Russians Hack Election
Jane Doe

Russia stands accused, by all seventeen US intelligence and security agencies, of hacking the 2016 US presidential election. The goal seems to be to sway the result in favor of Donald Trump. Before the election, allegations were rife that Russia seemed to prefer the Republican candidate, Donald J Trump.

Trump wins only because Putin helped him.

Ultimately, of course, Trump won the election against Hillary Clinton, the Democratic candidate. Different media across the globe seemed to favour Clinton. The truth is the election came and went and Trump is the president elect.

Yet, the alleged involvement of Russia in the US presidential election of 2016 is cause for concern. Russia interfered through hacking the US electoral system. The main reason is that there are likely to be certain implications for this action between the two governments.

The main concern, posed by the Russian hacks, is its action significantly compromises the US state security. This action also compromises the overall interests of the country. Russia’s actions amount to interference in US internal affairs, which is uncalled for and begs retaliation.

The US is a sovereign state has a right to solve its internal issues, without any external interference. Russia is not part of the US electoral system. So, why then does it want to interfere in the US electoral processes?

Whether true or not, the allegation of Russian hacking, of the US Presidential election, raises eyebrows. This compels the Americans to seek answers as to what exactly transpired. Russia has to exonerate itself from this serious accusation. Otherwise, failure to do so may lead to a diplomatic tiff created between these two powerful nations.

Media, social and new, report powerful voices are calling for a bipartisan probe into this accusation. This shows the seriousness of Russian hacks on the US electoral system. The interesting part is that Mitch McConnell, who is the top Republican, in the Senate, is leading the pack.

The Republicans appear to be beneficiaries of the hacks by virtue of their candidate winning the election. Yet, Republicans are calling for a probe into the allegation as a matter of protecting the national interests. America belongs to Americans despite their political differences and opinions.

When it comes to issues of national interests, they speak with one voice as Americans. This is a clear example that shows that Russia’s alleged action is a very serious issue. The CIA concluded that Russia helped Trump to win the election, an allegation he denies, of course. GOP leaders show much concern over the alleged hacking by Russian and its subsequent influence on the just concluded US Presidential election.

National security must come first, always.

The other issue is how national security precedes all other personal or political interests. The US has a clear policy that guides its electoral processes and this is not subject to external interference. In other words, the president represents the interests of all Americans regardless of their political affiliation.

Therefore, this kind of interference, by Russia or any nation state, is not in the interests of the US government. The action by Russia promotes the personal interests, of Putin and Trump, at the expense of the country as a whole. This clearly compromises the security system of the country, an issue that must resolve immediately and effectively. One principle guides America. That is a jealously guarded sovereignty. This, in turn, helps them to protect their national security outside political interests. 

By far and large, Russia’s alleged hacking of the US election has numerous implications for the US citizens. The first implication is the US cannot just sit back and ignore an attack of such magnitude. For that reason, Obama has vowed to take action against Russia.

The form of retaliation remains unknown. The truth of the matter is that action means something. In this case, action means retaliation, which has implications on the US citizens.

The bottom line is that when action is revenge, the results are likely to be negative for all concerned. Revenge means Russia is subject to some form of undesirable force, cyber, military, covert. This is a way of showing displeasure for its hacking allegations of the US election. 

In short, retaliation by the US will surely lead to frosty relations between the two countries. For instance, the US can choose to impose more sanctions on Russia; it is unlikely president-elect Trump will continue this policy, if enacted.

Sanctions hurt relations between the two countries in the end. Trade is likely to suffer between these two countries, although it doesn’t amount to much, in global terms. The US needs few goods or services obtainable from Russia. In the event of the imposition of further sanctions against Russia, any trade and diplomatic dealings will wobble. US businesses in Russia may also suffer which shows that retaliation can have far-reaching implications on the Americans.

From a political point of view, US revenge on Russia may result in conflict between the two. Russia always poses a big threat to America’s power across the whole globe. The US is a super power across the whole world, but Russia is its obstacle.

In the event the US retaliates against Russia, in any way, a bad scenario will exist. This can culminate in a conflict of some sort, perhaps in a third-party county, unrelated to the main hacking.

Retaliation is not a good idea, but a response is a must.

Any attempt to attack Russia spells disaster for the US, since this country has very powerful weapons of mass destruction. America may expose itself to unprecedented attacks, such as 9/11; the more recent terrorist attacks in France and Belgium come to mind as potential retaliations by Russia. This scenario is likely lead to much anxiety for Americas; they are likely to be the victims in case of such conflict.

Peace is the greatest gift to the Americans over political tensions with other countries that are equally powerful. Otherwise, a diplomatic approach towards resolving this issue of hacking of the US presidential election by Russia would be ideal. This intends to avoid direct confrontation between these two countries, which yield great power. This can produce undesired results on the American society since lives can be lost.