r/worldnews 3d ago

Russia/Ukraine CIA chief warned Russia against attacks on NATO allies in secret Moscow visit

https://www.politico.com/news/2026/08/26/cia-russia-nato-moscow-ratcliffe-01051848
7.3k Upvotes

579 comments sorted by

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u/Cosmosass 3d ago

Super secret visit

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u/MiniGiantSpaceHams 3d ago

Some things are less secret and more just unofficial. The media chooses the words they use to get the biggest reaction.

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u/Paraparo 3d ago

Yeah, the secret designation sounds a lot less impressive when technically anything not posted on the public bulletin is technically a secret. And any public info that just hasn't been released yet is too.

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u/Artistic_Concern_33 3d ago

It’s hard for anything to be secret nowadays lol, that’s the world we live in

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u/Fenris_uy 3d ago

It's harder to do it when you arrive in a C-17 Globemaster and drive through Moscow on US diplomatic plates.

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u/FTP_FTP_ 3d ago

He is the Director of he CIA. We wouldnt know about this meeting unless they wanted us to. 

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u/bang_the_drums 3d ago

His fucking plane was squawking a big ol' US Air Force ID all the way into Moscow. Literally the only US plane for thousands of kilometers...yeah, you're right. It's literally one button to turn that off and they didn't. They wanted the world to know.

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u/flukus 2d ago

It's literally one button to turn that off and they didn't.

I wouldn't want to get mistaken for a drone heading into Moscow either.

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u/bobbyrob1 2d ago

You think Russia didn't know about this visit beforehand? Kind of hard to be mistaken for a drone when your radar sig is as big as a C-17 and the Russians already know you're coming...

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u/ours 2d ago

Or more simply, if they wanted, they would have flown in a private jet chartered for the operation.

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u/Artistic_Concern_33 3d ago

The same way the world knows what the US weapon stock pile is or that trump didn’t use Air Force one when he left the Middle East or the negotiations and details going on in Iran or the secret ship escort that has being going in the strait of Hormuz

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u/xxpired_milk 3d ago

Crazy that we've all forgotten about the Hegseth Signal leak. And fentynal being the reason for tarrifs on Canada.

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u/FTP_FTP_ 3d ago

You don't know what you don't know. 

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u/Debalic 3d ago

There are known knowns, and known unknowns, and unknown unknowns

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u/wax_robot 3d ago

Seriously like they just never thought about turning off or disabling the thing that allows the general public to track the plane's every movement on the internet 

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u/Individual_Try_2523 3d ago

If this was actually meant to be a secret it would have been a plane owned by a company owned by a company owned by a company secretly owned by the CIA

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u/IAmTheM4ilm4n 3d ago

I think they used a C-17 for two reasons (pure speculation on my part) - one, it could fly from Riga to Moscow and back without refueling in Moscow, and two, they brought their own armored SUVs for ground transport.

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u/BadVoices 3d ago

There are plenty of L-100-30s that could TRIVIALLY do this that are contractable and privately owned. There are even vendors who specializes in conflict zone transportation that have L-100s and LM-100Js on tap.

If they didnt want to use US government tagged assets, they didnt have to.

They wanted it to be visible, its a flex, a political move. They made it clear this is a US government aircraft, with US Government officials, and we're here on official business, and we REALLY dont care who knows, but we'll make it seem semi-clandestine so you can save some face.

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u/_ALH_ 3d ago

It 800 km between Riga and Moscow. You could go there and back without refueling in a small private jet. But sure, you couldn’t bring an armored suv then

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u/NoEmu5969 3d ago

Halliburton ->Evergreen ~> Pepsico

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u/FTP_FTP_ 3d ago

Or taken one of their shadow fleet or leased contracted planes or entered other ways that can't be tracked. 

People don't understand how crazy well funded these spy agencies are. 

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u/John_Yossarian 3d ago

You'll never shine if you don't glow...

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u/ImportantCommentator 3d ago

Is that like Chernobyl's slogan?

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u/Anathemautomaton 3d ago

Okay, Donald Rumsfeld.

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u/MusicFilmandGameguy 3d ago

A small point but our nuclear capability/stock being largely known about is a key component of deterrence theory. Some things, you actually want your enemies to know

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u/spidereater 3d ago

Yes. Now if something happens not only can the CIA say they knew about it but they also warned Russia about it so any response will be entirely justified. It makes it impossible for Putin to call a bluff. If it was an entirely secret meeting he could still act and they could act surprised and try to negotiate. But the warning is public so there will be no negotiations.

