War with Russia?: From Putin Ukraine to Trump Russiagate
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- Author：Stephen F. Cohen
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Summary
Are we in a new Cold War with Russia？ How does a new Cold War affect the safety and security of the United States？ Does Vladimir Putin really want to destabilize the West？ Now updated and expanded in a new second edition， War With Russia？ answers these questions and more。
America is in a new Cold War with Russia even more dangerous than the one the world barely survived in the twentieth century。 The Soviet Union is gone， but the two nuclear superpowers are again locked in political and military confrontations， now from Ukraine to Syria。 All of this is exacerbated by Washington’s warlike demonizing of the Kremlin leadership and by Russiagate’s unprecedented allegations。 US mainstream media accounts are highly selective and seriously misleading。 American “disinformation，” not only Russian， is a growing peril。
In War With Russia？， Stephen F。 Cohen—the widely acclaimed historian of Soviet and post-Soviet Russia—gives readers a very different， dissenting narrative of this more dangerous new Cold War from its origins in the 1990s， the actual role of Vladimir Putin， and the 2014 Ukrainian crisis to Donald Trump’s election and today’s unprecedented Russiagate allegations。
Cohen’s views have made him， it is said， “America’s most controversial Russia expert。” Some say this to denounce him， others to laud him as a bold， highly informed critic of US policies and the dangers they have helped to create。
Now updated and expanded to cover the events of 2019， War With Russia？ gives readers a chance to decide for themselves who is right: are we living， as Cohen argues， in a time of unprecedented perils at home and abroad？
America is in a new Cold War with Russia even more dangerous than the one the world barely survived in the twentieth century。 The Soviet Union is gone， but the two nuclear superpowers are again locked in political and military confrontations， now from Ukraine to Syria。 All of this is exacerbated by Washington’s warlike demonizing of the Kremlin leadership and by Russiagate’s unprecedented allegations。 US mainstream media accounts are highly selective and seriously misleading。 American “disinformation，” not only Russian， is a growing peril。
In War With Russia？， Stephen F。 Cohen—the widely acclaimed historian of Soviet and post-Soviet Russia—gives readers a very different， dissenting narrative of this more dangerous new Cold War from its origins in the 1990s， the actual role of Vladimir Putin， and the 2014 Ukrainian crisis to Donald Trump’s election and today’s unprecedented Russiagate allegations。
Cohen’s views have made him， it is said， “America’s most controversial Russia expert。” Some say this to denounce him， others to laud him as a bold， highly informed critic of US policies and the dangers they have helped to create。
Now updated and expanded to cover the events of 2019， War With Russia？ gives readers a chance to decide for themselves who is right: are we living， as Cohen argues， in a time of unprecedented perils at home and abroad？
Reviews
Jye
，
Interesting and relevant read in current times， provides an alternate perspective to what we are used to， although it could have been a little more balanced。
Peter Marchese
，
Written before the current crisis in the Ukraine。 The author is sympathetic to Putin and Russia， indicating that it is NATO and the US which has baited Russia into acting in the Ukraine by expanding NATO into Georgia and the Balkans， Poland…and now the Ukraine…something that NATO vowed not to do during the dissolution of the Soviet Union under Gorbachev。 BUT…now that we see the drive Putin has to reestablish his sphere of influence in the buffer zone of for Soviet republics， could Eastern Europe Written before the current crisis in the Ukraine。 The author is sympathetic to Putin and Russia， indicating that it is NATO and the US which has baited Russia into acting in the Ukraine by expanding NATO into Georgia and the Balkans， Poland…and now the Ukraine…something that NATO vowed not to do during the dissolution of the Soviet Union under Gorbachev。 BUT…now that we see the drive Putin has to reestablish his sphere of influence in the buffer zone of for Soviet republics， could Eastern Europe be next。 Very scary。 Plus， the author has a disdain for the NYTimes and Washington Post…who he says have done nothing to bring about a detente between Russia and the US。 Now， with the events unfolding， it looks like there are huge holes in the theory the author holds。 Hopefully， peace can be found before more the death and destruction Putin is leading in the Ukraine。 。。。more
Grant
，
Whilst Stephen does a great job in bringing to light a lot of the hypocrisy of the US' actions when it comes to Russia， their history of misinformation campaigns/election meddling and antagonistic behaviours， he offers some pretty flimsy evidence at times whilst making some big claims and just expects you to take them as fact。 It seems that a lot of the broader talking points made by Cohen are mostly based in reality or at least are based in half truths but they deserve a far more deeper look th Whilst Stephen does a great job in bringing to light a lot of the hypocrisy of the US' actions when it comes to Russia， their history of misinformation campaigns/election meddling and antagonistic behaviours， he offers some pretty flimsy evidence at times whilst making some big claims and just expects you to take them as fact。 It seems that a lot of the broader talking points made by Cohen are mostly based in reality or at least are based in half truths but they deserve a far more deeper look than Cohen offers here， leaving you to wonder if you've read a half finished work or a piece of PR。 。。。more
