Mediaboss Marketing

This report is for the media and the general public.

Between the evenings of 11 and 12 August the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous reporting period. Between the evenings of 12 and 13 August the Mission recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region compared with the previous 24 hours. In the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area, an armed man pointed his assault rifle at SMM patrol members and threatened to shoot them.* The Mission followed up on a report of a civilian casualty in Dokuchaievsk; a DPR member told the Missionhe could not provide detailed information about the incident without the permission of other DPR members.The SMM continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; it recorded ceasefire violations near the Zolote disengagement area. The Missions access was restricted there and elsewhere, including in Yasne. The SMM observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines near Miusynsk. The Mission followed up on reports of interruption of power supply due to shelling-related damage in Katerynivka. It facilitated and monitored repairs to the Petrivske pumping station. The SMM visited two border areas not under government control. In Odessa, the Mission monitored the March for Equality.

In Donetsk region the SMM recorded fewerceasefire violations[1]between the evenings of 11 and 12 August, including about 70 explosions, compared with theprevious reportingperiod (about 140 explosions), and more between the evenings of 12 and 13 August, including about 160 explosions, compared with the previous 24 hours.

On the evening and night of 11-12 August the SMM camera in government-controlled Avdiivka (17km north of Donetsk) recorded, in sequence, one airburst, two projectiles in flight from west to east, one projectile in flight from south to north, one projectile in flight from west to east, five projectiles in vertical flight assessed as anti-aircraft cannon (type unknown) rounds, one burst of anti-aircraft cannon (type unknown) fire, three projectiles in flight from west to east and one airburst, all 2-6km at directions ranging from east to south-east.

On the evening and night of 12-13 August the same camera recorded, in sequence, 13 projectiles in flight from west to east, 34 projectiles in flight from east to west, one illumination flare in vertical flight, at least 40 projectiles in flight from west to east, two undetermined explosions, followed by aggregated totals of three illumination flares in vertical flight, 127 projectiles in flight (at least 58 from west to east, at least 56 from east to west, seven from south-east to north-west and six from south-west to north-east), all 4-6km east-south-east. The following day, positioned in Avdiivka for about five hours, the SMM heard 30 undetermined explosions 3-5km east-south-east and one burst of heavy-machine-gun fire 2-3km east-south-east.

On the evening and night of 11-12 August the SMM camera at the Donetsk Filtration Station (15km north of Donetsk) recorded, in sequence, one projectile in flight from south to north, 60 projectiles in flight from west to east, two undetermined explosions, 24 projectiles in flight from west to east, one undetermined explosion, 42 projectiles in flight from west to east, 12 tracer rounds in flight from east to west, one projectile in flight from south to north and three tracer rounds in flight from east to west, all 1-3km south. On 13 August the same camera recorded 44 explosions assessed as impacts of rounds of undetermined weapons 3-4km north-east.

On the evening and night of 11-12 August, while in government-controlled Svitlodarsk (57km north-east of Donetsk), in about two hours the SMM heard eight undetermined explosions and about 40 bursts and shots of automatic-grenade-launcher and small-arms fire, all 3-10km south-east and east. The following day, while in the same location, within a minute the SMM heard three undetermined explosions about 5km south-east. On the evening and night of 12-13 August the SMM heard 22 undetermined explosions and five bursts of small-arms fire, all 5-10km east.

On the evening and night of 11-12 August, the SMM camera in Shyrokyne (20km east of Mariupol) recorded, in sequence, one explosion assessed as an outgoing round of an undetermined weapon, one rocket-assisted projectile in flight from south-east to north-west, two undetermined explosions, eight tracer rounds in flight from west to east, one undetermined explosion, three bursts from west to east, one explosion assessed as an outgoing round of an undetermined weapon and one rocket-assisted projectile in flight from south-east to north-west, followed by aggregated totals of 46 undetermined explosions and 34 tracer rounds in flight (25 from west to east and nine from east to west), all at unknown distances north.

On the evening and night of 12-13 August the same camera recorded, in sequence, 49 undetermined explosions, two tracer rounds in flight from west to east, one undetermined explosion, one illumination flare in vertical flight, three tracer rounds in flight from west to east, two illumination flares in vertical flight, one tracer round in flight from east to west, one undetermined explosion, followed by aggregated totals of five undetermined explosions, one illumination flare in vertical flight, 14 projectiles in flight (11 from west to east and three from east to west) and 122 tracer rounds in flight (76 from west to east and 46 from east to west), all at unknown distances north and north-north-east.