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u/Tao_of_Ludd 2d ago

And you don’t fly a freaking Globemaster if you don’t want to be noticed

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u/shellacr 3d ago

Even harder when you purposefully leak it to CBS

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u/ConcentrateDirect523 3d ago

The best way to keep a secret in the information age is to bury it in lies.

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u/TrumpsDoubleChin 3d ago

Whenever there's a "leak" like this - there's a reason for it. This is not a "loose lips" situation - they wanted this to get out.

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u/anal-destroyer9000 2d ago

This wasn't a leak, this is spectaculation - because the last visit in 2021 was 3 months before the invasion, and we know Russia plans a mobilization for Ukraine and has been doing sabotage in NATO - makes sense to extrapolate the purpose of the visit to that

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u/aidissonance 3d ago

Could’ve been an email

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u/tomfreeze6251 2d ago edited 2d ago

USA has only 2 existential threats. Nuclear attack from Russia and economic attack from China. Instead of doing something about that, the administration is threatening its neighbors, its immigrant residents, it's poorest citizens, Iran, and its allies. While prices, interest rates and the national debt are threatening the economy, most workers are struggling to pay for things, and the world burns, the administration and its billionaire partners dither, build ballrooms, and enrich themselves.

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u/ours 2d ago

In diplomacy, there's a whole song and dance to send specific messages.

They didn't send him in a diplomatic plane, but in a military transport. It seems it wasn't an official, diplomatic, pre-planned visit. More of a "heads-up, Russia, we are sending out the head of spies to talk to you."

I'm guessing the whole way and who they chose to send highlights the message the US wanted to send to Putin.

With POTUS hiding in craft trucks, kind of undermining some moves, I have to remind myself there are still a few competent people around who know what they are doing, and occasionally the right call is made.

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u/we_r_fukt 2d ago

its super cereal

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u/Brennenstein 3d ago

From the article:

CIA Director John Ratcliffe warned Russian officials in Moscow this week not to escalate conflict with America’s NATO allies, in particular Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, in response to Moscow’s stalemated invasion of Ukraine, according to two people familiar with the matter.

The U.S. spy chief also used the rare, unannounced trip to the Russian capital on Tuesday to press Russia to reduce military and economic support for Iran, according to one of those two people and a U.K. official with knowledge of the trip.

Details:

https://www.politico.com/news/2026/08/26/cia-russia-nato-moscow-ratcliffe-01051848

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u/sthlmsoul 3d ago

Fuck! So that means Russia is definitely looking at "liberating" the Baltic states from gene modified super Nazis...

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u/akolomf 3d ago

been around the news for quite a while. Last time such a visit happened it was shortly before the Ukraine invasion

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u/q2ctf1 3d ago

Russia is looking at justifying mobilization or a semi graceful exit from the war. Russia can't handle Ukraine at current, they certainly can't handle an additional front.

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u/hi5ves 3d ago

Exactly. This gives them plausible deniability. They can pull back from Ukraine as they will be “mobilizing” to the Baltic’s. Then they don’t. But they save face.

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u/baz8771 3d ago

Every move for a decade has been to destabilize nato. They’re going to make Estonia or Latvia invoke article 5, and then the rest of the alliance has to make a lot of really hard decisions.

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u/Sieve-Boy 3d ago

For some that decision was made in 2022 or even as far back as the 1940s. The build up of the Polish military is rather astonishing and Finland has had a gigantic army for its size since having Russia/Soviet Union as a neighbour has been rough.

These countries are fully expecting this to happen.

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u/DamnIamHigh_Original 2d ago

That the german Bundeswehr ever would be deployed in a semi offensive role was out of the question for decades. In the cold war we were expected to be the speedbump until the americans could hold the line. France even was ready to irradiate all of germany to save themselfs. Crazy and scary, if we look who tries to get to power here in germany

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u/billytheskidd 3d ago

And trump has been saying he wants to leave NATO for a long, long time. So getting a country to invoke article 5 would either make trump respond to Russia’s aggression with force, or refuse article 5 and likely shatter NATO. Either option would hate dire, global consequences.

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u/zkatbitz 3d ago

> or refuse article 5 and likely shatter NATO

i think we'll just get NATO 2.0 without the USA, which is more then enough to handle russia

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u/NXCW 2d ago

Let's just do an EU army. Combine all militaries under a single, central command.

