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The
Man Who Warned Congress
by J.
R. Nyquist
Weekly
Column Published: 02.27.2009
On 25 February Andrei Illarionov
testified before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. The hearing was
titled “From Competition to Collaboration: Strengthening the U.S.-Russia
Relationship.” Illarionov is a Russian citizen presently employed by the Cato
Institute. He began his testimony with a brief explanation: “For a number of
years I worked at different posts in the Russian government and
Administration of the Russian President.” According to Illarionov the Russian
regime is a KGB regime, and the United States policy toward this
regime is worse than appeasement. It is best characterized as retreat.
Since the collapse of the USSR all American efforts to improve relations
with Russia
have come to nothing, says Illarionov, and new initiatives from President
Obama are doomed; this is because the Americans fail to recognize the nature
of the Russian regime. There is an unwillingness to grasp “the internal logic
and intentions of the Russian leadership.” It seems that the free world is
unable to deal with powerful authoritarian regimes. In order to deal with Russia,
certain facts must be admitted. First, Russia is not a democracy, the
Russian people are not free, and the “central place in the Russian political
system is occupied by the Corporation of the secret police.”
The secret police of Russia
compose a brotherhood, and a system of order. This brotherhood, says Illarionov,
is highly disciplined and enforces loyalty with “the ultimate penalty.” They
readily use violence against others, and are ruthless in the pursuit of
power. They dominate and bully ordinary Russians, who cannot oppose them.
They dominate the state apparatus, holding 77 percent of the top 1,016
government positions. There is virtually no independent mass media in Russia,
and the level of anti-U.S. propaganda is greater now than in Soviet times.
Even more frightening, the Russian
government has killed tens of thousands people, jailing dissidents on
trumped-up charges, arranging terrorist “events” to advance its agenda. Many
journalists and independent-minded politicians have been assassinated. The
Kremlin also threatens its neighbors using energy exports as weapons of
coercion, actively engaging in cyber warfare. The Russian invasion of Georgia
last August, says Illarionov, was prepared “at least since February 2003.”
The secret police are supreme in Russia.
With regard to previous police states, the ruling party or dictator held
absolute authority. But the Russian secret police are themselves in control –
answering to no one. “The political regime in today’s Russia is therefore
quite unique,” noted Illarionov, “since so far there was probably no country
in world history … where a secret police organization [captured] all
political, administrative, military, economic, financial, and media powers.”
This also gives the regime staying power. Since elections are rigged, no
opposition can ever take control of the government.
Unless the supremacy of the Russian
secret police is acknowledged and understood, the United
States will not be able to deal with the regime in Moscow. According to
Illarionov, the American side has retreated “on almost all” bilateral issues.
If the Americans are alarmed by any development in Russia, whether it is the
violation of human rights or the muzzling of the mass media, the Kremlin
simply suggests that the Americans shut up and mind their own business. The
West has refused to penalize or confront Russia’s destructive behavior.
“There were no sanctions whatsoever for any behavior of the Russian
authorities,” noted Illarionov. “The recent suggestion ‘to reset the button’
in U.S.-Russia relations and ‘to start over with a blank slate’ is met with
poorly hidden joy and satisfaction on the part of the Russian Chekists.”
The KGB regime now believes the
American side is acquiescing to Moscow’s
assertion of hegemony over the former Soviet space. “It is a surrender of the
hopes and efforts of the Russian democrats as well as peoples of the
post-Soviet states who dreamed to get out of the system that controlled and
tortured them for almost a century,” said Illarionov. “But it is even more.
It is a clear manifestation to all democratic and liberal forces in Russia and in the other post-Soviet states
that on all internal and external issues of their struggle … the United States
now abandons them and takes the position of their deadly adversaries and
enemies. And therefore it is an open invitation for new adventures by the
Russian Chekists’ regime….”
As if to scold the U.S. Congress
itself, Illarionov noted that the Committee hearings were dedicated to
“collaboration” with the secret police of Russia. According to Illarionov,
“the term chosen for the agents of the U.S. administration’s policy … is
‘collaborationists.’ Collaboration between the two governments today could
only be on the Russian regime’s terms and for fulfillment of the Russian
government’s goals.” The United
States, in effect, has chosen something
worse than appeasement. It has chosen the path of outright surrender. “We
know the consequences of the collaborationist policy,” warned Illarionov.
“Those who retreat and surrender will not get peace, but war – war with
unpredictable and nasty results.” The situation is reaching critical mass.
The United States
is no longer a superpower in terms of its thinking. It no longer opposes
totalitarianism. A time of troubles is approaching. “When the world gets
there,” said Illarionov, “we need to remember that we had a warning.”
To read the full text of the Testimony of
Andrei Illarionov
Source: http://www.financialsense.com/stormwatch/geo/pastanalysis/2009/0227.html
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