Anatol Lieven
To:gdoctorow@yahoo.com
Fri, Nov 11 at 7:02 PM
Dear Dr Doctorow,
It has come to my notice that someone posted a comment in my name making an insulting attack on something that you had written. I want to assure you that I did NOT write this. If you know my views and record (and indeed personal style) you will realise how very unlikely it is that I would have done so.
I have posted the following on twitter:
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It has come to my notice that someone posted a derogatory comment in my name on a piece by Gilbert Doctorow. I did NOT write this, and in fact have never commented online about Gilbert Doctorow’s work. This was the action of an imposter.
UNQUOTE
I have now modified my essay of today to remove discussion of Dr Lieven other than to quote the insulting comment which arrived on my website in his name. The overriding issue remains unchanged: we are living in a world where such scandalous messages being sent can appear almost normal. We are living in a world where rational discourse becomes hard, even impossible to practice.
The second half of this essay I leave intact because it has lost none of its relevance. My tablemates’ superficial thoughts about the Russia-Ukraine war came ‘from the horses’ mouth.’ No imposters there. While I attributed these remarks to brainwashing from our mainstream media, they may also be attributed to simple selfishness: the Russian war on Ukraine deprives my peers of their creature comforts and so Mr Putin is to blame up and down the line.