Julie Totsch
，
Find another book to readI will update this review once I am further along in the book， however; I find this book to be so appallingly wrong and misleading that I had to stop and put my thoughts down。 Mr。 Cohen constantly takes quotes out of context from authors， journalists， etc who believe that Putin is a dangerous leader。 He insists - without any actual facts to back up his assertions - that Putin is a good leader and， since he isn't as bad as Stalin， he is a better leader。 This book， in Mr。 Find another book to readI will update this review once I am further along in the book， however; I find this book to be so appallingly wrong and misleading that I had to stop and put my thoughts down。 Mr。 Cohen constantly takes quotes out of context from authors， journalists， etc who believe that Putin is a dangerous leader。 He insists - without any actual facts to back up his assertions - that Putin is a good leader and， since he isn't as bad as Stalin， he is a better leader。 This book， in Mr。 Cohen's defense， is from 2018， so he does not have all of the facts about Putin and his regime。 However; he does show a certain love for Putin。 Maybe， the book will get better， although I doubt it。 If it does， I will change my one star review。If you really want to know how Russia has faired under the leadership of Vladimir Putin， read Read Notice by Bill Browder or Spymaster's Prisim by Jack Devine。 Certainly， in the midst of Putin's invasion of Ukraine， leave this love letter to Putin behind。 。。。more
Claire
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This book was helpful in laying out the background of US-Russia relations and providing much more information than can be gleaned from the MSM。
william mathews
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Against the Grain of the EstablishmentThis book has shaken the Establishment， that cross connection of major media and political and strategic elites in America。 It fits in well with other critics of long wars 。 Witness here the origins of the new Cold War and its adv a ever hotter conflicts and headlines between America and Russia。 Something is really wrong with America's intell ，national security community。 Against the Grain of the EstablishmentThis book has shaken the Establishment， that cross connection of major media and political and strategic elites in America。 It fits in well with other critics of long wars 。 Witness here the origins of the new Cold War and its adv a ever hotter conflicts and headlines between America and Russia。 Something is really wrong with America's intell ，national security community。 。。。more
Vivekanand Mishra
，
A nice book to get a balance in perspectives。 It leaves more questions unanswered than actually providing answers。 Makes one think the world is run by regular run of the mill human beings with their own quirks and kinks and irregular thirst for power - except that their flaws may lead to the end of civilization。 Welp
Andrew
，
Too bad folks don't have Stephen Cohen to kick around anymore， though would be nice to hear him go off on Max Boot at least one more time right about now。 Whatever the case this book is relevant as ever， sad to say， seeing that the U。S。 appears straight up addicted to feeding weapons into conflict zones。 After the humiliation in Afghanistan too， there is almost certainly a desire by some in the Biden circle to run the same playbook from the 1980s -- giving the USSR its own Vietnam， this time giv Too bad folks don't have Stephen Cohen to kick around anymore， though would be nice to hear him go off on Max Boot at least one more time right about now。 Whatever the case this book is relevant as ever， sad to say， seeing that the U。S。 appears straight up addicted to feeding weapons into conflict zones。 After the humiliation in Afghanistan too， there is almost certainly a desire by some in the Biden circle to run the same playbook from the 1980s -- giving the USSR its own Vietnam， this time giving Russia its own Afghanistan， which is some darkly ironic version of history。 Reading Cohen it becomes crystal clear that our interventions have virtually nothing to do with human rights or protecting liberal democracy。 The power struggle in Ukraine， in Russia， and the U。S。/U。K。 seems to be almost entirely an elite struggle without any real regard for the domestic population of any of these countries。 After the last few weeks it's easy to feel grim watching on as the US gov't and western media foam at the mouth when discussing the situation， but this book helps give a little context， if not a great deal of hope。 Honestly the one thing that Cohen likely would have brought up had he been able to see things reach such a fever pitch， is the result of all our saber-rattling is that Ukraine is going to get gutted and sold off for spare parts。 First off， there's the fact that the level of hysteria we've engendered has led insurance companies now refusing to cover commercial flights into Ukrainian airspace， a pull out of all foreign citizens， and freight companies now refusing to service Ukraine due to that insurance issue。 Combine this with Ukraine having received a massive IMF loan a month before this panic started and now Ukrainian currency has been inflated to the point they are screwed on those loans。 The likely result of all this is that the IMF loan disaster with currency devaluation will mean full scale privatization of the Ukrainian power grid along with other state owned parts of their economy。 Just more economic shock doctrine approaching the scale of what was done to the Russian economy in the 1990s I guess， though I'm worried we are going to see western investors making a killing buying up Ukrainian assets pennies on the dollar in the fallout of this。 。。。more
