[This article has been written for the Unz Review]
This has been an interesting week for Russia. First, and contrary to my own expectations, Iulia Skripal has been allowed to make a recorded statement on video where she is seen writing a statement in English and Russian. This falls far short of even the basic British obligations to allow consular access to both Skripals, but it is a sign that the Brits are finally starting to feel the pressure. This is just a small first step, but thank God for small things. Now let’s just hope that the pressure to free both Skripals will not abate.
Second, the St Petersburg Economic Forum has started to what promises to be a big success: 14’000 participants, including many top western business and even representatives of the British oligarchy (to the great despair of The Times). Now that the “economic block” of the Russian government is firmly in the hands of the Atlantic Integrationists and even Alexei Kudrin declares that the impact of the economic sanctions to only 0.5% of the Russian GDP, and against the background of US arrogance gone berserk (see Pompeo’s 12 point ultimatum to Iran or Trump’s sudden cancellation of this planned meeting with Kim) thereby deeply frightening many European investors, Russia appears to be an island of comparative stability and predictability. Turns out, there are billions of dollars to be made in Russia, who would have thought?
Third, for all the saber-rattling heard over the past years from NATO, a former Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), General Breedlove, has gone on record that NATO is in no shape to fight Russia. The Baltic statlets and the Swedes can continue to prepare for a Russian invasion if they want, but this nonsense is slowly losing its traction with EU politicians.
Finally, the President of Bulgaria has had to fly to Moscow to ask the Russian to re-start the “Bulgarian Stream”. Yes, the very same “stream” which Bulgaria reneged on under EU pressure. The logic of the Bulgarians is simple and irrefutable: if the Germans get to open their own “stream” then so do we. Makes sense.
True, there was this latest idiocy by the Dutch who now are saying that it was a “Russian” unit which shot down MH-17. I don’t know why they would bother coming up with this latest nonsense right now, this might be a desperate hope by some hardcore NATO Cold Warriors, but in the current political climate this is going largely unnoticed.
The key to it all? Can you connect the dots?
As Roger Waters put it in his song Perfect Sense “Can’t you see? It all makes perfect sense, expressed in dollars and cents, pounds shillings and pence. Can’t you see? It all makes perfect sense“. It is all about money.
No doubt there will be those who will greatly rejoice at these developments, after all, this could be the beginning of a much needed (for both sides) rapprochement between Russia and the EU and improving economic ties, along with the rapidly increasing energy costs, could provide the funds needed to implement Putin’s ambitious internal reforms and development program. So what’s there not to celebrate?
Well, it all depends on your values.
If you want the Russian economy integrated into the western markets and financial sphere, if you believe that the correct economic path of development for Russia is western-style liberal capitalism,if you believe that the Zionist lobby in Russia does not exist or is not an issue, then you truly have cause to rejoice and, indeed, many have (including my friend Alexander Mercouris at The Duran).
But if you believe that morals, ethics should always prime so-called “pragmatic” considerations, if you believe that the correct path for Russia is to follow her own civilizational model, if you believe that there is a very influential and highly toxic Zionist lobby in Russia, then you have cause to worry.
In an ideal world or, at least, a less crazy one, this choice should not be as stark, but with the Neocons in absolute control of the USA and the US foreign policy decided in the Likud offices in Jerusalem, and with Israel and the USA taking turns bombing Syria (even today), that choice will have to be made.
True, to some degree, there are already obvious unofficial understandings between the US and Russia and between Israel and Russia over military operations in Syria. And as I have argued many times (even if some pretend I did not), Russia has no obligation whatsoever to fight on behalf of anybody in the Middle-East. However, what Russian ought to do, at least in my opinion, is to carefully evaluate the potential consequences of inaction, not because of Syrian or Iranian interests, but because of her own, Russian, interests.
The unofficial agreement between Russia and the Anglo-Zionist does make sense, but only in the short term. In the long term it contains many possible dangers:
- First, the Israelis are clearly baiting Iran for a meaningful counter-strike. And they are doing all they can to push the USA to attack Iran. How long can the Iranian patience last? How long can the (hopefully existing) rational minds in the Pentagon contain the “crazies”? You tell me, I don’t know.
- The Israelis, clearly buoyed by the US decision to move its embassy to Jerusalem (along with a few vassal states) has now basically given up on their public image, which has been roadkill since many years already, and have decided to use even more grotesque violence than usual to make the Palestinians pay for having the audacity to exist. This increase in violence creates a great deal of tensions in the Muslim world and Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has already called on all Muslim countries to condemn Israel. He used very precise language (emphasis added): “It is the Muslim states that should take a stance against it (the massacre of Palestinians). Muslim states are the ones that should rise up but they do not because they have distanced themselves from the Quran and do not believe in holy book. By God’s grace Palestine will be freed from the vicious enemies. Al-Quds (Beit-ul-Moqaddas) is the capital of Palestine and the US and its minions cannot do a damn thing against the truth and the divine tradition regarding Palestine”. The implication here is clear: it is an Islamic obligation mandated by the Quran itself not to collaborate with the Zionist entity, those who are now ignoring this imperative are acting like disbelievers. That includes the Saudis and all their allies. With that kind of language (which has tremendous support in the Muslim world at large, not amongst the Shia) how long will the current standoff be limited to Syria? You tell me, I don’t know.
- As I have also argued time and again, the AngloZionists interpret every non-escalatory move by Russia as a sign of weakness, even when it is motivated by a sincere desire to avoid conflict, when it is pragmatic and even mutually beneficial. The Ukronazis in the Donbass have a tactic they call “leapfrogging” in which they regularly seize a couple of houses here and there in the neutral zone while keeping the Novorussians under a more or less constant stream of artillery strikes and terrorist attacks. They do that while trying to keep the shooting just under the threshold which would result in full-scale attack on Novorussia which, so they themselves say, will happen in the not too distant future. That kind of “leapfrogging” under “petty fire” is exactly what the Empire is doing against Russia in Syria and elsewhere. The difference is only that AngloZionist leaders do not promise a final attack on Russia. Do you trust their word? I sure don’t.
These are not what I would call minor issues which can be comfortably ignored and the purpose of analysis is not comfort but understanding. Intelligence work is built on three components, the tripe “A”: Acquisition, Analysis and Acceptance. First, you get the raw info, then you process it (primarily by rating the source and the info itself), and then you present it to those who will use it. Most often, the problem is in the third “A”, that is when decision-makers are unhappy with what they hear and then put pressure on the second “A” (analysis). In extreme cases, this can result in the 2nd “A” downgrading a perfectly reliable source.
That is the kind of stuff which starts dumb wars and results in surprise attacks.
[Sidebar: There is a natural desire in each one of us to see “our” team win, and nuanced arguments are easy to misrepresent. For the dishonest, it is a no-brainer to present any criticism or concern as “betrayal” (we all know what happened to Cassandra). And then there are, of course, those for whom any nuanced argument is too complex to process and who simply are not intellectually equipped to understand a balanced thesis. Cheering is fun. Honestly analyzing often takes courage.
I recommend that we avoid both extremes, the one of mindlessly cheer-leading and the one of defeatism, both are equally toxic and both are used by AngloZionist strategic psychological operations to weaken Russia in general and Putin and his Eurasian Sovereignist supporters in particular. The words of Christ “ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32) have a profound spiritual meaning, but they can also be taken quite literally and He never said that that truth would be comfy, I would add. In our case, you, the reader, are the third “A” and my role is only limited to try to honestly do the first and second “A”.
For independent analysts like myself, there is no point in doing what the CIA did about Iraq: have these words of Christ as a motto and then provide a hopelessly politically-correct “analysis”. True, unlike the folks at the CIA, I am not paid (by you, in the form of your donations) to follow a narrow political agenda, neither do I depend on any oligarch’s financial support. As for calling things the way I see them, I know each time in advance when this will get me a barrage of criticism and hate mail from those who follow a very specific political agenda (I have explained that here in some detail, check it out!). The Empire uses the term “fringe extremist” while in the blogosphere what you mostly see is “out of touch”, but the goal is the same: a total dismissal. Next time you see that language, ask yourself not only what actual arguments it contains (if any!), but also cui bono – who benefits from making it, and why. Then think of the words of Christ quoted above one more time :-)].
I think that Paul Craig Roberts is fundamentally correct when he says that the Empire is escalating on all fronts against Russia, even if I do not share his pessimism (but neither do I dismiss it!). First, with Trump turned into a rabid Likudnik, Putin’s plan of a “rapprochement” with the EU might work, NATO’s histrionics notwithstanding. We will see soon as Europe is now facing a stark choice, either join the USA in even more sanctions on Iran, or not. And “not” means de-facto join Russia in her support for Iran.
So which will prevail? The cowardice and subservience of the European leaders or their greed?
As long as all this remains in the realm of economics, Russia will probably continue her current balancing act between her own short-term economic interests in the West and her long-term economic interests in the rest of the world. But if Iran is actually meaningfully attacked by any combination of AngloZionist states, then Russia will have to chose. Ideally, the Atlantic Integrationists will have to do what they did in the cases of Georgia and Crimea, look away and play along, while the Eurasian Sovereignists do what they did in both of these instances: immediately take action. That does not mean fighting a war on behalf of the Iranians or “protecting” Iran, but that will mean a willingness to help Iran at all level short of war. Which is what Russia has been doing in Syria.
There is a big difference between Iran and Syria though: the Russian public did support Putin’s argument that it is better to fight the Takfiris over “there” rather than right “here”. But Russians are most unlikely to support any risks of war (nevermind a war itself) unless it directly affects Russian national interests. On that Russians are split.
Some, like myself, think that Iran is, if not a vital, then at least a crucial partner (and, hopefully, ally) of Russia in the entire greater Middle-East. It is also a country which, unlike Russia, has achieved true, real, sovereignty and thus, at least to some degree, a test-case for the rest of the planet (that is the real reason for the AngloZionist’s hatred and fear of Iran, not some non-existing military weapons program). Others think that Iran is just a useful partner which should be engaged, but that the Iranians have too different an agenda to really become Russia’s reliable partner (the feeling in Tehran is often symmetrical). Still, regardless of the doubts on both sides, I believe that Iran is vital for Russia because Iran has achieved what Russia is still after: full sovereignty. No country which wants to become truly sovereign can refuse to help Iran in every possible way.
There is also the “minor” issue of international law by which neither the USA nor Israel consider themselves restrained and which they both constantly, and very openly and gleefully, violate. This set a terrible and very dangerous precedent for the entire planet and is yes another factor Russia cannot ignore.
And then there is Palestine.
Like it or not (I don’t), for the time being, Russia and the EU have chosen to be in the famous words of Yehuda Bauer, a “bystander”. Some of us will deny that (good luck with that!), some will minimize it, some will explain that away on pragmatic grounds. Who is right?
Well, again, it all depends on your values.
If you believe that the Palestinians are to blame, or if you believe that what is done to them is their problem, not yours, or if you think “let the Arabs or the Muslims solve this” – then all is well.
But if you believe in basic notions of Right and Wrong, if you believe that racism and genocide (even slo-mo genocide), should be abhorrent to every human being, then no, you cannot feel good about Russia’s stance on Palestine.
Iran has chosen to take a moral stance on this issue. Russia, at least so far, has chosen a “pragmatic” one, for many reasons, including good ones (as I explained in some details here). But that does not change the fact that the triangle Israel-Palestine-Iran presents a crucial spiritual, ethical, moral and civilizational challenge to Russia, one which she cannot ignore and one which most likely will determine her future. Sooner or later, Russia will have to make a choice even if that choice is to remain a bystander.
The same can be said about Novorussia. Russia cannot let the Donbass bleed forever and while in the past Russia has helped Novorussia a great deal, the fact that the Donbass is still bleeding cannot be allowed to last forever.
In the case of the Donbass, the problem is obvious: if Russia openly stops the daily Ukronazi attacks, the Empire will scream to high heavens about a “Russian aggression” (they will pretend that they did not come up with their so-called “Responsibility to Protect” (R2P) doctrine). Which will compromise the Russia-EU relations. Hence the current Russian balancing act.
These are hard and painful decisions for Putin. In the past he has shown tremendous courage and will-power when Russian vital interests were at stake and I hope and believe that he will do that again. Time will show if Putin and the rest of Russia will decide whether moral, ethical and spiritual values are an integral part of “Russian vital interests” and whether they have to prime over “pragmatic” considerations or the other way around. And maybe they will come to conclude, as I do, that moral, ethical and spiritual vales are pragmatic considerations and that the apparent choice between them is an illusion.
This choice also will determine the future of Russia and her civilizational realm.
The Saker
The USA or Israel do not attack countries that can shoot their fighter jets out of the sky. Saudi Arabia would suffer if Iran homeland invaded and MBS is probably dead from the attack on the palace three weeks ago. Breedlove was fired because he could not back up his “we will kick Russia’s butt anytime anywhere” words when Russia entered Syria in Sept. 2015. Russia has electronic jamming technology that cannot currently be defeated. The Taliban are taking control in Afghanistan. The USA is bankrupt and everybody now knows it. Trump was brought in because he is a bankruptcy expert. China and Russia have thousands of tons of Gold more than officially admitted. The patience Russia, Syria, Iran, and China have shown in the last few years while being attacked and demonized will rewrite “the Art of War”. The Global Currency Reset is coming and will there will be no war. Thousands of upper middle class globalists in the five english speaking countries will lose their corporate and government jobs and many will wind up in Fema Camps. All of this is happening because soon the USA will lose global reserve currency status which they have used to hold this world hostage (Germany and Japan still US occupation) since WW2. Saudi Arabia and Israel along with the G7 countries will pay a huge financial price for their psychopathic behavior since 9/11. Sit back and enjoy as this is all happening now and five years from now, we will be living in a new global economic system with peace and prosperity.
I love Your optimism mahdoode!
Better than a cuppa java with a shot of jd in it zhis mornin’…:-)
U then turn out to be our favorite pessimist.
Dmitry Orlov has recently written about the condition of every real or soi disant specialist to reject any or whatever real sudden change. And exemplifies with the case of the anglo /US sovietologists who couldn ´t believe in Berlin wall collapsing to dust in a few hours.
We do appreciate diversity and the breed is equally necessary.
I hope you will be wrong about the Fema camps, for the sake of the English speaking countries populations.
As for the rest, I hope Germany will finally be a sovereign country and able to make ethical decisions instead of following the Empire around in all their crimes against humanity.
After WWII German people yearn to be ethical, we never again want to be war-criminals.
The FEMA camps story has been around since Cheney. Maybe even the right-wingers were talking about it during Clinton, but I didn’t listen to right wingers much back then. The left started howling about how the end is near during Cheney.
Doesn’t mean it won’t become true, but its getting old enough to legally buy a drink these days.
“If you want the Russian economy integrated into the western markets and financial sphere, if you believe that the correct economic path of development for Russia is western-style liberal capitalism,if you believe that the Zionist lobby in Russia does not exist or is not an issue, then you truly have cause to rejoice and, indeed, many have (including my friend Alexander Mercouris at The Duran).”
-How about if you have traditionalist values and you want Europe, both Russia and the EU countries to be free and form their own unions and relationships without interference from USA?
Trump’s bankruptcy expertise is very much over rated. It’s like people saying you are a cardiac expert because you had two heart attacks. The Trump empire had a net worth of more than minus billion dollars at one point in the 1980’s. He has been bailed out by the Rothschild syndicate twice. Can the Rothschilds bail out USA Corp. in the future with CEO Trump? Jake Morphonios of Blackstone Intelligence has the dirty details and information sources.
