American Committee for US-Russia Accord

The bold and surprising incursion across the border into the Kursk region of Russia has won Ukraine the temporary possession of several Russian villages and a few hundred square miles of Russian territory. But the strategically cheap Russian land may have been bought at a very costly price. The Ukrainian armed forces managed a lightning advance through largely undefended territory. But that territory is defended now, and the advance seems already to have been slowed. And though it seems to have lost momentum well short of its goals, Ukraine may still have to pay the full price.

Only a few weeks ago, the Ukraine war seemed to be reaching some kind of diplomatic endgame: The war had long settled into what was more or less a bloody stalemate; Washington was distracted by events in the Middle East; and even Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who had long rejected any negotiations if they meant giving up territory, had publicly softened his stance on the idea.

Nine Americans — Ksenia Karelina, Gordon Black, Robert Woodland, Michael Travis Leake, David Barnes, Marc Fogel, Gene Spector, Thomas Stwalley, James Wilgus — remain detained in Russia. The Biden administration should make their safe return a top priority in the time it has left in office.

Vice President Harris will headline tonight’s DNC. Harvard’s Belfer Center has published a compilation of her statements and views on US-Russian affairs.

Within the Nato world only Poland and the Baltic states rival Britain in belligerence. Over the last two years, leaders of China, Brazil, Indonesia, India and South Africa have called for urgent peace negotiations. Donald Trump has famously promised to make peace “in 24 hours” if elected; Hungary and Turkey have offered themselves as mediators. Notable figures in politics and business who have called for peace talks include the former French president Nicolas Sarkozy and Elon Musk. The Vatican called for peace talks in March of this year, before urging Russia the “aggressor” to end its “unjust” war.

By contrast, in Britain a single position reigns.

Predicting his regime’s collapse is wishful thinking.

Should Americans regard Ukraine’s surprise incursion into Russia’s Kursk region as a turning point in the war, one that could bring Kyiv important new leverage in bargaining over a settlement, if not outright victory? As tempting as it is to believe that the Ukrainian military can aspire to more than stalemate and compromise, there is little about the Kursk offensive that justifies such hopes.

Dear friends:

This year, we learned that the U.S. effort to replace its intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) program was an astonishing 81% over budget and years behind schedule.

In an April 2023 interview, Daniel Ellsberg described the profound danger of keeping the ICBM force: “For over half a century, the existence on both sides of vulnerable land-based ICBMs has been the hair trigger to the Doomsday Machine. They pose a use-it-or-lose-it mentality which encourages each side to launch its missiles on ambiguous warning, lest they be destroyed—in order to attack the ICBMs of the other side. The elimination of just one of these pairs of ICBMs would significantly reduce the chance of all-out nuclear war taking place, even in the event of a small nuclear exchange. The warheads in the submarines are far more than enough, even without any ICBMs.”

Despite all this, the U.S. Secretary of Defense has certified, through a “comprehensive, unbiased review” not shared with the public, that the program will proceed, and that the country believes it is still an essential element of its security.

Even as it threatens the security of everyone on earth, the ICBM remains good business for its main contractor, Northrop Grumman, and the larger network of contractors and lobbyists pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into Congress in the effort to keep the program afloat.

It’s going to take a movement to get rid of this imminent threat to our safety. Over the coming months and years, we’re looking forward to working with you to expand our campaign against the ICBM.

So what can we do today?

Extensive information and action opportunities are waiting for you on the “Understanding ICBMs” webpage of the Defuse Nuclear War site.

If you’re near southern California, you can get involved in an upcoming protest of an ICBM test launch at Vandenberg Space Force Base. Reply to this email if you want to get involved. And if you’re not in the area, but still want to support, let us know!

And, CNN recently published an uncritically supportive report on the ICBM “modernization” program. If you’re interested in writing an op-ed or letter to the editor (or even a social media post), this is a great moment to push back against this kind of irresponsible coverage.

On September 5th, at 3:00pm EST, the Union of Concerned Scientists is hosting a Global Security Talk webinar on intercontinental ballistic missiles and the Sentinel program to bring members and supporters up to speed on the current state of U.S. ICBMs and the Sentinel program. Speakers include Laura Grego, Senior Scientist and Research Director for the Global Security Program at UCS; Ella Weber, a student at Princeton University; and a staff member from Representative Garamendi’s office.

We’ll be sharing more opportunities for actions you can take against ICBMs. It will likely take years, but together, we are building a movement strong enough to overcome this existential threat.

In solidarity,

Emma Claire
for the Defuse Nuclear War team

President Biden said on Tuesday that he was in “constant contact” with the Ukrainians about the invasion of Russia’s Kursk Oblast, signaling deep US involvement in the invasion of Russia.

The administration has not been honest about what is actually at stake in Ukraine. Now would be an opportune time for the president or the current vice president to articulate, and without recourse to received ideas such as those about defending “democracy,” why Ukraine’s membership in NATO and the matter of who governs a handful of Eastern Ukrainian provinces is worth risking a war with Russia. If Joe Biden and Kamala Harris do believe it is, they ought to explain why—perhaps during prime time at next week’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

The Biden administration is “open” to sending long-range cruise missiles to Ukraine, a move that would give Kyiv’s F-16s greater combat punch as it seeks to gain further momentum in its fight against Russia.

The Pentagon is in the midst of a massive $2 trillion multiyear plan to build a new generation of nuclear-armed missiles, bombers, and submarines. A large chunk of that funding will go to major nuclear weapons contractors like Bechtel, General Dynamics, Honeywell, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman. And they will do everything in their power to keep that money flowing.

The military situation for Germany is not only bad, it’s a catastrophe after the failed NATO proxy-war against Russia in Ukraine. Many people do not realise what the situation actually means for one of Europe’s largest industrial nations. In this talk, Dr. Erich Vad exposes in detail the many flaws of German and European security.

The recent collapse of nuclear weapons talks between China and the United States in July 2024, followed the withdrawal by the U.S. and Russia from long-established nuclear weapons treaties, like the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, (ABM) Intermediate-Range Forces Treaty (INF), and The Iran Nuclear Deal (JPCOA). Nuclear tensions have regressed to dangerous levels not seen since the Cold War.

My Lords, I welcome the new Front Bench. I know the noble Lord, Lord Coaker, as an eloquent speaker and a doughty defender of the good fight—if he is allowed to.

I believe the Starmer era will be defined by its handling of foreign affairs. As many noble Lords have pointed out, the world is a very dangerous place. There are three powder kegs: in the Far East, in the Middle East and in Ukraine. Each is capable of igniting a world war. I concentrate on Ukraine because it is on the outcome of this conflict that our Government can hope to have their biggest influence. [Read more…] about Lord Robert Skidelsky: Speech to the House of Lords on the Ukraine War

We are at a serious juncture with two mindless wars in East Europe and the Middle East.