The United States has not tested the assumption that Russian President Vladimir Putin has no interest in talking.
Analysis
VIDEO: Neutrality Studies with Pascal Lottaz: Neocons Prepare for Third World War
Instead of trying to find an exit strategy from the wars in Ukraine and Israel, the neocons are actively preparing for a third one and they are trying to instil a sense of urgency in everyone to jump into the abyss with them.
Robert Borosage: The Empire Strikes Back
Once more, wars abroad threaten domestic reform.
Military Times: Unknowns about Ukraine gear accountability revealed in watchdog report
An obtained early report illustrates the severe limitations of early accountability measures, and how much Americans officials trust their Ukrainian counterparts to self-police.
Amb. Chas Freeman: NATO Unity Has Cracked
In a new interview, legendary US diplomat Chas Freeman discusses the current state of NATO.
Vladimir Golstein: A Happy Guest in Russia’s Pages
The road to hell is paved with certainties.
Jim Bovard: Truth is the Biggest Threat to DC ‘Democracy’
A hefty Washington Post piece last Wednesday vividly portrays U.S. government officials rushing to plug the hole in the dike before the leak swept away conventional wisdom lock, stock, and barrel. In a passage sure to boost sales of Kleenex inside the Beltway, the Post quotes a U.S. government official who was permitted to remain anonymous: “We were blindsided and furious.”
The leaks vexed Team Biden because President Joe Biden had already proven—via repeated statements—that the war was going great, that Ukraine was on the verge of victory, and that pouring endless billions into Ukrainian government coffers was the only way to save freedom around the world.
ACURA’s Anatol Lieven: Ukraine facing increasingly unfavorable odds
The military and economic balance in war has shifted strongly against Ukraine, and it is very hard to see how this tendency can now be reversed. There is still time for Ukraine to win a qualified victory against Russia; but only if the United States commits itself strongly to a compromise peace.
Gordon Hahn: Bucha and the Scuttling of the Russo-Ukrainian Istanbul Process
Few seem to recall that the infamous, supposed Russian massacre of Ukrainian civilians at Bucha in the the second month of President Vladimir Putin’s ‘special military operation (SVO) occurred on the background of the promising March 2022 Russo-Ukrainian peace talks held in Gomel, Belarus and then Istanbul Turkey.
Dominic Sansone: Ukraine and American Empire
Kiev is now entirely reliant on outside funds. But the cheerleaders for American Empire are still undeterred. A recently-released declassified intelligence report claims that Russia has lost 90 percent of its prewar army. Every U.S. establishment publication has gladly accepted that number and subsequently run with it as proof that Moscow’s forces can be ousted from eastern Ukraine given the requisite funds and weapons.
Paul Robinson: Next year in Ukraine, expect the unexpected
We should treat all current and future prognostications about the war with a massive dose of salt.
Richard Eskow: Ukraine Needs a Cease-Fire, Not Biden’s $50 Billion Escalation
Ted Galen Carpenter: My Own Brush with Death Has Intensified My Opposition to U.S. Imperialism
Instead of promoting negotiations that might bring the bloodshed to an end, the United States and other NATO members have encouraged (pressured?) Kiev to continue a war that has almost no prospect of a Ukrainian victory.
MK Bhadrakumar: Putin lifts the fog of war in Ukraine
Putin’s message is that any new Western narrative on the war is doomed to meet with the same fate as the previous one unless there is realism that Russia cannot be militarily defeated and its legitimate interests are recognised.
ACURA’s Anatol Lieven: Ukraine should take a page out of Finland’s fight with Stalin
Helsinki had to sacrifice territory for autonomy, but its pride and prosperity soared.
Walt Zlotow: Where’s the Other Side of Russo-Ukraine War Discussion?
We in the peace community have no issue with the Chicago Tribune publishing letters supporting Ukraine victory over Russia in their nearly 2 year war.
But publishing two letters Friday, both of which call for robust US support to defeat Russia, paints a false narrative that public opinion is 100% behind endless weaponizing of Ukraine to achieve victory. Polls consistently show that a majority of Americans support negotiations instead of endless weapons to end this horrific war.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from ACURA
Our heartfelt thanks to our readers and supporters this holiday season. May peace prevail in ’24.
We will return to our normal schedule after the holidays.
ACURA’s Katrina vanden Heuvel: Ukraine and the End of Magical Thinking
In early November, Ukraine’s top general, Valerii Zaluzhnyi admitted that the war with Russia was at a stalemate. In December, Republicans in the US House of Representatives torpedoed the Biden administration’s request for billions in new military assistance to Ukraine. At the European Union, Hungary vetoed desperately needed monetary assistance. President Biden’s mantra that the allies would support Ukraine “as long as it takes” became a pledge to support the country “as long as we can.” From Europe, a stalwart Ukraine supporter, Lithuania’s Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis reported that “apparently as long as it takes means as long as we can agree.” Clearly, the time of magical thinking is over.
Norman Solomon: What Daniel Ellsberg Knew About Doomsday
Top American officials in the “national security” establishment are notably good at smooth rhetoric and convenient silences. Their scant regard for truth or human life has changed remarkably little since 1971 when Daniel Ellsberg risked decades in prison to leak the Pentagon Papers to the world. During the years between then and his death six months ago, he was a tireless writer, speaker, and activist.
George Beebe: America’s Choices in Ukraine
Were Biden to indicate a desire for compromise, Putin might judge that his best bet lies with the current administration.