"We do not have to invade the United States, we will destroy you from within." This is a quote attributed to the late Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev - 1956.
It has taken decades, nearly 7 now, but I wonder whether it is time to admit, Russia is really good at wars of attrition, battles in which they just keep throwing seemingly unlimited resources at an objective. Two examples leap to mind - Stalingrad (over 1 million soldiers excluding civilians) or perhaps the recent estimates on Russian casualties in Ukraine better demonstrate this. The Economist estimated Russian casualties to be between 500,000 and 750,000 killed and injured https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2024/07/05/how-many-russian-soldiers-have-been-killed-in-ukraine)
The determination of Russia to achieve its objectives is well known and well documented, and it is this effort of will that I am wondering about as I look to the US and their elections. The elections may be "free and fair" meaning there was no direct jeopardy of the process of lining up at polling stations, casting a vote without intimidation or threat, but I wonder about the on-going toll of misinformation that results in the unanticipated tilting of the political field.
The case of Russian interference in the electoral processes of other countries is well established, with the hacking and malware attacks into many countries' infrastructure (power, water, oil and gas, government data management systems including election apparatus and so on (https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/hacking-in-america/timeline-ten-years-russian-cyber-attacks-other-nations-n697111 and https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/article/2024/may/14/russia-directing-hackers-attack-uk-west-anne-keast-butler-director-of-gchq )
The results demonstrate a capability, and malicious political intent, by Russia, towards western democracies with the goal of supporting politicians they can control or manipulate, while threatening countries whose foreign policies directly threaten Russia's world-view and Geo-political aspirations. Robert Mueller's Report was a devastating investigation into the Trump 2016 election campaign, despite the mockery Trump made of the investigation ("Russia, Russia, Russia" or the "Russian Hoax" and the watering down of the findings of the report by the then AG, Bill Barr (https://www.acslaw.org/projects/the-presidential-investigation-education-project/other-resources/stark-contrasts-between-the-mueller-report-and-attorney-general-barrs-summary/) And Brexit is also seen by some as a Russian propaganda campaign - https://www.csis.org/blogs/brexit-bits-bobs-and-blogs/did-russia-influence-brexit
Is all this giving Russia too much credit, or does it imply that western democracies are deficient and unable to protect themselves from malign Russian interference? Perhaps it is all a rabbit hole that some go down whenever things take unexpected turns? When the electorate is pummeled with misinformation on social media, and the mainstream media is somewhat muted in the area of misinformation (perhaps complicit themselves by corporate or billionaire ownership), the electorate will seemingly vote in their own worst interest (https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucelee/2016/11/08/heres-why-you-may-vote-against-yourself/)
Though there may be all kinds of reasons to explain this phenomenon (psychological, economic, political history and family loyalty to a particular party , as well as religious beliefs etc.) it may come down to this: K.I.S.S (keep it simple stupid) - the simple messages of anger and blame (grievance politics) get through (https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucelee/2016/11/08/heres-why-you-may-vote-against-yourself/)
Who is stirring the anger and victimization in the political pot? Did Americans shoot themselves in the foot? (of course they did, and the proof is all the data collected about the first Trump administration and assessment of the American academics who all voted Trump the 2nd worst President of the long list of US Presidents https://uh.edu/news-events/stories/2024/february/02152024-presidential-greatness-survey.php ). Surely common, good, people wouldn't vote for one of the worst POTUS a second time? Yes, apparently they would. But did Russians give them the gun to shoot themselves in the foot? It remains to be proven conclusively, but if the money trail can be followed, it seems to suggest Russia's long game of influence peddling and political meddling is still wreaking havoc in the west. The US 2024 election is just the latest example (https://apnews.com/article/russian-interference-presidential-election-influencers-trump-999435273dd39edf7468c6aa34fad5dd).
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