Ray McGovern

On Dialogue Works Friday, Nima and I tried to make some sense out of Trump’s behavior on Iran after three months of war. Also discussed: what Moscow’s reaction to killing of 21 students at the teachers college in Lugansk is likely to be over the near term.

Larry Johnson, Scott Ritter, and I discuss our Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS) Alert Memorandum, “Avoiding Catastrophic Failure in Cuba”, issued earlier on Friday:

https://consortiumnews.com/2026/05/29/vips-memo-avoiding-catastrophic-failure-in-cuba/

C.I.A. Director John Ratcliffe, President Donald Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Stephen Miller, deputy chief of staff for policy, monitoring U.S. military operations in Venezuela, from Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida, on Jan. 3, 2026. (White House /Molly Riley)

We also reviewed the bidding on Iran, Ukraine.

NATO’s Ukraine proxy war seeks to weaken Russia and topple Putin. To launch an economic, information and ground war, NATO needed Russia to invade. Now it needs Russia to attack a NATO nation to justify direct war. Sat. 8pm EDT.

WATCH: The World This Week — ‘Luring Russia into War’

NEARSIGHTED and ARMS FOLDED they waded knee deep in the Deep Muddy – this time Cuba. Before the US gets waist deep, and before “the big fool says to push on”, words of caution from a savvy former intelligence analyst of Latin America and 15 VIPS colleagues

https://consortiumnews.com/2026/05/29/vips-memo-avoiding-catastrophic-failure-in-cuba/

C.I.A. Director John Ratcliffe, President Donald Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Stephen Miller, deputy chief of staff for policy, monitoring U.S. military operations in Venezuela, from Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida, on Jan. 3, 2026. (White House /Molly Riley)

Can US blithely dismiss the possibility that Putin and Xi will rattle sabers — or worse, if US moves to “regime-change” Cuba? Might they opt to put some teeth in their rhetoric against “all unilateral acts of bullying”? Relevant context from the early 60s

CUBAN FIASCO II? Arthur Schlessinger report to JFK, 06/30/61: “…CIA analysts were not told of Bay of Pigs operation; not asked re likelihood Castro would fall; would have given “quite a different estimate.” https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/document/18285-national-security-archive-doc-02-memorandum READ THAT MEMO, Rubio!

Misleading title. My take: While Putin can be stern (and effective) with Trump when necessary, his overarching priority is to avoid risk of forcing on mercurial Trump a choice between “humiliating retreat or nuclear war” (to quote JFK’s warning after Cuba)

From foxnews.com

Memorial Day: “The making of peace is at least as costly as the making of war — at least as liable to bring disgrace & prison“ Dan Berrigan. So, if making peace today means prison that’s where we need to be. Are there enough prisons for all of us? NOT YET

https://consortiumnews.com/2010/122010a.html

The full truth be told, Iran did NOT stop working on a nuclear weapon in 2003. Iran had NEVER STARTED! TELL NO ONE! Widespread ignorance on this could allow Trump to claim he has now forced Iran to stop such work! Some background on Cuba at min 1:58:55 ff.

Gabbard Is Out. In sworn testimony she could not duck the fact that Trump lied on “imminent threat” fr Iran. AND she and Pam Bondi tried to hold accountable quintessential Deep State actors Comey, Brennan – driving two more nails in Gabbard & Bondi coffins