Half of our allies aren't joining the anti-Russia mob
Almost every single news outlet in America, especially on the Democratic side, is beating the drums of war. Now that warmonger John Bolton is in the Trump Administration, the White House appears to be on-board too.
The Trump administration has not done enough to respond to Russia’s attack on the United States and our democratic institutions, Bolton said, and Putin must pay a heavy price for his actions.
It's enough to make one think that everyone in the world is lining up for a military showdown with a nuclear superpower.
Looks can be deceiving.
But Matteo Salvini, leader of the pro-Russian, nativist Northern League and a potential prime minister, angrily criticized this decision, as did the leader of a smaller far-right party, another possible member of a future coalition, who declared it “unacceptable that a caretaker government has expelled two staffers at the Russian embassy.”
In Greece, where both the far-left ruling party and its far-right coalition partners (yes, it’s an odd combination) have deep links to Russia, no diplomats have been expelled. The same is true in Austria, where the ruling coalition includes the far-right Freedom Party, which — of course — has Russian links, as well.
Serbia and Bulgaria will not be expelling diplomats.
However, the BIG break with our anti-Russia policy is a little further south, and it can't be understated.
As U.S. and European allies form a diplomatic front against Russia, Turkey’s coziness with the Kremlin is testing its crucial defense ties with the U.S. and its military alliance with NATO...
“At the moment, there is a positive and good relationship between Turkey and Russia,” Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag said late Monday. “Turkey isn’t considering taking any decisions against Russia.
Our NATO ally, Turkey, has gone completely the other way when it comes to relations with Russia. This includes their plans to purchase weapons from Russia in defiance of economic sanctions. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut has calls for lifting all trade restrictions against Russia.
Yet Turkey isn’t alone in its decision to avoid rebuking Russia. Half of the EU’s member nations have not expelled Russian officials over the March 4 attack.
Without Turkey a key piece in isolating Russia is missing.
The further you go into Asia, the less enthusiasm for war.
Israel did not follow the lead from London and Washington, even declining to name “Russia” while issuing a general condemnation of the alleged Russian action...
Gallant told The Jerusalem Post that Israel’s relationship with the Russians is not at all what it was before the collapse of the Soviet Union. “We talk to them, they talk to us. There is a mechanism on the military side [in Syria] that everyone can see. We respect the Russians. The Russians are not our enemies, and we should use the upside of their presence [in Syria] and try to avoid the downside of their presence.”
Non-NATO allies like Armenia, are looking to get sanctioned for more than just being friends with Russia.
Officially, the Armenian government follows a policy of “complementarity” that balances good relations with Russia and the West. In reality, however, more than 5,000 Russian troops are bivouacked on Armenian soil, and Russia has been a vital source of military equipment for the country.
Armenia also has defense ties with Iran.
Outside of Turkey, the biggest break with the anti-Russia push is India, which seems to be taking an "I dare you" attitude.
All of this is outside of the fact that Russia has "enemy of my enemy" allies in China and Iran.
When it comes to sanctions and ending diplomacy, it appears that we've played our last card.
Our allies, with just a few exceptions, have gone as far as they are going to go.
Russia's economy is growing again, so the sanctions have largely failed.
All that is left is shooting, and I don't believe anyone outside of Washington, Wall Street, and the American news media wants that.
Comments
Good observations
With the exception of the US, UK, Ukraine, and Poland all of the diplomatic expulsions are token, and clearly came after much US arm twisting, read bribes. This massive coalition that the US touts is really globally microscopic and more indicative of the collapse of global support for the US. Russian relationships with each country can only be evaluated on a country by country basis and only by considering the history of the 20th century. Everyone wants to trade with Russia, especially Ukraine.
This Skripal case is very outrageous from the Russian perspective. Doesn't Western law provide for three important rights. The Right to Habeas Corpus that is to see the evidence, the right that you are innocent until proved guilty, and the right to a defense. Western punishment of Russia runs against the West's own judicial principles. There have been numerous international laws and agreements broken to "get Russia". This is talked about endlessly on Russian talk shows at night. The people are very angry. Whatever President Putin does in retaliation will get the full support of the Russian people. And many feel that he has not gone far enough, but he works on the principle of intelligent moderation, fortunately for the West. What if the evidence points to a Ukrainian plot? After all, they had much of the USSR defense industry, and are very motivated to pull off a false flag event? Will the West punish Ukraine? Yes, and I'm the snow bunny.
