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I am unsure exactly what Chris Slee is saying. Is he saying that Trump is not seriously compromised as far as his (Trump's) ties with Putin and the Russian mafia capitalist class? Is he saying that Trump's actions are not in large measure guided by his links? Because if so, then Chris has really missed what is happening here. To review: Trump has had a decades-long relationship with Russian financiers, whose money he has laundered through is real estate interests. In fact, even prior to that, there is evidence that he had made contact with the KGB when he visited Czechoslovakia with his first wife, who was from there. (See "House of Trump, House of Putin" for the full story on that.) His first act as Republican nominee - in fact, before he even was the official nominee - was to send an emmissary to the Republican platform committee to eliminate a call for sanctions against Russia. (We should keep in mind that the economic sanctions against Russia have been an important issue for Putin for quite some time.) During the election campaign and after, Trump continually caused shock waves with his verbal attacks on NATO. Then he had the series of private meetings with Putin. After one of these, he publicly took Putin's side against his own intelligence agencies. Then there was the planned removal of all US troops from Syria. It's true that he has evidently backed down, but this was seen as a huge shock at the time - serious enough to cause the resignation of several of his top appointees. That planned withdrawal can only be seen as a step towards strengthening the position of Russia and its ally in the region - Turkey. As far as Venezuela: I think it is highly unlikely that Trump will send a military invasion, but that is more because even that dunce knows what a morass he'd be getting into if he did so. Yes, his hostility to Maduro in some ways conflicts with his relationship with Putin, but no capitalist alliance is always smooth. There are always conflicting interests. But overall, there is a reason that the more serious heads among the US capitalist strategists and thinkers - including the NY Times, the Washington Post and the Council on Foreign Relations - are so concerned. There is a reason that they denounce Trump's connections with Putin & co. And it's not that they want war and Trump wants peace. That's for sure. The reason is that their understanding is accurate. John Reimann On Sun, Apr 21, 2019 at 3:10 PM Chris Slee <[email protected]> wrote: > John Reimann claims that "...the President of the United States is > seriously beholden to a rival capitalist class" (i.e the Russian > capitalist class). > > I see no evidence that Trump is acting in the interests of Russia. He > acts in the interests of United States imperialism. > > For example, he has imposed a severe economic blockade on Venezuela, > organised a coup attempt, and threatened to invade. This is typical > behaviour for US imperialism in Latin America. > > But Russia and China are beginning to challenge US dominance in Latin > America, as elsewhere. When the Venezuelan government asked for Russian > military aid to deter a possible US invasion, Russia sent a small military > contingent. Thus there is growing antagonism between US and Russian > imperialism in Latin America. > > Trump's ideas on what is in the interests of US imperialism sometimes > differ from those of foreign policy "experts". His stated intention to > quickly withdraw US troops from northeastern Syria was opposed by some of > his advisors, and eventually changed into a gradual withdrawal. > > But Trump's original plan was not totally irrational from the viewpoint of > US imperialism. It would have pleased Erdogan, who wanted to invade > northeastern Syria and crush the revolution there. It would thus have > improved US-Turkish relations, at least in the short term. > > But the foreign policy experts were worried about some of the other > effects of giving a green light to a Turkish invasion of northeast Syria. > It would have disrupted the fight against ISIS. It might also, in the > longer term, have destabilised Turkey, due to economic cost of the > occupation and the casualties inflicted by the resistance. > > Certainly Trump is erratic, and a less than ideal leader for US > imperialism, but that does not mean he is a servant of Putin. > > Chris Slee > > > ________________________________ > From: Marxism <[email protected]> on behalf of John > Reimann via Marxism <[email protected]> > Sent: Sunday, 21 April 2019 7:07:01 AM > To: Chris Slee > Subject: Re: [Marxism] The Mueller Report: Glenn Greenwald vs. David Cay > Johnston on Trump-Russia Ties, Obstruction & More > > ******************** POSTING RULES & NOTES ******************** > #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. > #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. > #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. > ***************************************************************** > > Ralph Johnson, apparently approvingly, quotes Glenn Greenwald: "I think > Donald Trump is a huge danger and > menace to the republic for a lot of reasons that David is very adeptly > covering, and I really hope that we can now turn our attention to those > things, now that we?re done with this espionage thriller that has > dominated us for three years. I hope we can focus on the things that > matter." > > Like so much of the left as well as the alt-left, Greenwald completely > misses the point, which is that the President of the United States is > seriously beholden to a rival capitalist class. This is not a matter of > patriotism nor defense of "national interests"; it's a question of > understanding the political crisis of US capitalism, something which > Greenwald is incapable of doing. > > That's because he is nothing but a somewhat more subtle version of Max > Blumenthal/Ben Norton. He openly advocates a red-brown alliance, having > equated the Occupy movement with the Tea Party as both being > "anti-establishment" and concluded "I think that left and right as we > understood them for the last four decades are starting to morph into > pro-establishment and anti-establishment dynamics and that will only > continue." > > Greenwald supports the Assadist Tulsi Gabbard, and is a collaborator with > the far right Tucker Carlson. > > Basically, Greenwald is like so much of the left that sees any opponent of > US imperialism as an ally, which is why he in effect defends Putin & Co. So > I think his views on the Mueller Report have to be considered in this > light. That there was collaboration, or attempted collaboration, between > the Trump campaign and the Putin regime is really beyond doubt. What was > the meeting at Trump Tower all about? What were the frequent contacts > between Trump staffers and Russian representatives about? > > And the story goes back decades - to the fact that it was the Russian mafia > capitalist class that provided much of Trump's financing for decades. Even > Don jr. said this. And THAT is the real scandal of the Mueller > "investigation" - that they never tried to lift the lid on that can of > worms. > > But Greenwald? His views should not be taken seriously. > > John Reimann > -- > *“In politics, abstract terms conceal treachery.” *from "The Black > Jacobins" by C. L. R. James > Check out:https:http://oaklandsocialist.com also on Facebook > _________________________________________________________ > Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm > Set your options at: > https://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/chris_w_slee%40hotmail.com > -- *“In politics, abstract terms conceal treachery.” *from "The Black Jacobins" by C. L. R. James Check out:https:http://oaklandsocialist.com also on Facebook _________________________________________________________ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: https://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
