ETL! Thanks for these quotes! We must be on extra high prayer alert for Trump/Pence et al. We are winning but Deep State at home and Enemies (like China/Russia) abroad are on full blast mode because of how upset they are.
We have enemies of America right here on FR, posing as patriots, posting on every one of these Russia threads. For some puzzling reason they are given free reign to do what they do, as obvious and devious as it is. Weird sh*t.
Trump says NATO is obsolete but still ‘very important to me’
January 16, 2017
LONDON (Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said NATO was obsolete because it had not defended against terror attacks, but that the military alliance was still very important to him, The Times of London reported.
“I took such heat, when I said NATO was obsolete,” Trump told the newspaper in an interview. “It’s obsolete because it wasn’t taking care of terror. I took a lot of heat for two days. And then they started saying Trump is right.”
Trump added that many NATO members were not paying their fair share for U.S. protection.
“A lot of these countries aren’t paying what they’re supposed to be paying, which I think is very unfair to the United States,” Trump said. “With that being said, NATO is very important to me. There’s five countries that are paying what they’re supposed to. Five. It’s not much.”
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Feb 9, 2017:
Exclusive: In call with Putin, Trump denounced Obama-era nuclear arms treaty - sources
By Jonathan Landay and David Rohde
February 9, 2017
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In his first call as president with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump denounced a treaty that caps U.S. and Russian deployment of nuclear warheads as a bad deal for the United States, according to two U.S. officials and one former U.S. official with knowledge of the call.
When Putin raised the possibility of extending the 2010 treaty, known as New START, Trump paused to ask his aides in an aside what the treaty was, these sources said.
Trump then told Putin the treaty was one of several bad deals negotiated by the Obama administration, saying that New START favored Russia. ...”
or,
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Soros-Funded Groups Undercutting Ukraine, Helping Russia
Drew Johnson
Aug 23, 2017
A pair of George Soros-funded NGOs are engaged in a campaign that could destabilize Ukraine and force the country to rely on its enemy, Russia, for its energy needs.
Transparency International and the Anti-Corruption Action Centre are behind political propaganda and social media attacks aimed at Burisma, a private Kiev-based natural gas company that has invested billions of dollars to dramatically increase natural gas production and helped wean Ukraine off of Russian energy imports.
Both organizations received hundreds of thousands of dollars from Soros-funded foundations in recent years.
Burisma’s owner, Nikolay Zlochevskyi, was under suspicion for corruption and tax evasion, but separate investigations in the United Kingdom and Ukraine dropped all charges against Burisma and Zlochevskyi.
Despite Burisma’s resounding victory in both the British and Ukrainian legal systems over the course of the past three years, the Anti-Corruption Action Centre engaged in a series of press releases, statements and social media posts implying Zlochevskyi and the company received favorable treatment in court due to political connections.
Earlier this year, Transparency International plastered Kiev with posters and ads claiming Ukraine’s General Prosecutor’s Office was guilty of abuse of power, and alleged Zlochevskyi’s case should not have been dropped.
Former U.S. Deputy Assistant Attorney General John Buretta, however, believes the outcome of the investigation was reasonable and correct. “The actions of the [British Office of the General Prosecutor] and those of the Ukrainian court are clear evidence of Ukraine’s commitment to the rule of law and due process — twin pillars of democracy,” Buretta stated.
Transparency International and the Anti-Corruption Action Centre also claim Burisma failed to pay appropriate taxes, even though the company pays almost $100 million in taxes a year. Burisma’s taxes fund almost 5 percent of Ukraine’s annual government spending.
Supporters of Burisma fear the unsubstantiated attacks by the Soros-funded NGOs may harm the company, undercutting Ukrainian energy independence and opening the door for Russian control in the process — a particular concern in the years since the military conflict between the two nations related to the annexation of Crimea.
“Burisma is leading a private sector that drastically boosted the domestic production in recent years — an increase of more than 30 percent in 2014 alone,” said Roman Opimakh, the executive director of the Association of Gas Producers of Ukraine. “This is the perfect example of promising energy independent behavior by Ukraine that should be supported by NGOs, not criticized.”
Opimakh points out that Ukraine’s increased natural gas production, combined with increased energy imports from European Union allies, has allowed the country to stop buying natural gas from Russia....”
You have to wonder why George Soros, a supporter of an independent Ukraine and one of Putin’s biggest [supposed] adversaries would funnel his money to groups seeking to undermine that independence by by taking aim at Burisma,” said Jeff Stier, a senior fellow at the National Center for Public Policy Research and the head of the think tank’s Risk Analysis Division. “Ukraine’s energy industry is central to allowing the country to stand on its own, as a democracy, rather than deteriorating into a de facto Russian satellite state.”
“Soros is no novice when it comes to deploying his charitable dollars to achieve political objectives. It’s clear that his support for these groups is serving Russian interests at the expense of democracy.
Now that he’s on notice of it, it’ll be telling to see if his foundations cut off all funding for these efforts — before he winds up further weakening Burisma, and by direct extension, Ukrainian independence.” Stier stated. ...”
http://dailycaller.com/2017/08/23/soros-funded-groups-undercutting-ukraine-helping-russia/
How Russia arms America’s southern neighbors
Ioan Grillo
May 9, 2014
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil — Russia’s push into Ukraine has put many on edge. But less known is that Russia is also strengthening its military links south of the Rio Grande and re-establishing itself as a power in the region.
Vladimir Putin has been strengthening military links here, and Russia is now the largest arms dealer to governments in Latin America, surpassing the United States.
Russia has even floated the possibility of building new military bases in Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua, and putting its warships permanently in the Caribbean.
In the midst of the Ukraine crisis, Russia’s top diplomat Sergei Lavrov recently visited Cuba, Peru, Chile, and Nicaragua, where he announced that Russia would also pour money into the new Central American canal project. ...”
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/americas/140508/russian-arms-military-trade-latin-america
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Russia Boosts Arms, Training for Leftist Latin Militaries
Moscow defense minister inks deals with Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua for joint exercises
BY: Bill Gertz
February 20, 2015
Russia agreed to provide military training for three leftist regimes in Latin America and increase military visits and exercises following a visit last week to the region by Moscow’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoygu, Pentagon officials said.
Shoygu met with defense and military leaders in Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua and signed several agreements on warship visits and military training during the visit, which ran from Feb. 11 to 14. It is not clear whether any new arms deals were completed during the visit.
Defense officials said the Russian leader is seeking bases in the region for strategic bomber flights that Shoygu recently promised would include flights over the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean.
http://freebeacon.com/national-security/russia-boosts-arms-training-for-leftist-latin-militaries/
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KGB/FSB Putin very much wants a ‘unified Korea’...under communist NK rule
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Russia and North Korea declare 2015 a ‘year of friendship’
“The biggest cause for concern is the growing military alliance between Russia and North Korea, with the two regimes recently announcing plans to conduct a series of joint army, navy and air force exercises this year.”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/northkorea/11463265/Russia-and-North-Korea-declare-2015-a-year-of-friendship.html
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Russia steps up North Korea support to constrain US
May 17, 2017
“Despite efforts by the United Nations to impose isolating sanctions on North Korea in response to the country’s continued development of nuclear weapons and intercontinental ballistic missiles, trade between Russia and North Korea soared more than 85 percent in the first four months of the year.”
http://www.dw.com/en/russia-steps-up-north-korea-support-to-constrain-us/a-38867861