This is part one of two articles to be published in Jik an Bout ( jikanbouttv.com and www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063478720844 ?), paper of the CNCP, the National Council of Popular Committees, of Martinique (?). Slightly edited.
Yale historian Timothy Snyder ( en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timothy_Snyder ) was on NPR's Saturday morning news program March 23rd to give an ahistorical justification of US imperialism, as if the "War on Terror" and the attacks on Libya and Syria never happened, even saying something like the 'free market system' requires the 'rules-based international order,' which many would call the blood-soaked post-WWII US empire, and that the American people are directly benefitting from the bloodshed. It sounded like he was saying that the economic system wouldn't work without war and US control. Is he admitting that we live in a time of war for oil and war to keep the dollar as the top world currency, instead of the Euro, ruble, etc.? It is getting hazy now, but I think he said something like life here has improved recently (under Biden?) directly because of the war in Ukraine, echoing the Biden administration's occasional or old line about "middle class foreign policy," as in, their foreign policy is good for the majority of Americans, or really, all Americans. Thinking about it, now I remember how he was saying that we can't let a nuclear power, Russia, defeat a conventional, non-nuclear power, Ukraine. He probably brought up proliferation. And when the nuclear USA carried out "regime change" in Iraq, Libya, etc., and constantly makes nuclear threats against non-nuclear states there isn't a problem. If only the US had been boycotted and the other side had been supplied? Revisiting the war in the Middle East, we are supposed to vote out of fear of what Trump might do and not based on what Biden has done and promises to continue doing. They are both anti-Palestinian and the "rules-based international order" has a high death toll, with believable charges of torture, poverty, execution of prisoners, attacks on medical workers and facilities, ethnic cleansing, and a pandemic as well. What international law? The media has publicized the death toll in Palestine (nearing 31,500+ [32,000+ now?], most non-combatants?), though less so after the first temporary ceasefire, but the decades of economic warfare against Venezuela, Cuba, Iran, etc. also has a death toll, and then the government acts surprised that there is mass migration. It might be surprising that people want to live in the country that targets their homeland, even when Trump was the US president and racial police violence was in the headlines. It seemed surprising that a Russia-Ukraine war would start, and now it is like the Cold War. On the other hand people don't seem to be worried that a war with Russia and/or China is about to start. Why did people protest about nuclear weapons policy in the 80's but now there might even be some grassroots support in the NATO countries for WWIII? I haven't heard of any mass outrage about the proposal to send French and other European forces into Ukraine, and there are probably already many NATO personnel in Ukraine, for more than just embassy protection.
[Good Friday 3/29 – A week after the attack, NPR's Early Edition (Debbie Elliot in Orange Beach, Alabama and the regular Leila ~Feidel in DC are in today) claims that it is very obvious, Russia isn't even trying to hide that it is torturing the Krasnogorsk suspects, and maybe that is true and to be condemned. But I notice that NPR didn't speak so clearly and quickly when the US openly started a torture program under George W Bush and Dick Cheney and I can't remember when I last heard them cover, or have they even covered, the allegations against Israel. Is the US government still using torture? State governments and police forces are still being accused of torture. They don't cover the allegations of Israeli sexual violence.
NPR and BBC coverage of the Wall Street Journal employee arrested and charged with spying in Russia. Named Americans are rarely really guilty of spying in another country, according to the media (and Israel doesn't take hostages, or torture them or kill its prisoner without trial). He was able to send International Women's Day flowers from a Russian prison? This week the BBC has really beaten up on what an "opposition" figure in a UN office (?) termed something like the 'narco communist Castro' regime – in Venezuela.
