Paul Craig Roberts<\/p>\n
I agree with Stephen Lendman (below) that the Russian government\u2019s efforts to deal with the West on the basis of evidence and law are futile. \u00a0There is only one Western foreign policy and it is Washington\u2019s. \u00a0Washington\u2019s \u201cdiplomacy\u201d consists only of lies and force. \u00a0It was a reasonable decision for Russia to attempt diplomatic engagement with the West on the basis of facts, evidence, and law, but it has been to no avail. \u00a0For Russia to continue on this failed course is risky, not only to Russia but to the entire world.<\/p>\n
Indeed, nothing is more dangerous to the world than Russia\u2019s self-delusion about \u201cWestern partners.\u201d \u00a0Russia only has Western enemies. These enemies intend to remove the constraint that Russia (and China) place on Washington\u2019s unilateralism. The various incidents staged by the West, such as the Skirpal poisoning, Syrian use of chemical weapons, Malaysian airliner, and false charges, such as Russian invasion of Ukraine, are part of the West\u2019s determined intent to isolate Russia, deny her any influence, and prepare the insouciant Western populations for conflict with Russia.<\/p>\n
To avoid war Russia should turn her back, but not her eyes, on the West, stop responding to false charges, evict all Western embassies and every other kind of presence including Western investment, and focus on relations with China and the East. \u00a0Russia\u2019s attempt to pursue mutual interests with the West only results in more orchestrated incidents. The Russian government\u2019s failure to complete the liberation of Syria has given Washington Syrian territory from which to renew the conflict. \u00a0The failure to accept Luhansk and Donetsk into Russia has provided Washington with the opportunity to arm and train the Ukrainian army and renew the assault on the Russian populations of Ukraine. Washington has gained many proxies for its wars against Russia and intends to use them to wear down Russia. Israel has demanded that Washington renew the attacks on Iran, and Trump is complying. Russia faces simultaneous attacks on Syria, Iran, and the Donetsk and Luhansk Republics, along with troubles in former Central Asian republics of the Soviet Union and intensified accusations from Washington and NATO.<\/p>\n
The crazed neoconservatives, such as Trump\u2019s National Security Adviser John Bolton, think that Russia will buckle under the strains, sue for peace, and accept US hegemony. If this assumption is incorrect, the outcome of Washington\u2019s hostile actions against Russia is likely to be nuclear war. The side that Stephen Lendman and I are talking is neither the side of Washington nor Russia, but the side of humanity and all life against nuclear war.<\/p>\n
How the Russian government could ignore the clearly stated US hegemony in the 1992 Wolfowitz Doctrine is a mystery. The Wolfowitz doctrine states \u00a0that the US\u2019s primary goal is \u201cto prevent the re-emergence of a new rival, either on the territory of the former Soviet Union or elsewhere, that poses a threat on the order of that posed formerly by the Soviet Union.\u201d The doctrine stresses that \u201cthis is a dominant consideration underlying the new regional defense strategy and requires that we endeavor to prevent any hostile power from dominating a region whose resources would, under consolidated control, be sufficient to general global power.\u201d In the Middle East and Southwest Asia, Washington\u2019s \u201coverall objective is to remain the predominant outside power in the region and preserve US and Western access to the region\u2019s oil.\u201d The doctrine also states that the US will act to restrain India\u2019s alleged \u201chegemonic aspirations\u201d in South Asia, and warns of potential conflicts requiring military intervention with Cuba and China.<\/p>\n
By\u00a0\u201cthreat\u201d\u00a0Wolfowitz does not mean a military threat. \u00a0By\u00a0\u201cthreat\u201d\u00a0he means a multi-polar world that constrains Washington\u2019s unilateralism. The doctrine states that the US will permit no alternative to US unilateralism. The doctrine is a statement that Washington intends hegemony over the entire world. \u00a0There has been no repudiation of this doctrine. \u00a0Indeed, we see its implementation in the long list of false accusations and demonizations of Russia and her leader and in the false charges against Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Somalia, Yemen, Venezuela, China, Iran, and North Korea.<\/p>\n
