Foreign Digest: Serbia, Nicaragua and Bolivia

Serbia: The parliamentary elections in Serbia in mid-December have sparked mass protests because of numerous serious allegations of fraud. The political opposition, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the European Union have criticized the elections. A few dozen polling places are revoting this weekend, but the opposition maintains the entire elections, in which the nationalist and pro-Russian ruling party won a plurality of votes, should be discarded. Serbia, which is supported by the Russian Federation, is a candidate for membership in the European Union. As I have posted, in addition to concerns about its closeness with Russia, Serbia, which supports ethnic Serbs in the other independent States of the former Yugoslavia, has been the matrix of ethnic conflicts since Yugoslavia, which was dominated by Serbia, began to break up in 1991 when its last Communist dictator, the Serbian Slobodan Milosevic, began to foment nationalist tension against ethnic minorities to maintain power. He was later imprisoned and tried for crimes against humanity. Nicaragua: Nicaragua has been arresting more Priests since my last update on the increasing oppression in the Central American State by the Marxist regime of Daniel Ortega against the Roman Catholic Church, as part of his increasing authoritarianism. Some of the Priests had called for the release of a Bishop imprisoned by the Nicaraguan tyrant, who has violently cracked down on peaceful protests, imprisoned all his election opponents before the last election, and has banned most civil and religious organizations. The Marxist Sandinistas, led by Ortega, seized power in a coup in 1979 and ruled oppressively until pressured by United States support for rebels to allow free and fair elections in 1990, which they lost. But after being elected to the presidency in 2007 on the promise of keeping Nicaragua free, Ortega has held onto power ever since by breaking his promise by becoming a dictator. After being a darling of the Left during the Cold War, when liberals and Democrats mostly opposed American support for the rebels, even liberals have been appalled at Ortega’s current repression. Bolivia: The Constitutional Court of Bolivia has reversed its 2017 and has ruled that the far-left former Bolivian President is barred from seeking another term as president in 2025, after having served three terms previously between 2006 and 2019, despite a constitutional term limit of two terms. His attempt to amend the Constitution to eliminate term limits was rejected by the Bolivian voters in a referendum and he was later driven from power by a popular revolt. After the former President’s leftist party won the next presidential elections, the new President’s administration prosecuted and imprisoned the opposition leader who acceded to the presidency under the terms of the Bolivian Constitution in the interim. Like Marxist Nicaragua and Communist Cuba, Bolivia is an ally of Socialist Venezuela, which has encouraged leftist anti-American parties across Latin America and which have become authoritarian, often undermining elections and with Presidents usually holding onto power for life.

The United States Has Launched an International Operation to Protect International Shipping from Iranian-Backed Houthi Rebels in Yemen

Operation Prosperity Guardian has been launched by the United States and its allies in the Red Sea to protect international shipping from attacks on merchant vessels by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. The Houthis, who operate in northern Yemen, have been launching drone and missile attacks and even committed hijackings against merchant vessels in the vital waterway, particularly those in transit to Israel, as well as firing missiles toward the Jewish State and trying to attack American naval vessels with drones. Led by the U.S., the coalition of the willing is composed of over 20 Western allies and Indian Ocean States, most of which have not disclosed publicly their contributions. The international effort is similar to the successful international operation against piracy from Islamists in Somalia in the 2010s. Another model was the 1987–1988 American naval escorts of oil shipping in the Persian Gulf during the Iraqi-Iranian War. Because the Red Sea is connected to the Mediterranean Sea via the Suez Canal, thus avoiding much longer voyages around the Cape of Good Hope, much of the world’s trade transits this arm of the Indian Ocean between the Arabian Peninsula and the northeastern coast of Africa. Today, U.S. forces sank some Houthi boats in the Red Sea after an attack on merchant ship. Yemen has been in a multi-sided civil war for several years, with the Shi’ite Houthis as the main rebels against the internationally recognized government of the Arab State, and Islamist Sunni terrorists, such as al-Qaeda, also participating. Meanwhile, American troops continue to retaliate against Iranian-backed militias in Iraq and Syria who have been attacking them frequently for months, as they have occasionally over the last few years.

