In a gaggle with a small group of journalists on Tuesday, Nikki Haley offered her thoughts on a wide range of foreign policy subjects. But the outgoing U.S. ambassador to the United Nations gave an illuminating answer when I asked how she thinks Russia’s delegation plans its daily activity at the U.N.
Moscow’s delegation, she said, “talk about how they’re going to spy that day.” Haley continued by suggesting that “literally there is a culture that Russia has [at the U.N.] which is stop, create distractions, and create chaos. So any resolution that was coming to the table, if it was moving in a direction that was pro-U.S., they created distractions or created chaos, so that it would confuse everyone. And that literally is something we’ve seen over, and over, and over again with multiple resolutions. Whether it dealt with the U.S. or not. If we were trying to target Iran they would create a distraction and say it was something else … they are all about stop and distract. And literally, that is what Russia focuses on every day.”
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It was evident from Haley’s comments that she won’t miss these Russian antics at the U.N. I don’t blame her. I can confirm that Haley is not exaggerating: Russian foreign policy pertaining to the United Nations is built on cultivating what CIA spyhunter James Angleton called the “wilderness of mirrors.” Which is to say that an arena of chaotic disruption in which the truth is buried in a sea of half-truths and dedicated lies. In an environment where Russia’s influence over other nations has declined since the end of the Cold War, Russian President Vladimir Putin prioritizes the obstruction of U.S. efforts to lead the international community.
It’s a basic strategy, but one that unfortunately sometimes bears fruit.
