Copied from NationofChange, an American 501C3 news service that has tended to be pro-Ukraine in the past and has been slow to print articles such as this one (written by Michael Payne for OpEdNews.com <http://click.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?r=107351866&msgid=896696&act=HT36&c=541249&destination=http%3A%2F%2Fopednews.com%2F> ). U.S./NATO and Russia/China On A Direct Collision Course We watch as the great powers of the world, the U.S. and NATO on the one hand and Russia and China on the other head for a massive confrontation in Eastern Europe, with Ukraine at the epicenter. This volatile situation has been brought on because the two sides in this struggle for power espouse political ideologies and objectives that are diametrically opposed and seemingly cannot co-exist. We might say that Ukraine is the eye of this “gathering storm” or, more accurately, it’s the point at which a small spark could ignite a military firestorm. If NATO continues to aggressively attempt to recruit Ukraine into its organization then that could easily happen. And if anyone thinks Putin will back down and yield to the power of U.S./NATO then they better think again because he will not. Putin knows that if he stands aside and lets Ukraine become a part of NATO he will have opened the door to the eventual encirclement of Russia; and that is something that would eventually bring his country to its knees. That’s why he has drawn a red line around Ukraine. So if the U.S./NATO continues to ignore his warnings and make a bold encroachment into that territory then they are truly playing with fire. The question is: why are the U.S. and NATO so hell bent on this highly dangerous objective? Why do they continue their overly aggressive agenda and try to push their way into Russia’s sphere of influence when there is no truly justifiable reason for doing so? Don’t they realize the gravity of this situation? This is like an irresistible force meeting an immovable object. To try to fully understand what is going on between these two powers is very difficult. So as we try to assess this increasingly tenuous situation here is what we might find: With the U.S. this form of military hubris is nothing new, it’s all about control of natural resources, primarily oil, as well as protecting its other “national interests.” The majority of Americans continue to buy into the old, worn out reasoning that the U.S. military is so active around the world because it’s all about providing for their safety and security. and while that is certainly true to a considerable degree it is also heavily geared toward protecting the interests of the Corporate America, and especially those interests of its petroleum corporations. The EU nations’ participation in NATO is very complicated and somewhat conflicted. I think that they are under massive pressure to bend to the dictates of the U.S. government in playing an aggressive role in this planned encirclement of Russia. So these nations can be said to be between a rock and a hard place. They find it difficult to go against the dictates of the U.S. because they are members of NATO and share its objectives but, at the same time, they can’t be reckless and put at risk their great dependency on imports of natural gas, currently 30% and growing, from Russia. Secondly, in addition to natural gas these nations, collectively, also import 15% of their crude oil from Russia and another 8% from Iran, Russia’s close ally. Now, relative to Russia’s role in this standoff, it’s very likely that if NATO would stop trying to recruit Ukraine (and Georgia) that Putin and his military would just let things cool down. It’s become common knowledge that Russia’s primary objective is to maintain control over Crimea, its massive Russian naval facility in Sebastopol, its access to the Black Sea, the Mediterranean and beyond. And that control over Crimea depends greatly on its ability to also control Ukraine to the degree necessary. It seemingly has no other imperialistic objectives. So why should U.S./NATO continue to waste critical resources going up against Russia? There is no question but that Russia must be closely watched because it has been very aggressive in past decades. But I think that its leaders probably learned a great lesson when its military was soundly defeated in Afghanistan and expelled from that country in 1989. After that defeat the Soviet Union collapsed and Russia thereafter adopted a defensive posture. Now let’s turn to China which might not seem to be a major participant in this developing dispute. Actually, whether we realize it or not, China is quite involved because it has become a strong ally and supporter of Russia. It’s true that it is the least aggressive entity among the four powers present since it is largely concentrating on continuing to strengthen the foundations of its rapidly growing economy. So how then does China fit into this matter? One of China’s major goals is to develop a strong presence in this region of the world, specifically Eurasia. And without a doubt it’s all about sources and delivery of energy. China is following a concrete plan to expand its economic presence in that region. It's building a network of hi-speed railways, highways, pipelines, ports, and fiber-optic networks across huge parts of Eurasia to build a foundation for the future. Needless to say these highly ambitious plans do not set well with the U.S. government which has similar designs in this region. The problem for the U.S. is that China has the strong backing of Russia. And to further complicate matters, while China moves into Russia’s backyard, the U.S. is implementing plans to greatly increase its military presence in China’s backyard, the Asia-Pacific region. That may turn out to be a pipe dream since the misguided belief that China will allow itself to be encircled in that manner is delusional thinking. Don’t think that Russia will back off for they will go to the brink of war if necessary. Putin knows he has the Euro nations painted into a corner because of their great dependency on Russian energy. So in the end it’s highly likely that the Euro nations will slowly but surely be forced to draw back from NATO’s agenda of encirclement. They are well aware of the grave consequences that would follow if the Russian bear becomes infuriated by their threats. The U.S. military, trying to maintain its power and control in Afghanistan and Pakistan, as well as attempting to stop the advance of ISIS in Iraq and Syria, continuing to launch drone attacks in Yemen and Somalia and Pakistan, will find that it is impossible to control all these troubled areas at the same time. And as this military continues to consume the wealth of America in these many military actions, to think that it can somehow establish a dominating presence in the regions that Russia and China now control is foolhardy at best and an exercise in futility. It can’t be done. So what then will follow? Quite likely we will see a further strengthening of the relationship between Russia and China. We will see China spend huge sums to continue to increase its presence in Eurasia and the surrounding territories. The Russia/China political duopoly will wield massive power and influence over this entire region. But putting all this speculation aside, we continue to witness this impending military confrontation between the most powerful nations on earth. The drums of war are loudly beating, the sabers are rattling and any semblance of sit-down diplomacy is nowhere to be found. Cooler and wiser heads should prevail, but they haven’t so far. The major player and protagonist in this matter is, of course, the United States. It possesses the greatest power and is, by far, the most aggressive. If we had a government and a president at this time that could think in an in-depth, rational manner and objectively assess this situation and the great danger involved; if they could see that this militaristic agenda against both Russia and China will never work and they should reverse course, then that would be a truly historic achievement. Stubbornness and doggedness are not virtues. What we’re witnessing is a grand geopolitical chess game being played right in front of the eyes of the world. Which of the two opposing sides will make the next move, will it be the right move; which will come up with the winning strategy and, lastly, which of these nations, if any, will blink first? Or is this collision inevitable?
[SNN] U.S./NATO and RUSSIA/CHINA on a direct collision course
'ANTIC.org-SNN' [email protected] [SerbianNewsNetwork] Wed, 17 Sep 2014 17:47:46 -0700
