Hi Richard,

Finally got to the second part of my response. I’ve read your post too and what’s interesting is that unlike the previous topics, it feels to me that we are not differing in opinion, but we are working of off different factual base. This should really put the end to any discussion, what’s the point, right?

So having set a low bar, I’m going to describe my views. Given my background I’m going to use references to my own experience in the USSR.

People in the former USSR have deep multigenerational trauma of the WWII. It had an enormous impact on every family. Every person has someone who either died or suffered horribly in the war or its aftermath. The two world wars resulted in Soviet revolution and a horrible loss of life:

WWI: 15-20M

WWII: 70-85M

Under Lenin and Stalin: 23-33M.

I once worked on a software project that was 2 years late and over budget. We did deliver the project on time and were praised for it. However, we had an extensive review to understand what went wrong and how to make sure mistakes are not repeated.

I’m sure having a military background you’ve had multiple After Action Reviews. This is basic stuff.

Have we ever had an AAR of the WWII? Yes, we did defeat Hitler and there has been no shortage of praise for the people who did this. But has there ever been an AAR? Did the holocaust have to happen? Did 100+M people have to die? The Europe have to be ruined? Did Russia have to be ruined? Did decades of oppression in Eastern Europe have to happen?

So why are we so afraid to have this discussion? This is where you and I differ, I don’t buy the version of history provided to us by the winning powers. I think the old “History is written by the victors” applies.

Regarding Darryl Cooper, Scott Horton, Tucker Carlson and Joe Rogan. To me I see a parallel between them and Soviet dissidents like Sakharov, Brodsky and Solzhenitsyn. Copies of their book were distributed using carbon copies to the point where it was barely possible to read them. They had an impact, but it was not huge. With the internet, modern dissidents are able to have a much bigger impact and much wider audience. If you’ve listened to them enough and read their books, you’d also know that they are genuine and decent people, no matter if you agree with their opinions or not. This is in stark contrast to people like Konstantin Kisin and Douglas Murray. They are intelligent, well read and witty, but appear to be flawed human beings: self important and contemptuous intellectuals. In their interactions they appear more interested in winning than in learning. They resemble the “high quality” journalists who used to work for Pravda.

It’s ironic that with all the advances in propaganda, the regime is still using “misinformation” and “disinformation” so familiar from my Soviet past. They did change enemy of the people to white suprematists, racists and antisemites, so there is progress!

Finally, I’ve read your article and, unfortunately, I’ve not seen any specific commentary on the points discussed in the Cooper interview that prompted me to rethink what was said. I walked away feeling that you dislike both of them and dislike the idea of them having these discussions, but not specifically what they said that was wrong. It seemed more like respected experts have already written everything on this topic and the amateurs are looking to score cheap points. I’m willing to accept this as a hypothesis, but it would be great if you could substantiate this accusation with a specific argument on the specific points made during the interview. Similarly, I’ve yet to hear a specific response to the facts laid out by Darryl Cooper in his Fear and Loathing in the New Jerusalem series or on any of Scott Horton’s books.

This was a long post on the topic where we have an unbridgeable gap in our views! Haha.

Or just supporting the Hamas as people from the current government voted for in the past.