Conservative Analysis of the Refugees Currently Coming to America and Pennsylvania

In my post for Christmas, I encouraged the welcoming of refuges seeking asylum from persecution, noting that the Holy Family had to flee to Egypt. There has been an increase in migrants coming to America across the southern border since the relaxation last year of the emergency restrictions from the Coronavirus Pandemic, which is making up for the last three years of lower numbers, as expected. The migrants, which number only in the tens of thousands even with the current spike, are not usually Mexicans, but, as I have noted, often from other countries around the world. And many are not immigrants seeking to settle in America permanently for better economic opportunity, but refuges seeking asylum from persecution, war or terrorism, with a variation from time to time in the countries of origin, depending on the circumstances. The latest data from the Refugee Processing Center, which is operated by the United States, provides a breakdown of the countries of origin. Across America, a few thousand migrants have come to America each month, mostly from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, an unfree country which has been suffering from war for decades, Syria, which has suffered a bloody civil war since 2011 when peaceful protestors against the tyrannical Assad regime were brutally repressed, and Afghanistan, where the repressive Islamist Taliban regained power in 2021. Because of its overly restrictive nativist policies, the Trump Administration, which granted asylum to a family from the free country of Germany, did not even permit Christians from Syria to flee from Islamist terrorists, such as al-Qaeda and its offshoot, the Islamic State, and, as I have posted, made entry too difficult even for Afghans who worked with the Americans who had overthrown the Taliban in 2002 after the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks by al-Qaeda, whom the Taliban had harbored. The breakdown for Pennsylvania, according to the Center, was a few hundred each from Syria, Congo and Afghanistan, a fewer than a hundred each from Socialist Venezuela and Marxist Nicaragua and a few others from Latin America plagued by gang violence, or other countries, and only a handful from Ukraine, which is suffering an aggressive invasion by the Russian Federation, and several other countries. The Keystone State took in more Syrians and Haitians than any other State in the Union. The largest community of Syrians in America are in Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley. Haiti is suffering from a lack of freedom and violence, exacerbated by powerful gangs. The United States recently organized an international police mission to Haiti led by Kenya and with United Nations approval against the gangs, as I posted. Refugees who seek liberty should be welcomed, not only for their sake to enjoy freedom, but because they enrich their host country through their greater appreciation for liberty and their insight into how it can be lost.

This Christmas, May the World Welcome the Prince of Peace and Refugees from Persecution

Merry Christmas! May the world, which although more peaceful than in the past, is nonetheless troubled by bloody wars, conflicts, terrorism, etc., welcome the Prince of Peace who comes into this world as a poor infant, and may evildoers be defeated or deterred, if not persuaded to convert from their evil ways. May hostages be freed and people liberated from oppression so they may be free to live and to fulfill their vocations and to practice their faith. And may the world, which is becoming increasingly hostile to refugees, remember that the Holy Family of the Christ Child, Mary and Joseph, was forced to escape persecution and flee into Egypt, and be more welcoming and loving to refugees and other migrants, as Jesus teaches us to love our fellow man.

An Anti-War Candidate Is Barred from the Russian Presidential Election

A candidate for President of the Russian Federation who had been nominated by the requisite number of supporters at a meeting was rejected late last week by the Kremlin-controlled election commission. The former journalist had intended to challenge the tyrannical incumbent Vladimir Putin, an ex-Soviet intelligence officer intent on restoring the Soviet Union, in the presidential elections next year on a platform of opposition to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and releasing political prisoners. Putin, who has ruled Russia either as President or Prime Minister since late 1999, had successfully promoted a constitutional change to end term limits, which allowed him to serve another six-year term before the last election. The “Czar” restricts freedoms and controls the judiciary. The authoritarian Putin only tolerates political opposition parties that do not criticize him harshly to make Russia appear to have representative government and his elections to seem legitimate. Journalists, human rights activists and political opponents are usually imprisoned, banished, assaulted or assassinated at home and abroad. The main supporter of liberty in Russia, the center-right Alexei Navalny, has been imprisoned under harsh conditions on various trumped-up charges and was recently transferred to another prison, leaving his whereabouts unknown. For the Russian people ever to enjoy liberty and representative government, Putin will have to be out of power and replaced by someone unafraid to trust them.

