According to a 2019 Rand report titled “Overextending and Unbalancing Russia,” the US goal is to undermine Russia just as it did the Soviet Union in the cold war. Rather than “trying to stay ahead” or trying to improve the US domestically or in international relations, the emphasis is on efforts and actions to undermine the designated adversary Russia. Rand is a quasi-US governmental think tank that receives three-quarters of its funding from the US military.

Rand Report Prescribed US Provocations against Russia and Predicted Russia Might Retaliate in Ukraine