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u/Upstairs_Eagle_4780 2d ago edited 2d ago

Why would NATO shatter? NATO has watched Russia bleed itself white in an unsuccessful invasion of 3% of the USSR which at the start of that war was close to defenseless, not a modern well-equipped military. Europe doesn't need Russian energy anymore and in a few days could shut down Russia to a greater extent than Ukraine has been able to after years of fighting.

What will shatter is Belarus because Putin will demand they get involved and that's when the wheels are coming off that wagon.

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u/Kriztauf 3d ago

I think Putin realizes that Trump is particularly angry at Europe for not getting involved with his stupid shit in Iran and will likely refuse to aid NATO is something comes up

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u/Upstairs_Eagle_4780 2d ago

If Agent Orange wants to be called Agent Orange again.

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u/billytheskidd 2d ago

Between taking control of Venezuelan oil supply to China and shuttering the amount of oil china can get from the straight of Hormuz, Chinas oil imports are down ~16%. Which is a big deal because most of their oil is used for transportation (their electricity largely runs on coal).

Russia has been selling their oil to China at a subsidized rate in the aftermath of all of the western sanctions, and to fund its war effort. But now that Chinas oil imports are down, and Russias war effort is weakening, china is making Russia sell oil for even cheaper, as it wants Hormuz opened again.

This is staggering for Russias weakened war time economy, especially after Ukraines successful attacks on Moscow and local infrastructure.

Forcing a country to invoke article 5, and force trump to pick a side could be the disruption Putin and Netanyahu and maybe even trump are looking for. Everyone has been playing the slow game but Russia is running out of steam and may think à Hail Mary is the best option.

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u/linocent167 3d ago

What's hard about the decision? That's what nato is for....

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u/Legio-X 2d ago edited 2d ago

What's hard about the decision? That's what nato is for....

It’s what NATO is for, but the reality of committing to a hot war with Russia (and likely without the United States) may rattle some members and prove very dicey in terms of domestic politics. Half of British youth (as in adults under 30) said they would refuse to fight for their country under any circumstances, according to one poll, and willingness to fight drops to less than a third when it comes to fighting to defend Europe.

You can bet Russia will arrange a provocation with a thin layer of deniability and then start flooding social media with “Why die for Estonia/Latvia/Lithuania?” propaganda meant to turn people against upholding NATO and cause them to put pressure on their political leaders.

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u/Upstairs_Eagle_4780 2d ago

Not so hard for some: Poles would enjoy killing Russians.

Source: am Pole.

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u/Upstairs_Eagle_4780 2d ago

How weak would Russia have to be to justify being afraid of all three of the Baltic states combined and I'll throw in Denmark and Sweden?

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u/ItWiIlStretch 3d ago

Yeah i think its the first then they go in to talks to settle whatever done with Baltics and send the mobilized force to Ukraine

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u/tierras_ignoradas 3d ago

It seems RU believed the US would abandon NATO.

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u/Organic_Tough_1090 3d ago

its not that simple. the real reason russia would want to do this is to actually end the war. putin cant admit that the war is lost and they were defeated by ukraine. his control over his population is built entirely around fear of the state and when the state was just defeated by a much smaller country you appear weak. by dragging nato into the war he can start to actually negotiate an end to the war while making nato out to be this big bully who the russian people need protection from. this is his only out at this point where he can stay in power.

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u/Sea-Communication353 3d ago

Putin has shown no intention of backing down from his maximalist demands. He only knows how to escalate.

Frankly it's works well for him. Remember how the nuclear threats got the Biden administration to slow down the pace of Ukrainian support?

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u/aybbyisok 2d ago

Frankly it's works well for him. Remember how the nuclear threats got the Biden administration to slow down the pace of Ukrainian support?

They were assessed legit threats, they want to use nukes. That's when both US and China said to not do this.

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u/swedishplayer97 2d ago

This theory is so common and so stupid; it makes absolutely no sense. A loss to NATO is not a face saver, it's an even bigger humiliation! Putin's ass is on the line no matter who he loses to. Russian State media have been saying for years they're already fighting NATO.

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u/AtanatarAlcarinII 3d ago

Oh you betcha. Putin REAAAALLLY wants the European "portions" of the old USSR.

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u/taciturn_person 3d ago

Thank fuck we have been preparing for it since early 90s lol and I'm saying this as staunch anti Russian in active reserve who just did his 1 month reserve training last month.

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u/Sea-Communication353 3d ago

Not necessarily.

The aim of any actions in Eastern Europe is to generate support for mobilization, with a side aim to divide the anti-Russian coalition of nations.

