The purpose of CIA Director John Ratcliffe’s visit to Moscow this week was to warn Russia not to attack NATO member states, according to multiple people familiar with the matter, amid U.S. intelligence assessments that Russia could try to test NATO.

  • bedwyr@piefed.ca
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    8
    ·
    6 hours ago

    What a bitch. As if Russia would, or could, attack Nato. Even without the US Russia would get wrecked and they know it.

    The US is just worried the US having to back it’s allies will lead to blackmail on our swells coming to light.

  • metermatic26@lemmy.worldOP
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    51
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    12 hours ago

    The last time a CIA director had direct talks with his Russian counterpart, it was to warn the Russians not to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine. The last time before that, it was to warn the Russians not to invade Ukraine.

    Russia is presumably behind the incidents in Leipzig and Rome earlier this month, which constitute direct attacks on NATO military assets and are a severe escalation of the conflict.

    In addition Russia has placed ballistic missile launchers in Belarus, has started bombing the border crossing between Moldova and Ukraine, has started engaging in routine airspace violations into NATO territory, all while laying the political groundwork for a massive and forced mobilization.

    It seems very reasonable that Ratcliffe’s visit is in response to either the recent attacks or new intelligence pointing to further escalation.

    • village604@adultswim.fan
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      10
      ·
      10 hours ago

      Is Russia even capable of a massive mobilization against NATO? They had to use NK soldiers in Ukraine.

      • The_Terrible_Humbaba@slrpnk.net
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        8
        ·
        edit-2
        8 hours ago

        They were not capable of taking Ukraine in 3 days, but they still tried unfortunately. More important than what they can do, is what they think they can do. And more than that, is what they might want to/see as benefitial to do, whether it might succeed or not. And by “they” in this case, I really just mean Putin.

        • ms.lane@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          3
          ·
          37 minutes ago

          Had it not been for US, they might have taken Ukraine.

          VDV getting annihilated at Hostomel airport is a direct result of US warning Ukraine that the Tank column was effectively a feint and that they needed to hold that airport at all costs.

      • nymnympseudonym@piefed.social
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        6 hours ago

        massive mobilization

        That’s not how Russia fights NATO. It’s done with “asymmetric tactics” – terrorism, basically.

  • minorkeys@sh.itjust.works
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    8
    ·
    9 hours ago

    But what exactly constitutes an attack? Russia is a master of incremental conflict escalating, never doing anything significant enough to warrant a significant response. I don’t even know if NATO has a runbook for dealing with this kind of aggression, I hope so, but I don’t see it.

  • Buffalox@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    17
    arrow-down
    4
    ·
    11 hours ago

    USA has very close to zero influence on either Ukraine, Russia or Europe.
    Why the fuck does he think it matters what someone from the Trump administration says? Especially since they change their minds constantly.
    Seems to me that Putin has a way bigger influence on Trump, and the job was to take a message back to trump that needed to be 100% sure not to be intercepted.
    It is very clear that USA would not aid Europe or NATO if Putin attacked, the same way USA isn’t aiding Ukraine, despite they promised to do so for Ukraine giving up their nukes.
    Maybe Putin needed to remind Trump that he still has the P-tapes, P as in pedo.

    • tabarnaski@sh.itjust.works
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      4
      ·
      5 hours ago

      This has nothing to do with influence. The US doesn’t want to intervene in Europe, but they are bound by NATO. Trump could decide he doesn’t care, but the consequences of not helping a NATO country would be far more damaging to the US, a country the whole world hates right now (apart from Israel maybe).

      Ratcliffe knows this and my guess is he’s trying to convince Moscow that Trump doesn’t call all the shots.

    • palordrolap@fedia.io
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      10
      arrow-down
      3
      ·
      11 hours ago

      Why the fuck does he think it matters what someone from the Trump administration says?

      The US has main character syndrome. It’s hereditary from Britain, who have managed to tone it down a bit in recent years.

      • Buffalox@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        9
        arrow-down
        2
        ·
        edit-2
        10 hours ago

        That is true, but to be fair, UK kind of was the main character until WW2, Then USA became the main character.
        But USA has made themselves irrelevant, their military power is now shown to be somewhat a paper tiger, and their global political influence is only a fraction of what it was a few years ago.
        But what makes USA more irrelevant than anything, is their absolute inability to stand by any agreement they’ve made. Trump is even tearing up agreements he made himself. Like the trade deal with Canada. And the agreement they made with Iran before the attack. An agreement that gave USA basically everything they asked for!

        So USA is kind of still the main character in some way, but they are not worth negotiating with. USA is probably the most untrustworthy country in the world right now. And also the absolute lack of standing by any ally, makes them irrelevant even to allies.
        Only Russia and Israel have real influence on Trump, and both Russia and Israel had strong ties to Epstein.

        Which is why I suspect that what the CIA director said is pretty irrelevant, what matters is what Putin said. And we will probably never know what Putin said.

        If we see USA as the main character, the way to see it is that the main character is writing himself out of the script with an extremely poor performance nobody likes.

  • frustrated_phagocytosis@fedia.io
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    3
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    11 hours ago

    Begged, he begged. Probably gifting something he shouldn’t in exchange for not attacking and exposing how poorly we could defend against it now that we blew our load all over Gaza and Iran.

  • DaddleDew@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    4
    arrow-down
    2
    ·
    12 hours ago

    I feel like that during that “secret” meeting Russia tried to convince him to let them attack a NATO country.

  • 🌸𝓯𝓵𝓸𝔀𝓮𝓻🌸@sh.itjust.works
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    2
    arrow-down
    2
    ·
    11 hours ago

    “Like, dude, don’t attack any EU country. I heard that b* von der Leyden is giving out a billion in subsidies for the first county to reach Moscow and everyone is complaining the Poles have a headstart when the race starts. They’re saying next year, they’re going to parade you in the red square. So think hard on this! Alright gotta go bye!”