Between The Lines - David Kotz: Russia's Deployment of Troops to Crimea Demands Diplomacy, not Threats or Escalation (Week Ending March 14, 2014)

Award-winning Investigative Journalist Robert Parry (1949-2018)

Award-winning investigative journalist and founder/editor of ConsortiumNews.com, Robert Parry has passed away. His ground-breaking work uncovering Reagan-era dirty wars in Central America and many other illegal and immoral policies conducted by successive administrations and U.S. intelligence agencies, stands as an inspiration to all in journalists working in the public interest.

Robert had been a regular guest on our Between The Lines and Counterpoint radio shows -- and many other progressive outlets across the U.S. over four decades.

His penetrating analysis of U.S. foreign policy and international conflicts will be sorely missed, and not easily replaced. His son Nat Parry writes a tribute to his father: Robert Parry’s Legacy and the Future of Consortiumnews.

Thank you for donating

If you've made a donation and wish to receive thank you gifts for your donation, be sure to send us your mailing address via our Contact form.

See our thank you gifts for your donation.

The Resistance Starts Now!

Between The Lines' coverage and resource compilation of the Resistance Movement

"The man who predicted Trump presidential win now says Trump impeachment could happen," AM Joy with Joy Reid, MSNBC, Jan. 21, 2018
"Sketchy Kazakh money finds its way into Trump dealings," The Rachel Maddow Show, MSNBC, Jan. 15, 2018
"Red flags seen in many Trump real estate deals," The Rachel Maddow Show, MSNBC, Jan. 15, 2018
"Secret Money: How Trump Made Millions Selling Condos To Unknown Buyers," BuzzFeed, Jan. 12, 2018
"The Scandals of Donald Trump: Presidential Edition," The Atlantic, May 15, 2017
"Here's what we know so far about Team Trump's ties to Russian interests," Washington Post's ongoing compilation
"What Comey Was Investigating, Explained," The Moscow Project, Center for American Progress

"Donald Trump's Financial Ties to Russian Oligarchs and Mobsters Detailed In Explosive New Documentary from the Netherlands," Dutch TV documentary, Alternet.org, May 12, 2017
Ongoing compilation of Trump's creeping authoritarianism," MotherJones.com
Full resource list ...

SPECIAL REPORT: "The Resistance - Women's March 2018 - Hartford, Connecticut" Jan. 20, 2018

Selected speeches from the Women's March in Hartford, Connecticut 2018, recorded and produced by Scott Harris

SPECIAL REPORT: "No Fracking Waste in CT!" Jan. 14, 2018

Jen Siskind Jennifer Siskind, local coordinator for Food and Water Watch, describes the campaign to stop fracking waste in Connecticut, which so far has led to fracking waste bans in 34 towns around the state. Interviewed by Richard Hill on Mic Check, WPKN Radio, Bridgeport, CT

SPECIAL REPORT: "Resistance Round Table: The Unraveling Continues..." Jan. 13, 2018

Lindsay Kanaly The panel discusses Trump's long history of racism and the Republican voter suppression juggernaut confronting Democrats leading up to the 2018 elections. Special guest: Lindsay Kanaly, a lead organizer of the Women's Marches planned for Jan. 20, 2018. Panel: Scott Harris, Ruthanne Baumgartner and Richard Hill on Resistance Roundtable, WPKN Radio, Bridgeport, CT.

SPECIAL REPORT: "Capitalism to the ash heap?" Richard Wolff, Jan. 2, 2018

Richard Wolff, Economics professor Richard Wolff declares U.S. capitalism to be beyond repair and suggests the need for a radical alternative. Interviewed by Richard Hill

SPECIAL REPORT: Maryn McKenna, author of "Big Chicken", Dec. 7, 2017

Maryn McKenna, investigative journalist and author of Big Chicken, talks about the widespread use and dangers of antibiotics in commercial poultry, beef and fruit production. Interview by Bill Duesing, Richard Hill and Guy Beardsly on WPKN's Organic Farm Stand.

