American Committee for US-Russia Accord

Brookings played a large role in pushing the Russian collusion narrative, hiring a variety of experts who then populated media outlets like MSNBC and CNN stating confidently that Trump was clearly incriminated in a series of dubious criminal acts. While no such crimes were ever charged, let alone prosecuted, Brookings maintained a deep bench of enabling experts like Susan Hennessey (now a national security adviser in the Biden Administration), Ben Wittes (who defended James Comey in his leaking of FBI memos) and Norm Eisen (who then become counsel in the Trump impeachment effort). This included the Brookings site, LawFare, which ran a steady stream of columns on how Trump could be charged for crimes ranging from obstruction to bribery.

However, that type of media cross-pollination is common. What is most surprising is how the indictment seems to map out roads that keep leading back to Brookings.

Amid the public storm in America over the fall of Kabul, it is important not to lose sight of other looming crises around the world – some of them potentially much more dangerous than Afghanistan. For if the US political elites were so surprised by the speed of the Afghan state’s collapse, that was largely because the US media stopped paying attention to developments on the ground in Afghanistan once most US forces withdrew and Americans stopped dying there in large numbers.

Of these potential crises, one of the most menacing is the armed standoff between the Ukrainian military and Russian-supported separatist forces in eastern Ukraine.

The Pentagon is determined to stop President Biden from changing our Cold War posture.

The most recent turn in the “up and down” relationship among Russia, Ukraine, the United States and the West has been a dismaying sight over the past month or so.  It is the culmination of a number of decisions that might have been different and some historical realities that won’t change.  And, as I reflect how this current situation might have been avoided, there is, I believe, “plenty of blame to go around.”

It is vital to view the situation from the perspectives of all sides, bearing the historical realities and current circumstances of all parties in mind.

Looking back at the almost 25 years of involvement I have had in Russia and the ex-Soviet Union since 1989, there have been many times when I believed the United States could have done things differently.

“Collusion,” “contacts,” selective prosecutions, coup plotting, and media taboos recall repressive Soviet practices, wrote Professor Cohen in February 2019.

But for many in Washington, the idea of ‘doing nothing’ about some far-off conflict or regional issue is heresy.

Washington shouldn’t be surprised, after years of building and leading security bulwarks against both countries.

There are many clear and implied takeaways from the U.S. indictment of Igor Danchenko available to see for those with wide eyes open.

Investigative journalist Aaron Mate of Real Clear Investigations, Pushback and The Grayzone joins James Carden for a discussion on the latest developments in special counsel John Durham’s investigation into issues related to the origins of the FBI’s Trump-Russia investigation. Aaron’s work on the RussiaGate scandal can be found at: https://www.realclearinvestigations.com/authors/aaron_mate/

Since BuzzFeed published Steele’s reports in 2017, many of the dossier’s key claims have failed to materialize or have been shown to be false. But this week, it may have been dealt a death blow when the operative used by Steele to gather material for the dossier was indicted.