Dear CCI Readers,

A CCI responder recently wrote that Ambassador Jack Matlock was “trying to offer defense of Russia’s violation of the UN Charter.” Ever ready to clear up misunderstandings, he kindly responded back with the following:

“I am not defending anything. I am trying to explain the psycho-log of the other side, which I consider essential if we are to avoid a catastrophe. I assume you were equally outraged when the U.S. bombed Serbia and detached Kosovo from it, and even more so when the U.S. invaded Iraq, destroyed the entire government, arranged the assassination of its president, and stimulated a rise of ISIS. 

Unfortunately, the world has no means of enforcing international law—even if we could agree on what it is—if the most powerful nation in the world ignores it.”

Sharon Tennison
Center for Citizen Initiatives

PS:  I wish we all could have the expertise, wisdom and memory Jack continues to exhibit in his 90s!

Dear CCI Friends, Democrats, Republicans and Independents,

No doubt like many of you, I went to bed last night with a heavy, heavy heart. Despite our political persuasions or affiliations, once again we have experienced a major war and destruction on our planet … this one in Ukraine which was brought into our homes via TVs and our iPhones last night. It has been a grim reminder of the reality of our wars, even though it was aimed not to target population centers (the first in my remembrance).

I’ve not turned on the TV or looked for news this morning. I first wanted to record my feelings lest they get lost in the flurry of others’ opinions throughout the day. I apologize if my words leading up to this situation led you to take on opinions that otherwise you would not have considered. That’s the burden of anyone who has first-hand experience with leaders and far away populations like Russia. I told you the truth as I understood it and still stand by my interpretations but don’t expect you to agree.

The situation with Ukraine, Russia and the West was and is loaded with so much bad history and power projections over many generations, that there was no way a showdown could be healing. As somewhat of a Pacifist looking back, I can see how impossible a situation it was. What thoughts do I have now in retrospect?

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Dear CCI Friends and Colleagues,

I have been stunned and speechless over the past few days.
This has all felt like a bad nightmare. I’ve holed up in my fourth floor condo overlooking a lake surrounded by redwoods and greenery. Not a sound other than an occasional duckling below. I deeply needed this solitude to make sense of what’s going on since returning from Russia on February 16.

Emails have come and gone, the facts have registered, egregious hatred and empathy noted, the former responses as Americans, Russians and Europeans spewed out feelings to justify their rage and concern; only a couple of whom have had personal experience with Vladimir Putin.

Strangely I remember well the day in the early 1990s when I met a diminutive man in a slender brown suit, in a small brown office in Leningrad. I remember quiet sincerity as he examined my proposal to start a new CCI program never before contemplated by Russian bureaucrats. Other such official persons in the office were “getting rich” on their seats from bribes from such proposals.

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Dear CCI Friends,

American TV channels are carrying news tonight about Russia’s “invasion of Ukraine.” At this point it’s not clear if it is only the Donbass region in which primarily Russian citizens live.

For many decades the two lived together with few challenges; however, it’s become more difficult since the early 2000s. More to follow on this situation tomorrow when more is known.

Sharon Tennison
Center for Citizen Initiatives

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Dear CCI Readers,

Again we are grateful to send you Natylie Baldwin’s analysis about Vladimir Putin’s unexpected moves regarding the Donbass yesterday.

These actions will be debated, reviled, resisted, excoriated for years to come. But the endless warring of the past will be over. Hopefully the Donbass will slowly begin to experience the magnificent improvements that Crimea is now showing.

Sharon Tennison
Center for Citizen Initiatives

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