Okay... Maybe I see conspiracies where there is none, but when I work out the progressive sum-total of the system in flux, I am sure there are, may not be conspiracies, but let's call these "arranged set ups".

Under Obama, actually since the Clinton's tenure, the perception of the rest of the world was that the US empire was on the wane. How do you change this perception? Empire is as much about perception than bully armies. By now after having done a lot of iffy-fluffy army stuff on the world scene, it's time to take a breather. The empire US forces are capable, but stretched. They have not won much apart from Iraq, the victory of which to say the least has helped this country fall into the hands of the enemy, Iran. So it has to be considered a "political" defeat despite a military "victory". Hence we have to create DAESH discretely. Same with Libya. The military victory is a political mess, desirable but uncontrolable yet. So, The Donald is taking stock, he wants (wink, wink — as this is the first part of the set-up) to achieve "America First" because blah blah, we know the spiel, US army costing too much, not enough commitments from US "allies", etc... This lead to a bit of kerfuffle on the world scene including "raising tariffs" (but not for the friends of the US — wink wink) all in order to curb the rise of China and piss on the Russians, plus a few manufactured "false-flags" events to play the magic, and all that. You know the routine. You're the tall guy in a Laurel and Hardy routine. That's Trump and Macron... You want to destroy the deal made with Iran as well... The whole thing has been rehearsed to work like a comic repartee. You brush off some dandruff from Macron's shoulders because you want him to be "perfect" in his assigned role of the comic duo, which is "to make you look bad". Macron goes on stage in the US Congress and blasts Trump's "US First" stance! Holala, but The Donald could not be happier... he has trouble not smiling. The papers and the cartoonists think that Macron has pushed the Donald's head in a pile of shit! The Donald loves it! He still has problem trying to refrain from smiling! In one STAGED swoop, he has made the world (through Macron's little play-acting) BEG FOR THE EMPIRE TO STAY AND LEAD — and destroy the deal with Iran... What is the Donald going to do? Is he going to sulk? Idiots! He's going to be humbly rekindled and tell us that yes, he will lead the world (and fuck it some more) with a renewed passion. The empire was tired. Now it's reinvigorated... Did you see the trick? No? Read again from the top of this paragraph and fill in the blanks...

• By Gus Leonisky at 27 Apr 2018 - 6:57am
 
• reply

the media is dumb...

Few in the media have seen what I see (read comment above). People tell me that ohlala, Macron "blasted The Donald!" I say make your pigeon-loft work. Read again my comment above. It was a set up. Donald is not dumb. He is a salesman. He's made billions by ... being dumb? He lets the new kid on the block to tell him what the new kid wants to buy: THE US EMPIRE... BEAUTIFUL! SOLD!

Brilliant!

• By Gus Leonisky at 27 Apr 2018 - 10:33am

German Chancellor Angela Merkel made a one-day visit to Washington, DC, Friday to meet with US President Donald Trump and discuss the Iran nuclear deal, the second European signatory to the agreement to come to the US capital in a week to discuss the issue, after French President Emmanuel Macron made the trip.

But her luck appeared no better than Macron's — much to Germany's dismay, Reiner Braun, co-president of the International Peace Bureau, told Loud & Clear on Radio Sputnik, saying the deal is crucial to Germany's economic and political plans with Iran.

 

Read more:

https://sputniknews.com/europe/201804281063983139-Merkel-Macron-Cant-Get...

 

The point of the visits was not really to prevent Trump demolishing the deal with Iran, but to reinforce the vassals commitment to the Empire. With this it gave a refresh momentum for Trump to carry on doing what the Empire does best — mucking up the world. 

See also: the world, according to the US navy...

"Trump reiterated his stance that Tehran should not be able obtain a nuclear weapon, but refused to discuss any military options to that end. " These are the first words of the article at top. Please don't believe that because he "refused to discuss any military options to that end" means that he won't use a military option. As he refuses to tell us, the US Military is already set up, eager for some action at last, and now El Trumpo is adding an armada of ships to fuel the REAL possibility of a conflict, basically having so much firepower that the "client" will bend the knees... like an unsuspecting passer by being held up by a thief with a big gun. The difference here is that the USA can do the trick in FULL DAYLIGHT. 

 

 

Since September 2014, the US-led coalition has been conducting aerial attacks against what it describes as Daesh* targets in Syria without a UN mandate or Damascus’ authorization. The Syrian government has repeatedly accused the military alliance of an illegal presence in the war-ravaged country, with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stating that the coalition was targeting and killing civilians, protecting terrorists instead.

