Natylie’s Place
September 3, 2019
By Natalie S. Baldwin

Oksana Boyko Interviews Prof. Mark Galeotti on Worlds Apart

A few years ago, when I would occasionally read Mark Galeotti’s commentary and analysis of Russia, I’d often disagree with his take, preferring professors Richard Sakwa and Dominic Lieven as the best British experts on Russia. However, Galeotti actually gives a more nuanced and interesting analysis during this interview with Russian journalist Oksana Boyko on Worlds Apart. A lot of what makes this an interesting discussion is Boyko’s pushback on some of the assumptions that Galeotti rolls out about Russia and Putin, which forces Galeotti to backtrack on some of the things he starts to say that, in my opinion, reflect lazy and stereotypical thinking. I think Galeotti knows better, but he’s so used to providing the group think assessment of Russia that the Anglo-American establishment demands that it’s a conditioned response.

Having a more reasonable sounding view of Russia suddenly seems to be gaining popularity. After last week’s G7 meeting – the mutual admiration society of the western liberal democracies – French president Macron made comments acknowledging that western hegemony in its recent iteration since the end of the Cold War is declining. He also acknowledged that western nations needed to change their current attitude toward Russia or risk dangerous and unnecessary strategic errors that are not in the west’s long-term interests, like a Russian partnership with China. Macron also wants to position France as a key arbiter of relations within Europe, filling the void that will be left by Britain’s exit from the EU and Merkel’s declining influence on behalf of Germany.

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PUTIN’S COMMENTS TO RUSSIA’S SECURITY COUNCIL RE WASHINGTON’S RECENT TEST OF MISSILE THAT VIOLATED INF TREATY; RUSSIA’S DEPUTY AMBASSADOR TO UN SAYS US STARTING “UNCONTROLLED ARMS RACE”; SCOTT RITTER EXPLAINS HOW US INTEL COMMUNITY & MSM GOT RECENT EXPLOSION IN NORTHERN RUSSIA WRONG

Natylie’s Place
August 29, 2019
By Natalie S. Baldwin

Below is the video with English subtitles of Putin’s remarks prior to an August 23rd special meeting with his security council about the implications of Washington’s recent testing of a missile off the coast of California that violates the recently dissolved INF Treaty.

The meeting was attended by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko, State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin, Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office Anton Vaino, Secretary of the Security Council Nikolai Patrushev, Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, and Director of the Foreign Intelligence Service Sergei Naryshkin.

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Dear CCI Friends,

What more can we do to awaken 330,000,000 Americans to the horrors of Nuclear War?

Our leading scientists say that WE … yes WE, the American people, are closer to nuclear war today than ever before. Closer than the Cuban missile crisis? Yes, say the scientists. Closer than when a Soviet scientist in 1983 refused to fire nuclear weapons at the US when Moscow alarms were screaming “Fire!”? Yes, in addition to these frightening scenarios, nuclear weapons today are far faster and more destructive than in the 60s and the 80s.

Are we so immersed in our comfortable lives that we refuse to hear or see the signals all around us? It seems so!

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American elites used to see war as a tragic necessity. 

Now they’re completely addicted to it.

Foreign Policy
By Stephen M. Walt
August 18, 2019

Along with George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, Franklin D. Roosevelt is often hailed as one of the United States’ greatest presidents. FDR gave Americans hope during the Great Depression, created key institutions like Social Security that remain broadly popular today, led the country to victory in World War II, and created a broad political coalition that endured for decades. He made mistakes—as all presidents do—but it’s no wonder he’s still regarded with reverence.

On Aug. 14, 1936—83 years ago—FDR gave a speech at Chautauqua in upstate New York, fulfilling a promise he had made at his inauguration in 1933. It is a remarkable speech, where FDR lays out his thoughts on the proper American approach to international affairs. He explains his “good neighbor” policy toward Latin America, along with his belief that although a more liberal international trade may not prevent war, “without a more liberal international trade, war is a natural sequence.”

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AP News
By Robert Burns and Lolita C. Baldor
August 19, 2019

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military has conducted a flight test of a type of missile banned for more than 30 years by a treaty that both the United States and Russia abandoned this month, the Pentagon said.

The test off the coast of California on Sunday marked the resumption of an arms competition that some analysts worry could increase U.S.-Russian tensions. The Trump administration has said it remains interested in useful arms control but questions Moscow’s willingness to adhere to its treaty commitments.

The Pentagon said it tested a modified ground-launched version of a Navy Tomahawk cruise missile, which was launched from San Nicolas Island and accurately struck its target after flying more than 500 kilometers (310 miles). The missile was armed with a conventional, not nuclear, warhead.

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