I'm enjoying the symmetry of the diplomat expulsion. The Western states are saying "Why am I being punished, I did nothing wrong?" Well, that's exactly how Russians feel! Trump is even saying that the US needs to punish Russia for Punishing the US. Putin has made it perfectly clear that if you do this we will respond symmetrically. How deep in the shit does Trump want to go?
From the Russian perspective-- The USSR developed advanced CW in Uzbekistan, not in Russia. The lab in Uzbekistan was decommissioned by ... the US under contract. Did the US take some home and give some to MI6? Russia is in compliance of CW treaties and has been verified by the UN to have no chemical weapons. This is not true for the US, the UK, the Ukraine etc. It seems probable that the US has traded in CW and CW components, in particular the Klynton monster set up a ratline from Libya to Syria of Ghaddafi's weapon stores including CW. The Syrian and Russian armies have found a significant quantity of CW and precursors in recaptured cities.
The only countries left on the US dance card are the four that I mentioned earlier, and Japan and Australia. The rest of the world is going to take a significant incremental step away from the US because of this.
Capitalism has always been the rule of the people by the oligarchs. You only have two choices, eliminate them or restrict their power.
Very enlightening comment
Your comment is excellent in regard to how the rest of the world views the United States as a player on the world stage. I do believe the entire world is getting tired of the US's bullying and war mongering.
For the life of me, I am having a difficult time wrapping my head around why Europeans would support our pushing the West to the brink of war with Russia. They and we all will lose in a war with Russia (and Iran, China, and possibly India). There will be heavy casualties in Europe and there is a strong possibility that war would come to the US mainland.
It is way past time for the US empire to fall. Read my first sig line, courtesy of Dr. Cornel West.
Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?
“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy
@gulfgal98For the life of me, I am
This here. The Europeans (especially those in mainland Europe like France and Germany) should understand the very real possibility of a huge death toll. All they have to do is look at WW1 and WW2.
Where do you think Russia could go? East towards the US or West towards Europe. Perhaps someone should do speeches in Germany and France to remind them not only the atrocities of the world wars, but to ask them who they think would be the first to die in a new world war. It would be them.
And why do you think that
(edited grammar mistakes)
we, the Germans and the French etc. don't understand that and have forgotten wwI and wwII?
From my pov I hear more people here in Germany making speeches of that kind than I heard them in US media. I mean, I may not be able to get all the sarcasm, comedy and jokes in American English, but my hunch is you don't understand much of the German or French language local speakers on our German or French local print and TV media as well.
What are you saying? We should be scared of being in the middle of other continents shit? All of us, the US, Europe AND Russia are capitalists these days and what they do is trying to keep their voters happy, their country protected from bombs and war, and their corporations making a profit to keep their workers under jobs. Nobody is better or worse or less capable of remembering, who might get killed first. The Americans, the French, the Russians, the Germans, the British, haven't we all lost the lives and livelihoods of our parents or grandparents or great-grandparents to wwI and wwII.
What compels you to say that we don't remember them as well as Americans do?
Why don't you accuse British PM May for having an F in chemistry. Apparently she had no clue what she was doing with her blame that Russians had produced the nerve agent that poisoned the Russian spy and his daughter and therefore have murdered them.
You know if you don't understand anything about chemistry and synthesis of chemical agents and from which labs or production sites they could or could not have originated, I would (as a former chemist, who has nothing much learned other than you better don't talk about chemical synthesis and production processes, if you don't have a clue about them) say she should keep her fingers out of the labs.
[video:https://youtu.be/GSYGfI_N6iw]
This speech of PM May was very toxic and destructive and in my opinion a reckless speech. And it had nothing to do with who remembered what about wwI and wwII.
