Cde Segage, Thank you for your posting this article. It is not clear if it is your own good writing but if it comes from another source, please tell what that source is.
In any case, thanks for drawing attention to this political conjuncture. NoBama! Down with US Imperialism, down! VC On Thursday, 8 August 2013, Ranney Segage <[email protected]> wrote: > Obama cancels summit, escalates tensions with Russia > > The US decision to cancel a planned summit between President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin is a major escalation of US pressure on Russia and a racketing up of tensions between the two nuclear-armed countries. It is the first time since the end of the Cold War that the US has cancelled a publicly announced presidential meeting with leaders in Russia. > > The immediate issue behind the move is the decision by the Russian government to grant temporary asylum to whistle-blower Edward Snowden. There are, however, broader geostrategic issues at stake. Among the factors cited by the White House as driving the decision are “missile defence and arms control,” “trade and commercial relations,” and “global security issues ”a reference to divisions over US policy toward Syria and Iran. > > When he first came to power, Obama called for a “reset” of US-Russia relations, seeking to utilize Russia’s services in the war against Afghanistan and other imperialist operations. Putin himself has been more than willing to collaborate with the United States, including in dealing with Snowden, who has been instructed to stop all political activity as a condition for his stay in Russia. > > The calls for a “reset” followed the invasion of South Ossetia by Georgia in 2008 backed by the Bush administration which nearly led to a direct military conflict between Washington and Moscow. > > Following Russia’s decision to grant Snowden asylum last week, top officials of both political parties called for the US to “rethink our relationship with Putin’s Russia,” in the words of Republican Senator John McCain. > > The decision to cancel the summit comes as the US is preparing to step up its intervention in Syria, a principal ally of Russia. Last month, the Pentagon revealed that it is considering several different plans, including setting up a “no-fly zone,” which would be aimed at destroying Syria’s air force. Last month, the House and Senate intelligence panels voted to directly arm the main opposition forces involved in the US-promoted war for regime-change. > > The US is also moving forward in the construction of a missile defence system in Eastern Europe, which would be directed principally against Russia and Moscow’s influence in the region. > > Last month, following joint naval exercises by Russia and China (coinciding with joint US-Japanese air drills), a column in the Times by Leslie Gelb and Dimitri Simes, both major figures in US strategy circles, complained that Russia and China, “to better advance their own interests,” were seeking to “knock Washington down a peg or two.” > > None of this is acceptable to the United States, which is pursuing a “pivot to Asia” to isolate and weaken China at the same time that it seeks to maintain a dominant position in the Middle East and Central Asia. There are now clear signs that the Obama administration, frustrated by its inability to this point to dislodge Syrian President Assad and install a direct US client regime, is preparing a military escalation in the Middle East. > > The shutting down of US embassies throughout the Middle East and North Africa as part of a global terror alert is a cynical attempt to justify the illegal spying programs and counter growing opposition within the United States and internationally to the attack on democratic rights. > > It is, at the same time, an ominous warning part of the “chatter” from Washington indicating that something major is being planned. The threat of a terror attack or an actual attack if one is carried out ,would provide the Obama administration with the pretext for intensifying its operations not only against Yemen, which is already the target of a fresh wave of deadly drone strikes, but also against Syria and Iran. Any such action could quickly involve a direct confrontation with Russia and China and potentially trigger a wider war with catastrophic consequences. > > It is within this context that the cancelled summit with Putin must be understood. > > > > > > Ranney Jomo Segage > > Credit Management > > Numsa PTSS > > Tel : 013 693 4181 > > Fax : 0865392226 > > Mobile : 0769411197 > > Email : [email protected] > > > > Each class exists only in its antagonistic relationship to the other. > > > > > > > > I'm part of the 49Million initiative. > http://www.49Million.co.za > > NB: This Email and its contents are subject to the Eskom Holdings Limited EMAIL LEGAL NOTICE which can be viewed at http://www.eskom.co.za/e-mail_legalnotice > > -- > -- > You are subscribed to the "Communist University" e-mail forum. > The group site is at http://groups-beta.google.com/group/Communist-University > The Communist University blog at http://domza.blogspot.com/ and our wikispace web site is at http://amadlandawonye.wikispaces.com/ > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]; or e-mail [email protected] > > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Communist University" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. > -- *Communist University:* *CU Downloads*: *sites.google.com/site/cu2012courses/* *E-mail forums*: *CU <https://groups.google.com/group/communist-university>*; *YCLSA <https://groups.google.com/group/yclsa-eom-forum>*; *CU-Africa<https://groups.google.com/group/CUAfrica> *; *SADTU <https://groups.google.com/group/sadtu-political-education-forum>* *Blog*s: *CU <http://domza.blogspot.com/>*; *YCLSA<http://wftu-yclsa-cu-jhb.blogspot.com/> *; *CU-Africa <http://cuafrica.blogspot.com/>*; *SADTU<http://sadtu-pol-ed.blogspot.com/> * *Moderator*: *[email protected]* -- -- You are subscribed. 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