The World Web Times - worldwebtimes.comPutin Didn’t Directly Order Alexei Navalny’s February Death, U.S. Spy Agencies Find – WSJ https://t.co/1PvqCUj6IP
— Michael Novakhov (@mikenov) April 27, 2024
The post @mikenov: Putin Didn’t Directly Order Alexei Navalny’s February Death, U.S. Spy Agencies Find first appeared on JOSSICA – The Journal of the Open Source Strategic Intelligence and Counterintelligence Analysis.
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Johnson did a 180 on Ukraine after intense briefings from Bill Burns and other intel officials, but his son’s enrollment at Annapolis may have been a factor.
Inside Job: Since White House decisions turn on “the perception of the consequences of actions,” Henry Kissinger once observed, “the CIA assessment can almost amount to a policy recommendation.”
So it was in the CIA briefings Speaker Mike Johnson received about the course of the war in Ukraine and its implications for Europe and the global order, which may go down as among the most consequential ever given to a congressional leader. Except in Johnson’s case, the intelligence was about the devastating implications of his failure to act.
Intelligence briefings played a significant role in getting Johnson to say “yes” to a long-delayed $61 billion aid package for war-battered Ukraine. The measure passed the House in a rare bipartisan vote on April 20. The Senate approved the bill on Tuesday, and President Biden swiftly signed it into law on Wednesday.
“I really do believe the intel and the briefings that we’ve gotten,” Johnson said in a subtle rebuke to Donald Trump, who heaped scorn on U.S. intelligence professionals during his administration. The speaker found the intelligence so compelling that he repeatedly urged the Republican holdouts, the same members who regularly rail against the “deep state,” to go to the secure room at the Capitol and see it for themselves, The New York Times reported.
CIA Director Bill Burns put on a full-court press to sway the inexperienced House speaker. Burns gave Johnson a private, classified briefing that left a “lasting impression,” CNN reported. The CIA even hosted Johnson’s staff at Langley on March 29. The speaker said he came to feel that “the fate of Western democracy was on his shoulders.”
Johnson ran through what he took from his briefings. “I believe [Chinese President] Xi and Vladimir Putin and Iran really are an axis of evil,” he said. “I think they’re in coordination on this. I think that Vladimir Putin would continue to march through Europe if he were allowed. I think he might go to the Baltics next. I think he might have a showdown with Poland or one of our NATO allies.”
Johnson sounded like he was channeling Burns, who also says Putin is already eyeing his next conquest. In a recent public talk at the George W. Bush Center in Texas, Burns said the Baltics may be Putin’s next stop. “I think if I were in leadership in the Baltic states right now, history tells me I should be very concerned,” Burns said. “Whether that takes the form of an overt conventional attack or other ways of trying to undermine those countries and NATO’s integrity as well.” Burns also pointed to Moldova, where he said the CIA has seen evidence of Russian security services meddling in a recent election.
Johnson’s Damascene conversion from a backbencher who, in September, opposed $300 million aid for Ukraine, to a House leader who risked his speakership over it stunned Washington.
US senators against Ivanishvili
A bipartisan group of 14 American senators has published a critical joint letter to the Georgian government. US lawmakers pledge sanctions, visa restrictions, and a review of financial support for Bidzina Ivanishvili’s regime (an oligarch and honorary chairman of the ruling party “Georgian Dream”) in the event of the adoption of a “foreign agents” law, modeled after the Russian example.
Mass protests against this bill, reintroduced by the ruling party, have been ongoing in Tbilisi for nearly two weeks. Around 150 Georgian NGOs have issued a joint statement announcing their cessation of cooperation with the authorities as long as the “foreign agents” law remains on the agenda, and they refuse to register under such status.
Almost all Western structures, top leaders of Western countries, and the European Union have expressed categorical condemnation of the bill. The Georgian authorities have repeatedly been warned that the country will lose its prospects for Euro-integration if this law is adopted.
However, on April 17, the parliament passed it in the first reading. It is promised that it will be considered in the third reading on May 17. On April 29, the ruling party is convening a rally in Tbilisi in support of the “foreign agents” law.
“As longstanding friends of Georgia, we are compelled to express our profound concern regarding your government’s decision to re-introduce and advance a Russian-style foreign agents law. As you know, the United States has a deep and close relationship with Georgia and its people. We have long supported Georgia’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and right to free itself from Russian occupation. We also recognize that Georgia continues to face a number of challenges from Russia, such as extensive malign influence, disinformation campaigns ahead of your national elections and ongoing hybrid warfare.
However, we are increasingly concerned that Georgia’s transatlantic aspirations are being actively undermined. Specifically, we are disappointed that the ruling party reintroduced this legislation in Parliament in March, only a year after the Parliament’s decision to rescind the legislation in response to mass, large-scale protests. This legislation targets civil society, the lifeblood of Georgian democracy, and appears directed at assistance from the United States and Europe, which have invested hundreds of millions of dollars to support Georgia’s sovereignty and democratic transition since its secession from the Soviet Union in 1991.
The legislation contradicts the wishes of the Georgian people, given that 79 percent of Georgians consistently support European Union (EU) membership. This support is etched in Georgia’s constitution and has been a policy goal of the Georgian government for decades. The EU has stated clearly that this legislation is at odds with EU norms and values and will impact your country’s membership path. The effort to advance this bill also disregards the repeated demonstrations by tens of thousands of Georgians, both in March 2023 and in recent weeks, who have protested peacefully against the foreign agents law.
We must also make it clear that the reintroduced foreign agents law does not mirror any U.S. law and would be used to silence the civil society and media that play a significant role in advancing Georgia’s democratic institutions. As you know, while free speech can be uncomfortable for any ruling party, the ability to disagree and express opinions publicly is what makes democracy stronger and more sustainable.
If this legislation is enacted, it could send a powerful message to the Georgian people that its government no longer reflects their wishes, is actively undermining its EU membership agenda, and refuses to uphold its constitution. As a result, this legislation would cast Georgia’s strongest partners, the United States and European Union, as malign actors. Such a shift would require U.S. policy toward Georgia to change and reflect the new state of Georgia’s politics.
As members of Congress who hold deep affection for the Georgian people and have championed strong bipartisan and bilateral ties with your country, we would be very disappointed if the Georgian Parliament passed the foreign agents law which would undermine Georgia’s relationship with the United States. If this legislation is passed, we will be compelled to encourage a shift in U.S. policy toward Georgia which could include sanctions on those responsible for undermining Georgia’s democratic development or inhibiting its Euro-Atlantic trajectory, reconsideration of direct U.S. financial assistance and the expansion of visa bans to the United States.
We will never abandon the aspirations of the Georgian people who have made their voices heard, loud and clear, in support of a democratic and European future. The relationship between the U.S. and Georgia is based on mutual interests and shared values. We all desire a strong relationship. The United States stands eager and ready to develop deeper ties that further support Georgia’s economic development and Western integration, but this cannot continue until this legislation is withdrawn”.
On April 13, Matthew Miller, the spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State, announced that the United States is calling on the Georgian government to conduct an investigation into four Georgian judges who have been sanctioned.
He reiterated that Mikheil Chinchaladze, Levan Murusidze, Irakli Shengelia, and Valerian Tsertsvadze have been subject to visa restrictions under section 7031(c) “due to their involvement in significant corruption.”
“The measures taken by the United States help hold accountable wrongdoers who undermine the rule of law and erode the Georgian society’s trust in the Georgian justice system,” said Matthew Miller.
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