The Fiscal Year 2024 United States Bipartisan Defense Bill Is Enacted

The annual defense bill was signed into law by the President of the United States this weekend for fiscal year 2024 after receiving strong bipartisan approval in both chambers of Congress. The appropriation increases defense spending, like previous years, and includes a larger pay increase for troops than usual. It also extends the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act for four months. Some Trumpist Republicans had opposed the critically important intelligence mechanism because several Trump 2016 presidential campaign officials were caught in unreported meetings with Russians under surveillance who were trying to influence American politics, including supporting Donald Trump’s candidacy. The act grants some additional defense aid to Ukraine against aggression by the Russian Federation, although the larger amount necessary has been stalled in the House of Representatives by Trumpist Republicans who either support Russia or are using their leverage to exact a deal to crack down further on refugees seeking asylum from persecution, including refugees from Ukraine. Another provision of the defense bill requires congressional authorization by a two-thirds supermajority before withdrawal from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. This essential bipartisan provision did not pass during the Trump Administration, as Trump is critical of the most successful defensive pact in history because it is an obstacle to his supporter, ex-Soviet intelligence officer Vladimir Putin, the Russian tyrant, and isolationists on the left and far right and libertarians think that aiding allies is for the benefit of the allies. They fail to recognize that because allies are an integral part of American security and prosperity, aiding them is for our own benefit. The 2024 defense bill is thus a win for pro-defense conservatives, as it continues the bipartisan trend toward improving U.S. defense, not only in terms of spending, but through intelligence and alliances.

Foreign Digest: China, Philippines, Japan, the European Union, Measles Outbreak

China, Philippines and Japan: There have been more Communist Chinese incursions into Filipino territory and hostile acts against the Philippines. Communist China claims nearly all the South China Sea, even though its claim was rejected by an international court of arbitration in 2016. The Spratly Islands and the mineral-rich waters around them are contested by China/Taiwan, the Philippines, Vietnam and Malaysia, each of which maintains a presence in at least one island. There were also Chinese incursions last week into the territory around the Senkaku Islands disputed between Japan and China. The United States last week warned Communist China against provocative moves. Meanwhile, there were unfree elections in Hong Kong, as only candidates loyal to Peking are allowed to be elected, as China has been violating its promise of autonomy for the territory, in exchange for British relinquishment of control in 1997. The European Union: The European Union took steps last week toward expanding its membership beyond its 27 current member States. The EU opened negotiations for membership with Ukraine and Moldova, approved candidate status for Georgia and will open negotiations with Bosnia Herzegovina once it reaches the necessary degree of conformity to the membership criteria. The negotiations are a morale boost especially for Ukraine, currently under invasion by the Russian Federation, as Ukrainians have preferred commerce with Europe and the West over Russia, and also for Moldova, in which Russia maintains troops in a breakaway territory against its wishes and which fears a fuller-scale Russian invasion. Russian tyrant Vladimir Putin, an ex-Soviet intelligence officer, wishes to restore the Soviet Union. Ukraine and Moldova are former Soviet Republics. Measles Outbreak: There is currently an outbreak of tens of thousands of cases of measles in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Kazakhstan and Romania have been particularly hard-hit, with the latter declaring an epidemic. Measles had nearly been eradicated in the Americas and Europe, but as I have been posting, vaccine hesitancy has increased vulnerability to the disease, leading to occasional outbreaks, including in America, and even sometimes other diseases that became rare, like mumps and diphtheria. Conspiracy theorists on the far left, the far right and libertarians oppose vaccination, or at least vaccine mandates, despite their efficacy and safety.

A Federal Settlement Has Been Reached over the Unjustified Separation of Children from their Parents

