Rick Sterling

This is the second part of a three-part series on our recent trip to Russia. Read part one. In May of this year, we took the long, 27-hour train ride from Moscow to Crimea to see how life is there and what the sentiment of the people are as the US and Ukraine sharpen their … Continue reading “What We Saw and Heard in Crimea”

At the end of April of this year, the two of us ventured together to Russia. We went with the purpose of fact-finding and also to make a point that we do not believe that Russia should be isolated from the world through sanctions and travel bans. At this moment, Russia is more isolated from … Continue reading “Journey to St. Petersburg, Moscow, and Crimea”

In 1975, Philip Agee published his book Inside the Company: CIA Diary. In the introduction he wrote,"When I joined the CIA, I believed in the need for its existence. After twelve years with the agency I finally understood how much suffering it was causing, that millions of people all over the world had been killed … Continue reading “Confessions of a CIA Terrorist”

Seventeen months ago the US State Department officially declared the US will "NEVER" recognize Crimea as part of Russia. Three months ago Ukrainian President Zelensky vowed to "take back" Crimea. Is this possible? In June 2016 I visited Crimea with a delegation from the Center for Citizen Initiatives (CCI). This is a US organization which … Continue reading “Why Zelensky Will NOT Take Back Crimea”

The following is an adapted version of the presentation made at the webinar "Connecting Dots" on 2.25.2023. Other speakers were Dr. Marwa Osman and Dr. Atif Kubursi. Introduction Syria has been at war since 2011. The conflict is in a stalemate. US troops control nearly a third of the country. The US finances the operation … Continue reading “How US Exceptionalism Has Spawned War in Ukraine and Syria”

We urgently need to spark a mass mobilization antiwar movement in North America. There have been good antiwar demonstrations in recent months, but they have been very limited. We need to rapidly expand tenfold. The Feb. 19 Rage Against the War Machine initiative, which is organized by a diverse group of antiwar forces, could do … Continue reading “Feb. 19: We Need a Huge Rage Against the War Machine”

In April 1967, Martin Luther King Jr. delivered an eloquent and stirring denunciation of the Vietnam war and US militarism. The speech titled "Beyond Vietnam" is relevant to today’s war in Ukraine. In the speech at Riverside Church, King talked about how the US had supported France in trying to re-colonize Vietnam. He noted, "Before … Continue reading “MLK: Beyond Vietnam to Ukraine”

In April 1965, U.S. President Lyndon Baines Johnson (LBJ) explained why he was escalating US involvement in Vietnam. With an Orwellian touch, LBJ titled the speech "Peace without Conquest" as he announced the beginning of US air attacks on Vietnam. He explained that "We must fight if we are to live in a world where … Continue reading “Lessons from Vietnam for Ukraine”

There are significant parallels between the international crises in Cuba in 1962 and Ukraine today. Both involved intense confrontations between the USA and the Soviet Union or Russia. Both involved third party countries on the doorstep of a major power. The Cuban Missile Crisis threatened to lead to WW3, just as the Ukraine crisis does … Continue reading “Handling International Crises: From JFK to Biden”

Zbigniew Brzezinski’s book The Grand Chessboard was published 25 years ago. His assumptions and strategies for maintaining U.S. global dominance have been hugely influential in US foreign policy. As the conflict in Ukraine evolves, with the potential of escalating into world war, we can see where this policy leads and how crucial it is to … Continue reading “Ukraine Is a Pawn on the Grand Chessboard”