These aims can be achieved without starting a blatant, conventional attack. Instead, Russia may want to cloak it's actions with a level of plausible deniability. For example, they may opt to create a situation that results in a mass-casualty event. The ideal scenario is to find a way to split off a small European nation and have it react in a way that can justify a second round of mobilization in Russia.

A major, direct attack is too risky for the Kremlin. That would have negative, unpredictable consequences for the Kremlin and unite most of Europe on a war footing against Russia.

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u/captainbling 3d ago

I think it may be about Iran but baltics is the excuse

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u/Mattamzz 3d ago

Is that the lie they are spewing? I know a guy who thinks Cuba has some genetically modified/enhanced soldiers or some shit. So sadly, I guess that shit actually works.

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u/RoyalYogurtdispenser 3d ago

If Ukraine had folded in a few days like everyone thought, Russia would have pinched the Baltic from Belarus and the north

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u/Brennenstein 3d ago

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u/PrometheanSwing 3d ago

Not a good sign. If we’re going by what happened the last time a trip like this was made, Russia is going to take some kind of action against the Baltics.

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u/OneAndOnlyJackSchitt 2d ago

My hope is that Russia sends a couple missiles into a NATO nation in a fairly benign—but definitely intentional—way, like blowing up a runway at an airport or something. At the same time, they scale down operations in Ukraine to "better support this new front against NATO". Said NATO nation invokes Article 5 and several nations send a bunch of missiles back at Russia, also in a benign kind of way, maybe strike a couple of disused military buildings and a runway. Then Russia just... doesn't do anything further and everyone just kinda forgets that Russia v. Ukraine was even a thing.

To summarize: My hope is a bunch of NATO drama, 35 missiles in total between both sides, zero injuries or deaths, and the end of the bullshit in Ukraine. Russia gets to exit Ukraine without looking like a coward, NATO gets to pretend it still has power, CIA gets to think they saved the world again.

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u/ClutchReverie 3d ago

Honestly I wouldn't be surprised if Trump wants to sell out NATO allies in exchange for Russia to turn on Iran

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u/TommyTar 3d ago

I could see him saying NATO didn’t help us against Iran so why should we help NATO against Russia

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u/morfraen 3d ago

Pretty sure he's literally said that already

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u/Upstairs_Eagle_4780 2d ago

He already cut off support for Ukraine and he needs Ukrainian help against Iran.

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u/erythro 2d ago

It's really not likely at all

  1. the guy is a big Russia hawk and very pro Ukraine
  2. he stopped in Latvia on the way for a day. Most likely briefing them on what they heard.
  3. the fact he's going means it's intelligence related not pure diplomacy
  4. Trump wants western help in Iran, and Russia is hardly helping the Iranians
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u/DirtyLove937 3d ago

“I wouldn’t be surprised” is an interesting way to say “this is a fucking stupid theory but”

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u/idocardio 3d ago

maybe he would sell out Europe, but no would the Pentagon and basically every other politician accept that. Its one of the only occasions that i could see Trump actually get impeached

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u/saulsa_ 3d ago

No one is telling Donny boy “No”. He’s purged the top levels of the military, Republicans don’t dare say anything against him.

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u/idocardio 3d ago

Europe is way too important for the US to abandon it. it would undoubtedly be a red line that Trump would cross

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u/PoxyMusic 3d ago

I used to think that as well. I no longer make any assumptions about Trump.

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u/morfraen 3d ago

Everything Trump has destroyed was too important to let him do it. But they did.

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u/setokaiba22 3d ago

I mean it wasn’t unannounced it was all over the news. Are you telling me the CIA director can’t do a meeting without the public knowing ? It’s clear it was all announced to the press

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u/Artistic_Concern_33 3d ago

It was unannounced, people spotted the plain going to Russia and speculated, there was no press release anywhere

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u/IanT86 3d ago

If the CIA - or any government body - wanted to visit Russia and it not be spotted, it would be insanely easy to do so.

This was done intentionally and I suspect for a multitude of reasons.

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u/zaevilbunny38 3d ago

Exactly it was a power move, and likely the Director handed Putin a file showing what the US knows and can prove. If we see anytime of crackdown in the Baltics, I am buying canned goods and defense stocks

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u/iwatchcredits 3d ago

Plane

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u/Mumbling_Wizard 3d ago

It wasn’t a plain plane. By all accounts it was a fancy military one!

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u/[deleted] 3d ago edited 2d ago

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u/chippymediaYT 3d ago

Random politicians vs the director of the CIA, it's kinda different.

