The US Agency for International Development (USAID), while meant to be a humanitarian organization, has often also strayed into overseas political operations. They are looking to do so again with the announcement of the Countering Malign Kremlin Influence (CMKI) project.
CMKI is being presented as a US effort both to help other nations counter Russian attempts to influence their elections, and to “counter propaganda and misinformation.” The actual purpose, however, is to lobby these nations not to buy Russian energy, to avoid “dependence on Russia.“
Assistant USAID Administrator Brock Bierman says that Russia “had nothing to offer,” and that nations who seek freedom, prosperity, or security must come to the US, and by extension, to USAID.
The first nations involved in this program are Georgia, Ukraine, and Moldova, nations that don’t get along with Russia and are always willing to get US funding in any form, even if it comes with a heavy dose of US lobbying not to buy Russian oil or natural gas.
Selling the program much farther than that may be difficult. Clearly USAID has their eyes on northern Europe, because this is where Russia is selling a lot of oil lately, and this is where the Trump Administration has been trying to cut into Russian sales.
While this is nominally an attempt to keep Russia from getting economic interests in NATO member states, in practice it comes as President Trump moves to increase US oil and gas production, suggesting the US will be looking for its own international customers and would just as soon not have to compete with the Russians.
Unfortunately , we are not getting our energy politics. US fracking based energy (as well as Canadian tar sands) is not, repeat NOT profitable, worse, even high pricing it is not covering the cost. Industry depends on loan rollovers.
Over time, energy majors with deep pockets have been buying out weaker, not high credit worthy companies. The net result? Testimony to Congress by ExxonMobile sounded alarm. “We are losing shirts on fracking. We are swimming in red ink”.
Over time, technology improved to extract more per drill, but DID NOT make it cheaper. And the yields are getting smaller due to hot spots diminishing. Bottom line, we are producing energy by burning vast quantities of cash. And are racing with time, as customers may not commit to diminishing sources.
What are solutions?
1.
Keep interest rate down to zero, and below, says Trump. Loans can be rolled over in perpetuity.
2.
Convince customers that US is better ally to have for their energy future? Because US intends to win energy wars.
3.
Why should customers abandon Russia and buy US expensive oil and gas? Because it is an investment in cornering the market. The sooner customer abandons Russian gas, the more will Russia hurt economically. And the more it hurts, the message to Venezuela and Iran is — give us your energy for near free — else we can attack you. Russia will not have money to help you.
4:
Once US majors get hands on Venezuela and Iran, eventually Libya. Which means for Europe, PRICE CONTROL and MARKET control, So if Russia’s sales can be substantially reduced to Europe and Asia — and US gets control of vast global
reserves, then Muddle East can be broken by dictating prices for their oil or gas sales.
5.
Fracking energy is only THE LOST LEADER to corner the market, and force the energy rich but poor and weak countries to surrender their energy wealth.
Don’t be dependent on them, be dependent on US. We believe in free markets, sometimes at least. (just like the Russians).
Another example of Trump *not* “getting along” with Russia.
That’s assuming the Orange Mophead is even aware of this initiative, which is unlikely given his general cluelessness. Basically this is a Presidential administration which runs by itself while its nominal leader spends his time on Twitter. I don’t think anyone takes him seriously, probably not even his children, who after all have the most experience of him.
Speaking of which, I just read the story below this piece entitled “US Military Prepares for a Potential Showdown With Russia”.
What a joke! The Navy is running around dismantling abandoned boats blocking a boat ramp on some god-forsaken island in the Arctic – and this is all presented as planning to defeat Russia in some future conflict in the Arctic.
What a load of…! Seriously? Folks, if there is a “showdown” with Russia – regardless of where it occurs – we will be looking at nuclear war. Not some “Bedford Incident” Hollywood movie in the Arctic. And whether the Navy cleared some commercial fishing boat dock in the Arctic will have absolutely nothing to do with it.
Just another puff piece about the military – no doubt planted by the military to boost its image so people ignore the trillion-dollar war budget soaking the taxpayer and profiting the military-industrial complex.
Re. cleaning up Dutch Harbor in the Aleutians – if I was planning on invading Russia, damned if I would go the route through Siberia. Napolean and Hitler both got their butts froze off going East let alone going West.
The US regime has gone full retard in the words of Robert Downey Jr. from Tropic Thunder.
And everyone knows you never go full retard.
By the way, you all will want to read this piece by ex-CIA Larry Johnson over at Colonel Lang’s blog:
John Brennan’s and Jim Clappers’ Last Gasp? by Larry C Johnson
https://turcopolier.typepad.com/sic_semper_tyrannis/2019/09/john-brennans-and-jim-clappers-last-gasp-by-larry-c-johnson.html
It’s about how all the latest James Bond “CIA saves Russian asset” story is a load of hooey and appears to be floated now to push the usual Russiagate agendas and help save Brennan from going to prison for treason.
Yes, why depend on cheap Russian energy when you can get depended on expensive US. energy.
“CMKI is being presented as a US effort both to help other nations counter Russian attempts to influence their elections, and to “counter propaganda and misinformation.”
Yes, because we don’t like the competition.
What did we once call it, mutual assured destruction? The main role of a leader of a country with Nukes has a responsibility to keep their military under strict control so the unthinkable does not happen again. When mister Trump threatens to use Nukes he is out of whack, totally insane, he should be doing everything possible to help other world leaders keep their military forces under control. But somehow he and a few others in this nation think war is an option. So far we have been lucky and have got away with murder but unless we change our ways our days are numbered.