How long will it be before American and Russia jets dogfight in the skies over Syria? That possibility seems more likely after the latest in a string of confrontations between American and Russian aircraft.
Victoria de Grazia: You Are Not Alone, Stalingrad: Reflections on the 75th Anniversary
The first time I heard a tribute to Stalingrad in my American homeland was at the family Thanksgiving in 1991.
Putin Praises ‘All-Embracing’ Partnership of Russia, China (AP/ABC News)
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday emphasized economic ties with China and praised what he called Russia’s “all-embracing and strategic partnership” with its neighbor, during a visit to Beijing that takes place against the background of a drop in trade and lingering mistrust.
Rand Paul: Congress Moves to Give the President Unlimited War Powers
The Kentucky senator warns the new AUMF is a massive abdication by the legislative branch.
The State Department’s Wrong-Headed Push for War With Syria (The Nation)
Gabbard said to The Nation on Monday, “Escalating the war to overthrow Assad will make things even worse…The refugee crisis will increase exponentially, and it could lead to a direct confrontation with Russia.”
Lyle J. Goldstein: Russia Learned Nothing in Afghanistan. Neither Did America.
During the early days after the 9/11 attacks and the initiation of the U.S. intervention in Afghanistan it was relatively common to reference the woeful Soviet experience in that country.
The “Hybrid War” Fantasy Lives On
On Thursday, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee held a hearing ostensibly dedicated to “Reviewing the Agenda and Assessing the Potential Outcomes of the Warsaw Summit.” Witnesses Ian Brzezinski of the Atlantic Council and Derek Chollet of the German Marshall Fund testified about the danger Russian “hybrid war” poses to NATO. As such, today we are featuring valuable examination of the concept by two well respected Kennan Institute scholars.
Archie Brown: How did the end of the Cold War become today’s dangerous tensions with Russia?
Cold war can be a substitute for hot war, but it can also be a stepping-stone to armed conflict.
Four Reasons Why Not To Approve NATO Protocol with Montenegro (Filip Kovacevic, PhD)
Open Letter to U.S. Senators: Four Reasons Why Not To Approve NATO Protocol with Montenegro by Filip Kovacevic, PhD
On May 19, 2016, 28 NATO foreign ministers, including the U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, signed the accession protocol with Montenegro in Brussels. In order for Montenegro to be admitted, all NATO member states must ratify the protocol. Since this is a treaty document, the U.S. Senate has to approve it by a two-thirds vote. [Read more…] about Four Reasons Why Not To Approve NATO Protocol with Montenegro (Filip Kovacevic, PhD)
Lev Golinkin: An illiberal ultra-nationalism is replacing democratic impulses across Eastern Europe
On April 28, a thousand Ukrainians marched in honor of a local SS unit. The demonstration, which included Nazi salutes, capped off a week in which a Holocaust memorial was firebombed, the tomb of a rabbi was desecrated, and neo-Nazis conducted anti-Roma pogroms in the heart of Kiev.
Germany warns of new risks to Europe; urges dialogue (ABC News)
Seventy-five years after the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union, which led to the deaths of tens of millions, Germany’s foreign minister warned Wednesday that “Europe is at risk of splitting along new divides,” while Russia’s president drew parallels to the lead-up to the attack and today, saying the West still seeks to isolate his country.
Pepe Escobar: Eurasia torn between war and peace
Iran’s top trading partner is China, while Tehran and Moscow have been improving ties as the three countries move closer to cementing a solid alliance.
WPost’s ‘Agit-Prop’ for the New Cold War (Robert Parry)
The Washington Post, the neocons’ media flagship, has fired a broadside at a new documentary after it blasted a hole in the side of the anti-Russian Magnitsky narrative, which helped launch the new Cold War, writes Robert Parry.
Jonathan Cook: 2018: When Orwell’s 1984 stopped being fiction
This is the moment when a newspaper claiming to uphold that most essential function in a liberal democracy – acting as a watchdog on power – formally abandons the task.
A Response to William Browder (Rachel Bauman)
In expressing his vexation with my article, Browder, who abjured his American citizenship in 1998 to become a British subject, reveals more about his own selective advocacy of democratic principles than about the film itself. He might recall that in his former homeland freedom of the press remains a cherished value.
Aaron J. Mate: Don’t Count on Russiagate to Bring Trump Down.
Robert Mueller’s questions, Michael Cohen’s troubles, and the DNC’s lawsuit don’t inspire confidence.
German Foreign Minister attacks NATO Sabre-Rattling. Good (Peter Hitchens)
Here’s an astonishing development which, in different times, would have got a lot more attention. Germany’s Foreign Minister , Frank-Walter Steinmeier has publicly warned NATO against ‘warmongering’ after it held daft and provocative military exercises in Poland, during which it pretended to have a capacity and a united political will which it simply does not possess.
Sophie Pinkham: Zombie History
Timothy Snyder’s bleak vision of the past and present.
Why Bibi and Vlad Get Along (Paul Pillar)
In a recent article on Israel’s foreign relations, Robert Danin observes that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin “clearly enjoy a better relationship with each other than either does with U.S. President Barack Obama.”
Nicolai N. Petro: Russian Orthodox Church and Russian Foreign Policy
To avoid even greater tragedy in the future, we should heed the warning of America’s most venerated living specialist on Russia, the former Librarian of Congress James H. Billington: “…if we cannot learn to listen to others as they whisper their prayers, we may well confront them later on when they howl their war cries.”