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.
The American Crisis (Robert Merry)
Consider the story of Trump’s revelation of classified information to Russia’s foreign minister and ambassador to the United States. No one disputes the president’s right to declassify governmental information at will, but was it wise in this instance? Certainly, it was reckless if he exposed sources and methods of intelligence gathering. But did he?
WHAT PUTIN REALLY REALLY WANTS
Political commentators regularly line up to tell us ‘What Putin wants’. In the early years of Putin’s rule, analysts tended to the view that Putin was non-ideological, and that he was above all a pragmatist, perhaps even an opportunist. More recently, though, there has been a tendency to regard the Russian president as having become more conservative in his outlook. Yet, despite this, there have been very few serious efforts to attempt to understand his beliefs.
Prof. Stephen F. Cohen Talks With Tucker Carlson (FNC)
Prof. Stephen F. Cohen says President Trump is being accused of treason and there’s no evidence of this and it has become a threat to US national security.
‘Buy Russian’ is Working
For the exhortations from the political class on behalf of import substitution to work, there had to be a radical change in consumer perception of domestically produced foodstuffs. My overriding conclusion from visits to retailers and seeing how goods are promoted is that ‘Buy Russian’ is working because it corresponds to the new patriotic mood.
Did Trump Commit a Crime in Sharing Intelligence With Moscow? (James Carden)
The idea that these leaks to the Washington Post by “current and former U.S. officials” are in the service of US national security interests strains credulity. They manifestly are not.
OSCE: Latest from OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine
The latest report from the OSCE’s Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine presents a mixed picture; in rebel-controlled Donetsk the SMM reports that ‘The overall security situation…was tense in the night between 30 and 31 July as well as on 31 July” while in Luhansk “the SMM did not observe any ceasefire violation.” See here for the full report.
The Myopic Campaign to Make Russia a Pariah (Ted Galen Carpenter)
During the 2016 presidential election cycle, there was a largely partisan effort to portray Donald Trump and his advisors as being under undue Russian influence. Now that campaign has turned into something much broader, uglier, and more dangerous.
Georgia diplomat: No plans to join new EU sanctions against Russia
Zurab Abashidze, the Georgian prime minister’s envoy to Russia, told reporters Thursday that his country has no plans to join new sanctions leveled at Russia by the European Union.
“There is no talk about joining other EU sanctions against the Russian Federation,” Abashdize said, ArmenPress reported.
The Push Towards Impeachment (Robert Parry)
Establishment voices are escalating their calls for President Trump’s impeachment, even without any public evidence that his campaign colluded with Russia, reports Robert Parry.
US tightens sanctions on Russia over Ukraine
The Obama administration is imposing additional sanctions on more than two-dozen people or entities to strengthen existing restrictions in connection to Russian actions in Ukraine.
Under four separate executive orders, the Treasury Department on Wednesday designated and identified former officials and close associates of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych’s regime, people working in Russia’s defense sector and entities in Crimea, which the U.S. says Russia illegally annexed last year.