All in all, Putin’s visit to Slovenia, following on the heels of his recent visit to Greece, another Balkan EU and NATO member state, shows that Russia is far from being politically isolated in the Balkans. On the contrary, in fact, it seems as if its influence is slowly but surely taking on more and more weight.
Bruce Fein: At NATO, Trump Should Declare MAGA Doctrine of Self Defense
Mr. Trump has commendably chastised America’s NATO partners for their skimpy financial contributions to the joint enterprise. No other president has displayed such moxie. But the NATO flaw is deeper, and President Trump needs to go further.
Russian Realism in the Middle East (Paul Pillar)
A wiser United States would also think of Russia itself, which has the label of adversary firmly affixed to it, in realist terms in which that label would not prevent the United States from exploring and exploiting areas of parallel interest, writes former CIA official Paul Pillar.
John Dale Grover: Admitting Ukraine Into NATO Would Be a Fool’s Errand
The United States can’t be the world’s democracy crusader, especially when the stakes are nuclear.
PODCAST: Cold War Casualties from Ukraine and Syria to the New York Times’s ‘Standards’ (Stephen F. Cohen)
Nation contributing editor Stephen F. Cohen and John Batchelor continue their weekly discussions about the new US-Russian Cold War. (Previous installments are at TheNation.com.) Cohen begins by reminding listeners that the preceding 40-year Cold War was accompanied by factional, often behind-the-scenes politics for and against US-Soviet Cold War relations, and which often spilled over into the media. It is happening again, perhaps more dangerously and disgracefully.
Michael T. Klare: What Trump’s Critics Are Missing About the NATO Summit
His nutty antics, as usual, dominate the headlines—while very little is being said about the alliance’s actual role in the world.
The State of Russia Analysis in the US (Part I, Gessen)
Today we feature two recent – and sadly representative – examples of what passes for Russia analysis in the US media. This first comes courtesy of The New Yorker which features Masha Gessen’s speculations on Vladimir Putin’s new chief of staff. Gessen writes, “the letters of his last name can spell voyna, the Russian word for war. Is this the message that Putin is sending?”
Matthew Walther: Liberals’ Trump-Russia fever dreams have reached parody status
New York magazine has no duty to its readers except that of entertainment…But don’t pretend that what you’re reading is journalism.
The State of Russia Analysis in the US (Part II, Aslund)
Anders Aslund of the Atlantic Council took to the pages of Newsweek to ask the question ‘Could Putin Be Ousted in a Kremlin Coup?’ According to Aslund, the Russian President does not have control over the Security Council “which could oust Putin himself for his adventurous policies. This instability in the Kremlin is likely to impact its Ukraine policy, but at this point it could go either way.”
Ted Galen Carpenter: Rediscovering the Art of Diplomacy With Vladimir Putin
Trump has the opportunity for his greatest foreign policy accomplishment yet.
The Olympics – A Spirit Diluted (David Speedie)
ACEWA Board Member David Speedie writes that “if medals were offered in jingoism” the US would “sweep the boards…I think especially of the swimmer, Lilly King, whose over-the-top finger wagging was described by one courageously honest commentator, Bomani Jones of ESPN, as ‘just a little self-aggrandizing.'”
Gordon Hahn: Trump-Putin Summit
The Trump-Putin summit was successfully delayed by the liberal/neocon, Washington/NATO deep state network.
Trump, Manafort and Ukraine (Paul Robinson)
The division of pre-Maidan Ukrainian politics into pro-Western and pro-Russian camps is overly simplistic. The competing political groups in the country represented different oligarchic and other interests, whose primary concern was promoting those interests, not pursuing alliances with this or that foreign power. As a Russian official once put it to me, ‘Yanukovich isn’t pro-Russian, he’s pro-Yanukovich’.
Max Blumenthal: Think tank hosts Ukrainian neo-Nazi as violence rages against minorities there
At a packed meeting in the Senate, Blumenthal asked organizers whether it was appropriate for Congress and the American Foreign Policy Council to be coddling the founder of two neo-Nazi parties. The response his questions elicited ranged from bizarre to deeply troubling. AFPC president Herman Pirchner, Jr. called it a “non-issue.”
Russia says close to joint military action with U.S. in Aleppo: agencies (Reuters)
Russia and the United States are close to starting joint military action against militants in Syria’s Aleppo, Russian news agencies on Monday cited Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu as saying. Fighting for control of Aleppo has intensified in recent weeks and there have been some gains for rebel groups battling Syrian government forces.
Ronald Katz: Why Congress Should Not Honor One of the Most Notorious Doping Cheats of All Time
Congress should look beyond the flawed New York Times coverage of alleged state-sponsored Russian Olympic doping, which relied on a discredited informant and then largely ignored a respectable court.
Germany, Russia call for calm amid growing Crimea tensions with Ukraine (DW)
The top diplomats of Germany and Russia have discussed the conflict in eastern Ukraine in light of rising tensions over Crimea. Both called for restraint amid fears that the region could be further destabilized.
George O’Neill: For Peace With Putin, End America’s Pointless Wars
Ignore the establishment: Trump has a huge opportunity at his upcoming summit.
Obama’s Nuclear Test Moratorium Is Common Sense (Daryl Kimball)
Twenty years ago, the United States took a leading role in negotiations to ban the practice of conducting nuclear-weapon test explosions, which enables states to prove new and more deadly nuclear-warhead designs. The result was the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, which was opened for signature on September 24, 1996.
Geoffrey Roberts: From Cold War to Hot Peace review: Obama and Putin behind the scenes
McFaul believes in the power of individuals to shape events. His book is an account of choices made and opportunities missed. While he heaps most of the blame on to Putin, he doesn’t exempt himself or his own side from criticism.