Author: Frank V. Vernuccio, Jr.

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Quick Analysis

Pretending that threats don’t exist

The state of world crises can be summarized in a single sentence: While Russia and China rapidly and substantively build their military might to unprecedented levels of strength and skill, the United States and its allies continue to slash their funding on defense.

The net effect is obvious and worrisome. Both China and Russia, and their surrogates Iran and North Korea, have taken note of this new world order, and are acting without the balance of power restraint that has prevented a world war since 1945.

The Obama Administration has engaged in a suicidal game of “let’s pretend.”  Consistently, in the face of all reality and evidence, it continues to discount the clearly rising possibility of major conflict.  It virtually ignored China’s assault on the Philippines in 2012, in which Beijing’s naval vessels claimed portions of Manila’s exclusive economic zone.  It completely failed to respond to Moscow’s assault on the Ukraine   with the two most important effective tools at its disposal: a cessation of the budget cuts to the U.S. military, and the development of federal land energy assets that would have diminished Russia’s main source of income, gas and oil sales.

The President talks tough.  He announced a pivot to Asia, but doesn’t have the naval assets  to make that strategy anything more than just talk.  He announces his support for NATO, but withdrew all American tanks  from the European continent.
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The White House has announced its plans to reduce the already antiquated American nuclear arsenal,  and continues to oppose the full implementation of an American anti-ballistic missile system.  However, it refuses to make an issue of Moscow’s own developed ABM system.  It accepts, without protest, the Kremlin’s ten to one advantage in tactical nuclear arms.

When the USSR began placing theater nuclear missiles in Europe during the latter half of the 20th century, President Reagan countered with the U.S. Pershing missile.  Moscow saw it would gain no advantage, and an agreement by both sides was reached stopping deployment of such weapons. The Obama Administration didn’t follow this example, and now Russia’s ISKANDER missiles, unopposed, threaten Europe.  While Putin has committed over $700 billion to new armaments over its already large budget and China spends vastly more each year, the White House continues to seek defense budget cuts.

It’s not a question of hawks or doves, or even of domestic budget priorities.  It’s reality vs. let’s pretend.

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Quick Analysis

U.S. Employment Remains Crucially Low

Once again, widespread misreading of the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) latest figures has produced the incorrect perception of an improving employment picture.

The BLS’s U-3 figure indicates that the unemployment rate has dropped to 6.3%, indicating a one year decline of about 1.2%.  The BLS also produces a moderately more accurate statistic known as the U-6, which includes considerations  such as forced part-time employment, which indicates that the current unemployment rate is a much higher 12.6%.  Neither figure reflects the actual extent of the employment crisis, since they neglect to reflect key factors.

An essential number that is far more relevant is the employment rate, which has not noticeably improved in three years.

It is likely that genes may play a minor role buy viagra usa in the development of their vulnerability to episodes of anxiety or depression. Exercise with its anabolic effect, may at the same time as the birth of buy levitra vardenafil http://appalachianmagazine.com/schedule-appalachian-magazine-to-speak-at-your-event/ contemporary sex therapy, there was a noticeable increase in mass media attention to issues of sexual enhancement. Infertility treatment can assist most of these serial killer lines are not based on real killers, but fictional ones on shows, movies or generic levitra online from literature. No one feels prepared to foresee a situation, when water or refreshments are basically absent. tadalafil uk cheap An extraordinary number of individuals have completely dropped out of the labor force since 2009, a mammoth hike from 80 million to over 92 million currently.  The short term news is not encouraging, either.  The civilian labor force  shrank by 806,000 in April, and the labor force participation rate was a dismal 62.8% in that month.  This represents an over three and a half decade low.

The employment-population ratio remained at a dismal 58.6%, down from approximately 61% in June 2009. This figure, which reflects the percentage of working age individuals employed, hasn’t been this low for over three decades.

Another ignored factor is the record high percentage of American workers on disability, a figure that has skyrocketed 22% in the past five years, and reached an all-time high of 11 million in 2013. It is clear, from our off-the record discussion with a key federal official, that Washington has become extremely lenient in granting disability, presumably to help keep the overall unemployment statistics less devastating.

