Professor Cohen warns that Obama’s military build-up on Russia’s borders risks World War III
By Dr. Patrick Slattery — Listeners to the David Duke Show know that for the past several months I have been reporting on Princeton Professor Emeritus Stephen F. Cohen’s weekly appearnces on the John Batchelor Show, which is syndicated out of WABC in New York. I have been following Professor Cohen for 30 years, and have found him to be the best source for information and analysis on Russia.
His show on February 2, 2016 included a great deal that should be of interest to our audience. It centered on a recent announcement that President Obama plans to substantially increase the deployment of heavy weapons, armored vehicles and other equipment to NATO countries on Russia’s borders.
Prof. Cohen made it clear that this decision is in violation of the May 1997 treaty known as the NATO-Russia Founding Act on Mutual Relations, Cooperation and Security. He noted that the new NATO brigades will be rotated through Baltic and Eastern European neighbors of Russia in what he described as a “shyster lawyer kind of way” of pretending to uphold the treaty by not stationing them permanently at a single base.
Evelyn Farkas, the former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia/Ukraine/Eurasia, who left the Pentagon last October in frustration with Obama not being aggressive enough, described the decision this way:
“This is a really big deal, and the Russians are going to have a cow,” said Evelyn N. Farkas, who until October was the Pentagon’s top policy official on Russia and Ukraine. “It’s a huge sign of commitment to deterring Russia, and to strengthening our alliance and our partnership with countries like Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia.” (From the New York Times)
Evelyn Farkas, testifying before the Senate Armed Forces Committee beside Assistant Secretary of Treasury for Terrorist Financing Daniel Glaser and Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Victoria Nuland
Cohen stated that we have never in history put our military so close to Russia’s borders, adding that Russia is understandably reacting by moving more of its weaponry towards Europe. He said that bringing the Baltics and other small Eastern European states into NATO was an act of recklessness that allows countries which have old historical grievances against Russia to determine U.S. foreign policy — the tail wags the dog.
He said that “President Obama cannot hide from this decision in the shadows, as he sometimes does.” This is a reflection of his view that Obama has largely abdicated foreign policy to a neocon war party within his administration, but still must be faulted for it.
Regarding the new cold war, he said categorically that it is NATO and not Russia that is the aggressor. He noted that President Bush scrapped the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty in order to build a missile defense system that “only people who believe in fairy tales” believe was aimed at Iran and not at Russia.
Russia will rely on tactical nuclear weapons to counter the NATO conventional build up, which is stated in their defense policy. Meanwhile, he revealed that the U.S. is developing miniaturized nuclear weapons that allows for commanders to adjust the amount of radiation released. “Thereby making them more usable,” he quoted ominously.
He also pointed out that Turkey is trying to provoke a military conflict with Russia and drag NATO into it, and that NATO is doing nothing to restrain Turkey.
He emphasized that we are being led dangerously close to World War III, and there is virtually no discussion of it. Which is exactly what we have been saying on the David Duke Show.