In Luhansk region the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations between the evenings of 11 and 12 August, including 15 explosions, compared withthe previous reporting period(about 190 explosions). Between the evenings of 12 and 13 August it recorded fewer ceasefire violations, including, however, more explosions (46), compared with the previous 24 hours.

On the night of 11-12 August, while in government-controlled Popasna (69km west of Luhansk), the SMM heard nine undetermined explosions, about 350 bursts of heavy-machine-gun and small-arms fire, and ten shots of infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) (BMP-2) cannon (30mm) fire, all 3-10km at directions ranging from south-east to south-west. On the evening and night of 12-13 August, while in the same location, the SMM heard 44 undetermined explosions, about 25 minutes of uncountable overlapping bursts and an additional 170 bursts of heavy-machine-gun fire, and one shot of small-arms fire, all 3-8km at directions ranging from north-east to south-east.

On 13 August, while an SMM patrol was positioned immediately south of the broken section of the pedestrian bridge south of government-controlled Stanytsia Luhanska (16km north-east of Luhansk), next to a forward LPR position inside the disengagement area, a man in military-style clothing armed with an assault rifle (AK-variant) approached the patrol, disengaged its safety catch and pointed it at the patrol from about 3m away. The armed man then gestured with his rifle to the patrol to move, calling the SMM patrol members spies and threatening to shoot them. The SMM immediately returned to its armoured vehicles and departed the area. The Mission informed the Joint Centre for Control and Co-ordination (JCCC) about the incident and requested that it follow up.* (SeeSMM Spot Report 13 August 2017.) On 14 August, a Russian officer of the JCCC informed the SMM that the abovementioned man had been discharged from service at an LPR position on the Stanytsia Luhanska bridge.

The SMM followed up on a media report of acivilian casualtyin DPR-controlled Dokuchaievsk (30km south-west of Donetsk). On 11 August at the hospital in the town, medical staff told the Mission that a man (aged 66) had triggered a booby trap and died from bleeding on the spot and that his body had been brought to the hospital for a post-mortem examination. The next day, the SMM visited the former residence of the deceased man at 3 Polova Street in Dokuchaievsk where a group of five residents (three men, aged 50-60, and two women, aged between 40-50 years) together told the SMM that the mans family had left for his funeral, adding that the incident occurred in the area between Dokuchaievsk and DPR-controlled Yasne (30km south-west of Donetsk) on the morning of 10 August. They said that the deceased man had been found dead by his son who had been searching for him. The residents also said that the son noted that his father had likely triggered a booby trap and that the area of the incident had been frequently visited by local residents despite its close proximity to the contact line. A DPR member told the SMM that the man had set off a grenade connected with a trip wire, but that further information could not be provided without the permission of other DPR members.* Russian Federation officers of the JCCC told the Mission that the man had triggered a booby trap while walking 300-400m from the contact line and showed the Mission a letter that they said certified the mans death on 10 August.

In DPR-controlled Pikuzy (formerly Kominternove, 23km north-east of Mariupol), the SMM met with the mother of a 19-year-old girl who was killed in the village by gunfire on the night of18-19 June. (SeeSMM Daily Report 22 June 2017.) The mother told the Mission that after the incident she and her family had moved to DPR-controlled Novoazovsk (40km east of Mariupol) and that she visits Pikuzy for work.

The SMM continued tomonitor the disengagement process and to pursue full access to the disengagement areasof Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote (60km west of Luhansk) and Petrivske (41km south of Donetsk), as foreseen in theFramework Decision of the Trilateral Contact Group relating to disengagement of forces and hardwareof 21 September 2016. The SMMs access remained restricted but the Mission was able to partially monitor them.*

On the evening and night of 10-11 August, the SMM camera in government-controlled Zolote recorded seven projectiles in flight from north-west to south-east, all 3.5-5km east-north-east and assessed as outside the disengagement area. On the night of 11-12 August, the same camera recorded, in sequence, one projectile in flight from north to south, one projectile in flight from south-west to north-east, one projectile in flight from north-west to south-east and one projectile in vertical flight, all 8.5-13km east and assessed as outside the disengagement area. The camera then recorded, in sequence, four projectiles in flight from north-west to south-east, one projectile in flight from south-east to north-west, five projectiles in flight from north-west to south-east, one projectile in flight from south-west to north-east and one undetermined explosion, all 2.6-5.5km at directions ranging from east-north-east to south-east and assessed as outside the disengagement area.