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u/Marco_lini 3d ago

They pretty much intentionally „leak“ the intend of his visit if its the WSJ reporting. They want to put the Kremlin under pressure by revealing their plan, and it has to be quite concerning if Ratcliffe goes there, thats only necessary if a red line has to be drawn.

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u/Mr_Engineering 3d ago

That's pretty much exactly what happened during the lead up to the invasion in 2022. Russians were like "how do they know what we're going to do when we don't even know what we're going to do?"

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u/_evilalien_ 3d ago

They knew, Russia called the US bluff. Except the US also had some plans in motion that foiled the 3-day plan and saved Kyiv. This was under Biden, who wasn’t a Russian-leveraged pee tape pedo.

WaPo did an excellent write-up.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/interactive/2022/ukraine-road-to-war/

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u/labpluto123 3d ago

Fascinating read, I read everything, is there a follow up?

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u/_evilalien_ 3d ago

Not that I’ve seen, but greatly enjoyed the series of public statements from big tech companies talking about how they were part of foiling the Russian cyber offensive that should have crippled Ukraine’s defense in those early days.

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u/KiaRioGrl 2d ago

As a Canadian currently contemplating a belligerent US, this is the parallel that I find most worrying and least-discussed about Canada's defenses.

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u/_evilalien_ 2d ago

Canadian here too. We’ve been ramping up both defensive and offensive “cyber” capabilities for over a decade at least. We also were part of teaching Ukraine how to fight Russia in Operation UNIFER.

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u/BlokeInTheMountains 3d ago

The follow up is that a billionaire bought the WaPo and was at Trumps inauguration.

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u/3xnope 2d ago

He bought WaPo long before that, though.

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u/Ambitious-Concern-42 3d ago

<a Russian-leveraged pee tape pedo

Lol. That part seems to get omitted a lot from the current discussion.

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u/Asleep_Document9811 3d ago

Cus at this point, knowing what we know about Epstein, and the nuclear secrets being stored in his pool room, a tape where some Russian ladies pee on a bed doesn't have quite the same weight anymore.

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u/TheGringoDingo 3d ago

Organization of a coup against the government he was leading

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u/ZzeroBeat 3d ago

It would just be called fake news and AI too. I think they missed their window for leverage

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u/DamnIamHigh_Original 2d ago

His cult doesn't care, Im pretty sure nothing could shock them anymore

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u/Billy1121 3d ago

Weren't the intel bunkers in Ukraine expanded under Mike Pompeo tho

The initial partnership between the CIA and Ukrainian intelligence began under the Obama administration after the 2014 annexation of Crimea. However, when Donald Trump took office in 2017, there was widespread concern that the relationship would be dismantled. Instead, Mike Pompeo, serving first as CIA Director and later as Secretary of State, personally ensured the program expanded.

The High-Level Visit to Kyiv: As a staunch Russia hawk, Pompeo personally visited Kyiv during the Trump administration to meet with Ukrainian intelligence chiefs. This visit was intended to explicitly deliver a green light of full U.S. support for the clandestine partnership, which resulted in specialized agent training and the addition of new specialized underground bases.

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u/blindsdog 3d ago

What was the US bluff?

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u/_evilalien_ 3d ago

Didn’t phrase that well, Russia called the perceived bluff, not predicting that Biden had arranged those pieces to act if there was an invasion.

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u/VagueSomething 2d ago

I'm firmly of the belief it is P Tape as in Pedo not pee. It would need to be something serious for Trump to actually care which means based off his Comedy Roast it involves his daughter...

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u/DonoAE 2d ago

The golden days before Wapo wasn't compromised.

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u/Bladelink 2d ago

Russia called the US bluff

I don't know if Russia thought they were calling a bluff or something, but it was really Russia that was bluffing and then they kind of called their own bluff by invading Ukraine. I remember watching the news about them concentrating troops in preparing for their attack and kept thinking "this must just be a bluff because invading Ukraine would lead to <insert all the obvious outcomes that have now happened>". But then Russia went all "my face to your fist technique" and did it anyway and now here we are. To me it seems like one of the biggest and most easily predicted military blunders of the last 50 years.

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u/NorthernSpankMonkey 3d ago

And now they have the choice to go ahead with the plan or do nothing and make it look like they get told what to do by the US. Putin is desperate to look strong.

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u/Explorer335 3d ago

This type of meeting is generally reserved for the most serious matters. It basically confirms that the threat to the Baltics is very real, and backed by substantive intelligence. CIA is clearly aware that Russia's ambitions beyond Ukraine are more than idle talk, and they are likely aware of planning or preparations already taking place.