Glenn
，
The military-industrial-intelligence-media complex has been successful in creating a new， prohibitively expensive new cold war against The Russian Federation。 After promising NATO would not expand， the USA has done everything to expand NATO。 Broken promises。 Already， new nuclear weapons are being manufactured and proposed。 Truly pathetic that in 2022 that the USA is the antagonist in fomenting a new cold war and new McCarthyism at home。The USA was instrumental in the undemocratic coup in Ukraine The military-industrial-intelligence-media complex has been successful in creating a new， prohibitively expensive new cold war against The Russian Federation。 After promising NATO would not expand， the USA has done everything to expand NATO。 Broken promises。 Already， new nuclear weapons are being manufactured and proposed。 Truly pathetic that in 2022 that the USA is the antagonist in fomenting a new cold war and new McCarthyism at home。The USA was instrumental in the undemocratic coup in Ukraine。 Now， there are many neo-Nazis in Ukraine's government。 The racist， antisemitic Azov Battalion has been incorporated into Ukraine's Army。 Antisemitic attacks in Ukraine have exploded， as well as antisemitic rhetoric。 Antisemitic Ukraine political and military leaders are now being "heroized" in Ukraine。 Yet America supports this country。The era from 2002 to 20022 and how much longer nobody knows will be regarded as the new McCarthyism， when government， intelligence agencies， the military， major media sources like MSNBC， CNN， The New York Times and The Washington Post have peddled the new McCarthyism and falsely labeled Americans concerned about the New McCarthyism and anti-Russia propaganda as treasonous traitors。 （Former CIA director John Brennan and James Clapper may be the biggest cheerleaders of this undemocratic movement。） History will not be kind to them。Neither should journalism schools be kind to these war-mongering Americans， where you are taught to offer both sides to any debate and let your readers decide， rather than the vastly biased news Americans receive about Ukraine and Russia; or the lack of news that tells Americans the truth about Ukraine's genocidal war against its own citizens in Eastern Ukraine。The late Stephen Cohen provides a viewpoint that is nuanced， unlike the dishonorable and anti-Americans John Brennan， James Clapper and other members of the CIA who dream of a new cold war。 Well， it looks like they've got it ~ but possibly at the expense of world peace。 I hope they are happy。No one says The Russian Federation is perfect， but I don't recall them invading Iraq or Afghanistan （the USSR did）。I don't recall The Russian Federation lying that it would not support regime change in Libya only to bomb parts of Libya to the extent that regime changed occurred。I also don't seem to recall The Russian Federation transferring arms from Libya to ISIS and other jihadist groups in Syria， in an effort to overthrow the Assad government。I don't recall The Russian Federation supporting Saudi Arabia in its horrific war in Yemen。Nor do I recall The Russian Federation sending special ops into Yemen and killing many innocent people in a village， all because their well-digging machine looked like a missile or something。 Yeah， that happened。 U。S。 special ops killed many people in a Yemeni village over a well rig。 This crime against humanity and war crime was documented in The New York Times。 。。。more
Tõnu Vahtra
，
Repetitive and one-sided。
Mirek Jasinski
，
Initially， I was cringing while reading。 It felt like it was a book written with one purpose - to justify Putin and his actions。 I persevered to get the balanced view。 It is true， that we are presented with one side of the story and that history is written by the winners。 Sometimes it pays to try to understand the motivation of the other side。 And so it became my objective to get through to the end。It is a convoluted history with no balanced， objective presentations and the views poles apart。 Ma Initially， I was cringing while reading。 It felt like it was a book written with one purpose - to justify Putin and his actions。 I persevered to get the balanced view。 It is true， that we are presented with one side of the story and that history is written by the winners。 Sometimes it pays to try to understand the motivation of the other side。 And so it became my objective to get through to the end。It is a convoluted history with no balanced， objective presentations and the views poles apart。 Makes you think though。 。。。more
Simon
，
Anyone parroting Russiagate talking points needs to read this book to do due diligence on rebuttals which， with detailed evidence， identify stenography， false narratives， half-truths， mischaracterisations， hypocrisies， institutionalised gaslighting and the role of the CIA and MI6 in a bad faith use of mainstream media to escalate tensions with Russia rather than diplomatic "detente"。 Putin is not a good guy， but no more menacing than any Conservative World leader。 Russia are not the no。1 threat Anyone parroting Russiagate talking points needs to read this book to do due diligence on rebuttals which， with detailed evidence， identify stenography， false narratives， half-truths， mischaracterisations， hypocrisies， institutionalised gaslighting and the role of the CIA and MI6 in a bad faith use of mainstream media to escalate tensions with Russia rather than diplomatic "detente"。 Putin is not a good guy， but no more menacing than any Conservative World leader。 Russia are not the no。1 threat to world peace。 The threat to World Peace is ramping up a New Cold War （proxy wars in the Middle East） with Russia and China as an excuse to expand the US military industrial complex which has over 800 military bases situated around the world in places near Russia， China and Iran amongst others。Without Ph。D specialists like Stephen F。 Cohen being given a platform in mainstream media， there is no such thing as objectivity and impartiality in MSM， it is pure propaganda to meet conditioned narratives。 In future， I need to write down every rebuttal and every evidence source to support his counter-claims。 。。。more