Just my two cents.
https://www.euronews.com/live
@mimi Didn't realize this
Didn't realize this was going to have any pushback.
Considering that Germany and France for instance are firmly in NATO and pushing the US orthodoxy on Russia, I'm not certain what they believe will be the outcome if war comes to pass. Europe more than anyone should have the pushback, but they seem to just go along with the NATO (which is just American orthodox) protocol.
Actually I'm going to push back on this one. To start, certain nations will have a more crisp memory simply because of the impact of the atrocity. Looking at say WW1, where America lost roughly what... 60,000 soldiers vs. the Germans and Russians at 2 million a piece? Also, America never had the war at home whereas Europe had all the fighting there, including all the destruction.
One of Putin's advisors had said that "Russia will never again fight on its own territory!". Considering the death and utter destruction of their nation during WW2, yeah, I'll say that the Russians for instance might have a more fearful memory of WW2 than say America. Also, that sentence should have a chilling effect for the European people, which reinforces my earlier point.
Regarding America somehow remembering WW1/WW2 better than Europeans, I never said that. I wouldn't expect America actually to really know either of those wars. America simply believes that it entered the wars and "won" them, which isn't the truth at all. That America defeated the Nazis when in fact it was the Russians who were crucial in defeating them. The whole point however is that while America, isolated from the rest of the world and not major wars fought on its soil, is blinded and cozy to the reality. The Europeans however, have experienced the two WW first hand. That is why if anything they should be the biggest ones trying to defuse this situation instead of just being a proxy of America. If not defuse, then defiantly say that we won't join in on this war if it occurs. America can start wars and not experience the pain. My point is if a war does break out, Europe will be the one to suffer first and probably the most.
Feels somewhat unrelated but also just reinforces more of the point I made earlier though. To start, she is wrong. That is easy enough. Next, the British have often gone hand-in-hand with American policy so having the Brits following the Americans here isn't that surprising. Also, if somehow I can bring this back to WW1/WW2, the Brits were more isolated and secure than say France/Germany/Russia.
WW1 saw all the fighting done on mainland Europe while British troops were sent there. Yes, they lost quite a few men but was done away again from their home. WW2 saw aerial bombing yes but definitely nowhere near the scale in Germany or Russia. So the point here is that for Britain, the wars are fought away from its soil. In a war here in the modern era, the war would once again be away from British soil. How it pans out from the starting point who knows but it won't start there. So like Americans, the Brits can feel muscular without any of the damage.
May, like the American media and agencies, are pushing this Russian narrative. Really my whole point is that if there is any group of people who should be not only massively afraid but also unified in mass protest against this course of action, it would be the Europeans.
I have not much pushback on what you said
just may be the lame excuse that it's not "the Germans" or "the French" that are ...
it's our politicians and I do not at all believe that the general population is ready to buy into the whole story of Russians being the culprit. As for being naive about the number of deaths etc., our politicians are not representative of what Germans would think about US foreign policies. I do not even believe most of us are so aware of what US and NATO foreign policies are. We get may be 2 minutes of news reporting about it and now and then a panel discussion of talking head journalists and politicians. Most of them are not manipulative or skewed. There is some opposition from the left, but that will not change as much as one would hope. The opposition is just not strong enough to have an impact, at least it seems to me that way. And if I talk about how upset I am that German soldiers get involved in military actions in Afghanistan or where ever they are sent to with their weaseling tasks to 'train and advise" by our kind Sec. of Defense, Ursula van der Leyen, everyone seems to agree with me. Nobody understands why that is and what it's all about.
That I certainly do understand, but I think you forget the "The Europeans" today have NOT experienced the two WW first hand. The Europeans, who have, are all dead.
Today's Europeans is the second and third generation after those Europeans who have experienced it. And in order to be really that concerned about the ramifications of a potential new war, you need your own real life experience in your own lifetime. Neither me (I am almost seventy years old - first post wwII generation, nor my son's generation (second post wwII generation in their mid forties) nor the younger generation (third post-wwII generation in their twenties) has first hand knowledge about those previous wars. The may have heard about them and talked about them but that's not enough. Everything else is book knowledge and that is not enough either, imo. And aside from historians and some social research journalists not many have read enough.
