Dear CCI Friends,

You will enjoy this sensible and courageous approach from Senator Rand Paul.  Growing up around former Congressman Ron Paul, Rand Paul has more experience and confidence than most others in Congress. I had heard through the grapevine that he intended to take a trip to Russia, but frankly believed it must be too good to be true. During my May trip to Washington, I had the opportunity to visit with four of Senator Paul’s policy people. They were clearly a head and shoulders above the average policy aides in other offices.

Of course, Paul will take a scouring from other senators and members for breaking ranks, but like his father, with whom I met several times in the 90’s and 2000’s, it won’t ruffle his feathers. He may lead this new young minority of Republicans, Democrats, Independents and Libertarians who are breaking tradition and voting together across the aisle. May their numbers increase!  I heard in D.C. that with this next election there stands to be 40 new members under 40 years of age––no doubt most of them are quite different from the generation now running Congress.

Join me in calling or writing Senator Paul’s office to express support for his initiative to bring Russian law makers to Washington.  Hope is in the air!

Sharon Tennison
Center for Citizen Initiatives

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Strategic Culture
August 7, 2018

Senator Rand Paul Visits Russia to Encourage ‘Vital Engagement’ Between Lawmakers

ARKADY SAVITSKY

Donald Trump is not the only American politician to be striving for a better relationship with Moscow in defiance of multiple opponents who are raising a ruckus about his stance on Russia. The hysterical reaction to the US president’s summit with the Russian leader in Helsinki did not keep Republican Senator Rand Paul from doing what he believes is right — going to Moscow as the head of a US delegation, which also included Texas State Senator Don Huffines and the president of the Cato Institute, Peter Goettler, in order to spur contacts with Russian lawmakers.

During the talks in Moscow on Aug.6, he invited Russian senators to visit Washington.“Today, I met with Chairman Kosachev, and we agreed on the importance of continued dialogue. I invited the Russian Federation to send a delegation to the Capitol, and they have agreed to take this important next step,” Mr. Paul stated. It’ll be the first Russian parliamentary delegation to have traveled to Washington in nearly three years. The senator thinks “our biggest problem right now is no dialogue,” emphasizing that“engagement is vital to our national security and peace around the world.”

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Dear CCI friends,

Take 3.5 minutes out of your busy life today and watch this video.

The title and words come from a famous Voyager photo, and a subsequent book by Carl Sagan.

Watch and listen to this fleeting piece that makes most of what is done on this tiny planet earth seem irrelevant and even demonic––the wars, the hungry mothers and children impacted, the pursuit of hegemony, the love of power politics, the endless train of refugees pouring across our small planet …   It seems that only those things we do to foster life, cooperation, goodwill and the gift of love ….make any sense at all.

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CCI Friends,

There seems to be a faint whiff of change in the air … have you noticed? More articles sensing the absurdity of Washington’s Russia policy. The shift is coming from several sides and is loaded with logic and facts unlike even a month ago. Read the following attentively and let us know if you are also picking this up from other sources.

Sharon Tennison
Center for Citizen Initiatives

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Current Affairs
July 20, 2018

It’s Time For a Little Perspective On Russia

Any Russian interference is only a small part of the “election meddling” we should care about…

by LYLE JEREMY RUBIN

I think we are due for a little perspective on Russia.

I was trained at NSA headquarters as a signals intelligence officer in the Marines. This was about a decade ago, and I was by no means an area specialist. That said, I was privy to relevant briefs. At the time I learned that U.S. cyber operations in Russia, across Russia’s periphery, and around the world already dwarfed Russian operations in size, capability, and frequency. It wasn’t even close, and the expectation was that the gap was about to grow a whole lot wider.

This should hardly come as a surprise. Just compare the defense budgets of the United States and Russia. The president recently signed a gargantuan $700 billion gift to the Pentagon, with marginal dissent from either party or their affiliated media outlets. The budget increase alone ($61 billion) exceeds Russia’s entire annual expenditure ($46). The U.S. military budget now equals more than the combined budgets of China, Russia, Britain, Japan, Saudi Arabia, India, and France. As Vice concluded, “it’s 14 times larger than the Kremlin’s budget.”

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truthdig

Norman Solomon

U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin greet each other ahead of their meeting at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki, Finland. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP)

Throughout the day before the summit in Helsinki, the lead story on the New York Times home page stayed the same: “Just by Meeting With Trump, Putin Comes Out Ahead.” The Sunday headline was in harmony with the tone of U.S. news coverage overall. As for media commentary, the Washington Post was in the dominant groove as it editorialized that Russia’s President Vladimir Putin is “an implacably hostile foreign adversary.”

Contempt for diplomacy with Russia is now extreme. Mainline U.S. journalists and top Democrats often bait President Donald Trump in zero-sum terms. No doubt Hillary Clinton thought she was sending out an applause line in her tweet Sunday night: “Question for President Trump as he meets Putin: Do you know which team you play for?”

A bellicose stance toward Russia has become so routine and widespread that we might not give it a second thought—and that makes it all the more hazardous. After President George W. Bush declared “You’re either with us or against us,” many Americans gradually realized what was wrong with a Manichean view of the world. Such an outlook is even more dangerous today.

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CCI Friends, the evidence is piling up –– trusted U.S. officials from earlier and wiser administrations are speaking out — more Americans are better informed every week — this can reach critical mass if each of us is sending this information out to our friends, business colleagues, family members, neighbors, church/synagogue groups, everyone we know. PLEASE be part of this effort to educate our mainstream friends on these issues. When the mainstream is aware of what has been happening behind their backs, the legitimacy for these campaigns of disinformation, enemy-making, pushing America toward wars, will stop.

All you need to do is copy and paste the below, then send to your contacts.

Thanks for your assistance!

Sharon Tennison
Center for Citizen Initiatives

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Consortium News
July 3, 2018

Former US Envoy to Moscow Calls Intelligence Report on Alleged Russian Interference ‘Politically Motivated’

By Jack Matlock

Did the U.S. “intelligence community” judge that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election?Most commentators seem to think so. Every news report I have read of the planned meeting of Presidents Trump and Putin in July refers to “Russian interference” as a fact and asks whether the matter will be discussed. Reports that President Putin denied involvement in the election are scoffed at, usually with a claim that the U.S. “intelligence community” proved Russian interference. In fact, the U.S. “intelligence community” has not done so. The intelligence community as a whole has not been tasked to make a judgment and some key members of that community did not participate in the report that is routinely cited as “proof” of “Russian interference.”

I spent the 35 years of my government service with a “top secret” clearance. When I reached the rank of ambassador and also worked as Special Assistant to the President for National Security, I also had clearances for “codeword” material. At that time, intelligence reports to the president relating to Soviet and European affairs were routed through me for comment. I developed at that time a “feel” for the strengths and weaknesses of the various American intelligence agencies. It is with that background that I read the January 6, 2017 report of three intelligence agencies: the CIA, FBI, and NSA.

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