Russia

Pakistan’s PTV World Features Helga Zepp-LaRouche

September 21, 2021by Mary Jane Freeman in Afghanistan, China, Economic development updates, General updates, Geopolitics updates, Helga media coverage or interview, Helga Zepp-LaRouche, Pakistan, Russia, United States, World war danger updates

Sep. 20 (EIRNS)–On Pakistan’s “PTV World” broadcast, Faisal Rehman hosted Helga Zepp-LaRouche of the Schiller Institute and Pakistan’s Ambassador to Italy, Jauhar Saleem. Rehman began by welcoming “Our guest, Ms. Helga!” with an opening question as whether the world had entered into a clash of civilizations. Zepp-LaRouche answered that she had read Samuel Huntington’s Clash of Civilizations, and, first, it must be said that he knew very little about the civilizations that he wrote about.

Further, the world is not about “geopolitics but geo-economics” — employing the distinction recently made by Pakistani President Imran Khan. AUKUS is not the spirit of the time. The AUKUS attempt may even provoke something like de Gaulle’s response to NATO, as in 1958. This move has destroyed trust in Biden. He had just said, in pulling troops out of Afghanistan, that this was the end of an era; the end of useless wars. Was he serious? Or was it just to concentrate forces against China? This is not good for Biden, as trust in his word is undermined.

Rather, the New Silk Road is the pathway – and the Schiller Institute, by the way, has been on this pathway since 1991. So, does Australia want to be an aircraft carrier for this new military alliance? Or does it want an economic future for its own people? The situation is that there is a decaying neo-liberal system, and it has been refusing to respond to offers from China and Russia.

After a question and some discussion with Ambassador Saleem, Rehman turned back to Zepp-LaRouche, and asked: How would the U.S. and China, given the present conflicting positions, move ahead? Zepp-LaRouche set out that, objectively, neither China nor Russia represent a threat. There have been many offers on demilitarization from Putin — including to Germany, when he spoke, in German, to the Bundestag. And China has lifted 850 million of their people out of poverty. The BRI is not a threat. They are offering to developing countries to conquer poverty.

We need to take a step back. It is a nuclear-armed world, and there is the threat of war by accident, war by miscalculation. China’s Global Times clearly warned that China will fight and win certain conflicts, such as Taiwan. Therefore, we must stop geopolitics. In Afghanistan, David Beasley from the World Food Program made clear that 90% are hungry. Afghanistan’s Health Minister Majrood explained that 90% have recently been denied health care. The recent move to use the Extended Troika (of China, Pakistan, Russia and the United States) involves reaching out and collaborating to develop Afghanistan. It can be integrated into the BRI — and there is the offer to Europe and the US to join in. Pino Arlacchi, e.g, was able to conclude an agreement in 2000 with the Taliban on opium production.

There are presently two billion people in the world without access to clean water. We need a modern health sector in every country. Not doing so simply means that there will be more mutations, new variants and the defeat of the last round of vaccines. Clearly, this crisis requires a new paradigm. Afghanistan can be the new building block. The human species is the only one endowed with creative reason. We can find cures for a pandemic, for overcoming poverty, even colonizing Mars. You know, in February, the United Arab Emirates, China and the United States all had Mars missions at the same time. It is time to become an adult species.

India: a Belated Mobilization Begins

May 1, 2021by Mary Jane Freeman in China, COVID-19, Economic development updates, General, General updates, Global Diplomacy, Healthcare, Healthcare, India, Russia, United States

Apr. 30 (EIRNS)–Friday was yet another new record with over 386,000 official new cases. New Delhi hospitals are beyond capacity and patients are sharing beds and using the floors of corridors. In the next two weeks, 1,200 more intensive care beds are to be added, but New Delhi has about 24,000 new cases/day with approximately 3,600/day needing hospitalization. The Army Chief, M. M. Naravane, opened the military hospitals and invited those in distress to approach a military base. One military hospital with 500 beds was opened, and three hours later was all filled up.

Also on Friday, two planeloads of equipment arrived from Russia, including 20 oxygen concentrators, 75 ventilators, 150 bedside monitors and 22 tons of medicine. The first U.S. shipment arrived with some oxygen cylinders, N95masks, and rapid antigen tests. Bangladesh provided 10,000 vials of anti-virals and 30,000 PPE kits. On Saturday, the German Air Force will arrive with supplies, and Taiwan is delivering 150 concentrators this weekend. Finally, Friday also saw China’s head, Xi Jinping, call India’s Prime Minister Modi, offering condolences and expressing willingness to strengthen cooperation with India. Global Times reports that China has sent 26,000 ventilators and oxygenators, 15,000 patient monitors and about 3,800 tons of medicine to India so far this month.

