the conglomerate of neoliberal, neoconservative, progressive factions, defending the kiev scm with its krushjev knitted borders, that rule the 'west' is dangerous, illogical, and inept at 'real politik' whether ruled by thucydides, sun tzu or kissinger.
in short these have no business with the keys to the minuteman......
Summary: China's top diplomat meets Putin, signals new agreements; Biden says NATO will not be divided;Russia reports advance in east, Ukraine says front line holds
MOSCOW/WARSAW, Feb 22 (Reuters) - China pledged a deeper partnership with Russia on Wednesday as U.S. President Joe Biden reaffirmed security assurances for NATO's "frontline" eastern members, highlighting global tensions as the anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine approaches.
However, a day after President Vladimir Putin said Moscow was suspending participation in a nuclear arms reduction treaty with Washington, his deputy foreign minister sought to calm nerves, saying the step did not make a nuclear war more likely.
Within Ukraine, schools took their classes online for the rest of the week for fear of an upsurge in Russian missile attacks a year on from Moscow's Feb. 24 all-out assault, which failed to topple the government and has long been bogged down.
Wang Yi, the highest ranking Chinese official to visit Russia since the countries announced a "no limits" partnership weeks before the invasion, told Putin that Beijing was ready to enhance ties.
Putin said he was looking forward to a visit to Moscow by Chinese President Xi Jinping and a deeper partnership.
Xi is expected to make a "peace speech" on Friday, but Kyiv says there can be no talk of peace while Russian troops are in Ukraine.
"This unprovoked and criminal Russian war against Ukraine, Europe and the democratic world must end with the cleansing of the entire Ukrainian land from Russian occupation and solid guarantees of the long-term security for our state, the whole of Europe and the entire world," President Volodymyr Zelenskiy wrote on the Telegram messaging app.
Russia is due to begin military exercises with China in South Africa on Friday and has sent a frigate equipped with new generation hypersonic cruise missiles. A Russian officer said on Wednesday Russia would fire artillery, but not the missiles, whose speed makes them difficult to shoot down.
Russian aggression in Ukraine has changed the security situation in Europe, Polish President Andrzej Duda told the Warsaw meeting of nine eastern NATO members with Biden, who said Washington was committed to defending every inch of the alliance's territory.
"You are the front line of our collective defence," Biden told the summit of countries which joined the Western military alliance after being aligned with Moscow during the Cold War.
Most now count among the strongest supporters of military aid to Ukraine and in a joint declaration called for NATO's enhanced presence on its eastern flank.
NUCLEAR TREATY SUSPENDED
Putin has responded to setbacks in Ukraine with veiled threats to use nuclear weapons and suspended the nuclear arms control treaty on Tuesday, accusing Washington of turning the war into a global conflict by arming Ukraine.
Russia's foreign and defence ministries said later Moscow would still continue abiding by the restrictions outlined in the pact on the number of nuclear warheads it could have deployed and the number of nuclear missile carriers. Russia's lower house of parliament rubber-stamped the move Wednesday.
Tension over Ukraine had already halted mutual inspections of nuclear arsenals envisaged by the treaty, but Biden said that by suspending the treaty, Putin had "made a mistake".
He underlined his support for Kyiv in a surprise visit to war-torn Ukraine on Monday and then rallied NATO allies in Poland, saying the invasion had tested the world but Washington and its allies had shown they would defend democracy.
He rejected Russia's assertion that the West was seeking to control or destroy Russia, and accused Moscow of crimes against humanity such as targeting civilians and rape. Russia denies committing war crimes or deliberately attacking civilians.
NATO allies and other supporters have sent Ukraine tens of billions of dollars worth of arms and ammunition. Since the new year they have promised modern battle tanks, though they have yet to offer Western fighter jets sought by Kyiv.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has warned Beijing against supplying weapons to Moscow, prompting anger from China.
Britain has begun to "warm up" its production lines to replace weapons sent to Ukraine and increase production of artillery shells to try to help Kyiv push back Russian forces, defence minister Ben Wallace said.
Speaking in southwest England where British officers are training Ukrainian crews on Challenger-2 tanks, Wallace said Challenger tanks would arrive in Ukraine in "the spring".