 

According to reports by a non-partisan monitoring group Airwars, from 6,136 up to 9,315 civilians have died as a result of coalition strikes since 2014, while the US-led military alliance said that between 2014 and January 2018 its strikes killed “at least 841 civilians.”

READ MORE: US-Led Coalition Signals End of Major Anti-Daesh Ops in Iraq

The so-called Syria Observatory for Human Rights, based in London, reported in November 2017 that 2,579 civilians, including 644 children and 470 women, were the victims of US-led airstrikes in Syria over the past 38 months.

 

Read more:

https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201805021064077856-civilians-killed-c...

Like any successful wheeler and dealer, Donald Trump knows how to make his clients feel valued. But, as Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron discovered last week, there's a considerable difference between sincerity and salesmanship.

PARIS - Barack Obama wasn't very interested in Europe. Something which was made clear in 2010, when he didn'teven show up for an EU-US summit in Madrid. Instead, at least in the early part of his presidency, Obama focused on Asia. Leaving the old continent to dwell on its diminished importance in Washington.

Yet, despite this snub, Obama generally went through the motions and treated its leaders with respect. Indeed, he belatedly realized that the likes of Angela Merkel and David Cameron were liberal bedfellows useful for his issues-driven presidency. Nevertheless, there's a lingering feeling that the Democrat darling never really got Europe.

By contrast, his successor Trump, with his family roots in Germany and Scotland, arguably understands the place better than any US president since John F. Kennedy. He's married into both Czechia and Slovenia and spent decades crisscrossing the continent, pursing business deals from County Clare in Ireland to the Russian capital of Moscow.

And it's clear all this experience has taught him not to take any of America's NATO partners seriously. Because, make no mistake, Trump doesn't see them as allies. Instead, he views them as client states who are subject to Washington's orders.

 

Read more:

https://www.rt.com/op-ed/425839-trump-merkel-macron-may/

 

read from top.

Boris Johnson is flying to Washington to urge Donald Trump not to scrap the international deal designed to prevent Iran acquiring nuclear weapons.

The UK and its European allies have until 12 May to persuade the US president to stick with the deal.

Mr Trump has strongly criticised the agreement, which he calls "insane".

In a call with Theresa May on Saturday, the president "underscored his commitment to ensure that Iran never acquires a nuclear weapon".

In the landmark deal - signed by the US, China, Russia, Germany, France, the UK and Iran - the latter agrees to limit its nuclear activities in return for the easing of sanctions on its economy.

• What is the Iran nuclear deal?
• Is Iran's economy better off since the nuclear deal?
• Could the deal collapse?

European allies France, the UK and Germany all agree the current deal is the best way to stop Iran developing nuclear weapons and the UN also warned Mr Trump not to walk away from the deal.

But Mr Trump has threatened to withdraw unless the signatories agree to "fix the deal's disastrous flaws".

 

Read more:

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-44018068

 

Oh boy... Of smoke and mirrors, this is the best... They have had nearly a year to prepare for this and just now they... "panic"... Hello?...

As the Donald ditches the deal, some people might think that the Europeans did all they could to stop him. Rubbish. The USA are a bully boy. Bully boys always need some weaklings to do their dirty work, while appearing to stand up to the bully, to gain some stripes in the eyes of the females... This is where the Europeans — from the Poms, the French and the Germans — are totally non-genuine in their protest against Trump dumping the deal with Iran. Not only that, the Europeans are sharpening their knives to take their own pieces of the Iranian flesh. Or bomb something.

Should you be genuinely a Macron wanting to stop Donald stop the deal with Iran, what would you do? 

You would have to bully the bully in a real way — not like in a Laurel and Hardy routine that looks good in the pissy western idiotic press. You would have to really piss off the bully and not hesitate to show you DON'T NEED HIM. How do you do this? Enough is enough.

For the Europeans, ditching NATO would be the way to go. Second, ditching the "sanctions" against Russia and Iran would a) help the stagnant EU economy which is suffering from US interference and b) would sideline the bully's way of doing "business", which has always been to threaten something somewhere — like a mafia boss threatening you with concrete boots... He's the one who wants impose tariffs?... Tell him to piss orf! If he goes blue in the face, tell him your new mates, the Chinese and the Russians will make you richer again — and the Middle East can have a breather for a while. Hey, dealing with Russia and China can REALLY make you far richer than having to stay a slave in Uncle Sam's European cotton farm.

