, Columnist
The U.S. Needs a Post-Mueller Reality Check
The conspiracy narrative wasn't borne out. Now Americans should dismiss the idea of a Russian "hybrid war."
Robert Mueller makes his getaway.
Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg
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In “Gruffalo,” Julia Donaldson’s children’s book, an enterprising mouse casts an oversized shadow to scare a powerful but naive monster. It’s clear now that the myth of a Donald Trump-Vladimir Putin conspiracy presented the Russian president as an exaggerated threat, when he is more of a mouse. American Russia watchers should be looking for other mistakes of this kind.
The concept of a Russian “hybrid war,” fought simultaneously with weapons, cyber intrusions and propaganda, is a good place to start this reappraisal.