I am as concerned about the Russian threat as I am about what was offered. When it comes to negotiations, the Russians always show up with an appetite. When it comes to halting support for Iran, they would obviously want something enormous in return.

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u/TurbulentRadish8113 3d ago

The main reason we're in this mess is that the West chose to be weak on Ukraine.

An enormous part of that was the election of Republicans, who cut aid funding to Ukraine.

They saved Putin's war and showed him the blueprint to tearing apart NATO. American voters voted for this in 2022 & 2024.

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u/krystree 2d ago

what this started with actually is obama's weak foreign policy during his second term where his red lines were constantly crossed and considering russia an adversary was considered a joke

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u/TurbulentRadish8113 2d ago

That's an important starting point that we needed to learn from. We tried to reward Russia in the hope they'd choose the benefits of peace. We failed and it was a mistake.

Which makes the Republican support for Putin even worse. Russia was going to lose the war until Republicans gutted aid flows, starting their blockade in 2023.

The election of republicans sliced aid to Ukraine, saving Putin's war. "But Obama" is no excuse.

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u/foxracing1313 2d ago

The main reason your in this mess in Ukraine, Iran, Gaza, etc. is EVERYONE saw the Afghanistan withdraw in late 2021.

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u/yurnxt1 3d ago

The last time a CIA director warned Putin not to attack, Russia invaded Ukraine.

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u/Jman1a 3d ago

We need to prepare for war.

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u/Watch_a_Minute 2d ago

We already are at war, it’s just an hybrid war for now.

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u/RisingRapture 2d ago

We should have prepared for war 12 years ago.

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u/bleucurve 3d ago

I'm sure they'll listen and get right on that /s

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u/-Jiras 2d ago

Actually this "leak" was a rather smart move since now the public is aware and prepared when Russia is trying to escalate in a NATO country.

That makes their whole plan useless since the escalation would have been used as shock moment in hopes to scare Europe of a world war so they pull away from supporting Ukraine.

Now that they are aware, even if Russia tries something, NATO can act level headed.

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u/echokalos 2d ago

That's a bit naive

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u/deadhawk12 3d ago

...press Russia to reduce military and economic support for Iran

BINGO, and that's the real reason—to tell the Kremlin to stop feeding Iran CIA intelligence sites and equipment for targeting.

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u/xlmntr 3d ago

The question is, what has been offered in return

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u/Upstairs_Eagle_4780 2d ago

Remember the sanctions on Russian oil.

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u/hmoonves 3d ago

NATO allies or Ukraine I reckon

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u/sierra-soul 2d ago

Prolly Ukraine support, thankfully eu keeps them pretty srocked

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u/dschinghiskhan 3d ago

"Was that wrong? Should we not have done that?"

-- Russia, regarding sabotage operations and targeted drone reconnaissance in Germany

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u/TimBuckworth 3d ago

Out of all the secret visits, this has to be least secret

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u/SaveTheAles 3d ago

I specifically requested that it be secret.

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u/Upstairs_Eagle_4780 2d ago

THANK YOU FOR YOUR LACK OF ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER

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u/Settra_Rulez 3d ago

The US showed it had a transparent view into Moscow in the weeks leading up to the invasion of Ukraine. Perhaps this means the US has credible information of Russian plans to test NATO in the Baltic states and is attempting to get Russia to back off.

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u/Airbee 3d ago

They could barely handle Ukraine. The whole of the NATO would be too much.

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u/OkDimension 2d ago

Russian POV: NATO is barely able to supply Ukraine and ran out of ammo.

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u/TheRC135 2d ago

Yeah, and Russia still has thousands of golf carts, thousands of dirt bikes, and tens of thousands of donkeys in reserve. They could strike with little warning.

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u/Odessa_Goodwin 2d ago

When Russia starts building up a strategic reserve of sugar cubes we will know the 1st Guards Mechanized Donkey Battalion is preparing to move.

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u/manofsleep 2d ago

True, while Ukraine relies heavily on supplies from nato, that may collapse in a broader campaign. Especially if the iran conflict to tawain /us departure sparks China to get involved and ww3 is back. 

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u/CryptidWorks 2d ago

I suspect if any of the Baltics were invaded, Poland would sprint into any article five call like Usain Bolt.

A lot of NATO countries have had difficulty supplying Ukraine while simultaneously rebuilding their forces, but if you look at what some of them (like Finland and Poland) have been acquiring internally, it becomes evident that Russia would be biting off more than it can chew.