A settlement was reached in the federal case on behalf of migrant children who were unjustifiably separated from their parents at the United States border. A federal Judge had ruled against the practice of separating children from their parents in 2018, after the Trump Administration had stopped the policy, after a public outcry. The practice of punishing children was done not for reasonable reasons, which are still permitted, but strictly to deter migrants, including refugees with a credible fear of persecution who are following the legal process of entering American soil to claim asylum. Children were separated from their parents without linking them to their parents. The process has taken years to attempt to reunite them. Separation from parents is a psychological trauma that leaves a lifelong scar. The settlement bans the practice for eight years, provides mental health counseling to children, and legal representation for their immigration cases, among other provisions, but no financial awards. The Judge is an appointee of President George W. Bush, a conservative Republican. Conservative Republicans before the rise of Trump, who has championed nativism, mostly appreciated migrants for their economic contribution to America and especially refugees from tyranny for their greater appreciation for liberty. True conservatives still do and proudly recognize the contrast of people fleeing tyrannical regimes versus being attracted to America, in addition to those simply seeking to fulfill the American Dream. Refugees are currently coming especially from Socialist Venezuela, as well as Communist Cuba, Marxist Nicaragua, Communist China and Islamist Afghanistan. Nativists and xenophobes are bigoted or excessively fearful against people of other ethnicities (even though many Hispanics are Caucasian) or religions (especially Catholics, as well as Muslims fleeing Islamism) and fear competition for jobs, even though there is a labor shortage in America that has contributed to inflation. They think America is so weak that a few thousand migrants would destroy it. Pro-free market business interests favor more migration, whereas liberal labor unions historically opposed it. Regardless of reasonable differences on migration, there is no justification to harm children, as there is an already-difficult and lengthy legal process to screen out those who are undesirable or whose claims are dishonest, and to accept those who are desirable, which is the purpose of federal immigration law.

Foreign Digest: Syria, Iraq, Italy, China, Russia, Venezuela and Guyana; World Human Rights Day

Syria and Iraq: There have been more attacks on American forces in Iraq from Iranian-sponsored militants operating in Syria and Iraq. There have also been attacks in the Red Sea from Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen on Americans and on international shipping. The Islamic Republic of Iran, the greatest state sponsor of terrorism in the world, foments Islamic revolution around the Muslim world and thus opposes the Christian West and secular representative governance based on equality and liberty. Iraq, which maintains friendly relations with Iran, did not object to strikes by United States on its soil against the pro-Iranian militants, not only for self-defense when under attack, but even for punishment and deterrence, which is an encouraging sign that its tolerance for its more powerful neighbor using it for its own ends is coming to an end. Italy and Communist China: Italy has left Communist China’s infrastructure program that was intended to create a New Silk Road with road and port construction, as I had posted I expected. China uses such projects to exert influence and for strategic purposes against the West. Russia: The United States charged four Russians with the kidnapping and torture of and American civilian in Ukraine during the Russian Federation’s aggression against its neighboring former Soviet Republic. The U.S., the International Criminal Court, Ukraine and human rights organizations, among others, have accused Russians and Russian-backed separatists of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Venezuela and Guyana: Socialist Venezuela has revived its claims to territory of neighboring Guyana, even though the claim was long since renounced, now that there are lucrative mineral rights known to be in the area. Guyana is conducting timely military exercises with the U.S. to deter aggressive action by the anti-American dictator leading its larger neighbor. World Human Rights Day: Today is World Human Rights Day on the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. There had been progress made on protecting human rights toward the end of the Cold War and shortly afterward, but the rise of authoritarians who use elections to gain power and then take away liberty and limit free and fair elections to use them only to use their rigged results to gain legitimacy, and then further increase their autocracy has decreased freedom around the world, and thus peace and security.

Iran, North Korea and Russia Have Been Arming Hamas Terrorists

Iranian, North Korean and Russian spent munitions that were used by the Hamas terrorists, as observed by Chris Christie, former federal prosecutor and Governor of New Jersey, reports that on his recent trip to Israel. Iranian sponsorship of Hamas had been well-known, but the North Korean and Russian complicity was not, although not surprising. Hamas, the Islamic Jihad, and other terrorists based in the Gaza Strip attacked Israel October 7, targeting innocent civilians, killing over a thousand, injuring a multiple more, and kidnapping hundreds. Americans and others around the world were among the victims of the deadliest terrorist attacks since the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks against America. As I have posted regularly, oppressive States opposed to the United States and its Western Allies, namely Russia, North Korea, Iran, as well as Communist China, Syria, Cuba and Venezuela, have effectively formed what I call an Axis of Rogues. These rogues engage in various machinations, including sponsoring terrorists, assassinating exiles abroad, fomenting coups or revolutions, drug trafficking, spreading disinformation, committing cybercrimes, stealing proprietary business knowledge, counterfeiting currency or goods, etc. The members of the Axis of Rogues often work together, through diplomacy, trade, arms trafficking, and other ways, relying at times on various terrorist or other militant Islamist organizations. Christie, who is currently seeking the Republican nomination for President of the United States, condemned the rogues for aiding and abetting the horrific attacks.