On 12 August, positioned at the eastern edge of LPR-controlled Pervomaisk (58km west of Luhansk), the SMM heard three undetermined explosions about 3km south-south-west. Later in the day, positioned in government-controlled Zolote-4 (60km north-west of Luhansk), the SMM heard one burst and six shots of small-arms fire about 600m north-east. Approximatelyone hour later, positioned 1.5km west of Zolote-4, the SMM heard one undetermined explosion and saw subsequent smoke rising 5-7km north-east. The SMM assessed that all these ceasefire violations had occurred outside the disengagement area.

On 13 August, positioned in Zolote-4, the SMM heard one shot of small-arms fire 300-400m south-east, assessed as outside the disengagement area. Aboutfour hours later, the Mission heard one shot of small-arms fire about 1km south-south-west but it was unable to assess whether the ceasefire violation had occurred inside or outside the disengagement area.

The same day, positioned in government-controlled Bohdanivka (41km south-west of Donetsk), outside the disengagement near DPR-controlled Petrivske, the SMM noted a calm situation.

The SMM continued to monitor thewithdrawal of weapons, in implementation of the Package of Measures and its Addendum, as well as the Memorandum.

In violation of withdrawal lines, in non-government-controlled areas, aerial imagery revealed the presence of eight multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) (type unknown) on 9 August at a possible training area about 5km south-east of Miusynsk (62km south-west of Luhansk) where previously at least 16 MLRS had been observed. (SeeSMM Daily Report 31 July 2017.)

Beyond withdrawal lines but outside designated storage sites in non-government-controlled areas, aerial imagery revealed the presence of 11 self-propelled howitzers, eight towed howitzers and 16 tanks (type unknown) on 9 August at a possible training area about 5km south-east of Miusynsk where previously nine self-propelled howitzers, 12 towed howitzers and 18 tanks had been observed. (SeeSMM Daily Report 31 July 2017.)

The SMM observedarmoured combat vehicles

[2]and tracks of armoured personnel carriers (APC) in the security zone. On 12 August the SMM saw two APCs (BTR-4) one stationary and the other heading north near government-controlled Makarove (19km north-east of Luhansk). On 13 August the SMM saw fresh tracks assessed as those of three or four APCs (MT-LB) near LPR-controlled Dovhe (22km north-west of Luhansk).

On 12 August the SMM again saw the presence of armed formations in a residential area of Yasne where the Mission had recently observed damage to civilian properties. (SeeSMM Daily Report 1 August 2017.) At the south-west end of Lenina Street, the SMM saw at least ten armed DPR members. As three of them approached the SMM, it saw the safety catches of assault rifles (AK-variant) carried by two of the men were disengaged (set for full automatic fire) and another man was filming the Missions interaction with them. One of the two men asked the SMM about the purpose of the visit and said he was not pleased with the presence of the Mission in the village. The SMM did not consider it safe to stay in the village and left the area.*

The SMM observedthe presence of unexploded ordnance (UXO) and mine hazard signs. On 11 August the SMM, for the first time, observed the tailfin of an 82mm mortar round sticking 2cm out of the asphalt about 90m south-east of the junction between Akhmatovoi and Peremohy Streets in the centre of Pikuzy. The SMM assessed the mortar round had been fired from a north-north-westerly direction. The Mission informed a resident in Pikuzy of the presence of the UXO. The following day, the SMM informed a Russian officer of the JCCC in DPR-controlled Bezimenne (30km east of Mariupol) about the presence of the UXO as well as two previously observed unexploded 120mm mortar rounds and a crater on the E-58 road between Bezimenne and DPR-controlled Sakhanka (24km north-east of Mariupol). (SeeSMM Daily Report 11 August 2017.)

The SMM followed up onreports of interruption of power supply due to shelling-related damagein government-controlled Katerynivka (64km west of Luhansk). A group of three women (aged between 40-70 years) together told the SMM on 13 August that the power company had stopped electricity supply to the village in the early morning, as a result of information from a resident that the power distribution system in the village was damaged by shelling that occurred on the night of 12-13 August. The SMM then visited the power company in government-controlled Hirske (63km west of Luhansk), where staff confirmed the power cut and said the power distribution system in the village would be repaired, while noting a shortage of technical staff to conduct repairs in the village and its surrounding areas.