Putin Calls on Western Nations to Release Afghanistan’s Reserves

October 24, 2021by madeleine in Afghanistan, China, Economic development updates, General, Russia, Sanctions, World Land-Bridge updates

Asked at the Valdai Club Discussion, how Afghanistan can be helped to achieve political stability and economic development, President Putin emphasized that while the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and Afghanistan’s neighbors will help the country economically, the Western nations who occupied the country for 20 years must take primary responsibility to stabilize the situation. “The first thing they must do,” Putin said, “is to release Afghan assets, and give Afghanistan an opportunity to resolve high priority socio-economic problems.”

The exchange, with Tsinghua University strategist Zhou Bo, follows:

Zhou Bo: “Mr. President, it is really my great honor to ask you this question. I will ask you something about Afghanistan. Afghanistan lies in the heart of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. So, if Afghanistan has a problem, then the Shanghai Cooperation Organization has a problem. Now the United States has withdrawn from Afghanistan. So how can the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which is led by China and Russia, united with other countries, help Afghanistan to achieve political stability and economic development?”

Vladimir Putin: “The situation in Afghanistan is one of the most urgent issues today. You know, we have just had a meeting in the appropriate format, in part, with representatives of the Taliban. The People’s Republic of China (PRC) is also active in Afghanistan. This is a very serious issue for all of us because for both China and Russia it is extremely important to have a calm, developing Afghanistan that is not a source of terrorism, or any form of radicalism, next to our national borders, if not on our borders.

“We are now seeing what is happening inside Afghanistan. Unfortunately, different groups, including ISIS are still there. There are already victims among the Taliban movement, which, as a whole, is still trying to get rid of these radical elements and we know of such examples. This is very important for us, for both Russia and China.

“In order to normalize the situation properly and at the right pace, it is necessary, of course, to help Afghanistan restore its economy because drugs are another huge problem. It is a known fact that 90 percent of opiates come to the world market from Afghanistan. And if there is no money, what will they do? From what sources and how will they fund their social programs?

“Therefore, for all the importance of our participation in these processes – both China and Russia and other SCO countries – the main responsibility for what is happening there is still borne by the countries that fought there for 20 years. I believe the first thing they must do is to release Afghan assets and give Afghanistan an opportunity to resolve high priority socio-economic problems.

“For our part, we can implement specific large projects and deal with domestic security issues. Our special services are in contact with their Afghan counterparts. For us, within the SCO, it is very important to get this work up and running because Tajikistan and Uzbekistan are right on the border with Afghanistan. We have a military facility in Tajikistan. It was based on the 201st division when it was still Soviet.

“Therefore, we will actively continue this work with China on a bilateral plane, develop dialogue with relevant structures and promote cooperation within the SCO as a whole. In the process, we will allocate the required resources and create all the conditions to let our citizens feel safe regardless of what is happening in Afghanistan.”

Civilization Itself Is at Stake: Will We Rise to the Challenge?

April 15, 2021by Mary Jane Freeman in Activity of the Schiller Institute, General, General updates, Geopolitics updates, Global Diplomacy, Helga statement, article, transcript, Helga Zepp-LaRouche, Our initiatives (petitions, etc), Russia, United States, World war danger updates

Civilization Itself Is at Stake: Will We Rise to the Challenge?

Escalating tensions with Russia, driven by Ukrainian’s suicidal push for NATO membership, U.S. encouragement, and the U.S. military itself, threatens — despite President Biden’s reaching out to President Putin for an in-person summit — to explode into war, nuclear war. A provocative visit of former U.S. government officials to Taiwan adds more fuel to the fire of China’s cross-strait relations. Economic lending into the real economy by U.S. banks withers, even as they are showered with money. Inflation accelerates, and a blowout of the trans-Atlantic financial system is inevitable. Death by starvation stalks the impoverished inhabitants of war-zones Syria and Yemen.

Will these crises culminate in what would become nuclear conflict, a devastation of the human race, or will a new paradigm overthrow the oligarchical structures that drive conflict? What flanks can you create to achieve that happier outcome?