FIGHTING
Russia suffered three major battlefield setbacks in Ukraine last year but still holds nearly a fifth of the country. It has launched a massive offensive in recent weeks in the east, so far making only marginal gains despite some heavy losses.
Ukraine's military said Bakhmut city, the focus of Russian advances in the eastern region of Donetsk, came under shelling, along with 20 other settlements in the area.
The governor of the neighbouring Luhansk region, Serhiy Haidai, said Ukraine had repelled intense Russian attacks around Kreminna town further north, destroying several of their tanks.
Two civilians were killed in Russian shelling of the Kherson region in southern Ukraine, and two were wounded in a missile strike on the northeastern city of Kharkiv, officials said.
Reuters was not able to independently verify the reports.
The biggest land war in Europe since World War Two has displaced millions, left cities, towns and villages in ruins and disrupted the global economy. The U.N. rights office has recorded more than 8,000 civilians killed, a figure it describes as the "tip of the iceberg".
When the United States blew up the Nord Stream Pipelines on September 26, it committed an Act of War against the owners, operators, and particularly, the customers of the infrastructure delivering Russian natural gas to Western Europe, particularly in Germany.
In NORD STREAM: WHAT HERSH GOT WRONG, Mike Whitney notes in his critique of Seymour Hersh’s report on the Pipeline destruction:
As reported by Hersh, the operation was ordered by US President Joe Biden and planned by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan.
Hersh wrote: “Biden’s DECISION TO SABOTAGE THE PIPELINES CAME AFTER MORE THAN NINE MONTHS OF HIGHLY SECRET BACK AND FORTH DEBATE INSIDE WASHINGTON’S NATIONAL SECURITY COMMUNITY ABOUT HOW TO BEST ACHIEVE THAT GOAL. FOR MUCH OF THAT TIME, THE ISSUE WAS NOT WHETHER TO DO THE MISSION, BUT HOW TO GET IT DONE WITH NO OVERT CLUE AS TO WHO WAS RESPONSIBLE.”
Whitney then asks:
“NINE MONTHS”?
The war broke out on February 24. The pipeline was blown up on September 26. THAT’S SEVEN MONTHS. So, if there were “more than nine months of highly secret back and forth debate inside Washington’s national security community about how to” “sabotage the pipelines” THEN WE MUST ASSUME THE SCHEMING PRECEEDED THE WAR.
This is a crucial point, and yet Hersh skims over it like it’s ‘no big deal’. But it is a big deal because it blows apart the entire narrative of US involvement in the war as a response to “unprovoked Russian aggression.”
In other words, IT PROVES THAT THE UNITED STATES WAS PLANNING TO ENGAGE IN ACTS OF WAR AGAINST RUSSIA REGARDLESS OF DEVELOPMENTS IN UKRAINE. IT ALSO SUGGESTS THAT THE RUSSIAN INVASION WAS MERELY A COVER FOR WASHINGTON TO EXECUTE A PLAN THAT IT HAD MAPPED OUT YEARS EARLIER.
Which raises a very interesting point: Wasn’t Russia’s SMO launched a year ago Friday so very, Very convenient?
But the biggest failing of the Hersh piece is the complete omission of the geopolitical context in which this act of terrorism took place.
The US doesn’t go around the world blowing up critical energy infrastructure for nothing. No.
The reason Washington embarked on this risky gambit was because it is facing AN EXISTENTIAL CRISIS THAT CAN ONLY BE RESOLVED BY CRUSHING THOSE EMERGING CENTERS OF POWER THAT THREATEN AMERICA’S DOMINANT POSITION IN THE GLOBAL ORDER. That’s what’s going on below the surface; the US is trying to roll back the clock to the glorious 1990’s after the Soviet empire had collapsed and the world was Washington’s oyster.
BUT THOSE DAYS ARE GONE FOREVER AND US POWER IS IRREVERSIBLY ERODING DUE TO ITS BASIC LACK OF COMPETITIVENESS. If the US was still the industrial powerhouse it was following WW2—when the rest of the world was in ruins—then there would be no need to blow up pipelines to prevent European-Russian economic integration and the emergence of a massive free trade zone spanning the area from Lisbon to Vladivostok .
