So, I’m reading the new biography on Nixon. (Don’t scoff. Some of you scoffed, don’t pretend that you didn’t. I know a scoff when I hear one.) It is really quite good. No matter your opinion of Old Tricky Dicky, he and his life are fascinating.

Anyway, I’m at the part when Nixon is new to Congress and beginning to make his name as a Communist hunter and Red baiter and the author (John Farrell) mentions The Long Telegram. Well, that struck a chord. You see, back long before I was born, the deputy Head of Station for the US Embassy in Moscow, George Kennan,  wrote an 8000 word telegram to Washington detailing his view of the Soviet’s world philosophy and the steps he felt were necessary by the US to confront their designs. This telegram resonated with Truman’s State Department and essentially served as the basis for the US “Containment” policy towards the USSR for 4 decades. It would not be an exaggeration to say that Kennan’s telegram provided the foundation for The Cold War. It was an extremely important document in US history and I wanted to read the telegram in its entirety. Thanks to this new invention, The World Wide Web, I did (typos and all).You should try it. (the Web, not the telegram)

Kennan’s view into the Soviet mindset was hailed as insightful and much of what he said was borne out by history. Kennan, however, quickly changed his recommended approach towards the USSR and within 2 years of his telegram was encouraging the US to open a dialogue with the Soviets and do away with the policy of containment.

All that is history and only interesting to a select few of us. The reason that I am writing about Kennan and his telegram today is the direct applicability of Kennan’s insights about the Russian mindset and their policies towards the West to our current situation. The man was much more prescient than has ever been acknowledged. Of course, this was an 8000 word document which I cannot fully convey in an 800 word essay. These are are just some of his themes and thoughts from 1946. See how they might be viewed today as describing Putin’s Russia:

Everything must be done to advance the strength of USSR (Russia) as a factor in international society. Conversely, no opportunity must be missed to reduce the strength and influence of capitalist powers. Putin has clearly, for years, done everything in his power to destroy NATO and to sow dissension among the G-7.Recently, he has received a huge assist from a single individual in both of these endeavors with no obvious benefit accrued by the US. I am at a loss to explain Trump’s enmity towards NATO except to strengthen Putin’s hand in Europe.

Efforts must be directed towards deepening differences between capitalist powers. Putin’s agents have been suspected in playing a role in England’s decision to withdraw from the European Union and in fomenting dissatisfaction with the EU and other member states. Trump congratulated Great Britain on the Brexit vote, again with no obvious benefit for this country and certainly none for Great Britain.

USSR infiltration of other countries seeking to undermine general political and strategic potential of major western powers… to disrupt national self confidence, increase social unrest, and stimulate forms of disunity.  Uh, Oh. Now, where are we seeing that happening? Oh yeah, Britain, France, Greece, and wait for it – the US. What better way to “disrupt national self confidence” than to interfere with a presidential election in a democracy? What better way to “stimulate forms of disunity” than to help place a blithering moron with no respect for the political traditions of this country in the White House?

Everything possible will be done to set major Western powers against each other. See any and all of above.

Relentless battles must be waged against social-democratic leaders abroad. Putin hated Hillary Clinton based on her dealings with Russia when she served as Secretary of State. His repeated interference in our election was aimed more at hurting her chances than just satisfying his normal malevolence. Putin waged a relentless battle against Clinton through cyberwarfare and the result of the election was that he (and we) got a malleable, weak man as President of the US. Good for him, not so good for us.

A fanatical commitment to disrupting our society and destroying the traditional US way of life. This was Keenan’s main point of his telegram and became the founding sentiment for our approach to the USSR throughout the Cold War. Try as they might, the Soviets never really achieved these goals. The West stayed fairly well united and strong and the Soviet’s communist way of governing never spread without tanks as enforcement.

Few experts have disagreed with Kennan’s assessment of the USSR government policies and attitudes in the 1940’s and 1950’s. Many wonder if a different approach by the West towards the Soviets may have avoided the fundamental alterations in our society caused by the Cold War. I don’t know the answer to that question, but I do know that Putin grew up in this environment. I know he spent his entire career in the KGB espousing these doctrines. I know that Putin was ruthless in his acquisition and consolidation of power and has been fierce in his use of that power within Russia. I feel certain that he would feel that these age old Soviet policies are still in play and that as leader of Russia he is justified in continuing to sow dissent and disruption in and among the Western nations, with special attention paid to the US. He has, in fact, accomplished this and he is not going to stop with one election. This is war with different weapons.

Thank God we have a leader that can stand up to a man like Putin. We’ll be all right after all.