US officials have been coming up with excuses for military confrontation with Russia for some time now, and Secretary of Defense Ash Carter seems to be the latest beating that increasingly tired war-drum, declaring Russia both a threat to “collective security” and of plotting to erode “international order.”

Carter’s complaints, like so many others in recent months, centered around supposition and allegations, claiming that Russia’s support for the Syrian government means they are “prolonging” the war, and similarly making the conflict “more dangerous.”

Carter even played up the dubious allegations of Russia trying to “hack the election,” even though the comments come just a couple of days after intelligence officials were conceding that there was no real evidence to support these claims, insisting the US would not tolerate Russia’s “attempts to interfere with our democratic processes.”

He went on to claim that Russia is driven by “misplaced fears,” adding that the US doesn’t seek to defeat them militarily or constrain them in any way. This assurance likely rings preposterously false in Moscow, as the US continues to add troops in Eastern Europe.