But the fact is, THE US IS NOT AS ESSENTIAL TO GLOBAL GROWTH AS IT ONCE WAS and, besides, other nations want to be free to pursue their own growth model. They want to implement the changes that best fit their own culture, their own religion and their own traditions. They don’t want to be told what to do. BUT WASHINGTON DOESN’T WANT CHANGE. WASHINGTON WANTS TO PRESERVE THE SYSTEM BESTOWS THE GREATEST AMOUNT OF POWER AND WEALTH ON ITSELF.
Hersh does not simply ignore the geopolitical factors that led to the sabotage, he proactively creates a smokescreen with his misleading explanations. Check it out: “As long as Europe remained dependent on the pipelines for cheap natural gas, Washington was afraid that countries like Germany would be reluctant to supply Ukraine with the money and weapons it needed to defeat Russia. It was at this unsettled moment that Biden authorized Jake Sullivan to bring together an interagency group to come up with a plan.”
More baloney. Washington doesn’t care about Germany’s pathetic contribution to the war effort. WHAT WASHINGTON CARES ABOUT IS POWER; PURE, UNALLOYED POWER. AND WASHINGTON’S GLOBAL POWER WAS BEING DIRECTLY CHALLENGED BY EUROPEAN-RUSSIAN ECONOMIC INTEGRATION AND THE CREATION OF A GIANT ECONOMIC COMMONS BEYOND ITS CONTROL.
AND THE NORD STREAM PIPELINE WAS AT THE VERY HEART OF THIS NEW BUSTLING PHENOM. IT WAS THE MAIN ARTERY CONNECTING THE RAW MATERIALS AND LABOR OF THE EAST WITH THE TECHNOLOGY AND INDUSTRY OF THE WEST. IT WAS A MARRIAGE OF MUTUAL INTERESTS THAT WASHINGTON HAD TO DESTROY TO MAINTAIN ITS GRIP ON REGIONAL POWER.
Think about it: This new economic commons, (“Greater Europe”) would eventually ease trade and travel restrictions, allow the free flow of capital and labor between countries, and harmonize regulations in a way that would build trust and strengthen diplomatic ties. Here’s more from an earlier piece that sums it up:
IN A WORLD WHERE GERMANY AND RUSSIA ARE FRIENDS AND TRADING PARTNERS, THERE IS NO NEED FOR US MILITARY BASES, NO NEED FOR EXPENSIVE US-MADE WEAPONS AND MISSILE SYSTEMS, AND NO NEED FOR NATO. THERE’S ALSO NO NEED TO TRANSACT ENERGY DEALS IN US DOLLARS OR TO STOCKPILE US TREASURIES TO BALANCE ACCOUNTS. TRANSACTIONS BETWEEN BUSINESS PARTNERS CAN BE CONDUCTED IN THEIR OWN CURRENCIES WHICH IS BOUND TO PRECIPITATE A SHARP DECLINE IN THE VALUE OF THE DOLLAR AND A DRAMATIC SHIFT IN ECONOMIC POWER.
This is why the Biden administration opposed Nord Stream. IT’S NOT JUST A PIPELINE, IT’S A WINDOW INTO THE FUTURE; A FUTURE IN WHICH EUROPE AND ASIA ARE DRAWN CLOSER TOGETHER INTO A MASSIVE FREE TRADE ZONE THAT INCREASES THEIR MUTUAL POWER AND PROSPERITY WHILE LEAVING THE US ON THE OUTSIDE LOOKING IN.”
Again: When the United States blew up the Nord Stream Pipelines on September 26, it committed an ACT OF WAR against the owners, operators, and particularly, the customers of the infrastructure delivering Russian natural gas to Western Europe, particularly in Germany.
And it is absolutely no surprise at all that Washington denied ~ and its Media either totally ignored or dismissed ~ Hersh’s allegations.
After all, when Hersh released his report on the 8th, America was still in quite a tizzy after the February 4 downing of the Chinese “Spy” Balloon via $400,000 Sidewinder missile, and mesmerized by scenes of death and distraction from the Earthquake in Syria and Turkey on the 6th.