In her weekly Schiller Institute webcast discussion, Helga Zepp-LaRouche responded to the urgent call to the world by Cardinal Mario Zenari in Syria for the world to come to the aid of the Syrian people. More than 90% of Syrians are below the level of extreme poverty, and many are in danger of losing their lives due to famine. (Zenari’s Time is Running Out.) The last decade of war, the unjust sanctions, and the Covid pandemic have created an absolutely intolerable condition of suffering for the Syrian people.

Similar horrors confront Yemen, where the agonizing reality of hunger is conveyed in the powerful documentary {Hunger Ward}, referred to by the head of the World Food Program, David Beasley, who saw children dying before his very eyes in the hospital, and he was unable to help.

In both Syria and Yemen, the results of supposedly “humanitarian interventionist” wars — and there is nothing humanitarian about them! — conducted under the guise of defending the people from murderous governments, are genocidal. Was U.S. military intervention in Syria driven by Assad’s chemical weapon murder of the people there? No, that was not the reason, and the claims about the attacks were not true. As Col. (ret.) Richard Black (USA) has explained, the plan for regime change in Syria was developed ten years before the 2011 destabilization, as part of a policy of regime change in the entire region, comprising Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Syria, and Libya.

The narrative about the causes of the war is completely wrong.

But even leaving that aside, start from the current humanitarian situation: “When you have a people about to die, and the world does absolutely nothing, that means the people watching that are {morally unfit to survive.} And I’m crying out to you to help us make a mobilization to get rid of the “Caesar” sanctions and to have the immediate reconstruction of Syria.”

In contrast, the so-called donors’ conference in Brussels raised a few billion dollars, but it was an absolute charade. The funds will {not} go to the Syrian government, but rather to neighboring countries that have taken in refugees, to NGOs, and to opposition groups. But, as Cardinal Zenari says, without a {reconstruction}, there will be no end to the misery. Peace through development is the only way out of the crisis.

And we know how to do this! The Schiller Institute has worked for half a century on plans for the development of Southwest Asia, dating back to Lyndon LaRouche’s 1975 “Oasis Plan” proposal. Since then, the LaRouche movement has developed a plan for Syria (“Project Phoenix“), a plan for Yemen (“Operation Felix“), all in the context of bringing Southwest Asia into a development paradigm of the New Silk Road / Belt and Road Initiative.

Against this potential stands the Caesar sanctions, based on a lie. Photographs supposedly showing victims of torture carried out by the Assad government were used as evidence to push through these brutal sanctions policy. But these photographs were mainly of Syrian soldiers killed by al-Qaeda-linked groups! This is not the first time such fabrications have been presented. Saddam Hussein’s forces were accused of ripping babies out of incubators in Kuwait. This was used to start the 1989 Iraq War. Then we had the “yellow cake” and other supposed evidence of Saddam Hussein’s program to create weapons of mass destruction — again, all lies. Then we had the lies from the White Helmets about the supposed use by Assad of chemical weapons.

Zepp-LaRouche demanded: “This must stop and the Caesar sanctions must be lifted. And all the members of Congress who do not lift these sanctions make themselves complicit in every death that occurs in the region…

“This has reached the point where either the world wakes up and we start to remedy this, or we will not survive, because of our own moral failure as a human species.

“I call on you: work with the Schiller Institute. Work with its Committee on the Coincidence of Opposites, which is working to get aid programs and reconstruction.

“I appeal to you: get in contact with the Schiller Institute and respond to the call by Cardinal Zenari, which has not been covered much at all by the Western press, which alone should show the one-sidedness of the media, which we must overcome.”

Will you answer the call? Become a member of the Schiller Institute and work to make its vision a reality.

Tulsi Gabbard Warns Ukraine Tensions Could Cause War

April 15, 2021by Mary Jane Freeman in Color Revolutions, General updates, Geopolitics updates, Russia, World war danger updates

Tulsi Gabbard Warns Ukraine Tensions Could Cause War

Apr. 14 (EIRNS)–Appearing on Tucker Carlson’s show on Monday, former member of congress and presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard warned the American people of the existential threat of conflict with Russia: “[The situation with Russia and Ukraine] is moving in a very dangerous direction. The question for the American people is, ‘are we willing to go to war with Russia on behalf of Ukraine’? And we need to understand that such a war would come at a cost beyond anything that we can really imagine. Because this is not a war that’s happening to someone else, somewhere else on the other side of the world. No, this is something that will directly impact me, and you, Tucker, every single one of your viewers, and all of our loved ones.

