MEETING NOTES

Gene Bruce introduced David Stefanic as our program speaker.  David is a professor of Russian History and the main thrust of his presentation was how Vladimir Putin’s Russia has inserted itself into the power vacuum created by the current U.S. Administration.  The Russians do not respect weakness in anything and once that is detected they will fill the void like they are doing in Syria, South America, and Central America.  Dr. Stefanic declared that the United States must be vigilant and wary of the false news or social media which is Putin’s strategy of disinformation used to sway elections in U.S. and Germany.  He expressed his concerns that Europe’s dependence on Russian oil and gas could lead to economic blackmail if the E. U. attempts to thwart Russian’s “manifest destiny” of world domination.  He cautioned that the U.S. must be cognizant of the composition of the various alliances around the world and to formulate its foreign and military policies accordingly.