Why won't the media call it a coup? Part I
Part I in a series
TAT readers,
FULL STOP: It’s time that we acknowledge that we are experiencing a coup attempt, by a sitting president, the world’s richest person, Vladimir Putin and a so-called American Extremist movement, calling itself the Republican party. Yes, it is quite true that they are attempting what anyone with my USSOCOM/ United States Special Operations Command background, would recognize as a coup. There are few entities in the US government or possibly the world, that know more about all different types of strategies to overthrow, undermine or otherwise coerce, a nation, as USSOCOM.
In many ways, the bulk of my military career serving USSOCOM, was the best possible learning I could have acquired for the moment we now face in our nation. Today, I hope to assist readers with insights to help them better understand what is occurring, why it matters and what, we can do as private citizens, to take effective actions in support of saving our constitutional republic.
One note prior to beginning; the US national security community, including the Pentagon have their own unique and narrowly defined language. Today’s first essay on coups, will not employ that language. I promised when I began TAT, that I would use as plain of language as possible, so that as many people as possible could better grasp the threats facing us. I adhere strictly to this policy. I would imagine that some Special Operations doctrine types, will find fault with this approach but… the threat we face at this point in our history, requires clarity, and doctrine is in my professional opinion, the furthest thing from clarity.
Lastly, I have occasionally mentioned the word “coup” over the past couple of years in previous essays. Should you have interest, they are linked below.
Now… Onward, and with all haste.
So, what exactly is a “coup?”
Well, if you were to look up coup on the homepage of USSOCOM, you wouldn’t see the word coup, but you will see the definition for unconventional warfare, which reads very close to a dictionary definition of coup.
Unconventional Warfare "Actions to enable a resistance movement or insurgency to coerce, disrupt, or overthrow a government or occupying power." FID/ Foreign Internal Defense is what a nation needs to do, in order to stop a coup or insurgency. - Core Activities page - USSOCOM official website
Foreign Internal Defense Activities that support an HN's (host nation) internal defense and development (IDAD) strategy and program designed to protect against subversion, lawlessness, insurgency, terrorism, and other threats to their internal security, and stability, and legitimacy. - Core Activities page - USSOCOM official website
coup A sudden decisive exercise of force in politics and especially the violent overthrow or alteration of an existing government by a small group: coup d'état - Merriam-Webster Dictionary
coup Coups can be understood as illegal, overt efforts by military or civilian elites to seize executive power. - Do Democracies Need to Worry About Coups? - Cornell University Press
Okay, okay, I get it, no more definitions. Thank you for bearing with me for the definitions. I thought it critical for readers to grasp what some of the best minds and experienced professionals think about, when approaching these topics.
Now that we clearly see that the Trump/ Musk forces are attempting a coup, the first question is, how do we stop this? As that today’s essay is the first of a series, we will get to how to fight back, mostly in the next one. The best answer to this question is to understand, what tactics the bad guys will use against us. This issue also has long indicated to me and other serious professionals within the national security community, that a Russian guiding hand continues to be involved. Russia, with their former KGB president, Putin, cut-his-teeth on such types of coups, insurrections, the tactics and overall strategy, etc. Putin was after all, a midlevel KGB officer of little repute. I won’t go deeply into this as that I have written on this topic for a very long time. Again, I will add a couple of links below, for those that wish to know more.
Conned, the conversion of the GOP conservatives into right-wing extremists
The Trump indictments are also an indictment of the entire party and their donors.
The graphic below from the Army Special Forces pocket guide to UW/ unconventional warfare, shows in phases, what a coup must achieve at specific phases of overthrowing a government. Now, let’s look at what the Trump/ Musk/ Putin machine has done to prepare for and execute their coup. I promise, no more, long, doctrine-rich chatter. For here on, I just want to talk us through what we have been experiencing intensely, from approximately 2008 on.
Phase I from the chart above: Preparation
From roughly 2008 on, the Republican Party, especially FOX News watchers became conditioned to accept conspiracy theories as their official doctrine. This was a very careful campaign initiated by Russia, which built on decades of Soviet influence operations against the US and the West, for the entirety of the Cold War. The Soviets that preceded Putin, had long operated aggressive influence operations against the US, by exploiting social, racial and religious differences. The US Civil Rights era was saturated with an Active Measures campaign that like all influence operations, sought to achieve what is still called, Reflexive Control.
In lay language, Active Measures are a strategy of influence operations, designed to take control over humans. In other words, when Active Measures succeeds fully, those impacted become zombie-like in their subconscious decision-making and will almost always, without thinking, act as they are "programmed" to do. When reflexive control is established, audiences can be triggered with a simple, word, phrase, color combinations, music or via specific narrators. This is professionally called, Narrative Warfare and the specialty of the Think Tank, Narrative Strategies, where I hold the position of VP. If you are wondering why Republican voters ignore truth that is right in front of their eyes, it is because they have succumbed to collaborative influence operation between Putin, Trump/ Musk, the GOP. Their messaging is the same or very similar. The results are dangerous, as we can see from the current coup. - Cobaugh - 2025
The bottom line at this phase is, that Republican voters, especially the FOX and similar crowd, have been conned and don’t have a clue that this is the truth. Preparation for the coup is nearly complete at this phase.