SPECIAL REPORT: Nina Turner's address, Working Families Party Awards Banquet, Dec. 14, 2017

Nina Turner, president of Our Revolution, talks about the fight ahead for progressives as she receives the Working Families Organization Award for Exceptional Leadership Towards Advancing Progress. The event was held in Meriden, CT. Produced by Richard Hill.

SPECIAL REPORT: Mic Check, Dec. 12, 2017

Working Families Party of CT talks strategy and issues for 2018.
Lindsay Farrell, executive director of the Working Families Party of Connecticut, discusses the state's electoral landscape and lays out the issues and strategies that could lead to progressive victories in 2018. Interviewed by Richard Hill.

SPECIAL REPORT: Resistance Roundtable, Dec. 9, 2017

Disturbing developments in the Trump/Republican Agenda
Focus on the tax bill, destruction of our public lands, North Korea and Trump's private CIA. Panel: Scott Harris, Ruthanne Baumgartner and Richard Hill. Special guest: Jo Macallero of Rise and Resist.

SPECIAL REPORT: On Tyranny - one year later, Nov. 28, 2017

Professor Timothy Snyder, author of the highly acclaimed resistance manual On Tyranny, discusses his book and offers a fresh assessment of the state of our beleaguered republic. Timothy Snyder, history professor at Yale, is introduced by Stanley Heller, administrator of Promoting Enduring Peace, a Connecticut-based organization that sponsored this event at the United Church Parish House in New Haven on Nov. 28. A brief interview with Snyder conducted by WPKN radio producer, Richard Hill, follows his talk.

SPECIAL REPORT: Mic Check, Nov. 12, 2017

Lynne Ide, director of program and policy with the Universal Health Care Foundation of Connecticut, talks about the current state of health care coverage in Connecticut. Interviewed by Richard Hill, WPKN radio producer

SPECIAL REPORT: Resistance Roundtable, Nov. 11, 2017

Focus on the Republican tax plan, the just-released autopsy on the Democratic Party, and Internet censorship by Google, Facebook and Youtube. Including an interview with Hilary Grant, a lead organizer with Action Together Connecticut, who discusses the local results of the recent election, with hosts Richard Hill, Scott Harris and Ruth Baumgartner WPKN producers

SPECIAL REPORT: Rainy Day Radio, Nov. 7, 2017

Two leaders from Redneck Revolt, an anti-racist, anti-capitalist movement, talk about their work organizing with white working class people in Suffolk County, New York. Interviewed by Richard Hill, WPKN radio producer

SPECIAL REPORT: Rainy Day Radio, Nov. 7, 2017

Bruce Gagnon, coordinator for the Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space, describes the extent of -- and motives underlying -- the vast US network of military bases around the globe. Interviewed by Richard Hill, WPKN radio producer

SPECIAL REPORT: Resisting U.S. JeJu Island military base in South Korea, Oct. 24, 2017

Joyakol, South Korean peace activist and singer, discusses the crisis on the Korean peninsula and focuses on the resistance to the U.S. huge military base being constructed on Jeju Island. The event was sponsored by the Greater New Haven Peace Council and this audio was recorded by Richard Hill, WPKN producer.
Joyakol discusses Americans' biggest misconceptions about the conflict between North and South Korea and the U.S., Interview by Richard Hill, WPKN producer.

SPECIAL REPORT: John Allen, Out in New Haven

John Allen, founding director of the New Haven Pride Center, Connecticut, talks about his new LGBTQ television show, Out in New Haven, which presents a range of political and cultural issues to the community. Interviewed by Richard Hill on WPKN's Rainy Day Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2018.

2017 Gandhi Peace Awards

Promoting Enduring Peace presented its Gandhi Peace Award jointly to renowned consumer advocate Ralph Nader and BDS founder Omar Barghouti on April 23, 2017.

Subscribe to our Weekly Summary & receive our FREE Resist Trump window cling

(Car window cling)

Email us with your mailing address at contact@btlonline.org to receive our "Resist Trump/Resist Hate" car window cling!

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE...

who helped make our 25th anniversary with Jeremy Scahill a success!

For those who missed the event, or were there and really wanted to fully absorb its import, here it is in video

Jeremy Scahill keynote speech, part 1 from PROUDEYEMEDIA on Vimeo.