Fifteenth Anniversary of My Blog; Page View Report

It was recently the anniversary of the launch of my blog 15 years ago in late November 2008. I have since posted nearly 1,400 times in support of equality, liberty, and representative government; morals and civic responsibility; the free market and fiscal responsibility; security and peace, all in accord with Christian faith and in a spirit of hope, despite the many difficulties we face as individuals and citizens of the world. Thank you for your patronage, which is apparent from the report from Blogger, the host of this blog, of several thousand page views to my blog, especially its homepage, but to each of its posts over the last year, from posts both new and old. As usual, the views are coming especially from America, with a great many from around the world, especially Europe, but most notably this year also Singapore). The views encourage me to continue to post. Please visit my blog regularly. Again, thank you.

Conservative Analysis of Expulsion of United States Representative George Santos

Republican United States Representative George Santos of New York was expelled from Congress last week by well over the necessary two thirds vote, with almost half the House of Representatives GOP caucus joining the majority Democrats in favor. The freshman was accused of deceiving voters about his background to get elected last year and of various financial crimes, including stealing from his political campaign. Most Republicans opposed the expulsion. They did not defend Santos’s record, but cited the concern of establishing a precedent of not waiting for a criminal conviction. The anti-expulsion Republicans claimed it was necessary to give Santos the “presumption of innocence.” However, the presumption of innocence only applies within the legal context of an accusation of a crime, as it refers to the burden of proof on the prosecution. It does not have to be respected by the general public, or even government officials, including Congress. Each of the chambers of Congress may decide whether to expel a member, based on its own judgment, as expulsion is a congressional prerogative, for which there is no requirement that there be a conviction, or even that the expulsion be only for crimes, for which is there is precedent in both chambers for expelling members. The House Ethics Committee had issued a scathing bipartisan report on Santos, who had acknowledged at least some of his lies about his background. His defrauding of the voters by misleading them about his background, although not a crime, nonetheless made his election fraudulent and thus illegitimate. Although slightly short of a majority among Republican House members, even this result is encouraging, as it validates the idea that Donald Trump’s Republican nomination for and election to the presidency in 2016 was also illegitimate because he had deceived the voters about his background. For example, Trump exaggerated his wealth, hid his foreign conflicts of interest, paid hush money to women with whom he committed adultery, and lied when he denied that he was still conducting business with Russia while a candidate for President, among numerous deceptions that he and his supporters, both domestic and foreign, engaged in to win the election fraudulently. At least the expulsion of Santos reaffirms the idea that this defining type of election fraud ought not be tolerated, but there is much more to be done as the acceptance of the 2016 by minimizing or denying it has continued to undermine elections and confidence in them.

Anti-Trump Pennsylvanians Form Republicans Against Perry to Defeat Scott Perry

A group of prominent Pennsylvania Republican former senior public officials, congressional candidates and longtime political strategists who are not Trumpist have formed Republicans Against Perry (www.republicansagainstperry.com) to target Republican United States Representative Scott Perry of Pennsylvania for election defeat in 2024. Perry is one of the most loyal supporters of Donald Trump and was one of the leading architects within Congress of the attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election on false grounds to keep Trump in power. The Trumpist Perry had long believed in and promoted baseless conspiracy theories before promoting the theory that the election results were fraudulent in Pennsylvania and other States, which was rejected by Republican elected officials, judges and members of Congress, as well as even Trump Administration officials. Trumpism is not conservatism, but a populist mix of protectionism, nativism and isolationism, as well as a tolerance for Trump’s deception, disloyalty, corruption, authoritarianism and cruelty. Perry opposes aid to Ukraine to defend itself against aggression by the Russian Federation, led by tyrannical ex-Soviet intelligence officer Vladimir Putin. Putin had engaged in an active measures campaign in 2016 and ongoing first to support Trump’s candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination and then in the general election by interfering in the election in numerous ways, as Russia has been interfering in American politics since 2014, when it first invaded Ukraine, according to U.S. all intelligence agencies, a Republican Special Counsel investigating Russian interference and the GOP-led Senate Intelligence Committee. Among various machinations, Russia also interferes in the elections of European States. Trump invited and welcomed Russian interference, coordinated his messaging with the publication through a Russian cutout of information the Russians had stolen, and amplified Russian disinformation and propaganda. He and his henchmen obstructed the investigation into Russian interference and the Trump Campaign’s complicity with it. The Russians were not the only foreigners to interfere in the election on Trump’s behalf and foreign interference was not the only fraud committed that helped him win the election. But Trumpist Republicans minimize these examples of fraud — even from a hostile foreign power—while making false or exaggerated claims against Democrats in the 2020 election, while ignoring real examples of fraud that some Democrats and liberals do commit. They thus further one of the goals of Putin, which is to undermine Americans confidence in elections. To excise the influence of Putin and Trump from the GOP, it is necessary to defeat their supporters and apologists and replace them with honest, competent patriots, and especially with those who are true center-right conservatives.

