American Committee for US-Russia Accord

Experts on the malicious computer codes commonly used by Russian hackers are far from united behind the Obama administration’s accusations against Moscow, with a few echoing President-elect Donald Trump’s mistrust and asking for more information.

The last week of 2016 saw the passage of three seemingly unrelated events. These were: 1) Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s historic visit to Pearl Harbor, 2) the U.S. expulsion of Russian diplomats in response to allegations of Russian interference in the recent U.S. Presidential election, and 3) the Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning’s debut into blue water territory

The immensely confident report, based on the combined findings of the NSA, CIA, and FBI, includes virtually no new details about why the nation’s intelligence agencies attributed the attacks to the Russian government (and in some cases, directly to Vladimir Putin)…

 

ACEWA Board Member and Duke University Professor Ellen Mickewicz casts a critical eye on the new ODNI report on Russia’s alleged “influence” on the US presidential election… [Read more…] about Duke University Professor Says: Think Twice About New ODNI Report

The Post, you might suppose, would have the self-confidence to sit for an extensive interview about its occasional failings. Apparently not.

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) addresses the history of U.S. interference in foreign elections at Thursday’s hearing on possible Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

One must assume that those issuing the report hoped that it would influence public opinion. Given the lack of solid evidence offered, it is unlikely to change anyone’s mind.

On Saturday, January 7, 2017, at 10:00 a.m., the Schiller Institute NYC Chorus will be singing the Star Spangled banner and the Russian National Anthem at a Wreath Laying Ceremony at the Tear Drop 9-11 Memorial at 51 Port Terminal Blvd in Bayonne. The chorus will be joined by the NYPD Ceremonial Unit Color Guard, as well as FDNY representatives, and the Honor Guard from the Bayonne Fire Department.

Defining Putin as America’s main enemy is threat inflation at its worst.

It would seem then that a healthy amount of skepticism toward a government report that relied, in part, on the findings of private-sector cyber security companies like Crowdstrike might be in order. And yet skeptics have found themselves in the unenviable position of being accused of being Kremlin apologists, or worse.

Nation Contributing Editor Stephen F. Cohen and John Batchelor continue their weekly discussions of the new US-Russian Cold War. Worrying that the current confrontations between Washington and Moscow — now extending from the Baltic region, Ukraine, and Syria to the American political system itself — is becoming more dangerous than was the nuclear confrontation over Cuba in 1962…

Today it might be worth thinking about creating a samizdat culture here at home as we scan the American communications landscape and solemnly realize how our media elites keep failing us over and over again.

Just as The Guardian had to do just two days ago regarding its claim about WikiLeaks and Putin, the Washington Post has now added an editor’s note to its story acknowledging that its key claim was false…

Who is more responsible for both great powers having reached this level of animosity and acrimony, 25 years after Ronald Reagan walked arm-in-arm with Mikhail Gorbachev through Red Square? And what are the causes of the emerging Cold War II?

The “Russian hacking” story in the U.S. has gone too far.

The problem with this story is that, like the Iraq-WMD mess, it takes place in the middle of a highly politicized environment during which the motives of all the relevant actors are suspect. Nothing quite adds up.