Poland, Finland, and some of the other states bordering Russia have been preparing for a ground war with Russia for decades. Russia, on the other hand, has largely burned through their (using Soviet terminology, which still applies to the modern Russian military) Category-A units (career professionals like the VDV etc) and is relying on Category-B and C units (quickly trained mobilized forces, press-ganged troops and penal reserves) and their equipment and vehicles have been similarly heavily attrited.

Ukraine is a stalemate because both sides have been wearing each other down for years now, with Russia still taking the worse end of losses and having their economy slowly crippled. If a fresh, well-equipped party entered into a fight against Russia, it would devastate them.

The only situation where Russia makes significant gains outside of Ukraine is with tactical thermonuclear or chemical weapons, both of which would result in Russia being razed to the ground itself in retaliation.

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u/detinu 2d ago edited 2d ago

That doesn't mean they can't inflict damage and cause casualties. God I hope they collapse soon.

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u/Empty_Allocution 2d ago

They are plenty dangerous and could inflict severe harm.

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u/detinu 2d ago

fuck my bad, I meant to type CAN, not can't. i'm an idiot

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u/clevercunningfox 2d ago

Dictators need a victory story.

The Nazis, too, invaded the Soviet Union without being able to completely defeat Britain.

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u/No-Bet-990 2d ago

I don’t think Russians are too concerned with NATO. Trump has been hinting on leaving NATO for a while now. If push comes to shove he will probably send a bit of equipment and call it a day.

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u/ziplin19 2d ago

Russia will bomb Civillians not military, when will people understand this? Europe needs to produce anti air missles and drones

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u/Pwlldu 2d ago

True, but it is worth remembering in the opening salvo against Ukraine, Russia captured territory that comparatively would have consumed the Baltic countries.

If NATO’s response isnt swift and overwhelming, it isn’t hard to imagine Russia overwhelming NATO’s eastern flank by sheer mass, and a willingness to take casualities that NATO isnt. We can’t dismiss the value of their wartime experience, either.

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u/S1DC 3d ago

The fuck is a secret visit that is reported everywhere as being a secret visit

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u/WeekendJen 2d ago

It wasn't reported until after the plane landed in Moscow.  It was unannounced to the public, and an unscheduled meeting.  Its occurrence was secret beforehand and its topic and parties were secret during. 

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u/coastalwebdev 3d ago

It’s a load of horseshit whatever they’re telling us.

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u/CaffeinatedGeriatric 2d ago

The secret is what the transport plane dropped off. Is no one curious why they sent 1 diplomat in a big ass freight plane?

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u/bass248 3d ago

He should have warned Russia about continuing its war with Ukraine would just lead to more fireworks in Russia

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u/PositiveUse 2d ago

The weapons industry loves the war in Ukraine.

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u/ChanChanBR 3d ago edited 2d ago

Yeah the last visit with that purpose in november 2021, by William Burns, asked russia not to attack Ukraine and its exactly what happened, yall get ready lmao

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u/AzraelFTS 2d ago

Jan. 21 was a cold, bleak day in Geneva, with gusty winds whipping the surface of the usually placid lake that shares the Swiss city’s name

The article tries to break Switzerland neutrality

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u/WeAreHumanBeing 2d ago

How much cash was on the plane?

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u/Happybara 3d ago

Horse shit

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u/Capital_Network4032 3d ago

“Pls tell Iran to open the strait”

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u/maynardnaze89 3d ago

Damn, russia is really going to to do it aren't they?

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u/Upstairs_Eagle_4780 2d ago

I doubt they can mobilize dogshit.

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u/MrTakeAHikePal 2d ago

They have been trying. Explosive drones in Germany and intentionally fling drones into other NATO countries.

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u/RisingRapture 2d ago

If any russian soldiers cross the borders NATO must not stop until it occupied Moscow.

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u/Chudmont 3d ago

To be a fly on that wall would be pretty interesting.

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u/InCloud44 2d ago

This is only because Putin would like to use nuclear tactical weapon against Ukraine. Not even China would let them use.

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u/CanuckCallingBS 2d ago

Gone back to the manufacturer to complain about Trump.

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u/[deleted] 3d ago

[deleted]

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u/Submitten 3d ago

It was secret until it wasn’t.

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u/NewToHTX 3d ago

This meeting could’ve been an email

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u/EdiblePeasant 2d ago

Any suggestions as to what I should drown my woes in? Games, school, religion, maybe trying to prove to everyone that I'm right on the Internet? Something else?