Just be careful that in an act of desperation, the bully does not destroy something and blame your new friends for it. Would not be the first time in history. Hit you bully in the gonads where it hurts with a warning not to do such a thing...

But as usuals, you, Europeans, have no fucking balls... Just a bowler hat like in a Laurel and Hardy routine. You're pathetic... 

 

Read from top...

On Thursday, towards the end of a week that began for both of them with a slap in the face from the American president, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron were standing together in the Coronation Hall of the Aachen Town Hall doing their best to project confidence. The French president had just been awarded the International Charlemagne Prize and Merkel had held the laudation. They praised each other and confirmed their unity - even if they aren't entirely on the same page when it comes to the future of Europe.

But they do agree on one issue: Donald Trump. Lately, the American president has emerged as a great unifier of Europe. Ever since Trump's Tuesday announcement that the U.S. was withdrawing from the nuclear agreement with Iran, one of the core pieces of international diplomacy in recent years, the Europeans have been united in shock, in anger at Trump's irresponsible move and in their refusal to accept it. But they are also united in their helplessness when it comes to dealing with this new America.

The joint appearance by Macron and Merkel would have been a perfect opportunity for a unified reply to Donald Trump. For a joint vision of European foreign policy and a powerful appearance of decisive European politicians. They could have sought to reassure the people of Europe and demonstrate that they had a plan. But none of that came to pass.

What, after all, can Europe do?

Read more:

http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/trump-humiliates-europe-with-e...

 

A lot of my comments have been facetious, including the ones at top.

For 20 years, I have been trying to tell the Europeans that being a so called "friend" of the USA is bad.

Since after WWII, the Yanks have been trying to "shape" Europe as a second fiddle to its construct of Empire. Some commentators will pushed the idea that the USA wanted Europe unified, but if so I would add: WEAK.

In 1964, General de Gaulle of France, told the Yanks to piss off. (GdG knew the Americans were cheating. He never trusted them, not even during WWII). He made a pact with Adenauer, the German Chancellor, a pact that started the European ball rolling. But with the POMs and their "English" sausage joining Europe while being an agent of the US, The US still managed to create discord within the European countries by doing favours to one and not the other. 

It has been a long time coming. Europe HAS TO "DUMP THE TRUMP". Europe has to stop being the foil in a US comedy routine. The "refugee" influx in Europe is a sad manipulation of history by the Yanks who have bombed countries from Iraq to Libya, creating a flux of people wanted better lives, or at least maintain what they had in those countries before the bombing. Sarkozy, the French president, was a dangerous imbecile who played exactly the music the Yankees wanted. He is the one one who ditched the "independence" of France from the USA. He kissed smelly US butts. Let's hope that Macron/Napoleon and Merkel/Putin can make something of this awakening that should see Europe becoming truly Europe, especially since the POMs (UK) have shot themselves in the foot with Brexit. 

For more than 20 years, I have tried to tell the Europeans that they should not have the UK in Europe, because the UK was, is and will be duplicitous in Europe because of their truer relationship with the USA.

The whole purpose of the shit, including sanctions against Russia and Iran, that the US is peddling has no other reason that limit the economic power of the Europeans and of the Russians. The Europeans need the Nordsea 2 pipeline for getting cheap gas from Russia. The USA sees this as a threat to them controlling the world economy. They thus impose sanctions on people building this pipeline and at the same time PROVIDE AT A PROFIT, some of the gas (more expensive) that they are trying to stop coming from Russia. 

All the Skripals and Douma bombings are sideshow alley fiddles "false flag" events to get the MMMMMM (mediocre western media) to froth up the hate of Russia (and of the Chinese as well)... The whole thing is pathetic. 

 

Will the European wake up (started here with the "reverse psychology" used by Trump, consciously or not), or will the USA use more false flags to kill this dawn of awakening. We hope that Europe stays awake and rejects the long established US manipulations of its EUROPEAN affairs... A more cordial relationship with RUSSIA should be on the card.

 

Why did Macron/Napoleon help Trump with the bombing of Syria? Good question here... The true answer to that will remain a mystery. Trying to kiss Donald's butt or play the Laurel to a Hardy in a comedy routine? I hope that Macron now regrets having been conned by Trump/USA, on this score.

