Mainstream media, led by the Washington Post, put on a blistering attack blaming Russia for Hillary Clinton’s loss to Donald Trump.

by Mish

Like lemmings over a cliff, the New York Times, CNN, and Newsweek all joined in on the rush to judgment accusing Russia of aiding Trump.

The final coup de grâce came when the politically-motivated Obama administration had the National Intelligence Agency issue its scam report “Assessing Russian Activities and Intentions in Recent US Elections”.

The intelligence report found “Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an influence campaign in 2016 aimed at the US presidential election. Russia’s goals were to undermine public faith in the US democratic process, denigrate Secretary Clinton, and harm her electability and potential presidency.” Let’s consider other possibilities.

Israel to Blame for Hillary’s Election Loss?

Please consider the possibility that it was not Russia, but rather Israel, that was behind the damning release of information by Wikileaks.

Before anyone hyperventilates, I am not saying Israel was responsible. Nor am I stating Russia was not responsible. I am simply going to present “evidence” in the same fashion as the intelligence report did regarding allegations, innuendo, and a smear campaign aimed at news agency RT.

Reasons Why Israel May Have Preferred Trump Over Hillary

Hillary was Obama’s Secretary of State in a period of strained diplomatic relations with Israel. As Obama’s Secretary of State, Hillary called for a settlement freeze in 2009. Hillary supported an Iran nuclear deal hugely unpopular with pro-Israel advocates and more importantly, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. CNN Transcripts from 2014 provide this interesting Hillary Quote: “The continuing settlements which have been denounced by successive American administrations on both sides of the aisle are clearly a terrible signal to send if at the same time you claim you’re looking for a two-state solution. Now when I was negotiating and I had been able to put together three face-to-face meetings between Netanyahu and Abbas, it was clear that if we were working off the 67 borders which was our stated position that President Obama had outlined, some of the settlements would be within any reasonable drawing of borders for Israel. But a number of them would not. And those that would not would have to be either dismantled or live under Palestinian rule.” August 5, 2016, Breitbart disclosed Hillary Clinton’s damaging Private Emails About Israel. On May 17, 2016: The Intercept reported Hillary Clinton Wasn’t Always This One-Sided on Israel

Intercept Snips

Hillary Clinton the first lady embraced the wife of the leader of the Palestinian movement.

First lady Hillary Clinton went off script during a 1998 satellite address to a group of Israeli and Palestinian teens meeting as part of the organization Seeds of Peace.

“I think that it will be in the long-term interest of the Middle East for Palestine to be a state, to be a state that is responsible for its citizens’ well-being, a state that has responsibility for providing education and health care and economic opportunity to its citizens,” she said, responding to a question about why she had referred to “Palestine,” a country that does not yet exist.

In Israel, the leader of the Likud Party, Uzi Landau, denounced Clinton’s remarks as “a glaring mistake.”

Thoroughly chastened, a White House spokesperson told the press: “I doubt that she’ll be venturing into the Middle East peace process any time soon.”

The next year, Clinton again raised eyebrows during a trip to the Middle East. She attended a speech at which Suha Arafat, the wife of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, accused Israel of using poisonous gas against Palestinians. Despite the controversial remarks, Clinton kissed Suha on the cheek, as is customary in the region.

Early in the first year of Obama’s presidency, Clinton’s State Department pressed Israel on its embargo of Gaza, provoking a backlash from pro-Israel figures. “I am very surprised, frankly, at this statement from the United States government and from the secretary of state,” Mort Zuckerman, the publisher of the New York Daily News, said.

“I liked her a lot more as a senator from New York. … Now, I wonder as I used to wonder who the real Hillary Clinton is,” right-wing New York Assemblyman Dov Hikind said.

In mid-2009, Clinton publicly demanded an end to settlement expansion, saying the president “wants to see a stop to settlements — not some settlements, not outposts, not ‘natural growth’ exceptions.”

The next year, the Israeli government announced the construction of 1,600 homes in East Jerusalem — Palestinian territory where the U.S. government opposes settlement building. The announcement coincided with a visit by Vice President Joe Biden to Jerusalem.