Steve Birchmore
，
I wanted an audiobook that would inform and remind me of the reality of NATO and American relations with Russia and the events leading up to what looks like the upcoming outbreak of renewed fighting in Ukraine and this book did an excellent job。 Exactly what I was looking for。I was not familiar with the author although I understand he may have been well known in the USA。 Unfortunately he died before the recent US Presidential elections， I would certainly have valued his commentary on that matter I wanted an audiobook that would inform and remind me of the reality of NATO and American relations with Russia and the events leading up to what looks like the upcoming outbreak of renewed fighting in Ukraine and this book did an excellent job。 Exactly what I was looking for。I was not familiar with the author although I understand he may have been well known in the USA。 Unfortunately he died before the recent US Presidential elections， I would certainly have valued his commentary on that matter。I don't watch 'The News' on the telly or read MSM anymore， or watch the televised pronouncements of Bojo the clown or any of his bought and paid for minions。 I suspected the British Government was using dubious techniques to brainwash the public over the Covid-19 bullsh*t and the revelations of the activities of SPI-B showed I was right。 I try to avoid radio propaganda， but unfortunately， the nature of my job means that is not always possible。 Instead I keep up-to-date by reading blogs written by interesting and informed commentators。 I do have a colleague I work with from time to time who is a self-confessed 'news addict' who endlessly repeats whatever nonsense the BBC and the likes of The Guardian have been spouting this week， so I am frequently reminded that Putler and the Putin-Nazis are responsible for Brexit and Trump was a Russian agent etc。 Sadly， this gives me a good feel for what the British public are bombarded with。This book is an excellent antidote to all that and I highly recommend it。I have an unread book on my shelves entitled "Nuclear War Survival Skills'。 Perhaps its time to take a look at that。 。。。more
Jovany Agathe
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Ukrainian Troops Are Being Fired Upon By Grenade Launchers And Machine Guns As More Russian Forces Race Toward The Border
David Smith
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"When all think alike， no one is thinking。" American journalist Walter Lippmann。 "This book is my modest attempt to inspire more thinking。" Stephen F。 Cohen， author War with Russia？ When newspapers formerly thought of as serious， and rolling news channels compete to see who can shout the loudest， Cohen's book is a refreshing collection of essays stemming from a lifetime of primary research。Gone to soon， one can only hope that he inspired many to follow in his footsteps。 "When all think alike， no one is thinking。" American journalist Walter Lippmann。 "This book is my modest attempt to inspire more thinking。" Stephen F。 Cohen， author War with Russia？ When newspapers formerly thought of as serious， and rolling news channels compete to see who can shout the loudest， Cohen's book is a refreshing collection of essays stemming from a lifetime of primary research。Gone to soon， one can only hope that he inspired many to follow in his footsteps。 。。。more
Daniel de WOLFF
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Good book on the Russia-phobia in the US。 It´s good to see that there is still some common sense in the US - unfortunately on the last seat of the train that seems to enter at breakneck speed into the next station。
Rhuff
，
This is Professor Stephen F。 Cohen's final book and stands as a tribute to his outstanding career as an eminent historian and critical thinker on East-West politics。 One of the very last anti-cold war public figures， his presence will be missed as the neo-con hawks led by Mrs。 Clinton and Co。 descend on the prostrate carcass of US foreign policy。The book is actually a collection of his articles and columns， appearing in "The Nation" and other venues over the last decade。 He took on the Obama ren This is Professor Stephen F。 Cohen's final book and stands as a tribute to his outstanding career as an eminent historian and critical thinker on East-West politics。 One of the very last anti-cold war public figures， his presence will be missed as the neo-con hawks led by Mrs。 Clinton and Co。 descend on the prostrate carcass of US foreign policy。The book is actually a collection of his articles and columns， appearing in "The Nation" and other venues over the last decade。 He took on the Obama reneging of "reset，" NATO expansion， the exploitation of the Ukraine crisis as rationales thereof。 And of course "Russiagate": a 9/10ths-manufactured scapegoating of Russia for the Democratic loss of the presidency in 2016， concocted by Mrs。 Clinton to put her enemies all in one basket for "sabotaging our democracy。"Nowhere in this standard narrative are concrete facts prevented。 As in the days of Tail-Gunner Joe， it's all about blasting the target and any reason will do。 As Professor Cohen writes， no one bothers to review the US record at real election-rigging around the world or American meddling in Russia's elections in 1996。 