The SMMfacilitated repairs to essential infrastructure, co-ordinated by theJCCC. On 12 August, positioned on both sides of the contact line, the SMM continued to monitor repair works at the Petrivske water pumping station near government-controlled Artema (26km north of Luhansk). (SeeSMM Daily Report 9 August 2017.)

The SMM visited twoborder areas not under government control. On 12 August, at the border crossing point in Marynivka (78km east of Donetsk), in about one hour, the SMM saw 53 cars (29 with Ukrainian, 11 with Russian Federation and one with Lithuanian licence plates, and 12 with DPR plates), five trucks (three with Ukrainian, one with Russian Federation and one with Belorussian licence plates) and one bus (with Ukrainian licence plates) in a queue to exit Ukraine. The SMM also saw 19 cars (11 with Russian Federation and five with Ukrainian licence plates, and three with DPR plates) and one bus (with Ukrainian licence plates) entering Ukraine.

On 13 August, at the border crossing point near Voznesenivka (formerly Chervonopartyzansk, 65km south-east of Luhansk), in about one hour, the SMM saw 62 cars (36 with Ukrainian, 24 with Russian Federation and two with Georgian licence plates) in a queue to exit Ukraine. The SMM also saw ten cars (seven with Ukrainian and three with Russian Federation licence plates) enter Ukraine.

On 13 August the SMM monitoreda march in Odessa. The Mission observed about 120 people (men and women, aged between15-35 years) gathered at the beginning of Prymorskyi Boulevard, some of whom told the SMM that it was the March for Equality organized by activists of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) community. It saw about 100 police and National Guard officers nearby. When the participants marched towards the end of Prymorskyi Boulevard, they were stopped by the police about halfway due to the presence of about 100 activists, some of whom were recognized by the SMM as members of Svoboda, Young Right, Sokil and Street Front. The Mission saw the activists loudly shout such messages as Father, mother and a child is a strong Ukraine. The LGBTI march participants then sat down on the street, stating that the police should let them proceed. Aboutone hour later, the participants left the area while being escorted by the police. The event ended without further incidents.

The SMM continued monitoring in Kherson, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kharkiv, Lviv, Dnipro, Chernivtsi and Kyiv.

Restrictions of SMMs freedom of movement or other impediments to fulfilment of its mandate

The SMMs monitoring and freedom of movement are restricted by security hazards and threats, including risks posed by mines, UXO and other impediments which vary from day to day. The SMMs mandate provides for safe and secure access throughout Ukraine. All signatories of the Package of Measures have agreed on the need for this safe and secure access, that restriction of the SMMs freedom of movement constitutes a violation, and on the need for rapid response to these violations. They have also agreed that the JCCC should contribute to such response and co-ordinate mine clearance. The SMMs operations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions remained restricted followingthe fatal incident of23 Aprilnear Pryshyb; these restrictions continued to limit the Missions observations, including at the disengagement area near Petrivske.

Denial of access:

Related to disengagement areas and mines/UXO:

Other impediments:

[1]Please seethe annexed tablefor a complete breakdown of the ceasefire violations as well as a map of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions marked with locations featured in this report.*** Please see the section at the end of this report entitled Restrictions of SMMs freedom of movement or other impediments to fulfilment of its mandate.

[2]This hardware is not proscribed by the provisions of the Minsk agreements on the withdrawal of weapons.

For PDF attachments or links to sources of further information, please visit:http://www.osce.org/special-monitoring-mission-to-ukraine/335671

Contacts:

Alexandra Taylor 26 Turhenievska Street 01054 Kyiv Ukraine mobile:+380 67 650 31 57 alexandra.taylor@osce.org

Mariia Aleksevych 26 Turhenievska Street 01054 Kyiv Ukraine office:+380 44 392 0849 mobile:+380 50 381 5192 mobile:+380 93 691 6790 mariia.aleksevych@osce.org

The rest is here:
Latest from the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM), based on information received as of 19:30, 13 ... - ReliefWeb

Former president Barack Obama wowed the crowd at a Chance the Rapper concert in Chicago on Saturday night during a surprise video guest appearance, sharing inspirational words about the next generation of leaders and applaudingthe young rapper for his support of the citys youth.

