The Islamic State terrorist attack in Moscow is the starkest possible reminder that despite the war in Ukraine, Russia and the West also still have some of the same enemies.
Reuters: Gunmen kill more than 60 in concert attack near Moscow, Islamic State claims responsibility
Camouflage-clad gunmen opened fire with automatic weapons at concertgoers near Moscow on Friday, killing at least 60 people and injuring 145 in an attack claimed by Islamic State militants.
Daniel Larison: Hawks pushing for ‘axis of evil’ reunion tour
The danger of basing U.S. foreign policy on imaginary things should be obvious. If U.S. policymakers believe that Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea form an axis when they don’t, that will distort U.S. policies toward all four states in destructive ways.
EL PAIS English: NATO personnel already in Ukraine for arms control, intelligence operations and military training
Emmanuel Macron broke the taboo in February. NATO already assists Ukraine in virtually every possible aspect, from supplying weaponry and intelligence on Russian targets and the positions of enemy bombers to training thousands of Ukrainian troops in Europe. But until the French president suggested it, no one had dared to raise the question of Atlantic Alliance soldiers going into action to stop the Kremlin’s invasion. Macron not only opened a debate; his words also served to confirm that there are already military personnel from NATO countries on Ukrainian soil, albeit without taking an active role in combat operations.
VIDEO: John Mearsheimer: Ukraine’s Dangerous Last Gasp
Judge Andrew Napolitano and Professor John Mearsheimer take stock of the current situation in Ukraine.
Andrew Cockburn: Our Real National Security Budget (With Winslow Wheeler)
The Biden Administration has just published its proposed budget, generating copious commentary, much of it displaying a commensurate degree of misunderstanding, especially regarding our gargantuan national security spending.
Report: US Think Tank Says Station Troops in Poland
The report’s authors also recommended that the Air Force station an additional F-16 squadron in Germany; increase anti-submarine warfare capability and air defense forces; bolster stockpiles of prepositioned equipment and ammunition; and continue modernization, cyber, space and security cooperation efforts.
VIDEO: Nicolai N. Petro: 4 Myths Preventing Peace in Ukraine (Neutrality Studies Podcast)
Nicolai Petro is a Professor of Political science at the University of Rhode Island and has published the wonderful work “The Tragedy of Ukraine: What Classical Greek Tragedy Can Teach Us About Conflict”. He recently published a short essay entitled “Four Myths That are Preventing Peace in Ukraine”. He and Pascal Lottaz speak about that and the changes in the military situation, which apparently is leading to a change in the western narrative about Russian capabilities.
James W. Carden: Where is Biden’s Devil’s Advocate?
The wisdom of LBJ’s resident contrarian George Ball is as relevant today as it was in the Vietnam era.
Doug Bandow: Does ‘Little Napoleon’ Macron Want to Lead Europe into War with Russia?
France wants to go to war with Russia, or so it seems.
Molly O’Neal: France and Germany on the rocks as Ukraine crisis deepens
The Franco-German “tandem,” which has underpinned European integration for decades, has been disturbed by obvious disagreements between French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Ed Lozansky: Macron Plans a Crusade
According to many French politicians, the French president could think of nothing crazier to divert attention away from farmers’ problems and increase his low 24% rating.
MK Bhadrakumar: France all dressed up and nowhere to go
Ever since its ignominious defeat in the Napoleonic wars, France is entrapped in the predicament of countries that get sandwiched between great powers.
SIPRI: European arms imports nearly double, US and French exports rise, and Russian exports fall sharply
Stockholm – States in Europe almost doubled their imports of major arms (+94 per cent) between 2014–18 and 2019–23. Far larger volumes of arms flowed to Asia and Oceania and the Middle East in 2019–23, where nine of the 10 largest arms importers are.
The United States increased its arms exports by 17 per cent between 2014–18 and 2019–23, while Russia’s arms exports halved. Russia was for the first time the third largest arms exporter, falling just behind France. The global volume of international arms transfers fell slightly by 3.3 per cent between 2014–18 and 2019–23, according to new data on international arms transfers published today by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), available at www.sipri.org.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day: A Speech by Irish MEP Clare Daly: On The Drive to War
Clare Dalys talk at the Left Bloc Scoil Chois Claí, illustrating how the EU is already engaged in the process of Militarisation, how it plans to build a new force of 20,000 troops, and the threat this poses to Irish neutrality,
Flashback March 1998: New York Times: Senators Warner, Biden and Moynihan Debate NATO Expansion
ACURA ZoomCast with Professor Geoffrey Roberts
Geoffrey Roberts, Emeritus Professor at University College Cork and member of the Royal Irish Academy talks Putin, Stalin and the War in Ukraine, with ACURA’s David Speedie and James W. Carden.
James W. Carden: Does Nuland’s Departure Matter?
Informed speculation as to the import of Nuland’s resignation requires us to consider at least three questions…
Nicolai Petro and Ted Snider: Four Myths That Are Preventing Peace in Ukraine
If diplomacy is to have a chance at settling this bloody conflict, then four persistent myths about the war in Ukraine need to be exposed and refuted.
VIDEO: Two Year Anniversary of the War in Ukraine: A Conversation with Nicolai Petro
On the two-year anniversary of Russia’s launch of the “Special Military Operation” in Ukraine, Professor Mike Rossi sat down for a conversation with Dr. Nicolai Petro, Professor of Political Science at the University of Rhode Island.