For the first time in a quarter-century, the prospect of war—real war, war between the major powers—will be on the agenda of Western leaders when they meet at the NATO Summit in Warsaw, Poland, on July 8 and 9.
Analysis
Lev Golinkin: Violent Anti-Semitism Is Gripping Ukraine, And The Government Is Standing Idly By
Poroshenko became president following the bloody Maidan uprising of 2013-2014, in which ordinary Ukrainians died for the right to live in a democratic, Western nation. But at best, Poroshenko’s government has ignored the anti-Semitism problem in its midst; at worst, it has actively encouraged it.
There Are 15,000 Nuclear Weapons Still Posing an Intolerable Threat to Humanity (Mayor Frank Cownie)
The United States Conference of Mayors (USCM), at its recent annual meeting in Indianapolis, unanimously adopted a strong resolution put forward by members of Mayors for Peace, warning that “the nuclear-armed countries are edging ever closer to direct military confrontation in conflict zones around the world,” writes Mayor Frank Cownie of Des Monies, Iowa.
To Crush ISIS, America Needs All the Allies It Can Get (Ed Lozansky)
…The Obama administration, for all its ballyhooed goal of defeating ISIS, is still more concerned about thwarting Moscow and Tehran and overthrowing Assad.
Paul Robinson: Richard Pipes 1923-2018
Richard Pipes was one of the most pre-eminent and controversial English-speaking historians of Russia.
Is NATO necessary? (Stephen Kinzer)
When NATO leaders convene for a summit in Warsaw on Friday, they will insist that their alliance is still vital because Russian aggression threatens Europe. The opposite is true.
Gordon Hahn: Russia’s ‘Brain Drain’ and the Propspects for Regime Transformation
One of the main drivers of revolutionary forms of democratic regime transformation, according to contemporary social science, is the lack of sufficient social mobility for middle class youth that often emerges in authoritarian countries…
Turkey Makes Up With Russia; America Also Needs To End New Cold War With Moscow (Doug Bandow)
Reducing tensions between the two is good for them and the region. As well as for the U.S. and NATO. A conflict between Moscow and Ankara over the Syrian civil war would be simple madness.
Lyle Goldstein: The Russian-German Relationship Is in Free Fall
…the Washington-Berlin-Moscow triangle is mired in such a dysfunctional set of tribulations that its parlous state is severely undermining global security.
Merkel Urged to Temper NATO’s Belligerence (Common Dreams)
U.S. intelligence veterans are calling on German Chancellor Merkel to bring a needed dose of realism and restraint to the upcoming NATO conference, which risks escalating the dangerous new Cold War with Russia.
Mary Dejevsky: The UK’s obsession with the Russian bogeyman doesn’t stack up
The head of MI5 has joined the security establishment’s anti-Putin onslaught. But his organisation agrees that Moscow is not the greatest threat.
What Should America Do at the NATO Summit? (Peter S. Rieth)
Many of NATO’s anxious Eastern European members are hoping that the United States pledges permanent American boots on the ground during the Alliance’s upcoming summit in Warsaw, Poland.
Rich Lowry: The Russia Temptation
…left-wing cable personalities, much of the mainstream press, and the Democratic base are much too vested in Russia to ease off, and the amount of attention they devote to it is overwhelming.
The Imperative of a US-Russian Alliance vs. International Terrorism (Stephen F. Cohen)
Nation contributing editor and ACEWA Board Member Stephen F. Cohen and John Batchelor continue their weekly discussions of the new US-Russian Cold War. (Previous installments are at TheNation.com.) The focus of this discussion is the growing threat of international terrorism, from the Middle East, Europe, and elsewhere to American homeland security.
Stephen F. Cohen: Who Is Responsible for the New US-Russian Cold War?
On May 9, at a public event jointly sponsored by Columbia University’s Harriman Institute and NYU’s Jordan Center for Advanced Russian Studies, Professors Stephen F. Cohen and Michael McFaul debated a crucial historical but also urgent contemporary subject: “The New US-Russian Cold War—Who Is to Blame?”
Fred Weir: To pay for a ‘Russia first’ agenda, Putin takes ax to military spending
With the tensions between Russia and the West so high – often being described as “a new cold war” – one might understandably assume that there is a corresponding arms race going on.
Andrey Sushentsov: A Russian View on America’s Withdrawal from the Iran Deal
Russia is acting deeply disappointed in public.
Sharmine Narwani: Get Ready for the New Middle East Battlefield: The Golan
The Israelis expected the Syrian government, Iran, and Hezbollah to stay mired in their battles against militants elsewhere—and to be restrained by the Russians, who have openly resolved to stay out of Israel’s fights with Hezbollah and Iran
Cold War 2.0 Heats Up Ahead of NATO Warsaw Summit (Part III)
PODCAST: Paul Robinson, professor of Public and International Affairs at the University of Ottawa and an expert on Russia, says stationing Canadian troops in Latvia is not a very good idea. “I don’t see what exactly it’s meant to achieve and how it’s meant to make things better in terms of our relationship with Russia,” Robinson said in a phone interview from Ottawa.
Angela Stent: What to Expect from Putin’s Fourth Term
So far, the signs point to continuity both in personnel and policies.