A soft pre-recorded interview with the surprisingly soft sounding (but coldblooded underneath?) Victoria Nuland with Steve Inskeep ( en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoria_Nuland ). The "amazing amount of hope" in the late 20th century, when Russia and China were going to join something like the 'democratic world,' with 'transparent,' 'open,' computerized (? ; and globalized and technocratic?) solutions. How would they justify the massive national security military industrial complex if Russia and China surrendered to US rule? Turn "green?" Did Nuland quit or was she fired, and why? She "retired?" No questions about Nuland's involvement in the creation of the coup government in Ukraine or her "F--k the EU" comment in a leaked call with the US ambassador to Ukraine about who to install as prime minister, shortly before the 2014 coup. Nothing about her praise for the Nord Stream 1 and 2 bombings. Her career and marriage were mentioned, but without details about her work under Republican and Democratic party administrations or mention that her husband is Robert Kaplan. What was her role in the expansion of NATO, leading to war in Ukraine, or her role in the invasion of Iraq?
If the US threatens and invades non-nuclear countries, it is just fine and not imperialism or the redrawing of borders by force, and US violation of international law and the rules of war aren't violations or are just the work of a few low-ranking bad apples and not systematic. It is also fine if the US is deeply involved in violations committed by others. It was so great when Russia was weak and the US could manipulate its elections, but then that bad Vladimir Putin came along (through that great Yeltsin administration, they don't mention). Note that interference in US elections is fine with the government, Democratic or Republican, when it is being done by certain countries.
Biden seems more and more like George W Bush these days, 2004 is back again ("W is President"), but make sure to vote for him, even in deep "blue" or "red" states, because Trump is so bad. An article by Pankaj Mishra ( en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pankaj_Mishra ) in the current (March 21st) issue of the London Review of Books notes that self-proclaimed "Zionist" Biden shocked even the Israeli prime minister decades ago, praising their war effort and saying that he would have risked killing even more women and children in Lebanon. Menachem Begin ( en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menachem_Begin , behind the July 22, 1946 bombing of the King David Hotel, etc.) had to say "No, sir. According to our values, it is forbidden to hurt women and children, even in war...This is a yardstick of human civilisation, not to hurt children." Shortly afterward Reagan called the war in Lebanon a "holocaust" that must end (on page 8). Mishra writes of Biden's "eerily smooth hardness, broken only by a nervous little smirk when he blurts out Israeli lies about beheaded babies" and calls it "stubborn malice and cruelty to the Palestinians," joining Keir Starmer's defense of cutting off Gaza's water and electricity and German weapons sales and domestic repression, often targeting anti-Zionist Jews (page 6). Little talk about Biden's age now and he has been sounding physically better in quoted speeches.
Back to NPR – Palestinian Christians are being impoverished and leaving the West Bank because of a lack of Israeli work permits. What about direct Israeli violence, etc.? They make sure to imply that it is the fault of Hamas in 2023.
The State Department says not to listen to a new report on Gaza from the UN Human Rights Council, because of the author's alleged "anti-semitism." How many dead Arabs is enough for Biden and the Democratic Party, and it is Hamas that is carrying out genocide. Trump could find a way to do more damage, but we are supposed to forget and forgive what Biden is doing and give him the opportunity to do more? Not much of a holiday from the warmongering on NPR today.
Former NATO ambassador Kurt Volker ( en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurt_Volker ) with the BBC – Putin is like Hitler, seeking a new Tsarist and Soviet empire, and France's Macron commendably sees that the war in Ukraine is a war for the 'future of Europe.' How far would Biden and co. go to prevent a Ukrainian loss, if given a second term? Biden claims that it won't become WWIII, though it will take up a lot of US money (recycled into our weapons industry, Nuland said). Trump allegedly has anti-Ukraine "animus" (said on NPR once) and is anti-NATO, but he supported both when in office. It has been said that that great liberal EU, under the US defense umbrella, equals NATO now.
The BBC interviewing Japanese in Hiroshima on the movie Oppenheimer, now being shown there. I thought the Japanese knew that the two atomic bombings were justified as life-saving, even for the Japanese, and someone thanked the bomber's pilot. Is it akin to Israel bombing Gazans to save them, if they survive, from Hamas? That is what Israeli spokespeople have said about their war. Maybe the US said it about Fallujah, Iraq and Raqqa, Syria.
