An analysis of the most recent spike in tensions leads to the following conclusions: US President Donald Trump’s administration is fully determined to use military force to discipline challengers and reassert US global primacy.
Russia says agrees with U.S. to improve military coordination in Syria (Reuters)
Russia said on Sunday it had reached an agreement with the United States to improve coordination between their military operations in Syria, where they are backing opposing sides of a civil war and launching air strikes.
Ben Aris: Russio delenda est
The US imposed new sanctions on Russia on April 6 that have ended in a Pyrrhic victory as they seem to have done as much damage to US business interests as Russian.
Germany slams NATO ‘warmongering’ on Russia (AFP/Yahoo)
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has criticised NATO for having a bellicose policy towards Russia, describing it as “warmongering”, the German daily Bild reported. “What we should avoid today is inflaming the situation by warmongering and stomping boots,” Steinmeier told Bild in an interview to be published Sunday.
Paul Fitzgerald and Elizabeth Gould: Turning on Russia
In this first of a two-part series, Paul Fitzgerald and Elizabeth Gould trace the origins of the neoconservative targeting of Russia.
A Peace Journey to Russia (Kathy Kelly)
The dangers from a new Cold War between the U.S. and Russia have prompted American peace activists to reach out to the Russian people and to fellow Americans to urge a step back from the cliff, as Kathy Kelly describes.
Anatol Lieven: Don’t Fear the New Nationalism
The chauvinist hysteria now being directed at Russia by supposedly internationalist liberals has its roots not only in the Cold War but in the fact that, after the Cold War, developments in Russia were the first to reveal the emptiness and impracticality of the combination of American imperialism with liberal internationalism.
Ukraine’s struggle with the past is ours too (Open Democracy)
What happens in Ukraine does not stay in Ukraine — uncritical glorification of Ukrainian nationalism is the west’s problem too.
Raymond Smith: Yes it is a New Cold War, So What is to be Done?
What a Cold War looks like depends to some extent on where you sit.
Ukraine furious over remarks on Russia by U.N. chief Ban (Reuters)
Asked about the criticism, Ban’s spokesman Stephane Dujarric declined to comment in detail. “The fact is … the Russian Federation is a permanent member of the Security Council and has a critical role to play,” Dujarric said. “We’re not going to walk back what we said.”
Edward Lozansky: The reality of Cold War 2.0
Politicians and experts still debate whether the United States and Russia are in a new cold war. Let’s end the suspense. Cold War 2.0 is a reality.
The Case for Offshore Balancing (Walt and Mearsheimer)
Offshore balancing is a realist grand strategy, and its aims are limited. Promoting peace, although desirable, is not among them. This is not to say that Washington should welcome conflict anywhere in the world, or that it cannot use diplomatic or economic means to discourage war.
Ted Snider: Accusing Russia and Listening to History
The prophet Cassandra’s curse was that when she told the future, no one listened. Many are cursed because they don’t listen to history either.
Millionaire Tries to Stop Documentary Claiming to Tell the True Story of Russia’s Missing $230 Million (FP.com)
Russian filmmaker and Putin opponent Andrei Nekrasov tells Foreign Policy magazine that his experience dealing with Hedge Fund manager Bill Browder “has been a bit depressing, to be frank.” “What I discovered is how easy it is — if you have a lot of money — to basically gag somebody,” Nekrasov said.
Paul Robinson: Book Review: The Road to Unfreedom
Timothy Snyder doesn’t like Donald Trump. Really, really doesn’t like him. He fears that under Trump, American (and also European) democracy may collapse into some sort of nasty fascist tyranny. And he wants us all to know who is to blame for this terrible state of affairs, so that we can defend ourselves against it while there is still time. And who is to blame? You know the answer, of course. It’s Russia.
PODCAST: US Refusal to Cooperate With Russia Against International Terrorism May Be the Worst Casualty of the New Cold War (Stephen F. Cohen)
TheNation.com.) The discussion briefly updates the growing military confrontation on Russia’s Western borders.
Nation contributing editor Stephen F. Cohen and John Batchelor continue their weekly discussions of the new US-Russian Cold War. (Previous installments are atTalk Nation Radio Podcast: Russia and U.S. Senators Want Disarmament, U.S. Media Does Not
David Swanson talks with Ray McGovern, who was a CIA analyst for 27 years, from the administration of John F. Kennedy to that of George H. W. Bush. Ray’s duties included chairing National Intelligence Estimates and preparing the President’s Daily Brief, which he briefed one-on-one to President Ronald Reagan’s five most senior national security advisers from 1981 to 1985.
Prepared Testimony By Jack F. Matlock, Jr. House Foreign Affairs Committee June 14, 2016
On Tuesday, Ambassador Jack Matlock testified before the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Amb. Matlock told the Committee that he is “deeply concerned with the direction U.S.-Russian relations has taken of late. The mutual accusations and public acrimony has at times been reminiscent of that at the height (or depth!) of the Cold War.” The entire written testimony can be found here: [Read more…] about Prepared Testimony By Jack F. Matlock, Jr. House Foreign Affairs Committee June 14, 2016
Graham E. Fuller: Syria: bottom line questions
Does the US really want the war in Syria to end? In principle yes, but only under its own rigid terms which call for an end to Asad’s rule and the elimination of Russian and Iranian power in Syria. None of this is within the realm of reality.
Global Magnitsky Legislation Unexpectedly Clears Hurdle In U.S. Senate (RFE/RL)
The day after a new and damaging documentary questioning Bill Browder’s role in the Magnitsky affair was screened in Washington, RFE/RL reports that “The U.S. Senate has passed an annual defense-policy bill that includes the Global Magnitsky Act, legislation that builds on earlier human rights measures that infuriated the Kremlin.” Coincidence, surely.