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| 1. Assert Presidential Leadership and Launch a National Re- sponse: President Trump has been negligent in acknowledging and responding to the threat to US. national security posed by Putin’s meddling. a. Declare the Policy The President should immediately declare that it is US. policy to counter and deter all forms of the Kremlin’s hybrid threats against the United States and around the world. This policy should be a visibly prominent component of the administration’s agenda—policymakers should discuss these issues publicly and regularly raise the threat posed by the Russian government in their diplomatic interactions. The President should also present to Congress a comprehensive national strategy to counter these grave national security threats and work with the Congress and our allies to get this strategy implemented and funded. VerDate Mar 15 2010 04:06 Jan 09, 2018 Jkt PO 00000 Frm 00160 Fmt 6601 Sfmt 6601 S:\FULL COMMITTEE\HEARING FILES\COMMITTEE PRINT 2018\HENRY\JAN. 9 REPORT FOREI-42327 with DISTILLER 155 bi Establish an Inter-Agency Fusion Cell The President should establish a high-level inter-agency fusion cell, modeled on the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), to coordinate all elements of US. policy and programming in response to the Russian government’s malign influence operations. This fusion cell should include representatives from the FBI, CIA, and Departments of Homeland Security, State, Defense, and Treasury and it should immediately produce a strategy, plan, and robust budget that coordinates all current and projected government programming to counter Russian government interference and malign influence. c. Build US. Expertise The US. government should increase funding for programs administered by the State Department’s Intelligence and Research Bureau that aim to educate and develop Europe and Eurasia experts in the United States. Programming and training at the State Department’s Foreign Service Institute should also be expanded to include courses on the Russian government’s malign influence activities. Such courses should also be accessible to relevant officials from other US. agencies represented on the inter-agency fusion cell described above. d. Increase Funding to Counter Disinformation The US. government should increase the funding dedicated to countering Russian disinformation, working primarily though partners invulnerable countries. The GEC should also accept all funding from the Defense Department made available through congressional appropriations and use it to increase the capacity of existing organizations in Russia’s periphery that are engaged in monitoring disinformation, promoting media literacy, and producing objective news content and investigative journalism with local impact. Grants should also provide multiyear funding to allow these organizations to formulate and implement long-term strategic plans. The BBG should expand funding for sophisticated Russian-language VOA programming like Current Time and find more creative ways to bring high-quality US. educational and entertainment programming to media markets vulnerable to Kremlin propaganda. 2. Support Democratic Institution Building and Values Abroad, and with a Stronger Congressional Voice The executive and legislative branches have a responsibility to show leadership on universal values of democracy and human rights. Alack of US. leadership risks undermining or endangering democratic activists and human rights defenders around the world—including within Russia—who are working to advance these values in their own societies. It also risks weakening democratic institutions, including independent media and civil society, that are critical actors in overcoming disinformation, shining alight on corruption and abuses, and building resiliency against Kremlin attempts to divide and weaken democratic societies. Furthermore, democracies with transparent governments, the rule of law, a free media, and engaged citizens are naturally more resilient to Putin’s asymmetric arsenal. a. Increase Assistance The US. government should provide democracy and governance assistance, in concert with allies in VerDate Mar 15 2010 04:06 Jan 09, 2018 Jkt PO 00000 Frm 00161 Fmt 6601 Sfmt 6601 S:\FULL COMMITTEE\HEARING FILES\COMMITTEE PRINT 2018\HENRY\JAN. 9 REPORT FOREI-42327 with DISTILLER 156 Europe, to build resilience in democratic institutions among those European and Eurasian states most vulnerable to Russian government interference. Using the funding authorization outlined in CAATSA as policy guidance, the US. government should increase this spending in Europe and Eurasia to at least $250 million over the next two fiscal years. bi Clear Messaging To reinforce these efforts, the US. government should demonstrate clear and sustained diplomatic leadership in support of the individual human rights that form the backbone of democratic systems. US. and European government officials at the highest levels should message clearly and regularly in support of universal principles of human rights and accountable governance in Europe and Eurasia, and, in particular, speak out regularly regarding Russian government abuses against its own citizens. These messages should be delivered through public statements as well as in private, high- level diplomatic engagements. US. and European officials should also utilize the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the United Nations Human Rights Council, and other multilateral fora to deliver these messages and to hold the Russian government and other governments in Europe and Eurasia accountable to their international human rights obligations and commitments. c. Legislative Branch Leadership Members in the US. Congress have a responsibility to show US. leadership on values by making democracy and human rights a central part of their agendas. They should conduct committee hearings and use their platforms to publicly advance these issues. This would include using the Senate confirmation process to elicit commitments from nominees on democracy and human rights. Congress should also institutionalize platforms for regular dialogue with parliaments across Europe and Eurasia on issues of democracy and human rights, to include multilateral bodies such as the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, as well as bilateral parliamentary engagements. Members of Congress should also regularly visit countries in the region to further solidify transatlantic bonds such visits should include engagement with civil society. d. Leverage Legacy Enterprise Foundations The US. government established a series of enterprise funds across Central and Eastern Europe which exhibited varying degrees of success and spun off into legacy foundations that provide grants to civil society actors and independent media across the region. The US. government should require those foundations to strategically focus their investments on efforts to counter the Russian governments malign influence. In particular, tens of millions of dollars associated with the US. Russia Foundation have been dormant for years due to congressional holds by the House Foreign Affairs Committee and Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The issues associated with those holds should be resolved so those funds can be unlocked and used to counter Russian government aggression. VerDate Mar 15 2010 04:06 Jan 09, 2018 Jkt PO 00000 Frm 00162 Fmt 6601 Sfmt 6601 S:\FULL COMMITTEE\HEARING FILES\COMMITTEE PRINT 2018\HENRY\JAN. 9 REPORT FOREI-42327 with DISTILLER 157 e. Support for Democratic Institutions and Processes in Russia The US. government and its European partners should maintain a lifeline of support to nongovernmental organizations and independent media outlets in Russia that are promoting respect for human rights, transparency, and accountability in their country, and follow these entities lead in determining the contours of such support. This work is not meant to interfere in the affairs of another country, but simply supports those values enshrined in the Helsinki Final Act, to which Russia is a signatory. f. People to People Exchanges The US. State Department should, to the extent possible, seek to expand programs and opportunities that increase interaction between American and Russian citizens, as well as other European countries, and should work to ensure that such people-to-people ties are not used as grounds for persecution of Russian citizens by their government. It should also increase cultural exchanges, especially study abroad semesters, Fulbright scholarships, International Visitor Leadership Program exchanges, Peace Corps, and other programs that increase interaction between Americans and citizens that live in the countries on Russia’s periphery or that are particularly vulnerable to Russian malign influence. g. Strengthen Use of International Monitoring and Accountability Download 0.63 Mb. Share with your friends:
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