Give Peace A Chance

 

Before the jingoistic cheer leading and Russia-hating catcalls start pouring
from the poorly informed but enthusiastically irrational peanut gallery,
let's take a moment to review a few important FACTS. Maybe FACTS are
not quite as spectacular or emotionally satisfying as burping up bilious
gas balls of MSM propaganda, but they can provide PERSPECTIVE.

During the 90s, following the dissolution of the USSR, the military flights and
air-space patrols and probing by Russia as part of their stand-off with
the West __ mirrored 24/7  by the U.S. and NATO with similar fleets of
fighters, bombers, reconnaissance planes, refueling tankers __ stopped
completely. The reconnaissance and war readiness exercises by the
Western powers, however, continued uninterrupted.

Reacting to this unbroken protraction of war readiness by the West, Russia
started up their long range bomber patrols again July and August 2007,
returned to guarding its air space and borders, keeping a sufficient
number of planes in the air to let the West know that they were not to
be permitted carte blanche superiority in the skies near Russian air
space.

This means, for over 15 years Russia suspended a major component of the Cold
War years confrontation, taking itself completely off of a war footing.
Rather than take advantage of this historic opportunity, the West
continued, and if anything increased, its intimidation of Russia, which
by both choice and circumstance __ its empire had disintegrated and the
country itself was in dire economic straits __ tried to pursue peaceful
relations.

During the 90s Russia was understandably preoccupied with putting its house back
in order and trying to rebuild the functional framework of a nation.
With calculating deftness but in direct violation of recorded assurances
made to Russia that NATO would not move "one inch east"
of Germany __ a trade-off for Russia's quickly withdrawing its troops
from East Germany to permit an orderly, uncontested reunification of the
German nation __ NATO at the prompting of the U.S. proceeded to rapidly
expand its geographical orbit. Today it includes Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic, Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, and Slovenia. All of these countries are considerably more than an inch east of Germany.

Then in December 2001, the U.S. announced that it was unilaterally pulling out of the ABM Treaty,
signaling that it claimed the right to now put anti-ballistic missiles
in any country in the NATO alliance. This move was unprovoked, meaning
there was no specific incident or level of tension between Russia and
the U.S. prompting such a sudden breach of the agreement, one that had
been in force since 1972. Ominously, this was the first time in U.S.
history that America had walked away from such a major agreement.

Since the U.S. at the time and for many years afterwards, claimed that the
anti-ballistic missiles were purely to prevent rogue nations like Iran
and North Korea from attacking Europe, Russia offered to become part of a
unified system of missile defense of Europe, offering its own
sophisticated missile tracking radar to the mix.

America turned down this offer from the Russians.

While there is much more, sometimes less is more.

Here less is enough.

Encapsulating . . .

NATO moves its military alliance and bases to Russia's borders. The U.S. starts
deploying ABMs near Russia's borders. The U.S. wants no part of Russian
cooperation in optimizing those systems against the "enemies".

Who is Russia to conclude is the real enemy being targeted by these ABMs?

What is Russia to conclude from the relentless move east, right up to its borders, of the military forces of NATO?

What is Russia to conclude from what appears to be a "containment" policy directed at them, currently implemented by twenty-seven major military installations, with possibly more yet to come?

Then to pour gasoline on the embers of suspicion, last year the U.S. assisted the overthrow of a democratically elected government in Ukraine, a nation with long historical ties going back centuries to Russia, located right on Russia's "underbelly".

Concurrently, a venomous anti-Russia propaganda blitz began in the West.

Everything became Russia's fault: The whole Ukraine crisis, the downing of
Malaysian Flight 17, the deaths in eastern Ukraine, the "invasion" and
annexation of Crimea. 

About the same time, a massive campaign to demonize Putin went into high gear, initiated and aggressively promoted by the U.S. via its presstitute media __ direct personal attacks even made by
Obama, Biden, and Samantha Power at the U.N. __ and spread across the
globe, the truculence championed by England, Germany and France.

What is going on here? What does this look like to you?

I know what it looks like to me.
 
There is not a shred of doubt in my mind that hubris and arrogance,
that delusional imperial ambitions and diplomatic megalomania, coupled
with just plain horrible judgment has again replaced thoughtful
analysis, basic respect for the interests of other nations, and
responsible leadership. 

Many are coming to this horrifying conclusion: America wants war with Russia.

