Sowing confusion is often seen as a typically Russian technique to blindside and divert the enemy. But the Russians have hardly needed to sow any chaos here, because the British have helpfully done it for them.
Analysis
Jill Kastner: Standing on the Brink: The Secret War Scare of 1983
We would be wise to remember a time when a toxic cocktail of threats, fear, and misunderstanding nearly led to us down the path to Armageddon.
How Foreigners Really Regard U.S. Power (Paul Pillar)
Americans in general have mistaken beliefs about how foreigners view the United States.
Byron York: What Glenn Simpson said about that ‘human source’ inside the Trump campaign
Although his questioners at the time didn’t know what he was talking about, Fusion GPS chief Glenn Simpson raised eyebrows on Aug. 22, 2017, when he told Senate Judiciary Committee investigators that the FBI had a “human source” inside the Trump campaign.
Justin Raimondo: The Babchenko Deception: Kiev’s Masters of Deceit
With billions of US tax dollar going to subsidize what may be the most corrupt government on earth, the Ukrainians contend they’re as pure as the driven snow.
Advice on Anglo-Russian relations: Prof. Paul Robinson Writes Foreign Minister Boris Johnson
Dear Boris, Our paths have crossed intermittently over the past four decades, at school and university, and then when you were editor of The Spectator. Congratulations on becoming Britain’s Foreign Secretary! As Russia is my area of specialization, I hope that you won’t consider it presumptuous of me to offer you some advice on Anglo-Russian relations.
Paul Robinson: Babchenko Lives!
My first thought on this is: what sort of guy allows his wife to find him apparently bleeding to death outside his home and then allows her to believe that he has died from his wounds?
Stephen F. Cohen: Debasing US Policy Discourse About Russia
Is Putin really a “pariah” and Russia “isolated from the international community”?
Lee Smith: The Maltese Phantom of Russiagate
In the shifting narratives of the Trump-Russia probe, a Maltese academic named Joseph Mifsud has remained a linchpin regarding claims of collusion.
ESPN: Nizhny Novogorod, a ‘closed’ city, is ready for a World Cup party
This is the first in a series of ESPN essays profiling all of the cities set to host World Cup games this summer.
Russophobia and the dark art of making an anti-Russian magazine cover (Dominic Basulto)
Chances are, if a story about Russia appears on the cover of a major Western magazine, it’s not good news. Most likely, there’s been an international scandal, a breakout of geopolitical tensions, the resumption of Cold War hostilities, or some nefarious Russian plot to bring the entire free world to its knees.
Margot Cleveland: It’s Time To Admit The Russia Investigation Was Illegitimate From The Start
While claims that the FBI properly inquired of connections between the Trump campaign and Russia were valid to a point, that point has long since passed.
The militarisation of Europe is a far greater threat than Brexit (Irish Independent)
It is as misconceived as austerity and authoritarianism, which are at the heart of the European crisis. But it is infinitely more dangerous. If the Chilcot Report on the war in Iraq proves anything, it is that the momentum towards armed conflict, once started, becomes difficult to contain.
Roger Kimball: For your eyes only: A short history of Democrat-spy collusion
It looks now as if those responsible for this effort to undermine American democracy and repeal the results of a free, open, and democratic election will be exposed. Let’s hope that they are also held to account.
The West escalates with Russia: Make no mistake, a second Cold War is now official NATO policy (Patrick Lawrence)
The NATO convention concluded last week was a standout – easily the most important of the post-Cold War era. We must not miss its meaning. NATO summits may not be your taste, and who can fault anyone for this? But Warsaw has everything to do with the life you will live in coming years.
Paul Robinson: Dirty Money, Dirty Politics
A week ago, the British House of Commons Select Committee on Foreign Affairs issued a report entitled ‘Moscow’s Gold: Russian Corruption in the UK.’ Given the title, one might imagine that this was all about corruption and the role played by Russian ‘dirty money’ in the British economy.
James Carden: The Cold War Culture War
Putin’s Russia – conservative and predominantly Orthodox Christian – today serves as a kind of all-purpose bogeyman for young journalists-on-the-make and for opportunistic politicians looking to cash in on the current hysteria.
Is NATO part of the solution or is it the problem? (Ed Lozansky)
The next president needs to reexamine the U.S. commitment to NATO with an eye to reforming an alliance put together to contend with a threat far different than the one it confronted after World War II, writes American University in Moscow president Edward Lozansky.
Jeremy Kuzmarov: Michael McFaul’s ‘From Cold War to Hot Peace’
McFaul’s book presents a misreading of Russia that will make future relations only more challenging.
PODCAST: Can Europe Stop Washington’s Military Provocations on Russia’s Borders? (Stephen F. Cohen)
Nation Contributing Editor Stephen F. Cohen and John Batchelor continue their weekly discussion of the new US-Russian Cold War. (Previous installments are at TheNation.com.) Cohen characterizes last week’s NATO Summit in Warsaw as another step in the militarization of the new Cold War and indeed just short of a declaration of war against Russia.