President Obama’s ex-intelligence chiefs admit they limited input into the Russia-gate “assessment,” which was handled by “hand-picked” analysts, raising the specter of politicized intelligence, Robert Parry reports.
Kerry says agreed with Russia over U.N. resolution on Syria chemical weapons
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Thursday he had reached an agreement with his Russian counterpart on a draft U.N. resolution aimed at identifying the perpetrators of chemical weapons attacks in Syria.
On The Testimony of John Brennan (Washington Times)
Too bad Obama couldn’t have nipped the Russian interference in the bud during his presidency. Then maybe the whole Russian-Trump collusion charge the left is so desperately trying to make true wouldn’t play so prominently in the press these days.
Is the U.S. less corrupt than Russia?
At the highest levels, the U.S. and European Union believe that corruption in Russia is so extensive that after the invasion of Crimea and Ukraine, they directed many sanctions toward Russia’s elite. Western powers went after super rich “oligarchs” and wealthy “friends of Vladimir,” hoping to punish financially Mr. Putin’s inner circle and pressure it into changing his calculus about Russia’s aggression….
Thomas Friedman Asks: Why Fight ISIS? (NY Times)
Occasionally we highlight particularly outrageous articles in order to draw attention to the uphill battle the Committee faces in the current political/media environment. Thomas Friedman, NY Times columnist, frequent guest on Charlie Rose and the Sunday morning shows asks: “Why should our goal right now be to defeat the Islamic State in Syria?”After all, says Tom, “ISIS right now is the biggest threat to Iran, Hezbollah, Russia and pro-Shiite Iranian militias…”
BREAKING: Russia and France cancel $1.3 billion warship deal
The two countries have terminated a contract worth 1.2 billion euros ($1.3 billion) for France to supply two Mistral-class amphibious assault ships to Russia.
The deal was signed in 2011 but France faced pressure to withdraw from the arrangement after Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine. The French government suspended delivery of the ships last year.
FOREIGN MEDDLING IN ELECTIONS UNCOVERED (Paul Robinson)
A group called Canada Decides have submitted a 36-page complaint to Elections Canada alleging foreign influence in the 2015 vote.
Russia or ISIS? Who is America’s No. 1 Enemy?
Who poses the biggest threat to America? For the last few weeks, the nation’s top security chiefs were pressed to answer that existential security question.
And as luck would have it, the experts don’t seem to fully agree on the identity of America’s No. 1 enemy. But they’ve laid out some interesting options…
How Did Russiagate Start? (Matt Taibbi)
The uncertainty has led to widespread public terror, mass media hysteria and excess, and possibly even panic in the White House itself, where, who knows, Trump may even have risked military confrontation with Russia in an effort to shake the collusion accusations.
Russia Seen Turning to Crisis Playbook to Prevent Ruble Rout
Russia’s central bank may pick up where it left off earlier this year to avert another run on the ruble.
To take the pressure off the currency, the Bank of Russia will restart one-year foreign-exchange repurchase operations that were halted June 1, according to 14 of 17 economists surveyed by Bloomberg.
Ronald Reagan 1984 State of the Union Address (Excerpt on USSR)
In Reagan’s 1984 State of the Union Address, he devoted several paragraphs to the people of the Soviet Union where he famously said, “there is only one sane policy, for your country and mine, to preserve our civilization in this modern age: A nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought. The only value in our two nations possessing nuclear weapons is to make sure they will never be used. But then would it not be better to do away with them entirely?”
Russia Eyes Further Counter-Sanctions
Russia’s prime minister has ordered preparation of retaliatory measures against several non-EU European nations that have joined the European Union’s sanctions against Russia.
Dmitry Medvedev instructed officials Tuesday to consider counter-sanctions against the countries, which he didn’t identify.
How Kosovo Poisoned America’s Relationship with Russia (Ted Galen Carpenter)
The Kosovo intervention set terrible precedents that have come back to haunt the West.
Can the United States Stop a War with Russia?
America is heading for war with Russia. Some call the current situation “an increase of hostility” or “Cold War II.” There are two sides to this story. I believe that American journalists from all political persuasions are not offering critical analysis. Understanding the Russian side and taking their arguments seriously can help prevent serious consequences.
Smoke and Mirrors (Ray McGovern and William Binney)
So far, it has been all smoke and mirrors with no chargeable offenses and not a scintilla of convincing evidence of Russian “meddling” in the election.
Fears grow as Ukraine rightwing militia puts Kiev in its sights
At a thickly forested former youth camp west of Donetsk in war-torn eastern Ukraine, a military instructor is busy teaching hundreds of new recruits how to fire everything from machine guns to rocket-propelled grenades. The new boys are lean and fit, anti-separatist and — in the instructor’s words — have “fire in their eyes”.
But this is not Ukraine’s regular army. The troops are members of Right Sector, the far-right group that evolved from among the most militant wing of the protesters who toppled Viktor Yanukovich, the country’s pro-Russian president, in its pro-democracy revolution last year.
The Fallacy of Demonizing Russia (Natylie Baldwin)
Today’s demonization of Russia is especially offensive when viewed against the suffering of the Russian people that Natylie Baldwin recalled in a visit to the monument honoring the defense of Leningrad against a brutal Nazi siege.
WHAT 18 FOCUS GROUPS IN THE FORMER USSR TAUGHT US ABOUT AMERICA’S IMAGE PROBLEMS
THE UNITED STATES has a major public relations problem in former Soviet countries. Not only in Russia, but in Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, and even Ukraine, ordinary people see the U.S. as an arrogant, hegemonic superpower that meddles in the affairs of other countries in a cynical pursuit of its own interests — perceptions that dovetail with the Russian government’s official critiques of the United States, which may explain the success of these particular memes.
To restore American soft power in the region, the United States should reduce direct support for civil society organizations in former Soviet countries and others that lack intrinsic demand for civic engagement
Dimwitted and Dangerous (Paul Robinson)
Following Hillary Clinton’s defeat, her advisors met to discuss how to react to their electoral disaster, and that they decided that the best option was to blame it on the Russians. Again, I can’t fathom why, except perhaps that it a) had now became a matter of faith, and b) it excused them from having to examine their own failings.
Russia will recover, but it needs deep reforms: IMF
Russia will slowly recover in the coming year but cheap oil and sanctions continue to weigh on the country’s economic outlook along with Moscow’s “slow progress” in implementing structural reforms, the International Monetary Fund has warned.