US Opinion and Commentary

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Baltics in Crosshairs Between NATO and Russia

Posted November 5th, 2015 at 4:42 pm (UTC-4)
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VILNIUS, LITHUANIA — Russia’s annexation of the Crimean peninsula and ongoing war in Ukraine have cast a shadow across Central and Eastern Europe, but nowhere is it darker than in the Baltic States. Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are the only former Soviet republics to have joined either NATO or the EU. That factor especially seems […]

Beware Putin’s Peace Offering

Posted September 29th, 2015 at 2:28 pm (UTC-4)
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By James Kirchick To best understand Russian President Vladimir Putin’s approach to foreign policy, envision the world as a global protection racket. From the Scottish borderlands of the 16th century to the American urban areas of the mid and late 20th, powerful clans have extorted weaker actors for “protection.” What these poor farmers or shop […]