While you were up watching reruns of Seinfeld, the first presidential debate turned into Dr. Strangelove….
Analysis
Paul Robinson: Book Review: Russia’s Response to Sanctions
Do sanctions work? More precisely, have the sanctions imposed on Russia in recent years worked?
Do We Really Want Nuclear War with Russia? (Robert Parry)
Special Report: The U.S. propaganda war against Russia is spinning out of control, rolling ever faster downhill with a dangerous momentum that threatens to drive the world into a nuclear showdown, reports Robert Parry.
Eugene Rumer: Opposition to Nord Stream 2 makes no sense for America or Europe
Fears of Russian domination through gas sales ignore earlier pipeline projects.
Why the United States Should Exercise Restraint Before Launching A New War in Syria (The National Interest)
Tensions between Russia and the United States are coming to a head over the civil war in Syria. Washington has suspended bilateral talks with Russia to end the five-year old war. Moscow has suspended an agreement to destroy 34 tons of weapons-grade plutonium that was reached during the year 2000, using especially harsh rhetoric.
Obama Warned to Defuse Tensions with Russia (Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity)
A group of ex-U.S. intelligence officials is warning President Obama to defuse growing tensions with Russia over Syria by reining in the demonization of President Putin and asserting White House civilian control over the Pentagon.
Rep. Thomas Massie: Russia Hysteria Undercuts Our Values, Impedes Relations
What began as only Russophobic rhetoric seems to have turned into a witch hunt, as President Trump calls it.
Suspension of Syria Talks With Russia Is the Most Dangerous Development of the New Cold War (The Nation)
The collapse of talks takes the US one step closer to an unnecessarily deadly “military solution” to the Syria crisis, writes James Carden.
PODCAST: Stephen F. Cohen: Sanction Mania vs. Russia
For nearly 100 years, Russia has been under US sanctions, often to the detriment of American national security.
Sen. Rand Paul: The U.S. Must Engage With Russia
On my recent trip to Russia, I spent an hour with Mikhail Gorbachev.
Why It’s Safe to Scrap America’s ICBMs (William J. Perry)
In recent years, Russia and the United States have started rebuilding their Cold War nuclear arsenals, putting the world on the threshold of a dangerous new arms race. But we don’t have to repeat the perilous drama of the 20th century. We can maintain our country’s strength and security and still do away with the worst of the Cold War weapons.
Paul Saunders: Why Bloomberg Got It Wrong
Bloomberg provides yet another example of shoddy journalism in the service of RussiaGate – Editor.
Our Eternal Enemy: We Must Stop the New Cold War (Huffington Post)
The post-Cold war opportunity to forge a more equal and peaceful international system has been squandered as the United States is once again embroiled in proxy conflicts in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and now in cyberspace.
Matthew Bunn: In Gorky Park, with nuclear worries
The nuclear danger remains very real, and we need urgent action to address it — including public pressure.
The Russian Blitzkrieg on Aleppo Is a Direct Challenge to Washington (Patrick Lawrence)
The Syrian cease-fire was already in tatters. But the new offensive is also early preparation for a hawkish Clinton presidency.
Ben Aris: US declares economic war on Russia
“The US has declared economic war on Russia,” Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said on August 10 in remarks that set the stage for a real military clash between the two countries.
Lyle J. Goldstein: A Decade After the Georgia War
As NATO military forces roll into the Caucasus region, Moscow observes and calculates its next move.
PODCAST: More Squandered Opportunities to Deal With the New Cold War (Stephen F. Cohen)
Nation Contributing Editor Stephen F. Cohen and John Batchelor continue their weekly discussions of the new US-Russian Cold War. (Previous installments are at TheNation.com.) In this installment, discussion focuses again on the two most dangerous Cold War fronts, Syria and Ukraine, and the failure of the two main American presidential candidates, abetted by the mainstream media, to address these issues in any meaningful way.
The Flimsy Case Against No-First-Use of Nuclear Weapons (Bruce Blair)
Obama wants to do it, but his advisers are squeamish. Here’s why they shouldn’t be.
Paul Robinson: The Use of Force
There are occasions when statements of the blindingly obvious are rather revealing, although not in the way that those making the statements intend.