Ray McGovern: The Second Cold War is All About the Money
Geopolitics & Empire
Geopolitics & Empire
4.2 • 570 Ratings
🗓️ 9 March 2017
⏱️ 12 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Former CIA intelligence officer Ray McGovern provides his analysis of the Second Cold War between the United States and Russia and the threats created by the US-NATO overthrow of Ukraine and aggression on Russia’s border.
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About Ray McGovern
Ray McGovern was an Army infantry/intelligence officer and then served as a CIA analyst for 27 years, from the administration of John F. Kennedy to that of George H. W. Bush. Ray’s duties included chairing National Intelligence Estimates and preparing the President’s Daily Brief, which he briefed one-on-one to President Ronald Reagan’s five most senior national security advisers from 1981 to 1985.
In January 2003, Ray co-created Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS) to expose how intelligence was being falsified to “justify” war on Iraq.
A founder of Sam Adams Associates for Integrity in Intelligence ( samadamsaward.ch ), Ray was happy to be able, with former awardees Thomas Drake, Coleen Rowley, Jesselyn Radack, to present the annual award in 2013 to Edward Snowden.
Ray’s B.A. and M.A. degrees – both from Fordham University – are in Russian history, language, and literature, with minors in theology, philosophy, and classics. He has taught Russian as an adjunct at the University of Virginia. Ray also holds a Certificate in Theological Studies from Georgetown University and is a graduate of Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program.
A Catholic, Ray has been worshipping for many years with the ecumenical Church of the Saviour. He has been invited to lecture at various interfaith and ecumenical events around the U.S., and has preached during services at a number of Christian churches and Jewish synagogues.
Ray is fluent in Russian, German, and Spanish. He and his wife have been married 55 years; they have five children and nine grandchildren.
*Podcast intro music is from the song “The Queens Jig” by “Musicke & Mirth” from their album “Music for Two Lyra Viols”: http://musicke-mirth.de/en/recordings.html (available on iTunes or Amazon)
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is the second part of an interview with former CIA intelligence analyst Ray McGovern for the Geopolitics and Empire podcast. |
| 0:08.0 | Mr. McGovern was an analyst whose area of expertise includes Russia and he is fluent in Russian. |
| 0:14.0 | He gives us his analysis of the new Cold War. |
| 0:17.0 | Recently on the peace report, you gave an explanation very well of the U.S.-Russia missile defense |
| 0:24.0 | issue. |
| 0:25.6 | I believe we are undoubtedly in a second Cold War. |
| 0:29.9 | I may be going on a trip in May to Russia with a Citizens Peace Initiative to meet with |
| 0:36.8 | Russian politicians, with a group of American to meet with Russian politicians |
| 0:38.3 | with a group of American citizens. |
| 0:40.7 | Given that you are an old Cold Warrior, in a sense, |
| 0:43.9 | could you give us your view of what is currently going on |
| 0:46.6 | between USA and Russia and where this can lead us? |
| 0:50.8 | Sure. I prefer senior Cold Warrior. I don't like to be called old, even though I am old. |
| 0:58.4 | Are you going with Sharon Tennyson? |
| 1:00.9 | Yeah, that's the idea, yes. |
| 1:02.7 | That's wonderful. I was with a similar group last June, and we spent two wonderful, very instructive weeks traveling through Russia. |
| 1:13.1 | So I applaud your decision to go with that group, and you will doubtless come away |
| 1:19.1 | with impressions that differ markedly from what you hear in the West. |
| 1:24.2 | Well, suffice it to say that my academic training, my graduate degree, my major undergraduate |
| 1:31.8 | and graduate was Russian studies. |
| 1:34.3 | I taught Russian for a while, and after my Army service of two years in the early 60s, I joined |
| 1:41.5 | the Central Intelligence Agency as the principal analyst on Russian foreign policy. |
... |
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