El Segundo Temor Rojo

Leemos en Wikipedia: "El término Temor rojo denota dos períodos distintos de fuerte anticomunismo en Estados Unidos: el Primer Temor rojo, de 1917 a 1920, y el Segundo Temor rojo, de 1947 a 1957. El Primer Temor rojo fue sobre la revolución (socialista) obrera y el radicalismo político. El Segundo Temor rojo se centró en una intensa sospecha sobre los comunistas (nacionales y extranjeros) que influían en la sociedad o que se infiltraron en el Gobierno de los Estados Unidos o en ambas."

Ahora vayamos a la nota de Peter Korzun para el sitio web Strategic Culture Foundation:


Título: US President Assaulted by Deep State: Back to Second Red Scare

Texto: The assault on President Donald Trump is unprecedented. Unsupported accusations of treasonous or illegal Russian connections have been the mainstay of the news since the election campaign. Almost every day something happens to make President Trump vulnerable for attacks. The enemy fires high precision salvos from strongly fortified positions. Never in the recent history of the United States has been a president facing such a united front of various opposing groups pursuing the goal of removing power from the nation’s chief executive.

It’s not Democrats only who dig up dirt on him and stage protests. There are moles inside his team and government agencies leaking information to media. The leaks are readily picked up to prepare scoop stories for readers. This is an information war waged to oust Donald Trump from the White House. Every little slip up or a minor mishap is painted as an unforgettable, irreparable blunder, or even a suspected crime, to be followed by a scandal blown out of proportions. Unnamed leaks, allegations, unfounded conjectures, and value judgments are used to press new charges and make people believe that the president is unfit to govern.

None of the stories has been backed up by anything like solid evidence or facts. Even if only a small part of them were true, impeachment procedures would be launched. Nothing like this has happened.

With all the ballyhoo raised over the president’s ties with Russia and its leadership, nothing worth consideration has surfaced so far. For instance, allegations about the president’s business connections to Russia started to fly last year in the middle of his presidential campaign. What does it all boil down to?

Trump bought a mansion a number of years ago in Palm Beach for $40 million, and sold it to a Russian tycoon for about $100 million. Some of the Trump Tower residents are supposedly connected to Russia. Some Russian companies rent offices there. So, is it enough to accuse the president of being manipulated because he has business interests in Russia?

This is New York and that’s what the city’s high-profile residential buildings are for. Trump World Tower is a prominent depository of money. It’s a well-known fact that real estate provides safe haven for overseas investors. What’s wrong with Russian presence there and what does it have to do with the supposed «Russia connections»?

Here is one recent example. Someone who supposedly belongs to the National Security Council senior staff leaked the information that Trump disclosed a secret while meeting Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. The information reportedly came from Israel to warn about a terrorist act being prepared by Islamic State. As a result, the source is jeopardized. If it was true and Trump really shared a secret with Lavrov, the fact would have never been revealed. There is a reason to believe Mr. Lavrov knows how to keep secrets.

The US officials present at the meeting, including National Security Adviser Herbert McMaster and State Secretary Rex Tillerson, said no classified information disclosure took place during the event. The Russian government offered a transcript of the meeting and video recording to debunk the witch hunt but neither media nor Congress appears to be interested in knowing the truth. Still, media affirm that Trump cannot keep secrets and, thus, is unfit for office.

Now hue and cry is raised over Trump firing FBI Director James Comey. As the story goes, President Trump asked the official to shut down the federal investigation into Mr. Trump’s former national security adviser, Michael T. Flynn, at an Oval Office meeting in February, according to a memo Mr. Comey wrote shortly after the meeting.

As usual, the information is reported to be coming from mysterious unnamed sources. Has anybody seen the memo? Does it exist? Nobody finds it proper to wait till an investigation is conducted to make precise just what exactly happened. Democrats and the media rushed to accuse the president of nothing less than obstructing justice.

It’s important to know what exactly the president said. Words can be construed in different ways. If the president wished the scandal to be over with Flynn getting off lightly, there is nothing wrong about it. One more thing. If the memo existed and Trump really tried to influence the FBI director, then why Comey wouldn’t inform the Attorney General and lawmakers about it? Why did he not go public? These questions remain unanswered. Much ado about nothing again. There is nothing to back up the accusations.

Was Russia involved in the hacker attacks to help Trump during the US election campaign? Several months have passed. Congress, as well as the FBI, has been conducting an investigation. So what?

The only thing known is that somebody talked to the Russian ambassador on the phone and sent him e-mails. The prospects for lifting anti-Russia sanctions were supposedly mentioned during the conversation. Does it provide evidence to go upon blaming Moscow for the hacker attacks? The FBI did not even examine the Democratic National Committee (DNC) server! It couldn’t because the DNC did not let the agency do it! Is the Committee really interested in knowing the truth? There is a reason to doubt it. So, is there anything to prove the Russia’s involvement? Absolutely not. There is nothing in concrete terms but rumors.

The country is divided into two irreconcilable camps and tensions are running high. With the scandals in focus, Congress has not time for crucial tax and health reforms. They are postponed indefinitely. The White House resembles a besieged fortress. The stock market dips down. Can it last long? Does it meet the nation’s interests?

Now the whole country will keep its breath waiting for the results of the investigation conducted by Robert Mueller, recently assigned as Special Counsel. He is respected on both sides of the aisle. Mueller is the one to produce facts which would either exonerate Trump or provide evidence for impeachment procedures. If no evidence and facts against the president are produced, then the current information campaign will look like a failed plot to stage a quite coup d’état. Will those who disseminated unconfirmed information and conducted the smear campaign be held responsible? Will their activities be investigated too? Will the names of those who were behind the attacks against the president become known? Americans certainly have the right to know them.

According to Stephen Cohen, a scholar and professor emeritus of Russian studies at Princeton University and New York University, the greatest threat to national security «is this assault on President Trump.» He believes that the intelligence community obstructs the normal functioning of the executive and legislatives branches of power.

The whole anti-Trump campaign is based on a collection of innuendoes to show just how much the bogey of «Russian threat» is in demand. President Trump simply couldn’t imagine how dangerous it was to speak out one’s mind, for instance, saying it was time to normalize relations with Russia. «Russia-Trump collusion» stories will be circulated over and over again to stymie the administration and its America First plans. The whole thing looks very much like a well-planned conspiracy to prompt a witch hunt returning the country to the days of the Second Red Scare.