Nor did anyone else ask if NATO expansion to Russia's borders might be seen as a provocation; that US power games in the Balkans might be re-enacted by Russia in Crimea or Ukraine with the American examples as precedent; that all this might put us at graver risk of real military showdown with Moscow than all the nuclear saber-rattling of duck-and-cover days。All the detente and engagement of the 1970s and 1980s seems to have vanished， reversing the US consensus back to the most frigid days of the late '40s and 1950s。 Cohen asked， why and how did this neo-McCarthyism regain ascendancy so completely？ I think he provided the answer himself in the book's introductory essay。 1990s' triumphalism sought to justify the hard line as right after all; we made the USSR back down and crumble。 Forgotten is all the years of detente and negotiation that made a Gorbachev possible， whose own detente truly ended the cold war - not out of fear but hope for something better。 One must wonder if the West was all along merely taking advantage of his naivite， pretending to want a restart but only offering the Red Man another new treaty for dishonoring， while boasting of beating the savages afterward。Professor Cohen's clear thinking and wisdom， sharp to the end， will be missed。 Now the dark night comes， when the voices of fear and passion， ambition and power will shout out the still voice of reason。 。。。more
Ryan Cross
，
I didn't agree with much Mr。 Cohen said， however， it was interesting and informative to hear another take on Russian-American relations。 I would warn that because this book is a series of short writings taken from Mr。 Cohen's "web columns"， it can get quite repetitive。 I didn't agree with much Mr。 Cohen said， however， it was interesting and informative to hear another take on Russian-American relations。 I would warn that because this book is a series of short writings taken from Mr。 Cohen's "web columns"， it can get quite repetitive。 。。。more
Zak
，
Listen to the Professor。
Jim
，
Through his columns， Cohen charts the negative relationship we have with Russia from the Obama administration's intensification of the Ukraine crisis in 2014 to the "war of words" that Trump surrogates like Nikki Haley were waging at the United Nations in 2018。 It's unfortunate how the "Russian collusion" narrative ruined the possibility of improving relations between the two countries。 Instead， thanks to House Democrats， the mainstream media， and Republicans like Haley and McCain， Trump has bee Through his columns， Cohen charts the negative relationship we have with Russia from the Obama administration's intensification of the Ukraine crisis in 2014 to the "war of words" that Trump surrogates like Nikki Haley were waging at the United Nations in 2018。 It's unfortunate how the "Russian collusion" narrative ruined the possibility of improving relations between the two countries。 Instead， thanks to House Democrats， the mainstream media， and Republicans like Haley and McCain， Trump has been forced to increase tensions and go along with NATO expansionism to not look the role of a dupe of Moscow。 Putin and his government in response， have drawn away from the West， which will make future attempts of diplomacy much harder to pursue。 Overall， regardless of where you land on the political spectrum， I suggest you read this book。 Most current titles regarding Western-Russo relations fall in either the Neoliberal or Neocon camp， so having a contrarian work such as Cohen's is well worth the read。 。。。more
Asma
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Insightful， angelic Putin and russophobic media。
Randall Wallace
，
Beginning in 2002， the Bush Jr。 left the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty （ABM treaty）， a very important treaty because it prevents the deployment of missile defense。 Suddenly vulnerable， to protect itself， Russia developed， tested and showed nuclear missiles that could evade and elude any missile defense system， so we are now in a new and much more perilous point in our fifty-year nuclear arms race。 Putin says to us， “Guys， we’ve developed these because of what you did， now we can destroy each oth Beginning in 2002， the Bush Jr。 left the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty （ABM treaty）， a very important treaty because it prevents the deployment of missile defense。 Suddenly vulnerable， to protect itself， Russia developed， tested and showed nuclear missiles that could evade and elude any missile defense system， so we are now in a new and much more perilous point in our fifty-year nuclear arms race。 Putin says to us， “Guys， we’ve developed these because of what you did， now we can destroy each other， now let’s have a serious arms-control agreement。” What do we get？ Russiagate instead。 I read this book to get the truth about Putin from the top U。S。 Russia scholar， Princeton’s Stephen F。 Cohen。 In it he says， “The new US-Russian Cold War is more dangerous than was its 40-year predecessor。” Where are the “countervailing forces in Washington？ No pro-détente wing of the Democratic or Republican， no real public debate。” It’s funny how when U。S。 Presidents historically have shaken hands with Communist leaders， Americans applauded。 But here is Putin shaking hands， an obviously ANTI-communist Russian leader， and the U。S。 Media turns on him。 Why？ One humorous result， is that all U。S。 Putin demonization has been reported in Moscow to have “sanctified him， turned him into the Patron Saint of Russia。” Behind the elite U。S。 demonization of Putin is that， of all the world leaders， he is most opposed to U。S。 neo-cons， neoliberals， a US dominated interventionist world order。 Putin has said “many times” that he wants détente。 