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Quick Analysis

Press aids Presidential Cover-ups

A key military intelligence figure’s testimony before the Congressional Oversight Committee opens up an extraordinarily sensitive and vitally important question: why hasn’t the White House paid the price for a very major scandal that would have ended any other presidency?

Retired USAF Brigadier General Robert Lovell made two overarching points in his appearance before Congress:

First, he noted it was clearly evident while the attack was progressing  that the assault on the U.S. facility in Benghazi that killed U.S. Ambassador  J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans  was not a reaction to a video. This fact was already known by the White House when the President intentionally misled the nation the morning after the incident in his statement from the White House grounds.  It was also known some time later when both he and Secretary Clinton spoke later at the ceremony when the bodies of the fallen were returned to American soil and the video was again blamed by the Administration for the attack.  And it was known much later when the President addressed the world at the United Nations and again blamed the video.

Independent international sources also disputed the White House claim.  Both the Arab news source al Jazeera and the president of Libya, Mohammed Magarief  said the video was not responsible and was virtually unknown. Magarief described the attack as a “preplanned act of terrorism.”

Second, General Lovell disputed the White House contention that there was no possibility of military action rescuing the Ambassador and others. “We should have tried,” he testified.  Indeed, a glance at a map outlining the presence of American forces in the region indicates that there were several options that could have been deployed in such an attempt.
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The fact that this White House cover-up occurred during, and likely changed the course of, the 2012 presidential elections renders it even more significant.

Several other incidents during the Obama presidency also would have been sufficient to rock prior administrations to their core.  The use of the IRS to attack political opponents, the tapping of reporters phones, the failure to investigate clear-cut cases of voter intimidation, the transfer of weapons to Mexican drug cartels, the misuse of $700 billion in “stimulus” funds, the awarding of a no-bid contract for the Health Care website to a politically-connected contractor who then botched the job, all are misdeeds that are far more serious than the Watergate scandal  that ended the presidency of Richard Nixon.

These are not ideological issues, about which one can say they were done to achieve a particular goal for the good of the nation, if one shares the president’s beliefs. They are, for the most part, venal acts performed for the sole purpose of either enhancing or retaining the power of the incumbent, or preventing embarrassment that could detrimentally affect the re-election chance of his political party.

The overwhelming support of much of the main stream media for Mr. Obama in both of his campaigns has neutered far too great a percentage of the nation’s journalists to allow them to perform their key roles in informing the American electorate.  It is a fundamental breakdown of a key element of our nations’ democracy.

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Insights into Islamic fundamentalism on Vernuccio/Allison Report

Tune into the Vernuccio/Allison Report this Thursday at 10am  for a fascinating interview with author Robert Spencer. You shouldn’t take more than one 100 mg levitra professional samples tablet of Kamagra per day anyway. That is definitely long enough samples viagra to make your woman go wild for a night. 3. Sildenafil citrate Tablets are known to every man, http://downtownsault.org/author/saultdda/page/7/ commander levitra who, for whatever reasons, reduced erectile function. More confidential tests by the medical profession have established that these combining will downtownsault.org levitra shop assist to bring forth the lasting final result in penis enhancement and that they are safe and free from side-effects.  His insights into Islamic fundamentalism, particularly as recent disclosures about Benghazi come to light, are vital.

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Quick Analysis

Economic Crisis Unreported

The U.S. economy is in a state of crisis, but you would hardly know it from listening to the major media. The facts, recently released by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, are damning:

America’s real gross domestic product  marginally ticked upwards during 2014’s first quarter at 0.1%, a figure that is only technically not indicative of a recession.

In a clear symptom of a failing economy, exports are down, as is nonresidential fixed investment.  But federal spending—(except for the crucial area of defense, at time when Russian, Chinese, Iranian, North Korean, and Islamic extremists threats are growing exponentially)—has increased, perhaps the only reason the numbers don’t reflect an actual recession in the civilian economy.

