Editor's note: Zach Battat is a junior editor for Global Brief and a PhD Candidate in Middle Eastern & African History at the Zvi Yavetz School of Historical Studies at Israel's Tel Aviv University. The article reflects the author's opinion, and not necessarily the views of CGTN.
According to the mainstream media, the ‘New Cold War' between America and Russia began in 2014, when Russia incorporated Crimea. While the incorporation did cause a further cooling of relations between Russia and America, the truth is relations never warmed enough to put an end to the Cold War in the first place. Instead of calling this another Cold War, we should refer to it as the “third part” of an ongoing Cold War.
The “first part” of the American–Russian Cold War began after the Reds defeated the Whites in the Russian Revolution of 1917. After a failed attempt by the Wilson Administration to help the Whites, the American government refused to recognize the new Soviet government.
The second part of the American-Russian Cold War had many episodes – from the proxy wars in Korea, Vietnam and Cuba (culminating with the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962) to the several attempts at détente by American and Soviet leaders.
A fence made of bombs dropped by US Air Force planes during the Vietnam War, is seen in the village of Ban Napia in Xieng Khouang province, Laos, Sept. 3, 2016. /VCG Photo
This third stage of the Cold War began in January 1993, when former Arkansas governor Bill Clinton was elected as America's 42nd President. The zealots that controlled the American foreign policy apparatus felt that Russia should implement a completely privatized “free-market” system, which completely disregarded Russia's history and what the Russian people really wanted.
Likewise, the majority of the political elite in Russia feel they cannot trust their American counterparts. This is because, contrary to what the Americans and the Soviets agreed upon, the zealots that control the American foreign policy class betrayed Russia on different occasions following the breakup of the Soviet Union.
In essence, the Kremlin felt that it was deceived. In fact, this is something both Putin and Medvedev have consistently said during their presidencies. While it may be seen as a betrayal, upon closer inspection it reveals itself as the Cold War mentality prevailing in Washington.
This continuing mentality can be seen in: NATO expansion under consecutive American administrations; unilateral withdrawals from treaties (such as the ABM Treaty); NATO military interventions in Russia's neighborhood (namely Serbia); and countless military excursions or “regime change” coups in the Middle East and Eastern Europe (such as Iraq, Libya, Georgia, Ukraine, and many others).
An Italian marine sniper aims from a helicopter towards the British Royal navy vessel named Echo, during the NATO Operation Sea Guardian in the Mediterranean sea, off the coast of Taranto, Italy Sept. 20, 2018. /VCG Photo
As a result of this overarching hegemonic foreign policy by the United States, there are now many hotspots in what is now seen as a New Cold War, in which the distrust of both countries has intensified, although, as we have seen, the roots of this conflict have been present for many years.
As a result, the Americans lost a major potential partner in addressing its most important national security matters including international terrorism, nuclear proliferation, climate change, cyber-security issues, and addressing other core national and international security concerns.
The zealots in Washington want this Cold War to persist for a variety of reasons, namely, to perpetuate the military-industrial complex and to prolong its military expenditure to demonstrate the fallacy that the United States is still the hegemony of the world. However, if this type of confrontational approach continues, the international community will be headed into uncharted territory.
As the current, embattled US President Donald Trump tries to improve US-Russian relations, zealots in his administration, nearly all of Congress, and the intelligence agencies (in the CIA, the NSA, and the FBI) are handcuffing him and forcing him to be confrontational with Russia via sanctions and other stumbling blocks that make it difficult to get out of this dangerous Cold War.
A digital screen displays foreign exchange rates outside an exchange bureau in Moscow, Russia, on Friday, Aug. 10, 2018. /VCG Photo
President Trump's policies are dangerous for America and the world, but his policy proposal to improve US-Russian relations is not. Thus, the zealots have now put this long-standing Cold War with Russia on the brink of a nuclear one. So, with all the policies that were implemented in the 1990s and that have continued into the 21st century, do the zealots in Washington really want this long-standing Cold War to end - even if it is at the expense of America's and the international community's national security?
Based on their actions, the answer seems to be a resounding no. Unless, of course, the American people hold their elected officials to account for their reckless actions that threatens their national security.
Following the latest round of American sanctions on Russia for alleged interference in the American 2016 Presidential Elections, Russian Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev said that the sanctions are nothing new for Russia because it has been sanctioned for the past 100 years.
He might be unpopular in Russia but he is right. Russia, in some manner or fashion, has been sanctioned for a full century by American administrations. With the “Russia frenzy” plaguing the West, it seems that the elites in America have once again chosen to be combative with Russia and escalate this longstanding cold war. At what point will they turn from endless cold war and brand Russia as its national security partner? For the sake of humanity, let's hope it's sooner rather than later.
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