Global War, NATO and the Ukrainian Narrative

 

"It never happened. Nothing ever happened. Even while it was happening it wasn’t happening. It didn’t matter. It was of no interest. The crimes of the United States have been systematic, constant, vicious, remorseless, but very few people have actually talked about them. You have to hand it to America. It has exercised a quite clinical manipulation of power worldwide while masquerading as a force for universal good. It’s a brilliant, even witty, highly successful act of hypnosis." (Harold Pinter) 

Shortly after World War II, the NATO military alliance was formed ostensibly as a defence against the military threat posed by the USSR. The alliance was basically the Western European nations (including the UK) plus Canada and the US. At the time, US planners were aware that the USSR had been devastated by the World War, suffering well over 20 million war deaths and massive economic destruction and, therefore, was incapable of attacking Western Europe and would remain so for decades. The real reason for NATO was to put the Western European militaries under effective US control as well as establishing an organizational basis for US involvement in the European political economy. Also to provide a justification for the ongoing US troop occupation of West Germany. The primary "threat" NATO faced was the potential political success of Leftist parties throughout Europe which posed a threat to US imperial plans. Six years later, Russia, along with the Eastern European countries formed the Warsaw Pact which functioned much like a Russian NATO. Arguably, the Warsaw pact did face a form of military threat insofar as the US/NATO utilized recruited Nazis such as Reinhard Gehlen to reactivate World War II Nazi sabotage networks throughout Eastern Europe in an attempt to weaken and destroy the USSR/Russia. 

When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 (with US assistance), the US provided "assistance" in "helping" Russia, the former Soviet Republics and Eastern European countries transition to capitalism. Under US supported Boris Yeltsin, Jeffrey Sachs and his Harvard colleagues implemented economic "shock therapy" to utterly destroy the old system to pave the way for implementation of a form of Third World capitalism involving the creation of corrupt oligarchs, massive looting of state assets, Western corporate control of much of the economy all leading to the immiseration of much of the population. Russian life expectancy plunged as the population decreased. Russia was a failed state heading for complete disintegration. Vladimir Putin succeeded Boris Yeltsin as President of Russia and surprised the West by re-nationalizing Russia's oil and gas industry and by getting rid of a few of the worst oligarchs. He was able to stanch Russia's slide into disaster and thus interfering with the empire's game plan consequently making him the West's number one enemy to be vilified at every opportunity. The Russian economy has mostly recovered over the last 20 years and is now mid-size, a little over half that of France. Russia's military has also rebounded and is surprisingly potent considering the relatively small economic support base, however, their military has limited global force projection.

The collapse of the Soviet Union along with the dismemberment of the Warsaw Pact ostensibly provided an opportunity for a demilitarization of the West as well since the pretext for NATO's existence no longer existed. However, since NATO was/is an integral part of US imperial power, the collapse of the USSR was seen as an opportunity to expand NATO and empire. President Clinton redefined NATO's mission by utilizing NATO as an imperial out of area strike force in the attack and dismemberment of the no longer useful Yugoslavia. Also, the "color revolution" form of hybrid warfare was used to impose Western oriented regimes on the Eastern European nations formerly allied with the USSR. This was followed by economic restructuring involving IMF debt and conditionalities. In essence, these nations were first destabilized then absorbed by empire, their economies shackled by debt and their political independence restricted by financial obligations and global trade agreements and treaties. They were then encouraged to join NATO which they did as NATO expanded eastward in violation of previous commitments. Imperial control and advanced weaponry thus moved towards Russia via the subjugation of former Warsaw Pack nations by means other than traditional military conquest. The notion that NATO is a defensive military alliance is preposterous. NATO is an imperial military strike force augmenting and under the control of the American military. The subjugation of Eastern Europe followed by the expansion of NATO represents the first stage of Global War I (World War III), Empire's aggressive and militaristic plan to eliminate potential rivals for imperial global hegemony.

Phase 2 of Global War 1 was the overthrow of the elected President of the Ukraine and replacing him with an imperial satrap. Toward the end of 2013, President Viktor Yanukovych needed to secure financing for his (predictably) corruption ridden economy (the inevitable consequence of the oligarchic capitalism instituted by the West). The IMF was prepared to provide $18 billion conditioned on severe austerity. Russia offered $15 billion with few strings attached. President Yanukovych chose the Russian loan forgetting, perhaps, that Ukraine was a vassal state and that his otherwise logical decision was not acceptable to empire. The Maidan US orchestrated insurrection soon followed and Yanukovych was deposed and replaced by US Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland's personal choice of Arseniy Yatsenyuk as Prime Minister with Petro Poroshenko as President. With this overthrow of the elected government, the Ukraine went from being a vassal state with limited wiggle room to being a flat out satrapy controlled by empire. Although not a NATO member, NATO was brought in enmass to arm and train the Ukrainian military, with special attention given to the Russophobic neo-Nazi militias which were incorporated into the military while neo-Nazis and other far right nationalist extremists where integrated into the government even as moderates and Russian friendly officials were eliminated from the government. The military training included special ops forces from from the US and UK to teach sabotage, etc. The CIA established what appears to be a Phoenix type assassination and intimidation program. Numerous journalists and opposition leaders have been disappeared and/or tortured.