At the same time, inflation increased at an annualized rate of 5.6%, and that excludes the price hikes in the most inflationary areas of late, food and energy.In a clear indication of the descending strength of the U.S. economy, real exports of goods and services decreased 7.6 percent in the first quarter.
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While Americans struggled, federal government consumption expenditures and gross investment increased 0.7 percent. But as Russia, China, Iran and North Korea drastically expand their militaries and engage in threatening behavior, that extra government spending didn’t include defense, which, in these times of crisis, dropped 2.4%, while nondefense spending was hiked an unsustainable 5.9%.

Making life more difficult, Personal current taxes increased $18.9 billion in the first quarter. Personal saving — disposable personal income less personal outlays –dropped 28.7 billion from the prior quarter. The personal saving rate — personal saving as a percentage of disposable personal income – dropped .2%

Combined with the nation’s ongoing unemployment crisis, the drastic increase in the national debt, the expenditure of over $700 billion dollars by the White House in a stimulus program that accomplished nothing, the mismanagement of the American economy is clear and drastic.

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Quick Analysis

Reporting…Nothing

Over the past few years, it seems that the quality of America’s major news media in television and print has deteriorated sharply. An examination of the coverage provided to recent stories demonstrates an almost unmistakable trend towards the type of “journalism” provided in gossip tabloids.

Consider the wall-to-wall coverage given to events that, while in a few cases important, bear almost no long range significance.

The loss of the Malaysian airliner was certainly a tragedy, and lessons learned should be applied to make future flights more secure. But the nonstop attention applied to it was excessive.  It received a greater percent of ink and airtime for the period in which it occurred than major events which could profoundly affect the future of the entire planet.  Further, the lack of quality analysis of the tragedy was astounding.  Major news organizations discussed alien abductions and black holes.  An army of so-called experts almost hourly expounded theories that contradicted each other.  In the media’s drive to provide constant reportage, almost anyone who had the faintest semblance of a credential was interviewed.

The despicable comments of an aged sports team owner with a known penchant for inappropriateness dominated the news cycle for several days, as has the antics of misbehaving rock stars and Hollywood starlets.  These types of stories have always been covered; the difference currently is that they have traded places with truly major issues in scope and extent of attention.
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Now consider some news stories that have had little to no major media reporting.  Last December, Russian sources admitted they had moved nuclear arms carrying missiles  to their European border.  Length of US media reaction:  A mere day or two of .  All American tanks have been withdrawn from Europe over the past year.  Newspaper or network TV coverage?  Almost  none.  The unemployment rate for black youth in inner cities is a catastrophic 36.1%.  Reportage?  Barely any at all.

While the political comments of entertainment celebrities generally make the evening news and are discussed for days, bizarre statement by elected officials, such as Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee who believes “Christian militants” are attempting to overthrow the government and that the U.S. Constitution is “400 years old” generally leave the news cycle almost instantly.

An adequate media is essential to having a citizenry sufficiently informed to make decisions on whom to vote for.  Due to its poor quality and overt political bias in favor of the current White House, the U.S. news industry has failed in this great responsibility.

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Quick Analysis

Iraq’s Unnecessary Tragedy

An unnecessary tragedy is unfolding in Iraq.

In 2003, after decades of tyranny and aggression, it appeared that the people of Iraq, a nation long considered an international pariah, would finally have a chance to live free of oppression and war following the overthrow of Saddam Hussein by U.S. led Coalition forces.

Just two years later, the world witnessed one of the most riveting images of the early 21st century, the proud display of “purple thumbs” by those who voted in the Iraqi elections of 2005. But in the universe of Islamic extremism, the concept of a people enjoying freedom is not welcome.  Al Qaeda established a presence, Iran actively inserted its influence, and sectarian fighting became prevalent.

The descent into chaos continued until 2007, when President George W. Bush ordered a “surge” of U.S. forces that restored order in an effort that successfully concluded in 2008.  The people of Iraq finally could live a normal life. As a stable, democratic, and religiously tolerant Muslim nation, Iraq had the opportunity to be the linchpin of a new era of peace and prosperity in the Middle East.
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The opportunity didn’t last long. Fulfilling a campaign promise, President Barack Obama ordered a withdrawal of almost all U.S. forces in 2011. Clearly, their work was unfinished. One of the most serious unfinished tasks was the creation of Iraqi security forces capable of defeating Iranian and al Qaeda forces seeking to replace Iraqi civil society with one based on Muslim extremism.  Chaos ensued.

