Treason Then And Now

Remember Edward VIII - King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire, and Emperor of India?

 He abdicated his throne to marry Wallace Simpson, the woman he "loved".

All that power, sacrificed in the name of love. Woman swooned.

Except for one minor thing. 

Alas, Edward was a traitor. Yes, that's the Duke of Winsdor standing between the woman he loved and Adolph Hitler.

Yes, that's the Duke of Windsor giving the NAZI salute while standing with and marching with NAZIs in Germany.

The United States has had a famous traitor as well. We all learned about General Benedict Arnold, the infamous Revolutionary War traitor, in elementary school. Benedict Arnold's name was synonymous with treason.

That's Donald Trump on January 20, 2017 being sworn in as the 45th President of the United States - arguably the most powerful man in the world - the "Leader of the Free World".

Enter Vladimir Putin the Russian Dictator noted for killing his political opposition and members of the Russian press who expose his criminal activities.

Under this former KGB agent Russia has gone from a country to a criminal organization. This mob boss has plans for Russia that include looting it.

Yes, Putin's plans included invading Crimea and the Ukraine. He is looking to destabilize democracies around the world. He wants to see the European Union dissolve and NATO disappear. He secretly supports the murderous dictators of North Korea and Syria. He is spreading chaos in the Middle East.

Are you getting the picture? The biggest impediment to Putin's plan for his Russian kleptocracy is the United States. Vlad cannot vanquish us in combat. He must undo us from within.

How does one neutralize the most powerful country in the world without firing a single shot? First and foremost it takes patience. You must carefully build/groom your weapon. You find someone who is facing financial ruin and you bail him out.

You bring him into your own criminal enterprise and completely compromise him. You invest in an army of cyber warriors to back his play. You do this over decades and when the time is ready you launch him with a highly skilled campaign manager.

Trump's campaign used tried and true rhetoric. It was the rhetoric of hatred and division. According to Trump, our free press and our intelligence agencies were our real, bigly enemies.

This was a method that was used successfully less than a century ago by others in the West. Trump had role models.

Cicero cautioned the West centuries before that when Rome was the most powerful country in the world. He told us a nation "cannot survive treason from within".

Cicero told us "the people of Rome who so enthusiastically acclaimed and adored" the traitor were to blame for the traitor.

God help us. God forgive us.

Holy Moly!