How Should We Respond to Foreign Attempts at Sowing Discord and Violence

Np, and thanks!

Every source I've seen regarding this says basically the same thing more or less.

"The Russians don't want groups like Black Lives Matter [and] the Alt-Right to sit there and have discussions and debates about the future of America. They want violent clashes," Russian-linked Facebook accounts encouraged violence

"Russia strategically seeks to undermine U.S. political cohesion by promoting extremist views within opposing political or social groups, and hoping chaos—and violence -- ensues." 'Kill them all' -- Russian-linked Facebook accounts called for violence

"Russia’s goal is not the election of a specific person or party to power. Instead, Russia wants to sow discord and anger in our ranks through misinformation. They hope to control how we think of our political opponents, with the goal that we will ultimately become our own worst enemy." How to prepare for Russia’s October surprise
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An actual Russian defector, Mark Gimein, who may be in a better position to know puts it this way,

"Russia is driven by “the[ir] overarching ambition of undermining the moral standing of the U.S.” “What the Kremlin’s hackers most want to break into,” he continues, “isn’t voting machine software; it’s the democratic principles of tolerance and the peaceful transition of power.”"​

Its pretty clear that violent chaos is their strategic goal in wanting to do all they can to divide and sow discord. As to why exactly they would hold such a goal?... Well... this is just speculation, but my guess is that there are likely two main reasons.

1) Its possible that Putin and his buddies want to expand Russian controlled territory further than they already have out into surrounding countries. They view the U.S. and other western societies, their unity, power, and general stability as a potential impediment to such actions. They also must believe that if western societies become embroiled in chaos and violence within their own borders, that their ability to keep Russian regional advances in check will be greatly reduced.

The other possibility, again just speculation, though also right in line with what Mark Gimein was arguing, is that,

2) Putin views democracy itself as a threat to his own power over currently held Russian territory. Or more specifically, the allure of democracy. I've heard mention before, that what he, Putin, fears more than anything else, is a mass uprising in his own country in which he is forcibly removed from office by a Russian populous yearning for true democratic representation. He looks out at the world and sees despots left and right being overthrown by the citizenry in favor of more democratic institutions. Perhaps then, in an effort to protect himself and his perpetual grip on power, he wants to convince his own citizens, that democracy and things like term-limits aren't really all that great at all, that its seeming success abroad is nothing but a sham. And what better way to prove such a thing to your citizens, than to covertly foul up the peaceful transition of power in one of the largest most powerful democratically governed countries on earth?
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But honestly... from our perspective, what Russia does or doesn't believe isn't really as important as you seem to think it is. The fact of the matter is they are engaged in active measures attempting to divide us and incite violence and wide-spread chaos. Regardless of what their reason for doing so might be, we cannot just stand idly by and allow them to succeed.

-Meta

 

So then..... what exactly is the solution here?...

-Meta

 

Here is the list of ideas I've recorded from this thread so far.
http://www.politicalforum.com/index...-discord-and-violence.543728/#post-1069748167

Ideas so far:

-Censor conservatives and or liberals from social media
-Have the AG use the Espionage Act of 1917 with more vigor
-Discontinue screwing around in foreign nations ourselves
-Get rid of our CIA
-Deal with the situation as a Unified Collective
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Hmm... not quite as impressive as the one from the other thread.
We'll have to fix that.

-Meta

 

What exactly are you saying here?
What exactly is your proposal for safeguarding ourselves/responding to foreign subversion,
and how exactly do you figure your idea would work to improve things?

-Meta

 

Bit of false equivalency going on there, don't you think? I mean... other than in countries we were at war with,
exactly how many foreign leaders has the U.S. attempted to assassinate since the Cold War ended?...
And when exactly was the last time the U.S. tried to intentionally incite general wide-spread violence in another country?
When was the last time the U.S. tried to get Russian citizens specifically to start indiscriminately killing each-other?

And even if stuff like that has happened in the past, that isn't any excuse not to do anything about it now.

Say a group of your friends got into a fist fight with some gang members over something silly. Perhaps you weren't even around when it happened. But if one of those gang members comes up to you latter and starts slapping you across the face as 'retribution', are you going to just stand there and take it? Will you proclaim loudly and proudly, "my friend did the same to you so I guess I deserve this"... That would be rather silly, don't you think? I mean... even if you didn't want to actively fight back, you ought to at least try to move out of the way! Maybe even negotiate. But don't just stand there taking it!

The same thing goes for Russia and its actions geared towards sparking violence (attempted assassinations too). Sure, the U.S. may have engaged in similar covert ops way way back in the day, but unless one actually wants to return to the way things were back in the Cold War era, you shouldn't be so dismissive of stuff like this. I mean... you are American right? Despite how justified or otherwise the Russian government may think it is, there comes a point, don't you think?... where its actions towards us simply become too harmful to our own societal well-being for us to simply continue to ignore them.

-Meta

 

If domestic groups are doing similar things, then I guess the question should be
How Should We Respond to Foreign and or domestic Attempts at Sewing Discord and Violence?

What is the solution here??...

-Meta