It doesn't help that some clueless imbeciles escaped their short bus ride for a
day at the Leggo Park and infiltrated our policy-making institutions,
preaching the suicidal gospel that we can win a nuclear war with Russia. They are joined by self-proclaimed political geniuses __ masters of the universe who think history is a 90s Michael Jackson album __ proposing after consulting their Magic 8-Ball that with a few slick moves America can just topple the current government of Russia
and render the entire nation with its vast natural resources a vassal
state, ready for easy picking by America's corporate predators. I'm sure
these same Pollyannas also believe that the Russian people will welcome
America, weeping for joy, throwing bouquets before our Humvees as they
roll through Moscow Square.

America thinks it can bluster and bluff, use color revolutions to nudge Putin out of office and install some bloated puppet in his place like they did with Poroshenko in Ukraine __ though even that's far from a done deal itself.

America thinks what it says is divine truth and to hell with anyone who disagrees.

America thinks its military might and economic power confers it a special,
unassailable place in the world, a position of supreme and
unquestionable leadership and iron rule.

With these recent dealings with Russia, we're another 25 years into the
tragicomedy of our infantile machinations, self-absorbed exceptionalism,
diplomatic myopia, and sociopathic delusions of imperial grandeur. We
have engaged some of the best minds and produced some of the worst
ideas.

Where do we now stand?

What do we have to show for all of this American ingenuity?

First and foremost, Cold War 2.0 is up and running full-tilt because Russia finally arrived at the inescapable conclusion that NATO is a profound military threat.

The meticulously and arduously fashioned trust and spirit of cooperation
gradually built over decades is trashed, relations between the U.S. and
Russia severely damaged for many years to come. Russia now believes all of the talk of
integration and cooperation was just lip-service, a cheap smokescreen
for America's real agenda __ destroying their country.

As accusations and hysteria prompted by old habits and grudges now take
center stage, hopeful and constructive dialogue have become drown out by
the drums of war. 

War fever and sabotage of peace initiatives __ mostly emanating from Washington DC __ are becoming pandemic.

The escalation of paranoia and preparation for major conflict keeps ratcheting up and up.

Trying to stop this madness is like trying to stop an avalanche with a pair of wool mittens.

We are way beyond the finger-pointing and blame-game phase. Now it's tit-for-tat
as both sides ramp up their respective militaries, each new step
bringing the situation closer to spinning completely out of control.

The Pentagon pushes for a military build-up along Russia's border. The world gets to hear General Frederick Hodges explain his no-mercy policy and lecture Europe and NATO about preparedness.  Friction develops and Russia objects as NATO continues a massive military build-up of troops in the Baltic States and other Eastern Europe NATO countries. There are U.S. paratroopers headed for Ukraine to train their army. Ukraine President, Petro Poroshenko, claims to have struck a deal will eleven EU countries to provide military weapons, including lethal ones. Great Britain deploys 30 Royal Air Force planes for Rising Panther, its largest war aerial exercises in a decade, in
response to the "Russian threat". U.S. tanks, Humvees and armored personnel carriers roll through Latvia. We have JOINT WARRIOR, a huge deployment of naval ships out of Scotland, for war game exercises. Poland is purchasing the Patriot ABM system to defend against the anticipated Russian invasion. Even the U.S. National Guard has sent twelve F-15 interceptor jets to Europe guarding against Russia.

None of this has escaped Russia's attention, so understandably they have responded with their own build-up and heightened alert status. They conducted huge rapid deployment drills
in Kaliningrad, and have deployed a new missile defense radar system
there which covers the entire Atlantic. Russia is sending advanced supersonic strategic bombers to Crimea for global training exercises, as well as re-equipping early warning radar sites in the recently annexed territory. They have also announced the launch of a new advanced missile-attack warning satellite. There have been reports of an escalating presence of Russian strategic bombers near U.S. airspace, and concern expressed by NATO at the apparently growing number of "incidents" involving Russian planes and seagoing vessels, with of course no mention of the
provocations emanating from NATO itself and its allies. Recognizing that
Russia will stand toe-to-toe with the West in the face of aggression by
NATO, U.S. troops at the front now feel "vulnerable" and want bigger, better weapons.

Through all of this, a stream of propaganda,
outright condemnation, shoddy fabrication, angry provocation, and
malicious innuendo continued to spew from President Obama,
Vice-President Biden, Secretary of State Kerry, and U.S. Ambassador to
the United Nations, Samantha Power, aided and abetted naturally by the
main stream media.

Then yesterday, as I was finishing this article, Geoffrey Pyatt, a man with a
long sleazy record of diplomatic disservice, who is currently U.S.
Ambassador to the Ukraine, was reported to have tweeted an image of Russian air defense systems,
claiming they were there in the country, when in fact the photo was
actually taken outside of Moscow two years ago at an International
Aviation and Space Show. Mr. Pyatt has thus expanded the range of his
incompetence to even being pathetic at lying __ making him more
dangerous.

So we now have the perfect storm:  hubris, idiocy, and paranoia.