But the empire still has a few creative choices…
Such as building up large middle Age FORTRESS-LIKE embassies in every place – like in Bagdah – where the fed up locals increasingly trend to boot their ass.
I would concur with your article even more if it was not for Atlanticists and the ordinary Russian people are being left out in the cold .
Although I think that President Putin is a brilliant strategist , there are to many people in Russia trying to appease the Anglo-Zionists ,both in business and politics ( Dancing with the Devil)
I also think that Paul Craig Roberts assessment can not be put aside , his knowledge of intrigues of the newcons can not be underestimated .
President Putin I would hope will alleviate , more of the suffering of the people (especially outside Moscow )
the Russian Elite is far to Moscow centric , their power needs to be curtailed .
Russia is a truly great country and it , needs to shake of the past mistakes , and advance the will of the people over the Oligarchs . Then Russia will be a beacon of hope for the world .
You’re a master thinker Saker. Great essay.
I too think Mr Putin will do and is doing the right thing.
If the new silk road is to be a reality China must build it and Russia must defend it, no?
Iran is a key transit point and economic beneficiary of the silk road. Successful pro-West regime change in Iran could drastically disrupt the China Silk Road in the same way Ukraine can disrupt Russian gas supplies to Europe, as both are strategic choke points. It is certainly in Chinas interest to project its hand of aggressive proactive defense and influence regarding its interests with respect to preserving Irans stability and political orientation well beforehand.
As in now.
If Putin were to base his foreign policy decisions on morality rather than pragmatism or ideology, that would probably be a world first. I for one am not holding my breath.
Iran has been the traditional great power in the Middle East for 2500 years and is the key to influence and stability in the region. Russia would do well to cultivate this relationship which serves her own strategic interests. A successful US/Israeli military assault on Iran would allow them to totally dominate the region and its oil wealth; “a stupendous source of strategic power, and one of the greatest material prizes in history.”
Careful with morality, it’s all flowers and sunshine thinking of basing ones decisions on the “moral good”, the reality doesn’t look that rosy.
The consensus is that, it is the “moral” thing to do to liberate the Donbass by force… which would result in undoing almost 2 decades worth of delicate diplomacy by Putin which is slowly turning Europe towards Russia. It would also result in a new iron curtain and a cold war in the information age… in other words, short sighted, short term morality would result in catastrophe.
It is the consensus that shooting down US and “allies” jets, including Israels, over Syrian airspace, is the moral thing to do… fulfilling the neocon wet dream of giving them a pretext to flatten Damascus and bomb Syria out of existence…
It’s not as simple. Not to mention that the road to hell is paved with good intentions, I may be an atheist, but to me these are still words to live by. The law of unintended consequence, the fact that “moral” decision making is dangerously predictable and exploitable and that pretty much all evil entities once claimed their moral highground and perhaps were, at first, sincere and of pure intentions, this line of thinking leads to “white man’s burden”, ” responsibility to protect”, “guarding civilized society” etc.
Also, while not flat out stating but heavily implying that, by not acting in a “moral” way, by your definition, Putin is being immoral, is unfair. Maybe seemingly turning a blind eye in the hopes of avoiding bigger conflict in the long run is the moral thing to do, with the tools available to him anyway.
There is no soft values. Only interests on the geo-scene. The West is the best example of this hypocrisy.
Heard a couple of the most popular discussions in Russian State TV. Key figures suggest Russia to do the same thing as US, exploit a country when Russia enters it. (“Then we can be rich as US”).
Recently it was Iran, “we should stop sitting on our hands but exploit the situation like US do, selling more Russian arms to Iran”.
Not one of those popular guys in Russian TV mention friendship with China, Iran as resistance group.
Only the Western way, “what can WE get out of it”.
Same way of thinking in Syria: Turkey, Israel, US, France, Russia, China, all negotiated their part of the Syrian occupation and war cake.
I think it was Morris saying: “its the same in Moscow, no difference”. Its groups of oligarchs and financiers who are fighting for their shares sometimes against each other.
Same with Donbass. There is no “independence”. Donbass is only there to occupy and irritate Ukraine as a buffer area for Russia.
There is only hard values………..so far. Until the final Judge and Judgement day is here.
Well said, Serg! In light of his concern for Russian youth, it is hard to suppose that morality does not come into Putin’s world view. I have been enjoying a reading of Friederich Schiller’s works, so hopefully will be allowed to quote from his Ode to Joy, one verse:
Man may never match Immortals
Fair it is like Gods to be
Welcome to our joyous portals
Sons of Want and Poverty.
Rancour and Resentment leaving,
Be our mortal foe forgiven,
Not a sorrow for his grieving,
Not a tear to mar his heaven!
Pardon every debt ungrudging,
Let all nations be atoned!
God above the stars enthroned
Judges us as we are judging.
You nailed it, Serg! If Russia decides to fully confront the empire now to stop injustice in the world, the Empire will bring more injustice to the world and severely punish Russia, so that she will be in a weaker position to do what’s right. The anglo-zionist empire must collapse first, then Russia will become stronger and be able to finally bring some justice tot the world.
btw, you´re talking too much about Morals at least for an atheist.
I have a philosophical principle for you: sound Moralilty in this world must be constructed in direct proportion with incredulity.
Putin answered his own question of Values and National Interest, Saker.
“Certainly, it would be a global disaster for humanity; a disaster for the entire world,” Putin said, in an interview for a Russian documentary “The World Order 2018,” adding that “as a citizen of Russia and the head of the Russian state I must ask myself: Why would we want a world without Russia?”
And what is Russia to Putin?
Values. Just the topic you laid out here.
He will ask the Russia people to fight for their Values just as they would fight for their borders and their sovereignty and their identity, language and spiritual souls.
He already said the 22 million ex-pats in former Soviet lands are his subjects to protect.
Of course, he is bound by common sense and military prudence to never get caught in a war of others, or fight a war not planned for swift victory.
But heart and soul and brain has decided. Russia is unafraid of martial conflict. It knows what to fight and die for. We’ve seen the templates several times in Syria alone. Stunning bravery and national values.
Putin would march with those brothers himself. We know what he is made of.
It seems to me that Putin has a habit of saying what its targeted audience likes to hear. Here are some of his statements on Israel -:
https://orientalreview.org/2018/05/10/president-putin-on-israel-quotes-from-the-kremlin-website/
So the question is when is he speaking the truth and when is he not? Is true the time when says we share common values with Israel or is it true some other time when he says something else?
Indeed:
“Alt-Media totally misunderstands – and oftentimes deliberately misportays – President Putin’s relationship with Israel, which a reading of the official Kremlin website’s most relevant links indicates is a lot better than most people may think.
Alt-Media dogma indoctrinates its followers with the notion that it’s impossible for Russia and Israel to be on friendly terms with one another, let alone allies, because President Putin is supposedly on an “anti-Zionist crusade” to “save the world”, which isn’t true whatsoever.”
Israel offers Russia nothing. Not one thing. While their are many Arab, Muslim countries that do big business and have good ties to Russia. Iran for one does multi billion dollar deals with Russia. So does Syria, and Iraq.
All Israel does is harbor Russian – Israeli fugitives from Russia, and wont send them back, nor return the looted billions stolen by them. You know, the vultures of the 1990’s.
Many Russians know full well their blood-soaked history, full of crimes to outright genocide by Jews. Remember 1917. Putin himself said ‘ The first Bolshevik party that took power were 85% Jewish’.
Russia’s diplomatic relationship with Israel is one based on cold hard diplomacy, pragmatism, patronization, and distance. Remember, it was Netanyahu who flew to Moscow 8 times in two years, and Putin has not visited Israel. To me, this looks like a lot of begging on Netanyahu’s part.
Jews like to self-delude themselves that Russia and Israel are close. But its international Jews who are behind sanctions, slander in MSM, . Think tanks and policy papers, columnists are overwhelmingly Jewish that raise all the disgusting war mongering hysteria about Putin and Russia. Do you think Putin and his people don’t know this.
During the massacre of Palestinians by the apartheid entity Israel, Mr. Lavrov explicitly called the IDF statements ‘ Blasphemy ‘.
So, Israeli’s, Jews…keep on deluding yourselves.
So, let’s assume if an adversary of you were to hold up the values of being a loving and caring spouse. Would you beat up your own spouse in order to have different values?
President Putin doesn’t seem to be that kind of person to tell others what they want to hear. His statements (usually in his diplomatic style) seem to reflect his point of view.
The values that Russia under Putin represent are shared by most of humanity. Of course in all countries there are exceptions, the parasites, those who hate others and have no compunction in exploiting them, and who value greed over all else. Unfortunately they are in power, just about everywhere, because, in the glorious West, the ‘moral values’ of the elite psychopaths ie insatiable greed, grotesque egomania, unscrupulousness, hatred of others, lack of empathy and compassion etc, dominate, and the West dominates the world through US power, military, economic and institutional. After all, where is the major public figure in the West, these days, who is not a swine of some sort?
Even in the West, however, there are vast numbers who have escaped the round-the-clock brainwashing of the fakestream media, PR, advertising, entertainment, think-tanks etc. That is why Putin is held in such high regard despite hysterical hate-mongering from the paid liars of the fakestream media sewer. But all power belongs to the elites and they are mad, bad and dangerous to know and will destroy the world before giving up their God-ordained (as they see it) ‘Full Spectrum Dominance’ over all humanity, forever.
While once, before 1945, this evil Moloch might have been defeated as Nazism was, in a gigantic war of unprecedented horror, but now war is impossible. Even a ‘small’ thermo-nuclear ‘exchange’ would end humanity through the nuclear winter, let alone the plethora of other horror weapons developed, usually with the USA leading the way-but they are ‘Exceptionally’ blood-thirsty, after all. What is worse, the dominance of the West by the deranged monsters of the theocrackpot Zionazi regime, obtained by straight bribery, manifesting itself in daily more extreme campaigns of bullying intimidation, vilification and hounding from public life of anyone who dares criticise Zionazi barbarity in any form, makes the chances of internal reform and a return to sanity and decency, utterly impossible. When the de facto ‘Leader of the Free World’ is a psychopathic racist thug like Netanyahu, we are in deep trouble.
Mulga, for temporary escape from the world’s madness you might appreciate BOJO the Buffoon being owned by Lexus and Vovan.
I was only able to listen to the first 8 minutes:
Boris Johnson taken for a fool by Russian pranksters (AUDIO)
http://theduran.com/boris-johnson-taken-for-a-fool-by-russian-pranksters-audio/
We are in deep trouble
The global collective, whorshippers of Mollach must be defeated, and they will be; unfortunately, it will be horrible for everyone.
We can do our best to lead many of them away from their captivity by enabling their education about the sociopathic global extremist cult, which they self-identify with, thus diminish the parasitic weed’s control mechanics.
I recommend to everyone to nicely, where possible, suggest people read “The Controversy of Zion“, by Douglas Reed.
This book is available online, though I suggest downloaders take every precaution to protect their identity/privacy… just to be on the safe side.
Is it possible for a country to be prosperous yet not break few bones( ie. Not being “good” on some issues) ?
Most Western Elites believe “morals” come in the way of becoming prosperous. This is unique problem to the West because of Christian hatred of wealth and materialism.( Rich will never go to heaven.. All those verses) and its secular offshoot ideologies
How this dialectic will be played out is very interesting.
… of Christian hatred of wealth and materialism
Where have you been living all the years? As far as I know regard several Christians (especially) Calvinists wealth as a reward for being good Christians.
Although Jesus spoke very critical about the rich, he wasn’t against the rich: Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God (Matthew 19:24) Not a single word of this statement expresses hatred. In many cases wealth was created by harming, exploiting or cheating others. Nevertheless doesn’t the word many equal 100 percent.
Maybe you could provide us with some references to sources that express the hatred of which you’ve written.
“Come now, you who are rich, weep, howling at the miseries that are coming for you: Your riches have spoiled and your garments have become moth-eaten; Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will serve as testimony against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have kept treasure in the last days. Look: The wages of the workers who have reaped your lands, which have been unfairly held back by you, clamor aloud, and the outcries of those who have reaped have entered the ears of the Lord Sabaoth. You lived on the earth in dainty luxury and self-indulgence. You have gorged your hearts on a day of slaughter. You have condemned -have murdered- the upright man; he does not oppose you.” James (5:1-6)
Rich will never go to heaven
Christ never said any such thing :-)
We will find out soon enough.
The US/Neocons are at the stage of “making ultimatums that simply cannot be accepted” with both North Korea and Iran.
Once the offer is refused the only option left is to attack these countries.
Will the US succeed? Maybe. But it has no other option but to go through with it since the driving force is ideological.
The Europeans have been told to comply. If they do, then fine. If not then they will also be brought under control, one way orthe other. Remember, if you are not with us then you are against us.
Is Russia in a position to prevent an attack on these two countries without risking nuclear war with the US? No. This war is based on ideology and can only end with one side being the clear victor.
Does not look good. Gather together your survival rations, enough for at least 6 months.
The UN Charter, to which the USA is party, states unequivocally that aggression is a major crime, the ‘Supreme Crime’ under the Nuremberg judgments. As is the threat of aggression. Yet the USA threatens genocidal aggression almost daily, while nothing happens. This must be the ‘Rules-Based International Order’ that Imperial stooges repeat, robotically, all the time these days. And here, in Austfailure, today’s MH17 shite is already being reported as ‘A Russian missile brought down the jet’, and our mummified Foreign Minister (a great screecher of ‘The Rules-Based International Order’) is already threatening to take measures against Russia. This is the beginning of the end for the 2018 FIFA World Cup-the timing is so blatant.
Mulga, what on earth did you do to deserve an execrable boot licker like Julie Bishop?
Under the assumption that it is a matter of time until everybody can see that Washington is economically, financially and morally bankrupt and it is on a perfect path of self-destruction, I see Putin’s wait and see (do not rock the boat) policy as the best choice.
Meanwhile, my prayers are with the Palestinians, the Syrians, the Iranians and the Russians fighting in the Ukraine.
Russia is a rising power and growing stronger. Certainly any graphs post-Yeltsin look that way.
China is a rising power, growing stronger, and likely the most powerful nation in the world about 20-30 years from now.
Putin has formed an alliance with China that seems strong. At the least, he’s been forced into it by the west rejecting his offers of peace and partnership.
Which means that both Putin and the Chinese leadership know that if they simply avoid a war and wait, then they will be stronger and stronger. Eventually, they will be in a position Sun Tsu would appreciate of their combined strength making any conflict a foregone conclusion before it begins.
Putin is regularly vilified from all sides for not being aggressive today and starting a war, but both Putin and Xi know that if there is no war, then they win. And if they manage to delay a war, then it is highly likely that they win. They both know the worst thing they could do is to fight a war today.
Andrei My Orthodox Brother,
I agree with you that the right thing to do for Russia (and any nation) is to take a stand with the Syrians and Iranians against Anglo Zionist aggression. It is also right and just to stand by the Palestinian people (both Christian, Muslim and Jewish) as they battle the Zionist occupation of their land.
It may be the right thing to do but is it a winnable strategy? Truly we live in the age of the Antichrist.
Putin has stated his opposition to todo modo, the by any means necessary attitude. It’s crucial that he remembers it. The land is not our grandmother? It’s more than that. And even if it’s less, we are not here to gain the world, control it, take it for ours, arrest nature. We are not the light bringers.
If Putin had some truly Orthodox counsel, he may care to mention what Christ would do more than yoga, progress or judo. Those of us far outside and away from power may consider it a goal to make sure such counsel is in mind for every decision taken.