It's the Americans and the people in the ME and Asia who have experienced war in their own life-time (Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Iraq / Afghanistan and now the population in Syria, Yemen, Libya etc). Europeans have experienced those only through the news media and that's not really enough to get VERY concerned.
I just try to say that the geographical isolation of the US compared to the Europeans, who are in middle of it - geographically speaking - , is not what has much meaning anymore. We are all similarly close via online communications. What counts is what you yourself have gone through being in the middle of current war activities.
I can tell you it is bitter to realize that, none of my extended German family, would think and feel like my son, because he has experienced the Iraq war invasion first hand, while none of my German and french speaking extended former family have ever gone through that. And honestly I wouldn't want them to have to go through those experiences themselves, it certainly is not THAT heroic, exiting or fun as some seem to think.
Do not count on a huge pushback from "the Europeans". It won't come, at least not much. I count on the Americans to push back. And I have hope they finally will. And if that sounds foolish to you, well at least today it's not that extraordinary to be foolish today.
https://www.euronews.com/live
@mimiit's our
Right I was focusing more on the politicians. I don't know the on-the-ground reporting of either people (French or German). I was just commenting on the high-ups.
True that many who are alive today haven't "experienced" it. I guess I was going for the history of it.
Though, the Russians on the other hand, seem quite more involved in the history, at least to me. As I mentioned earlier, Putin's close advisor said they will not fight another war on their territory. They are keeping WW1/WW2 in their mind because they know the devastation that happened to their country.
I am a little confused though. Earlier you were going on about how the Germans and French haven't forgotten, but now seem to be talking about how the people have no real life experience and only barely the historical knowledge?
To be clear, I'm not trying to shove any negative terms or connotations towards the Europeans here.
Through communication, yeah we are close through instantaneous messaging, which is fantastic. More however what I was going for with regards to geographical isolation is well I'm over 4000 miles away from France, separated by a massive ocean. Until they start using ICBM's and the like, I'm not going to feel a war that occurs there. You talked about Iraq, Vietnam, Afghanistan. All places that America invaded. The citizens don't feel it. No tanks rolling through streets. No IED explosions. No drone bombings.
Oh yeah, forgot it is April Fool's Day. So busy with Easter dinner and cooking, so tired. I wish Americans would push back. But look at us now. Our government blatantly lied about Iraq and the people know it. But poof gone, willful amnesia sets in and we get carted off to our next adventure. Libya, Syria, now Russia. A new crisis, a new lie, and new fearmongering. I'm hoping for the Europeans to be the rational ones ha. Europe has shown to be far more rational when it comes to various policies (not all but a good chunk) than America.
I need Germany to be around cause I still want to visit there ha. I'm close to half German I think so got to see what my people are like. That and the beer and sausage.
... it's a nothing burger - let's drop it
Well, the US soldiers on the ground of the places the US invaded felt 'something', I assume. The experience of being responsible of dropping the bombs from drones (for all the wrong reasons on civilians) does something to the US soldiers that is almost as destructive as it is to the victims on the ground that fear being hit by those bombs. The first kills the mind, the second kills the body and the mind. It's still a killing experience for all sides involved.
Yeah, I am a little confusing, but I think I was a little 'incensed' when you said the European seemed to have forgotten about the numbers of people killed during wwI and wwII. It sounded as if we are complete ignoramuses. As I said, we heard and learned the basics about it in school (certainly not enough - but at least in my high school years in Germany it was not somehow not talked about or oppressed), we may have read about, but did NOT experience it.
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@mimibut at least
Are you German? Or moved there when young? Guess I don't know much on your history.
as German as it gets - was in the US
for 35 years and are for some time back in Germany. I am home sick to my new second home country, Uncle Sam country, believe it or not. If the uncle still lets me come back, I will. God willing. Bless the United States of America, at least a little. We all need to be friends, not enemies. If you would be so kind to get rid of your weapons, bring your soldiers home to the US and start over a 'gooder' life, that would be nice. Even the Russian would love you for it. That means something. Could you imagine we are all hugging each other for world peace?
