Authored by Pepe Escobar, originally posted at SputnikNews.com,
The tawdry Michael Flynn soap opera boils down to the CIA hemorrhaging leaks to the company town newspaper, leading to the desired endgame: a resounding victory for hardcore neocon/neoliberalcon US Deep State factions in one particular battle. But the war is not over; in fact it’s just beginning.
Former liberal congressman and presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich said Tuesday:
What’s at the core of this is an effort by some in the intelligence community to upend any positive relationship between the U.S. and Russia. And I tell you there’s a marching band and Chowder Society out there. There’s gold in them there hills. There are people trying to separate the U.S. and Russia so that this military industrial intel axis can cash in.
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President Trump’s defense secretary has said that he did not see possible military collaboration with Russia. “We are not in a position right now to collaborate on a military level” James Mattis told reporters on Thursday after talks at the NATO headquarters in Brussels. He accused Russia of violating international law, labeling their actions as “aggressive” and “destabilizing.” His comment are perhaps the strongest indication yet from the Trump administration that prospects for any significant cooperation between the U.S. and Russia against ISIS in Syria is unlikely anytime soon.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused NATO of constantly trying to provoke Russia in an attempt to draw them into a confrontation. He also said that members of the alliance continue to interfere in Russia’s domestic affairs. RT reports: The accusations came as Putin addressed senior members of the Russian intelligence agency FSB on Thursday.
Trump's honeymoon with capital markets is on the rocks, kept alive only by the occasional soundbite about "massive" or "phenomenal" tax cuts; it now appears that the US president's - until recently - amicable relationship with Russia is also quickly souring.