Jeremy Scahill keynote speech, part 2 from PROUDEYEMEDIA on Vimeo.

Between The Lines on Stitcher

Between The Lines Presentation at the Left Forum 2016

"How Do We Build A Mass Movement to Reverse Runaway Inequality?" with Les Leopold, author of "Runaway Inequality: An Activist's Guide to Economic Justice,"May 22, 2016, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, The City University of New York, 860 11th Ave. (Between 58th and 59th), New York City. Between The Lines' Scott Harris and Richard Hill moderated this workshop. Listen to the audio/slideshows and more from this workshop.

Listen to audio of the plenary sessions from the weekend.

JEREMY SCAHILL: Oscar-nominated documentary filmmaker "Dirty Wars"

Listen to the full interview (30:33) with Jeremy Scahill, an award-winning investigative journalist with the Nation Magazine, correspondent for Democracy Now! and author of the bestselling book, "Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army," about America's outsourcing of its military. In an exclusive interview with Counterpoint's Scott Harris on Sept. 16, 2013, Scahill talks about his latest book, "Dirty Wars, The World is a Battlefield," also made into a documentary film under the same title, and was nominated Dec. 5, 2013 for an Academy Award in the Best Documentary Feature category.

Listen to Scott Harris Live on WPKN Radio

Between The Lines' Executive Producer Scott Harris hosts a live, weekly talk show, Counterpoint, from which some of Between The Lines' interviews are excerpted. Listen every Monday evening from 8 to 10 p.m. EDT at www.WPKN.org (Follows the 5-7 minute White Rose Calendar.)

Counterpoint in its entirety is archived after midnight ET Monday nights, and is available for at least a year following broadcast in WPKN Radio's Archives.

You can also listen to full unedited interview segments from Counterpoint, which are generally available some time the day following broadcast.

Subscribe to Counterpoint bulletins via our subscriptions page.

BTL Blog

[an error occurred while processing this directive]

Special Programming

[an error occurred while processing this directive]

Progressive Resources

A compilation of activist and news sites with a progressive point of view

Share this content:

|

Subscribe to BTL

Podcasts: direct or via iTunes

Subscribe to Program Summaries, Interview Transcripts or Counterpoint via email or RSS feed

If you have other questions regarding subscriptions, feeds or podcasts/mp3s go to our Audio Help page.

Between The Lines Blog

Stay connected to BTL

Learn how to support our efforts!

Tweets by @BTLRadioNews

Russia's Deployment of Troops to Crimea Demands Diplomacy, Not Threats or Escalation

Posted March 5, 2014

Interview with David Kotz, professor of economics at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, conducted by Scott Harris

The celebrations of pro-European parties and activists reflecting on their successful ouster of Ukraine’s elected president, Viktor Yanukovich, were cut short when Russian troops reportedly had been deployed to the nation’s Crimean peninsula on Feb. 28. An unknown number of soldiers said to be Russian, wearing uniforms without insignia, surrounded Ukrainian military bases and the Crimean parliament. Simultaneously, pro-Russian Ukrainian groups organized protests in the country’s majority ethnic Russian cities in the east and south, expressing opposition to the defacto government that took power in Kiev after three months of an often bloody occupation that cost more than 85 lives.

While the Obama administration and its European Union allies threatened Russia with economic sanctions and a boycott of the upcoming Group of 8 economic summit in Sochi this summer, President Putin told the Russian media in Moscow on March 4 that the soldiers in the Crimea are not Russian, calling them, “local forces of self defense." He branded the overthrow of Ukraine’s government as an "unconstitutional coup" and said he hopes that Russia won't need to use force to protect the people of predominantly Russian-speaking eastern Ukraine. Earlier, the Kremlin announced that tens of thousands of Russian troops that had been participating in military exercises near Ukraine’s border had been ordered back to the their bases.

At the same time, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met with officials in Kiev, and announced $1 billion in American loan guarantees to assist the interim Ukrainian government. Between The Line’s Scott Harris spoke with David Kotz, professor of economics at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, who assesses the possible consequences of Russia's intervention in Crimea, the U.S.-European response and strategies for reducing tensions.