Sigh. Where are all the dreamers gone? We need to grow them back, the dreams of the dreamers. Gardening is always a very productive and healing activity.
https://www.euronews.com/live
On the surface, where is the memory of horror.
Interesting point that for both the Brits and US in that both countries did not experience some of the utter devastation on home of what happened particularity in the Slavic east. The Blitz of constant German bombing killed 43,000 thousand. In five days, the Nazis killed 40,000 civilians in the bombing of Stalingrad. The Nazis waged a genocidal against the Slavic/Jewish east. The Nazis did not bring to bear the full might of their genocidal army against Western European countries. The real murderous aspect of WWII occurred from German Eastward into the Soviet Union.
The horrors of the "Eastern front" were never visited on Western Europe to any great degree as compared to what happened in Eastern Europe. In fact, it seems to me that English movie and TV depictions present the war in nostalgic ways.
Maybe in fact, except for Germany, the NATO countries really don't remember the war in the way the Russians have.
I was watching segments of what the Russians called Immortal Regiment march and one realizes that Russians remember the war and these are civilians marching with pictures, etc. of relatives who fought and died in WWII. WWII was no abstraction to them.
I don't think that the British people have forgotten
about the bombardments of the Nazis on London in ww2.
So, they experienced the war and I assume their kids at least remember well enough and the next generations learn enough of it in their schools.
Just saying...
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More background on Novichok. The plot thickens
There are some intriguing, documented connections between Novichok, Skripal, Hillary Clinton as SoS of the US State Department, the Steel Dossier, MI6 and Russian mafia. Were the Skripals going to blow the whistle on the Steele Dossier? Were they a threat to this now obvious Clinton fraud? Was information on Novichok being saved for a future false flag against Russia?
No connections with Putin or government of Russia have been found yet. It's all "believe us" (like WMD's in run-up to Iraq War and Viagra in Libya). The Skripal poisoning looking more and more like a pre-engineered false flag operation against Russia. (Wars and interventions are contingency planned many years in advance. The invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq were planned five years before the attacks took place. They were basically 'off-the-shelf' and just needed updating when the time was ripe for attack.)
Is the entire Novichok affair a fabricated story from MI6 and the CIA just to demonize and denigrate Russia in preparation for military action against Russia?
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9uwpQCDAkA]
Did Putin find out about this operation and counter with his State of the Union speech where he demonstrated Russia's retaliatory ability? Like a cobra raising its head, flashing its hood and hissing as a warning not to come close.
I would say yes, our hands are all over this
Why else try to keep the book hidden if someone asks about it? This false flag had been planned since the Klinton creature arrived on the scene as SOS. We know that the Iraq war has been planned before the fateful day because they tried to get Bill to invade Iraq. But he was pre occupied trying to save his presidency. The sanctions and a few bombs would have to do.
These are very good questions.
Moon of Alabama has had some great coverage on this as well as the other issues we're up to our necks in. It's funny that the most deadliest nerve agent known to man wasn't that deadly after all.
My question is how are they explaining how the other people got exposed to it if it was on the door? And why did the hospital say that they haven't treated anyone who had been poisoned? Way too many holes in the story.
Was Humpty Dumpty pushed?
Even more questions
This SkyNews article yesterday includes an even longer list of questions posed by Russia:
Salisbury poisoning: Russia issues list of 14 questions for UK
Neocons back in power in Washington. Excellent discussion.
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21jTqfSYJ_c]
Soros??
"I think it’s a person who is an Israel Firster, very, very strong Zionist ideological bent, definitely puts Israel above the United States for sure."
dfarrah
That report is very, very informative
It mainly deals with the neocon war mongers in Washington who have now taken full control of the government. George Soros is a color revolution financier and specialist. Now that this type of phony revolution has been uncovered, they have become easier to protect against. Most likely the Ukraine 'revolution' will be the last. Unfortunately, false flag revolutions will always work because people are too dumbed down from watching the powerful Western propaganda machine - MSM.