If Russia wants to be part of the West, Russia should realize that the price is the same loss of sovereignty that characterizes Washington\u2019s European vassal states.<\/p>\n
Neocon Takeover of Washington Completed<\/strong><\/p>\n by Stephen Lendman Pompeo at State and Bolton as Trump\u2019s national security advisor completed the neocon takeover of Trump\u2019s geopolitical agenda. Wall Street is running domestic affairs.<\/p>\n The combination represents a major setback for world peace and stability. Greater aggression is likely, along with the triumph of neoliberal harshness over social justice, presenting a dismal and frightening state of affairs.<\/p>\n What to expect ahead? War in Syria is more likely to escalate than wind down, an unthinkable US\/Russia confrontation ominously possible.<\/p>\n The Iran nuclear deal is either doomed, or likely to be gutted by Washington, accomplishing the same thing \u2014 with only tepid, ineffective opposition from P5+1 countries Britain, France and Germany.<\/p>\n The EU most often bends to Washington\u2019s will when enough pressure is applied.<\/p>\n A relatively quiet Ukraine period could explode in greater Kiev war on Donbass, US-supplied heavy weapons and training aiding the aggression.<\/p>\n A Kim Jong-un\/Trump summit is likely to fail to step back from the brink on the Korean peninsula, falsely blaming the DPRK for hostile US actions.<\/p>\n It\u2019ll prove again Washington can never be trusted, its commitments are consistently breached when conflicting with its imperial objectives.<\/p>\n A possible trade war with China would be hugely destabilizing, along with being economically harmful to both countries and the global economy.<\/p>\n Further EU\/US sanctions and other harsh measures are likely to be imposed on Russia over the Skripal affair, an escalated attempt to isolate the country and inflict economic harm \u2013 despite Western nations knowing Moscow had nothing to do with what happened.<\/p>\n Theresa May-led Tories are considering tough actions against Russia over the incident. So are other EU countries and Washington.<\/p>\n On Friday, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said the Trump administration is considering a range of options against Moscow over the Skripal affair \u2013 \u201cboth to demonstrate our solidarity with our ally and to hold Russia accountable for its clear breach of international norms and agreements.\u201d<\/p>\n No breach occurred. Neocons running US foreign policy don\u2019t let facts and rule of law principles compromise their imperial objectives.<\/p>\n Theresa May provided Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron with cooked results of Britain\u2019s investigation so far into the Skripal affair \u2014 \u201cconvincing\u201d them the false accusations are \u201cwell-grounded,\u201d despite knowing UK claims are pure rubbish.<\/p>\n Macron issued a deplorable statement, saying \u201cthere is no\u2026plausible explanation\u201d for what happened to the Skripals other than Kremlin responsibility \u2013 abdicating to US\/UK-led Russophobic hostility.<\/p>\n On the world stage, Trump is hostage to neocon dark forces controlling him. Relations with Russia, China, and other sovereign independent nations are likely to worsen, not improve.<\/p>\n Unthinkable nuclear war remains an ominous possibility. Russia\u2019s only option is building on its alliance with China and other allies, staying committed to respond firmly to US-led Western harshness against its sovereignty.<\/p>\n Virtually no possibility for improved Russian relations with Washington and Britain exists. It\u2019s fruitless pursuing it.<\/p>\n German and other European dependence on Russian energy, mainly gas, offers only slim hope for improving things with these countries.<\/p>\n Looking ahead, prospects for world peace and stability are dismal. US-led Western hostility toward Russia could erupt in open conflict by accident or design.<\/p>\n The unthinkable could become reality. Preparedness should be Moscow\u2019s top priority given the real danger it faces.<\/p>\n VISIT MY NEW WEB SITE: stephenlendman.org (Home \u2013 Stephen Lendman). Contact at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.<\/p>\n My newest book as editor and contributor is titled \u201cFlashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nhttp:\/\/stephenlendman.org\/2018\/03\/neocon-takeover-washington-completed\/<\/a><\/p>\n