The free concert followed the Bud Billiken Parade, the countrys oldest and biggest African American parade and an annual back-to-school tradition in Chicago since 1929. Chance, who served as grand marshal of the parade,surprised fans by handing out tickets to his Saturday night show at Chicagos Auditorium Theatre.

Appearing on a massive screen onstage, Obama congratulated Chance for his role in the parade and his longtime support of Chicagoschildren. The Grammy Award winner donated $1 million to Chicago Public Schools earlier this year, and his localcharity, SocialWorks, handed out 30,000 backpacks filled with school supplies to students at Saturdays parade, according to the Chicago Tribune.

[Chance the Rapper chips in $1 million to help Chicago public schools funding crisis]

We want to make sure our kids are safe. We want to make sure that they are ready for going back to school. We want to make sure that we are nurturing and protecting and encouraging and loving the next generation of leaders all throughout the city of Chicago, Obama said in his recorded message, his words occasionally drowned out by cheers and whistles. So Chance, I am grateful for everything you have done on behalf of our young people back home. You are representing the kind of young people who come out of Chicago and change the world.

[Michelle Obama surprises Chance the Rapper with a tribute at BET Awards]

It wasnt the first time a member of the Obama family has showered praise on the 24-year-old musician: When Chance won the Humanitarian Award at the BET Awards in June, Michelle Obama surprised him with a special video tribute, calling him an outstanding role model.

The rest is here:
Obama praises Chance the Rapper during a surprise appearance at Chicago concert - Washington Post

President Donald Trumps many-sided response to the weekends white-supremacist violence in Charlottesville, Virginiaincluding the lethal car-ramming of anti-Nazi protesters by a 20-year-old Adolf Hitler admirerpredictably prompted a paroxysm of rationalization by the folks at Fox & Friends.

On Monday mornings show, regular cohost Steve Doocy, along with weekend hosts Abby Huntsman and Pete Hegseth (subbing for the vacationing Ainsley Earhardt and Brian Kilmeade), twisted themselves and the facts into a tangled mess in order to the blame Democrats and the media for the widespread criticism being heaped upon Trump.

Theres been a lot of outrageDemocrats, media, Huntsman declared, and held up the front page of a New York newspaper sporting the headline THE NAZI TRUMP WONT CALL OUT.

I was looking at the Daily News this morning, Huntsman said. I knew right away, when he didnt call it for what it wasa lot of people thought he should, many members of the Republican Party as wellI knew exactly the direction the media would take it, and the Democrats would take it. Because it fits right into the narrative many of them had the whole time hes been presidentthat he supports these types of groups.

No matter what, they were gonna say that, said Hegseth, who on Sundays installment of Fox & Friends had praised the president for not immediately picking a side out [of] the gate, and seemed to defend the white nationalists and neo-Nazis, some of them sporting swastika armbands, who had come to Charlottesville to protest the removal of a statue commemorating Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.

Justifying Trump on Monday, Hegseth claimed: I think the president nailed it... First he condemns in the strongest possible terms hatred and bigotry. He salutes the police. He talks about our country and how we should rally around it. And then yesterday he came outand the White House came outwith a very strongly and specifically worded statement.

That, to put it charitably, was an eccentric take on the presidents Saturday statement, in which he ad-libbed equal culpability (many sides, many sides) on both the neo-Nazis and their opponents for the violence, in which 32-year-old counterdemonstrator Heather Heyer was killed when James Alex Fields Jr. allegedly rammed an anti-Nazi crowd with his Dodge Challenger, tossing bodies in the air, and then fled the scene.

Meanwhile, the Sunday statement Hegseth praised came from an insistently anonymous White House spokesperson, not from President Trump.

In a blithe defense of the alt-right and neo-Nazi protesters who had showed up to support white nationalism, Hegseth had said Sunday that theres always a grievance underneath it that its worth talking about. And we should never live in such a politically correct culture that we cant at least have a conversation. Theres a reason those people were out there.

Meanwhile, in especially egregious instances of dishonest editing, the program first ran video of Vice President Mike Pence condemning white supremacists but excluded Pences trashing of the national media for spend[ing] more time criticizing the presidents words than they did criticizing those that perpetrated the violence to begin with.

Then, in a second instance of willful dishonesty, Fox & Friends played a clip of then-President Barack Obama speculating on the motives of a murderer who shot and killed five Dallas cops during a July 2016 Black Lives Matter protesthe noted that its dangerous to tar a whole movement with the evil act of a deranged individualwithout mentioning that he called the shootings a vicious, calculated, despicable attack on law enforcement.