Wake up, Macron! Or history will dump you as a stupid stooge of the USA.

German Tabloid Sees 'Hidden Meaning' in Putin's Bouquet for Merkel

 

The author of the publication assessed the recent meeting of the two leaders critically and compared it to a "diplomatic duel."

A journalist from the German newspaper Bild has claimed that there is a "hidden meaning" behind Russian President Vladimir Putin giving German Chancellor Angela Merkel a bouquet of flowers during their recent meeting.

The journalist is confident that the present is not exactly what it seems.

"It looks like a courtesy, but in fact it's an affront," he argued.

According to the author of the publication, heads of state are supposed to shake hands during a meeting and not present each other with flowers.

He is convinced that the flowers were supposed to remind Merkel that she was a woman. For unknown reasons, the journalist found this move offensive.

The publication caused vivid discussion on social media.

...

During the meeting, both politicians reiterated their commitment to the Iran nuclear deal and readiness to further the implementation of the Nord Stream 2 project. They also stressed the need for a political settlement to the Syrian conflict.

According to the Russian president, the discussions were meaningful and right on time, while Angela Merkel said, in turn, that good relations with Russia meet Germany's strategic interests.

Read more:

https://sputniknews.com/viral/201805201064630208-german-tabloid-putin-bo...

 

At least Merkel is not afraid to try and bypass the idiot Trump's madness, even by having meeting with Putin. And Putin is a gentleman like me: I have been told to bring flowers to the ladies. A box of Chateau Cardboard is not on.

 

See also: 

huis clos...

France’s economy minister has suggested that the EU may compensate European companies affected by US sanctions on Iran, stressing that the bloc should not accept Washington as “the economic gendarme of the planet.”

Bruno Le Maire referred to a series of countermeasures that the EU adopted in 1996 in response to US extraterritorial economic sanctions against Cuba. Back then, Brussels argued that those sanctions benefited Washington’s foreign policy interests at the expense of EU sovereignty. The regulation aimed “to protect the economic and/or financial interests of natural or legal persons against the effects of the extraterritorial application of legislation.”

 

Read more:

https://www.rt.com/news/427244-france-eu-us-compensate/

The question of whether Russia is a European or Asian country, or both, has perplexed its leaders and citizens for centuries. However, French President Emmanuel Macron believes he knows the answer.

SAINT PETERSBURG - The top table at the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) hosted leaders responsible for around 30 percent of global GDP. And quite a line-up it was: Macron and Vladimir Putin, alongside Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan and IMF supremo Christine Lagarde.

Indeed, there was so much collective power gathered at Friday event that Bloomberg’s John Micklethwait, who was serving as moderator, quipped how it was the result of Donald Trump’s unique ability to bring people together. However, while humorous, this was an America-centric take that missed the bigger picture.

What was really happening in St. Petersburg was a sort of tug of war, where Russians flirted with East and West as they continue to ponder on which side their bread will be buttered in the future. While Washington and its sidekicks in London don’t seem overly perturbed by Russia’s drift to Asia, France and Germany are alarmed, and representatives from both countries continuously referenced the issue at the SPIEF.

And then Macron made it clear where he stood. “Russia is an inalienable part of Europe... mistakes have been made in the past... we must work to remove our divisions on many issues,”he said.

Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder had earlier warmed up to the same theme: highlighting how an energy partnership with Russia was in Europe’s vital interest. He also mocked US attempts to kibosh the proposed Nord Stream 2 pipeline, saying he wouldn’t currently look to Washington for "examples of high governance.”

Russian analysts present this week echoed Schroeder’s assertion that the Americans are wielding sanctions for business advantage. And Putin himself warned how protectionist measures could eventually lead to a devastating global crisis.

“The system of multilateral cooperation, which took years to build, is no longer allowed to evolve. It is being broken in a very crude way. Breaking the rules is becoming the new rule," the Russian president remarked.

 

Read more:

https://www.rt.com/news/427820-putin-macron-russia-europe/

France’s President Emmanuel Macron slammed the US move to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Canada, Mexico and the European Union, calling the decision “unlawful” and a “mistake.” 

The decision on tariffs made by the US President Donald Trump closed doors to the talks with Washington on other issues, Macron said as cited by Reuters.

“This decision is not only unlawful but it is a mistake in many respects,” Macron said. “Economic nationalism leads to war.”