As Stephen says， “No issue is now more important than the state of US-Russia relations。” Imagine our media bothering to tell us ANY of this。 Where were we told that Putin’s intelligence services gave info to us to stop the Boston Marathon bombing of 2012？ – too bad our intelligence didn’t have the intelligence to use the intelligence。 We are still told the canard that we saved the world from WWII。 The reality is that “some 75 to 80 percent of all German casualties were suffered on the Eastern Front。” Which means that that WWII was primarily won by the Russian Army – at a cost of 27。5 million dead Russians on the Eastern front。 You remember， the 27。5 million， that no American ever talks about？ And don’t forget to forget the 1700 Russian cities and towns that were destroyed during WWII and that only “three out of one hundred （Russian） boys who graduated from high school in 1941-42 returned from the war”。 So， when news hit Russians in 1990 that Germany was going to reunite and be in NATO – that was of course a bit of a red flag to the Russians。 They remember well the joys of Germany’s last invasion （Ostkrieg）。 The Western leaders promised Gorbachev that NATO would not move one inch east （Jim Baker’s formulation） if Germany reunited。 Gorbachev believed the West’s clear oral assurances， but since the Western leaders were lying sacks of shit， NATO moved east anyway， completely betraying Russia。 So now， NATO is all along Russia’s borders， a total provocation。 Russia refers to this as ‘the Betrayal’， the West had totally lied to Russia about NATO and had re-started the Cold War。 Educated Russians today say， we worry that you will betray us again。 They also notice and say， “Never has so much Western military power been amassed on our borders since the Nazi invasion of 1941”？ This is no idle concern: imagine Russian military power amassed on our Canadian and Mexican border。 NATO’s presence on Russia’s border has been justified as a response to Putin’s “lies and deceit” but as Stephen wryly states， the “Kremlin complaints about American ‘lies and deceit’ can hardly be challenged”。 We may enjoy historical Amnesia， but the Russians don’t。 We promised not to move NATO east one inch and lied。 Obama’s administration in 2011 pledged to not remove Russia’s ally Gaddafi and then lied and he was not only removed but was bayoneted up the ass， an act Hillary sadistically laughed about on national TV。 After seeing the bayonet video， Putin rightfully got angry at the United States for killing Gaddafi and asked "They showed to the whole world how he （Gaddafi） was killed; there was blood all over。 Is that what they call a democracy？”Bush Senior saying， “we won the Cold War” to the world was a huge betrayal to Russia and implied that Russia should be treated as a defeated adversary。 Stephen says this is a story of Washington’s errors， not Moscow’s。 “It is through this 25-year history of ‘American Aggression’ that many Russians perceive the meaning of Russiagate。” Russians see Putin as merely responding to 25 years of American arrogant posturing。 This book explains why， and shows how “much of what is decried as ‘Putin’s aggression’ abroad has been the Kremlin’s predictable responses to US and NATO expansionist policies。” Now let’s deal with U。S。/Russia election tampering。 First， no one mentions that Biden had the balls to tell both the Russian public and Putin that he shouldn’t return to the Presidency。 No election tampering there， ha ha。 With Biden’s non-endorsement， Putin gets elected with “nearly 77 percent endorsement。” Then Stephen mentions something bigger than Russiagate: “Israel has of course meddled in US Elections for decades。” JFK anyone？ Lyndon Johnson anyone？ Of course， Noam Chomsky says the biggest election problem bar none is， corporate influence of US elections， yet name one Russiagate advocate who mentions concern about that？ Nor will Russiagate advocates mention that according to the NYT， “the US government ran eighty-one ‘overt and covert election influence operations’ in foreign countries from 1946 to 2000”。 In Putin’s 18 years of power， has he done anything “akin to fascism”？ No。 US media implies God is dead in Russia， yet facts show “the Orthodox Church is flourishing and Jews are freer than they have ever been in Russian history。” And “a respected retired Russian general tells [a] Washington think tank that any military confrontation ‘will end up with the use of nuclear weapons between the United States and Russia’。” So， “Cold War without diplomacy is a recipe for actual war。” How do you have effective U。S。 diplomacy with everyone in the media and on the social media on some fact-free walk-a-about， both demonizing Putin and chronically posting about the Russiagate？ Luckily for those who still read， the Nation， Black Agenda Report， Glenn Greenwald， Robert Sheer， and Stephen J。 Cohen all got the Russiagate story right。Nor will the Media tell you that it’s not just Trump with Russia。 Lots of US businesses rightfully want to do business with Russia， so demonizing Russia， for them， is not too smart a move。 And these aren’t small players: “Delta Airlines， McDonalds， Wendy’s， KFC， Starbucks， Ford， Proctor & Gamble” – they do have clout。 Many Facebook posts whined that Trump communicated with foreign heads of state before his taking office and that’s so terrible！ No one noted that Nixon also did exactly that to prevent a Vietnam peace agreement and Reagan also did exactly that with Iran to release hostages。 Meanwhile， Chris Matthews （America’s grown-up Ralph Wiggum） says on MSNBC that loyal “Americans don’t go to Moscow。” Who needs FOX News， or even Joe McCarthy， when liberal Chris is on the job？ The perpetually uncool McCain once accused Rand Paul of “working for Vladimir Putin”; that’s how you shut down any serious talk of détente or diplomacy。 While the rest of us were enjoying the harmonies of the Beach Boys singing “Barbara Ann”， John McCain was thinking， “wow， what a great lyric to use for making fun of bombing a sovereign nation， especially after we gave it the Shah， and the SAVAK。” And if， as Zionist hate peddler Nikki Haley says， “we should never trust Russia”， how did we ever manage to successfully have “decades of US nuclear arms control with Moscow”？ Five U。S。 lies about Russia。 First， Washington has treated Russia well since of the fall of Russian Communism。 Second， the Ukrainian people are united and want to join the West and leave Russia。 Third， Putin bullied the Ukrainian leader。 Fourth， Putin caused the problems in the Ukraine。 Fifth， the only solution in the Ukraine is Putin has to call off his dogs and then the Ukraine will somehow flourish。 While Americans blather on about the terrible Putin， they ignore that his approval ratings in Russia stay around 65%。 If they researched， they’d find that Putin is a moderate。 So， you could do so much worse。 Remove Putin and you’d remove a restraining force， and how beyond stupid and dangerous would that be？ For Stephen， the fourteen years of Putin’s rule has been almost entirely reactive。 Blaming Putin for the Ukraine’s internal subdivisions， as though he alone is reason number one， yeah， that’s the ticket。 Putin blamers ignore the “Wall of Sorrow” Putin inaugurated to victims of Soviet repression and Putin going against hardliners to create the Gulag Museum in Moscow。 Imagine Obama creating a Jim Crow， a Slavery or Native Holocaust Museum in Washington， DC – well， Mr。 Hope and Change did nothing of the kind， so let’s all bash Putin。 US leadership preferred the drunkard Yeltsin， because he was “our” drunkard and his yummy brutal wars in Chechnya， don’t forget “the rigging of his reelection of 1996。” Yeltsin did so much more damage to Russia than Putin， but he is lauded by the US。 for toeing our line。“Beginning with the Clinton administration， and supported by every subsequent Republican and Democratic President and Congress， the U。S。 led West has unrelentingly moved its military， political， and economic power ever closer to post-Soviet Russia。” Americans are never told that it was the U。S。 that nullified the parity principle， and bipartisan anti-parity thinking has led directly to the Ukrainian crisis。 The solution of course is détente， not demonizing Putin ad nauseam and risking nuclear war or ignoring that Trump is one of the few who have been critical of bipartisan foreign policy （unlike Hillary who says yes to every war）。 Rather than agree with Trump’s critique， the Democrats have consistently shown their true warmongering self。 When you look at the history of who is provoking who， you will never see Russia the same way again。 When Samantha Power says Russia needs to return the Crimea to the Ukraine， you can say， “Bitch say what？ The Crimea isn’t even mentioned in the Minsk agreement。” Americans simply aren’t taught the other side: the history of the U。S。 provoking Russia。 In 2014， the West turns what is essentially a Ukrainian Civil War， into a “US/NATO-Russian proxy war”。 The West’s annexation of Kosovo， was the precedent listed for Russian annexing of Crimea。 This book is not pro-American or pro-Russian， it is pro-avoiding a catastrophe。 The Council of Foreign Relations has said we are now in a second Cold War with Russia。 In 2017， Putin said， “Our most serious mistake with the West is that we trusted you too much （NATO not moving west）。 And your mistake is that you took that trust as weakness and abused it。” Leaders don’t have illusions， yet Putin went on record saying he realized he “had illusions about the West” when he came to power。 We get pissed when Russia wants their own sphere of influence forgetting we’ve got NATO poised at its balls and have 800 military bases around the world inspecting everyone else’s。 And of course， we’d go nuts if Russia encircled us in Canada or Mexico。 The US immorally forced Kiev to choose between the West and Russia – such US meddling fostered a Civil War and Stephen thinks you maybe could say “precipitated”。 “The Ukrainian civil and proxy war has become a disaster for Washington。” Meanwhile， don’t forget Putin’s actions in Donbass and Crimea only happened because of NATO trying to bring the Ukraine aboard。 Fact: The Syrian agreement was killed， not by Russia， but by our own DOD。 The Kremlin thinks the U。S。 goal of overthrowing of Assad would drastically undermine their own security by increasing terrorist activity， and placing ISIS “or another terrorist army in Damascus。” In this book， Rachel Maddow is referred to as “unabashedly Russophobic。” Everything changed in the West for Putin in 2014 with the Ukrainian crisis。 The U。S。 press ignores that Putin’s annexing of the Crimea was to protect a Russian naval base， and any other Russian leader would have done the same thing。The Russians see their history realistically both as the positive achievements in “industrialization and modernization in the 1930’s” that allowed the Soviets to push back the Nazis， and the negative achievements of Stalin’s brutality and the Gulag’s。 Stalin ruled from 1929 to 1953， and “imposed aspects of Western modernization on the country， such as literacy， industrialization and urbanization” but of course at terrible human cost。 Trump was the only pro-détente candidate in the 2016 elections。 Lest that mark him as a commie， remember that it has been the Republicans that have historically sought détente （Eisenhower， Nixon and Reagan） and not the Democrats。 