Don’t count on the United States to be politically prudent in dealing with other nations of the world at any level. Maintaining hegemony, the American ruling-elite feels, is accomplished best not through overly cautious or moderating discussion, but through a strong, unrelenting campaign of discrete belligerence: showing your teeth but holding your bite.
The US has used that strategy for well over two decades, aided by its NATO squire and an incredibly consenting citizenship which seldom questions foreign affairs—from criminal misgivings to wars of choice—being sanctioned by the powerful ruling triumvirate represented by the president, Congress and the Pentagon.
The American elite has achieved a firm hold on the nation, economically, institutionally, militarily and politically, keeping most of its 320 million-plus population both docile and totally brainwashed; bovinely following any and all edicts pronounced by the leadership ruling the empire. One would accurately guess that many, if not most, Americans find enough pride waving flags and being part of the “most powerful nation in the world,” whatever meaning that might have; relegating both their freedom and possible voice of dissent to a ruling elite in all matters dealing with the “outside world.” An overwhelming majority of Americans is only interested in domestic issues, most often represented by groupings with selfish interests, economic or social—for the most part involving a single issue—when it comes to casting their vote.
No, don’t count on Americans, regardless of either major party affiliation, to rebel against the neo-fascist leadership any time soon. Americans, fat-dumb-and-happy, think of themselves as living in the only meaningful world—the terra incognita outside their borders, populated by “barbarians” (terrorists, these days), left to be dealt with by centurions sent by the Pentagon to the thousand-plus pied-a-terre military installations strategically located throughout the globe . . . to defend “American interests.”
The US government, legislative and executive branches in unison, has created in the past quarter century—after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the Soviets’ rethinking the high cost and sacrifice by the people trying to defend a sociopolitical ideology—an aura of triumphalism which permeates down to the citizenship. And such overly excessive celebration, erroneously attributed, has taken the form of vengeful and oppressive behavior for failing to obtain total victory over the Soviet Union via complete surrender of its nuclear capability. So, with the help of the European Union and NATO, the US has been openly and unashamedly encroaching on an undeclared but obvious “Russian enemy” on all fronts in order to destroy any and all geopolitical influence Russia might have on its neighbors . . . Ukraine being the conflict du jour; a Rubicon, however, that Russia will not allow the US and its allies to cross.
And America appears to be willing to bet all its NATO chips in its attempt to cross that Slavic Rubicon; US elite somehow convinced (or hopeful) they’ll continue to rule in a post-holocaustic world, the specter of World War III seemingly not facing them . . . the anti-Russia propaganda bullet train marching full speed in US’ mainstream press.
For sanity to prevail, and with the politically-dormant American people solely concerned with the countdown of shopping days until Christmas, the only mitigating force which makes sense would have to come from an open rebellion by nations in the NATO camp that see no rhyme or reason in being used not for regional or global peace, but designs made in Washington which are deceitfully masked, and presented, as pro-democracy and human rights.
It isn’t just Romania, Hungary and Turkey that should be questioning their lackey status in NATO, but all Southern Europe, as well as several other European countries. Spain, just like many sister European nations, has nothing to gain being part of NATO, or for that matter emulating the US in a corrupt two-party system which has led the nation to the portals of financial bankruptcy. A political force has emerged in Spain this year, “Po-demos” (We Can), which has already surpassed in strength the two ruling parties: the Partido Popular, now governing, and its Tweedle Dee twin, PSOE (Socialist Workers’ Party) which is neither socialist nor defender of workers’ interests. [PP and PSOE are Spanish replicas of US’ Democrat and Republican parties.]
Turkey, specifically, whether under Erdogan or any other leader, has little to gain and much to lose by being in NATO and pursuing membership in the European Union. Its future, economically, is vested in both Eurasia and the Middle East, where it can attain regional recognition and leadership, not the EU; what is being pondered these days in Turkey may also determine the merits of the Gulen movement in helping shape a role for Turkey in a major geopolitical region.
A fragmented NATO appears as perhaps the only viable way to maintain peace, keeping the status quo in Europe; and letting the secessionist movement in Eastern Ukraine follow its natural course, with Novorossiya, which one would expect to extend south to Odessa, eventually joining Russia.
Americans deserve to be told the truth, and not be swamped with obscene political propaganda: Russia (Putin) is not reconstituting the Soviet Union . . . which represented an ideological (communism) as well as a geopolitical force. Russia is now simply trying to hold its legitimate economic and geopolitical ground, and should not be blamed for the present situation, one solely instigated by the neocon forces which rule in both the Pentagon and the State Department.
© 2014 Ben Tanosborn
Ben Tanosborn, columnist, poet and writer, resides in Vancouver, Washington (USA), where he is principal of a business consulting firm. Contact him at ben@tanosborn.com.
Just at the point when Europe shows any serious sign of standing up independently from the USA with regard to Russia then that is likely to provoke an act of provocation from the USA. If the recent German diplomatic move to Russia is such a serious move then perhaps we can expect a quick USA anti Assad move in Syria or some escalation in Ukraine to bring about a sudden heightening of tension between NATO and Russia, forcing Germany to declare which side of the fence it stands on. A European wide mass demonstration at that point would help push Germany away from the USA perhaps.