Retired Army Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman argued that former President Trump’s recent comments about NATO are likely a “contributing factor” in the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. …

Retired Army Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman argued that former President Trump’s recent comments about NATO are likely a “contributing factor” in the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

“Donald Trump invited Vladimir Putin to attack NATO. I would say that that probably was a contributing factor in the calculus around the assassination of Navalny,” Vindman told MSNBC’s Michael Steele Friday.

Vindman’s comments come just a week after Navalny died in prison. The Biden administration has blamed Russia’s government for the death, but Russia has said he died of natural causes.

  • 520
    25•10 months ago

    This is a piss poor attempt at collating the two incidents.

    NATO would never give a rats ass about the assassination of a Russian politician. It’s outside of NATO’s remit and always has been.

    Putin has done these assassinations before, even on international soil, and all they get is stern warnings. That’s a far more likely contributor than Trump’s comments.

    • mozz
      16•10 months ago

      My personal belief is that this entire recent iteration of the beef between Russia and the US kicked off because of the Magnitsky Act, which was entirely created by Bill Browder’s testimony and at least partly from the US congress’s genuine concern over the human rights issues involved, i.e. very little to do directly with anything geopolitical. I don’t think the intent was to go all the way to hot proxy war and active democracy-undermining conflict with them, but we definitely didn’t react “oh dead lawyer who GAF” even back then when it was a much smaller deal.

      all they get is stern warnings

      You are aware that Russia is excluded from most international forums big and small and under heavy sanctions currently and that we’re sending (or were sending until a few months back) tons of high-powered weapons to Ukraine to use to blow their soldiers up, yes? And that we just enacted a whole bunch more sanctions specifically because of Navalny?

      That’s a far more likely contributor than Trump’s comments.

      Personally, my initial reaction was actually inclined to agree with you on this part. I have trouble seeing how anything Trump says would have anything to do with what they did to Navalny. On the other hand, Vindman has a lot more familiarity with Russia’s operating principles than either of us; he’s from the USSR and spent significant time in the US diplomatic corps and professional study of the topic, so I’m a little reluctant to just airily dismiss what he has to say about it. He’s much more qualified than you or I are on it so I’m more inclined to hear him out.

      • andrew_bidlaw
        11•10 months ago

        My personal belief is that this entire recent iteration of the beef between Russia and the US kicked off because of the Magnitsky Act

        It’s an interesting theory. I assumed it was due to the protests of 2011 -> ratings rapidly fell -> inventing external enemies, taking Crimea, turn brainwashing to the 1000%. I feel like nothing external was at play, and if there weren’t no country but Russia, like literally empty space, they’d still blow the provocation whistle.

        Personally, my initial reaction was actually inclined to agree with you on this part. I have trouble seeing how anything Trump says would have anything to do with what they did to Navalny.

        The timing of that is interesting for Alexei was sitting in prison for years. My assumption was again internal: that he was killed one month before the Putin’s re-election, to show he would violently suppress anyone who’d get in his way. But can it be an external signal? To who? To NATO countries other than USA, who may lose their strategic partner? To exact politicians who’d be against it? I’m confused.

      • 520
        -8•10 months ago

        I wish you good luck in coming up with any reasonable explanation as to how this contributes in any significant way.

  • @rickdg
    18•10 months ago

    Navalny’s death was probably decided years ago by Putin. For him, Trump is just an useful idiot.

  • @perpetually_fried
    -56•10 months ago

    Attacking NATO = killing a Russian politician?

    You people are so stupid.

    Americans don’t give a shit about this person.

    • @cabron_offsets
      25•10 months ago

      You’d have to be a republican-style moron not to see that putin is probing Western unity and resolve.

      Huh, figures. Check out this guy’s comment history. I pinned the tail on the dumbass.

    • @grabyourmotherskeys
      16•10 months ago

      “I’m possibly the next president and think you’re dreamy, Vlad” absolutely emboldens him and killing Navalny sends the message that he heard him loud and clear.

    • mozz
      8•10 months ago

      The US government, and much less the country at large, is not a monolith with one single “giving a shit” or not. But yes, in addition to a segment which doesn’t give a shit, there’s another segment that does, up to and including doing what we can geopolitically to give them consequences for it.

    • @Passerby6497English
      1•10 months ago

      I was going to comment about how stupid you sound here, but your recent comment about stoping the houthis by nuking their coast is magnitudes more stupid than this.

      I think it’s safe to say that no one gives a fuck what unintelligent diarrhea comes out of your keyboard.