Russia, Ukraine and the West: Will there be war?

Written by Alan Woods

As Ukraine slides deeper into chaos, the sound of war drums gets ever louder. On Saturday President Vladimir Putin secured his parliament’s authority to send the Russian army, not just into Crimea but also into Ukraine itself.

ukraine-russiaThis threat was issued only days after “unidentified” armed men seized control of the Crimea peninsula. These were later unsurprisingly identified as troops from Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, based in Crimea. The new pro-Russian president of Crimea equally unsurprisingly immediately called on Moscow to intervene. At the same time, pro-Moscow demonstrators hoisted flags above government buildings in two eastern cities.

Western leaders shook their heads and said that Russia must not intervene. Moscow held up its hands, indignantly protesting that it would not do so. But the facts seem to indicate otherwise. For the whole of last week Russian troops were staging what were described as “routine manoeuvres” on the borders of Ukraine.

Putin secured without difficulty the unanimous approval of the Russian senate for the use of armed force on the territory of his neighbour, citing the need to protect Russian citizens. He asked that Russian forces be used “until the normalisation of the political situation in the country”: a very reasonable sounding request, a velvet glove that barely conceals the iron fist within, for he gave exactly the same reason for invading Georgia in 2008. Continue reading

Mainstream media lies about the situation in Egypt

The differences between the press coverage of the situations in Syria and Egypt show the hypocrisy of the western media. While decrying Assad’s unproven atrocities, it turns a blind eye on civilian deaths in Egypt. Peter Koenig, a former World Bank economist and a regular Voice of Russia commentator, analyzed several cases of media bias in regard to the situation in Egypt.

Reality Check: Western European media often claims that its coverage of conflicts in unbiased and objective, striving to look at the situation from a human rights perspective. For instance, BBC published an analysis, titled “Egypt crisis – UK deeply concerned over violence”. Is this concern genuine?

Peter Koenig: The entire article is without any substance. All it talks about is a false concern of the EU about the ‘violence and repression’ in Egypt. – False– because they, the Europeans, support their Master, the US, unilaterally. They all now that the US funds Egypt with US$ 1.5 billion per year, the bulk of which goes to the military. This coup and the ensuing violence have no doubt been endorsed by Washington, if not ordered, as the Egyptian military would not risk losing the funds by acting against the will of their paymasters.

Reality Check: Can it be proven that the UK and France don’t want to end the violence?

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Russia Warns of ‘Catastrophic Consequences’ If US Meddles in Syria

By Kirit Radia

Syrian Life Amidst the Chaos
Hassan Ammar/AP Photo
Syrian Life Amidst the Chaos

Russian officials today hit back at the United States and its allies after Secretary of State John Kerry warned Monday that the Syrian government would face consequences for last week’s alleged chemical weapons attack.

A statement from the Russian Foreign Ministry this morning warned of “catastrophic consequences” for Syria and the region if the United States and its allies intervene. It also expressed “serious disappointment” after the United States announced it would back out of a meeting this week with Russian officials to plan a long-delayed peace conference.

Syria’s Guilt in Chemical Attack ‘Clear to the World,’ Kerry Says

That conference seems a long way off now. A main Syrian opposition group reportedly said that it would not attend peace talks after last week’s attack.

Since the alleged chemical attack Wednesday near Damascus, Russia has joined the Syrian government in casting doubt on disturbing videos posted online of the aftermath, showing rows of dead bodies without visible trauma wounds or blood and survivors shaking uncontrollably.

The Foreign Ministry reiterated such doubts today, accusing the West of creating “artificial unfounded pretexts” as an excuse to get involved militarily.

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No Negotiation: China and Russia Walk Out of UN Security Council Meeting: “This Isn’t An Exercise”

By Mac Slavo

As Jerome Corsi warned earlier today, “this is one of the most serious moments that we’ve ever faced in world history.”

Events are happening quickly and as it stands, the United States, Britain and other western allies are preparing a missile strike on Syria.

Russia has been the most critical opponent of the possibility of mid east military action, but now China has also stepped in.

Russia and China have stepped up their warnings against military intervention in Syria, with Moscow saying any such action would have “catastrophic consequences” for the region.

BBC via Zero Hedge

And moments ago the Interfax news agency announced that China and Russia have left the negotiating table in response to a proposal for Britain’s David Cameron on pending intervention in Syria.

UN-SECURITY/COUNCIL-RUSSIA-CHINA DUBAI. Aug 28 (Interfax)
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