He wasnt actually entirely wrong, but the grace given to him of course is never given to President Trump, Hegseth complained. And Huntsman drew an indefensible parallel from Obamas cautionary statement to the appropriate blame-fixing in Charlottesville.

Get The Beast In Your Inbox!

Start and finish your day with the top stories from The Daily Beast.

A speedy, smart summary of all the news you need to know (and nothing you don't).

Subscribe

Thank You!

You are now subscribed to the Daily Digest and Cheat Sheet. We will not share your email with anyone for any reason.

Unfortunately, that happens all too often today, right? she said. You have one individual and that then turns into speaking for a political party, speaking for a much bigger group, for a presidentthats when it gets very complicated and problematic.

Was Huntsman making the point that the white nationalists and neo-Nazis in Charlottesville were a much bigger group that shouldnt be held in any way accountable for the homicidal act of one of their supporters? It sure sounded like it.

See the rest here:
'Fox & Friends': Trump on Charlottesville Is Same as Obama Was on Dallas Attack - Daily Beast

The Obama administration received multiple warnings from national security officials between 2014 and 2016 that the Kremlin was ramping up its intelligence operations and building disinformation networks it could use to disrupt the U.S. political system, according to more than half a dozen current and former officials.

As early as 2014, the administration received a report that quoted a well-connected Russian source as saying that the Kremlin was building a disinformation arm that could be used to interfere in Western democracies. The report, according to an official familiar with it, included a quote from the Russian source telling U.S. officials in Moscow, "You have no idea how extensive these networks are in Europe ... and in the U.S., Russia has penetrated media organizations, lobbying firms, political parties, governments and militaries in all of these places."

Story Continued Below

That report was circulated among the National Security Council, intelligence agencies and the State Department via secure email and cable in the spring of 2014 as part of a larger assessment of Russian intentions in Ukraine, the official said.

There was no explicit warning of a threat to U.S. elections, but the official said some diplomats and national security officials in Moscow felt the administration was too quick to dismiss the possibility that the Kremlin incursions could reach the United States.

Sign up for POLITICO Playbook and get the latest news, every morning in your inbox.

By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or alerts from POLITICO. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Even if the Russians and [Russian President Vladimir] Putin had these ambitions, they were doubtful of their capacity to execute them, the official said of the Obama administration.

Former White House officials, requesting anonymity to discuss intelligence reporting, confirmed that the administration began receiving increased traffic in 2014 about Russian disinformation and covert influence in campaigns, but said they did not recall receiving that specific warning about Russian inroads in the United States.

Ned Price, a former spokesperson for the National Security Council, rejected the idea that the administration failed to heed warnings about Russian interference in the U.S. political system or Russian cyberespionage in general.

The Obama administration was nothing but proactive in responding to Russian aggression in all of its forms, especially as Moscow became more brazen with and following its military moves against Ukraine beginning in 2014, Price said, citing sanctions and increased American support to NATO as evidence of the former administrations seriousness.

But subsequent events including Russias interference in the American election through hacks of the emails of the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton campaign Chairman John Podesta, among other intrusions identified by U.S. intelligence have left many in the former administration wondering whether they could have done more.

People have criticized us ... for not coming out more forcefully and saying it, former CIA Director John Brennan said at the Aspen National Forum in July. There was no playbook for this.

On Oct. 7, 2016, about a month before the election, the administration revealed, through a statement from the director of national intelligence and the Department of Homeland Security, that the U.S. government believed Russia was behind the hacks and was seeking to interfere with the election. The revelation, which many in the White House expected to be bombshell news, was largely overshadowed by the revelation that same day of an Access Hollywood tape in which Donald Trump made crude and sexist comments to anchor Billy Bush.

But others in the national security community say an overly cautious Obama White House could have done more both during the campaign and in the previous months and years to alert Russia that it was aware of its intentions to subvert the U.S. democracy along with those of some other Western countries and would retaliate forcefully at the first sign of Russian interference.

POLITICO spoke with more than a dozen current and former officials from across the national security spectrum, including intelligence agencies, the State Department and the Pentagon. Almost all said they were aware of Russias aggressive cyberespionage and disinformation campaigns especially after the dramatic Russian attempt to hack Ukrainian elections in 2014 but felt that either the White House or key agencies were unwilling to act forcefully to counter the Russian actions.

