Today’s Athens talks saw European Union foreign ministers meeting to discuss Russia sanctions. While we saw the typical push for more confrontational measures from Western members, the broad consensus seems to be for a rethink of the policy.
Officially, the rethink was about “preserving stability” in the eastern EU membership bloc, where a trade and sanctions war with Russia threatens economic ruin. There’s more to it than that, however.
The unspoken reality is that the push for a sanctions war was built around a narrative of imminent Russian invasions across Europe, and despite continued predictions from hawks of an invasion of Ukraine any minute, the situation really does seem to be stabilizing.
While those officials continued to give lip-service to the idea Russia is becoming “more confrontational,” German FM Frank-Walter Steinmeier and others conceded that it is not a time for aggressive action, but a time to wait and see exactly what Russia is doing, and how their relationship might be salvaged.
That would be good news. And if the EU really is choosing to follow their own interests over the neocon agenda, here's to hope the same logic will soon apply with respect to the Iran sanctions.
The problem with news coverage, including even a small outlet like antiwar.com, which is sort of a commentary or secondary source on primary entries, is the degree to which much of the news is made by either fake or outdated reporters and even events. Where is the front line, the avant garde of consciousness? Is there one? The thing is, this thing we call the world needs to change and change fast. Like very fast, like now. Arguments over territory are old people's games to retain sanction. This is a very stupid argument and one that won't go down well with the present and future generations. Russia is old, it doesn't have any young energy.
Your avant garde of the young has labored mightily to create the technical basis for the NSA surveillance system. Interestingly, this system envisions a borderless existence devoid of territorial concerns, a global "community" of people whose consciousness has been "remade" – through a process of isolated conditioning to eliminate any conceptualization of other mode of existence – so that they can be endlessly manipulated. Therefore, your argument is merely propaganda calling for a virtual totalitarianism. Nice try, Stasi.
Your avant garde of the young has labored mightily to create the technical basis for the NSA surveillance system. Interestingly, this system envisions a borderless existence devoid of territorial concerns, a global "community" of people whose consciousness has been "remade" – through a process of isolated conditioning to eliminate any conceptualization of other modes of existence – so that they can be endlessly manipulated. Therefore, your argument is merely propaganda calling for a virtual totalitarianism. Nice try, Stasi.
EU governing body should rethink their strategy regarding Syria as well, they need to rethink their standing toward Israel and its apartheid regime, they need to rethink their standing and cooperation with Saudis and their barbarians terrorizing Syria people, that is to say, Europe has no other option but to rethink its policies wanting to militarize Eastern Europe in cooperation with USG hegemony wanting to militarize the world.
Well said… I will add that the EU also needs to re-evaluate their relationship with the USG. Following the warmongers and frustrated, leftover cold-warriors will only lead them to financial Armageddon. Despite what the true believers think, the US is not exceptional – exceptionally belligerent and dangerous perhaps…but not exceptional in the way they believe.
The US has lost its perspective of our place in the world society.
The problem with financial cooperation with USG and EU is that: both markets are just to big for either wanting to stop or even reducing the economical cooperation, especially US market for EU products and the military agreements (NATO) is the other, otherwise European Union was built as a united front to stop USG hegemony, then in 1900s the right wing social democrats and later far right aristocrats and now the Neo fascism taking over. In that regard and up to date, and if you look at the political-platform changes, in both side of Atlantic, you will notice that the USG Balkan, Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and now Syria and Ukraine has been in cooperation with far right aristocrats and far right Neo fascism EU.
It would appear that some of the EU states have realized that the 800-pound FedGov gorilla that they have been following around is insane, and now they are trying to figure out how to escape.
Not only insane but rather impotent when it comes to anything beyond threats and bluster.
Impotent only insofar as it has been unwilling to make the general US public aware of the mechanisms that enable it to keep its lackeys in line. This deception is an important domestic tool in maintaining control, because it fools most Americans into going along with the propaganda that they're told. But as the economic situation becomes ever more dire for the FedGov, it will be forced to remove the velvet to draw the underlying steel. The steel has become visible with the hysterical reactions to any system that undermines the petrodollar and to the desire of the Europeans not to be surveilled at will by the NSA. Unfortunately, the US military, for all of its strategic imbecility, operational ludicrousness and tactical cowardice (i.e., fear of taking casualties), does possess the ability to inflict immense amounts of physical damage in a completely indiscriminate way against those who cannot, for whatever reason, fight back effectively, and that fact must surely inform the Europeans who have come to the realization of what the FedGov really is.
