Leading
scholar on US-Russia relations addresses the claim being trumpeted by
politicians and media on both sides of the political spectrum that
Russia is now the "number one" threat to the United States.
Given the proxy wars in Syria and Ukraine, Dr. Stephen Cohen,
Professor Emeritus at Princeton University and New York University,
tells host of 'The Empire Files', Abby Martin, that the real alarming
danger today is "a new, multi-front Cuban missile crisis."
This
business that, Russia is the number one existential threat has been
unfolding this false drama at the expense of US national security,
maybe for a decade, but it certainly intensified under the Obama
administration.
Meanwhile,
Russia was of course in the person of Putin, repeatedly, almost
begging the US to join it in an alliance against terrorism, not only
in Syria, but in a kind of global war. I don't know if the global war
against terrorism is possible as a separate issue, but Russia wanted
to partner with the US. Obama was inclined very briefly in Sep. 2016,
but that was killed by the US department of defence when they
attacked those Syrian troops.
In the
intelligence community, there are groups of different political
impulses, different vested interest in these organizations, and
often, they've been at war among themselves within, say the CIA.
We're seeing that now with the hacking allegations. And, all
likelihood, later we will discover, this was a war within the CIA
itself. The FBI tried not to get involved.
There are
very different views about Washington's policy toward Russia, inside
the intelligence community. This may be the single most dangerous
moment in American-Russian relations.
The Cuban
missile crisis is always said to have been the turning point in our
awareness of how dangerous the Cold War was. And that, after we
avoided nuclear Armageddon, both sides became wise, and the Cold War
continued, but there was a code of contact. Everybody understood
where the danger lines were. There was a code of conduct between the
Soviet Union and the United States. It doesn't exist today. After the
Cuban missile crisis in '62, the two sides began to develop
interactive cooperation, student exchanges, scientific exchanges, hot
lines, constant talks about nuclear weapons, nuclear reductions,
trade agreements. That has come to an end along with communication.
There are
now three fronts in the new Cold War that are fought with the
possibility of actual war. There's the Baltic region and Poland,
where NATO unwisely building up its military presence. There is, of
course, Ukraine which could exploded any moment, and, of course,
there is Syria, where you got Russian and American aircraft. So, you
got a multi-front potential Cuban missile crisis.
Meanwhile,
in the United States, this hysterical reaction to alleged - because
there is no proof been produced - that somehow Putin put Trump in the
White House, this combination of demented public discourse, engrave
danger abroad, at least comparable to the Cuban missile crisis.
It's been
said that the European Union offered Ukraine a very benign economic
relationship. That wasn't a benign agreement, about a thousand pages
long. There is a section called 'military security issues' and it's
very clear, that any country that signs this so-called eastern
partnership agreement with the EU, is obliged to adhere to NATO
security policies. By signing that, you become a de facto member of
NATO. And this was just more of the attempt by Washington to get
Ukraine in the NATO, if not openly, through the back door, and
they're still at it.
The decision
to expand NATO, all the way, including Ukraine and Georgia, has
created a situation in which none of us is safe. And they call that
'national security'?
Full
interview:
I'd like someone to point out when Russia has ever "attacked" the US or killed a US soldier
ReplyDeleteNot sure if any American soldiers were killed in the Northern Russian Expedition back in 1918-20. I would suppose some were. The original mission was to "protect supplies" that had been shipped to Russia in support of their armies in World War I. Then, at Britain's urging, our troops joined British and a few French and Polish forces, to fight against the Bolsheviks in support of the White Movement. As far as I know Russia has never attacked the United States. Dog alone knows what would have happened if the destroyers dropping depth charges on the Russian boomer during the Cuban Missile Crisis had actually sunk the boat. Or if the Captain of that boat had interpreted his orders (which he might easily have done) to require him to fire his missiles. He has said since that he almost did decide to.
DeleteRussian pilots were active in North Korean and North Vietnamese planes during those respective wars to teach tactics, build morale and test equipment.
ReplyDeleteKAL flight 007 might also ring a bell.
KAL 007 was being used for cover by a US spy plane off the Kamchatka peninsula. So that's not a great example. The loss of life was terrible but the blame lues with the US.
ReplyDeleteIn stark contrast, does anyone know what significant events took place in New York and San Francisco in 1863?
ReplyDelete