Those are very important questions. The attack on Russia and her values is more than 100 years old. The attack on Christianity is much older. It is true that by defending Russia we also defend Christianity in a very important sense . But it is not realistically possible in my opinion to separate geographically Good an Evil. so we will either see Evil defeated all over the world, at least partially, or Good will be defeated even in Russia. The strategy of making the rift between Central Europe and UK -USA block is the only one which might work as far as I can see. If it works than there is possibility for healthier forces to prevail in the USA . The Western Paradigm could change away from liberal Capitalism towards more Socially sound model. If it doesn’t work it is not good at all. I do not see how it can be replaced by just Eastern Outlook with the West left out to rot. I do not see good future for the world in that case. Let us wait to see what happens. And pray!
The neocons roll out an MH17 “update” when they need a distraction. They used it back in September of 2016, when a Lavrov-Kerry brokered cease fire agreement was sabotaged by the US side by bombing Deir ez-Zor, killing 82 Syrian servicemen and allowing ISIS to do something they were unable to do for 4 years, advance on their position. The CIA also used a few well placed IEDs in New York to keep their barbarism out of the domestic headlines.
Sweden has started handing out flyers on what to do in case of war… their hysteria over Russia is just mindboggling. As if the submarine affairs of decades past weren’t humiliation enough. It seems their military is still too independently minded and still pining for NATO membership.
Now the Australian government has decided to blame Russia based on Dutch report.
Pretty transparent what’s going on — but it all feeds mainstream media front page and keeps the anti meme going.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/australia-accuses-russia-of-direct-role-in-shooting-down-mh17-20180525-p4zhk0.html
Of course, also being a resource exporting economy would not bias any Australian perceptions against an economic rival for key markets. /sarc
Well after the “highly likely” Skripal set up – now the MH17 has now moved to the “its (Russia) responsible” set up – four years later.
Where’s the recordings from the MH17 black box – UK? The “state sponsored doping” by Wada – UK using that line again for MH17.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the “novichok produced in Russia” story was started so the “missile came from Russia” scenario now being used for MH17. Remember the missile put on display by the JIT – it was a soviet missile fragment decommissioned and all destroyed in Russia by 2011. The Ukrainians however had these missiles still.
Wait for this to be used to instigate sanctions again demanded by the US to the EU…..that’s how the whole sanctions saga started after MH17 disaster.
Agreed, Mr. Saker. Many parts of the world are in a state that is pivotal to their future, and the future of the world. I truly hope the EU grows a couple and backs Iran, and restores its relationship with Russia.
Dear Saker
“I believe that Iran is vital for Russia because Iran has achieved what Russia is still after: full sovereignty.”
Please explain…
Regards Zeljko
“But if Iran is actually meaningfully attacked by any combination of AngloZionist states, then Russia will have to chose.
…[]…
That does not mean fighting a war on behalf of the Iranians or “protecting” Iran, but that will mean a willingness to help Iran at all level short of war. Which is what Russia has been doing in Syria.”
That is the opposite of the truth.
https://twitter.com/israel_mid_ru/status/989088676218064896
Ambassador Alexander Shein in interview for @ynetnews : “Russia takes into account Israeli interests and concerns with regard to Syria”
https://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-5240485,00.html
Quote
As for Israel’s concerns about the Iranian presence in Syria, especially in the wake of Iran’s threats to destroy Israel, the ambassador said:
“Russia is constantly taking into account Israel’s concerns and interests in maintaining national security. The mutual relations between Israel and Iran in light of the mutual threats and the mutual rejection of the two countries. We must be concerned that Iran now has a presence in Syria. This could lead to a worsening and warming of the entire region in the Middle East, and we of course can not help but be concerned about it.”
End Quote
This might be one of your best essays, Saker. I like that you are sticking to your convictions while trying be as pragmatic as possible while doing that. Lately, some are trying to justify whatever Russia does but its nice to see you adhering to your beliefs. I think you’re going to get hell for it, probably, but it’s nice to see what you are doing.
Thanks for your kind words, it good to see that somebody appreciates what I am doing, especially at a time when the two extremes I mentioned in my article are becoming so prevalent everywhere.
Kind regards,
The Saker
Dear Saker, I believe all or most of us who are regular visitors of your web site appreciate your work.
Obviously, not everyone will 100% agree with your opinions all the time, but nonetheless you are doing a great job here — keep it up!
Cheers
Seb
I think, Russian elites, educated and rulling class have chosen the West. The gas “deal” with EU, where Russia accepted all requests from EU is a crude evidence for this.
Russian elites suffer from a kind of lower value complex, they want to be accepted on the west, they want desperately to be “loved” in Paris or London. That is their sweet illusion.
Choosing Israel’s side in the Middle East conflict is another sign of this politics.
‘Elites’ under capitalism are exceptional only in their greed, egomania and self-delusion.
” …. Russian elites, educated and ruling class have chosen the West.
Fortunately not all of them. For examples Makcim Shevchenko.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maksim_Shevchenko_(journalist)
Makcim Shevchenko (and Ivan Vishnevsky). About the massacre of
Palestinians by Zionists and the reaction of Moscow
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hF1QJnhTFg4
Syria needs to shoot down all Israeli planes and missiles (M. Shevchenko)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6phva5Wu-X4
You can change the videos’ subtitles to English
Russia can equivocate and carry out its balancing act as long as it wants, however in the end, Russia will be forced to decide, whether to submit itself completely to Israel’s agenda, or to stand up and confront that murderous regime.
It did not look good for Putin to have war criminal Netanyahu as his special guest recently. Whatever was the Kremlin’s intended psychology behind it, it was a huge flop.
The leader of a regime – and if there is any administration/government that deserves to be labeled a regime, it is Israel’s- that shoots 500 unarmed Palestinians demonstrators in the head, should not be hosted as a VIP in Moscow.
And in the not too distant future, Russia will have to decide whether to stand with these war criminals or stand against them.
As for Iran, and whether or not Russia is morally obligated to assist Iran in the event of an imposed war on Iran,
-if Iran falls, so will Syria.
The stabilisation of Syria is in large part due to the Iranians, because Russia could not have done it alone, and remember, Iran was there before Russia, and from some accounts, he Iranians were the ones to convince Russia to intervene militarily in September 2015.
If Syria falls, what good would that do to Russia?
Which country would Russia rather to be aligned with Iran or Israel?
Soon, it will be forced to choose, whether it wants to or not!
Selah
“Which country would Russia rather to be aligned with Iran or Israel?”
Most posters here I would guess would choose Iran.
From what I see, Putin would choose Israel.
There are a number of reasons why this huge shift in alliance could be. One is that there is a very large number of Russians living in Israel.
A bigger reason could be that supporting Muslin countries has never really done the Soviet Union much good.
An example of this is, in the early 70s the Soviet Union gave Egypt very good AA equipment. In the 73 war the Egyptians were able to shot down many Israeli planes but they lost the war anyway. Soon after this the Egyptians swapped sides and the Soviet Union never got paid for the equipment or even a thankyou.
I don’t believe it is any more a question of alignment. There is one world, one planet. Putin has stressed multipolarity and also the overwhelming superiority of current Russian technology in warfare. I don’t believe his motives are to dominate in any other sense than to be a policing arm of the world’s governance by international standards. And if China can support the Russian efforts to make a meaningful United Nations rise from the ashes of the current one, that is most heartily to be praised. His emphasis on Russian people and Russian land is because there is to be found the highest form of nationhood this world can and should aspire to – sure, it’s not perfect, but it is better than anything else the world currently has to offer in terms of freedom of spirit, and desire for peace for the entire world. There is still to be won a good life for every Russian, but to cross nationalities, Rome wasn’t built in a day.
All empires have an expiry date but there is no denying that the AngloZionist empire won’t windup without a fight, and strategically speaking one place provide a kind of kill lots of birds with one stone solution for the empire: the middle east.
Imagine how reinvigorated Washington would be if it could defeat the last obstacle (Iran Axis) to its dominance in that region, not only will America gain unfettered access to tremendous source of energy but will also be able to deal a severe blow to the economy of countries like China and Russia because due to abundance of gas in Iran South Pars and Qatar Dome it could permanently wane Europe off dependence on Russia gas striking a near mortal blow to Russia economy and China greatly depend on middle east for her supply of crude given America leverage over China’s economy.
Some would argue that Russia and China will form an strategic partnership to counter the empire, while Russia supply China with her oil and gas need China would in turn provide Russia with economy leeway in mutually beneficial agreement and could even go as far as to incorporate the South Americans likes of Venezuela, Bolivia, really? I will argue that they simply don’t understand global liberal capitalism which doesn’t exclude China.
Any attempt to encompass the South Americans will simply cost such party more than they bargain for as Washington will enmeshed that region in a continental war. Russia doesn’t have the economic clout for such endeavour while China would simply avoid such bill opting for negotiation with the empire. Material pragmatism devoid of any morality would prevail under such circumstance and it would be all man for himself. While China might have some economic leverages to reach some sort of agreement with the West I wonder what Russia will use, unless Russia is ready to accept a position of junior partner to China, at this point Russia and Putin will completely be at the mercy of the Atlantic integrationist party with Russia sovereignty extremely endangered.
Pragmatism devoid of morality is always a good short cut to material success but turns out in the long run you cannot beat the devil at its own game, there will always be a pay day.
Why I started approving the governments of Syria and Russia.
http://stateofthenation2012.com/?p=99493
A prophetic forecast from the dark days of 2012. It shows the value of enduring values.
“For we wrestle not [only?] against flesh and blood but against Powers in the Heavens”. — St.Paul, Corinthians
If putin’s treatment of russia’s rich and poor is a good guide, then he will choose to be a bystander. Only because he wants to do business with europe and israeli lobby there needs to be satisfied. Moral stand is possible for countries with a moral ideology. Putin clearly have chosen neoliberalism as his ideology (as a.mercurious also argues) for which only power and money talks. I have no doubt that if he were to be US president he would continue imperial policies (no doubt smarter ones) quite gleefully
No country can make decisions strictly on a moral or ethical basis. Reality forces us into situations constantly where it is a choice between evils. This simply can not be avoided. So the best we can hope for is that our leaders will make wise choices that favour our countries’ interests. I believe Putin is doing that. I do not believe he is an Atlanticist, nor is he a Sovereignist. Many people, including I suspect The Saker, fall on one side or the other. Putin simply acts in what he perceives as the interests of the Russian people. He is not infallible, nor is he careless.
To say that the Atlanticists have won because Putin wants to improve economic relations with Europe is a bit on the naive side. Who does not want better economic relations with Europe? Putin knows that if given the time, the US will slip up and a crack will appear in the link between the US and the EU. Putin intends to slip through that crack and widen it in favour of the Russian people. That is not a win by the Atlanticists. That is a win by the Russian people for better economic ties.
And as much as I dislike Israel and the legality of its existence, yet I understand why Russia is not going to intentionally antagonise the Israeli government – why go to war unnecessarily? Yes, Israel will continue to bait Iran into a war. Israel will continue to push the US to fight that war for her. Is this something Russia can stop? I think not. And I would wager Putin feels the same. Some day Israel and the US might wel succeed in getting into an Iranian war. Iran is not defenseless. And there are many regional allies who could cause great pain both to America and Israel. Iran does not need a Russian military alliance. They can not lose a war to America and Israel, and yet they can cause great harm to both of them – economically and more importantly internationally humiliating them by that damage. Russia need not step into that, nor should she unless her interests in the region are directly attacked. Russia is doing all she needs to do at present – supplying arms, international political support and assistance in defending against the terrorists in Syria.
Saker, do not be so negative over Russia and Putin. They are doing a masterful job strategically on the geopolitical front. They are keeping the FUKUS at bay. They are demonstrating to the world that they are a major political power in the world to be reckoned with and that can be relied upon (unlike the US0 to mediate differences without prejudice. They are developing weaponry that can not be defended against, thus re-establishing the global balance of power. They are forming extremely important economic alliances with the East. They are continually testing the economic waters to the West of them. They are helping China to establish the New Silk Road. They are building the financial infrastructure to gain insurance against the US Dollar (gold-backed currency, transactions between countries in their own national currencies, development of payment systems, development of a SWIFT alternative, developing a move away from the petrodollar, and engaging with Europe over the possibility of paying for goods and services in Euros instead of dollars. These are all massive efforts on the part of Russia that will eventually insure that the world has a place to go when the US implodes.
On the domestic front Putin continues to this day to improve Russian lives, scaling down military expenditures (after re-establishing global balance of power) and scaling up domestics projects. He is responsible for Russia at last taking real steps towards industrial diversification (thanks in large part to USA sanctions!). He is developing Russia as the breadbasket of the world, improving the agriculture sector. Russia is making real progress in technology, AI and other areas. He will be funding added pension, health and education projects.
I could go on and on, but you get the point. That Russia has been able to accomplish all this and so much more is really very much down to Mr Putin and his team. Does Putin make mistakes? Of course! Does he need a new PR team? Yes, of course (Russians have always been horrible at PR)!
So all in all, I have to say “Carry on, Mr Putin! You have my support as long as you rule in the interests of your people.”
Saker, do not be so negative over Russia and Putin.
Do you get the difference between “negative” and “critical”?
I have to say “Carry on, Mr Putin! You have my support as long as you rule in the interests of your people.”
So in fact you are taking exactly the same approach as I do: you are making your support conditional (‘as long as’).
Look, this blog is not a United Russia cheering club, but a place to think, analyze and, indeed, by critical if and when needed. Look at the latest VTSIOM polls, about 50% of Russia are happy with the new/old government, and about 50% are not.
Pointing out problems or being critical of policies is hardly “being negative”.
Would you really prefer that I did the same thing as so many others and “wobbled my position according to the Party line”? What would be the point? Do the blogosphere really need another mindless cheerleader?
Please think about this.
The Saker
Fair comment Saker – you are to be applauded in your virtual home.
“If you want the Russian economy integrated into the western markets and financial sphere, if you believe that the correct economic path of development for Russia is western-style liberal capitalism,if you believe that the Zionist lobby in Russia does not exist or is not an issue, then you truly have cause to rejoice and, indeed, many have (including my friend Alexander Mercouris at The Duran).
But if you believe that morals, ethics should always prime so-called “pragmatic” considerations, if you believe that the correct path for Russia is to follow her own civilizational model, if you believe that there is a very influential and highly toxic Zionist lobby in Russia, then you have cause to worry.”
Perhaps I have misunderstood these two statements. They appear to be more in the camp of complaints, not constructive criticism. And frankly, they appear to me to be on the negative side – the Atlanticists seem to have the upper hand now – morals and ethics have lost, at least for the time. For the reader who would like to see Russia make economic inroads to the EU AND believe there is a pernicious Zionist influence in Russia as well, your statement seems to make me appear to be an Atlanticist – which I can assure you I am not – and that Altanticists now have great cause for joy – which, as I have stated in my prior comment, I do not at all believe – indeed the opposite seems to be happening with the acceleration of the financial/monetary steps Putin and his team are taking to bring a measure of independence to the system and the work they are doing with China in developing the One Belt One Road Initiative.
As for moral decisions, you state that Iran has made such a choice but Russia hasn’t (for good reasons as well), You state that Russia will have to make a decision eventually, even if it is to continue to be a ‘bystander’. Well, yes, I suppose that is obvious, as there are only three choices to be made – join them, fight them, or stand to the side and let them fight it out. You state the obvious, and you also point out that Russia is doing all she can to support Iran short of war, and that Russia will most likely, and rightfully, continue to do so. So it seems you have answered your own question as to ‘values’ in the case of Iran. I suspect what you are really trying to say is that you wish Russia would threaten the US and Israel with quick and devastating retaliation if they should bomb Syria or Iran in order to show strength and resolve. But you also understand that that position is likely to lead to a huge war, so you are left frustrated, as is P C Roberts. That’s ok. But you seem to imply that not supporting such a local show of strength and rightly held values is somehow a ‘wrong value’, which of course it is not given the bigger picture of the threat to world peace, the maintenance of which is a ‘right value’.
On the Palestinian issue, you seem to make a similar argument – if you have the right values, you will support the Palestinians, but on the other hand you understand why Russia is not so outwardly supporting them. Again your excellent analysis leads to the correct conclusion – Russia is in the end correct to keep to the pragmatic path she is on until forced otherwise. So what is your problem, your criticism? Where is Putin going wrong here? What would you have him do? If you have real and constructive criticism of his actions, then what exactly would you have him do if he were appoint you his chief adviser?
Same with the Donbas issue. Sure the nazis will continue to bleed them, and sure Russia has certain choices, and sure this can not go on forever. But where is your criticism? As you well know there are differences between complaints and criticisms (though complaints can contain criticisms). Based on the analysis that you have presented (and I fully agree with it!) what exactly do you feel should Russia be doing that they are not doing now in Ukraine? Put this in front of us as criticism of Russia’s actions (or lack thereof).
There is nothing wrong with making a valid complaint – we all do. Your analysis (both current and past) of the situation Russia finds herself in in Ukraine and the ME is almost faultless. Further, your analysis of the resulting choices Russia is faced with based on that analysis appears to me to be comprehensive and quite reasonable. Your position on ‘morals/ethics’ v ‘pragmatism’ is quite valid, but shows the frustration I believe you (and many of us readers as well) feel when we find ourselves in such predicaments, and seems to lack substantative guidance on the approach that you believe we/Russia should actually be taking on these issues if it were up to you. But where you fall most seriously short (only in my opinion, of course) is failing to provide valid criticism of Russia’s actions, or lack thereof – what should she be doing if not what she is doing now, and why? How would you change her behaviour, and why? This is what would be of greatest interest to me – and I suspect many others. And this is also, by the way, what I would consider valid ‘criticism’.
All that being said. I read your analyses and opinions without fail, and truly appreciate the work you do – and of course will continue to do so. And I also very much enjoy reading the comments section – a truly enlightened group – a real pleasure.
And BTW, the options “Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.” doesn’t seem to work.
Victor, from my point of view The Saker criticizes Western style neoliberalism (“liberal capitalism”), which is nothing else than money worship. Look very close at liberal capitalism and you’ll realize that the rich can put immense pressure onto the poor. If you’ve got enough money, then you can even sue someone into bankruptcy and this is entirely legal. Money isn’t a tool for exchange anymore, it has been turned into a weapon. Does it make any difference to ruin someones life by beating that person into the hospital or to ruin it by bankrupting that person? In both cases you’ve got a broken person. The worst part of all this is that (like mentioned at the beginning of my comment) people worship money and the money changers (or rich).
I don’t think the Saker is being very negative, he does make a valid point Iran is the one taking the morale high ground in this matter, I can recognize that even if I don’t think it’s wrong of Russia to take a pragmatic stance.
There is full agreement on my side on the Palestine and the Iran issue. The matter of resistance against the genocide committed against the Palestinian people should not be compromised if you want to be an ethical and person or an ethically minded country.
And for Russia being allied with Iran and strengthening the resistance axis against the ‘Empire of chaos’ is important for the good of humanity.
But I do disagree on the issue of relationships with Europe, especially my country Germany.
Like you, I would like to see an economy that’s not neoliberal, not based primarily on greed but on mutually beneficial cooperation. But to begin with I see any kind of cooperation even within the neoliberal model as a step in the right direction.
Sadly Germany’s political and economic elites, since they have been so totally under the American whip and the American controlled media (Antlantikbrücke), have turned the country into a poster child for the neoliberal economic model. However, Germans as a whole including many within the economic and political establishment do not like this state of affairs.
Many would like to change things if they could.
And if you can get us at the purse, you’ll have us all. When a German’s economic interests are at stake, even the most fervent America-friend will waver.
And for Germany’s and for Russia’s sake a good relationship between us is our best protection from harm.
I would say that if Russia and Germany would have been allies during WWI, the war would have been over in 1916 when Germany offered the allies a peace-treaty where everyone would gone home without losing any land and everybody would have born their own war-costs.
Maybe WWI would not even have happened at all. I think Russia had been tricked into the war just like Germany had, because of the Mackinder ‘heartland’ theory. According to this theory Germany and Russia must never become friends or the British-American axis would lose control over the world.
The Bolshevik revolution would not have happened and Russia would either have become a constitutional monarchy like in the Scandinavian countries or a democratic republic.
Without the lost war and the overt humiliation in Versailles, not many Germans industrialists would have turned ultranationalist. Without the unpayable reparations pressed on Germany, the French occupation of the Ruhr area and the privatization of the German central bank forced upon the country by the allies, the hyperinflation would not have happened and the German middle-class would not have gone ultra-right-wing.
Before all that Hitler and the Nazi-Party were seen as radical idiots, unsuitable to vote for.
German industrial elites wanted economic expansion at that time in the same way China wants it today. They were not interested in war.
If Russia and Germany had been friends in 1914 WWI might not have happened, but WWII would most certainly not have happened at all.
I do not in any way, shape or form justify the atrocities the German army and their brutal special forces committed in Russia, and I’m very sad that this is part of our history.
But all I’m saying is, that without our two countries having fallen to the ‘Divide and Rule’ trick of the British Empire the Nazis would have never come to power and being able to use German soldiers to commit those atrocities.
An alliance between Germany, Russia and China in our day and age would most likely prevent the transatlantic alliance to push the world into WWIII and a possible Amageddon
Russia is unique among all countries to have been first an empire bound USSR that did commit atrocities in neighboring countries, Germany for one, Afghanistan for another; then a country under Yeltsin which took on (having been lured into it) savage neoliberal principles against its own people, as so much of the world has been and is now doing under the western model. It is unique in that in the ranks of the government enough spirit remained to produce a Putin, and those like him, to begin the climb out of the pit.
I say it is unique, because in doing so it consciously took on threads of that spiritual need from all its ethnic peoples, and among those were jewish families some of whom migrated to Israel. That land has problems. It is fast held in a military dictatorship oppressing others. As was Iraq at one time. We saw what a failure was the US solution to Iraq’s difficulties, to any problems Libya might have had, to Syria and to Afghanistan. These were not solutions. These were an affliction of horrible sufferings on millions of peoples.
Do you know what you have done?
There has to be a better way. The alignment is with Russia, and with Russia only because Russia is dragging itself out of that pit, first among nations to do so. The Saker wisely quoted Christ who said ‘Ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.’ This is the truth. Knowing the truth is seeing that latest history of Russia and what its government now intends for the world. Not an empire; not dominance by force of arms.
Dominance by force of spirit. To be first in that, among equals.
Eve,
you are on the right lines. But today, neither Germany, nor the other vassal states of Europe, get to choose.
Vassal politicians are not patriots, but quislings, obeying some higher power.
The Empire will NOT allow Europe to decide its own fate, and jilt uncle Sam for Russa. Master will become murderous if it has to. Nor is Trump a sovereign leader; he is also just another front man.
This is a real problem, not least in Putin’s attempts to build bridges with Europe. I moot that vassals do as their Master instructs. Failure to obey, will lead to horrendous consequences.
I really want to be wrong on this, but in the spirit of advocacy, please everyone consider, that Europe is run by quisling governments, quisling structures and systems, and has neither the option nor the organisation to act in its own best interests. The EU structure is also a sham.
In this I disagree with the Saker; the fear or greed question is a red herring. Europe does not get to choose its own destiny at all. I hope I am wrong.
And if you can get us at the purse, you’ll have us all. When a German’s economic interests are at stake, even the most fervent America-friend will waver.
You’re confirming the point I’ve written about many times in the comment section of this blog (not entirely exclusively with regard to Germany, but in many instances). Nowadays most Germans are neoliberal to the core. It’s all about me, me, me and me. People have changed since the fall of the Iron Curtain. Greed has replaced compassion. Money worship is at an all-time high.
That is exactly what I think. If today there are enough people on both German and Slavic sides who understand that the future will be better!
In an ideal world, choice would be good vs evil. In real world we are often faced with choice between lesser and greater evil. Whatever we choose is bad but at least we understand the possible consequences of our choices and in light of that knowledge we choose lesser evil, if we have the strength. For those who see the world in monochrome it is an evil choice and you will be labeled as evil one and then we will all be taken to the slaughterhouse. It takes great courage and determination to keep on choosing lesser vs greater evil and it is a heavy burden.
Iran, China and others are not in a position to play Russia’s role, reverse is also true. But all of them have a part to play. Mixing those parts up or, even worse in my mind, pushing everyone to play the same part will have the same result as pouring oil into a fire.The Empire is a sledgehammer and it knows only one thing. If only the resistance will solidify itself in one big nail, nothing will make them happier. Alas for them it is not happening. So they wave around trying to nail many smaller nails into place. With each swing they show their incompetence and smash, their own or those helping them, toes, fingers, heads,… As time goes by who knows how many will see more clearly? But how many are seeing now and are weak to act? From where will we draw strength is the question?
Moral relation of a single individual and a state is a hard one. President Putin (and others) is put in a horrible situation he did not create but is trying to fix. One wrong move from him and we can kiss all humanity goodbye. North Korea and Iran are not carrying that burden but Russia and China are. Other will help prolong slavery. Another will ignite conventional war. Just imagine, every citizen of the Empire wakes up one morning just to find that their highest legislative body has changed conscription laws over night and mass conscription is mandatory. Even worse, martial law is now the order of the day and everyone protesting will be branded traitor or shot on the spot. That cannot happen i hear you say. What is there to stop them, please tell me? Did that not happened already in your past? What did you do as nations then? Greatest respect to individuals and groups that did raise their voice and hands against tyranny in the past or are doing so now, showing that not all hope is lost.
Earthly choices nation leaders make are of magnitude not known to us. My mistake cannot cost million of lives or every life on the planet save cockroaches, theirs can. So if any of them value restraint highly but are not blinded by the letter of it but instead by its spirit then they have my support.
Imagine for a moment another scenario. President Putin comes out and talk about AZ Empire or some other bitter pill. How many will swallow it? What will follow? Loss of confidence and therefore office. Then what? Another puppet and a lost chance. Will we get another one? Willing to bet with your and the lives of your loved ones?
We all know who and how led the world in a state it is now. We may not agree on all points but majority of us can see who aggravates the situation further and who tries to make it better. To whom are we to lend a hand is heavenly choice we share with world leaders.
Good post.
To which I would add, if it takes an alliance of independent countries to prevail against the Empire, and no one country is strong enough to act alone, then there is a problem.
The bully is one, the victims are many, and so they agree to unite to rout him. But at the alotted time, the unity and resolve evaporates, and the ringleader of the resistance finds himself alone.
This is a major problem. Common cause is simply not enough. If the leader of an insurrection cannot survive a fight alone, then he had better not start one, because who knows if any of his allies are truly trustworthy.
The Russia/Iran/China axis would have their hands full even if united. I do appreciate in light of all that, the doctrine, never intervene, when your enemy is in the process of making a mistake, or is in decline.
Thinking we can do better we tend to play god over the issue of morality judging as we go, the less the remorse the better. As this persist we begin to imitate the enemy we thought we are fighting hoping against hope to defeat it in its own game until we start to resemble this enemy in fact, tried to surpass its mark.
Alas it is an exercise in futility.
Wow,Yk, I thought PCR was the biggest pessimist against Empire. You out do him. LOL
I would say Dragan’s comment is not good (B)…..but excellent (A+).
Don’t be your own worst enemy …..and then all hope is NOT lost.
WILL is an indispensable element of Love.
And Love Conquers All, even if that means that the aggregate Earth, short of Care, Will and Courage is discarded by the Universe (God, if you will) as, in the aggregate, its inhabitants having been measured…….and found wanting and unwilling to avail themselves of the spirit or morality to survive…….condemn themselves to a worse fate……all the while that a better fate is offered, and IS available..
“Oh, Ye of Little Faith!”
I am afraid I cannot agree with some of the statements made in this article. First of all, I don’t see how the “economic block” of the Russian Government is safely in the hands of the Atlantic integrationists. Yes, Medvedev is back as Prime Minister, but the oligarchs around him have been removed, while Kudrin has been given a mid level job. Putin holds all the power and Medvedev answers to him.
Secondly, it is not a case of Russia making a “rapprochement” with the EU, but the other way round, the EU desperately trying to mend ties with Russia and hoping to keep the US off it’s back. The EU cannot function without the East. Because of sanctions, the EU by the second half of 2016 lost 100 billion euros in trade with Russia. The EU also knows that sanctions have a double intent: weakening Russia economically and breaking economic ties of the EU with Russia, and thus making the EU dependent on the US. Well, the US went too far, impersonating Imperial Rome. It’s not a question of greed as such, but of simple economics, the US turning the EU into it’s own private little empire and forcing it to buy limited amounts of energy at double price and terminating any Russian exports and imports. The US forgot that it is on the other side of the Atlantic while Russia is part of Europe. What is hilarious is that the EU is expected to obey the imperial commands of a former colony and having EU politicians being placed in an impossible position before their domestic populations. As I have written before, analysts have since last year been stating that it is only a matter of time before a rift occurs between EU and US elites, as politics is at the mercy of economics and not the other way round.
As for the situation in the Donbas, I am not too worried. The Donabs Russians had more than three years to dig in, openly stating on the Internet that they are ready for any Ukrainian attack. There is not much that Poroshenko can do with his demoralized conscript Army. The only troops he can partially rely on are neo-Nazis from Western Ukraine. Every time the Ukrainian Army launched a local attack it ended getting a bloody nose, losing more men than the Donbas Russians, as was to be expected. Should Poroshenko launch an all out attack prior or during the World Cup, he will start a chain reaction inside Ukraine, where the population is hostile to any more war in the Donbas. Analysts have already warned that internal strife in Ukraine could well see the country break up into three parts, which is probably inevitable.
Europe does not get to choose. See my post above.
Nor does it answer to the US… they both answer to a higher power, which is why the true dynamics are hard to spot.
We are trained from an early age, to associate power structures in terms of the nation state, which is why it is so hard to make sensse of what the real power structures are. We are not trained to see them, or even to think outside the way we were taught.
Europe will do as it is told. Any outbreak of spirit willl be short lived.
Thanks for your insights. I keep wondering how much longer the Ukraine can stagger on? From Fort Russ News, please note this article: “Shocking EU reforms–Ukraine’s public debt doubles in 4 years, while personal incomes halve” — ‘at the end of 2013, Ukraine’s state and publically guaranteed debt was 40% of GDP, and by the end of 2017 it had more than doubled….in 2013, Ukraine’s GDP per capita was more than $4075, and in 2016 this had decreased to $2221….for millions of Ukrainians the so-called civilizational choice turned into unemployment, hopeless poverty, and lack of faith in tomorrow.” This is designed to cause people to throw their values out the window, it is designed to completely dehumanize us. I’ve read stories about starving soldiers –my God, how are they supposed to fight, or live? Apparently the elites are untroubled by these details. No doubt there are crazy people holding this up as some kind of “economic success story” , which means this is the blueprint being followed for many other countries, including the bankrupt USA. Get ready, America. From msutoday : “MSU/Michigan State University scholars find $21 Trillion in unauthorized gov’t spending: Defense Dep’t to conduct first ever audit.” This is insane. Our “leaders” are insane.