In 2019, Volodymyr Zelensky won the Ukrainian elections promising to bring peace to the Donbass region through negotiations. Once in office, however, the US supported far right and neo-Nazis called negotiations treasonous and threatened assassination of those who negotiated. Whether or not Zelensky was sincere at the time is a moot point as his position is now firmly opposed to any negotiations or any surrender of defeated Ukrainian forces. In short, Zelensky now completely supports the US/NATO provoked war against Russia. NATO continues to provide logistics, intelligence, mercenary fighters and high level leadership for the Ukrainian forces. The notion that the Ukraine was/is an independent state which has been attacked by an unprovoked , expansionist Russia is ludicrous. Yet, that is the message of a huge and hugely effective imperial propaganda effort. A propaganda system so effective that most citizens of empire do not comprehend the essential nature of the empire which, like all empires, is militaristic and brutal, consistently utilizing terror and torture, and fostering massive corruption. The Ukrainian conflict is basically US/NATO using the Ukrainians as NATO proxy forces to engage in a war against Russia to achieve imperial geostrategic objectives, one of which is to provide a pretext for sanctions designed to collapse the global economy to facilitate a Great Reset resulting in a totalitarian neofeudal global economy. Timing is critical. The window of opportunity is closing to implement the imperial agenda before Russia and China successfully de-dollarize and de facto establish a multipolar world thereby rendering American hegemony impossible. 

The post World War II history of  US policy seems relatively clear based upon the facts and their obvious conclusions. The US emerged from the war with immense power relative to vanquished foes and weakened rivals. The US then became a national security state in order to guide and stimulate the economy. War became America's primary business. The Korean War locked in massive military budgets during peacetime. The US occupied southern Korea utilizing Japanese collaborators to control the population. Thousands of Koreans were killed by US quislings prior to the start of the war. The war itself killed millions and totally destroyed the North. The US maintains an occupation force even now as part of its global empire of bases. In Vietnam, the US took over from France to scuttle elections and occupy the South. That war also resulted in millions of deaths. During this time, the US instigated a coup in Indonesia in which at least 500,000 members of the largest political party were murdered with the encouragement and logistical support of the CIA/State Department. Meanwhile, back in Vietnam the US instituted the Phoenix program of murder and terror. At the conclusion of that war, some of the CIA's Phoenix "professionals" were sent to Central America where they created and directed death squads for US friendly regimes as a means of social control. The same folks did essentially the same thing in Iraq as part of a divide and rule strategy. Since the 2014 US sponsored Ukrainian coup, the CIA has provided training and guidance to Ukrainian neo-Nazi death squads. What we have is a consistent pattern of mass-murder, terror, corruption, financial domination and economic exploitation as part of the imperial modus operandi. In Harold Pinter's words: "The crimes of the United States have been systematic, constant, vicious, remorseless, but very few people have actually talked about them. You have to hand it to America. It has exercised a quite clinical manipulation of power worldwide while masquerading as a force for universal good."   

I am not overly concerned with why the majority of non-marginalized citizenry buy into official propaganda. Unless it effects them directly, most will simply go along to get along, believing most propaganda aimed at their interest group (Democrat, Republican, "liberal", "conservative", etc.). I am only slightly more interested in why the professional intelligentsia buys into this crappola. For example "progressives" and "liberals" are more accurately thought of as imperial progressives and imperial liberals. Their progressivism and liberalism expressed within the confines of the imperial narrative. They are an integral part of the imperial power structure and will adapt their positions to the changing reality in which they earn their living. The group which fascinates and perplexes me are the radical dissidents who seem fully aware of the nature and crimes of empire, yet seem to have been caught up in the official Ukrainian narrative. Is the Ukrainian propaganda so intense that these "radicals" are simply overwhelmed by the narrative? Going along with what everyone else "knows" to be true and self evident? Or have they succumbed to the power of propagandistic labeling? An "independent" Ukraine invaded by Russia, the ultimate crime of war? Not to excuse the empire for its history, of course, but how not to condemn Russia? Even if it means de facto support for US/NATO and the global empire? Even if the Ukraine is not really independent but a US/NATO/IMF controlled vassal state cum satrapy? Even if the Ukraine utilizes the CIA to implement Phoenix type death squads utilizing empowered neo-Nazis? Even if the NATO equiped and trained neo-Nazi infested  Ukrainian military was preparing an assault on the Donbass to provoke Russia into getting involved after the fact? And even if US/NATO's expansion reflects the implementation of the neocon Project for the New American Century? I have no answer to these questions, the logic of these radicals escapes me.

Final comment. Cui bono? Who gains from Russia's limited invasion of the Ukraine? Not Russia unless you consider preventing NATO from installing advanced missile systems on Russia's border something other than the elimination of an existential threat. Or, perhaps, the elimination of NATO equiped and trained neo-Nazis who have been attacking the Donbass for 8 years killing about 15,000 Russian speaking Ukrainians. A de facto NATO controlled military preparing a massive assault on the Donbass region. And who gains from the closing of the Nordstream 2 pipeline? From the elimination of the potential for improved Russian-German relations and trade along with the implications for geostrategic power? Of increased European defense spending and the invigoration and enlargement of NATO (Finland and Sweden)? Of draconian sanctions which will destroy the markets for Russian raw materials and Chinese manufactures? Sanctions which will provide the pretext for attacking Chinese overseas investment? It should be obvious that the Russia's military intervention in the Ukrainian vassal state is a (predictable) net loss for Russia and was likely viewed by the Russian leadership as the least bad alternative for dealing with continued US/NATO aggression. The empire, however, seems to have achieved multiple objectives and will continue this Global war for hegemony as we transition to a new era with a new political economy. Yet the question remains as to how it is possible for the imperial narrative to so completely and successfully misrepresent reality when so many contradictory facts are available?