WASHINGTON – In case you missed it, last Thursday, April 6, U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, spoke at The Brookings Institution and engaged in a discussion with Brookings President Strobe Talbott on the topic of whether the United States is at war with Russia. The senator’s full remarks were posted in Brookings’ “Order from Chaos” blog. The blog post also includes the video of the speech and question-and-answer session with Mr. Talbott.
ORDER FROM CHAOS
Are we at war with Russia?
Chris Coons
Friday, April 7, 2017
In 1950, a National Intelligence Estimate delivered to President Harry Truman outlined two goals of the Soviet Union. First, “destruction of working unity among the Western countries and thereby isolation of the United States.” Second, “alienating the Western people from their governments” to undermine the strength of the Western democracies.
Nearly 70 years later, the Cold War is over, communism is widely discredited, and the international arena has fundamentally changed. Yet the regime of Vladimir Putin is achieving today what the Soviet Union set out to do in 1950, as described in that memo. It is destroying unity in the West, isolating the United States, and alienating the Western people from our governments.
Today, I’ll discuss the campaign the Russian government is waging against the United States and our European allies. This is not a new Cold War—it is a new type of war, one that is undeclared and waged using unconventional tools.
I am gravely concerned the United States is failing to see this challenge clearly and to respond effectively, and I think it’s important that I offer several specific suggestions for how Congress can take action.
Click here to read the Senator’s complete remarks on The Brookings Institution’s “Order from Chaos” blog.
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