Dear CCI Friends,

The last decade has taught us more than we ever wanted to know about propaganda and the need to learn the delicate art of separating truth from spin, deft language manipulation, and outright lies. We have also learned a thing or two about viciousness, as in the libel, slander, defamation and general vitriol that will be directed against anyone who questions the ‘official narrative’, otherwise known as propaganda (and which used to be called “the party line”).

Now the war on, and with, words is kicking into a higher gear, one with even more damaging physical effects.  Consider the case of Jacques Baud, please.  A retired Swiss army intelligence officer who has held senior positions at the UN and who has served as an advisor to NATO on Ukrainian affairs, he is an experienced and respected geopolitical analyst.  His take on the Ukraine/Russia affair does not quite match official European Community group think, however, and they have gone after him with a vengeance.

Please see his interview with Danny Davis and give us your take on the situation.  Is it as dire as Patrick Lawrence suggests?

SANCTIONED:  Targeted by the EU

As Lawrence summarizes the issue:

“Europe Has Gone Completely Off The Rails”

https://thefloutist.substack.com/p/free-speech-and-its-enemies?

What do you think?

Welcome to 2026, friends!  
The Center for Citizen Initiatives

Dear CCI Friends,

To those not afflicted, Russophobia looks like any other irrational form of bigotry and we have focused on the subject in the past.  Now, Professor Jeffrey Sachs has taken an in depth look at the phenomenon in an article that spells out how two hundred years of  ‘Western’ hatred of Russia – up to and including the present era – has little or nothing to do with Russian misdeeds or aggression. 

Europe Assumes Russia Is An Exception To Normal Diplomatic Rules

https://consortiumnews.com/2025/12/24/jeffery-sachs-two-centuries-of-russophobia-rejection-of-peace/

Former Ambassador Jack Matlock’s recollection of the most significant period in modern geopolitical history, the dissolution of the Soviet Union, reinforces Sachs’ judgment.  Ambassador Matlock’s assessment of what happened versus what should have happened during that period comes from his direct, personal involvement.  He brings that history up to the present day as the ramifications of what happened then play out in what is going on now in Ukraine.

“NATO Expansion, Coup and the Subversion of Ukraine”

https://glenndiesen.substack.com/p/jack-matlock-nato-expansion-coup?

There’s a lot to process here, folks, and it’s fascinating.  May this holiday week give you the time to digest it all.  

Cheers and Happy New Year!

The Center for Citizen Initiatives

Dear Friends,

May the sentiment of the season infect our world:
 

Peace On Earth
Good Will to All

Warmest holiday wishes to all of our CCI friends and Thank You for your continuing support.  Merry Christmas!

Sincerely,
Sharon, Paula, Krishen and Charles
The Center for Citizen Initiatives

Dear CCI Friends,

The debate over proposed peace plans for Ukraine is ongoing although the Russians appear to be excluded from the discussion while the Europeans and the Zelensky government are seemingly doing their level best to scuttle realistic diplomacy.  Not even a Christmas truce looks likely.

It  would seem obvious that a perfect peace, i.e., one that gives every party everything they want, is not possible.  The analyst below addresses that issue head on by asserting that “an imperfect peace is better than a worsening war.”

Is the world ready for that?

Sincerely,

The Directors

Center for Citizen Initiatives

“Trump’s Ukraine Proposal Is The Least Bad Option Out There”

Dear CCI Friends,

You may have been as distracted by Donald Trump’s new National Security Strategy for the past week as we at CCI have been.  Does it mean a major shift in US foreign policy away from the current ‘the-US-must-control-the-world’ model to one of ‘the-US-will-henceforth-mind-its-own-business’ model?  Or is it empty rhetoric that will bounce off an impregnable wall of resistance to change?

Since CCI’s mission is to foster improved US/Russia relations, we are sharing three articles with you that focus on what a policy re-set such as that set out by President Trump would mean in that sphere. 

Harvard’s Russia Matters reviewed only one segment of the NSS but it is perhaps the most significant for our purposes in that it lays out an entirely new, sane approach to America’s future engagement with the Kremlin:

Russia in Review, Nov. 25–Dec. 5, 2025 | Russia Matters

Alastair Crooke points out that both Europe and American Democrats find the new policy a catastrophe, meaning they may do their utmost to undermine it:

Europe in Panic Over US Strategy for Stability With Russia – Consortium News

Stephen Bryen sees the strategic importance of a “balanced relationship” between the two superpowers – a CCI goal for more than 40 years:

Sinking NATO: The Implications of All Out Support for Zelensky’s Hard Line

Enjoy the reading, friends, and as always, let us know what you think.

Sincerely,
The Directors
Center for Citizen Initiatives