This Saker analysis is worth a diary, in and of itself. Unfortunately, I won't have the time this weekend. Take the time to listen or read.
Democratic Cheerleaders
A related take from Caitlin Johnstone:
Dems Kept Cheering Bush Neocons
Nice conclusion too:
"They'll say we're disturbing the peace, but there is no peace. What really bothers them is that we are disturbing the war." Howard Zinn
If the Israel tail wags the US dog,
does this raise the possibility of renewed detente?
One can only hope. So many bad (and outright evil) things have come of the "special relationship" between the US and Israel, it's about time something less than disastrous did.
There is no justice. There can be no peace.
Germans approved Nord Stream 2
Looks like one of the biggest prizes is slipping away--the prize being US control of Europe's energy needs.
Germany fully approves Russia-built Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-germany-nordstream/germany-ful...
well ... we are Northerners enough to all hate cold feet
and cold noses, so when it comes to help us stay warm, we do such thingies and go along with others, who know the advantages to not freeze to death.
https://www.euronews.com/live
Long long time ago during the Cold War
There was an argument that trading with the Soviet block countries and mainland China was a good thing. As countries became more interdependent with each other, war would be less likely as so many interests shared by any warring countries. And in fact, the way to undermine the Soviet Union was to send them blue jeans and rock and roll records.
That whole idea is dead now. Instead of interdependence there is isolation. While many claim the Russians will do some sort of energy blackmail, I have not heard of any incident. The only one involved the Ukrainians stealing Russian gas meant for Western Europe. Some Europeans have said they do not fear Russian control as Russia would be as equally reliant on selling the gas as German was reliant on buying the gas--that is the countries would be interdependent.
yes, that's my understanding of it as well
Personally I don't fear Russians controlling our access to gas, but I do fear inciting hate speech by conservatives and right-wing talking heads and politicians, using the influx of non-white refugees into Germany as a tool to incite feelings of fear in other Germans with regards to them "getting too much money" and having done nothing for it compared to 'white native Germans', who worked hard and don't want to share their good fortunes having a job with the competing refugees having gotten asylum or work permissions in Germany. That 'mental control' based on greed and subtle racism is much more dangerous than the "Russian bear coming to eat us all and let us freeze to death".
https://www.euronews.com/live
Kucinich don't buy it
how to spot a progressive
Moscow confronts UK
Moscow confronts London with 14 questions on ‘fabricated’ Skripal case
Here are the start of the questions
Is Russia behind these bills?
It must be the Russians.
Freedom loving Americans wouldn't do something like this on their own...
LOUISIANA AND MINNESOTA INTRODUCE ANTI-PROTEST BILLS AMID FIGHTS OVER BAYOU BRIDGE AND ENBRIDGE PIPELINES
And if you are going to punish those who block "critical infrastructure" you gotta show them who is boss
Since I am off topic, I might as well continue.
I watched a BookTV rebroadcast today from Virginia Festival of the book on US Torture. THey had the author of Guantanamo Diaries on remote video. The feds still won't give him the original of his manuscripts nor his two other books that he wrote in prison. He filled in the blanks from memory about the segments that were deleted by the censors. An ATTY who tired to top the torture was on and he wrote a book that took over 200 days about the CIA was given permission to do things that before only the FBI had done - hold in jail, interrogation, etc. and the go ahead to torture. The CIA then imported the techniques to Guantanamo. He describes the explicit violations of constitution by W Bush that allowed this to go forward. And a woman was on the panel who wrote a book about
Well, here they are
Abdrea's book "One Long Night"
It is an outside chance to get our democracy back, but in the mean time we can blame the Russians for everything, along with the Muslims.
Hillary's lack of accountability is right in line with our exceptional country
Thank You, Don Midwest,
I hope I can find that book here in Germany. Very interesting and definitely something to look into it. Otherwise I get it in English.
https://www.euronews.com/live
Here's China's response to things
China has been watching our brutal march of hegemony and know that our empire days are coming to an end soon.
Russian diplomat expulsions signal crude side of Western intention
Was Humpty Dumpty pushed?