America's Leading Russia Scholar: "Our Policy towards Russia Is Gravely Damaging Our National Security"

On Larry King's "Politicking", Stephen Cohen, a leading expert on Russia and contributing editor at The Nation, warned that Washington's hostile attitude towards Russia with regards to Ukraine is dangerous and damaging to American national security. 

Cohen's key points:

• Obama policy towards Russia is gravely damaging US national security in two ways:
  • The US is driving this new Cold War in a way that American kids and grandkids are going to pay the price
  • in international affairs the only essential partner America has for its own security is the person who sits in the Kremlin—whether it's Putin or somebody else
• The US can't really defend itself against international terrorism, nuclear proliferation, climate change, energy problems unless it works with Russia
• As a Nobel Peace Prize winner, Obama's foreign policy is extremely disappointing and takes after Clinton/Bush doctrines
• The US needs an entirely new conception of national security
• Reagan, the supreme Cold War president (remember "the evil empire" and building up the nuclear weapons), understood that America needed a Russian partner. Reagan was able to work with Gorbachev; they met each other halfway in an attempt to end the Cold War. They also abolished an entire class of nuclear weapons.