Foreign Digest: Parliamentary Elections in Argentina, the Netherlands and New Zealand

Argentina: In Argentina’s presidential elections late last month, a populist libertarian economist and member of Congress easily defeated Economics Minister who was the leftist Peronist party’s nominee. The liberal spending polices of the ruling party, which have caused inflation 40% —more than 10 times what Americans are currently experiencing — were a major issue in the campaign. The center-right candidates who were defeated in the primary round of balloting supported the libertarian upstart. As a libertarian, the incoming Argentine President’s views overlap with, but differ from conservatism. He favors welfare spending cuts and adopting the United States dollar as the national currency, but also eliminating Argentina’s central bank, which would reduce the South American State’s sovereignty. The President-elect opposes abortion, but wants to commoditize people by legalizing the sale of organs. He will be restrained from implementing his most radical ideas by Argentina’s Congress that is led by the leftwing Peronists and perhaps by the conservative parties. The election thus moves Argentina further away from the disastrous Socialist model of Venezuela, but not necessarily toward a stable free market alternative based upon liberty, representative government, and morality, as leftist policies sometimes beget populist far-right governments, instead of reasonable, conservative ones. One positive aspect of Argentina’s elections is an expected shift in emphasis on trade relations from Communist China to the West and friendlier relations with the United States and other Western States. Argentina has at times had friendly relations with the U.S. over the years, as a non-North-Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) ally, especially when governed by conservatives. Netherlands: In the recent parliamentary elections in the Netherlands, the far-right anti-migrant and anti-European Union party won the most votes and seats in the Parliament, but short of the majority necessary to form a government that can win the required vote of confidence of the Dutch Parliament. The ruling center-right party, which came in a close third behind a centrist party, will not join the far-right in a coalition government, but only offer parliamentary support for conservative policies. A Christian Democratic Party came fourth. The far-right party, unlike most European nationalist parties, is not pro-Russian, but its anti-migrant emphasis goes beyond a legitimate concern about violent Islamists to Islamophobia and xenophobia, like most European nationalist parties, even though a large majority of Muslims do not support violent jihad (Islamic holy war) and are refugees from Islamist repression. The Netherlands is an ally of the United States as a member of the NATO. New Zealand: In the parliamentary elections in New Zealand last month, the conservative party won the most votes and seats after six years of liberal rule, but well short of a majority. It was able to form a coalition government last week with a libertarian party to obtain the required majority for a parliamentary vote of confidence. The new Prime Minister promises spending and tax cuts and a crackdown on crime. New Zealand is an ally of the United States.

Update on the Spanish Parliamentary Elections

A leftist coalition won the required vote of confidence in the Spanish Parliament to form a government late last month, after elections in which the center-right party had won a plurality of votes and seats, but far short of a necessary majority. As I had posted in July, the conservatives tried to form a coalition government with the leading far-right party, but still came up slightly short of a majority of seats in Parliament. Such far-right parties, which are usually anti-migrant, pro-Russian and anti-European Union, have often dragged down conservatives in elections or, when conservatives have joined with them in coalition governments, it has resulted in the collapse of the government or embarassment from scandals, such as accepting funding from the Russian Federation, which is led by a tyrannical ex-Soviet intelligence officer who interferes in the elections in European and Western States, including in American politics, as I have been posting. The ruling Socialists were then able to form a coalition with the pro-independence party from Catalonia after promising their leaders amnesty for their illegal attempts to secede from Spain. Spain is an ally of the United States as a fellow member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.