Russia: Other Points of View

MAKE THE WORLD SAFE!: A NEW CCI PROGRAM

Dear Friends,

 

For the past two years (actually the past 32 years), I've struggled to create ways to increase understanding and decrease misunderstanding between the two nuclear superpowers: the U.S. and Russia.  Why?––to offset the odds of a global nuclear war.  We thought our work at CCI was finished in the mid-2000s!  But politically these two nations are back at it again in 2015: building new missile systems, posting them on the others' borders, flying supersonic jets equipped with megatons of destruction every day––by false alarm, accident or intention, the entire world is going through an extremely dangerous era at present.  And these facts are getting very little exposure in American mainstream media.

 

What can we concerned and intelligent citizens do, if anything?

 

CCI's single most effective program over the years was SMMA (Soviets Meet Middle America!), a two-year, first-ever venture that brought many hundreds of Soviet citizens to 264 American cities where they were home hosted and participated in talks with Americans in Rotary Clubs, schools, universities, libraries, book clubs, businesses, churches, synagogues, TV stations, radio talk shows and newspaper offices. They even had evening discussion opportunities in homes.  The Soviets slept in American bedrooms, ate breakfast over kitchen tables, discussed their countries, differences and similarities, in addition to local and international politics. Both shared their dreams and hopes for their futures and committed to work in their countries to dispel erroneous misconceptions and to build human bridges between them.  And they did!  Russians went home and became purveyors of positive stories and warm information about America.

 

DEBUNKING THE LATEST RUMOR

Manas Airbase 

by Patrick Armstrong

ISSUE: Manas Airbase. In 2001 the USA leased part of the Manas airfield in the Kyrgyz Republic to support US and Allied operations in Afghanistan. This month, President Bakiyev announced that he would seek to close the base. The Kyrgyz Republic Parliament will discuss the issue on 19 February.

INTERPRETATION: Many in the West saw Bakiyev as a puppet and the closure being orchestrated in Moscow so as to embarrass President Obama. “Bakiyev Pleases Moscow” (Jamestown Foundation) “Under Vladimir Putin, Russia has been trying to reclaim the influence it once had in the former Central Asian Soviet republics, so Russian pressure on Kyrgyzstan is not unexpected.” (BBC) “"I think that the principal motivation is to reassert Russian influence and get visible U.S. presence out of former Soviet republics," said retired Adm. William J. Fallon” (Huffington Post) “Russia Offers Kind Words, but Its Fist Is Clenched” (NYT). Most of these accounts mention Bakiyev’s objections but seem to regard them as a cover for Russian machinations.

COMMENT: But Bakiyev has long been frustrated with the relationship with Washington. “The president said he had repeatedly suggested that the US side should review the airbase agreement and raise the leasing fee for the airbase, but the suggestion was ignored. He added that the base closure was also caused by violations of law by US military personnel, including the killing of a Kyrgyz national by a US soldier in December 2006.”

There are other reasons why the issue has become a significant challenge: