From Counterpunch
Economic connections between US, EU, China, Russia and India
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"Russia is an inalienable and organic part of Greater Europe and European civilization. Our citizens think of themselves as Europeans...That's why Russia proposes moving towards the creation of a common economic space from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, a community referred to by Russian experts as 'the Union of Europe' which will strengthen Russia's potential in its economic pivot toward the 'new Asia.'" -- Russian President Vladimir Putin, "Russia and the changing world," February 2012
The relentless demonization of Vladimir Putin is just one part of Washington's multi-pronged strategy to roll-back Russian power in Central Asia and extinguish Putin's dream of a "Greater Europe." Along with the attempt to smear the Russian president as a "KGB thug" and "dictator," the media has also alleged that Moscow intervened in the US presidential elections and that Russia is a serial aggressor that poses a growing threat to European and US national security.
The media onslaught, which has greatly intensified since the election of Donald Trump in November 2016, has been accompanied by harsh economic sanctions, asymmetrical attacks on Russia's markets and currency, the arming and training of Russian adversaries in Ukraine and Syria, the calculated suppression of oil prices, and a heavy-handed effort to sabotage Russia's business relations in Europe. In short, Washington is doing everything in its power to prevent Russia and Europe from merging into the world's biggest free trade zone that will be the center of global growth and prosperity for the next century.
This is why the US State Department joined with the CIA to topple the elected government of Ukraine in 2014. Washington hoped that by annexing a vital land-bridge between the EU and Asia, US power-brokers could control critical pipeline corridors that are drawing the two continents closer together into an alliance that will exclude the United States. The prospect of Russia meeting more of the EU's growing energy needs, while China's high-speed railway system delivers more low-cost manufactured goods, suggests that the world's center of economic gravity is shifting fast, increasing the probability that the US will continue on its path of irreversible decline.
And when the US dollar is inevitably jettisoned as the primary means of exchange between trade partners in the emerging Asia-EU free trade zone, then the recycling of wealth into US debt will drop off precipitously sending US markets plunging while the economy slips into a deep slump. Preventing Putin from "creating a harmonious community of economies from Lisbon to Vladivostok" is no minor hurtle for the United States. It's a matter of life and death.
Remember the Wolfowitz Doctrine:
"Our first objective is to prevent the re-emergence of a new rival, either on the territory of the former Soviet Union or elsewhere, that poses a threat on the order of that posed formerly by the Soviet Union. This is a dominant consideration underlying the new regional defense strategy and requires that we endeavor to prevent any hostile power from dominating a region whose resources would, under consolidated control, be sufficient to generate global power."
Washington's relations with Russia will always be fractious because Russia poses a perennial threat to US ambitions to rule the world. Geography is fate, and Russia's geography contains massive oil and gas reserves that Europe needs to heat its homes and fuel its businesses. The symbiotic relationship between supplier and end-user will eventually lead to the lifting of trade barriers, the lowering of tariffs, and the smooth melding together of national economies into a region-wide common market. This may be Washington's biggest nightmare, but it's also Putin's top strategic priority. Here's what he said:
"We must consider more extensive cooperation in the energy sphere, up to and including the formation of a common European energy complex. The Nord Stream gas pipeline under the Baltic Sea and the South Stream pipeline under the Black Sea are important steps in that direction. These projects have the support of many governments and involve major European energy companies. Once the pipelines start operating at full capacity, Europe will have a reliable and flexible gas-supply system that does not depend on the political whims of any nation. This will strengthen the continent's energy security not only in form but in substance. This is particularly relevant in the light of the decision of some European states to reduce or renounce nuclear energy."
If Europe wants a reliable partner that can meet its energy needs, then Russia fits the bill. Unfortunately, the US has repeatedly tried to sabotage both pipelines in order to undermine EU-Russia relations. Washington would prefer that Europe either dramatically curtail its use of natural gas or find other more expensive alternatives that don't involve Russia. In other words, Europe's material needs are being sacrificed for Washington's geopolitical objectives, the primary goal of which is to prevent the forming of Greater Europe.
Washington's war against Russia is becoming increasingly militarized. Recently the Pentagon deployed more combat troops to Syria and Kuwait suggesting that US warplanners intend to shift from the current strategy of arming jihadist militias (to topple the government of Syrian President Bashar al Assad), to a more direct use of martial force to seize-and-hold territory in East Syria. There are signs of an uptick in the violence in Ukraine too, as President Trump appears only-too-eager to use a more iron-fisted approach in settling regional disputes than his predecessor, Barack Obama.
Also, NATO has deployed troops and weaponry to Russia's western flank while the US has spread its military bases across Central Asia. NATO has continued to push eastward ever since the Berlin Wall fell in November 1989. The steady buildup of hostile armies on Russia's western perimeter has been a source of growing concern in Moscow and for good reason. Russians know their history.
At the same time the US is building a ground-based missile defense system in Romania (Star Wars) that integrates the US nuclear arsenal at a site that is just 900 miles from Moscow. The US missile system which was "certified for operation" in May 2016, cancels-out Russia's nuclear deterrents and destroys the strategic balance of power in Europe. Putin has responded by ordering appropriate countermeasures. Here are Putin's comments on the subject:
"It seems that NATO countries, and especially the United States, have developed a peculiar understanding of security which is fundamentally different from our own. The Americans are obsessed with the idea of 'absolute invulnerability' for themselves... But absolute invulnerability for one nation means absolute vulnerability for everybody else. We cannot agree to this."
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