American-Russian alliance. Persons and Centers

The Council on Foreign and Defense Policy

The Council on Foreign and Defense Policy (CFDP), formed in 1992, is a nonpartisan organization whose activities are guided by the principles of democratic values, the pursuit of the public interest, accountability, open dialogue, and an objective approach to policy issues.

It places a high priority on integrity and professional competence, reflected in the work of highly qualified and knowledgeable experts from numerous fields. These individuals have close contacts with principal research centers, policy making bodies, business entities, and political parties, and have an intimate knowledge of domestic politics and decision making processes.

The Council is one of the very few if not the only association of the civil society in Russia which served for so long and is still actively functioning.

The Council conducts studies and makes recommendations on foreign and defense policies of the Russian Federation . This includes the following activities:

Exploring Russian national interests, priorities, and policy options;
Developing and assessing new strategic concepts and innovative approaches;
Promoting public information, education, and discussion on security, foreign, and defense policy issues; and
Making specific recommendations based on its studies.

Organization

The Council on Foreign and Defense Policy is directed by an Assembly of over 120 members ╬ prominent figures in government, business, academia, and the mass media. The Presidium of the Council, headed by a Chairman and composed of 14 persons in these fields, is elected by the Assembly and is responsible for general oversight and decision making. An Executive Director, selected by the Presidium, oversees the everyday activities of the Council and appoints an Executive Committee, subject to the approval of the Presidium. The Council works with a small permanent staff and a number of temporary staff supplied by supporting companies and institutes.

Council Activities

Council activities focus on the following areas:

Developing various forms of cooperation among politicians, businessmen, academicians, the military, and representatives of the mass media;
Research on the national interests of the Russian Federation , including those related to its foreign and defense policies, and promoting a national political consensus in these areas;
Encouraging sound decision making in the areas of foreign policy, military reform, and the security of the individual and society;
Considering effective and flexible mechanisms of coordination and cooperation in the areas of national and international security among the newly independent states and between them and other foreign states;
Supporting research, innovative ideas, and the international exchange of experiences in the fields of defense industry conversion, the development and reorganization of military forces and security services, the adaptation and integration of uniformed services personnel into civil society, and civilian political control over the military and security establishments; and
Facilitating international dialogue and understanding in sensitive areas of foreign and defense policy by fostering direct contacts and joint cooperation between members of the Council and interested foreign organizations and individuals.

Yearly the Council organizes approximately 50 to 60 meetings of various formats.

News

01:11 PM, September 3 Middle East peace talks begin in Washington

02:03 PM, September 2 U.S. criticizes Russia for arrests during rallies on Aug. 31

11:08 AM, September 2 Three more GLONASS satellites put into orbit

11:06 AM, September 1 Iraqi mission over, U.S. to address domestic problems - Obama

12:35 PM, August 31 Barak to head to Moscow to prevent missile sale to Syria

Geopolitics

WWII and the burden of memory

Konstantin Bogdanov

The Second World War formally ended on September 2, 1945 with Japan’s surrender. There is a popular saying that a war is over when the last soldiers killed are buried. With WWII, however, things aren’t so simple.

The Second World War was a beast born of WWI, known in Europe as the Great War. Some alternative historians see them as two phases in the same war, separated by a fragile truce. This seems logical: For thirty years, the world tried to destroy itself in trenches and gas chambers, at logging sites and in slums blighted by misery and unemployment. It measured the shapes of skulls and class distinctions, and meticulously calculated the percentage of Jewish or Japanese blood in people destined for death camps or internment camps.

Security

North-Atlantic post-soviet alliance

Vladimir Mukhin

The Commonwealth is entering a period of geopolitical struggle with NATO and the United States for control over the territory of the erstwhile Soviet Union and nearby countries. The Alliance mounted an energetic campaign to enlist the services of post- Soviet republics in performance of its own military-political missions in the region. Russia’s geopolitical interests are in danger. Outperformed at every turn, the international structures it established in the region (CIS Collective Security Treaty Organization or CSTO and Shanghai Cooperation Organization) become virtual.

Exercise Peace Mission’2010 of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization is to be launched in Kazakhstan on September 10. There appear to be no particular reason to run the exercise save for the necessity to show that the Shanghai Cooperation Organization is still there.

Business

Fears grow over global food supply

Javier Blas, Courtney Weaver, Simon Mundy

Russia announced a 12-month extension of its grain export ban on Thursday, raising fears about a return to the food shortages and riots of 2007-08 which spread through developing countries dependent on imports.

The announcement by Vladimir Putin came as the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation called an emergency meeting to discuss the wheat shortage, and riots in Mozambique left seven dead.

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The Council on Foreign and Defense Policy