World View: American-Russian Relations Upset by CIA Spy Scandal

This morning’s key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com

• American-Russian relations upset by CIA spy scandal
• CIA spy scandal may be Russia’s revenge
• Russia rebuffs West on S-300 missile shipments to Syria

American-Russian relations upset by CIA spy scandal

Ryan Fogle, alleged CIA spy in Russia, wearing a blonde wig (AP)

Russia has declared US diplomat Ryan Fogle “persona non grata” andordered to be deported, after he was arrested for allegedly spying forthe U.S. This could be a movie. He was arrested wearing a bluechecked shirt, a baseball cap, and an ill-fitting blonde wig, andcarried a letter offering $1 million for unidentified secretinformation to a Russian recruit, a counter-terrorism officer whospecializes in the Caucasus. Usually, spy scandals are keptrelatively quiet by all the nations involved, but in this case theRussians are making a very big deal of it, releasing photos andinterviews to the Russian press. BBC

CIA spy scandal may be Russia’s revenge

The fact that the Russians made the CIA spy scandal such a highprofile event is probably a way for Russia’s president VladimirPutin to send a message.

It’s well-known that Putin is still furious over what happenedin Libya. Putin went along with a United Nations Security Councilresolution for a no-fly zone over Libya, and then it turned intoa major military operation to bring down Russia’s ally,Muammar Gaddafi. Putin has vowed never to let anything like thathappen again, particularly not in Syria.

Putin is also said to be angry that Russia is being blamed for theBoston Marathon terrorist attacks, since the perpetrators were fromthe Caucasus. In Syria, Putin has expressed opposition to any Westernmoves to send weapons or even humanitarian aid to Syrian forcesopposing president Bashar al-Assad.

In the meantime, we’ve been having these silly dog and pony shows puton by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry running around saying thatwe’re going to reach agreement with the Russians, to bring a politicalsolution to the Syria crisis. So, one possibility is that Putin madethis CIA spy scandal such a high profile event in order to get somerevenge against the Americans, and also to illuminate the weaknessof the West in Syria negotiations.

For Russia, the bottom line regarding the Syria crisis is that a rulerhas the right to use military force to secure stability in his domainand the responsibility to crush a revolution of any color at whatevercost — the same policy that’s followed in both Russia and China.Jamestown

Russia rebuffs West on S-300 missile shipments to Syria

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu went to Sochi, Russia, onTuesday to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin to warn himagainst sending arms to Syria, especially S-300 surface-to-airmissiles that are capable of shooting down Israeli planes. Instead,in a statement regarded as a warning to the West to stay out of Syria,Putin said, “In this crucial period, it is especially important toavoid any moves that can shake the situation.” It’s thought that hewas specifically warning against a repeat of last week’s Israeli warplane bombing of weapons sites in Damascus, the capital of Syria. However, according to oneanalyst, that message was rejected by Netanyahu, who let Putin knowthat Israel would destroy the S-300s when they arrived. AFP and Debka

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