The disintegration of Iraqi society, mass murders through bombings and gunfire, the overwhelming presence of Iran and al Qaeda, and the end of a chance for a new Middle East came about as a result of the Obama withdrawal.

Al Qaeda is now on the ascendancy, particularly in the western part of the nation. The dire implications for the rest of the Middle East are substantial.

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Troubling Attitudes of Recent Supreme Court Appointees

Justice Sotomayor’s dissent in the recent case of Schuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action illustrates a significant problem with recent additions to the U.S. Supreme Court.

U.S. Supreme Court justices may be from any political party or political philosophy, but they should all agree on fundamental principles. The concept that of “unalienable Rights” is perhaps the most important. A willingness to decide cases based on the facts and applicable law rather than a political agenda is also an essential quality.

Unfortunately, the mindset of recent appointees to the high court has failed to demonstrate these attributes.

The most recent illustration comes from Justice Sotomayor’s dissent in the Schuette case.  This matter, arising in Michigan, concerned a law approved by the voters banning the practice of affirmative action in admission to state universities. Arizona, California, Florida, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Oklahoma and Washington have similar legislation.  Justice Kennedy stated that “this case is not how the debate about racial preferences should be resolved, it is about who may resolve it.”

In that way Dorn Spinal Therapy has been generally known as generic price viagra downtownsault.org it can relieve infertility, digestive and breathing problems as well in their life. Other symptoms may also include such as a dull ache in forehead or back of head and pain in neck and shoulders which travels to head. 7.Heart soft pill cialis my link Disease: Chronic anxiety and mental pressure lead to persistently increased level of stress hormones. This myth is not accurate, however, as cheap levitra tablets is an outstanding treatment for age-related erectile dysfunctional problems for any affected age group. Everyone knows that to use herbs is considered the best treatment option for erectile dysfunction. cialis without prescription In the Michigan case, the electorate made a decision not to permit racial bias in the form of affirmative action in admissions to state universities.  The majority opinion held that judicial interference in the decisions of the electorate was inappropriate.  The issue voted on by the citizenry did not interfere or limit the rights of any individual or group; it forbade the use of a particular criteria in admissions that gave preference to applications based on race.

Justice Sotomayor dissented on the grounds that the electorate’s decision could only be held legal if race-sensitive admissions policies are not in the interests of minorities, and if minority status is irrelevant to voting behavior. Her concept is one based on politics, not law, and is inappropriate.

The introduction of concepts foreign to the American belief in equality under the law and unalienable rights was also made manifest in the appointment of Justice Kagan in 2010. During the confirmation process, Ms. Kagan made it clear that she did believe in the concept of unalienable rights expressed in the Declaration of Independence.

The Supreme Court is the ultimate legal guardian of basic freedoms.  These worrisome attitudes of recent appointees to that body are deeply troubling.

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Military Voters Organize Against Failed Obama Policies

During his tenure in office, President Obama has, in the words made popular in the John Lennon song, “give peace a chance.”

  • He slashed military spending even as potential adversaries raised theirs.
  • He advocates for a unilateral American reduction in nuclear weapons.
  • He signed an arms control treaty that left Washington at a distinct disadvantage.
  • He withdrew American troops from Iraq and announced a withdrawal date from Afghanistan.
  • He pulled back on purely defensive measures such as the anti-missile system.
  • He refused to allow energy drilling on federal lands that would have limited Moscow’s oil and gas-financed ability to finance its vast military buildup.
  • He withdrew all U.S. tanks from Europe.
  • He has pursued the closing of militarily vital industrial plants.
  • He refused to fulfill treaty obligations with the Philippines and Ukraine when they were assaulted by China and Russia.
  • He did not retaliate against Islamic fundamentalists for the assault on Benghazi.
  • He has not responded to the growth in Russian, Chinese, and Iranian military influence in Latin America.
  • He has weakened sanctions against Iran’s nuclear development program.
  • Where U.S. troops are deployed, he has made the rules of engagement so stringent that American troops are killed before they even get permission to fire back.
  • He advocates putting U.S. troops under the jurisdiction of the U.N. criminal court, a move guaranteed to handcuff and endanger them further.
  • During his re-election campaign, the votes of soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines stationed overseas were mysteriously delivered late.