The French president also announced telephone talks with his US counterpart, expected to take place later on Thursday.

The US president’s decision to scrap the landmark 2015 nuclear deal with Iran and today’s move to finally impose the tariffs on Europe, have definitely soured the “bromance”between him and Macron, which blossomed only a month ago. The French president earlier vowed to maintain the relationship with Iran and protect European companies from any hostile moves on part of the US.

The initial tariffs were announced in March by the US President Donald Trump, who claimed that the US had been treated unfairly by its trade partners for years. The decision included a worldwide 25 percent tariff on steel and a 10 percent tariff on aluminum imports. The EU, Canada, Mexico and a number of other countries, however were temporarily exempted from the harsh tariffs for a month.

The tariffs were waived again a month ago, after “some potentially fruitful discussions about an overall reduction in trade tensions” as US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross put it back then. The decision to extend the exemptions, however, was accompanied with hostile rhetoric from Trump himself, who even stated that the EU was ultimately founded to rip the US off.

While the imposing of the tariffs is perceived in the US as a mean of “negotiating” with other counties, those targeted see them as a threat and effectively a declaration of trade war.

“We look forward to continued negotiations, both with Canada and Mexico on the one hand, and with the European Commission on the other hand, because there are other issues that we also need to get resolved,” Ross said, announcing the end of the exemptions on Thursday.

 

Read more:

https://www.rt.com/news/428391-macron-trump-tariffs-row/

 

Now, Laurel is really pissed off with Hardy... The gag was supposed to only throw China and Russia in the dunny... Read from top.

Merkel Denounces Move as 'Illegal'

The conversation at OECD headquarters on Wednesday failed to deliver the breakthrough that had been desired. And only 24 hours later, it was Ross who announced Trump's decision to impose the punitive tariffs on the Europeans. Since June 1, European companies exporting steel to the U.S. have been forced to pay a 25 percent duty on the import price, and 10 percent for aluminum. Chancellor Angela Merkel has denounced the move as "illegal." 

The hostile move by the Americans likely marks the start of a trade war that could cause lasting damage to both the American and European economies. This could be the beginning of a long-lasting feud consisting of punitive tariffs, tit-for-tat countermeasures and constantly evolving retaliatory strikes. The EU has threatened to slap levies on imports of whiskey and motorcycles from the U.S. in response. Trump, in turn, is reviewing whether he can impose higher tariffs on European car imports in the event of European retaliation.

Many jobs are at stake, particularly in Germany, and leading politicians are alarmed. "I warn against further escalation," said Lower Saxony Governor Stephan Weil of the center-left Social Democratic (SPD). The state is a shareholder in Volkswagen and Weil is also a member of the company's supervisory board. He said the "threatened punitive tariffs against the German car industry would lead to drastic countermeasures by the European Union. Both sides would suffer from this," he added. Researchers like Guntram Wolff, who heads the respected Brussels-based think tank Bruegel, hold similar views. "This second blow would be especially painful for Germany," he said. 

But it's not just about trade balances and company profits. The speed with which the U.S. has been turning its back on the world order it has shaped since the end of World War II has been breathtaking. From global free trade, to common rules and a World Trade Organization (WTO) that mediates in cases of conflict, Trump is running roughshod over a system that seemed almost custom-built for the German economic model, which lives on exports.

'That's Not The Way You Treat Allies'

It has been clear for some time that the president is jettisoning anything that limits the U.S. from wielding its power as it likes. Almost a year ago, the U.S. said it would pull out of the Paris climate treaty, and just a few weeks ago, the Trump administration turned its back on the nuclear agreement with Iran. Now, Trump is trying to take the ax to European prosperity. Rising consumer prices could stifle the global economy. That's what has typically happened historically.

It was just a few years ago that the Europeans and Americans were negotiating the TTIP free trade agreement, but now the two regions are threatening to become ruthless adversaries. As luck would have it, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker was on stage in Brussels at an event entitled "Re-Energizing Europe - Now!" when he received news of Trump's decision. As he spoke about the EU's successes, one of his staffers slipped him a note.

Read more:

http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/a-vicious-cycle-trump-declare...

