- Up to this point, the majority of these posts have generally been a recount of information with a lack of personal input. This entry is different as I provide a small section of my personal notes over the past four years or so. Spinning off my previous post of Russian Disinformation (of which you should have read) I will briefly discuss how the proliferation of U.S. distractions has assisted both Russia and China.
After 9/11, the focus of the U.S. (intelligence, military, politicians, etc.) was on combating terrorism. This caused a period of resources increasingly being shifted to terrorism while neglecting other areas. We lost ground (or blew a lead) on cyberspace while both Russia and China were honing these skills and hacking U.S. systems. The U.S. does not know how to respond to these attacks, especially since now the nation is so divided. To make this point clear, the U.S. knows how to respond but the risk of action could be damning because of how the U.S. reacts. That’s right; the government cannot do anything because of how we would respond to them doing something. Case in point: after 9/11 our own in the CIA were attacked for how they conducted business overseas (You can read the 9/11 Commission Report – it’s almost 600 pages, and the Senate Intelligence Committee Report on Enhanced Interrogation). China has hacked over 21 million U.S. individuals; Russia has hacked military systems and uses social media to further the U.S. divide. No response. They understand that we will not respond militarily to these attacks. As cyber is still relatively new there are not concrete rules on how to react. Military action is too much of a response and will anger/increase division at home if we retaliate in that manner. Reacting with the same response does not solve the problem either, especially when Russia and China don’t allow their citizens as much freedom as the U.S. does. We are so influenced by anything and everything online that protests, riots, etc. are easy to create. We also do not want our people to know this because we put our vulnerabilities on display (democratic vulnerabilities). We say, “How dare they try to dismantle our democracy”, yet it is because of our democracy that we do not respond. The backlash from our own people would be too much so we do nothing instead. If this continues we are going to eat ourselves which is basically the principle of “cancel culture”. Our enemies are not worried as they know our population would be up in arms against the government if we did attack (which is probably what they really want to happen). So now the U.S. is fighting these silent wars while also fighting against itself simultaneously. Here’s the platform of Russia and China: Let the U.S. fight themselves, stoke the fire via social media and radical groups, and then continually distract them with issues from Mexico, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Turkey, Venezuela, North Korea, and anywhere possible. While this is happening continue to hack, build, and gain ground while preparing to insert yourself once again when the inevitable opportunity presents itself. If something catastrophic happens to the United States, we can certainly blame ourselves as a U.S. population. We opened the door to this division through our need to comment, be right, make a point, spread our ideology while discrediting anybody who disagrees, pander to certain groups, etc. If you believe you’re doing good by posting and sharing ideologies, you are not. You’re creating more division, getting yourself worked up, and providing more ammunition to enemies. We allow ourselves to be influenced so much by others and focus so much on ridiculous thoughts and ideas that we have lost originality, grit, and the ability to overcome animosity. This issue on raising children to be this way is in itself an entire book (See “The Coddling of the American Mind). P.S. chaos is not an answer to animosity – it just creates more animosity and temporarily shifts the burden. Which, my goodness, is another gigantic issue in America today – accountability.
Wilks Wroasting 