Intelligence officials "had a list of things they could never get the signoffs on, one intelligence official said. The truth is, nobody wanted to piss off the Russians.

Among the strategies put forward prior to the 2016 election were closing two Russian dachas in Maryland and New York, which were long suspected of being Russian intelligence sites, expelling diplomats and engaging in counterintelligence operations that would alert Putin to the United States determination to strike back against any attempts at interference in the U.S. political system.

Officials outside the White House blamed micromanagement by the National Security Council for the lack of a more forceful response, while a former NSC official says any failure to act forcefully against Russia was because of concerns by the State Department and, less frequently, the Defense Department about potential retaliation by Moscow.

The frustrations [about lack of forceful action] are justified and, frankly, were shared by the White House, said the former official, who requested anonymity due to this person's continuing work in Russia.

The options were being discussed. They werent being implemented, the former official added.

The State Department and Pentagon often objected to harsher measures endorsed by the intelligence community, one official said, a difference in perspective that some attributed to the fact that diplomatic staff and defense attaches were obvious targets of retaliation, rather than intelligence officers who usually work undercover.

Concerns about Russian cyberespionage and election meddling largely grew out of the events following Russias annexation of Crimea in March 2014, followed by an aggressive Russian effort to influence the Ukrainian presidential election that May.

A Russia-backed cyberattack against Ukraines voting infrastructure during the May election was thwarted at the 11th hour. The cyberintrusions which in some cases could have changed voter tallies were discovered just hours before what could have been catastrophic outcomes.

The reports from sources deep inside the Russian government were alarming, one current U.S. official who served under the Obama administration said. We started getting stuff in April, May [of 2014] that was extraordinary about the extent of the threat and the capacities the Russians were building.

We were worried [Putin] would try to test us, recalled a former Obama administration official.

The Ukraine crisis coupled with the Kremlins embrace of National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden, who continues to be granted asylum by Moscow was a sobering moment for the White House, one recently departed intelligence officer and the current administration official said.

Yet the administration still was reluctant to engage in more forceful counterintelligence strategies against the Kremlin, including more aggressively tracking and tailing Russian operatives within the United States, according to five of the officials who spoke to POLITICO.

Those outside the White House said they received frustrating mixed messages: The White House would subsequently dismiss Moscows capabilities while also citing fear of an escalation with Putin.

Price, the former NSC spokesman, denied those claims.

We responded with the same clarity of purpose following Moscows aggression against U.S. officials in Russia and, of course, in the face of the Kremlins attempt to undermine the integrity of our electoral process, he said.

But several senior intelligence and administration officials recall it differently.

It just seemed like it was difficult, especially after the Crimea and the Ukraine ... there still wasnt a willingness to more heartily engage in the effort, the former intelligence officer said.

In one particularly frustrating instance, officials said, they reiterated a longstanding desire to shut down the two Russian dachas in Maryland and New York. Amid escalating tensions, it was often presented as a way to send a message to Moscow.

For quite some time, it was an active option. Secretary Kerry refused to consider it, the former NSC official said. We were getting pushback from the head of the agency being harassed. That was a constant frustration.

Former Secretary of State John Kerry was overseas and unavailable for comment. But a former senior State Department official, speaking as a representative of Kerry, saw it differently. Kerry agreed to shut down the dachas, but had not settled on the timing, the official said.

Tensions finally reached a fever pitch in the summer of 2016. Just days before Russian operatives began releasing troves of stolen DNC emails, a CIA officer under official diplomatic cover was brutally beaten outside the U.S. embassy in Moscow. The officer managed to slip to safety inside the door of the U.S. compound but was immediately evacuated for medical care.

U.S. intelligence and law enforcement officials worked frantically to compile retaliatory options for the Obama White House. Despite being presented with several strategies including more aggressively tailing Russian diplomats in the U.S. it opted to do nothing immediately.

There was some real anger, the former intelligence officer said. We werent going to mug anybody, but we could at least be more overt in our coverages. We could expel some people, we could do more overt surveillance on people.

Another former intelligence official put it this way: The longer we dont push back, the harder they push.

Even after the release of emails designed to damage Clintons campaign, the White House was reluctant to respond, something that several recently departed Obama-era officials have lamented.

