America desperately needs new thinking on foreign policy.
Analysis
No Russian Quagmire in the Middle East
Criticism of Russia’s projection of force into Syria is often laced with predictions of an impending Russian quagmire, in the fashion of the Soviet misadventure of the 1970s in Afghanistan. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Mr. Putin has made a strategic, well calibrated and thought out move on the Middle East chessboard and will soon reap significant geopolitical rewards from it.
Why Giving Ukraine Lethal Weapons Would Be A Massive Mistake (Charles Kupchan)
Arming Ukraine would invite disaster…
The Enormous Folly of Arming Ukraine (Daniel Larison)
While supporters of arming Ukraine want to send a “signal” of commitment to European order by “raising the cost” for Russia (i.e., killing Russians), the effect would be to cause more instability and violence mostly at Ukraine’s expense.
Stephen F. Cohen’s Weekly Discussion with John Batchelor
ACEWA Founding Board Member Stephen F. Cohen continues his weekly appearance on the John Batchelor Show. This week Dr. Cohen and John Batchelor discuss the ongoing war in Syria, with a particular emphasis on the proxy war that is playing out between the US and Russia, with Russia flying sorties over Syrian rebel strongholds while the US continues to arm the so-called Syrian “moderate” opposition.
America’s Ukraine Hypocrisy (Ted Galen Carpenter)
The historical record shows that Washington has meddled in the political affairs of dozens of countries-including many democracies. An egregious example occurred in Ukraine during the Euromaidan Revolution of 2014.
Can Putin Save Syria? Can Anyone?
The Russian intervention in Syria has triggered a wave of comments and critiques in the media on both sides of the Atlantic and all along the shores of the Mediterranean and the Gulf. Analysts freely speculate about which groups exactly are Russia’s intended targets, whether this intervention complies with international law, and whether Putin is trying to divert attention from the Ukrainian crisis and thus ease his ostracism from polite society. The most serious question, however, is: can the Russian strikes put an end to the incredible turmoil and violence that Syria has undergone over the last four years?
PODCAST: CIA insider Melvin A. Goodman talks with Robert Scheer on dialogue with Russia
Former CIA analyst Melvin Goodman says in order for the relationship between the United States and Russia to stabilize, the two countries need to restart the program of de-nuclearization that began more than half a century ago.
Dems Add Neocons to Anti-Trump ‘Resistance’ (The Real News, feat. James Carden)
After pushing disastrous policies and wars, prominent neoconservatives are reinventing themselves as members of the anti-Trump “resistance” with the help of top Democrats and MSNBC, says The Nation’s James Carden.
How to respond to Russia in Syria while avoiding World War Three
As Syrian rebels face an onslaught of Russian bombs ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin, back in Washington President Barack Obama faces incoming volleys himself.
Critics claim Obama’s lack of response to Putin’s bombing campaign makes Obama looks “weak” in comparison…Former National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brezinski even claims that because Russian forces in Syria are “geographically vulnerable” they could be “disarmed,” though without explaining how.
The fact is any escalation would be dangerous by definition, and of dubious benefit to the United States.
Moscow is our friend. Honest. (Stephen Kinzer)
Our interests are to lure Russia away from a possible strategic partnership with China; establish a security architecture in Europe that protects both NATO countries and Russia; and work with Russia to stabilize the Middle East. When emotion and prejudice are put aside, Russia is revealed as a potential partner of ours, not an enemy.
Will Europe Rebel Against U.S. Sanctions? (Curt Mills)
While Trump is sometimes accused of abandoning the trans-Atlantic alliance and scuttling the post-war order, the president now risks further damage to relations with many in Europe by targeting Russia with fresh sanctions.
A Road to Damascus, via Moscow
WASHINGTON — FOR four years, American policy toward Syria has been built on a wish and a prayer: a wish that President Bashar al-Assad would leave and a prayer that the “moderate” Syrian opposition would be more than it is. Now Russia has stepped up its game, and the response from the American government and many commentators seems to be to wish harder and pray more, while condemning Russia for intruding where it supposedly doesn’t belong.
Is Trump’s Russia Policy Being Hijacked? (Patrick Buchanan)
Is President Trump losing control of Russia policy? Has he capitulated to the neocons? These are not academic questions. For consider the architect of the new arms package, Kurt Volker, the new U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine Negotiations…
How the Economist changed its map of the Syrian conflict to make it look like Russia is bombing moderate rebels rather than al-Nusra
How the Economist changed its map of the Syrian conflict to make it look like Russia is bombing moderate rebels rather than al-Nusra. Russia started airstrikes in Syria on 30 September 2015 and has been accused by Western media and governments to target the rebels (portrayed as moderates) rather than the Islamic State. Yet research by Dr. Anthony Penaud has shown that this is hardly the case.
On Russia sanctions, Trump has a point (David Ignatius)
When all right-thinking people in the nation’s capital seem to agree on something – as has been the case recently with legislation imposing new sanctions on Russia – that may be a warning that the debate has veered into an unthinking herd mentality.
New Russian Sanctions Show Putin Exactly Where To Retaliate (Jeffrey Carr)
This hastily-written, badly flawed, and politically motivated law has the potential to harm the U.S. far more than Russia.
How the Obama Administration Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
This article, published nearly a year ago by Dr. Theodore A. Postol, professor emeritus of science, technology, and national security policy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is well worth a read today as the potential for a head on US – Russian clash increases daily with the unfolding crisis in the skies over Syria.
Democrats and the Russiagate Delusion (Moderate Rebels Podcast)
Max Blumenthal and Ben Norton discuss the Democratic Party’s obsession with Russia, how this fixation is used to prevent progressive change, the lack of evidence for ambiguous accusations of “Russian interference,” and how the neoliberal Resistance actively cheers on Trump when he is bombing the Middle East.
Syria’s ‘moderates’ have disappeared… and there are no good guys
The Independent’s Robert Fisk notes that the “rubbish has reached its crescendo in the on-again off-again saga of the Syrian “moderates”. These men were originally military defectors to the FSA, which America and European countries regarded as a possible pro-Western force to be used against the Syrian government army. But the FSA fell to pieces, corrupted, and the “moderates” defected all over again, this time to the Islamist Nusrah Front or to Isis, selling their American-supplied weapons to the highest bidder…”