Israel just carried out bombings in Lebanon and Syria, with a large number killed in Syria. Supposedly the US doesn't want a wider war, ignoring the bombing of Yemen, but does Israel plan to go north soon? Or do they want to provoke a reaction they can use as justification? Xyz every day about Russia seizing territory from Ukraine near its historic naval base in Crimea, but not about Israel seizing the strategic Golan Heights. And what would the US seize if Denmark (the colonial power in Greenland), Iceland, Canada, Mexico, Haiti, or the Bahamas had a coup and went in with Russia? It wasn't that long ago that the US was seen as one of or the main foreign threat for Canada and Mexico and that threat could quickly return. Trump would no doubt back a new Israeli invasion of Lebanon, but if Biden were re-elected, he probably would back it too.
Both NPR and the BBC on Beyoncé.]
Editorial: World War III Has Already Begun!
Many commentators are beginning to ask the question: "Will the downward spiral that has been set in motion in Ukraine lead to a third world war?" This is a way of suggesting that it would depend only on this conflict and its outcome. It is true that the confrontation that has already begun between NATO and Russia on Ukrainian territory has paved the way for a major and generalized military conflict. But it was already being prepared on many other fronts, with Ukraine only being a pawn on the chessboard.*1 The Western imperialists, whose hegemony is being shaken by the rise of their rivals, confronted with the revival of the peoples' struggle against oppression, against ultra-liberalism and for true sovereignty, are already largely engaged in coordinated military operations on all continents. The real world war they are waging by fascistizing societies and suppressing popular movements continues to intensify. So, we can affirm that the Third World War has already begun and it heralds a historic shift of unimaginable significance!
[Two photos]
Clearly, we are heading for a major historic shift. No one can foresee the consequences of this third world war, especially if nuclear weapons were to be used, but what is indisputable is that in the end the cycle of domination of the Western imperialists will come to an end and a new world order will be imposed.
Wars between empires, nations or communities are always linked to struggles for economic power, even when they are hidden behind ideological pretexts or the promotion of the role of "great figures". Today, the foundations of Western hegemony are structurally undermined. They can no longer unilaterally impose their control over the sources of supply of raw materials or markets. Despite the power of their media empires, they cannot stem the flow of alternative and revolutionary ideas. Moreover, because they are fully aware that their empire is faltering, they are mobilizing their forces on all fronts and preparing scrupulously for the decisive confrontation.
Thus, the rival powers are preparing for the decisive confrontation and it is inevitable!
The acceleration of the arms race and the multiplication of military manoeuvres are clear proof of this. The attached table shows the countries with the highest military expenditures. It will be seen that everywhere they are increasing and that the United States remains the most dangerous power.
The maneuvers involving the armies of the opposing camps are repeated, year after year, in the various geo-strategic zones. Two instructive examples: At the end of January, the 31 member countries of the Euro-Atlantic Alliance and Sweden launched the largest military exercise since the Cold War. Planned over several years, Steadfast Defender 24 will mobilize 90,000 soldiers throughout the European continent. The technical resources set in motion are enormous. Meanwhile, in March, China, Iran and Russia began a joint naval exercise in the Gulf of Oman, near the mouth of the Persian Gulf.
The positioning of the armed forces leaves no doubt as to the objectives of each party. (For example: the encirclement of China and Russia on one side, the encirclement of Taiwan and regular maneuvers in the South China Sea on the other).
Who, with a serious knowledge of human history, could believe that all this serves only to "impress the enemy" or to amuse the gallery?
The countries with the greatest military expenditures
Total military expenditures by country, in billions of Euros
[A graph showing expenditures in 2020 and 2022 and the increase during that period, with the USA first followed by China, India, Russia, Saudi Arabia, the UK, Germany, and France, from Statista, in French. Estimated for Russia and Saudi Arabia. Converted to Euros for the percent increase?]