Phase II: Connecting a foreign government to the insurgents.
Beginning in 2017, the SSCI/ Senate Select Committee for Intelligence, the most prestigious Intelligence committee in Congress, began a 3 1/2-year report on Russian Influence in the 2016 Election, otherwise called the “Mueller Report.” Initially, it was run by a GOP Chairman but was in fact, an excellent, bipartisan report, requiring five full volumes. All five volumes are available to the public, although they have in some areas, considerable redactions. This is for no other reason than to protect our intelligence services and is not political in any way.
Volume five, all 966 pages, is the CI Report and was the last completed. CI in simple terms is how we protect ourselves from foreign spies. It is among the most hush/hush worlds in the IC or Intelligence community. Those 966 pages are beyond damning and documents the long, careful connectivity between Russian Intelligence and the Trump, 2016 campaign.
I. (U) FINDINGS (U) The Committee found that the Russian government engaged in an aggressive, multifaceted effort to influence, or attempt to influence, the outcome of the 2016 presidential election. Parts of this effort are outlined in the Committee's earlier volumes on election security, social media, the Obama Administration's response to the threat, and the January 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA). (U) The fifth and final volume focuses on the counterintelligence threat, outlining a wide range of Russian efforts to influence the Trump Campaign and the 2016 election. In this volume the Committee lays out its findings in detail by looking at many aspects of the counterintelligence threat posed by the Russian influence operation. For example, the Committee examined Paul Manafort' s connections to Russian influence actors and the FBI' s treatment of reporting produced by Christopher Steele. While the Committee does not describe the final result as a complete picture, this volume provides the most comprehensive description to date of Russia's activities and the threat they posed. This volume presents this information in topical sections in order to address coherently and in detail the wide variety of Russian actions. The events explained in these sections in many cases overlap, and references in each section will direct the reader to those overlapping parts of the volume. Immediately below is a summary of key findings from several sections. - Findings page - RUSSIAN ACTIVE MEASURES CAMPAIGNS AND INTERFERENCE IN THE 2016 U.S. ELECTION VOLUME 5: COUNTERINTELLIGENCE THREATS AND VULNERABILITIES
In the campaign (s) that imposed conspiracy theory ideology onto Republican voters, Reflexive Control was achieved. Now, Phase II was complete. Russian and GOP campaigners could now tell their audiences anything, and they would not only believe them, but would act on them as well. This is what is so maddening for those of us with Republican voters in our family and groups of friends. They quite literally, are living in an alternative reality, where everyone but them and their leaders… are wrong.
Phase III: Infiltration
During the first Trump administration, several of his closest allies, ran afoul of the law for working as agents of Russia. Mike Flynn, the former NSA/ National Security Advisor, Paul Manafort, Trump’s campaign manager and countless others, all the way up to our present time.
Several Republican lawmakers are complete Putin advocates and among them, some of the most recognized names in congress. Musk, Zuckerberg, Brad Parscale and others have legally and illegally, contributed, shared, etc., massive amounts of data to Russia and MAGA GOP influencers for the sole purpose of maintaining Reflexive Control over their voters and expanding their base. The very reason that our nation wished to shutdown TikTok, is now a threat by US and Russian influence operators, in controlling American citizens. As I explained in a long essay, a year or so ago, the Trump/ GOP influence machine would not only survive, but grow stronger, left unchallenged.
Now, with infiltration complete, we are stuck with more Americans under the influence of MAGA/ Russian, far-right ideology than Americans against them. There are plenty to blame here but first among them is the very national security community that I come from. Outside of special niches of the community, where I operated, the US and NATO have been mostly impotent in projecting US and Western values, and worst of all, virtually impotent regarding protecting US citizens from foreign and domestic influence campaigns. The entire community is a disgrace and mostly falls under the name, “Waste, Fraud and Abuse.”
Phase IV: Organization:
The GOP, despite their sheer evil support for the coup, is something that other parties, especially the Democratic Party, are not… organized. There is no doubt that Project 2025 is not only a coup strategy but includes a 180-day playbook as well as a training system to educate Republicans, on how to be MAGA Republicans. The US media for some bizarre and unknown reason, still calls the GOP, conservative. Apparently, most newsroom editors don’t have a dictionary. My friends, words have meanings and what the Republican Party is doing, is exemplary of a far-right extremist movement. This is something that I know first-hand and based on a lot of time in combat zones fighting against another form of violent extremism.