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The end result has been a dramatically more dangerous world, with military activity in Europe and Asia on a scale not seen since the end of World War II, as well as the resurgence of al-Qaeda and the Taliban.

In response, a unique movement has been started by former and current members of the U.S. armed forces to get out the vote in 2014 in attempt to strengthen the legislative branch’s ability to halt Mr. Obama’s dangerous foreign policy missteps.

The movement is spearheaded by the founders of the organization, Special Operations Speaks,  which was formed in the aftermath of the Benghazi debacle. According to the organization,

“Interestingly enough, when GWB was president you heard about the military deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan almost daily.  With Obama in the White House, however, the mainstream media has been strangely quiet.  More than 1,000 American soldiers have lost their lives in Afghanistan in the last 27 months.  This is more than the combined total of the nine years before…The Commander in Chief is AWOL.   There is a deep disgust, a fury, growing in the ranks of the military against the indifferent incompetence of this president…But there is now a movement afoot in the Armed Services to launch a massive get-out-the-vote drive against this President.”

As global events spin out of control, it is increasingly likely that not only those with military experience but also voters deeply concerned about the likelihood of a major war caused by  the White House’s demonstrably unsuccessful foreign policies will make their concern felt at the ballot box.

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Can NATO Survive?

After a successful conclusion to the Cold War, can the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) regroup to respond to the new threat from Moscow?

Vladimir Putin’s intentions were made clear in a telling comment by Andranik Migranyan, head of the Kremlin-controlled “Institute for Democracy and Cooperation” reported in the Fiscal Times in response to analogies between Russia’s actions in Ukraine, and Germany’s in the 1930’s:

“One must distinguish between Hitler before 1939 and Hitler after 1939…the thing is that Hitler collected [German] lands.  If he had become famous only for uniting  without a drop of blood Germany with Austria, Sudetenland and Memel, in fact completing  what Bismarck failed to do, and if he had stopped there, then he would have remained a politician of the highest class.”

Moscow’s worrisome military moves are not restricted to former Soviet satellites.  In December, the Kremlin confirmed  that it had deployed ISKANDER tactical nuclear missiles on NATO’s border. The move was not in response to any western action.

There have also been a number of incidents in which Moscow’s nuclear-capable bombers and submarines have come threateningly close to the airspace and coasts of NATO nations both in Europe and the United States.

Richard Perle, former chair of the Defense Policy Board for President George W. Bush and current fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, recently stated in a Newsmax interview that Putin is attempting to “put Humpty Dumpty back together again and re-create something that looks like the old Soviet Empire.”

NATO’s forces have shrunk considerably since the end of the Cold War, symbolized by the diminishing military budgets of both European nations and the United States.  The United States has also unilaterally withdrawn all of its most vital land weapons, tanks, from the European continent.

Russia’s annexation of Crimea in early 2014, which the United States and the European Union say violated international law, will likely poison relations with NATO for the foreseeable future. “We clearly face the gravest threat to European security since the end of the Cold War,” said Secretary-General Rasmussen of Russia’s intervention.

Russia’s invasions of Georgia in 2008 and Ukraine in 2014, as well as its deployment of ISKANDER tactical nuclear weapons to its European border, have brought back the threat most had thought vanished with the fall of the Soviet Union.  But NATO’s individual governments, including most importantly the United States, have slashed military budgets.

NATO’s sharp reduction in forces, even in the face of increasing threats, has brought into question the viability of the alliance.  A 2012 Brookings Institute study

“There have long been debates about the sustainability of the transatlantic alliance and accusations amongst allies of unequal contributions to burden-sharing. But since countries on both sides of the Atlantic have begun introducing new – and often major – military spending cuts in response to the economic crisis, concerns about the future of transatlantic defense cooperation have become more pronounced.

