Why did NATO attack Yugoslavia in 1999, killing perhaps as many as 2,500 civilians? Here are some possible answers as Vladimir Golstein reflects back on that ugly episode.
Analysis
FAIR: The Utility of the RussiaGate Conspiracy
New McCarthyism allows corporate media to tighten grip, Democrats to ignore their own failings
VIDEO: Rachel Maddow: All Russia. All The Time.
Is Rachel Maddow aware there is other news happening?
Sean T. Crowley: NATO ‘Encirclement’ May Be Creating a New Crisis with Russia.
NATO expansion has fueled some of Russia’s worst fears…and impulses.
Washington’s Hawks Push New Cold War (Alastair Crooke)
As a fragile and partial cease-fire in Syria totters, the back story is the political warfare in Washington where powerful hawks seek to escalate both the war in Syria and the New Cold War with Russia, ex-British diplomat Alastair Crooke explains.
With the Syrian cease-fire, the secretary of state takes a parting swipe at Russophobia (Patrick Lawrence)
It has been clear for some years that the policy cliques in Washington have been approaching a decisive limit. It is not merely that the Bush II framework — flouting international law, intervening at will, “pre-emptive” war, “regime change,” “nation-building” and so on — can be carried no further. There is a larger point.
Matt Taibbi: Beware the Slippery Slope of Facebook Censorship
Facebook was “helped” in its efforts to wipe out these dangerous memes by the Atlantic Council, on whose board you’ll find confidence-inspiring names like Henry Kissinger, former CIA chief Michael Hayden, former acting CIA head Michael Morell and former Bush-era Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff.
Jonathan Chait Is the Last Person We Should Listen To When It Comes to Trump and Russia
Chait says Russiagate skeptics are foolish. Here’s why he’s completely wrong.
VIDEO: Noam Chomsky on Mass Media Obsession with Russia & the Stories Not Being Covered
Chomsky: So, take, say, the huge issue of interference in our pristine elections. Did the Russians interfere in our elections? An issue of overwhelming concern in the media. I mean, in most of the world, that’s almost a joke.
Paul Robinson: Cui Bono?
At present, politicians and political commentators are making much of the alleged threat to democracy posed by social media, ‘fake news’, and ‘disinformation’.
The US and Russia have less influence in Syria than they think (Patrick Cockburn)
Despite 10 months of negotiations between the US and Russia, the two biggest players in the Syrian conflict, the ceasefire is close to unravelling
Sparks fly in Ukraine as Russia prepares for parliamentary election (Kim Sengupta)
The attack on the Russian embassy in Kiev in the early hours of Saturday morning took place as preparations were under way to open a polling station in the Ukrainian capital for Russia’s imminent parliamentary elections.
Walter Kirn: Illiberal Values
If Trump’s presidency is a national emergency and opposing it the equivalent of war—though I prefer sticking with the political process—then there isn’t much room for liberals to be liberal in the ways I found so attractive as a boy.
We Have to Deal With Putin (Patrick Buchanan)
Putin supported the U.S. in Afghanistan, backed our nuclear deal with Iran, and signed on to John Kerry’s plan have us ensure a cease fire in Syria and go hunting together for ISIS and al-Qaida terrorists. Still, Putin committed “aggression” in Ukraine, we are told. But was that really aggression, or reflexive strategic reaction?
Jonathan Granoff: Why Putin and Trump Should Meet
Putin and Trump have the capacity and responsibility to cooperate to make sure we are not humanity’s last generation.
PODCAST: Stephen F. Cohen Talks Russia, Israel, and Middle East Diplomacy on Steele and Unger
ACEWA Board Member and Professor Emeritus Stephen F. Cohen spoke with Rick Unger and observed that “Russia is on the march diplomatically,” explained Putin’s popularity in Israel, and noted that Russia’s return as a player in Middle East politics is a “new and important story” that is largely being overlooked by the US mainstream media.
Peter van Buren: The establishment blob is looking a lot like the new McCarthyism.
An answer was needed, so one was created: the Russians.
PODCAST: The Origins of the Donbas War From Below (Sean’s Russia Blog)
Serhiy Kudelia is an Assistant Professor of political science at Baylor University where he specializes in state formation, civil war, and political violence in the post-communist world. His most recent article is the “Donbas Rift” first published in Russian in the journal Kontrapunkt and in English in Russian Politics and Law.
Doug Bandow: Would You Send Your Son or Daughter to Die for Montenegro?
The U.S. government should risk its citizens’ lives and squander their wealth only to protect their nation, not to conduct grand foreign crusades, even for Montenegro.
Origins of the War in Donbass (Paul Robinson)
If the Kiev government is right, and the war was primarily the result of Russian aggression, then the solution lies in pressuring Russia. If, however, the war was mainly a product of local grievances, then the solution must involve addressing those grievances. That in turn requires Kiev to take the rebels’ demands seriously and negotiate with them.