The Hidden Hand — Charles S. (Sam) Faddis

The essence of a coup, which some might refer to as covert action, is the hidden hand. One does not announce that a foreign power is overthrowing the government and installing a new government. One pulls strings as if from behind a curtain, making events that are all part of a carefully orchestrated plan appear disconnected, spontaneous and serendipitous.

As I read through the recently released IG report for the second time, as someone with a great deal of experience in military and intelligence matters, I see that hand everywhere.

Not just the recently released report. Anyone that has been following this soft coup closely as it unfolded, as we have here at MNE, can't miss the not-so-hidden hand.

What the post reveals is that what Horowitz criticized as incompetence was actually related to manufacture the rationale for the coup attempt.

There was a conspiracy all right but not where the fingers pointed. It was the fingers themselves.

The president took on The Swap, otherwise known as The Blob, and encountered more resistance that he probably expected. It has consumed his presidency and undermined what was left of democracy in the US, making a mockery of press freedom, for instance, which is the foundation of liberal democracy. A liberal democracy depends on an informed electoral and that is negated by a compromised press whose job is shaping the narrative. One particular aspect of negation of press freedom is the unstated rule that the intelligence services shall never be mentioned without their instigation or approval even if the matter is not classified.

This is an excellent post by operational insider that knows the ropes. His account reads like a spy novel written by someone with intimate knowledge of espionage.

AND Magazine
The Hidden Hand
Charles S. (Sam) Faddis, Senior Partner- Artemis, LLC, former CIA operations officer with thirty years  of experience (retired 2008) in the conduct of intelligence operations in the Middle East, South Asia and Europe. Except it is not a novel. The post makes us wonder if some people are going to jail.

Taibbi nails it. While IG Horowitz found that the FBI had reason to pursue their investigation, he fails to pursue the grounds of the reason, which were apparently manufactured to conduct a coup against he democratically elected president. A strong element of the rationale for the coup was the DJT as not actually elected democratically since he conspired with the Russians to undermine the opposition candidate, HRC. As Taibbi shows that plot has exploded. It should have exploded as soon as it was known that the HRC campaign was behind the Steele dossier and that Carter Page was a CIA asset. 

Rolling Stone
The Steele Dossier Was Always a Joke

Matt Taibbi