Lastly, I will link Phases V and VI together:
This is where it all comes together for the coup crowd. They are linked together in an organized fashion, disseminating only propaganda, and orchestrating isolated attacks or threat of attacks to those who oppose them. Trump, Musk and their Republican henchmen, almost hourly are either attacking the rights and laws that protect us as well as those within the government that may stand in the way of their evil agenda. The firings, dismissals, elimination of safeguards such as IGs/ Inspector Generals, revoking Secret Service protection from former officials and even things as petty as removing GEN Mark Milley’s portrait from the Pentagon.
Don’t forget, when dealing with malignant narcissists, vengeful cruelty to the level of Sadism, is part of the personality profile. Any slight, no matter how petty must be dealt with as harshly and publicly as possible. Pain and Cruelty is the point.
Another point that we must thoroughly understand at this phase of a coup, is that bizarre, high-profile actions against the innocent and which consolidate power for the coup, are also diversions such as what pickpockets do while robbing you. They bump into you and while you are distracted by the bump, the thieves are busy picking your pocket. In the chaotic past couple of weeks, Washington D.C. has been a hotbed of insane chaos. In the meantime, Musk has moved his young hackers into a place that he can personally control our tax payments/ refunds, Social Security and disability payments etc. This is the cyber version of extorsion. Trump is attempting to fire anyone who could possibly stand in his way.
Trump’s firings will not all succeed because we are, so long as we protect it, a nation of laws. I will leave this last sentence as a topic we will revisit, in the next in a series of coup essays. Yes, the next essay on the coup, will be about what we must do right now to flip the script on Trump, Putin and Musk. After all, “turnabout is fair play,” right?
Summary
My friends, we must not make the mistake of failing to acknowledge what is occurring to our nation. We are without a doubt, knee-deep in a coup attempt, by Trump, Musk, Putin and the spineless Republicans masquerading as conservatives. I never write these essays to benefit a political party, for the simple reason that I despise them, as did my hero, George Washington. They are nothing more than big business. Today’s GOP is mostly my target when writing and this is for one reason only, because they are attempting to overthrow our nation and its constitution. The Democratic Party is mostly dangerous because they are incompetent in protecting our republic from GOP/ MAGA extremists.
"I have already intimated to you the danger of parties in the State, with particular reference to the founding of them on geographical discriminations. Let me now take a more comprehensive view, and warn you in the most solemn manner against the baneful effects of the spirit of party generally. This spirit, unfortunately, is inseparable from our nature, having its root in the strongest passions of the human mind. It exists under different shapes in all governments, more or less stifled, controlled, or repressed; but, in those of the popular form, it is seen in its greatest rankness, and is truly their worst enemy. The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge, natural to party dissension, which in different ages and countries has perpetrated the most horrid enormities, is itself a frightful despotism. But this leads at length to a more formal and permanent despotism. The disorders and miseries which result gradually incline the minds of men to seek security and repose in the absolute power of an individual; and sooner or later the chief of some prevailing faction, more able or more fortunate than his competitors, turns this disposition to the purposes of his own elevation, on the ruins of public liberty. Without looking forward to an extremity of this kind (which nevertheless ought not to be entirely out of sight), the common and continual mischiefs of the spirit of party are sufficient to make it the interest and duty of a wise people to discourage and restrain it. It serves always to distract the public councils and enfeeble the public administration. It agitates the community with ill-founded jealousies and false alarms, kindles the animosity of one part against another, foments occasionally riot and insurrection. It opens the door to foreign influence and corruption, which finds a facilitated access to the government itself through the channels of party passions. Thus the policy and the will of one country are subjected to the policy and will of another. . . ." - Excerpt: Washington's Farewell Address - President George Washington - September 17th, 1796
Our republic was born of progressive radicals, or what we now call, “woke.” I lay out the history in detail is a previous essay. Our national values, in theory outlined protected by our constitution, were not born of White Christian Nationalist beliefs, but via the brilliant minds of the Scottish Enlightenment. Now, thoughtless lemmings following a malignant narcissist, the world’s two richest men (Musk and Putin) are chasing a dream that is everything but American values. It is what I call, The Four Horsemen of the MAGA Apocalypse, Autocracy, Oligarchy, White Christian Nationalism and Political Violence.
Not since the Civil War, has our Republic been in more danger. In fact, I personally believe that Trump is worse than a handful of Confederacies. MAGA/ GOP ideology ironically, is very similar to the Confederacy. My friends and fellow citizens. For the sake of our children and grandchildren, we must win this fight. In fact, America must once again represent our real values, not the cruel kleptocracy of a tyrant and his henchmen.
I hope today’s long essay hasn’t been too painful. Foundational learning is often, not the most exciting. If we wish to win, we must understand that we’re working against evil and evil has a strategy called Project 2025. The military may call it UW but plain and simple, it’s a coup.
My very best for your Superbowl weekend,
Paul