Background Briefing: March 16, 2022
Having Been Fought to a Standstill, Russia Now Appears Interested in Peace We begin with the possibility of a peace deal to end the war in Ukraine now that Zelensky is signaling that the Russians are more realistic in their demands and Russia's Foreign Minister...
Background Briefing: March 15, 2022
The Change in German Attitudes to Russia and Three Prime Ministers Show up in Kyiv We begin with President Biden's decision to attend a NATO summit in Brussels next week on March 24 and the arrival by train in Kyiv today of three prime ministers from Poland,...
Background Briefing: March 14, 2022
How Far Will Xi Jinping Go in Supporting His Fellow Dictator Putin? We begin with talks between The U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi in Rome after leaks from the Biden administration warning that Russia had...
Background Briefing: March 13, 2022
A Moscow-Based Defense Analyst on How the Ukrainians Are Winning So Far We begin and go to Moscow to speak with Dr. Pavel Felgenhauer, a Moscow-based defense analyst, columnist and journalist who previously served as senior research officer in the Soviet...
Background Briefing: March 10, 2022
Is Putin's Nuclear Alert a Bluff and Could He Cross the Nuclear Threshold by Firing a Tactical Nuke? We begin with concerns expressed by the White House and the U.K. PM that Russia is preparing a false flag operation to use chemical weapons in Ukraine after...
Background Briefing: March 9, 2022
An Appeal to Western Academic and Cultural Institutions to Sever Ties With Putin's Oligarchs We begin with an appeal to Western academic and cultural institutions to sever their ties with Putin's oligarchs whose money has bought influence in an alarming number...
Background Briefing: March 8, 2022
An Analysis of Ukraine's Military Capabilities We begin with an assessment of Ukraine's military and how long they can hold out against the overwhelming Russian onslaught and Putin's brutal tactic of targeting civilians using Chechen and Syrian shock troops...
Background Briefing: March 7, 2022
The Consequences Today of Trump's 40-Year-Long Effort to Help Russia by Getting the U.S. Out of NATO We begin with a recent poll that has 62% of Americans believing that if Trump were president, the war in Ukraine would not have happened. This is a sad...
Background Briefing: March 6, 2022
Putin's Strategy to Weaponize Refugees We begin with Putin pounding and starving Ukrainian civilians with major cities under siege and brutal bombardment and explore his strategy of weaponizing refugees by creating a so-called humanitarian corridor to...
Background Briefing: March 3, 2022
The Limits of Sanctions and Going After Putin's Enablers Like Trump We begin with a new round of sanctions against Russian oligarchs and their families announced today by the White House and speak with Dr. Louise Shelley, the Omer L. and Nancy Hirst Endowed...