“So which will prevail? The cowardice and subservience of the European leaders or their greed?”
If it were only their greed that counted, there might be some hope. But I fear the wicked manipulators of the Empire employ all means: stick as well as carrot, threats as well as bribery. A politician who might conceivably find it in her soul to refuse untold wealth may still be unable to accept the risk of falling downstairs and “accidentally” breaking her neck, or having her family die in a fire or a car crash – or even, perchance, being assassinated by nerve agents “highly likely” to have originated in Russia.
Unfortunately for us, and for all honest people, there seems to be no such thing as a Jedi knight in reality. We have to do this on our own.
Tom Welsh
Well, besides politicians you also have industrialists and other people. When sanctions were introduced against Russia, 500 German industrialists defied Merkel and went to Russia, openly conducting negotiations. As I have already written, politics is at the mercy of economics. There is nothing the US can do to prevent a massive European shift towards Russia, which in the end will certainly happen.
@B.F.
Come on. EU is weak and vulnerable.
Total and Maersk already announced they are packing from Iran. The rest of EU´s companies with business in USA will follow.
Today USA sits hard all over Europe military and economically after 3 years of EU boot licking US. Even Sweden and Finland have joined the Barbarosa II party.
So cognac Juncker, refugee Merkel, sissy Macron and question Tusk are going to take independent de Gaulle macho decisions? …………………………………….LMAOL.
… 500 German industrialists defied Merkel … As I have already written, politics is at the mercy of economics.
From the point of view and industrialist or a CEO of a large company is some influential and powerful person. If you look at the whole picture that this powerful person is a puppet as well. The strings are pulled by the bankers. Industry need credit to finance the (raw) materials or new machines. Since banks are the ones to grant loans it’s them who’re the ones to decide which company will exist tomorrow and which will be gone.
Yes, politics is at the mercy of economics, but it’s the bankers setting the tune.
Even without considering the moral dimension at all, I believe that Russia must stand by Iran – as must China, and Pakistan, Iraq, Syria, and all Asian states. Asia forms a natural fortress, from which the American mainland is far removed. Just as there is no possibility of anyone launching a successful invasion of the USA, Asia should be quite impregnable provided that its nations stand back to back, Musketeer style, and don’t allow themselves to be “turned”.
To that end, I feel that every American probe of Asia should be decisively defeated – no matter how small and insignificant it seems. To say, “They shall not enter Asia – ils ne passeront pas” is simple and impossible to misunderstand.
It’s all a show for the little people of the world. Putin is in Israel’s pocket as surely as Trump is. Calling people Jew haters and anti-semites has pretty well destroyed your credibility as well.
People all around the world want the Truth and they want justice,not more lies and death of innocents.
Putin and Trump played the world and won. It will be a long dark night for humanity.
“Until philosophers are kings, or the kings and princes of this world have the spirit and power of philosophy, and political greatness and wisdom meet in one, and those commoner natures who pursue either to the exclusion of the other are compelled to stand aside, cities will never have rest from their evils, – no, nor the human race, as I believe, and then only will this our state have a possibility of life.” (Plato, The Republik, 473)
“Since you know as well as we do that, when these matters are discussed by practical people, the standard of justice depends on the equality of power to compel and that in fact the strong do what they have the power to do and the weak accept what they have to accept.” (Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War, The Melian Dialog)
“Human life is composed of three parts: the past that will not return, the present that will disappear, and the future that we cannot know.” (Arabic proverb)
So, take it easy Saker and be relaxed. Russia will not disappear, how could she?
So, take it easy Saker and be relaxed. Russia will not disappear, how could she?
It all depends what you mean by “Russia” and by “disappear”, of course. Modern France is not the same as pre-1789 France nor is it medieval France or ancient Gaul. So this is not about “relaxing” but about *understanding* your categories and what kind of Russia you wish for.
The Saker
Bravo Saker, another fascinating read. You have a way of tying things together, and its even more enjoyable to read when its a high minded topic such as this one.
I remember reading a hadith(saying) from the Prophet Muhammad(saww) a while back. In which he basically says the sole reason he was sent, was to perfect the ethics. I also read in another Islamic book not to long ago, that religion always comes down from God almighty as monotheism, and when it goes back up towards God almighty, it returns as moral deeds, ethical deeds, and actions, which either conform with or deny what was revealed.
“And maybe they will come to conclude, as I do, that moral, ethical and spiritual values are pragmatic considerations and that the apparent choice between them is an illusion.”
This is a perfect thought. It is absolutely true, and its reverberations are felt in many of the stories of the holy Prophet’s(as) sent by God almighty(swt).
For example in the story of the Great Prophet Moses(as) and his encounter with the cursed Pharaoh. Did the Prophet Moses(as) and Prophet Aaron(as) look at the material wealth, manpower, and status of the Pharaoh? Did they let it sway them away from saying the truth to the cursed Pharaoh, and his people? No of course not. They kept their faith, and trust in God, and even though they looked like the weak ones, they overcame the injustices of the Pharaoh, and ultimately turned the tables on him. If the Prophet Moses and Aaron(as) were pragmatists, they would cut a deal with the Pharaoh as soon as they seen the size of his palace, and his well armed royal guards.
In the life of the Messiah Jesus son of Mary(as), did he give in to the corrupted head religious leaders from the children of Israel? Even though they were the ones who had complete religious control of that society? Prophet Jesus(as) never shied away from confronting those Pharisees, and exposed their mountainous hypocrisy. Did the Messiah(as) ever give in to any of the demands of the hypocrites of his time? The amount of followers he had in his lifetime might have been small, but the truth is something that doesn’t have time to look at numbers, its something that always stands regardless of any outside factors.
The holy Prophet Muhammad(saww), was sent to Arabia when the pagan Arabs were steeped in materialism and sensuality. The Meccan chieftains turned the holy house built by Prophet Abraham(as) into a sanctuary for their idol gods. They put the early Muslim communities through harsh trials. When the Prophet(saww) was approached by them to stop spreading his message because it was effecting their control of the people, they promised him wealth and whatever his heart could desire. The Prophet(saww) replied he wouldn’t stop preaching this message even if they were to put the “sun in his right hand, and the moon on his left.” Eventually the truth overcame falsehood again.
So if one looks closely at the lives of the Prophets(as), they will see that they were the standards when it came to standing up for correct morals, and the true defenders of an upright spirituality.
The truth will have to win out against falsehood. Regardless of the amount of support you and I assume falsehood has. The truth has God, and falsehood has nothing.
Thank you, Ahmed, for a Muslim like you it is much easier to understand what I wrote and why I wrote it than for a modern agnostic or atheist. This is a very core topic for us, the center of our worldview, but for most people nowadays this is all naive, pollyannish or, my grand favorite “out of touch”, even for putative Christians. You write ” The truth has God, and falsehood has nothing.”. Saint Alexander Nevsky once famously said “strength lies not in force, but in truth”. As you can see, our faiths might differ, but our ethos’ are very similar.
Ramadan kareem!
The Saker
Thanks for the wishes on this holy month. This is the month we believe all the holy books were revealed, not just the Quran. Living in the US, its sad to say, most Muslims could care less anymore of what their brothers and sisters are going through around the world. Its hard to not be consumed with day to day activities. I guess it was made this way to keep us busy, and keep dissent at bay. I suspect some of it, comes from fear. Since most Muslims know that the US will always be staunch Zionists, and we cant really do anything to change that. So they fear speaking out, thinking they might be thrown into Guantanamo bay. Over time it has a rotten effect, because you will forget what you stand for. I remember after 9/11 my father went and bought tons of American flags, and just plastered them all over our apartment lol. Living 20 miles away from NYC, I guess it was a good idea. On top of that the anti Muslim propaganda from the Zionist mouth pieces have shell shocked most Muslims, and made many non Muslim Americans have an unjustified hate towards Muslims. So I think across the board, faith and spirituality has become something almost to be ashamed of. I don’t know when it happened, but it got to a point I didn’t feel it was safe to outwardly show my religious affiliation. Its exactly what you said that everyone viewed it “as out of touch.” This is in both the Muslim community, and a lot more noticeable outside of the Muslim community. You can almost feel the world descending into something dark, for a while now.
“strength lies not in force, but in truth”. That’s a great quote by the Saint. We always viewed Christians and Jews, as somewhat family members. Even though all the rotten movements in all 3 kind of makes it tough to see at times. I like you will be hoping that the Russian people as a whole can do the right thing, whenever the moment calls for it. I feel as if they have many good qualities that makes them stand far above their western peers. Take care my friend, and God bless.
The Americans have hated the Iranians since they dared to throw out their American-appointed torturer and jailer known as the Shah. How dare those people do that? Ever since, its been hate, hate, hate and more hate.
The behaviour of the West over the MH17 nonsense is just bizarre in the extreme.
They are now insisting Russia admits everything despite having presented no evidence. Russia has repeatedly denied all involvement and the missile itself was so old that it could never have been one used by the Russian military.
It is turning into a farce (like the Skripal affair). Russia will need a lot of patience to get through this.
Thank you.
There is much to unpack, and potentially comment on.
1. Russian tactical moves aligned to long term strategy
As we have discussed, more than once, as such a significant global player, in a complicated time in its redevelopment (with strengths and weaknesses), Russian’s geopolitical leeway is quite minimal.
The path is narrow, but not unnavigatable!
I draw everyone’s attention to the skill of its navigation so far, in the context of the past 5-6 years.
The commander is very competent, and has demonstrated superlative judgement.
That is not to dismiss the dangerousness of the waters.
1.1 However, any way you look at it, there are multiple fissure lines forming in western Eurasia (currently, the EU): 1.1.1 we have the greedy so-and-soes diverging from the political lapdogs and the direction of some of their masters, 1.1.2 we have interesting democratic developments, lately, the new government in Italy, and the flailing, over-stretched schtick of the masters of perception management international collective, which, as we all know, completely controls the western mainstream media, in alignment with their little patch of stolen Palestinian land, which they call their country.
Sooner or later (prediction 1) conflicting view on the situation in the Ukraine will start to emerge in the empire’s western Eurasia, and another plank in the matrix of lies, which forms the basis of the virtual world created by the rabidly Chauvinistic global collective, for the enablement of their ongoing negative-sum-gain gaming the systems, governments, and people of the world’s nations.
1.2 The Middle East is still there!
Again, any objective observer should agree on the remarkable success of the Russian intervention in the Middle East, on behalf of humanity; ultimately, Russia’s best interests are aligned with the best interests of humanity, for if the rest of humanity (x-Russia) loses to the monstrous enemy of humanity, then success for Russia will be severely challenged.
Despite the … horrendous crimes against humanity being committed against the Palestinian people, and to a much lesser extent against all muslims, 1.2.1 Hezbollah is stronger than ever before, 1.2.2 Syria is still intact as a functioning nation, 1.2.3 Iran has managed to continue to put up with the ridiculousness of the Dupe and toadies and the continuing outrageous provocations of the psychopathic used car salesman et al. on the stolen Palestinian lands.
Again, here we have the global schtick stretched long and dried out, and even the huge efforts on controlling the minds of the empire’s dummied-down ideological drones is showing signs of cracking!
1.3 If the EU – Z.U.S.A. fracture persists (I think it will), the Atlantic Integrationists then become the Eurasian Sovereigntists – Atlantic division; so, for the moment, one could view an alignment between the Atlantic Integrationists and the Eurasian Sovereigntists!, which doesn’t need to be sorted out… until a later point in time!
In the better combat martial arts, one becomes very proficient at using the opponents energy and direction against them to gain victory, reserving maximum power/effort for when it can be used most decisively.
We are still here!
Every day, now, infrastructures, mechanics, and processes for alternative trade transaction settlement systems are being built, and thus eroding and undermining the U.S. $ financial hegemony control nexus.
The proximity of the hegemon to the cliff is almost too little to belief there is any space left whatsoever!
One could well believe that the hegemon’s managers believe that they can walk on air, but they can’t! (gravity and physics and all that stuff is a bitch!)
Though I don’t profess to an organized religion, I believe my values/beliefs, in the planetary health, and the survival of all of the incredible artefacts and good things of humanity i.e. Beethoven symphonies, etc.) are in alignment with the author, and those similarly cultured.
These good things are worth fighting for!
recommend: “The Four Agreements, by Don Miguel Ruiz http://www.miguelruiz.com/
Good morning Saker’s community!
A moral choice is great but not for a government. Even if Francis of Assisi or Father Zosima were to preside over US and Russia respectively, they will eventually have to give in to those who are amoral: judges and law makers in order to make things work among us human beings.
Putin lives in the international arena where inter-dependency gives life to both good and bad. He pays attention to his people and the international community. If he succeed in establishing Russia’s interests in the world he will become a world power and world powers always have a dirty side (that despises St Francis and Zosima).
In politics what works is the less evil. I think this is Putin’s approach and I think he will accomplish his goals and if not he will come really close, enough to make things right. As for US, Dart Vader and the evil Emperor have taken over and will suffer their fate in time.
Russia can not afford to lose a partner like Iran, the Iranians are a noble and trustworthy people. The Persians are not like the Arabs. Russia would have to supply them with s400 and П-800 Оникс. For the Zionists to think about it 1000 times before attack them.
The Persians are not like the Arabs
What about Hezbollah?
It is not an ethnicity issue, it is a spiritual one.
The Saker
Even if one discounts morality, ethics, or principles, Russia and China should support Iran (and vice versa, Iran should support Russia and Chin) out of fundamental long-term *self-interest,* if they have any hope of Eurasian integration, multipolarity, or, most importantly, sovereignty, itself.
Why?
Because the Anglo-American are fundamentally opposed to any opposition (particularly) from Eurasia to the Anglo-American-Zionist world order.
And they are now actively targeting Russia, China, and Iran.
All opposition must be crushed and assimilated into America’s unipolar world order.
Either you resist it–or you will be devoured. Either by direct military aggression, economic “liberalization” (i.e., economic warfare), or political colored coup d’etats.
It’s that simple.
To defend core national interests of sovereignty and multipolarism, you have to fight.
To quote Benjamin Franklin: “We must, indeed, all hang together or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately” (at the end of a proverbial rope).
“If we step back from the specific details of each country and Washington actions against each, we see that the three Eurasian powers—Russia, China, Iran—are being systematically targeted and so far with varying degrees of success.
Ironically, the simultaneous opening of a de facto three-front war, even if on the level of economic warfare at present, creates a strategic imperative for the three powers to work even more closely. China is the largest buyer of Iranian oil. Russia provides military equipment and is negotiating far more. Each of the triad—China, Iran, Russia—for reasons of self-survival –have no better option than to collaborate as never before, whatever mistrust or differences, in face of Washington’s geopolitical three-front war.”
Brzezinki’s Ghost Shapes Washington Eurasia Geopolitics
http://www.williamengdahl.com/englishNEO14May2018.php
”In the case of the Donbass, the problem is obvious: if Russia openly stops the daily Ukronazi attacks, the Empire will scream to high heavens about a “Russian aggression” (they will pretend that they did not come up with their so-called “Responsibility to Protect” (R2P) doctrine). Which will compromise the Russia-EU relations.”
In that case why did Putin intervene in the Don Bass in 2014? Those actions most certainly did ”compromise the Russia-EU relations.” The same could be said of interventions in the Crimea and Georgia. I personally think that Putin did the right thing and his actions were in Russia’s national interests; morality and legality were of secondary importance. Ukraine and Georgia were not going to be allowed NATO membership – end of. A red line is a red line, it was in 2014 and it should be today. In any case Putin has already on more than one occasion stated that Russia ‘will not allow’ the Don Bass to be over-run by the Ukro-Nazis and place themselves on to the Russian border less than 100 km from the city of Rostov-On-Don.
