USA and Canada

Image: Eternal Flame in Belgrade, memorial to the military and civilian victims of the NATO bombing. (Taken on 9 November 2015) CC BY 3.0

The Great Game in Ukraine is Spinning out of Control

Viewpoint by Jeffrey D. Sachs

This article was published in Other News and is being republished with the author's permission.

NEW YORK (IDN) — Former US National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski famously described Ukraine as a “geopolitical pivot” of Eurasia, central to both US and Russian power. Since Russia views its vital security interests to be at stake in the current conflict, the war in Ukraine is rapidly escalating to a nuclear showdown. It’s urgent for both the US and Russia to exercise restraint before disaster hits.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 29 September 2022

Photo: Biological weapons. Source: Australian Institute of International Affairs

US Warns Russia Against Use of Chemical and Biological Weapons in Ukraine

By Thalif Deen

UNITED NATIONS (IDN) — The retreat of Russian troops from occupied territory in Ukraine has led to widespread speculation that Moscow may use non-conventional weapons, primarily biological and chemical weapons, to beat back the Ukrainians.

In a prime-time interview on US television on September 19, US President Joe Biden said the US response to any use of “non-conventional weapons” by Russia “would be significant” but did not provide any details of possible retaliation.

: Thalif Deen; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 21 September 2022

Photo: Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III, Army Gen. Mark A. Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov attend the Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, Sept. 8, 2022. Credit: Chad J. McNeeley, DOD.

Momentum Builds for Ukraine Defense Contact Group

By Jim Garamone , DOD News

This article was issued by U.S. Department of Defense.

RAMSTEIN, Germany (IDN) — U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III said nations of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group are even "more united and resolved to keep up our support for Ukraine's right to defend itself."

The secretary and Army Gen. Mark A. Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, briefed the media at the conclusion of the contact group meeting at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, on September 8.

: Europe Editor; SUSTAINABILITY; Peace & Justice; 08 September 2022

Photo: Mikhail Gorbachev arrives to participate in celebrations for the 40th anniversary of the GDR (East Germany) in (East) Berlin on 6 October 1989 Credit: Bundesarchiv.

Gorbachev Was Sad the World Did Not Develop as He Had Hoped

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power

LUND, Sweden (IDN) — Mikhail Gorbachev, the last head of the Soviet Union, the idealistic leader from within who accepted the end of communism, arrived in Berlin in November 1999 on a private visit to mark the fall and destruction of the Berlin Wall ten years before. The Cold War had ended a year later. In one speech, with a tone of great sadness in his voice, he said, "Now, ten years after, we see the world does not appear as we had hoped".

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 06 September 2022

Photo: An aerial view of the Pentagon. CBS has reportedly stifled an investigative report into diversions of arms from western sources finding their way, not to the front lines in Ukraine, but to black markets in Europe and the Middle East. Photo by Air Force Staff Sgt. Brittany A. Chase, DOD

'How the West Brought War to Ukraine'

Viewpoint by David C. Speedie

This article was produced by Globetrotter in partnership with the American Committee for U.S.-Russia Accord. David C. Speedie, a board member of ACURA, was the former chair of International Peace and Security at Carnegie Corporation.

MONTCLAIR, New Jersey, US (IDN) — The seven-month war in Ukraine, and the role of NATO, especially the Atlanticist powers, are fuelled by an official western narrative that depicts the conflict as one between the plucky little Ukrainian David and the brutish Goliath that is Russia. The invasion is as unwarranted as it is vicious and provides justification for a current tally of $57 billion in lethal and non-lethal aid from the United States alone, with the United Kingdom at its side.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 02 September 2022

US Remains Restrained Over North Korea's Missile Tests & Nuclear Threats

By Thalif Deen

UNITED NATIONS (IDN) — The US response to North Korea's continued missile tests—and occasional nuclear threats—has been surprisingly restrained.

The reaction has been summed up in two words: dialogue and diplomacy.

On August 17, North Korea fired two cruise missiles toward the sea off its west coast. And, according to a report on Cable News Network (CNN), military officials from South Korea and the US have been analyzing the launch for "further details”.

: Thalif Deen; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 25 August 2022

Image: Advocate of bitcoin proposes BTC as fix to US student loan crisis. Source: Coinscreed

We Can Do So Much More on Student Loan Forgiveness

Viewpoint by India Walton and Sam Rosenthal

SAN FRANCISCO, USA (IDN) — As a presidential candidate, Joe Biden was hardly bullish on student debt cancellation. He was cajoled by progressives and his presidential primary opponents into adopting a more forceful student debt cancellation stance, one which ultimately helped win him the support of young voters.

Now, after a series of tepid moves, President Biden’s grand statement in the student debt saga has arrived.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 25 August 2022

The West's Chickens Are Coming Home to Roost

Mistakes Made Since The 1990s Might End in A Disaster

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power

LUND, Sweden (IDN) — You can interpret it on any level you like—that the Russians are inherently parochial and out of touch with how most of the world thinks and have it coming to them; that Russia is instinctively and cleverly Machiavellian and having failed to overpower the West with communism is now undermining it with a crude version of capitalism—as at present, using its commodity, oil, to push NATO to pull back from its expansionary urges.

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 16 August 2022

Photo: US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan. Credit: WION

US Security Adviser's Fake Take: Lie About Iranian Drones for Russia

By Shastri Ramachandaran

NEW DELHI | WASHINGTON, D.C. (IDN) — US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan's bluff about an Iran-Russia deal for "hundreds" of drones was nailed by none other than US National Security Agency (NASA) spokesperson John Kirby.

On July 11, Sullivan claimed that Iran was preparing to sell hundreds of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), including weapons-capable drones, to Russia for use in the war against Ukraine.

: Shastri Ramachandaran; THE WORLD; USA and Canada; 13 August 2022

Photo: Demonstrators are stopped by police as they try to march towards the border with Rwanda, in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, on June 15, 2022. Source: France 24

New Jersey Senator Seeks Review of Aid to Rwanda For Rights Abuses in DR Congo

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) — The Rwandan government's human rights record is under a harsh spotlight over its role in the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Sen. Robert Menendez, chair of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he would place a hold on U.S. security assistance to Rwanda in Congress over concerns about the Rwandan government's human rights record.

In a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Senator Menendez called for a comprehensive review of U.S. policy towards Rwanda.