US accuses Russia of harassing diplomatsWashington has delivered high-level complaints to Moscow about accusations of increasing intimidation of American diplomats in Russia, the State Department said on Monday. ...
Trudeau said that harassment of diplomats by Russian security agents and traffic police had been an issue over the past two years but did not detail any incidents nor why Kerry brought up the matter with Putin.
Other Western embassies had reported the same behavior toward their diplomats stationed in Moscow, Trudeau added.Trudeau would not discuss specific incidents first reported by The Washington Post on Monday,
including breaking into the homes of embassy personnel and moving around contents.http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/27/politics/us-accuses-russia-of-harassing-diplomats/
Russia Harassing U.S. Diplomats all over EuropeRussian intelligence and security services have been waging a campaign of harassment and intimidation against U.S. diplomats, embassy staff and their families in Moscow and several other European capitals that has rattled ambassadors and prompted Secretary of State John Kerry to ask Vladimir Putin to put a stop to it.
But many of the recent acts of intimidation by Russian security services have crossed the line into apparent criminality. In a series of secret memos sent back to Washington, described to me by several current and former U.S. officials who have written or read them, diplomats reported that Russian intruders had broken into their homes late at night, only to rearrange the furniture or turn on all the lights and televisions, and then leave. One diplomat reported that an intruder had defecated on his living room carpet.
In Moscow, where the harassment is most pervasive, diplomats reported slashed tires and regular harassment by traffic police. Former ambassador Michael McFaul was hounded by government-paid protesters, and intelligence personnel followed his children to school. The harassment is not new; in the first term of the Obama administration, Russian intelligence personnel broke into the house of the U.S. defense attache in Moscow and killed his dog, according to multiple former officials who read the intelligence reports.http://english.aawsat.com/2016/06/article55353595/russia-harassing-u-s-diplomats-europe
That's pretty bad, if that's true -- sounds like generalized mafia style harassment. Breaking into embassy staff's homes, just to intimidate. Re-arranging furniture, turning the tv on.
Then it escalates to following their children. Then slashing their car tires. According to that above article, it says Russian intel broke into a US defense attache's home, and killed his dog.
According to the article, Russian intel "defecated" on the carpet of one embassy staff.
This issue has been going on for a long time, I remember there was a story about a Dutch diplomat that had men knock on the door saying they were "plumbers" and then they hogtied him and left a warning on the mirror, written in lipstick. It's crazyness. Not even North Korea or Iran does this stuff.
Apparently, Obama made the decision a while back not to take any retaliatory measures:
“It was part of a way to put pressure on government officials who were trying to do their reporting jobs. It definitely escalated when I was there. After the invasion of Ukraine, it got much, much worse,” McFaul said. “We were feeling embattled out there in the embassy.”
There was a debate inside the Obama administration about how to respond, and ultimately President Barack Obama made the decision not to respond with similar measures against Russian diplomats, McFaul said.
Which was the right decision, that's how the US operates. We're not some backwater place that wants to get WWIII started up over attacks on individual personnel. US is as tolerant as it can most possibly be, including the flybys and buzzing of the Navy.
And Europe has been as tolerant as it can be, and the Baltics and Sweden are tolerant, about Russian subs in the harbor and some border incidents with Russian FSB / forces coming across the border and they kidnapped that Estonian border cop.
Western democracies are tolerant, up to a certain point.
Something like the Navy -- they have to start responding at a certain point, because they know what they're dealing with and it's an escalation game and they can't just let russian frigates and MIGs buzz in and out and all around the US Navy battlegroups.
So, they may start responding a little bit.. buzz them back.. cut in front of their bow too, forcing them away from the group.
One thing about it -- our state department personnel, around the world, have a tough job and take a lot of abuse and sacrifice for their country. That Moscow appointment is tough. I don't think there's anywhere else in the world where US embassy staff are so much harassed.
EDIT: or, does this issue matter? If Republicans care so much about Benghazi, what about the safety of US embassy staff in Moscow?
There's been a years-long pattern of slashed tires, home breakin-ins, harassment.. US allied diplomats more seriously harassed.. but now we've got a US diplomat that had his shoulder broken, on the steps of the embassy, by Russian intel.
I guess I have to change my opinion about Obama, they're actually leaving this Moscow embassy hang out to dry too much.
Tolerance vs. escalation must be balanced, yes, but you can't just leave our people hanging out to dry like that either.
Here's what they ought to do -- if the harassment continues, first step should be recalling any embassy staff that has family and children there. So only single people. It's too risky for families to be there, if Putin is going to keep screwing with the embassy.
And then, DEPORT / revoke credentials of all Russian diplomatic staff over here, that is over here with wives and children.
Secondly -- if Russian government is going to beat our staff up on the steps of the embassy, then the US should go ahead and revoke credentials / deport some Russian embassy staff that are over here.
And lastly -- there should be some measures taken to increase security for embassy staff. (which is difficult to do in a host country that isn't being friendly.. security is the host country's responsibility, so in a situation like Russia the US can't have guards of its own, outside the embassy.)
If it gets bad enough -- close the Russian embassy here, and close our embassy in Moscow.
Which the Russians WOULD NOT want, of course. Their embassy here is valuable to them, and if the Obama admin threatened that then Putin would probably stop this harassment.