This policy option of a ‘tactical withdrawal’ (to use a useful euphemism) seems to be gaining ground among some of the more important VIPs in the Russian elites, although not Saker himself, he seems to be acting as the messenger in this respect. No doubt a policy of not defending what is in fact a Russian enclave is regarded as being ‘pragmatic’ or ‘realistic’. It is nothing of the kind: it is opportunistic, short-sighted and will fail – disastrously in the end.
When British Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, came back from negotiations will Hitler in 1938 he was waving a piece of paper which read ‘Peace in our Time’ He was of course tricked by Hitler who started the war one year later. Winston Churchill famously addressed the following comment to Chamberlain.
”You Were Given The Choice Between War And Dishonour. You Chose Dishonour And You Will Have War.”
The British declared war on Hitler not the other way around. Furthermore even after this he didn’t attack them for almost a year (see drole de guerre) and even when he attacked and routed them at Dunkirk, he didn’t destroy the BEA.
So who tricked whom?
With each month the Resistance postpones the zionazis war, they reduce the influence and power of the zionazis. As the zionazis lose power and influence, they become more shrill and psychotic to try to force their adversaries to do their bidding. This is what we are seeing worldwide now.
Give in to the zionazi-gay baying and psywar and one gives the freakshow the set up they planned for and need for their strategy to maintain power. Hold one’s course and ignore the zionazi provocations and distractions and the zionazis can’t work their “magic”.
In the zionazi-gay world it is all about image, not substance. They are the embodiment of the Wizard of Oz in geopolitics. Yes, they have real economic and military might under their thumb, but their actual control of that might depends in most part on psywar. Image and bluff. That psywar requires “enemies” to follow specific courses of action to work its magic. If they don’t follow, the spell won’t work and zionazia can’t utilize their power effectively. In fact, it’s like pulling the curtain aside and revealing the fat, wee little man manipulating the controls in the booth.
As long as the Resistance refuses to be influenced by that psywar, the zionazi-gays, and those in concert with them, lose power, get weaker and that much needed zionazi war becomes less likely.
As Putin said: “the dogs bark, but the caravan continues on.”
vt: very succinct and spot on!
they dominate the weak-minded with the admittedly very advanced psy-ops/perception management agencies, thus one avenue of the resistance is in building the knowledge and psychological fortitude of… everyone.
… and the caravan rolls on, as you say, each day whittling away at the hegemon’s other mechanics/machiunations, the trade settlement scamming US$.
…it’s going down
they’ve stretched their schtick virtual reality too far, and people are waking up.
As you say Vot Tak; Putin, China and Iran are combining morality with a deep understanding of the psychological dimension of martial arts. It has the feel of very mature psychotherapy to me. Reality intrudes upon mind games step by step. The wizard of Oz indeed. How many realize that story was designed by the author to be a disguised critique of the capitalist banking system. All the pindos have going for them is the mind game but it is being dissolved before our eyes.
Yes, vot tak; I too agree with your assessment, and I thank you for stating it so clearly.
And snow leopard, count me among those who know that the Wizard of Ounces (Oz) is an allegory for the situation in the US in the 1890s until the First Capitalist War, also known as WW1, although one could easily argue that all US wars have been capitalist wars.
It was after all, the Wicked Witch of the WEST that Hitlery won the part for, including The Meltdown.
Was Frank Baum a Russophile? Dorothy is befriended by the Good Witch of the North and given the means of transportation to find the truth and Her Way Home: Silver Slippers.
A socialist? (The color of the slippers was changed to red in the 1939 film to have a more striking effect in technicolor. Hmmmm!)
Or just a Hater of Evil??
The Loveable But Clueless Population Lacks a Brain (The Scarecrow), Courage (Cowardly Lion) or a Heart (Tin Man), making the Fraud of The Wizard of Oz’s Illusion of Power and Omniscience function.
Dorothy’s little dog .(Intuition? Intelligence?) is well endowed in what the population lacks, consistently pointing the more or less unconscious Dorothy and her human looking friends in the right direction, by barking and wagging its tail, and tugging at the curtain behind which the fat faker amplifies his voice and activates mechanical props to terrify and manipulate the population.
Okay. The rest goes in the Cafe. LOL.
Dorothy’s friends were a snapshot of American society.
The Scarecrow was the people; big heart but no brain.
The Tin Man was the captains of industry; generator of wealth, but no heart.
The Lion was Congress; in principle possessing great power, but rendered totally impotent by an absolutel lack of courage.
Toto was indeed the embodiment of animal spirit. He used his instinct to ignore the spin and illusions, that humans were so susceptible to, and exposed the shabby little man behind the curtain.
Some reasons to be hopefull: 1. North and South Korea seem to be still on track to slowly integrate their economies. 2. Trump is unwittingly and dialectically dismantling not only the empire but perhaps even the religion/ideology of late neoliberal imperialistic capitalism itself. 3. The dialectic has brought together the post Soviet Russian working class with the anti-capitalist archetype of Jesus Christ.
The issue raised by Saker in this article is crucial to understanding the history of our world and it’s future. To make a vast but useful simplification: it is the struggle of those who want peace with those who want war. This fundamental struggle takes place on many levels, and has tremendous impact and relevance to all the relations between people on Earth.
This struggle has been framed by some as one between good and evil for the soul of the world. It can also be seen as the few seeking to dominate the many, as opposed to a cooperative world where power and wealth are largely equalized among all individual humans. Capitalism vs Socialism is another framing of this fundamental opposition.
Which side of these opposite orientations a person or a society as a whole embraces will have a decisive impact on the behavior and outcomes in life for that person or group. The overall results of this struggle will also determine the future of the entire human experiment on Earth, and it’s possible continuance or demise.
In it’s most extreme formulation, this becomes a struggle between might makes right pursued with violence and deception, and a belief that love, sharing, peace and cooperation is always the right way to go. A complicating factor is that those who pursue war always pretend that they are only doing so in the name of peace and higher values, thus deceptively portraying their greed and violence as justified by the higher ends they promise by and by.
At the same time the peace loving groups and individuals who
have been violently attacked, and challenged to defend themselves by counter-violence, or be destroyed. This puts the peace lovers in the paradoxical position of having to embrace violence to defend their peaceful intentions. The believers in force and violence force these things on those who detest them, but must consider their use to survive.
In the current situation the article focuses on, Russia wants a period of peaceful freedom from external conflicts in which to develop it’s resources and better the lives of it’s people. However, the Empire wants to provoke war and dominate Russia and it’s people and resources. Russia is thus forced to put resources into armaments and preparations to defend itself from attack. So Putin and Russia are forced into the bind that they must prepare for war and engage in diplomacy, alliances, etc. – when all they really want is a period of peaceful relationships with the surrounding world.
This provocation and assault on Russia by the American Empire takes on a crucial level of urgency by the threat of nuclear weapons being used on either side, ending in the destruction of the life supporting systems of Planet Earth.
The question that must be answered in our present world situation is this: Is there a way to use the threat and use of force and violence in such a skillful way that this results in peace and cooperation. I think Russia, and the World is faced with this dilemma in it’s final iteration in our long human history. We are a long way at present from doing this with maximal effectiveness, but I think there is no alternative but to keep trying and learning. May all the forces of truth and goodness assist us in solving this essential koan, lest our failure to do so be our final extinction.
When you are faced with a complete mess , like the international situation is today , and this because the American Zionist Empire created it , with the compliance and subservience of most countries , when you have to deal with this, you can not address everything at the same time .
It’s like rebuilding after an earthquake.You start with the most damaged things , repair them , replace what can not be saved , and after you cleared the area , you start rebuilding.
In my opinion ,this is what Russia is doing , And doing very well ,considering the fact that Russia does not have like the Empire, 900+ military bases around the world + NATO, does not control the money issuing ( the petro-dollar ,the international reserve currency) , which is the blood line of the empire , does not control the huge propaganda machine that the Empire managed to develop all over the world , does not have hundreds of NGOs to control the narrative and do “color revolutions” . And this is how you control the world: through financial means ( see petro-f*cking-dollar , sanctions derived from this) ,propaganda and military to support these.
Russia can not attack everything at once: remember that not too long ago ,Russia ,under Yeltsin , was about to disappear.
Russia took a big risk with the Syrian war , but it had to be done . The results are extraordinary . And what Russia wants , is to finish the war ASAP and restart reconstruction. Russia does not want to increase the ME destabilization or start other wars. Sometimes you lose some battles in order win the war. If this means ignoring some idiocies done by the zionist entity and its enabler ,the US , so be it. What do they achieve anyway? Make assess of themselves. The dogs bark ,the caravan passes by.
For Donbass, Russia gave the framework ,Minsk , and is sticking to it , forcing the other countries to adhere to it. Did you see the recent Merkel visit at Sochie? She agreed with Mr. Putin’s view on Syria and Donbass. And ,Germany is EU (even if Germany is still a US vassal ,but it seems that Germany is in the process of emancipation with this Iranian debacle) . Did you see Macron calling his ” Cher Vladimir” and admitting that you can not talk about international order without Russia?
Russia is sticking to the international law and forcing the west ( EU will be first) to comply. Russia has leverage with Iran deal and its pipelines( Nordstream II ,maybe Southstream II).
Russia can work with EU , does not have to completely turn its back on them . And why would do it? They are neighbors . Maybe Russia will co-opt EU against US with this pipeline and Iran deal.
Russia continues ,with China , building the alternative international law ; this takes time . You can not replace overnight all the western institutions, that they built in hundreds of years. Russia and China are building the alternative to the petro-f*cking -dollar, but meanwhile it has to work with what there is : Russia is in WTO and can not exit it without complete disaster.Russia can not change its Central Bank for now ,’til there is an alternative in place to the petro-dollar. And Russia is accumulating a lot of GOLD . Russia(like China) has a long term plan. The Hegemon won’t even see it coming. I see the results with this last economic forum at St Petersburg ; every year , it was bigger than the prior one. And this happens with the toughest sanctions against Russia. What’s not to like?
As for the moral values , I do not think there is another country which so clearly showed them: see the reborn Christianity ,rejection of the “western values” and respecting the international laws. Russia will not EVER use the same methods as the West does: starting wars , color revolutions, cowardly attacks on weak counties , financial pressure ,assassinations of political leaders,etc.
As for the zionist entity , Russia will not directly provoke it ( Russia knows who controls US and its money power,its media and all position of powers and wealth ) . But if the Hegemon collapses ,and it will as it takes too much energy to maintain, the zionist entity is done. Keep your enemy very close.
I hoped for a long time that Russia will prevail ,but now, I am sure . And it will do it from the position of having moral values and spirituality. With grace and using force only as an enhancer. It is easy to start wars ,but more difficult to stop them. Russia stops them.
Addendum to my post above:
I published Mr. Lavrov’s portrait at my sites :
https://me582.wordpress.com/
https://artisticexpressions394454247.wordpress.com/
Plan to continue with Shoigu ,Gen . Gerasimov , Maria Zakharova ; for Palestine: Ahed Tamimi , the double amputee killed ; for Syria : gen Zahreddine ; for Iran : Zarif and Khamenei ; and maybe others.
At my blog , I made a post about the Iranian deal .
Moderation rule #10 does not alllow the use of the comments section to promote another website. I made an exception twice. Please don’t do that again, thank you!
The Saker
The U.S. went bankrupt decades ago. The war for profit machine keeps rolling on. The destruction of countries in Asia/middle east was a long-planned agenda and Iran is on the chopping block. Russian involvement in Syria has put up a roadblock to slow them down. But the plan has not been abandoned. To help deal with this problem, the U.S. financed the coup in Ukraine to install their Nazi puppets. I expect a major attack by them against the east and possibly even to try and take Crimea. This will be coordinated with what is going on with Israel, Iran and Syria. Russia will have it’s hands full with the Ukraine mess and the empire will launch a massive strike to finish off Syria and destroy Iran. I have said time and again that U.S. troops are not leaving Syria and there is really no intention to have peace with North Korea.
It would be a terrible mistake for Russia to submit to the west. Look what they did to the country in the 90’s! They have no morals regarding the people. As John insane McCain said: “Russia is not a country. They are just a giant gas station”.
Years ago one of the auto tire companies ran ads with the title “strong but oh so gentle” with a picture of a cartoon powerful male figure gently holding an infant. This is the challenge for Russia – she must be strong but not trigger the final war. I pray for Putin’s success in this tricky endeavor.
Saker, you wrote, “First, the Israelis are clearly baiting Iran for a meaningful counter-strike. And they are doing all they can to push the USA to attack Iran. How long can the Iranian patience last? How long can the (hopefully existing) rational minds in the Pentagon contain the “crazies”? You tell me, I don’t know.”
I’d like to present the option that this is partly a diversion and as the Ant-Media noted, the target may be Lebanon. I don’t think this will change what you’ve written about but I hope Russia is aware and there is evidence that Iran is not the primary target.
https://www.lewrockwell.com/2018/05/no_author/israels-coming-war-wont-be-against-iran-or-syria/
Excerpt:
As Anti-Media has documented over the past few years, Israel has been actively preparing for a war with Hezbollah in Lebanon for some time, including conducting extensive military drills that simulated a full-on invasion of Lebanese territory.
“There’s no doubt that Israel is planning for a war with Hezbollah, but it isn’t an easy task,” public intellectual Professor Noam Chomsky told Anti-Media via email last week.
“According to Israeli intelligence, Hezbollah has lots of missiles based in many parts of Lebanon that are capable of serious damage to Israeli cities, and to take them all out would require quick virtual destruction of Lebanon, it seems.” Chomsky further observed.
Writing to Anti-Media via email, Miko Peled, human rights activist and author of The General’s Son and Injustice and The Story of the Holy Land Foundation Five agreed with the assertion that Israel’s most immediate impending war will take place in Lebanon, not Syria or Iran.
“I don’t believe any of the Iran threat nonsense has anything to do with a threat from Iran. It serves two purposes: a smokescreen for Israeli crimes in Palestine in general, particularly in Gaza, and in order to allow Israel to attack Syria and Lebanon more freely,” Peled explained.
According to Peled, Trump’s decision to nix the Iranian nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), was part and parcel of this up and coming war. What no one seems to have noticed was that Trump’s recent announcement on Iran also coincided with elections in Lebanon, which further improved Hezbollah’s position in the country (Lebanon’s Christian president is already a strong ally of Hezbollah).
“Having Trump accept Netanyahu’s [position on the Iran deal] and disregard the international community, international agencies, and world opinion regarding the Iran deal – and the economic sanctions – was a huge political boost for Netanyahu,” Peled explained. “The election results in Lebanon will surely be manipulated and presented as a ‘threat’ to Israel and will be used as an excuse to attack. I doubt that Israel will risk suffering another humiliating defeat from Hezbollah and so it may well be another horrifying air assault.”
But here is the problem: how would Israel avoid a repeat of 2006?
On the ground, it is a nightmare, and from the air and sea you achieve nothing.
That is why the AngloZionist created the Takfiris, to let Muslims kill Muslims, to unleash Daesh against Hezbollah.
At least my opinion.
Cheers,
The Saker
You’re right.You have the military expertise. But how ruthless is Israel’s government?
I think the article mentioned “bunker busters” and they do have nukes, which you wrote about being possibly used against Iran. Would they use them in Lebanon?
Meanwhile, a person commenting posted a link to this site, which I never heard of, and I can’t endure the images.
https://cufpa.wordpress.com/2018/01/05/israelis-sniping-palestinian-children/
“What are your values” is a critical question.
