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The USA is waging economic, financial, trade, and political war against Russia and even kinetic war-by-proxy in the Ukraine. Worryingly, nobody in power in the USA or Europe really seems willing to tell us exactly why. From the Russian point of view, everything from its plunging rouble to bitter sanctions to the falling price of oil is the USA’s fault, either directly or indirectly. Whether that’s fair is irrelevant; that’s the Russian POV now. Therefore, no surprise, it doesn’t dispose them toward goodwill negotiations with the West generally and the USA specifically. Until the arrest Monday of an alleged Russian spy in the Bronx, the anti-Russian stance in the American media had quieted down significantly, presumably, as the political leadership moved its attention on to other things, leaving Russia largely out of the American news cycle. Throughout, though, there continued to be plenty of serious action taking place in Russia and the Ukraine… including what one could describe as a re-escalation of the conflict in Novorossiya… as well as related activity in the USA deserving of our careful attention.
The USA (via John Kerry) and NATO steadily accused Russia of having funnelled hundreds of tanks, APCs, and other heavy equipment to the Novorossiyan forces. These assertions bring to mind the Sherlock Holmes case of the dog that didn’t bark, where the absence of a piece of evidence leads us to a very different conclusion than the one the American political establishment would like us to believe. The sorts of weaponry that NATO and the USA charged Russia with providing are virtually impossible to hide from the air. Snapping high-resolution photos of such war machinery is child’s play for today’s military satellites, and even civilian ones too. If the assertions were true, we should’ve seen a flood of photographs of Russian heavy equipment every step of the way as it passed into the Ukraine. However, no one offered such, not even one so far. Moreover, the simplest explanation for this is that none exists. If they did, you can be 100 percent certain that the US government would’ve released them and had them replayed repeatedly on CNN until everybody and their uncle could distinguish a T-72 tank from a T-64.
What concerns me even more than these undocumented charges are two especially ill-conceived, if not overtly confrontational, pieces of legislation passed by Congress in December. The first is H.Res 758, passed on 4 December, which, amongst other charges, accused Russia of having invaded the Ukraine, again without providing or referring to any sort of evidence photographic or otherwise. Entitled “Strongly condemning the actions of the Russian Federation, under President Vladimir Putin, which has carried out a policy of aggression against neighbouring countries aimed at political and economic domination” the resolution has a variety of one-sided assertions and leaves no diplomatic wiggle room for the possibility that Russia sees what’s transpired in the Ukraine differently. According to Ron Paul, these sorts of resolutions are dangerous because they politically commit the American political structure to rigid stances that’re politically difficult to back down from; historically, they’ve been a stepping stone on the path to war.
On 11 December, the Senate passed the Ukraine Freedom Support Act of 2014, or S.2828. This goes even further than merely condemning Russia; it authorises distributing both lethal and non-lethal military aid to Kiev, including sniper and assault rifles, mortars and shells, stinger missiles, anti-tank missiles, night vision goggles, radar systems, and a host of other hardware items. If we turned the tables around, if it were Russian lawmakers passing a resolution condemning the USA for a variety of international crimes for which they offered exactly zero proof, then, actively armed a dangerous conflict right on the American border, I think we all know just how ablaze with indignity the American political leadership would be, and rightly so.
Therefore, it isn’t surprising that Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Aleksandr Lukashevich said in response, “Both houses of the US Congress approved the Ukraine Freedom Support Act bypassing debates and proper voting. The overtly confrontational message of the new law can’t but evoke profound regret. Once again, Washington levels baseless sweeping accusations against Russia and threatens more sanctions”. The bizarre part of this story is that I can’t yet find any credible analysis or commentary explaining exactly what American interests in the Ukraine are so compelling as to risk increasing confrontation with Russia. Moreover, it bothers a great many analysts that the USA is on an increasingly combative course with yet another country without providing any evidence in support of its accusations and actions… again.
