Hur kunde en konservativ tankesmedja i Washington bli en del av Putins propaganda maskin?
Heritage Foundation var en gång en seriös republikansk tankesmedja som grundades redan 1973 och hade en betydande roll under Ronald Reagan perioden. Men något verkar ha gått snett under senare år.
The Heritage Foundation leads Project 2025, a coalition preparing for the next conservative presidential administration by recruiting a MAGA army intended to replace 50,000 individuals in the American administration, according to an article in Salon.
Project 2025 is a plan to reshape the executive branch of the American federal government in the event of a Republican victory in the 2024 U.S. presidential election. Former President Trump's Closest Allies are preparing to radically transform the federal government if he is re-elected, by purging potentially thousands of public officials and filling career positions with loyal followers of him and his 'America First' ideology, according to individuals involved in the discussions. Axios.
The core of the plan originates from an executive order known as 'Schedule F', developed and refined in secret for most of the second half of Trump's term and launched 13 days before the 2020 election. Schedule F stems from an executive order issued by Trump (which is no longer in effect) where tens of thousands of officials serving in roles considered to have some influence over policy would be reclassified as 'Schedule F' employees, thereby making them much easier to dismiss.
During his presidency, Trump often complained about what he called the 'deep state'. With an almost 1,000-page handbook called 'Project 2025' and an 'army' of Americans, the idea is to have the civic infrastructure in place from day one to take over, reshape, and abolish what Republicans despise as the 'deep state's' bureaucracy, according to an article in AP.
Opponents of U.S. Aid to Ukraine
Flera försök att tillhandahålla vapen, ammunition och stöd till Ukraina har misslyckats på grund av politiska manövrar. Kevin McCarthy, tidigare talman i representanthuset, misslyckades med att säkra finansieringen och förlorade sitt jobb i processen. Ett kompromissförslag kring gränsen mot Mexiko blockerades plötsligt av republikanerna i senaten, och det senaste lagförslaget som inkluderade stöd till Ukraina lämnades i limbo när representanthusets talman, Mike Johnson, skickade representanthuset på en två veckors semester för att undvika omröstning!
The think tank has been a vocal opponent of U.S. aid to Ukraine. Last year, Jessica Anderson, the executive director of its lobbying activities, released a statement under the headline: "Ukraine Aid Packages Puts America Last." They claim that increased American support to help Ukraine defend itself is driving up inflation. Source
Senator Lindsey Graham och flera andra republikaner skapar inte opinion efter samtal med Trump. Donald Trump Jr. har attackerat lagstiftare som röstar för stöd till Ukraina och föreslagit att finansieringen ska stoppas för att tvinga fram förhandlingar – en taktik som enbart syftar till att Ukraina ska förlora.
Från Europa ser man med oro på hur en minoritet av republikaner, under Trumps inflytande, blockerar stödet till Ukraina och underminerar USA:s utrikespolitik samt dess makt och trovärdighet.
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Orban and the Heritage Foundation and the Transatlantic Culture War
On December 10, 2023, members of the Hungarian Institute for International Affairs and staff from the Hungarian Embassy in Washington participated in a two-day event organized by the conservative think tank, the Heritage Foundation. Orbán has advocated for a transatlantic far-right alliance with a hard line against immigration and gender ideology and christian nationalism Source
In his CPAC speech on August 4th Orban tried to portray Western civilization as under siege by progressives and offered a united call to fight back. His speech dealt with, among other things, illegal immigration and same-sex marriage. When far-right groups have pursued similar agendas, it usually involves taking a hard line against Wokism and Orban used to talk about George Soros who also is from Hungary.
Christian nationalism in Russia
Meanwhile in Russia. Anton Krasovsky from Russia Today describes how he wants to kill Ukrainians and their children after reading Bible text.
UK
Over the past few months, the Heritage Foundation has also hosted speeches by leading British Conservative Party members Liz Truss and Iain Duncan Smith.
Sources:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/dec/10/hungary-viktor-orban-republicans-ukraine-aid
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