Confidential Russian Report Unveils Strategy for a ‘Offensive Information Campaign’ Against the U.S

A secret plan to undermine the U.S. and The West with an “offensive information campaign” was drawn up by Russia’s Foreign Ministry and now has been revealed.

The April 11, 2023 document uses much more harsh language regarding Russia’s relations with the West than the The Foreign Policy Concept of the Russian Federation, approved by Russian President Vladimir Putin only 12 days before. The March document calls for “the democratization of international relations,” “sovereign equality” and states that “Russia does not consider itself an enemy of the West … and has no ill intentions toward it,” adding that Russia hoped the West would “realize the lack of any future in its confrontational policy and hegemonistic ambitions, and will accept the complicated realities of the multipolar world,”

But the April 2023 secret document utilizes harsher rhetoric, as The Washington Post reports, writing, “We need to continue adjusting our approach to relations with unfriendly states. It’s important to create a mechanism for finding the vulnerable points of their external and internal policies with the aim of developing practical steps to weaken Russia’s opponents.”

The Post noted last week, “In an ongoing campaign that seeks to influence congressional and other political debates to stoke anti-Ukraine sentiment, Kremlin-linked political strategists and trolls have written thousands of fabricated news articles, social media posts and comments that promote American isolationism, stir fear over the United States’ border security and attempt to amplify U.S. economic and racial tensions …”

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX) and Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner (R-OH) said that a portion of the Republican Party’s base has bought into Russian propaganda thanks to what they described as “conspiracy theory outlets” and “nighttime entertainment shows.”

In an interview with Puck News, McCaul said, “I think Russian propaganda has made its way into the United States, unfortunately, and it’s infected a good chunk of my party’s base.”

McCaul said that the source of a lot of the propaganda has been “some more nighttime entertainment shows that seem to spin, like, I see the Russian propaganda in some of it — and it’s almost identical [to what they’re saying on Russian state television] — on our airwaves.”

“They have the same problem in Europe. I mean, Russia’s been very effective at that,” he continued. “These people that read various conspiracy theory outlets that are just not accurate, and they actually model Russian propaganda. And I have to explain to them, ‘You’re actually a victim of Russian propaganda, and what you’re saying, you’re spreading Russian [propaganda].’ [And they respond,] ‘Oh, no I’m not.’”

Turner was asked about McCaul’s comments during a Sunday interview on CNN’s “State of the Union” with Jake Tapper, specifically if he thought McCaul was correct and if it was a big problem.

“Oh, it is absolutely true,” Turner responded. “We see directly coming from Russia attempts to mask communications that are anti-Ukraine and pro-Russia messages, some of which we even hear being uttered on the House floor.”

“I mean, there are members of Congress today who still incorrectly say that this conflict between Russia and Ukraine is over NATO, which, of course, it is not, Vladimir Putin having made it very clear, both publicly and to his own population, that his view is that this is a conflict of a much broader claim of Russia to Eastern Europe, including claiming all of Ukraine territory as Russia’s,” he continued. “To the extent that this propaganda takes hold, it makes it more difficult for us to really see this as an authoritarian-versus-democracy battle, which is what it is. President Xi of China, Vladimir Putin himself have identified it as such. We need to stand up for democracy. We need to make certain that we know that authoritarian regimes never stop when they start an aggression.”

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