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Tag Archives: putin
Understanding the Ukrainian Crisis
Much has been said in our media about Putin’s propaganda war, and I agree that an information war is in progress over the Ukrainian crisis. But it is not one-sided. We, too, have blind spots, andwiththe following two misconceptions being the source of many of our errors: Continue reading
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Tagged information war, martin hellman, nuclear risk, propaganda, putin, russia, stanford, ukraine
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Avoiding a Repeat of the 1962 Cuban Crisis
I highly recommend Prof. Rajan Menon’s article in The National Interest, Avoiding a New ‘Cuban Missile Crisis’ in Ukraine. I’ve attached a few key paragraphs below my signature line, and encourage you to read the full article. This fits well with the risk analysis approach I’ve been recommending for analyzing nuclear deterrence and reducing the danger that it might fail. Continue reading
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Tagged cuban missile crisis, martin hellman, nuclear risk, putin, Rajan Menon, russia, ukraine
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Putin and the Siege of Leningrad
Two days ago, I had a post in honor of VE/Victory Day that had a few quotes from a Russian language article by Russian President Vladimir Putin. I noted that I did not yet have a complete translation, but would post it when I did. Well, it’s now available online. Here are some key excerpts: Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged martin hellman, nuclear risk, putin, russia, stanford, war and peace, world war ii
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How to Truly Celebrate Defeating Nazism
Yesterday, May 8, marked our 70th celebration of VE Day – Victory in Europe over Nazism – while today, May 9, is celebrated as Victory Day in Russia. The difference of one day is due to time in Moscow being eight hours later than in Washington, but the difference in perception goes much deeper. If more Americans tried to understand the Russian perspective, it would be an excellent first step toward “defusing the nuclear threat” (as this blog is called). It may be surprising, but out of such seemingly small disagreements, nuclear threats can grow. Read on to find out why. Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged critical thinking, martin hellman, nuclear risk, putin, russia, stanford, war and peace, World War 2
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Putin’s Surprising Comparison of Nazism and Stalinism
Yesterday’s Moscow Times had an article by one of my favorite Russian commentators, Fyodor Lukyanov, which highlighted a very surprising moment in Putin’s four-hour address to the nation. In Lukyanov’s words: Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged American exceptionalism, critical thinking, Fyodor Lukyanov, martin hellman, nazism, putin, russia, stalinism, stanford
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Putin the Moderate??
In a recent talk following a visit to Russia, former Nixon advisor on Soviet matters Dimitri Simes told his audience that Putin is not ideologically driven and is the West’s best hope for a negotiated settlement to end the Ukrainian crisis. Simes went on to warn that, if we fail to take advantage of Putin’s moderate stance, we risk empowering reactionary elements within Russia who “want to do crazy things.” That, in turn, he warned could end in a disastrous military confrontation similar to the way World War I started. Continue reading
Ambassador Matlock Questions Putin Involvement in Nemtsov Murder
I have found Ambassador Jack Matlock to be an invaluable source of information on modern-day Russia and have quoted him here a number of times, primarily on the Ukrainian Crisis. Having served as Ronald Reagan’s Ambassador to Moscow, “When Jack Matlock speaks, people should listen.” Unfortunately few do because the major media rarely cover news which conflicts with the prevailing narrative that Putin is guilty until proven innocent, no matter what the crime. That kind of group think got us into both the Vietnam War and the Iraq War. It’s time we started questioning our assumptions before getting caught up into the drumbeat to war, especially with a nation that possesses thousands of nuclear weapons. As part of that process of becoming more informed and more objective, I highly recommend Ambassador Matlock’s latest post “Is Nemtsov’s Murder a Replay of Kirov’s?” Continue reading
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Tagged Boris Nemtsov, critical thinking, Jack Matlock, martin hellman, nuclear risk, putin, russia, stanford
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Ambassador Matlock Sees the Nuclear Dimension to Ukraine
In a post earlier this month, I decried that the news coverage of the Ukrainian crisis was largely overlooking the nuclear dimension to the risk, and thereby increasing that risk. As I listened today to the Q&A following Ambassador Jack Matlock’s February 11 speech, I was pleased to see him repeatedly highlight that concern. I therefore began to transcribe the Q&A, and share what I’ve done thus far under my signature line. If anyone has the time to continue the process, please post it as a comment. Continue reading
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Tagged cold war, critical thinking, Jack Matlock, martin hellman, nuclear risk, nuclear war, putin, russia, stanford, ukraine, war and peace
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Reagan’s Ambassador to Moscow Says US Suffers from Autistic Foreign Policy
Three days ago, I posted excerpts I had found in news articles from an important speech, but overlooked speech by Ambassador Jack Matlock, our Ambassador to Moscow under Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush. Today I found both a full transcript of his speech and its YouTube video. Continue reading
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Tagged Ambassador Jack Matlock, autistic foreign policy, cold war, martin hellman, nuclear risk, putin, russia, stanford, ukraine, war and peace
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A Tale of Two Insurgencies
What’s this? A comparison between Ronald Reagan and Vladimir Putin by a respected international expert on Harvard’s faculty! Prof. Stephen Walt does not say that the two men are moral equivalents or that Putin deserves our sympathy – in fact he says the opposite – but Walt does draw a surprising parallel between Reagan’s actions in Nicaragua in the 1980s and Putin’s in Ukraine today. Continue reading
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Tagged Contras, critical thinking, Harvard, martin hellman, Nicaragua, nuclear risk, putin, reagan, russia, Sandinistas, stanford, Stephen Walt
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Defusing the Nuclear Threat 