Clinton openly expressed her displeasure, saying that “the announcement of the settlements, the very day the vice president was there, was insulting, it was really a very unfortunate and difficult moment for everyone.” Her spokesperson P.J. Crowley told the press that she called Netanyahu to tell him that the announcement of settlements “had undermined trust and confidence in the peace process and in America’s interests.”

And the Real Hillary Clinton View Is?

[In April 2016] Clinton paid a visit to the New York Daily News editorial board — whose publisher, Mort Zuckerman, had denounced Clinton’s Israel-Palestine policy as secretary of state. Clinton succinctly summarized her new approach to Israel-Palestine: “I think any disputes or disagreements should be handled in a respectfully and preferably private way, so we don’t give any aid and comfort to Israel’s adversaries or drive any wedges between us.” In other words, if Israel’s doing anything wrong, she won’t call them on it, at least not in public. The paper endorsed Clinton a day later.

On January 7, an astonishing undercover video captured an Israeli diplomat conspiring to smear the UK’s Deputy Foreign Secretary. The Mail reported on the Israel plot to ‘take down’ Tory minister

On January 8, The Guardian reported Israeli diplomat who plotted against MPs also set up political groups

Got that? An Israeli diplomat conspired with Labour to oust a Tory MP and also set up political groups in the UK to do so.

Let me ask a simple question: If Israel would act to remove a Tory Minister in the UK, why wouldn’t they do the same in the US?

Israel Prefers Hillary?

Some might counter that Israel prefers Hillary.

Let me ask “What Israel is that?” Everyone? Netanyahu? Anyone?

Just as varying ideas exist in the US over Trump, so do varying ideas in Israel.

Even at the top level, Netanyahu may have preferred dealing with Trump.

Trump Family Supported Israeli Settlements

Please note the family of Jared Kushner, who is married to Ivanka Trump and is a trusted confidant of the president-elect, donated tens of thousands of dollars in recent years to projects in the settlements, including a small amount to one particularly radical yeshiva.

Is it so hard to believe that Netanyahu, other high up officials in Israel, or even private Israelis might have wanted Trump rather than Clinton?

What About Netanyahu?

The Financial Times reports Benjamin Netanyahu questioned again in corruption probe: Israeli PM grilled ‘under caution’ as investigation gathers pace.

Is Netanyahu at all trustworthy?

Russia the Bad Guy?

Since you cannot find intelligent commentary in US mainstream media, I invite you to read the Sydney Morning Herald: Russia isn’t the bad guy you’ve been led to believe.

What is it about Russia that winds everyone up so much? Why all the anger, the endless barrage of alarmist rhetoric and ruthless drive to isolate a great power with a vast arsenal of nuclear weapons?

From left to right, hyperventilating pundits and politicians warn that the Bear is on the prowl and that Vladimir Putin is the saboteur of American democracy. As a result, they have spread exaggerations about the Russian threat, which have fuelled hatred and sowed misunderstanding.

I am no Putin apologist. The thuggish Russian leader commands near-absolute political dominance at home. Nor do I defend the Russian-backed rebels who badly mishandled the MH17 Ukraine plane-crash controversy in 2014.

My point is that there is nothing peculiar or pathological in Russia’s behaviour: it is protecting legitimate security interests in the Baltics and the Middle East and its objectives are limited. Any Western politician or propagandist who claims otherwise is either ignorant or suffering from Russiaphobia.

For decades, the US has itself interfered in the domestic affairs of other nations — not just enemies and competitors, but Western friends and allies. From 1946 to 2000, according to Carnegie Mellon University’s Dov Levin, the US interfered in foreign elections 81 times compared to 36 by the Russians.

Besides, there is a big difference between hacking and disseminating. The US report on Russian hacking, which justified new sanctions and recalling diplomats, provides no evidencethat Putin’s regime gave emails from the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman to Wikileaks in the lead-up to the November 8 election.

Election Interference Scorecard: US-81 Russia 36

How about that scorecard?

US mainstream media hypocrites along with warmonger-in-chief, Senator John McCain declared Russia interference in the US election an act of war, when no evidence has even been presented!