And then along came those “Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena” shot down with three more $400,000 Sidewinder missiles over Alaska, Canada, and Lake Huron on the 10th, 11th, and 12th, respectively. Throw in the 12th being Super Bowl Sunday, and it’s not hard to see why Hersh’s report got little coverage.
Except, that is, dutifully reporting the White House’s, the CIA’s, and other reliable sources rejection and denunciation of it.
But even if Hersh had released his report on the slowest, dullest, quietest news week of the year, one can bet the ranch that it would have still been ignored by our News, Views, and Infotainment Matrix, whose sole function is to keep the minds of Americans focused on what America’s Ruling Political Class wants it to stay focused on.
One question that immediately comes to mind: Is an Act of War ordered by a President without a Congressional Declaration of War an impeachable offense? It has never been in the past, but with Election2024 just down the road and talk of “National Divorce” in the air, this time it might be different, eh?
And then ~ without letting American politicians and bureaucrats, or her pundits and propagandists influence You ~ decide for Yourself which one of those two leaders is Full of Shit.
Except our leaders won't be out in the open during a nuclear attack. They will be in their multi-million dollar bunkers. We on the other hand will be out in the open.
the conglomerate of neoliberal, neoconservative, progressive factions, defending the kiev scm with its krushjev knitted borders, that rule the 'west' is dangerous, illogical, and inept at 'real politik' whether ruled by thucydides, sun tzu or kissinger.
in short these have no business with the keys to the minuteman......
“Oceania is at war with Eurasia and Eastasia… . Oceania has always been at war with Eurasia and Eastasia…” :
CHINA, RUSSIA DEEPEN TIES AS BIDEN RALLIES NATO'S 'FRONTLINE' OVER UKRAINE by Guy Faulconbridge and Nandita Bose / Reuters 022223 https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/putin-suspends-nuclear-pact-biden-says-support-ukraine-will-not-waver-2023-02-21/
Summary: China's top diplomat meets Putin, signals new agreements; Biden says NATO will not be divided;Russia reports advance in east, Ukraine says front line holds
MOSCOW/WARSAW, Feb 22 (Reuters) - China pledged a deeper partnership with Russia on Wednesday as U.S. President Joe Biden reaffirmed security assurances for NATO's "frontline" eastern members, highlighting global tensions as the anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine approaches.
However, a day after President Vladimir Putin said Moscow was suspending participation in a nuclear arms reduction treaty with Washington, his deputy foreign minister sought to calm nerves, saying the step did not make a nuclear war more likely.
Within Ukraine, schools took their classes online for the rest of the week for fear of an upsurge in Russian missile attacks a year on from Moscow's Feb. 24 all-out assault, which failed to topple the government and has long been bogged down.
Wang Yi, the highest ranking Chinese official to visit Russia since the countries announced a "no limits" partnership weeks before the invasion, told Putin that Beijing was ready to enhance ties.
Putin said he was looking forward to a visit to Moscow by Chinese President Xi Jinping and a deeper partnership.
Xi is expected to make a "peace speech" on Friday, but Kyiv says there can be no talk of peace while Russian troops are in Ukraine.
"This unprovoked and criminal Russian war against Ukraine, Europe and the democratic world must end with the cleansing of the entire Ukrainian land from Russian occupation and solid guarantees of the long-term security for our state, the whole of Europe and the entire world," President Volodymyr Zelenskiy wrote on the Telegram messaging app.
Russia is due to begin military exercises with China in South Africa on Friday and has sent a frigate equipped with new generation hypersonic cruise missiles. A Russian officer said on Wednesday Russia would fire artillery, but not the missiles, whose speed makes them difficult to shoot down.
Russian aggression in Ukraine has changed the security situation in Europe, Polish President Andrzej Duda told the Warsaw meeting of nine eastern NATO members with Biden, who said Washington was committed to defending every inch of the alliance's territory.
"You are the front line of our collective defence," Biden told the summit of countries which joined the Western military alliance after being aligned with Moscow during the Cold War.