“And this is a war that is not a game. It’s a war in which there are no winners, because you’ve got thousands of nuclear weapons that the U.S. has aimed towards Russia; Russia has thousands of nuclear weapons that are aimed towards us, that could hit any town or city in the U.S. in less than thirty minutes, that could exact a cost on every one of us that would result in excruciating death and suffering beyond comprehension — hundreds of millions of people dying and suffering seeing their flesh burned from their bones. This is something that you can’t really even imagine. And it’s a cost that we will {all} pay.”

In response to Carlson’s question, “why in the world would we ever contemplate going to war with Russia, honestly?” Gabbard continued:

“It is one that we should not do, for those very reasons. You look at the impacts of what a nuclear brings. It brings about the end of the world as we know it. And our leaders should understand this consequence and take it seriously. This is why President Biden, instead of continuing to escalate tensions and escalate this new cold war between the United States and Russia, he needs to de-escalate these tensions, to take the heat out of it, and bring an end to this new cold war. Because if he doesn’t, it’s not a question of {if} we go to war with Russia, {if} this war goes to a nuclear holocaust: it really is then just a question of {when}. And if we continue down this path that we are on, it’s something that could happen a lot sooner than any of us think.”

Carlson concluded by referring to how he had opened the segment, by contrasting the importance of Gabbard’s warning to the war over pronouns: “I’m just amazed by the magnitude of the stories that all of us are missing, including those of us who are paid to follow this stuff, and especially this story. So, I appreciate how you so crisply and wisely addressed that. It’s terrifying.” Watch the interview here.

Afghanistan’s Neighbors Move to Secure Borders and Counter Terrorism

September 18, 2021by Mary Jane Freeman in Afghanistan, Belrus, General updates, Global Diplomacy, Kazakhstan, Russia

Afghanistan’s Neighbors Move to Secure Borders and Counter Terrorism—

Sept. 16, 2021 (EIRNS)—In tandem with the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) began on Thursday two days of head-of-state sessions in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. The six nations involved are Russia, Tajikistan, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, and Kyrgyzstan. Their immediate central concern is to modernize and upgrade their forces on an unstable border with Afghanistan.

After an initial meeting on Thursday, the Secretary-General of the CSTO, Stanislav Zas, stated: “In connection with the change in the situation in Afghanistan, plans for the deployment and the makeup of both military contingents and special forces were agreed.” Fourteen documents were reconciled and prepared for signing, including the “temporary presence of joint CSTO forces in the Central Asian region” and the equipping of rapid response forces. Earlier, Russia’s Security Council had issued their own statement saying that the CSTO, besides reinforcing the Tajik-Afghan border, would also tackle drug trafficking and illegal migration.

Putin Celebrates 60th Anniversary of Gagarin First Human Space Flight

April 15, 2021by Mary Jane Freeman in Economic development updates, General updates, Russia, Space updates

Putin Celebrates 60th Anniversary of Gagarin First Human Space Flight

April 13, 2021 (EIRNS)—On April 12, the 60th anniversary of the first human space flight of Yuri Gagarin and Cosmonauts Day, Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the city of Engels and held discussions on the development of the Russian space industry. Putin was accompanied by State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin, cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova, who is a Duma lawmaker, and Saratov Region Governor Valery Radayev.

He visited Space Conquerors Park and laid flowers on the monument to Gagarin built at the site where the cosmonaut had landed. He also held a videoconference reviewing plans for the development of the space industry. According to TASS, Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov and head of Roscosmos space agency Dmitry Rogozin delivered reports.

“In the new, 21st century, Russia must uphold its status of a leading nuclear and space power because the space sector is directly linked with defense,” Putin said at the meeting.

“We will always be proud that our country paved the way to the universe and that our compatriot was a pioneer on this great path,” he stressed. “It is our duty to cherish the memory of the generation of space explorers—to honor the courage and bravery of cosmonauts who ventured to explore the unknown, despite risks, those who developed unique space systems and vehicles, who trained crews for work in the orbit and to remember all those who used their labor and talent to lay the basis for and build up the country’s space potential. Moreover, our duty is to keep on striving to be on a par with the high standards set for us by the space pioneers,” the President stated.

