As President Elect Donald Trump faces the press for the first time since July 2016, questions remain about exactly what the motives behind the, now almost certain, Russian hacking of US assets, including the Democratic National Committee and John Podesta. But hasn’t Putin already won?
The US has found itself in a unique position in the last few weeks as the veracity of the claims about Russian Hacking hardened, sending shock waves though all sides of the political, civic and government spectrum.
And those shock waves must, in all likelihood, be seen by Vladimir Putin, as at least a partial success in this ever increasingly bizarre story. The US has not experienced such instability since the dark days of the 1970’s and Nixon’s indiscretions. Inciting instability is, and always has been, a goal in statecraft amongst adversaries such as the Russian Federation and the United States.
So hasn’t Putin already achieved a major goal of this campaign of espionage and unrest? I would answer yes!