This should not be surprising because the Republican Party has been the Party of business， even now when Ornstein and Mann refer to it as reduced to being a “radical insurgency。” Princeton University’s Cohen makes a compelling case that most Americans don’t understand or don’t want to understand how they are being duped into a new Cold War with potentially horrific consequences - a deadly nuclear game。 Hillary brands Trump as “Putin’s puppet” at a televised debate。 Centrist Robert Reich said Russia committed an unprecedented attack on our democracy” while Morgan Freeman lies to the camera with a straight face， “We are at War。” Paul Krugman， economic shill for centrists， stated， “there really is no question about Trump/Putin collusion” even though he had no proof。 Forgetting Putin has a long list of helping the US （Iran， Afghanistan， allowing NATO troops there， etc。） the Post’s Dana Milbank says stuff like， the “red menace of Vladimir Putin’s Russia” about clearly anti-communist Putin。 The Washington Post is such a known Russia hater， it is called ‘Pravda on the Potomac’。 This Russia hating is totally bi-partisan， threatening our national safety， and of course un-Christian - just like our endless wars。 These days Stephen says even the NYT can sound like the John Birch Society， when it advocates against détente。 Even Bernie Sanders got on the fact-less band wagon saying that Russia “was engaged in a massive effort to undermine… the integrity of our elections”。 As Stephen stresses to the reader， Bernie didn’t “know” that。 So， with people on the Left and Right blithely and happily saying shit that has no truth， can we recognize that kind of talk only brings the planet closer to nuclear war？ So， it’s great that Professor Cohen brings us the truth in this book that apparently neither party wants any American to hear。 With the Washington Post， MSNBC， CNN， and even Maxine Waters delivering the same fact-free opinions， it has been easy to hoodwink the average American。 Delightfully， Stephen ends this book with “Why， after the end of the Soviet Union in 1991， US elites ultimately chose Cold War rather than partnership with Russia is a question beyond the limits of this book。” 。。。more
Spikeybär
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The author starts out by claiming that he is not a pro-Kremlin or Putin apologist。 This is followed by 200+ pages of pro-Kremlin and pro-Putin narration。 While it could of course be a laudable ambition to see both sides on the issues discussed in the book， this is not done here。 Cohen rants against the unfair and unbalanced treatment of anything related to Russia in mainstream media and then goes on to present unbalanced "alternative facts" and populist rhetoric。 In order to achieve his agenda h The author starts out by claiming that he is not a pro-Kremlin or Putin apologist。 This is followed by 200+ pages of pro-Kremlin and pro-Putin narration。 While it could of course be a laudable ambition to see both sides on the issues discussed in the book， this is not done here。 Cohen rants against the unfair and unbalanced treatment of anything related to Russia in mainstream media and then goes on to present unbalanced "alternative facts" and populist rhetoric。 In order to achieve his agenda he relies on every trick in the Cold-War-toolbox， from what-aboutisms to deluting issues so much that reality itself has to be doubted。 If you are interested in the official line of Russian policy， this book is a perfect showcase。 If you expect an unbiased analysis， this book is nothing akin to that。 。。。more
Timothy Frasca
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Essential minority view on Russiagate and the New Cold War。 Repetitive， so one can read a few essays and get the idea。
CHAD FOSTER
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If you want to read something that goes against the grain of the current trend in analyzing US-Russia relations， this is the one for you。 It is worth reading just to get a different perspective than the vast majority of the literature and reporting that is out there today。 While the author ignores some fairly significant contrary arguments and evidence offered by other writers and observers， his points are not all without merit。 Cohen questions the commonly-accepted basic assumption about Vladim If you want to read something that goes against the grain of the current trend in analyzing US-Russia relations， this is the one for you。 It is worth reading just to get a different perspective than the vast majority of the literature and reporting that is out there today。 While the author ignores some fairly significant contrary arguments and evidence offered by other writers and observers， his points are not all without merit。 Cohen questions the commonly-accepted basic assumption about Vladimir Putin's power - Specifically， he contends that Putin is not an autocrat; that he is beholden to a group of interests （oligarchs and others） that he must placate and appease。 For me， that is still something that is not yet known， and it may not be for many years to come。 In any event， it is healthy to at least consider that the fundamental assumptions that are almost universally accepted MIGHT be wrong。Much less controversial in my mind is Cohen's criticism of the McCarthy-like hysteria that raises its head whenever anyone seems to propose an approach to Moscow that is short of confrontational。 He is right on this point。 Sadly， US foreign policy toward Russia has become hyper-politicizied， making it impossible to practice statesmanship in the classic sense， even if there were leaders capable and in a position to do so。 None of this means being a Putin apolgist， but it does severely limit our strategic and diplomatic flexibility。 。。。more
Mirko Kriskovic
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