Most now count among the strongest supporters of military aid to Ukraine and in a joint declaration called for NATO's enhanced presence on its eastern flank.
NUCLEAR TREATY SUSPENDED
Putin has responded to setbacks in Ukraine with veiled threats to use nuclear weapons and suspended the nuclear arms control treaty on Tuesday, accusing Washington of turning the war into a global conflict by arming Ukraine.
Russia's foreign and defence ministries said later Moscow would still continue abiding by the restrictions outlined in the pact on the number of nuclear warheads it could have deployed and the number of nuclear missile carriers. Russia's lower house of parliament rubber-stamped the move Wednesday.
Tension over Ukraine had already halted mutual inspections of nuclear arsenals envisaged by the treaty, but Biden said that by suspending the treaty, Putin had "made a mistake".
He underlined his support for Kyiv in a surprise visit to war-torn Ukraine on Monday and then rallied NATO allies in Poland, saying the invasion had tested the world but Washington and its allies had shown they would defend democracy.
He rejected Russia's assertion that the West was seeking to control or destroy Russia, and accused Moscow of crimes against humanity such as targeting civilians and rape. Russia denies committing war crimes or deliberately attacking civilians.
NATO allies and other supporters have sent Ukraine tens of billions of dollars worth of arms and ammunition. Since the new year they have promised modern battle tanks, though they have yet to offer Western fighter jets sought by Kyiv.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has warned Beijing against supplying weapons to Moscow, prompting anger from China.
Britain has begun to "warm up" its production lines to replace weapons sent to Ukraine and increase production of artillery shells to try to help Kyiv push back Russian forces, defence minister Ben Wallace said.
Speaking in southwest England where British officers are training Ukrainian crews on Challenger-2 tanks, Wallace said Challenger tanks would arrive in Ukraine in "the spring".
FIGHTING
Russia suffered three major battlefield setbacks in Ukraine last year but still holds nearly a fifth of the country. It has launched a massive offensive in recent weeks in the east, so far making only marginal gains despite some heavy losses.
Ukraine's military said Bakhmut city, the focus of Russian advances in the eastern region of Donetsk, came under shelling, along with 20 other settlements in the area.
The governor of the neighbouring Luhansk region, Serhiy Haidai, said Ukraine had repelled intense Russian attacks around Kreminna town further north, destroying several of their tanks.
Two civilians were killed in Russian shelling of the Kherson region in southern Ukraine, and two were wounded in a missile strike on the northeastern city of Kharkiv, officials said.
Reuters was not able to independently verify the reports.
The biggest land war in Europe since World War Two has displaced millions, left cities, towns and villages in ruins and disrupted the global economy. The U.N. rights office has recorded more than 8,000 civilians killed, a figure it describes as the "tip of the iceberg".
###
When the United States blew up the Nord Stream Pipelines on September 26, it committed an Act of War against the owners, operators, and particularly, the customers of the infrastructure delivering Russian natural gas to Western Europe, particularly in Germany.
In NORD STREAM: WHAT HERSH GOT WRONG, Mike Whitney notes in his critique of Seymour Hersh’s report on the Pipeline destruction:
As reported by Hersh, the operation was ordered by US President Joe Biden and planned by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan.
Hersh wrote: “Biden’s DECISION TO SABOTAGE THE PIPELINES CAME AFTER MORE THAN NINE MONTHS OF HIGHLY SECRET BACK AND FORTH DEBATE INSIDE WASHINGTON’S NATIONAL SECURITY COMMUNITY ABOUT HOW TO BEST ACHIEVE THAT GOAL. FOR MUCH OF THAT TIME, THE ISSUE WAS NOT WHETHER TO DO THE MISSION, BUT HOW TO GET IT DONE WITH NO OVERT CLUE AS TO WHO WAS RESPONSIBLE.”
Whitney then asks:
“NINE MONTHS”?
The war broke out on February 24. The pipeline was blown up on September 26. THAT’S SEVEN MONTHS. So, if there were “more than nine months of highly secret back and forth debate inside Washington’s national security community about how to” “sabotage the pipelines” THEN WE MUST ASSUME THE SCHEMING PRECEEDED THE WAR.
