Nuland Endorses Moldova’s Most Hated Politician

Hmm…. this all sounds very familiar. First, the staid New York Times piece: These days, however, it is a different photograph that is rallying support for Moscow’s allies in Europe’s Poorest Country™. It shows a United States assistant secretary of state, Victoria J. Nuland, standing shoulder-to-shoulder in Washington with Vlad Plahotniuc, Moldova’s most-feared figure, a nominally pro-Western tycoon with a reputation so toxic that even … Continue reading Nuland Endorses Moldova’s Most Hated Politician

USA + RM = BFF 4EVR!!!

Awww, isn’t that sweet? The American embassy in Moldova hung a little corny sign written in Comic Sans font to say how much they “love” Moldova. In fact, they love Moldova so much that they’re sending in the military: Seventeen generals and admirals and one civilian member of the senior executive service from the Department of Defense are visiting Chisinau from 12 to 16 Feb … Continue reading USA + RM = BFF 4EVR!!!

Dreaming Overtaking Reality

Oh my. This morning I woke up to read this: Socialist Party chairman Igor Dodon accused Washington of pressing for the “terrible scenario” of the unification of Moldova and Romania and urged a return “home” of tiny, politically fraught Moldova “back in the U.S.S.R.” through membership of the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union. Well, no. Let’s not forget that Radio “Free” Europe (which wrote the above … Continue reading Dreaming Overtaking Reality

Investigating the DNA

Word Count: 2854 Ever since Victoria Nuland decided to discuss the re-instatement of Laura Codruta Kovesi as head of the DNA (the National Anti-Corruption Directorate) last week, I started asking myself, “What do we really know about this agency?”. The short answer is: not a whole hell of a lot. Everyone (who hates corruption that is) is cheered on by the DNA’s impressive statistics. After … Continue reading Investigating the DNA

The Beatification of Laura Codruta Kovesi

Word Count: 2681 Over the past few days, I’ve been keeping a sharp eye on Victoria Nuland, the tip of the spear of America’s policy in this region. In her speech at the American Embassy on Monday (still not on the Embassy’s website), Nuland had plenty to say on a number of topics, including the much-lauded DNA (the anti-corruption prosecution unit of the Romanian justice … Continue reading The Beatification of Laura Codruta Kovesi