{"id":41707,"date":"2016-07-02T08:09:39","date_gmt":"2016-07-02T12:09:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/?p=41707"},"modified":"2016-07-02T08:09:39","modified_gmt":"2016-07-02T12:09:39","slug":"hacked-emails-confirm-nato-push-to-provoke-escalate-conflict-with-russia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/?p=41707","title":{"rendered":"Hacked Emails Confirm NATO Push To Provoke, Escalate Conflict With Russia"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"nato_supreme_commander_breedlove-were_not_preparing_for_war_with_russia\"<\/a><\/p>\n

ZeroHedge.com<\/p>\n

Just two weeks ago, a huge scandal erupted within another ‘union’ as Germany slammed NATO for “warmongering”<\/strong><\/a> destroying the fictional narrative that ‘innocent’ NATO was merely reacting to evil Russian provocations. Furthermore, as NATO accelerated its encirclement of Russia<\/a><\/strong>, with British soldiers deployed in Estonia, US soldiers operating in Latvia and Canadians in Poland, while combat units are being increased in the Mediterranean…<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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NATO found another excuse for war, assessing <\/a>that it may now have grounds to attack Russia when it announced that if a NATO member country becomes the victim of a cyber attack by persons in a non-NATO country such as Russia or China<\/strong>, then NATO\u2019s Article V \u201ccollective defense\u201d provision requires each NATO member country to join that NATO member country if it decides to strike back against the attacking country.<\/p>\n

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Specifically, NATO is alleging that because Russian hackers had copied the emails on Hillary Clinton\u2019s home computer<\/em><\/strong>, this action of someone in Russia taking advantage of her having privatized her U.S. State Department communications to her unsecured home computer and of such a Russian\u2019s then snooping into the U.S. State Department business that was stored on it,might constitute a Russian attack against the United States of America<\/strong>, and would, if the U.S. President declares it to be a Russian invasion of the U.S.,trigger NATO\u2019s mutual-defense clause and so require all NATO nations to join with the U.S. government in going to war against Russia<\/strong>, if the U.S. government so decides.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Now, as The Intercept’s Zaid Jilani and Lee Fang expose<\/a>, retired U.S. Air Force Gen. Philip Breedlove (yes an ironic name for a warmonger)<\/em>, until recently the supreme commander of NATO forces in Europe, plotted in private to overcome President Barack Obama\u2019s reluctance to escalate military tensions with Russia<\/strong> over the war in Ukraine in 2014,according to apparently hacked emails from Breedlove\u2019s Gmail account<\/strong> that were posted on a new website called DC Leaks<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Obama defied<\/a>\u00a0political pressure from hawks in Congress and the military to provide lethal assistance to the Ukrainian government, fearing that doing so would increase the bloodshed and provide Russian President Vladimir Putin with the justification for deeper incursions into the country.<\/p>\n

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Breedlove, during briefings to Congress, notably contradicted the Obama administration regarding the situation in Ukraine,<\/strong> leading to news stories<\/a>about conflict between the general\u00a0and Obama.<\/p>\n

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But the leaked emails provide an even more dramatic picture of the intense back-channel lobbying<\/strong> for the Obama administration to begin a proxy war with Russia in Ukraine.<\/p>\n

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In a series of messages in 2014, Breedlove sought meetings with former Secretary of State Colin Powell, asking for advice on how to pressure the Obama administration to take a more aggressive posture toward Russia.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI may be wrong, \u2026 but I do not see this WH really \u2018engaged\u2019 by working with Europe\/NATO. Frankly I think we are a \u2018worry,\u2019 \u2026 ie a threat to get the nation drug into a conflict,\u201d<\/strong><\/u><\/em> Breedlove wrote in an email<\/a> to Powell, who responded by accepting an invitation to meet and discuss the dilemma. \u201cI seek your counsel on two fronts,\u201d Breedlove continued, \u201chow to frame this opportunity in a time where all eyes are on ISIL all the time, \u2026 and two, \u2026 how to work this personally with the POTUS.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Breedlove attempted\u00a0to influence the administration through several channels, emailing academics and retired military officials, including former NATO supreme commander Wesley Clark, for assistance in building his case for supplying\u00a0military assistance to Ukrainian forces battling Russian-backed separatists.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI think POTUS sees us as a threat that must be minimized, \u2026 ie do not get me into a war????\u201d <\/strong><\/u>Breedlove wrote in an email<\/a> to Harlan Ullman, senior adviser to the Atlantic Council, describing his ongoing attempt to get Powell to help him influence\u00a0Obama.<\/p>\n