After compiling a list of potential retaliatory options in the summer of 2016 including kicking out more than 100 Russian diplomats, one official told POLITICO the pushback from national security agencies was so great and varied, the NSC official said, that for months nothing was done.

Any of these actions risked a Russian reciprocation, the former NSC official said. We were kind of caught in a catch-22.

After the election, in December, the White House finally announced the expulsion of 35 diplomats and ordered the Kremlin officials out of the two Russian-owned dachas.

But in a further indication of the tensions within the Obama team, Kerry rejected suggestions that he personally break the news of the expulsions and closing of the dachas to Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov, the former NSC official said. Instead, the job was left to Pat Kennedy, one of Kerrys undersecretaries.

The former State Department official, speaking for Kerry, said the option of having Kerry communicate the expulsions and closing of the dachas to Lavrov was never discussed. But the former NSC official was unmoved.

The idea of having Kerry doing it with Lavrov was raised several times and he didnt want to do it, the NSC official said.

The expulsions and closing of the dachas were symbolic moves that stung the Kremlin, but for many intelligence officers, it was too little, too late.

While some Obama White House officials privately concede that they, too, wish there had been a more forceful response, others stand by the decisions that were made.

People at the working level dont necessarily understand the full scope of policy implications, one former White House official said.

Now, to the further frustration of some intelligence officers, there is little indication that, for all Trumps bluster, hell be tougher on the Kremlin. In his first months in office, the president has signaled a willingness to work with Moscow on several fronts, and has pushed back hard against his own intelligence communitys assessment that Russia actively worked to elect him to the presidency.

Its a bitter pill for many who see Trumps election as the avoidable outcome of years worth of counterintelligence failings against Russia.

They were warned. They underestimated it until it was too late, the current administration official said of the Obama White House and Russia, with a tinge of bitterness. They just didnt know how to deal with the bad guys.

Missing out on the latest scoops? Sign up for POLITICO Playbook and get the latest news, every morning in your inbox.

Go here to read the rest:
Obama team was warned in 2014 about Russian interference - Politico

But while most politicians -- on both sides of the aisle -- were quick to condemn the rally and its participants, one individual for some 48 hours was far too measured and calculating in his response. And it took public outcry and a White House in crisis mode for President Donald Trump to course correct.

And we are right to sharply criticize both presidents for failing to stare hate squarely in the face and call it exactly what it is.

"This represents a turning point for the people of this country. We are determined to take our country back, we're going to fulfill the promises of Donald Trump, and that's what we believed in, that's why we voted for Donald Trump, because he said he's going to take our country back and that's what we gotta do."

To borrow and remake an ill-fated 2012 campaign debate quote from Obama: Mr. Duke, the 1950s called, and they want their pathetically racist ideologies back.

Trump's initial response on Saturday, in which he acknowledged there were "many sides," left many of us feeling unsatisfied. We wanted him to act presidential. We wanted him to clearly enunciate the threat and condemn it in the strongest and most unequivocal language. And he let us down.

But there is also a hypocrisy in the coverage of this event and the President's subsequent responses, one that mirrors the Obama presidency and is worth exploring in greater detail.

Those of us who've spent a career identifying the evil among us and are committed to keeping America safe shake our heads at the political pretzel-twisting politicians subject themselves to. If it meets the definition of terrorism, call it that. Once the perpetrators have been identified through exhaustive investigation, describe them in easily discernible terms.

And, when I served as the special assistant to the assistant-director-in-charge of the FBI's New York office in Manhattan in 2015, I sat in on innumerable secure video teleconferences with the bureau's 56 division heads and FBI headquarters. Watching briefings in which senior FBI officials had to comply with Holder's DOJ mandate not to use "radical Islamists" to describe cases focused on radical Islamists often resulted in a wry and resigned smile from the briefer saddled with this ridiculous restriction. Holder insisted we refrain from "calling it what it is," and instead mandated that these cases be described in more nebulous and ambiguous terms: "combating violent extremism" matters.

While we're all outraged over Trump's indelicate dance to avoid calling the white racists, bigots and anti-Semites who have attached themselves like a barnacle to the GOP's ship hull what they are, let's be careful not to isolate the few, in order to smear the whole --- a lesson we were repeatedly lectured about during the Obama era.

The world just isn't as black and white as the bigoted protesters in Charlottesville would lead us to believe.

Excerpt from:
Trump is repeating Obama's mistake - CNN