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.
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
3
2
1