Thank you for raising the issue, Saker.
I have no doubt the IDF have seriously investigated their shocking failures during the 2006 campaign, where Hezbollah made them look incompetent.
Both the Party of God and the IDF will have re-evaluated, so the next inevitable war will be very different.
Having said that, am appalled that the KSA gets to bomb funerals and weddings in Yemen, with no compliant from compliant western mass-media.
Nor that Turkey clearly sold Islamic State oil to enrich Erogan’s half-brother.
Nor that western states clearly economically and militarily supported ‘rebels’ in Syria in complete violation of the UN charter, which guarantees member states sovereignty..
But who gives s***. The UN is clearly a dysfunctional organization.
What can’t be avoided is repeat of Palmyra, the 6th battle, as nightmare that doesn’t want to end…won’t you think?
As for militants being gunned down in their turfs, Derzinski’s checka was very good on turning people around, who do you think is doing that kind of cleansing, any ideas?
My impression is that Putin is acting pragmatically, as he should, on the world stage because he has certain advantages that the US leadership does not. Putin, within Russia has quite a lot of power and agency. Trump does not and neither does any particular faction. The US Deep State is not unified. The Zionist wing is dominant in the WH, Congress and in the world of Washington political operatives. But there is a significant faction within the military, in particular, that do not like the Zionist plotting. These people believe the Zionists think only of Israel and that is anathema to many in the uniformed military.
Also, an important part of the Deep State consists of the global finance-oligarchs. Their interest in the Empire is to keep the peace and keep commerce going and money and power flowing to them without interruption. War with Iran would create to much instability and possible disaster. The finance oligarchs support a strategy of tension–they like that Iranians, Russians and to a lesser extent China are seen as “enemies” but they support the creation of these myths as Orwellian myths and do not want any actual hot war. This is why I do not believe that any significant attack on Iran will occur anytime soon. As long as Iran remains a “threat” the oligarchs are happy.
If more general war were to break out in the ME then Russia and China would reap the benefits since Europe would reject such a war and, finally, break with the Empire and fall into the arms of China/Russia mainly the former which would soon become the world hegemon not through coercion (the only thing the US currently seems to want to do) but through cooperation and being the champion of international law which the US no longer recognizes. Other than incinerate the world the US will, over time, have no choice but to accept a multi-polar world. The US is not unified, everything is a struggle for power among many scores of people in Washington (this explains the absurd zig-zags of Washingtion’s policy in Syria) the outcome of which seems to be just further struggles and skirmishes. The Chinese and Russian leadership are not as divided and, as such, have the advantage over the chaos of the swamp in Washington.
Banger makes an important point: that the deep state is not a unified entity. Many commentators speak as though it was, and this leads to errors.
I agree with your observation. They are not united. In a case of larger military conflict of at least a regional scale many will suffer financial losses. Only those close to the fire (in the know) will benefit, the rest will suffer. You can count on greed to do the rest in majority of the cases. There are only so much places around the fire and the greed of those on top is making sure that those places are not shared equally.
Lots of money was invested in Ukraine,Syria and other catastrophes. Some of them profited, rest are to suffer losses. That only cause more mistrust on top of basic mistrust that created the arrangement in the first place. They may be greedy but not all of them are stupid.
These times are not the 90’s when these people did not had a choice to relocate their wealth. Now they have one. East is developing financial alternatives but not yet implementing them fully. In my opinion Empire is more frightened of that than anything else. Forget S-300 or 400 or 6000. They know that the East will not fire nukes on them unless fired upon. So their fear is that there is a place which they cannot control financially and which they cannot destabilize.
The mere possibility of that choice is their worse nightmare. For they know greed and how it makes people to think. Allow me to present an example. Take note that from this example i exclude those who made their money honestly.
Imagine that you are ridden by greed. It does not matter what caused it and what means you employ to satisfy your desire. When you are presented with a choice to loose most or all of your wealth what would you do? Try to save it. Before you had no choice but now you have. But you have to play by different rules now. It is irrelevant if you are faced with a choice to loose all or to save some. What would be your worse fear then? To poorly choose the moment when you relocate your wealth.
Same dilemma for the politicians. Their modus operandi was to crawl into most powerful backside they can find and do what is told. “What this world came to when it is not enough to crawl into someones backside but now you have a choice and only one head” is my bet that with those words on their mind they wake each morning, followed by “Is today that day?”. Meaning of course did they waited too long and missed their chance or is today the day they outlived their usefulness to the master so he will either kill them or finalize the blackmail.
Let them stew in their juices i say. We already are. Maybe it will humble them. But unless we want to see even more deaths if not utter annihilation then the creation of such atmosphere in the world is the way to go. These places will flourish and suddenly instead of going to Paris, London or some other place built on someone else’s blood and toil, people will turn East, for West will be covered in weed and dust except those communities that found their humanity.
Get serious.
If general war to break out in the ME, then Israel would be flinging nuclear missiles.
No-one would reap the benefit.
End of story, if you can figure it out.
Agreed
Putin, like Assad, nor Tehran, does not respond to vicious military provocations..
It is nothing sort of illegal for Israel to attack the sovereign state of Syria. Israel has no legal right to over-fly Lebanon, or Jordan, to launch missiles to attack on whatever assets the Syrian Arab Republic has allowed into their country. Nor does Israel have any right to occupy the Golan Height’s, as reinforced by various.UN resolutions.
Apparently, when the Iranians flew a drone over Israeli-illegally-occupied Golan Heights, that gave the Israeli’s the right to assault sovereign Syrian Arab Republic territory.
The SAR has the right to invite any other state”s military forces into their own country. Like Iran. Like Russia. A right that neither the US nor Israel has ever bothered to ask for.
Apparently they have their own right, unadmitted any international law or decree. Might is right.
Until they meet someone mightier than them.
You are standing reality on its head.
Europe will not “fall into the arms of China/Russia” nor will China/Russia benefit from a general war in the Middle East. Indeed, it is the American Empire (allies like Israel) that will benefit. The economic chaos that America unleashes in the Middle East will reverberate around the world and conveniently drive financial flows into the “safe harbor” of the USA–ultimately propping up America’s precious Dollar Hegemony in particular and its ability to financially loot the world in general.
And Europe is an American crime partner that has supported the USA’s ongoing terror war against Syria for years to this very day.
Britain, France, and other European war criminal states currently have their troops or private mercenaries illegally occupying parts of Syria or have been arming, funding, and backing their terrorist proxies against Syria.
And the war against Syria is also a war against Iran.
But you assert that Europe will reject a war against Iran–even though Europe has been waging a terrorist war against its ally of Syria for years?
That is not credible.
And in terms of “differences” within America, they are only tactical in nature–just like the bogus differences between Democrats and Republicans. All factions of the American Empire support the USA’s global dictatorship … I mean … “liberal democratic order.” The only differences are tactical debates about how best to maintain and expand America’s full spectrum dominance of the planet.
As for “adjusting” to a multipolar world, America has already been implementing a very cunning strategy to continue American global hegemony, while not appearing to do so. It is called the “Lead From Behind” strategy, which was developed under the Obama regime and continued under the Trump regime. This American strategy involves the USA outsourcing some of its imperial policing to its allies, who act as regional enforcers and military proxies.
To be politically incorrect, America’s Lead from Behind stratagem is to hide behind the skirts of other nations and let them do the dirty work–while the USA pulls their strings behind the scenes.
Lead From Behind: How Unipolarity Is Adapting To Multipolarity
https://sputniknews.com/columnists/201501291017517136/
Trump’s UN Reform Plan Is All About The “Lead From Behind” Strategy
https://orientalreview.org/2017/09/21/trumps-un-reform-plan-lead-behind-strategy/
The Trump National Security Doctrine in a Regional Context
https://www.globalresearch.ca/the-trump-national-security-doctrine-in-a-regional-context/5623592
Excellent post. The Devil (Empire) has his ways, and never relents in his evil doing. But the China/Russia BRI process and technological military development are fully aware of the Empire’s schemes, and working hard to do an end run around them, while waiting for the Empire to collapse from it’s many inner contradictions and weaknesses. May the best team win, and the Devil’s minions be defeated!
No it don’t depend on our value ! It depend on common sens. Israelis are imposing they value which is the torah. The whole biblical history is not proven but the world accepts a mythical concept. America is destroying country for its value: the dollar. Saudis are killing Yemenis , Syrians for they values ; allah!
That’s not crazy that’s damn.
It’s insane. The Tadmuh. as various other aggressive western religions, are almost certainly based on previous pagan memories of geological events. The ‘Flood’ is probably a distant memory of the last minimal ice-age.
Moses, equivalently, is almost certainly an invention to link together the concept of exodus and some wierd idea of a set of commandments coming down from on high…
Look up Laura Knight-Jadiczyk, ‘The Secret History of the World’
Tragically, the US state has no common sense.
They think they can bully anyone into doing anything they like, largely due to the US domination of world markets since WW2, and the collapse of their only real opposition, the Soviet Union.
They fail to understand the universe has changed. Both the Russian Federation and the Chinese People’s Republic no longer trust any of their pious howls.
‘Democracy! Market Forces!’
Lies and more lies. Only idiots like Gorbachev, Moamar Khaddifi and Slobodan Milocivic believed them. Look at what happened to them. Never again,
As long there is an oligarchy in whatever country, Washington will control this country or make it submissive with that oligarchy help.
See Brazil & Argentina as an example where oligarchies (with their massive media) defeated popular and progressive governments.
You eliminate the oligarchy, you defeat Washington and you give the country a chance to find a sustainable and independent path in politics and economics.
My view is that there is no democracy until you eliminate the power of oligarchies.
The real (and perhaps only) idiot was Gorbachev. Ghaddaffi really had no choice, how could tiny Libya face up to the empire? In a desperate bid to buy time for Libya and himself, he thought he could make peace with the empire, more so after the then French President had collected a hefty bribe from Ghaddaffi, promising peace in return. As for Milosevic: pretty much the same sort of thing. A weak and divided country, a weak and collapsing ally that Russia then was, what was he to do? Gorbachev gave it all up for no reason, without any threat or danger. True, the USSR was then grinding to a halt; but the way forward at that time was to restructure the state, the economy, and the system. Look how successfully the Chinese evolved from Maoist times, how they changed everything yet kept the inner core of Chinese state and nation intact. Gorbachev’s only defense – perhaps – is that the entirety of the ruling class of USSR had become rotten to the core. Yet when he started his tenure, his position was still stable. What was missing in his case was the material inside his head that we call brain. Had he possessed some, he could have changed the course of the Soviet ship somewhat like what the Chinese had done.
Let’s face it, the idea of one Dog is that my Dog is better than yours set of Dogs!
You need a number of Dogs, each of which has her/his/it’s little domain. Like Poseiden. Or Athena. Whatever.
But my Dog is better than yours, because my Dog does everything!
Hence Monotheism ‘Trumfed’ Polytheism.
Not a difficult concept.
I wonder if there’s some truth spoken here, regardless of the source (Israeli News live) that Russia is jockeying for position and the governing reason is “The New World Order” with the silk road. He raises a valid point: why superhighways built on the Golan, which has few inhabitants.
Does Putin just want a seat at the table? Is he willing to see Syria divided to share in the spoils? Would that be better than conflict with America and Israel? Questions worth asking, I’m not sure of the answers.
https://youtu.be/rVAKychmLV0?t=5m1s
“And maybe they will come to conclude, as I do, that moral, ethical and spiritual vales are pragmatic considerations and that the apparent choice between them is an illusion.”
Very well said! There lies the difference between true human beings and human animals.
“And maybe they will come to conclude, as I do, that moral, ethical and spiritual vales are pragmatic considerations and that the apparent choice between them is an illusion.”
Very well said! There lies the difference between true human beings and human animals.”
Well, the local bandit gang looked on at the small hamlet. Poorly defended, a few farmers with farm impliments, the lord’s mercs were far enough away at the lord’s castle so as to be no immediate threat. Not rich, but the peasants had a decent store of food and plenty of animals. The bandits thought to themselves:
“How pragmatic, this situation. All there for the taking. On the other hand, we could seek employment from the lord? Nah, let’s rob the hamlet. It’ll pay more in a day than the lord would pay us for a month, we being the pragmatic folk that we are.
There is a difference between being pragmatic and being greedy, morally devoid. Some recognize that, just like they recognize human beings are also animals.
NATO Generals talking about how weak they are is really just a demand that the politicians once again hold the taxpayers by the ankles and shake out any remaining change from their pockets and give that to the generals.
Certainly, in the US I’d expect to hear more of this as the Pentagon’s Most Important Battle takes shape, which is the budget battle to grab more of the US budget. Trump and the Republican congress will want to give them alot, but you can expect a lot of whining about Putin’s new weapons and the huge threat Putin poses to grab more, more, more of the money in the US.
There’s always shekels for war. Funny thing that -I don’t believe most people voted for that.
Great article, Saker.
Dear Saker, I totally understand your concerns. And I want to see Russia following her own civilizational model. But I’m also a pragmatist. I believe that, right now, Russia can’t just stand for what is right with it’s relatively small economy and suffering unprecedented economic and informational war. There are very few countries wanting to openly defy the West and none of them is a great power. Iran is by far the most rich and powerful one. But Russia can’t reduce its partners to the likes of Iran, Venezuela and Zimbabwe. I mean, she could, but that would be almost global isolation. I think Russia, with its vast resources, could even live alone. But they would lag behind the West technologically. And the Empire will not back down. If Russia doesn’t too, the outcome will likely be nuclear war.
Trump’s neocon madness has irked Europe and opened a great and unique opportunity for Russia to mend ties with Europe. While Russia will have to sacrifice some values, she has too much to gain. First of all, reducing the anglo yoke over Europe. Bringing Paris, Berlin and Moscow closer, an eurasianist goal. Strengthening Russia’s economy, credibility and status. so that Russia can have more bargaining power in the future. Iran can also benefit from this.
I’m not sure that Russia’s rapprochement with Western countries and institutions is purely for pragmatic reasons, as a mean to strengthen Russia, so that she could be able to end the anglo-zionist global hegemony and pursue an independent path in the future. I’m not sure at all. Maybe the Atlantic Integrationists have won. But, for now, I think it is the better choice.
But they would lag behind the West technologically.
I’m sure the current Russian educational system has some room for improvement, but overall it seems to bring out fairly decent educated people. If the whole Russian Federation would stick together and work toward the goal of independence (without being sidetracked by the lure of the West), they could probably make it.
Good article Saker – I agree with you – Iran, Palestine and North Korea are my favorite countries in this age of war.
Many thanks for this very insightful analysis… There is a quite ally to Russia in the arab world that you never speak about and it’s Algeria : if things go wrong in the next few years, the strategical weight of this country will be crucial in the fight against the empire…
I want to read your take about the exact topography of resistance and enslavement to western interests in the arab world, if you have some time for it Andrei…
Terrorism is used as a tool for achieving foreign and domestic goals. From kinetic action to softening the minds. Various European countries have experienced attacks by the same people that were funded and trained by NATO for their actions in Lybia, Syria and Iraq. Human sacrifice in France, Belgium, Germany and the UK to push a narrative on behalf of The Empire. Why have the Dutch been spared so far?
The Netherlands looks like a small, sleepy tourist destination, not a cornerstone of The Empire, right? Wrong. With companies like Anglo-Dutch Shell and Unilever, the UK and The Netherlands are deeply entwined. The Dutch were involved from Yugoslavia to Afghanistan, from Lybia to Somalia and from Syria to the Ukraine.