Affirming the need to attract young people to space industry, Putin stated that more than 50,000 people younger than 35 are currently employed in Russia’s space sector. “I suggest increasing by 50% the salary of those who have already been in space and have been holding prominent positions in the cosmonaut team. And by 70% for cosmonauts-to-be who currently undergo training,” President Putin said. “It is still difficult for them now to undertake maximum efforts for achievement of the overall deliverable. They even risk their lives and health.”

Schiller Institute-Russian Federation 9/11 Memorial Receives Wide Coverage in Russia

September 17, 2021by Mary Jane Freeman in Activity of the Schiller Institute, General updates, Helga Zepp-LaRouche, Media coverage of our activity, Our cultural events, Russia, United States

Sep. 15 (EIRNS)–On Sunday, September 12, The Schiller Institute, with the support of the Russian Embassy in the United States and the Consulate General of Russia in New York, organized a Memorial Ceremony to mark the 20th anniversary of the mass terrorist attack on the US. To honor those who perished and in support of their families and survivors, an event was held that day at the monument in Bayonne, N.J. known as the “Tear of Sorrow,” and more formally, by its title: “To the Struggle Against World Terrorism.” This sculpture was designed by Zurab Tsereteli, the president of the Russian Academy of Arts, and erected in Bayonne by a team of Russian artisans in 2005.

The Memorial Ceremony was addressed by Terry Strada, chairwoman of Families and Survivors United in the Struggle Against Terrorism, and by many American and Russian government officials, and Police and Fire first responders. There was widespread press coverage in Russia. Media covering the event included: TASS, RIA/Novosti, Komsomolskaya Pravda, Regnum.ru, Yandex.ru, NTV, Russkiymir.ru, and Expert.ru.

The article in Komsomolskaya Pravda begins:

“To see the Russian and American flags flying together has been an almost impossible task in recent years. Nevertheless, Moscow and Washington have common interests, common values, and common memory. Not only in our countries, but throughout the civilized world, they remember the mournful date – the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks in the United States.”

A rough translation follows of the article by the TASS Washington Bureau correspondent is as follows:

Participants of the 9/11 Event Called on Russia and the United States to Fight Terrorism Together

Schiller Institute President Helga Zepp-LaRouche says: It’s Time to Put an End to the Era of Geopolitics, an Era of Not Achieving Common Goals

BAYONNE / NJ /, September 13. / TASS /. On Sunday, Russian and American participants in the ceremony at the Tear of Sorrow memorial by Zurab Tsereteli honored the memory of those killed in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and stressed the importance of jointly combating common threats. The event, organized by the Russian Embassy in Washington, the Consulate General in New York and with the participation of the Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the UN, began with the performance of the anthems of the two countries, the solemn presentation of national flags, then, the audience bowed their heads in prayer for those who did not return that day 20 years ago.

Was There a Conspiracy? U.S. Publishes 9/11 “Secret Files”

Terry Strada, of Families and 9/11 Survivors for Justice Against Terrorism, spoke via audio link about the recently declassified FBI material and about the circumstances of the terrorist attack. She highlighted the need for further action. “New documents have been released, but the country needs to do more,” she said.

According to one of the Memorial organizers, chairman of the “Schiller Institute” Helga Zepp-LaRouche, it is time to put an end to the era of geopolitics, of failing to achieve common goals. “It is time to unite, especially the United States and Russia, given the several periods of history when [this] cooperation was beneficial to all of humanity,” Zepp-LaRouche said, in a message to the Memorial.

Being Together

Russian Consul General in New York Sergei Ovsyannikov drew attention to the fact that over the years since the tragedy, international terrorism has only gained strength. No power is capable of overcoming this evil alone, the diplomat emphasized.

The American guests of the ceremony especially noted the fact of the gift of the monument, created by the President of the Russian Academy of Arts (RAA) Tsereteli.

Kirk Wiebe, a former analyst with the U.S. National Security Agency, switched to Russian in his speech. “We all have gathered here in an atmosphere of brotherhood, friendship and love. We Americans sincerely thank you for such a monument. Know that we are always with you both for the truth, and in the fight against terrorism,” he said.