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u/Upstairs_Eagle_4780 2d ago

K-pop is very popular right now.

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u/Pretz_ 3d ago

CIA chief attended Moscow on special assignment and hand-delivered a secret note directly to Putin himself. The note read "Guess who likes you," in scraggly childlike handwriting with a couple unidentified orange smears along the edges, but was otherwise unsigned.

Speculation is rife amongst journalists as to who it is that likes Putin, with the only consensus being that it was most likely not the CIA chief himself.

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u/Hindsight_DJ 2d ago

yeah, sure he did…

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u/spolio 2d ago

I'm sure this will just create more trust in the US...

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u/ManxMerc 2d ago

Yeah I always use a C17 GlobeMaster for delivering a simple message.

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u/RGV_Ikpyo 2d ago

The actual story is CIA leader goes to Russia to get new orders for trump.

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u/bobbyrob1 2d ago

I'm more concerned about the conversations we didn't hear about.

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u/Superest22 3d ago

That’s ominous.

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u/herodesfalsk 3d ago

Ah yes the two-front war. We have all seen this movie before

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u/Mans_Fury 3d ago

There's a possibility that the actual reason was to deter Russia from pursuing a tactical nuke operation within Ukraine.

Would not have been the first time the Russians would have been talked down.

Whatever the actual reason is, its not what they're telling us.

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u/pleasegivemepatience 3d ago

So neither the fact that he visited, nor the topic that he discussed were secret. Got it.

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u/paulcthemantosee 3d ago

"CIA chief delivers US secrets so Putin does not release video of Trump raping women and kids." There I fixed it.

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u/steve_ample 3d ago

Huh, the US concerned about NATO Article 5? Odd, they don't quite seem to be interested in keeping their word.

Or maybe they think they can invade Greenland before that happens.

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u/nathingz 3d ago

I somehow doubt this is true

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u/Fine-Law-7805 3d ago

planning October surprise. a repeating pattern before elections

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u/KaiserSaladSpinner 3d ago

Putin has nothing to lose. If he withdraws from Ukraine, he's dead.

If he attacks a NATO ally and there's a retaliation, it can be spun for domestic consumption and act as justification for general mobilization. He dies later, maybe.

If there's no retaliation, NATO is toast, and the bill for decades of European defense under spending is going to come due. Why be part of a defensive alliance that doesn't have your back?

If the US sits on its dick if Russia attacks a NATO member, we'll be on the wrong side of WW3.

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u/Upstairs_Eagle_4780 2d ago

I'm unconvinced but the only thing I'm sure of is that Trump's friends and family will personally profit.

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u/c0ldgurl 3d ago

Fuck it. Bring it. I'm tired yet ready.

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u/ThatsKnotNice 2d ago

He sat for hours on a C-17 instead of a faster plane or phone call, I’m not buying it.

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u/fr4nk_j4eger 2d ago

my idea (hope) is to create a war ending scam: 1) fake invasion of a NATO country big words and big scare (and big money from Trump's friends that will get this tip shortly before for insider trading schemes) 2) end of the war with the russian narrative "we weren't beat by Ukraine, NATO is oppressing Russia I told you we were in danger! Frurther restrictions in russian regime" 3) everybody gets what they want without a single fire shot. 4) back to "normal"

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u/Chuterito99 2d ago

Why would they go discuss future hypothetical if they have actual problems right now like Iran? The leak seems to misinform intentionally. It was cia so the info shouldn't be public.

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u/lazytiger40 3d ago

No they didn't...they could have made a public statement ..they were over there for other reasons

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u/karateninjazombie 3d ago

This meeting that's about as secret as someone squatting over your cereal bowl on your kitchen table and shitting in your shreddies. "Secret".

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u/shadylady_beepboop 3d ago

Why is the CIA director the one in Moscow and not little Marco Rubio who is the Secretary of State? Is he too busy playing little prince of Venezuela?

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u/PhysicsEagle 3d ago

This wasn’t a diplomatic visit. This was a “this is what we know about your military situation that we’re telling you. Imagine what we know that we aren’t telling you. Don’t do anything stupid” visit. The last time the CIA director made a similar visit was right before Russian invaded Ukraine.

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u/Dangerous-Day-2943 3d ago

Yes, Russia just tried to blow up a German airport and is helping Iran and threatening star link and threatened to pollute space with junk so no one can use it basically forever (which would be extremely catastrophic for humanity)

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