That is despite the fact the US is the worst nation in the world at running “acts of war” election interference.

I repeat my claim, McCain has Blood on his Hands for US meddling in Ukraine, for which McCain is personally responsible.

Hacking?

In contrast to mainstream media reports of hacking, there was absolutely no hacking, by Russia, Israel, anyone.

The DNC exposed itself via blatant stupidity. It was a phishing expedition, not hacking that landed the big one.

Someone at the DNC responded to an email to reset their password and they did so on a server that was intercepted. That’s not hacking folks. Zerohedge has the details at On Russian Hacking, The Only Narrative That Matters Is Truth.

Actual Acts of War

In contrast to unsubstantiated claims Russia waged war on the US by hacking the election, here are the cold hard facts.

How many countries did Russia bomb in 2016?

CIA Believable?

If you think the liars at the CIA or the Obama administration are believable, you are only nuts.

The fact of the matter is the CIA Liars, Torturers, Murderers are Worse Than Useless.

CIA “Experiments”

Wikipedia notes Unethical human experimentation in the United States.

Wikipedia also comments on Project MKUltra.

Project MKUltra – sometimes referred to as the CIA’s mind control program – is the code name given to a program of experiments on human subjects, at times illegal, designed and undertaken by the United States Central Intelligence Agency. Experiments on humans were intended to identify and develop drugs and procedures to be used in interrogations and torture, in order to weaken the individual to force confessions through mind control. Organized through the Scientific Intelligence Division of the CIA, the project coordinated with the Special Operations Division of the U.S. Army’s Chemical Corps.

The operation began in the early 1950s, was officially sanctioned in 1953, was reduced in scope in 1964, further curtailed in 1967, and officially halted in 1973. The program engaged in many illegal activities, including the use of unwitting U.S. and Canadian citizens as its test subjects, which led to controversy regarding its legitimacy. MKUltra used numerous methodologies to manipulate people’s mental states and alter brain functions, including the surreptitious administration of drugs (especially LSD) and other chemicals, hypnosis,sensory deprivation, isolation, verbal and sexual abuse, as well as other forms of psychological torture.

The scope of Project MKUltra was broad, with research undertaken at 80 institutions, including 44 colleges and universities, as well as hospitals, prisons, and pharmaceutical companies. The CIA operated through these institutions using front organizations, although sometimes top officials at these institutions were aware of the CIA’s involvement

Project MKUltra was first brought to public attention in 1975 by the Church Committee of the U.S. Congress, and a Gerald Ford commission to investigate CIA activities within the United States. Investigative efforts were hampered by the fact that CIA Director Richard Helms ordered all MKUltra files destroyed in 1973; the Church Committee and Rockefeller Commission investigations relied on the sworn testimony of direct participants and on the relatively small number of documents that survived Helms’ destruction order.

13 Evil US Experiments

Inquiring minds should also consider The 13 Most Evil US Government Human Experiments.

Simply put, anyone who believe the CIA point blank is a fool, a fake-patriot, or both.

Mish Position vs. CIA Position

Smear Tactics and Media Puppets

The intelligence report made a circumstantial presentation so flimsy it was laughable.

When you have no facts, you smear your opponent. Yes, I smeared the CIA, but with hard evidence, not allegations.

Russian Sloppiness vs. Israel Plant Theory

President Obama proclaimed nothing gets done in Russia without Putin. And the US intelligence report and Obama concluded that it took “sophisticated” groups to target the DNC.

Actually, a 12th grader could have done it with a routine phishing expedition. More importantly, someone truly sophisticated would not have left traces of Russian language behind for intelligence agencies to find.

But what about Israel? Might not have Israel left behind traces of code to pin the blame elsewhere?

Final Assessment

My assessment is this smear campaign was ordered by Obama, for the sole purpose of undermining the incoming Trump administration.

Obama did not care whether or not there were any facts to the matter, and clearly no facts have been disclosed.

I repeat my claim:

The US mainstream media puppets did what they always do: Cheer-lead preposterous evidence in a rush to war on something or someone.

Mike “Mish” Shedlock