U.S. election."
REVELATIONS:
1. Stunning intelligence: U.S. intelligence agencies had sourcing deep inside the Russian government capturing Vladimir Putin’s direct instructions to damage Hillary Clinton’s chances of winning and help elect Donald Trump.
2. Covert retaliatory options: President Barack Obama set in motion a secret program that deployed “implants” in Russian networks — digital bombs that could be triggered in a retaliatory cyber-strike.
3. ‘Menu’ of responses: The White House debated dozens of options against Russia: economic sanctions, cyberattacks and releasing sensitive information on Putin. What was proposed was much more severe than what was eventually implemented.
4. Push for a probe: Secretary of State John Kerry proposed creating a bipartisan commission to investigate Russian interference and protect future elections. Obama and senior officials killed the idea.
5. Brazen harassment: In one previously undisclosed incident last year, a Russian military helicopter dropped down to make multiple passes just over the hood of a vehicle being driven by the U.S. defense attache in northern Russia.
6. Toiling in the dark: Lower-level officials were kept in the dark. A video feed from the Situation Room was shut off — a measure that had not happened since the run-up to the 2011 raid on Osama bin Laden’s compound.
7. The ‘tabledrop’: Obama and his senior aides were worried any action would be depicted as political interference in an already volatile campaign.
8. Warnings to the Kremlin: Obama told Putin in China at September’s Group of 20 summit that “we knew what he was doing and [he] better stop or else,” said a senior aide who subsequently spoke with Obama.
9. Russians expelled: Alleged spies expelled as part of U.S. sanctions against Russia included several who were suspected of helping the election interference operation from within the United States, officials said.
10. Agency differences: Agencies were slow to endorse the conclusion that Putin wanted to damage Clinton and help elect Trump. The NSA was reluctant because some of the CIA’s most critical technical intelligence on Russia came from another country, officials said.
THE REPORT:
"Inside was an intelligence bombshell, a report drawn from sourcing deep inside the Russian government that detailed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s direct involvement in a cyber campaign to disrupt and discredit the U.S. presidential race.
But it went further. The intelligence captured Putin’s specific instructions on the operation’s audacious objectives — defeat or at least damage the Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton, and help elect her opponent, Donald Trump.
At that point, the outlines of the Russian assault on the U.S. election were increasingly apparent. Hackers with ties to Russian intelligence services had been rummaging through Democratic Party computer networks, as well as some Republican systems, for more than a year. In July, the FBI had opened an investigation of contacts between Russian officials and Trump associates. And on July 22, nearly 20,000 emails stolen from the Democratic National Committee were dumped online by WikiLeaks."
https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2017/world/national-security/obama-putin-election-hacking/?utm_term=.71fb151f01a7
= new reply since forum marked as read
I'm sick of not getting to read these great stories. I'm starting to be of the opinion that if you can't post the whole article, don't post at all.
But I don't like that option either.