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\u201cGiven Obama\u2019s instruction to you not to start a war, this may be a tough sell,\u201d Ullman replied a few months later, in another string of emails<\/a> about Breedlove\u2019s\u00a0effort to \u201cleverage, cajole, convince or coerce the U.S. to react\u201d to Russia.<\/strong><\/u><\/p>\n

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Breedlove did not respond to a request for comment. He\u00a0stepped down from his NATO leadership position in May and\u00a0retired<\/a>\u00a0from service on Friday, July 1. Breedlove was a four-star Air Force general and served as the 17th Supreme Allied Commander of NATO forces in Europe starting<\/a>\u00a0on May 10, 2013.<\/p>\n

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Phillip Karber, an academic who corresponded regularly with Breedlove \u2014 providing him with advice and intelligence on the Ukrainian crisis \u2014 \u00a0verified\u00a0the authenticity of several of the emails in the leaked cache<\/strong>. He also told The Intercept<\/em> that Breedlove confirmed to him that the general\u2019s Gmail account was hacked and that the incident had been reported to the government.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe last conversation I had about it with General Breedlove, he said, \u2018Yeah, I\u2019ve been hacked several times,\u2019\u201d<\/strong> said Karber. He added that he noticed at least one of his personal emails appearing online from the leak before we had contacted him. \u201cI turned this over to the U.S. government and asked them to investigate. No one has given me any answer.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cI have no idea whose account was leaked or hacked,\u201d said Powell, when reached for comment about the emails. Powell said he had no comment about the discussions regarding Obama\u2019s response to the conflict in Ukraine.<\/p>\n

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In the European press, Breedlove has been portrayed as a\u00a0hawkish figure known for leaning on allied nations to ditch diplomacy and to adopt a more confrontational role again Russian-backed separatists in Ukraine. Breedlove, testifying before Congress earlier in February of this year,\u00a0called<\/a>\u00a0Russia \u201ca long-term existential threat to the United States and to our European allies.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Der Spiegel<\/em> reported<\/a> that Breedlove \u201cstunned\u201d German leaders with a surprise announcement in 2015 claiming that pro-Russian separatists had \u201cupped the ante\u201d in eastern Ukraine with \u201cwell over a thousand combat vehicles,<\/strong> Russian combat forces, some of the most sophisticated air defense, battalions of artillery\u201d sent to Donbass, a center of the conflict.<\/p>\n

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Breedlove\u2019s numbers were \u201csignificantly higher\u201d than the figures known to NATO intelligence agencies and seemed exaggerated to German officials.<\/strong>The announcement appeared to be a provocation designed to disruptmediation efforts<\/a> led by Chancellor Angela Merkel.<\/p>\n

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In previous instances, German officials believed Breedlove overestimated Russian forces along the border with Ukraine by as many\u00a0as 20,000 troops <\/strong>and found that the general had falsely claimed that several Russian military assets near the Ukrainian border were part of a special build-up in preparation for a large-scale invasion of the country. In fact, much of the Russian military equipment identified by Breedlove, the Germans said<\/a>, had been stored\u00a0there well\u00a0before the revolution\u00a0in Ukraine.<\/strong><\/u><\/p>\n