This is a crucial point, and yet Hersh skims over it like it’s ‘no big deal’. But it is a big deal because it blows apart the entire narrative of US involvement in the war as a response to “unprovoked Russian aggression.”
In other words, IT PROVES THAT THE UNITED STATES WAS PLANNING TO ENGAGE IN ACTS OF WAR AGAINST RUSSIA REGARDLESS OF DEVELOPMENTS IN UKRAINE. IT ALSO SUGGESTS THAT THE RUSSIAN INVASION WAS MERELY A COVER FOR WASHINGTON TO EXECUTE A PLAN THAT IT HAD MAPPED OUT YEARS EARLIER.
Which raises a very interesting point: Wasn’t Russia’s SMO launched a year ago Friday so very, Very convenient?
Entire article as https://www.globalresearch.ca/what-hersh-got-wrong/5808306 ; EMPHASES added.
Whitney continues his critique:
But the biggest failing of the Hersh piece is the complete omission of the geopolitical context in which this act of terrorism took place.
The US doesn’t go around the world blowing up critical energy infrastructure for nothing. No.
The reason Washington embarked on this risky gambit was because it is facing AN EXISTENTIAL CRISIS THAT CAN ONLY BE RESOLVED BY CRUSHING THOSE EMERGING CENTERS OF POWER THAT THREATEN AMERICA’S DOMINANT POSITION IN THE GLOBAL ORDER. That’s what’s going on below the surface; the US is trying to roll back the clock to the glorious 1990’s after the Soviet empire had collapsed and the world was Washington’s oyster.
BUT THOSE DAYS ARE GONE FOREVER AND US POWER IS IRREVERSIBLY ERODING DUE TO ITS BASIC LACK OF COMPETITIVENESS. If the US was still the industrial powerhouse it was following WW2—when the rest of the world was in ruins—then there would be no need to blow up pipelines to prevent European-Russian economic integration and the emergence of a massive free trade zone spanning the area from Lisbon to Vladivostok .
But the fact is, THE US IS NOT AS ESSENTIAL TO GLOBAL GROWTH AS IT ONCE WAS and, besides, other nations want to be free to pursue their own growth model. They want to implement the changes that best fit their own culture, their own religion and their own traditions. They don’t want to be told what to do. BUT WASHINGTON DOESN’T WANT CHANGE. WASHINGTON WANTS TO PRESERVE THE SYSTEM BESTOWS THE GREATEST AMOUNT OF POWER AND WEALTH ON ITSELF.
Hersh does not simply ignore the geopolitical factors that led to the sabotage, he proactively creates a smokescreen with his misleading explanations. Check it out: “As long as Europe remained dependent on the pipelines for cheap natural gas, Washington was afraid that countries like Germany would be reluctant to supply Ukraine with the money and weapons it needed to defeat Russia. It was at this unsettled moment that Biden authorized Jake Sullivan to bring together an interagency group to come up with a plan.”
More baloney. Washington doesn’t care about Germany’s pathetic contribution to the war effort. WHAT WASHINGTON CARES ABOUT IS POWER; PURE, UNALLOYED POWER. AND WASHINGTON’S GLOBAL POWER WAS BEING DIRECTLY CHALLENGED BY EUROPEAN-RUSSIAN ECONOMIC INTEGRATION AND THE CREATION OF A GIANT ECONOMIC COMMONS BEYOND ITS CONTROL.
AND THE NORD STREAM PIPELINE WAS AT THE VERY HEART OF THIS NEW BUSTLING PHENOM. IT WAS THE MAIN ARTERY CONNECTING THE RAW MATERIALS AND LABOR OF THE EAST WITH THE TECHNOLOGY AND INDUSTRY OF THE WEST. IT WAS A MARRIAGE OF MUTUAL INTERESTS THAT WASHINGTON HAD TO DESTROY TO MAINTAIN ITS GRIP ON REGIONAL POWER.
