Nation Contributing Editor Stephen F. Cohen and John Batchelor continue their weekly discussions of the new US-Russian Cold War. Cohen laments the escalation of neo-McCarthyism as exemplified by a November 25 Washington Post front-page article alleging that an array of American Internet sites have been propagating Russian-inspired “fake news.”
The Populist-Nationalist Tide (Patrick Buchanan)
The point: not only is the Cold War over, the post-Cold War is over. We are living in a changed and changing world. Regimes are falling. Old parties are dying, new parties rising. Old allegiances are fraying, and old allies drifting away.
Washington Post Disgracefully Promotes a McCarthyite Blacklist From a New, Hidden, and Very Shady Group (Glenn Greenwald)
Even more disurbing than the Post’s shoddy journalism in this instance is the broader trend in which any wild conspiracy theory or McCarthyite attack is now permitted in U.S. discourse as long as it involves Russia and Putin – just as was true in the 1950s…
Washington Post Promotes Shadowy Website That Accuses 200 Publications of Being Russian Propaganda Plants (Max Blumenthal)
A shady website that claims “Russia is Manipulating US Opinion Through Online Propaganda” has compiled a blacklist of websites its anonymous authors accuse of pushing fake news and Russian propaganda.
The ‘Washington Post’ Promotes a McCarthyite Blacklist (James Carden)
Almost as soon as the Washington Post report appeared, prominent members of the liberal commentariat tweeted it out to hundreds of thousands of people, as though it were hard won vindication of their collective efforts to portray Trump’s surprise victory as the work of the Russian government
PODCAST: The Friends and Foes of Détente With Russia (Stephen F. Cohen)
Nation Contributing Editor Stephen F. Cohen and John Batchelor continue their weekly discussions of the new US-Russian Cold War. (Previous installments are at TheNation.com.) Last week’s discussion revisited episodes of US-Soviet détente in the 20th century, from Eisenhower and Nixon to Reagan, and the lessons to be learned from them. One was a pro-détente president’s need for determination, leadership skills, advisers, and domestic allies to offset what is certain to be ferocious opposition to any truly reciprocal negotiations with (now) “Putin’s Russia.”
No, Russian Agents Are Not Behind Every Piece of Fake News You See (Fortune Magazine)
In a recent story, the Washington Post says that this is definitely the case, based on information provided by two groups of what the paper calls “independent researchers.” But the case starts to come apart at the seams the more you look at it.
Trump should embrace ‘dual conciliation’ abroad (Steven Kinzer)
Trump appears ready to break away from Washington’s anti-Russia consensus, but he remains a prisoner of the anti-Iran consensus. This is the central contradiction of his emerging foreign policy.
Russia’s Lavrov, U.S.’s Kerry, in phone call, discuss Syria’s Aleppo (Reuters)
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry discussed “normalization” of the situation in the besieged Syrian city of Aleppo on Tuesday, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
US Ambassador to UN: ‘Russian terror’ against Syrian civilians will only cause more terror (Business Insider)
UN Ambassador Samantha Power continues in her efforts to undermine John Kerry’s diplomatic efforts in Syria.
Demonstrators storm offices, bank in Kiev, Ukraine (UPI)
Protesters vandalized several offices in Kiev, Ukraine, in a pro-Ukrainian, anti-Russian demonstration, police said.
Editor’s note: The ACEWA Newsletter Will Return Monday, November, 28.
Lazy Journalism: On Russia and the Media (Paul Robinson)
There are lots of stories which could legitimately be used to paint Russia in a bad light. But instead of doing the hard work of investigatory journalism, they instead propose radical ideas based on wild speculation. In this way, their work comes to resemble the ‘Russian propaganda’ they so like to despise.
President Obama changes his mind on Russia (Patrick Armstrong)
Patrick Armstrong notes the evolution in the President’s thinking regarding Russia and its relevance and reach globally.
Russia responds to NATO advance with missiles in its Europe enclave (CBS News)
U.S. officials have always maintained that the missile defense shield in Romania is aimed at protecting against a missile threat from Iran. But NATO decided in early 2015 to establish new command-and-control centers in Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Bulgaria by the end of 2016, and those sites are indisputably intended to serve as a warning to an increasingly aggressive Russia that NATO remains resolute in its commitment to defend all members.
Russian President Putin says Trump confirmed willing to mend ties (Reuters)
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Sunday U.S. President-elect Donald Trump confirmed to him he was willing to mend ties, though he also said he would welcome President Barack Obama in Russia.
Senators vow to counter Trump on Russia (The Hill)
Skeptical of Trump’s warmer relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, lawmakers in both parties are breaking with the incoming administration to carve out a tougher stance.
Obama, Putin talk about Syria and Ukraine in quick summit meet (Reuters)
U.S. President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin spoke for around four minutes on Sunday at the APEC summit about Syria and Ukraine, in what is likely to be their last in-person meeting before Obama leaves office.
The Washington Post Is in Full McCarthyist Attack Mode (Matthew Dal Santo)
What is the convention regarding connections between a foreign government and a candidate for public office?
Consider a recent story in the Washington Post.
Obama urges Trump against realpolitik in relations with Russia (The Guardian)
Barack Obama has warned the US president-elect, Donald Trump, against taking a purely “realpolitik approach” to relations with Russia and encouraged his successor to continue standing up for American values.