Moreover, the globalized conflict is already underway in two theatres of operation
1 – In the heart of Europe: We have already explained in our previous articles that the Ukrainian people have been taken hostage by NATO whose objective is to rely on their country in order to start the war against Russia. It is clear that this is already a global conflict. This is confirmed by the financial support and the supply of armaments that the entire Western camp is massively granting to Ukraine. These include heavy weaponry such as armored vehicles, guns, missiles, and air defense systems. The main contributors are the United States (49%), Poland (22%) and Germany (9%). In the early days of the war, NATO member countries claimed to be following a "red line" of not supplying long-range aircraft and missiles. Now they admit they want to cross all the lines "so that Russia will lose the war." Today, foreign companies are starting to manufacture munitions locally and Macron is considering sending troops to the battlefields!
As far as financial aid to Ukraine is concerned, the contribution of the USA is 7.6 billion euros (more than all the countries of the European Union combined, whose cumulative contribution is 6.9 billion euros). *2
Beyond "aid", NATO's active participation in the war is manifested by the sending of "volunteers", the training of Ukrainian fighters and the total mobilisation of its intelligence services to guide the Ukrainian army on the ground.
If this is not a global war, what is?
NATO military bases already established against Russia
[A map showing NATO bases west and south of Russia in Eurasia; shows bases in Norway, Spain, Turkey, Egypt, Pakistan, Central Asia, and even one in Southeast Asia, around Thailand, among others.]
2) In the heart of the Middle East : As is the case with the conflict in Ukraine, the Western media is broadcasting a narrative aimed at masking the globalized nature of the war in the Middle East. No! This is absolutely not a matter of a country's revenge for terrorists who have committed an abominable massacre. This is the application of a strategy that has been devised for nearly a century by Western imperialists.*3
It is undeniable that Israel, the United States, the European Union and their allies are acting in concert in the region to defend their common hegemony. The wars waged by the Western coalitions against Iraq, Libya, Syria, the Zionist state's attacks on Lebanon, Syria and Iran, the genocide of the Palestinian people are all part of the same strategy.
The proof of this is that the Israeli army enjoys the unwavering support of the Western camp. The latter, while hypocritically calling for "sparing civilians", supplied "TSAHAL" (sic) with the shells that the barbarians rained down on schools, hospitals, ambulances, and on the population who had come to receive the meagre food aid that those who commit genocide allowed to pass. The collaboration between the secret services and the intelligence of the coalition is total. In Western countries, the media are mobilized to exclusively spread the propaganda of the occupying army; governments, led by France, ban demonstrations in support of the Palestinian people and criminalize demonstrators. At the UN, the US vetoes any attempt to impose a ceasefire on GAZA.
If this is not a global conflict that is going on in the region, what is?
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*1 This is what the system's media is trying to hide by claiming that the only motivations for Western "support" for Ukraine are, on the one hand, to defend "democracy" there (of which they have proclaimed themselves the exclusive guarantors) and on the other hand, to protect Europe, the whole world even, against those who, according to them, are the incarnation of the devil and hell: Putin and Russia.
*2 We should not be under any illusions about the Republicans' blocking of aid to Ukraine. What motivates Trump and his followers are, on the one hand, internal electoral considerations and, on the other hand, the desire to push the Europeans to significantly increase their participation in the financing of NATO's "war efforts". At the appropriate time, U.S. leaders of all stripes will have no qualms about financing the war against Russia, China, Iran or North Korea.
*3 Since its creation in 1948, the State of Israel has been conceived by the Western imperialists as a military bridgehead rstablished in the middle of the Arab world to guarantee their control over the region's energy resources and to block any attempt at the emancipation of the peoples. Thus, for 75 years, successive Israeli leaders have been able to give free rein to their barbaric Zionist policy of colonization, to expel Palestinians en masse from their land, to perpetrate horrific massacres of civilians, to trample on United Nations resolutions, without ever being condemned or subjected to sanctions of any kind. Quite the contrary! They have unfailingly received massive financial support and weapons in abundance to carry out their criminal designs.
Continuation of the article in N° 217 of "Jik An Bout"
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