Common Values

The representative of the Schiller Institute in New York, Richard Black, told reporters that, despite the serious tensions in relations between the two countries, there was “genuine solidarity at this event, where Russians and Americans, both officials and ordinary citizens, stand for the same values – the right to life, to freedom, the right to live happily with one’s family.”

“Many people understand, in the small communities, that our peoples, American and Russian, have the same interests,” he added.

The expert stressed the importance of contacts at the highest level, including the statement adopted at the end of the Russian-American summit in Geneva on June 16, in which the principle was affirmed: “a nuclear war cannot be won and should never be fought.” “This is a significant advance, because some in the Pentagon and in the State Department have stated differently: that a nuclear war can be won and the United States must be determined to win,” said the spokesman for the institute.

In addition, Black considers it necessary to organize a summit of the “five” of the UN Security Council, as initiated by Russian President Vladimir Putin. According to him, the proposal is very relevant. “There are urgent topical issues – the fight against international terrorism, the coronavirus pandemic. I hope that we will be able to convince the U.S. President to agree to the initiative. These are very important matters, now, more than ever,” the expert said.

The Tear of Sorrow monument to the victims of international terrorism was presented by the United States as a gift from Russia. Putin took part in the groundbreaking ceremony in 2005.” The ceremony can be viewed at this link.

Russia Foreign Minister Announces Shutdown of Russian Mission to NATO

October 19, 2021by Mary Jane Freeman in General updates, Geopolitics updates, Global Diplomacy, Russia, World war danger updates

Oct. 18 (EIRNS)—Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced this morning that the Russian Mission to NATO would be shutting down within two weeks, and that the NATO Information Office in Moscow would, as a consequence, be closed. “As a result of purposeful steps by NATO, we do not have the right conditions for elementary diplomatic activities,” he told TASS news agency, RT reported. “In response to NATO’s actions, we are suspending the work of our permanent mission, including the work of our chief military representative.”

The NATO International Secretariat has already been notified,” Lavrov added. “If NATO members have any urgent matters, they can contact our ambassador in Belgium, who ensures bilateral relations between Russia and the Kingdom of Belgium.”

Lyle Goldstein Asks “Uncomfortable Question:” Why Is the U.S. Threatening Nuclear Russia on So Many Fronts?

April 29, 2021by Mary Jane Freeman in China, General, General updates, Geopolitics updates, Russia, United States, World war danger updates

Lyle Goldstein Asks an “Uncomfortable Question:” Why Is the U.S. Threatening Nuclear Russia on So Many Fronts?

April 28 (EIRNS)–U.S. Naval War College analyst Lyle J. Goldstein again today sounded an alarm over the insanity of the United States treating fellow nuclear powers China and Russia as adversaries. Under the title, “Parsing Putin’s Red Lines,” Goldstein warns in an article posted on the American Committee for U.S.- Russia Accord blog, that people have failed to register the full import of Vladimir Putin’s warning last week to the United States and others not to cross Russia’s red lines, and specifically Putin’s own emphasis on the fact that Russia “will determine ourselves where these red lines are according to the circumstances of each situation.”

Goldstein wrote in his personal capacity, as a qualified military strategist:

“When it comes to fully bulked up nuclear powers like China and particularly Russia, the issue is absolutely grave, since we are talking about countries that can `end’ the U.S., perhaps in a matter of hours, even if we have the solace that we would take our adversary down in flames with us….

“Americans should ask the uncomfortable question: why do the U.S. and its allies appear to be encroaching upon so many different Russian red lines in so many `situations’ simultaneously? Indeed, Russian interests are now directly engaged against U.S. interests, or those of our allies, in a zero-sum pattern on a vast front stretching from the Arctic, to the Baltic, through Belarus to the Donbass and Crimea, and all the way down to the Caucasus and beyond.

“A common sense notion of peace, and indeed survival, for the 21st century must incorporate limits and crucially the principles of realism and restraint. We should not be touching the red lines of other major, nuclear armed powers on a daily basis. The fact that Western strategists seek to probe Russia’s red lines in Eastern Europe is itself a powerful indictment of U.S. foreign policy since the end of the Cold War….

“We must learn to live amicably with Russia or risk a continuing succession of showdowns on the pattern of the Cuban Missile Crisis– this time on Russia’s doorstep, with a Kremlin that has an infinitely more capable nuclear arsenal when compared to the early 1960s. In that unfortunate case, we may again be taught some lessons about red lines.”

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