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The emails, however, depict\u00a0a desperate search by Breedlove to build his case for escalating the conflict<\/u><\/strong>, contacting colleagues and friends for intelligence to illustrate the Russian threat. Karber, who visited Ukrainian politicians and officials in Kiev on several occasions, sent frequent<\/a> messages to Breedlove \u2014 \u201cper your request,\u201d he noted<\/a> \u2014 regarding information\u00a0he had received about separatist military forces and Russian troop movements. In several updates,\u00a0Breedlove received<\/a>\u00a0military data sourced from Twitter and social media.<\/p>\n

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Karber, the president of the Potomac Foundation, became the center of a related scandal last year when it was discovered\u00a0that he had facilitated ameeting<\/a> during which images\u00a0of purported Russian forces in Ukraine were distributed\u00a0to the office of Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., and were published by aneoconservative blog<\/a>. The pictures turned out to be a\u00a0deception; one supposed\u00a0picture of Russian tanks in Ukraine was, in fact, an old photograph of Russian tanks in Ossetia during the war with Georgia.<\/p>\n

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Breedlove stayed in close contact with Karber and other officials who shared his views on the Ukrainian conflict.<\/p>\n

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\u201cPhil, can\u2019t we get a statement to counteract the Russians on use of force? what can I do to help? If the Ukrainians lose control of the narrative, the Russians will see it as an open door,\u201d wrote retired Gen. Wesley Clark, whoforwarded<\/a> on his messages with\u00a0Victoria Nuland, the assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs. He also passed along concerns from the Bulgarian president that Bulgaria might be Russia\u2019s next target.<\/p>\n

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In other messages, Clark relayed<\/a> specific requests for the types of military aid desired by Ukrainian officials. In addition to radar systems and other forms of military equipment, Clark recommended that Breedlove \u201cencourage Ukraine to hire some first rate pr firms and crisis communications firms in U.S. and Europe.\u201d He added, \u201cThey need the right tools to engage in information warfare.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Ukraine did hire several D.C. lobbying and communication firms to influence policymakers.<\/strong> In June 2015, the government signed<\/a> a deal with APCO Worldwide, an influential firm with ties to senior Democratic and Republican officials.<\/p>\n

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In an email in February 2015, Karber told<\/a> Breedlove that \u201cPakistan has, under the table, offered Ukraine 500 TOW-II launchers (man-portable version) and 8,000 TOW-II missiles,\u201d adding that deliveries of the anti-tank weapons could begin by the end of the month. \u201cHowever,\u201d Karber wrote, \u201cPakistan will not make these deliveries without U.S. approval; moreover they will not even request that approval unless they have informal assurance that it would be approved.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Karber told The<\/em>\u00a0Intercept<\/em> that the Pakistani arms deal never materialized.<\/p>\n

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Breedlove was most recently in the news explaining that he now thinks we need to talk to the Russian government to resolve the conflict in Ukraine. \u201cI think we need to begin to have meaningful dialogue,\u201d he said last week<\/a>,\u00a0while reiterating his views on the need for a strong NATO to militarily match Russia.\u201cRussia does understand power, and strength, and unity,\u201d <\/strong>he said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

With all that in mind, we return to German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier’s<\/em>recent exclamation that “anyone who thinks you can increase security in the alliance with symbolic parades of tanks near the eastern borders, is mistaken<\/strong>,” and given the ‘proof’ above that it is indeed NATO that is provoking and warmongering, the unprecedented reality in which NATO’s biggest and most important European member issuddenly and quite vocally against NATO <\/strong>and as a result may be pivoting toward Russian, we for one can’t wait to see just how this shocking geopolitical debacle for western neocons and war hawks concludes.<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

The emails were released by D.C. Leaks, a database run by self-described \u201chacktivists\u201d who are collecting the communications of elite stakeholders such as political parties, major politicians, political campaigns, and the military. The website currently has documents revealing some internal communications of the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign and George Soros\u2019s Open Society Foundation, among others.<\/span><\/em><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

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