The Russians didn't invent partisan divides. The Russians haven't invented racism in the United States. But the Russians understand a lot of those divisions and they understand how to exploit them.
Fiona HillRead
I refuse to be part of an effort to legitimize an alternate narrative that the Ukrainian government is a U.S. adversary, and that Ukraine - not Russia - attacked us in 2016.
Interpretation
The speaker rejects the idea of portraying the Ukrainian government as an enemy of the U.S.
Fiona Hill emphasizes the importance of acknowledging the truth about geopolitical narratives, specifically refuting the false notion that Ukraine is an adversary of the United States and was responsible for attacks in 2016. Her statement highlights the peril of allowing alternative narratives to undermine established facts in international relations, which can affect public perception and policy.
In practice
During a political debate on foreign policy, one could quote this to highlight the importance of factual narratives.
The Russians didn't invent partisan divides. The Russians haven't invented racism in the United States. But the Russians understand a lot of those divisions and they understand how to exploit them.
I grew up poor with a very distinctive working-class accent. In England in the 1980s and 1990s this would have impeded my professional advancement. This background has never set me back in America.
Everybody used to talk about Chechnya as a place, in the Russian imperial and Soviet periods, that was essentially governed by extended family and regional networks that substituted for older clan structures. But those networks have been destroyed.
Because the more you engage with someone who is spreading untruths, the more validity you give to those untruths.
You know, there is a long tradition in the U.S. of, um, promoting elections up to the point that you get an outcome you don't like. Look at Latin America in the Cold War.
The people of every country are the only safe guardians of their own rights.
If cars and buses were attacked daily by petrol bombs or stones for 16 months in Washington, could you imagine it would be tolerated? It would not, because in the name of democracy, to preserve democracy, steps would be taken.
I will never apologize for the United States of America - I don't care what the facts are. Said after 'Vincennes' shot down an Iranian Airliner.
Let's be clear: Voter suppression is real.
There is almost no country in Africa where it is not essential to know to which tribe, or which subgroup of which tribe, the president belongs. From this single piece of information you can trace the lines of patronage and allegiance that define the state.
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