There is a less visible side to the Dutch contribution to The Empire. American drone strikes. The Dutch military intelligence agency MIVD gathers data from satellite phones with its antennas in Burum. This data is shared with the US, legally or illegally. Two links: https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2014/03/05/the-secret-role-of-the-dutch-in-the-american-war-on-terror-a1426677 and https://www.volkskrant.nl/nieuws-achtergrond/somali-victims-of-us-drone-strike-take-legal-action-against-the-netherlands~bb62e8d8/
The Dutch involvement is not limited to Somalia. As a consequence, the Dutch military is actively involved on the same side as the Saudi army in Yemen and their headchopping partners in crime from IS.
The Stichting Mayday Rescue Foundation is based in The Netherlands. Mayday Rescue? Founded by James Le Mesurier of White Helmets fame. Tens of millions of taxpayer money from various countries has been funneled via Mayday Rescue to those Al Qaeda actors, who currently seem less involved with saving lives and more involved with riding the bus with their Al Qaeda friends to those remaining pockets shielded by the Zionist entity and the US. About five million euros has been contributed by the Dutch government. Hell, even neo-nazi’s in the Ukraine get Dutch money.
For years Dutch authories have been saying “it’s only a matter of time before we have a terrorist attack.” Army and police on high alert.
Why has the Dutch population been spared from terrorist attacks? They haven’t.
In an era where chemical attacks are faked to justify military action and economic sanctions, who actually believes the “official” investigation into the MH17 crash? No actual evidence is provided, only stuff on social media. Sounds familiar. Russia is to blame. Sounds familiar. Putin! Sounds familiar.
MH17 was the Dutch Bataclan. Almost 300 innocent people, including 193 from the Netherlands, were killed to further the agenda of The Empire. The entire investigation is an information warfare operation, no more, no less. Blood and propaganda for The Empire.
The Netherlands is an integral part of The Empire. The ride ain’t free. Since blood was spilled on Ukranian sunflowers far away from domestic issues (tulips from Amsterdam…), politicians in the Netherlands did not have to deal with party politics. A friendly gesture by The Empire for an trusty partner.
Are you going on holidays in the Netherlands? If you have a couple of hours to spare, consider going to the nearest police station and report a crime. The financing of terrorism by Stichting Mayday Rescue Foundation, a legal entity based in Amsterdam. They have to write up a report. If the public prosecutor refuses to prosecute Mayday Rescue, anyone with a personal interest can demand (article 12 Wetboek van Strafvordering) that a judge from the Court of Appeal decides if prosecution is necessary. The Russian Federation, Iran, Syria and the people in North Africa, the Middle East and Asia definitely have a personal interest.
The Empire will go down. Will they take another few million or a couple of billion lives, that is the question.
Very eye opening about the role of the Dutch in world affairs. Thank you. We are all here to learn.
The most rational and yet still impassioned take on the whole caboodle.. thank you Monsieur Saker!
(still wondering what the Vatican is thinking.. if anything?)
Putin has been remarkably consistent in his approach thus far. In Ukraine, irrespective of how the Jews / Empire / Oligarchs (all Jews) there are burning Russians in Odessa (with Israeli flammables) or putting young ethnic Russians at the forefront of the meat grinder against the Donetsk and Luhansk militants, Putin just stalemated the situation.
Similarly in Syria, irrespective of how the Jews / Empire is trying to topple and sub-divide Syria and how many Palestinians the Jews are murdering in Palestine (though some call it Israel), Putin is just stalemating the situation.
So Putin is ignoring the moral aspects of the Russian deaths in Ukraine just as he is ignoring the moral aspects of the Palestinians deaths in Palestine (though some call it Israel), he is consistent.
Hopefully Putin is an avid reader of Tolstoy – “The two most powerful warriors are patience and time.”
As the Saker wrote previously, with his definition of the Atlantic Integrationists and Eurasion Sovereignists, that some of the Eurasian Sovereignists aren’t too concerned about Israel while others are, I would argue that Putin falls into the former category of Eurasion Sovereignists and the Saker the later. I would also argue that some of the Eurasian Sovereignists aren’t too concerned about China while others are.
Plus the Jews always support both sides in any disagreement so that whoever wins the Jews can claim to have been so clever as to have supported the winning side. So Israel has probably provided Russia with vital info regards to the US for which Putin is extremely grateful.
However, when the Empire / US finally crashes, I’m looking forward to see whether Putin seeks justice for the ethic Russians murdered in Ukraine as well as whether Putin seeks justice for the Palestinians murdered in Palestine (though some call it Israel). Hopefully the amnesty and amnesia nonsense doesn’t prevail at that point in time because amnesty and amnesia means no justice.
I guess it comes down to the fact that Mr. Putin has no obligation to save the world or anybody but Russia. Doing so made him look like a superhero to us downtrodden and so we idolized him.
Taking a moral stance against the Hegemon could easily jeopardize Russia, no doubt about it. We can cry all we want but no one can blame Mr. Putin for thinking only of his country.
Like this article very much Saker. Glad to see it. Funny how the point of balance always seems to be somewhere in the middle, no? At least when the two extremities actually exist in what I like to call reality ;-) .
Cheers :)
@The Saker
When do we, taxpayers, stop trying to figure out everything and every move from perfect strangers called “government” whose very existence depends on taxpayers while adding nothing to life, take hold of our own values and stop feeding a beast that can only exist as long as we willfully and voluntarily feed it?
When do we understand that God always gave us all enough to live off and share, so that no one ever went homeless, hungry and no one would die alone but something else at work is making sure it could never happen and it was always part of the equation we were brought into?
When do we realize that the forces fighting each other existed long before we were born, will exist long after we die and every human being chose to come into this world but was never held to changing that order but only to how much he/she was able to mitigate destruction and suffering?
When do we stop fearing death for not having changed a world we were born into, was already fighting and will keep doing so long after we die?
What if the world as it is always was, always will be and our job is only to make the few people we come into contact as comfortable and happy as we could allow them to be, so that they could fulfill their job of doing the same? What if causing the least damage and leaving Earth as we found it was all we were asked to do, without responsibility for those who destroyed it before we came and will keep on destroying it?
What if God really had everything under control all along, knew whether and how it ends and it was never any of our business?
What if “when” was also under God’s control and deciding not to participate in destruction, directly or indirectly, was the only fight we were supposed to take on?
A very life of moral purity and intellectual indifference to the transitory reality of this world, either because God will manage anyway or because seen/felt reality is not what it appears to be (Maya) takes away what I define as my core values: Compassion, solidarity and love.
When people are shot and killed in Palestina, or elsewhere, we cannot be indifferent.
When people suffer because of idiotic and genocidal Washington/IMF austerity rules, we cannot be indifferent.
We cannot be indifferent to evil.
Mario Medjeral,
There is a world between being indifferent and being detached from the outcome. Standing up to government and declaring: “No, I will not pay taxes for war and destruction. Throw me in jail or kill me now” is being detached from the outcome.
Paying taxes voluntarily without a gun to one’s head and screaming “mismanagement” afterwards is indifference. And hypocrisy. Otherwise, one would prevent rather than react afterwards.
Gandhi was detached from the outcome: he knew he would die, probably assassinated. He did. He was never indifferent to any human being. Neither was Christ, incidentally. He spoke up, refused to obey men’s laws and… we know the rest. Here, in this world, we have “sensitive” people. They “feel” for other’s pain. They talk about it. They still allow it to happen by funding the industrial military complex and backing Israel. Why? Because their fear of being crucified (assassinated or losing everything) is greater than their principles to hold all life sacred.
Denouncing hypocrisy is what kills: Christ, Gandhi, JFK, MLK, Malcolm X, Patrice Lumumba, Thomas Sankara, the list is much, much longer. We don’t learn about them. They are not John-Wayne hero-types.
God is not an excuse for fear. God is a reason for life. Anyone with half a brain knows that death doesn’t even exist. What did we live for? Destruction? Killings? Fearfully paying taxes so that others would be able to do both in our name, while sounding outraged afterwards? That would be hypocrisy.
The minute one decides: “I am not omnipotent nor omnipresent but I know what misery my participating in the system causes thousands of miles away. I am not participating in THAT system” is the day one feels free. Sherry Jackson Peel can tell you all about it. The big difference is that she had young kids. I don’t. That’s how the system holds together. The kids. That’s how the system will be destroyed: the kids. I wrote a piece Robert David Steele put on his blog. Think about your priorities in that light. Think about the world priorities and who is “in charge”.
https://phibetaiota.net/2018/04/yoda-can-world-leaders-with-no-children-be-trusted/
Ussr was dissolved because the leadership & elites wanted to integrate with western capitalism.
Soviet economy started to decline in late 1980s and only when Gorbachev removed state/party checks & control, disorganizing the system of central planning.
The other eastern bloc countries (Poland, Yugoslavia etc) where in austerity for much of the 1980s because of over borrowing from western banks in the 1970s and then having to pay back more after the interest rates rose. Therefore, the population became angered against the system. But all these eastern bloc socialist governments were overthrown only with Gorbachev permission and then most “communist” politicians continued to have positions re-branded as socialists, liberals, conservatives. People regretted the end of Socialism as what followed caused hardship, unemployment, depopulation and social devastation.
One way or the other, the eastern bloc alliance and the economic system of soviet socialism would have survived if the leadership wanted to maintain the system. Their prospects today could have been better too as they would have access to more consumer products made from fellow “socialist” China and information technology would have made central planning more efficient.
Countries like Cuba and North Korea (which were poorer/less advanced than eastern European countries) have continued to operate a state owned command economy & managed to survive even if they are under various trade embargoes (and have lost the soviet trade /subsidies). Even Belarus which maintains a soviet like State economy is doing ok and was more stable than the other eastern European economies.
As for Russia, the state has more control now than during the Yeltsin years but if Russia integrates into the system of economic globalisation, then Russia will lose its national sovereignty.
Integrating into Economic globalisation, means the loss of sovereignty for every (state) player whether big ( eg USA, RUSSIA, FRANCE etc)
or small (eg Greece, Bulgaria, Finland etc)
Dear Saker. You are a wise bird. I will stick with my observation on Trump though. Every move he makes is designed to push more nations into the orbit of Russia.
Dear Saker,
I concur with your current and past analyses. I think that greed will prevail over subservience for the simple reason that Europe IS and HAS BEEN the vessel/conduit of institutionalized greed at least since the Imperialist/Colonialist era. The riches of Russia and Asia are too immense and too near to be ignored. Add the BRI and the greed factor explodes. The US does not and cannot offer any similar scheme for the future and as a cause, or consequence, of the lack thereof shall not be able to mitigate/suppress this greed. As an example, recently published data show that already German automakers are well established and expanding in China and Russia with China representing 20% of income for Daimler-Benz, 28% for BMW and 45% for VW.
In addition to my previous post about the Dutch role in The Empire. On the 15th of december 2015 electrician Ali Motamed was killed in Almere, the Netherlands. Ali originally came from Iran, in the early ’90’s he got a residence permit. He lived an inconspicuous live.
But there is more to Ali than meets the eye. Ali was born as Mohammad Reza Kolahi Samadi. He was sentenced to death in absentia for the Hafte Tir bombing in Iran, killing 73 high ranking Iranians, including the chief justice and party secretary and four ministers.
Ali/Mohammad was a member of the MEK terrorist organisation, which is supported by the likes of Bolton and McCain for its regime change ambitions. MEK is responsable for thousands of deaths in Iran.
A couple of career criminals have been arrested for the death of Ali/Mohammad. One can see the contours of a Skripal-like case, this time involving Iran and the Netherlands.
For the recent comments by Pompeo I refer to: https://theduran.com/mike-pompeo-hurls-assassination-charges-iran/ It is probably only a matter of time until we all know about the assassination Mike is referring to.
The Skripal case will be used to justify additional sanctions against Russia to torpedo Nord Stream 2. The Ali/Mohammad case will be used to torpedo EU-Iranian economic cooperation after the USexit from JCPOA.
And another Dutch case that most likely will be exploited by Mike Pompeo:
https://nltimes.nl/2018/03/08/iranian-activists-murder-linked-another-death
Saker – just curious, but why do you presume that rapprochement between Russia and the EU portends Russia moving closer to the western (American) financial/civilisational model and not the EU moving away from it towards the new multipolar world that’s developing? A world in which they will too be an important financial/civilisational pole – instead of merely an American extention?
The EU sits in a predicament wrt the Hegemon:
Yesterday it was Russia, today it’s Iran, tomorrow it will be China and the day after tomorrow they truly are serfs to a feudal lord.
I think we forget that when the US punished Iraq and Libya for taking their oil off the dollar, there was another elephant in that room that nobody looks at and that’s the EU. The EU was in cahoots with that lot – those countries didn’t put their oil on the Euro without the EU’s approval and connivance. (IOW. The EU was also sticking it to the dollar, the Hegemon’s lifeblood)
But the EU was “too big to bomb” back into submission and their punishment is still due…. will the Hegemon really allow this threat to continue to exist? Which then begs the question, does “NATO” occupy Europe to contain a Russian threat to Europe – or a European threat to the US?
The European Union crushed its own member Greece and didn’t show any signs of mercy. Even (controversial) IMF advocated for writing off some of the debt. The advice of the IMF (if I remember correctly then it’s dominated by the US) had been ignored by European politicians (especially the German ones). A few day ago German politicians started wailing again, because the new government indebted Italy wants to spend more money to get the local economy running again. Macron doesn’t seem to be any better. Before becoming president he made a career in banking (with degrees in philosophy and public affairs?!?). I doubt the European Union would leave the neo-liberal path.
I truly wonder how Putin can sleep at night knowing that he could stop the slaughter by Israel in the Gaza and in Syria. He is not the man he portrays to be and his enemies know it and Israel has a hook in him.
Thanks for using as an illustration the wonderful painting of the future Saint Serge of Radonezh, which aptly illustrates your analysis. I can’t help hoping and rejoicing, though, when hearing Macron and the like expressing their ardent wish to cooperate with Russia. Once the growth machine is unstoppable, as per Wladimir Wladimirovitch’s wish, Russia will be in a position to exert real influence. Do let’s pray it will not have lost its soul, then! I would think, on the contrary. If Russia can restore, if anything, the quality of secondary education Soviet citizens enjoyed, then we’ll have free-thinking beings, in a position to see through the ubiquitous antichristian propaganda, and ready to espouse the spiritual values of their elders. The future Saint Serge knew, in spite of his young age, where priorities lay, and that spirituality doesn’t grow in a vacuum, when he asked the angel: “With all my soul I want to learn reading and writing. Holy Father, pray for me to God, that He may help me to become literate.”
I remember watching the MH 17 wreckage on TV just after it happened. A recording was played”revealing” a conversation between Donbass rebels supposedly revealing they did it. Released by the Ukranian military – a smoking gun we were told. It was revealed to be fake and has never been heard of since. But the point should be that whoever released it must have had foreknowledge because it takes time to cut and paste recordings. That means the Ukranians either did it or were involved. One thing I notice from 9 11 on is that the spin doctors work on the principle that whatever the media reports first, no matter how much it is later shown to be false, becomes the story that remains. The media rarely backtracks.
sorry, haven’t read other comments,
I just wanted to thank you Saker for a brilliant piece, I found it extremely moving on many levels, it means so much for Russia, as you say, but for any living breathing organic being,
can only once again thank you & thank you for all you do, your analysis is so important, right here, right now,
variya
If Russians want to expel Hezbollah from lebanon frontier, this will be a terrific answer for Iran. Is it a place for hope ?