The military one upsmanship coupled with diplomatic dysfunction is sheer madness.

I keep listening for a voice of sanity, appeals for restraint, some thoughtful analysis __ occasionally there have been a few faint whispers __ but mostly I'm hearing adolescent boys shouting at one another, as they rev up for a serious scrap in the schoolyard.

At the same time, as with most fights someone had to start it. Usually that gives us some clue who needs to stop it.

No matter what spin you put on everything I've laid out in this article, no matter
how you rationalize it, hide it behind the thin vapor of noble
intentions, without any equivocation, doubt, or splitting of hairs, it is the U.S. that has been provoking and perpetuating this extremely dangerous and counter-productive confrontation.

It's not even in America's long term interests to keep this war of nerves going.

Russia is not Zimbabwe, Iraq, or Yemen.  It's not Grenada or Haiti.

Russia is not going to be intimidated by a chest-beating schoolyard bully.

This can only end badly for the U.S., its allies, and the rest of the world.

Obama, Kerry, Biden . . . COME ON! . . . man up a little! 

Admit your mistakes.  Show some self-respect.  Let's see real leadership.

Stand up to the neocon crazies and psychopathic empire builders.

Thoughtful judgment and common sense go a long way.

Drop the arrogant posturing and cut your losses.

History will judge you more kindly.

Give peace a chance.


[ This originated at the author's personal web site . . . http://jdrachel.com ]

Dachau World

             [This posting is no more demented than the cruel deceptions of the Israeli government.]  
While researching Europe for interesting places to visit and things to do during our three week visit there this summer, my wife and I stumbled on a very unusual entertainment complex in southern Germany. Apparently, laying the foundation for the advent of this whole new concept in "theme parks" is the unwavering popularity of reality TV. That and the fact that the public is always on the lookout for something new and exciting __ the latest and the greatest! __ made Dachau World a real crowd pleaser and instant success.

Of course, my first reaction was that this whole idea was crass exploitation, demonstrating an appalling level of insensitivity. But I contacted the German Department of the Interior and my perspective was turned around 180 degrees. My source, who preferred to remain anonymous, disclosed that the Dachau World theme park was fully owned and developed by a consortium of Jewish investors based in Israel. In fact, this investment group which is wholly responsible for planning and constructing the park, consists of eighteen orthodox Chabad-Lubavitch centers, which easily obtained the approval of the German government for their innovative project. As my source explained, "We immediately saw the potential for this type of entertainment complex and fast-tracked Dachau World. They have our full support. As far we we're concerned, these Jews deserve all of the compensation they can get for whatever inconvenience the Holocaust might have caused them. I say bravo!"

"Your concentration camp experience is enhanced by a full complement of professional actors, hired as full-time 'detainees' of Dachau World."

Initially, there was some difficulty finding a community to host the new theme park. Many local citizens thought it would be an embarrassment, opening up old wounds dating back to the Third Reich. But these petty objections were finally overcome when economic projections showed how much Dachau World could boost a local economy. The sprawling complex is now located in an industrial suburb of Munich, about 16 kilometers (10 miles) from the original Dachau concentration camp. It has ample parking and a water park, as well as concentration camp rides and home stays in actual slave worker barracks.

I will confess that in the end, when we finally arrived at the gates of the park, I chose not to spring for admission and we didn't go in. It was only 36 euros a day and I had the money.

But I guess I'm kind of a wuss. You know . . . one of those silly, old school, bleeding-heart liberals who just can't appreciate the lighter side of genocide.

"For a little something special, you can spend the night in one of our ovens."

Now I'm sorry we didn't stay there for a few days.  I hear they have great yoga classes.
But don't you miss out!! For more on Dachau World, just check with your travel agent.

Like the poster says, it's fun for the whole family. And when your friends ask you what you did for the holidays, you can say . . .

"We stayed in a concentration camp. Woohoo!"

Oh! Before I forget: I was unable to confirm this, but I also have it from a trusted source that this same group of Zionist investors has just broken ground somewhere in Gaza for the construction of a related "reality show" theme park. It's called PLO World. This will similarly offer an array of real world vacation packages so that visitors can experience what it's like to live under the oppressive terror of the Israeli army.

Site in Palestine being readied by Israel for construction of the new PLO World theme park, expected to open sometime next year. Don't miss out!

[ This originated at the author's personal web site . . . http://jdrachel.com ]

We know how this will end . . .

 

What if the citizens of Germany during the 1930s somehow could have known in advance how World War II was going to end. Would they have bought into the lies of Hitler and the Third Reich? Would they have gone along with the wanton aggression knowing it was a suicide mission and would turn their beloved homeland into a pile of rubble and put nearly 9,000,000 of them in early graves?