In response, Russia is rapidly withdrawing from additional dialogue with the USA and Europe, drawing ever closer to China, Turkey, and India. Russians feel that they’re already under siege from the USA, and that the USA has already committed acts of war. Despite being almost completely out of the American news cycle, events are in and around the Ukraine situation are actually picking up pace. On 15 January, junta strongman Poroshenko signed a decree mobilising 50,000 new servicemen to the front lines, whilst Russia announced that Europe would have to accept gas via Turkey, it’s shutting down the route through the Ukraine. This situation remains much more fluid and nuanced than the Western media is telling us, with much more to this story than a short column allows, those interested in delving deeper can read our latest report here.
In short, the situation is getting more strained, not less, and it has the very real chance of blossoming into something far larger and more deadly than the sparse coverage in the Western press might imply. If it looks like a war, acts like a war and smells like a war, it may just be a war. These events should concern everyone greatly, but especially European readers.
20 January 2015
Chris Martenson
MarketWatch
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/perhaps-you-missed-it-were-at-war-with-russia-2015-01-20
Voices from Russia 
Russia Has Western Enemies, Not Partners
Tags: Barack Obama, civil unrest, Crimea, diplomacy, diplomatic relations, EU, European Union, George W. Bush, mass media, media, Media bias, political commentary, politics, Russia, Russian, Russian diplomacy, Sergei Lavrov, Ukraine, Ukrainian Civil War, United States, United States House of Representatives, US House of Representatives, US media, USA, Viktor Yanukovich, Vladimir Putin, war and conflict, Western media
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The US House of Representatives joined Hillary Clinton, Obama, the neoconservatives, Washington’s vassals, and the American and European presstitutes in demonising Russia and President Putin. The House resolution against Russia is a packet of lies, but that didn’t stop the resolution from passing by a vote of 411 for it and 10 against it. The entire world should take note that the American people are capable of electing only ten intelligent representatives. Ten people out of 435 is 2 percent. Yet, Washington declares itself “exceptional” and “indispensable”, empowered to exercise hegemony over the world!
No one should be surprised to see Washington, its presstitutes and European vassal states using the same propagandistic lies against Russia and Putin as were used against Iraq and Saddam Hussein, Libya and Gaddafi, Syria and Assad, Afghanistan and the Taliban, and Iran. Washington is fearful of the rise of Russia and China, of the leadership demonstrated by V V Putin, of the formation of new organisations independent of Washington, such as the BRICS. When its “six week, 70 billion USD war”, which turned out to be, so far, a multi-trillion dollar 13-year losing operation, side-tracked the George W Bush régime, Putin kicked out some of the American agents who were contaminating Russian sovereignty and rebuilt the country.
When Putin blocked the planned American invasions of Syria and Iran, Washington decided that it had to do something about Putin and Russia. Washington spent 5 billion dollars buying Ukrainian politicians and funding fifth column NGOs. With Putin distracted with the Olympics, Washington struck, overthrew the elected Ukrainian government, and installed its puppets. The puppets set about antagonising the Russian population in the Ukraine. These provinces were formerly Russian, but Soviet leaders attached them to the Ukraine when Russia and the Ukraine were the same country. Naturally, Russians threatened with death and the banning of their language didn’t want to be victims of Washington’s puppet government in Kiev. Crimea voted to reunite with Russia from whence it came, and so did the eastern and southern provinces. Washington and its vassals and presstitutes lied, describing these acts of self-determination as Russian invasion and annexation. They falsely accused Russia of having troops occupying the breakaway (sic) provinces.
The purpose of Washington’s false accusations is to destabilise Russia and the country’s government. Washington has many avenues by which to destabilise Russia. Washington has American-funded NGOs, foreign-owned Russian media, and the House Resolution calls for Washington to expand propaganda broadcasting into Russia in the Russian language. Washington cultivated oligarchs, business interests, and Russian politicians who see their economic and political interests aligned with the West. There are deluded Russian youths who think freedom resides in the West, and others represented by such as Pussy Riot who prefer the West’s amorality or immorality to the local Russian government-supported Christian culture.