Think about it: This new economic commons, (“Greater Europe”) would eventually ease trade and travel restrictions, allow the free flow of capital and labor between countries, and harmonize regulations in a way that would build trust and strengthen diplomatic ties. Here’s more from an earlier piece that sums it up:
IN A WORLD WHERE GERMANY AND RUSSIA ARE FRIENDS AND TRADING PARTNERS, THERE IS NO NEED FOR US MILITARY BASES, NO NEED FOR EXPENSIVE US-MADE WEAPONS AND MISSILE SYSTEMS, AND NO NEED FOR NATO. THERE’S ALSO NO NEED TO TRANSACT ENERGY DEALS IN US DOLLARS OR TO STOCKPILE US TREASURIES TO BALANCE ACCOUNTS. TRANSACTIONS BETWEEN BUSINESS PARTNERS CAN BE CONDUCTED IN THEIR OWN CURRENCIES WHICH IS BOUND TO PRECIPITATE A SHARP DECLINE IN THE VALUE OF THE DOLLAR AND A DRAMATIC SHIFT IN ECONOMIC POWER.
This is why the Biden administration opposed Nord Stream. IT’S NOT JUST A PIPELINE, IT’S A WINDOW INTO THE FUTURE; A FUTURE IN WHICH EUROPE AND ASIA ARE DRAWN CLOSER TOGETHER INTO A MASSIVE FREE TRADE ZONE THAT INCREASES THEIR MUTUAL POWER AND PROSPERITY WHILE LEAVING THE US ON THE OUTSIDE LOOKING IN.”
Entire article as https://www.globalresearch.ca/what-hersh-got-wrong/5808306 ; EMPHASES added.
Again: When the United States blew up the Nord Stream Pipelines on September 26, it committed an ACT OF WAR against the owners, operators, and particularly, the customers of the infrastructure delivering Russian natural gas to Western Europe, particularly in Germany.
And it is absolutely no surprise at all that Washington denied ~ and its Media either totally ignored or dismissed ~ Hersh’s allegations.
After all, when Hersh released his report on the 8th, America was still in quite a tizzy after the February 4 downing of the Chinese “Spy” Balloon via $400,000 Sidewinder missile, and mesmerized by scenes of death and distraction from the Earthquake in Syria and Turkey on the 6th.
And then along came those “Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena” shot down with three more $400,000 Sidewinder missiles over Alaska, Canada, and Lake Huron on the 10th, 11th, and 12th, respectively. Throw in the 12th being Super Bowl Sunday, and it’s not hard to see why Hersh’s report got little coverage.
Except, that is, dutifully reporting the White House’s, the CIA’s, and other reliable sources rejection and denunciation of it.
But even if Hersh had released his report on the slowest, dullest, quietest news week of the year, one can bet the ranch that it would have still been ignored by our News, Views, and Infotainment Matrix, whose sole function is to keep the minds of Americans focused on what America’s Ruling Political Class wants it to stay focused on.
One question that immediately comes to mind: Is an Act of War ordered by a President without a Congressional Declaration of War an impeachable offense? It has never been in the past, but with Election2024 just down the road and talk of “National Divorce” in the air, this time it might be different, eh?
An invitation to Bracing Views followers:
Read Putin’s State of The Union address to Russia’s Federal Assembly at http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/transcripts/70565 .
And then read Biden’s “Freedom is at stake” comments in Poland about “the One-Year Anniversary of Russia’s Brutal and Unprovoked Invasion of Ukraine” at https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2023/02/21/remarks-by-president-biden-ahead-of-the-one-year-anniversary-of-russias-brutal-and-unprovoked-invasion-of-ukraine/ .
And then ~ without letting American politicians and bureaucrats, or her pundits and propagandists influence You ~ decide for Yourself which one of those two leaders is Full of Shit.
And if Americans end up like Cody Jarrett, Bill, it is only because we have let that happen, and deserve whatever the gods determine we will get. For details, see Jacob Hornberger’s “How Long Did Americans Support America’s Longest War?” at https://www.fff.org/2023/02/21/how-long-did-americans-support-americas-longest-war/ .
And, Bill, i know You won’t debate whether we Americans “deserve better." So it goes.
Except our leaders won't be out in the open during a nuclear attack. They will be in their multi-million dollar bunkers. We on the other hand will be out in the open.
I love that movie. James Cagney was brilliant in that. And I fear that you are correct.