 

Now, how to deal with someone like Donald who treats "friends like you" like dirt? The answer is simple and expressed in the headline of this piece. Tell him that NATO has been hit with a 500 per cent import duty on all US weaponry, while NATO is being disbanded. Tell him that all the agreements made with MacDonald and Hollywood in Europe cease to exist as from tomorrow. MacDonald's has to move out of Europe. Hollywood, Disney and all US movies and shows have to be barred from European TV and movie theatres... and so on and so on... including 50 US diplomats to shove out of Paris and Berlin, each. Then you cuddle to Putin before Trump does and relearn to deal with your own languages. Dump English AND THE US DOLLAR down the toilet.  That's the only way to deal with a Donald... "Don't try to be nice or diplomatic"...

 

See toon at top. Donald is playing you for fools...

 

The European Union is obliged to participate in US wars

by Thierry Meyssan

Since the Treaty of Maastricht, all the members of the European Union (including the neutral countries) have placed their defences under the suzerainty of NATO, which is directed exclusively by the United States. This is why, when the Pentagon delegates the economic headquarters of the countries it wishes to destroy to the US Department of the Treasury (USDT), all members of the European Union and NATO are obliged to apply US sanctions.

After having lost his majority in the House of Representatives during the mid-term elections, President Trump has found new allies in exchange for his discharge by prosecutor Mueller of the accusation of high treason [1]. He now supports the objectives of his generals. US imperialism is back [2].

In less than six months, the foundations of international relations have been « rebooted ». The war that Hillary Clinton promised to start has been declared, but not only by military force.

This transformation of the rules of the game, without equivalent since the end of the Second World War, immediately forced all actors to rethink their strategy, and therefore all the plans for alliance upon which they were based. Those who turn up late will pay for it.

Economic war has been declared

Wars will always be mortal and cruel, but for Donald Trump, who was a businessman before becoming President of the United States, it is best that they cost as little as possible. It is thus preferable to kill with economic means rather than by the use of arms. Given that the United States no longer share trade agreements with most of the countries they attack, the real « economic » cost of these wars (in the genuine sense of the term), is in effect supported by third-party countries rather than by the Pentagon.

Thus the United States have just decided to lay economic siege to Venezuela [3], Cuba [4] and Nicaragua [5]. In order to mask real killing wars, these actions are presented by the media apparatus as « sanctions », without giving us any idea of what law Washington is basing them on.

They are deployed with explicit reference to the « Monroe Doctrine » of 1823, according to which no foreign power shall intervene on the American continent, while in exchange, the United States will refrain from intervening in Western Europe. Only China, which felt targeted, pointed out that the Americas are not the private property of the United States. However, everyone is aware that this doctrine has evolved rapidly to justify Yankee imperialism in the South of the continent (the « Roosevelt Corollary »).

Today, US sanctions concern at least twenty countries - Belarus, Myanmar, Burundi, North Korea, Cuba, the Russian Federation, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Nicaragua, the Syrian Arab Republic, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, the Central African Republic (CAR), the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Serbia, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Ukraine, Yemen and Zimbabwe. That gives us a very precise map of the conflicts led by the Pentagon, assisted by the US Department of the Treasury (USDT).

These targets are never in Western Europe (as specified by the « Monroe Doctrine »), but exclusively in the Middle East, Eastern Europe, the Caribbean Basin and Africa. All these regions were listed as early as 1991 by President George Bush senior in his National Security Strategy as being flagged to join the « New World Order » [6]. Considering that that they had been unable or unwilling to do so, they were sanctioned in 2001 by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and his advisor for the transformation of the armed forces, Admiral Arthur Cebrowski, and doomed to chaos [7].

The expression « economic war » was waved about for decades to indicate heightened competition. This is no longer true today – we are now talking about a real killing war.

The reactions of the targets and those not appropriated by the Allies

The Syrians, who have just won an eight-year military war against NATO’s jihadist mercenaries, are destabilised by this economic war, which imposes strict rationing of electricity, gas and oil, and provokes the closing of factories which had only just been reopened. At best, they can be relieved that the Empire did not inflict these two forms of war at the same time.

The Venezuelans are now discovering with horror what economic war actually means, and are realising that with the tinhorn Juan Guiado as much as with President Nicolas Maduro, they are going to have to fight to maintain their state (in other words a ’Leviathan’ capable of protecting them [8]).

The strategies of the targeted states are themselves plunged into confusion. For example, since they are no longer able to import medicines for its hospitals, Venezuela has signed an agreement with Syria, which was, before the war of 2011, a very important producer and exporter in this sector. Factories which had been destroyed by Turkey and the jihadists were rebuilt in Aleppo. But although they had just been reopened, they now had to close again, since they had no available supply of electricity.