What about Japan? Before World War II, Japan was securely locked down. No dissent from the imperialistic designs of the emperor and his military class was permitted. Even so, if the vast majority had known that like Germany, their nation would be almost completely destroyed and they'd lose over 3,000,000 people for nothing, would they have so willingly and enthusiastically rushed to the battlefield to invite annihilation and defeat?

Our leaders __ our cowardly, divisive, destructive, unimaginative, delusional American leaders __ from Barack Obama to John Kerry to John McCain, are taking America into another war. Sure, the attack on Syria has been shelved for now. But only for now. Only because we have been humiliated and humbled by such sterling examples of brotherhood and compassion as Vladimir Putin, and reduced to looking like the big, dumb bully on the block by no less than Hassan Rouhani, the new President of Iran.

But make no mistake about it. Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria, Yemen. It's all part of the same flawed over-reaching strategy that predates even Clinton. That pathological plan for achieving unnecessary and ill-conceived hegemony over the Middle East may be on hold, but it has not gone away, and it won't unless we make it go away.

As uninformed and misinformed as we Americans generally are, we know how this is going to end. It doesn't take a genius to see that despite our incredible military prowess and huge advantage in the quantity and sophistication of weaponry in our arsenal, we are really bad at war. Maybe it feels good to thump our chests and yell "mission accomplished" with a big shit-eating smirk on our faces, but our self-congratulations bear no relation to reality. We lost horribly in Vietnam. We are losing in Afghanistan. We made a mess out of Iraq and now have little control over the developments in that country. Libya is in chaos. We had our finger on the launch button in Syria and instead of gaining credibility in the world, have become the object of derision, upstaged and shamed into backing down by taunts from overseas and a surprising and encouraging swell of antipathy at home.

The truth is, we have a terrible track record over the last sixty years of muscle flexing military escapades, and haven't even had to face what might be regarded as a formidable world-class enemy. God help us if we do go toe-to-toe with Russia or China.

Actually, god help the entire human race!

As we swagger into the OK corral twirling our guns and acting all cocky and cool, because after all we are so exceptional and so entitled and so self-righteous and so powerful and of course always have God on our side, what are the options? Apparently the only way we will actually "win" a real war against a serious enemy is if we go nuclear. And if we go nuclear, they will to.

And we all know how that will turn out.

So if we know in advance how World War III will end, why would anyone except the demented neocon imperialist cotorie of hell bent fanatics __ who can plead the insanity defense __ push for war? Which is the same as saying, why would anyone in their right mind go along with this madness?

Because we __ you and I __ do know how it will end.

Either we're going to get our asses kicked or we're going to destroy all civilization and risk the extinction of the human race.

Ask the Germans how things worked out for them when they tried to conquer the world.

Ask the Japanese.

I live in Japan. I already know how the Japanese feel about war. I know the shame they feel about their dark and vile history of aggression in pursuit of all manner of illusory glory and mountains of booty.

No, I don't live in America any more. But I'm still a loyal American. I deeply care for my country. And I know this.

We can't count on the lying liars who claim to have our interests at heart, the play-for-pay politicians who are the lapdogs for the military-industrial complex and the bankers who build their staggering fortunes on the corpses of our soldiers and the tens of thousands of civilians who are collateral damage for our drones, carpet bombings and ordinance.

We cannot look to the barbaric megalomaniacs in positions of power who claim to share our values, and have the unmitigated audacity to talk about humanitarian bombing and merciful intervention, to claim we are protecting innocent people against ruthless dictators __ killing thousands of innocent victims in the process __ all in the name of promoting democracy and human rights, when every one of these wars is about gas and oil interests for their corporate butt buddies. To add even more hypocrisy to the insults and injuries, it is our military which possesses and employs more weapons of mass destruction than any other country in the world and it is our nation which counts among its friends and allies some of the most ruthless tyrants on the planet.

We sure can't look to the leadership of the most sociopathic president in our history, the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, who just said in his U.N. speech, "The United States of America is prepared to use all elements of our power, including military force, to secure our core interests in the region. We will confront external aggression against our allies and partners, as we did in the Gulf War."

That means it's up to us.

It's up to each and every American to say 'NO' to the madness.

It's up to us to stop all the talk about war.

It's up to us to demand a true and honest commitment to peace, not the simpleminded, hollow, meaningless blather that we're being fed as the trigger-fingers of our war mongers tingle and twitch, just waiting for the right moment to churn up more carnage, destruction and hatred in the rest of the world.

Yes . . . we do know how this story ends.

It's time for a new story.


[ This originated at the author's personal web site . . . http://jdrachel.com ]