CCI Friends,
Katrina vanden Heuvel, life-partner of deceased Stephen Cohen, has written an assessment that is of immense importance. It makes more sense than any of the articles demanding Russia to forget needing to get agreements to protect against NATO. Please pass on to your friends and colleagues.
Sharon Tennison
Center for Citizen Initiatives
Stop the Stumble Toward War with Russia
January 18, 2022
By Katrina vanden Heuvel
In the technical argot of diplomacy, what’s going on in the Ukraine crisis is nuts.
With 100,000 troops massed on Ukraine’s border, Russian President Vladimir Putin has demanded a written response this week from the United States and its NATO allies regarding his demands for a guarantee that NATO will not expand eastward.
Three rounds of negotiations reached a dead end. The White House suggests Russia is planning a “false flag” operation in Ukraine as pretext for invasion. President Biden threatens severe sanctions; Putin says they would be a “colossal mistake.”
Hotheads are having a field day. A White House task force that includes the CIA is reportedly contemplating U.S. support for a guerrilla war if Russia seizes Ukraine; Russian hawks talk of a military deployment to Cuba and Venezuela. A former NATO secretary general says the alliance could admit Finland and Sweden “overnight” if provoked by the Russians.