The situation is anything but "stabilizing". The Ukrainians have "mobilized" the 'new' army. This is being done essentially in the eastern regions of the country near the border with Russia.
Large numbers of 'recruits' are being bbussed-in and dropped off at makeshift 'training camps' with no leadership and a very low level of supplies and support. They are fighting each other already in these camps. It won't be long until they start leaving to forage for food in the localities. This will lead, as it already has, to complaints from Russians living there.
All it takes is an incident and Mr. Putin will have 'evidence'that the Kyiv government is not protecting Russian Unkrainians. The situation could go downhill witrh some rapidity.
But then, can the 'revolutionary' government in Kyiv afford to have these men hanging-around the capital with nothing to do?
Bad situation!
The situation is anything but "stabilizing". The Ukrainians have "mobilized" the 'new' army. This is being done, essentially, in the eastern regions of the country near the border with Russia. What is presently a mob scene' in these 'training camps' will shortly be a new regional problem.
Mr Putin may not have the Red Horde on the border but he has said he will defend Russian Ukrainians from the predations of the 'revolutionary' government. Dumping the western Ukraine's unemployed men in makeshift training camps in Russian regions is just asking for trouble.
Russia played a large part in saving Europe in WWII. It may just have provided a severe enough shaking of the EU's cage to have initiated the same effect now.
Then, as now, Russia had its own self-serving agenda, scant regard for individuals and despotic leaders. The same can be said for the US perhaps, not so much before but certainly now.
EU has two gift horses, Both have bad teeth. Its an interesting choice.
The big question is; which one of these two "gift horses" will the EU shoot?
The message to Putin is that if he backs off, it will be kiss and make up with the EU. He can then get on with negotiating the association agreement with the EU similar to the one Ukraine has negotiated and which, in the neocon cloudcuckooland, was suppossedly "rejected" by Ukraine as being "incompatible" with a customs union Putin was organising and to which Ukriane was to belong in addition to the EU association agreement. NATO is discredited and Israel is thereby undermined but the EU comes out of this strengthened and we come a step closer to Mikhail Gorbachev's Common European House. By the blind pursuit of their irrational and obsessive desire to destroy the EU, the neocons have actually strengthened the EU and damaged Israel!
The linked article – propaganda that fails to mention any US/EU actions that may have contributed to Russian responses – focuses mostly on EU fears of the impact to their energy supplies:
"Relations were further strained by Moscow's war with Georgia in 2008 and its willingness to disrupt energy supply to Europe via Ukraine….In the wake of the latest Ukraine crisis, the EU has already decided to accelerate its quest for more secure energy supplies, reducing dependence on Russian oil and gas."
This seems to be less of a "rethink" than a time out to get better prepared for possible Russian retaliation when further sanctions are imposed.
It is also time to reflect on what NATO has been doing.
Also time to reflect on how hawks are now manipulating the Russian reaction to NATO's aggressive moves.
The hawks have been allowed to create the excuse for what they wanted all along, a bigger NATO defense establishment, more money, and farther out of zone action.
The rethink should be: Cancel the missiles in Romania, Poland and on 32 ships in the Mediterranean Sea, the so-called European Phased Adaptive Approach before it leads to Launch On Warning, also called Mutually Assured Suicide. For that reason General Harbottle called them "bloody fools" in the Pentagon. Suicidal, retarded bloody fools !
The unspoken reality is that the push for a sanctions war was built around a narrative of imminent Russian invasions across Europe, and despite continued predictions from hawks of an invasion of Ukraine any minute, the situation really does seem to be stabilizing.
Are we all being conned about this so called buildup? NBC couldn't find any such thing.
http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/ukraine-crisis/t…
Not likely. No matter, Russia will not be trusted from this point on. It's neighbours are distancing themselves. Russia will be isolated more than they are now. Putin can't put the genie back in the bottle.