The multiplication of theatres of war – and therefore of the pretended « sanctions » - began to cause serious problems for the allies of the United State, including the European Union. The EU did not appreciate the threats of seizure aimed at companies which had invested in Cuba, and, remembering the actions engaged to forbid them access to the Iranian market, reacted by threatening in their turn to seize the Arbitration Committee of the World Trade Organization (WTO). And yet, as we shall see, this revolt by the European Union is doomed to failure, since it was anticipated 25 years ago by Washington.

The European Union - trapped

Anticipating the current reaction of the European Union, worried about not being able to trade with whomever it saw fit, the administration of Bush senior elaborated the « Wolfowitz Doctrine », which was concerned with making sure that the Western and Central Europeans would never have an independent defence system, but only a system which was autonomous [9]. This is why Washington castrated the European Union at its birth by imposing a clause to be inserted in the Treaty of Maastricht – the suzerainty of NATO. I am writing here about the European Union, not the Common Market.

We should remember the total support offered by the European Union to all of the Pentagon’s adventures, in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria, and Yemen. In all these cases, without exception, the EU marched along in step with its suzerain, NATO.

This vassal condition is in fact the only reason that the Western European Union (WEU) was dissolved, and it is also why President Trump gave up the idea of dissolving the Atlantic Alliance’s permanent military organisation – without NATO, the European Union would gain its independence, since it is only to NATO - and not the United States - that these treaties refer.

Of course, the treaties stipulate that all this must be implemented in conformity with the United Nations Charter. 

- But, for example, on March 2019, the United States questioned the resolutions it had approved concerning the sovereignty of Golan. Without warning, they changed their minds, provoking the de facto collapse of International Law [10]. 

- Another example - the United States this week took position in Libya for General Khalifa Haftar, with whom President Trump shared a telephone call to assure his support against the government created by the UNO [11], and we are now seeing members of the European Union, one by one, following his lead.

Because of the consecutive treaties, it would be impossible for the EU to free itself from NATO, (which means the United States), and declare itself a power in its own right. Protests against the pseudo-sanctions which were yesterday decided against Iran and today against Cuba are doomed to failure in advance.

Contrary to a commonly-held belief, NATO is not governed by the North Atlantic Council, in other words the states which are members of the Atlantic Alliance. When, in 2011, the Council, which had approved an action intended to protect the Libyan population against the alleged crimes of Mouamar Kadhafi, declared itself in opposition to a « régime change », NATO attacked without consultation.

The members of the European Union, which formed a single bloc with the United States during the Cold War, discovered with stupefaction that they do not have anything like the same culture as their trans-Atlantic ally. During this parenthesis, they had forgotten both their own European culture and the « exceptionalism » of the USA, and believed wrongly that they were all in agreement with one another.

Whether they like it or not, they are today co-responsible for Washington’s wars, including for example the famine in Yemen, consecutive to the military operations by the Saudi Coalition and to US sanctions. They now have to choose either to assume these crimes and participate in them, or to leave the European treaties.

Globalisation is finished

International commerce is beginning to decline. This is not a passing crisis, but a deep-rooted phenomenon. The process of globalisation which defined the world from the dissolution of the USSR to the mid-term elections of 2018 is now ended. It is no longer possible to export freely all over the world.

Only China still has this capacity, but the US State Department is currently developing methods forbidding it access to the Latin-American market.

In these conditions, debates on the respective advantages of free-exchange and protectionism are no longer pertinent, because we are no longer at peace and we no longer have a choice.

In the same way, the construction of the European Union, which was imagined at a time when the world was divided into two irreconcilable blocs, is today completely inadapted. If they want to avoid being dragged by the United States into conflicts which are not their own, its members will have to free themselves from the European treaties and the integrated command of NATO.

Therefore it is completely off-subject to look at the European elections as opposing progressives and nationalists [12]. This is not the point at all. The progressives affirm their desire to build a world governed by International Law, which their godfather, the United States wants to eradicate, while certain nationalists, like the Poland of Andrzej Duda, are preparing to serve the United States against their partners in the European Union.

Only certain British subjects have sensed the current storm. They have attempted to leave the Union, but without managing to convince their parliamentary representatives. It’s said that « to govern is to foresee », but most members of the European Union have foreseen nothing.

Thierry Meyssan

Translation 

 

 

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