If Washington fails to destabilise Russia or assassinate Putin, frustration could result in it showing more reckless behaviour, which could lead to military conflict. The House Resolution calls on Obama to arm the Ukraine with American weapons so that the Ukraine can conquer the separatist (sic) provinces and take back the Crimea. There are constant calls from NATO itself for more military forces on Russia’s borders, and NATO conducts war games near Russia’s borders. Washington wants to include former Russian provinces like Georgia and Ukraine in NATO, something that Russia can’t accept. Washington is placing the world on the path to Armageddon, as Professor Michel Chossudovsky makes clear in Towards a World War III Scenario (Global Research, 2012).
The Russian government downplays the dangers and continues to speak of “our Western partners”, with whom the Russian government hopes to work things out. The Russian government and the Russian people… indeed, all the peoples of the earth… should understand that Russia has no partners in the West. Russia only has enemies. Washington makes it completely clear that Russia can be part of the West only as a vassal state and not as a sovereign country with its own interests and an independent policy. Washington’s demand for hegemony doesn’t permit the existence of other sovereign countries sufficiently strong to resist Washington’s will. As the ideology of hegemony has a powerful hold on Washington and is institutionalised in the neoconservative control of critical government offices and media, war is the almost certain outcome.
Washington’s puppet rulers of Europe are the enablers of the neoconservative warmongers. In all of Europe, no government is independent of Washington. Pawns like Merkel, Cameron, and Hollande sell out human life. Russian government officials, such as Putin and Lavrov, address the facts, but to Washington and its European vassals, facts aren’t important. What’s important is to destabilise Russia. One can’t address the conflict that Washington brings to Russia on a factual basis. Washington knew that Saddam Hussein had no weapons of mass destruction and no al-Qaeda connections. Washington knew that Assad didn’t use chemical weapons. Washington knew that it was setting up Gaddafi with lies. Washington knows that Iran has no nuclear weapons. What was important to Washington wasn’t the truth, but the overthrow of these governments. Whilst the Olympics preoccupied the Russian government, Washington struck in the Ukraine, installing a puppet government. It’s likely that the only solution that can make the festering problem of the Ukraine go away is the reincorporation of the Ukraine in Russia.
Usually, arrogance and hubris result in overreach, and overreach could break up Washington’s empire. However, Washington doesn’t think so. Just as Washington put its NGOs into the streets of Kiev in what it calls the Maiden protests, Washington put its NGOs in the streets of Hong Kong, hoping that the protests or riots would spread to other Chinese cities. Russia and China are far too open to the West than is good for them. Tsar Nikolai didn’t expect his government to be overthrown, but Kerensky did overthrow Nicholas’ government in the February Revolution… only to be overthrown by Lenin in the October Revolution. The Chinese don’t expect to be overthrown, but neither did V F Yanukovich. Political life is full of ambitious persons and agendas. Putin faces these ambitions in Russia. Washington knows that it can’t turn Russia into a vassal state as long as Putin is in office. Therefore, the demonisation of Putin and plots against him will continue.
6 December 2014
Paul Craig Roberts
The Greanville Post
http://www.greanvillepost.com/2014/12/06/russia-has-western-enemies-not-partners/
Editor:
One should heed Mr Robert’s books, The Failure of Laissez Faire Capitalism and Economic Dissolution of the West and How America Was Lost. You’ll know why I’m such a bitter foe of Victor Potapov, Alexander Webster, Terry Mattingly, Freddie M-G, Rod Dreher, John Whiteford, Jonas Paffhausen, and Patrick Reardon. Those named want to ally the Church with the godless forces of American neoconservatism… a force that wants to rip apart Holy Rus and tear it asunder as it’s torn asunder the Ukraine, Georgia, the Baltic States, Yugoslavia, and Iraq.
It’s one thing for godless Evangelicals to ally themselves with the neocons… their “faith” is nothing more than a religious apologia for American juvenile rebellion and social anarchy. It’s quite another for Orthodox people to do so… we have a communitarian pro-state ethos entirely at odds with the Republican Party, laissez-faire crapitalism, and Evangelical Feel-Good pabulum (“Giving your heart to Jesus”… what asinine unscriptural rot!).
We should face down those of our own who want to bring in alien and heterodox elements into our ancient faith. We can’t afford them or their toddler social, political, and religious ideologies. It’s “put up or shut up” time… but shall we do it though?
BMD