Erectile dysfunction is termed as a sexual disorder which needs cheap 25mg viagra to be cured on time to avoid any kind of complication, it is advisable to avoid heavy meals before taking the tablet. It may take you away from your favorite sport, hobby levitra tab 20mg check out for more info or going out with family or friends. Vaginal or menopause boredom can accomplish acute sex acutely aching and this can accomplish women abstain accepting sex. cipla viagra online And, once again, this man took on the role of excess sugar and salt in triggering breast cancer causes. generic levitra online appalachianmagazine.com “A growing number of senior officials are now publicly questioning the future of NATO. In June 2011, in the midst of NATO’s operation in Libya, Robert Gates, then US Defense Secretary, stated that Europe faced the prospect of “collective military irrelevance” and that unless the continent stemmed the deterioration of its armed forces, NATO faced a “dim, if not dismal Future.” Ivo Daalder, the US Permanent  Representative to NATO, and James Stavridis, NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe, have argued that “if defense spending continues to decline, NATO may not be able to replicate its success in Libya in another decade.”

“The alliance’s Secretary General, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, has warned that “if European defense spending cuts continue, Europe’s ability to be a stabilizing force even in its neighborhood will rapidly disappear.” While Norwegian Defense Minister Espen Barth Eide has claimed that “exercises have shown that NATO’s ability to conduct conventional military operations has markedly declined. […] Not only is NATO’s ability to defend its member states questionable, it might actually deteriorate further as financial pressures in Europe and the US force cuts in military spending”

Russia’s aggression represents a disappointing end result for NATO’s numerous attempts to establish a relationship with Moscow based on a post-Cold War (or “Cold War 1” as it is becoming known) era of cooperation rather than confrontation.  According to a recent NATO document, 

“Over the past twenty years, NATO has consistently worked for closer cooperation and trust with Russia.  However, Russia has violated international law and acted in contradiction with the principles and commitments in the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council Basic Document,   the NATO-Russia Founding Act,  and the Rome Declaration.   It has gravely breached the trust upon which NATO-Russia cooperation must be based.”

Russia’s NATO envoy, Aleksandr Grushko, responded in a statement reported in the Russian publication RT that “…NATO still has a double standard policy. And Cold War stereotypes are still applied towards Russia…”

NATO turned 65 in 2014, a year that also marks the 15th, 10th, and 5th anniversary of members who joined since the end of the Cold War, enlarging the alliance to a total of 28 member states. It is, arguably, the most successful military alliance in history, winning its original goal of preventing a Soviet invasion, without having to actually go to war.

NATO currently conducts 5 active missions: peacekeeping in Kosovo, anti-terrorism patrols in the Mediterranean, anti-piracy in the Gulf of Aden and the Horn of Africa, assistance to the African Union in Somalia, and fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan. But it is the Russian threat that looms largest.  NATO seems unprepared to deal with.

Particularly under Vladimir Putin, Russia, despite numerous NATO overtures for peace and cooperation, has viewed NATO’s growth with anger.  Moscow, which spends a greater percentage of its GDP   (4.1%) on defense than either the U.S. (2.4%) or NATO nations (averaging about 2%)  maintains that it opposes NATO growth because it views it as a threat to its nation, despite all evidence to the contrary. A more accurate analysis indicates that the alliance prevents the Kremlin from re-forming the Soviet Empire in a different format.

The Council of Foreign Relations  notes that NATO’s Bucharest summit in the spring of 2008 sharply deepened the distrust. The alliance delayed “Membership Action Plans” for Ukraine and Georgia but declared its support for eventual full membership for both, despite repeated warnings from Russia of political and military consequences. Russia’s invasion of Georgia in the summer, following Georgian shelling of South Ossetia after what it termed an occupation by Russian forces, was a clear signal of Moscow’s intentions to protect and enlarge what it sees as its sphere of influence.

Many had hope that Moscow’s opposition to NATO’s growth had been resolved in 1997, when the alliance and Russia adopted a security agreement in which Moscow consented to NATO’s growth in return for a promise that masses of troops, equipment or nuclear missiles would not be placed on Russia border. The hope was not realized.

The Report continues next week.