Two years after the Maidan ‘revolution of dignity’ it is now clear that the Western-backed overthrow of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych was not a revolution and that it was in vain—however one wishes to characterize it.
Analysis
Paul Saunders: Where Is the Russia Investigation Going?
Can efforts to protect American democracy end up threatening it? In the ongoing investigations into Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election, the answer may well be yes…
Edward S. Herman: Fake News on Russia and Other Official Enemies
It has been amusing to watch the New York Timesand other mainstream media outlets express their dismay over the rise and spread of “fake news.”
Leonid Bershidsky: Simpler Explanations Are Usually Correct. Even on Russia.
Recent revelations have simple, credible explanations that are overshadowed by conspiracy theories and hype.
Thank You to Our Readers, Best Wishes for a Happy, Healthy and Peaceful 2016!
Thanks to all our readers and subscribers for your support over the past year; the next edition of the ACEWA Newsletter will be out Monday, January 4.
Happy New Year to All!
Paul Robinson: The International Order
If Mrs May really thinks that Russia is undermining the international order in general and more specifically British democracy, then shouldn’t she be reconsidering Brexit?
Jordan Michael Smith: Is This Professor ‘Putin’s American Apologist’?
Ronald Suny says Stephen F. Cohen “tries to fight all windmills at once” but adds that he is “rather courageous” and “covers for more timid colleagues”….
Stephen F. Cohen and John Batchelor: ‘Russiagate’ Zealots (Mainly Democrats) Have Become a Major Threat to US National Security
At an international summit in Vietnam last week, President Trump took necessary steps to reduce the perils of the new Cold War with Russia. Liberal Democrats call it “treasonous.”
In Russia Perhaps Democracy ≠ Liberalism (Paul Robinson)
Professor Paul Robinson examines an article by Dan Healy, the Director of St Antony’s Russian and Eurasian Studies Centre, entitled ‘Irreconcilable Foes? LGBT Russians and their government?’
According to Robinson it contains an interesting lesson about Russian democracy.
Pietro Shakarian: Russia’s Relations with the Kurds
Russia’s cooperation with the Kurds of Iraq and Syria in the fight against ISIL has been widely publicized by the Western media. However, less well-known is the fact that Russia’s relations with various Kurdish groups date back almost two centuries.
Part II of Max Blumenthal’s Special Report: McCarthyism Inc: Introducing the Counter-Terror ‘Experts’ Hyping Russian Threats and Undermining Our Civil Liberties
As the government’s crusade against Russian meddling widens, it appears increasingly like a pretext for online surveillance, ramped up securitization of social media and the suppression of dissent.
Katrina vanden Heuvel: Registering the Cable Channel RT a Foreign Agent Is a Threat to Press Freedom
Stigmatizing Russian broadcasting is the latest unnecessary escalation in the new Cold War.
Part I of Max Blumenthal’s Special Report: Meet Clint Watts, a Dubious Russia Meddling ‘Expert’ Lobbying the U.S. Government to ‘Quell Information Rebellions’
So who is Watts, and how did he emerge seemingly from nowhere to become the star congressional witness on Russian meddling? Dubious expertise, impressive salesmanship.
PRESERVING CIVILIZATION AS WE KNOW IT (John Pepper)
ACEWA Founding Board Member and former Procter and Gamble CEO John Pepper has written an eloquent analysis of the civilizational dangers confronting us as we enter 2016: Ian Kershaw’s magisterial new history of Europe, 1914-1949,”To Hell and Back” reminds us that during the 40 year period from 1914 to 1945 Europe came close to “self-destruction” in two World Wars and an economic depression that cost over 50 million lives.
[Read more…] about PRESERVING CIVILIZATION AS WE KNOW IT (John Pepper)
Lyle J. Goldstein: Russia and America Are Conducting Massive Nuclear Exercises
Both Russia and the United States undertook major tests of their respective nuclear forces at the end of October 2017.
Stephen Kinzer: NATO is headed for a very messy break-up
Today NATO systematically confronts Russia with troop movements, arms buildups and maneuvers near Russian borders. At the same time, it supports American “out-of-area” wars in places like Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan. Turkey has no interest in joining either of those projects. It feels no obligation to do so. That certifies its effective withdrawal from NATO.
PODCAST: The Post-1991 World Order Is Crumbling–When Will the US Adjust? (Stephen F. Cohen)
Nation contributing editor Stephen F. Cohen and John Batchelor continue their weekly discussions of the new US-Russian Cold War. Cohen argues that 2015 witnessed the crumbling of the US-led post-1991 international world order, many of the changes, for better or worse, pivoting around the New Cold War. While media attention is currently focused on the conflict over Syria and the Islamic State, Cohen points out that the political epicenter of the Cold War remains in Ukraine.
VIDEO: ACEWA Board Members Speak at NYU on US-Russian Relations
On Nov 23rd ACEWA Founding Board Members Stephen F. Cohen, Bill Bradley, Jack Matlock, John Pepper and William vanden Heuvel took part in a panel discussion at the Jordan Center at NYU on the topic: “US-Russia Conflict from Ukraine to Syria: Did US Policy Contribute To It?” And…Happy Holidays from The American Committee for East-West Accord.
Katrina vanden Heuvel: Russia, Trump, and the Democrats
Katrina vanden Heuvel reports on the dedication of Russia’s monument to victims of the Gulag on the Start Making Sense podcast.
VIDEO: The Causes and Consequences of the Ukraine Crisis (John J. Mearsheimer)
Given in September 2015, a lecture by University of Chicago Professor John J. Mearsheimer on the origins of the Ukraine Crisis.