Dear CCI Friends,

Dmitri Trenin is the most senior Russian/U.S. interlocutor reporting on USSR/Russia/U.S. relations since the 1980s. So well known is he that his name alone comes first in the title of his comments. He has consistently strived, or so it seems to me, to present both sides of whatever issue is plaguing the two countries. And as you know there have been continuous issues due to an almost total opposite manner in which the two peoples’ (Americans and Russians) have been enculturated. I don’t always agree with Trenin, but I respect him greatly.

Note that he divides his comments into: Drivers, Behaviors, Results and Prospects. Read carefully for the ‘lessons learned’  hidden in each category.

Sharon Tennison
Center for Citizen Initiatives

[Continue Reading]

Dear CCI Followers,

The U.S.-Russia head-on clash in Ukraine is producing more articles and soundbites than we can send to you. Natylie Baldwin, author of “A View from Moscow,” gives permission for CCI to use her short-hand analysis of the events taking place on ground in the past couple of days.

We will keep you informed as the situation comes to a head … which could be anything from an all-out war between the United States and Russia, or a sensible retreat by the Biden administration, which won’t go down well with his overlords, the U.S. military industrial complex … or some quiet diplomacy about which we may never know the back story. Let’s hope and pray for sensible solutions for all sides.

More to follow later in the day.

Sharon Tennison
Center for Citizen Initiatives

[Continue Reading]

The Biden administration appears willing to get us into a fight we’re not ready for.

The American Conservative
April 12, 2021
By Douglas Macgregor

Conflict with Russia may be inevitable. Kiev’s strident threats to resolve the crisis in Eastern Ukraine with force of arms, combined with Washington’s refusal to acknowledge that Moscow actually has legitimate national security interests in Eastern Ukraine, makes it so. Equally troubling, the president sees no particular reason why he should explain to the American people why Washington’s readiness to support Kiev’s use of force against Russia makes strategic sense for America.

In 1937, when the Imperial Japanese government expressed sincere regret for attacking and sinking the U.S.S. Panay, an American gunboat that had been patrolling China’s Yangtze River, U.S. Ambassador to Japan Joseph Grew was not satisfied. He warned the Japanese Foreign Ministry that “Facts mean more than Statements.”

Grew was right. A Biden-Harris guarantee of support for the Ukrainian government’s plan to reconquer its lost territories, including Luhansk, Donetsk, or Crimea, is about as meaningless as the British government’s 1939 guarantee of assistance to the Poles in the event of a German attack on Poland.

[Continue Reading]

Dear CCI Friends,

The Ukraine situation is  moving speedily to a place where World War III could be the end result! These events are not being mentioned in our mainstream print media or TV.

Why Not???

Democrat Tulsi Gabbard speaking on Fox News with Tucker Carlson,  April 12, 2021
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iywKH60NUGg

Ukraine’s Importance to Russia and the United States
Ukraine was one of the largest USSR republics and the most important at the fall of the USSR. It held peoples from half a dozen different countries. Ukraine had two distinct districts: western Ukraine and eastern Ukraine. The former was the breadbasket of the union; the latter was the manufacturing base due to deep beds of coal and rich iron deposits. Russians predominate in the Donbass region.

The United States has spent unlimited USD and personnel to bring the new Ukraine into the U.S. orbit with hopes Ukraine would join NATO. This would put NATO right next to Russia’s border. This is a burning issue for Russia. Ukraine, rife with oligarchs and corruption, is among the most poorly-managed nations in the world despite (or due to U.S. dollars?).

Biden, et al, began to put NATO war games around Ukraine last week. They are comprised of tens of thousands of troops, tanks, missiles, etc. and could easily become an invading force. Russia responded symmetrically with troops, tanks, bombers and missiles.

Is This a “Surprise War Waiting to Happen”?

None of this build-up has been mentioned in U.S. news or television! Bizarre? Yes!

Is the U.S. preparing for war … with American people not being informed???

If so, it could go Nuclear immediately if one missile is fired. It would become WWIII!
Former Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard  broke the silence on Fox News last evening.

Please read, digest and send comments to your friends, colleagues and Congress members!

Sharon Tennison
Center for Citizen Initiatives

See more:  https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9466707/Biden-warns-Putin-act-firmly-defense-Ukraine.html?ito=push-notification&ci=126924&si=26794963&ai=9466707

Dear CCI Followers,

I’m delighted to send you the article below written by Anatol Lieven, the Quincy Institute’s new expert on Russia. We knew they were searching for a specialist to fill this position and were apprehensive about who would be selected.

We are elated it is Anatol Lieven! He is a great analyst and a truth teller unlike many others in the field.

Sharon Tennison
Center for Citizen Initiatives

[Continue Reading]