Putin draws a line in the sand for US

Historian William Blum has documented the long list of nations that the US has toppled and bombed.

State sovereignty and territorial integrity are fundamental values. However, the very notion of state sovereignty is being washed out. Countries that conduct an independent policy or that simply stand in the way of US interests get destabilised. Tools used for this purpose are the so-called ‘colour revolutions’ or, in simple terms, takeovers instigated and financed from the outside.

This is the conclusion of the Russian President Vladimir Putin in a recent speech on Russia’s security given by him in the Kremlin. With Ukraine having received some five billion dollars from the US in the run up to the neo-fascist coup that ousted its democratically elected government, Putin had its close neighbour on its western border very much in mind.

The US historian William Blum has documented the long list of nations that the US has toppled, bombed and destabilized since 1945. Whether it is CIA-instigated coups in Latin America or aiding or carrying out the mass slaughter of civilians in Indonesia or South East Asia, the US has deemed it necessary to ignore international laws and carry out atrocities to further its geo-political interests across the globe. Post-1945, a powerful Soviet Union served as some kind of deterrent to US aims.

 Since the break up of the USSR, however, a weakened Russia has served as little deterrent. In the last two decades, among other things, we have seen the US march into Iraq and Afghanistan, wage proxy wars in Lybia and Syria and destabilize countries from Pakistan and Ukraine to Venezuela and elsewhere. Washington is targeting Chinese influences throughout Africa via AFRICOM (US African military command) and is seeking to militarily ‘pivot’ towards Asia in order to choke off China’s rise as an economic powerhouse.   

Ascend to power

Turning to Ukraine, Putin notes that people came to power through the use of armed force and by unconstitutional means. Elections were held after the takeover, but power ended up again in the hands of those who either funded or carried out this takeover. And now, Putin says, without any attempt at negotiations, they are trying to suppress by force that part of the population that does not agree with such a turn of events. Putin argues that such tactics are absolutely unacceptable and counterproductive. He also warns that such methods will not work within Russia itself. Such a warning stems from the fact that attempts are being made to destabilise the social and economic situation within Russia. It has been a long-standing aim among certain strategists in the US to break Russia up into smaller states to carry out a ‘divide and rule’ strategy. If this is not possible, the aim is to destabilize and weaken the country in order to make Russia compliant with US hegemonic aims.

Putin says that Russia must give an adequate response to such challenges and continue to work in a systematic way to resolve the issues that carry a potential risk for the unity of the nation. Putin speaks of cracking down on corruption, striving for the better integration of ethnic groups within Russian society and promoting equal rights for all citizens, thereby closing down any opportunities that outside forces seek to exploit. A major challenge includes sustainable and balanced economic and social development, not least ensuring priority development for strategically important regions, including in the Far East and other areas.  Additional steps are required to decrease the dependence of the national economy and financial system on negative external factors. With threats of ever-more economic sanctions aimed at crippling the Russian economy, it is for good reason that Russia has been taking steps to decouple itself from the dollar-system of international finance, whether in terms of the newly established BRICS bank or by carrying out major trade deals in the ruble or regional currencies.

Putin also says that Russia will react appropriately and proportionately to the approach of Nato’s military infrastructure toward its borders, of which events in Ukraine form part of. He argues that the US Anti Ballistic Missile system in Europe is part of the offensive defence system of the United States and that groups of Nato troops are clearly being reinforced in Eastern European states, including in the Black and Baltic seas. The scale and intensity of such operational and combat training is growing. In this regard, Putin says, it is imperative to implement all planned measures to strengthen Russia’s defence capacity fully and on schedule, including in Crimea and Sevastopol.

While the mainstream media in the West sets out to demonise Putin and Russia as aggressors and threats to world peace, Putin’s speech makes clear what most informed people already know: neo-con strategists in the Pentagon and close to the White House are seeking global hegemony and regard Russia (and China) as obstacles in their way. Putin has drawn a line in the sand.