DAVID KOTZ: The Russian reaction was entirely predictable. I think, you have to ask, who made a mistake that led to this disastrous situation? And I’m afraid that has to be laid at the doorstep of the United States and the European Union, both of which encouraged what developed into an armed uprising against the elected president of Ukraine, despite the fact that the leadership of the uprising on the ground consisted of extreme nationalists who are very hostile to Russia and to Russians. Some of them are descended from a group that during World War II, during the Nazi occupation of the Soviet Union, worked with the Nazi occupiers. One of the first acts of this new parliament after the uprising in Ukraine was to end the official status of the Russian language, which is one of the two official languages of Ukraine, or had been. So once things arrived at that pass, and Russia was now facing a Ukraine that was being pulled from its position having relations both with the West and Russia – toward being completely taken into the Western alliance – I think it was inevitable that Russia was going to act.

I don’t think it was some master scheme on the part of Putin; I think it was an inevitable result of having Ukraine pulled in that direction by the West. You know, the EU agreement that Yanukovich had considered signing, but then did not sign at the last minute had two key features. One is it included harsh austerity measures that would have been very harmful for the Ukrainian people. But it also had a provision that stated that Ukraine would henceforth follow NATO in military policy. So this meant the major former Soviet states, right on the border of Russia, were going to be drawn into NATO. It was inevitable that Russia was going to react, and to see NATO as an anti-Russian force, and didn’t want to see it extend right to its border in a large state that had always been part of, or friendly to, Russia.

BETWEEN THE LINES: Professor, what do you think Vladimir Putin’s objectives are in sending troops to the Ukraine? Is it annexation or pressure to extract concessions from the new Ukrainian government in Kiev?

DAVID KOTZ: Nobody’s sure. One possibility is that Putin has stated that he favors keeping Ukraine independent in its present borders. Now, maybe he’s changed his mind; but one possibility is that by taking control of Crimea, which is overwhelmingly, I think Russian, it may be that he is trying to press the new government in Kiev to negotiate and to break its ties with the extreme right-wing nationalists.

The new government is not made up of these right-wing nationalists, but they played a leading role in the armed uprising and they have a lot of influence. I assume that’s why the parliament passed this very harmful anti-Russian language law. So perhaps Putin thinks once the new leaders realize that their actions are threatening the survival of the Ukraine state, that they will think twice and make it clear that they will respect the rights of ethnic Russians in eastern Ukraine and in Crimea. That’s one possibility.

BETWEEN THE LINES: Professor Kotz, when you look at the U.S. and European response to the Russian troops being deployed in Crimea, what do you make of the threats of economic sanctions against Russia, including a boycott of the G8 summit in Sochi this summer, and other things that are being talked about, such as deploying anti-missile systems to Poland and Romania earlier than had previously been agreed to? A lot of saber-rattling is going on right now. Is that productive?

DAVID KOTZ: I think it’s totally unproductive; I don’t know if anyone thinks it will have any impact on what Russia does in this situation. The fate of Ukraine is of essential importance to Russian policymakers, and it would be hard to believe that threats, the kind of threats being made, or that might plausibly be made and carried out, would change their actions in this.

It’s embarrassing the way the media has been treating this — as a match between two individuals, you know: Who will blink first? Obama and Putin. It’s being treated as this kind of "manhood" contest.

I think the right policy would be for the Obama administration to open negotiations with Russia to try to arrive at a compromise in which the Ukrainian government would clearly recognize the rights of all the people of Ukraine. I think that, with some kind of guarantees, for the rights of ethnic Russians as well as ethnic Ukrainians, I think that’s the way to solve the problem. Not saber-rattling, and everyone knows there's no sabers going to be drawn.

David Kotz is co-author of the book, "Russia's Path from Gorbachev to Putin: The Demise of the Soviet System and the New Russia." For more information on David Kotz's writings, visit people.umass.edu/dmkotz/KotzPapers.html.

CORRECTION/UPDATE: Extreme right-wing party activists have been appointed to key posts inside Ukraine's new interim government. See this article for details: "How the far-right took top posts in Ukraine power vacuum," March 5, 2014.