Tag: perpetual war

US Provoked the 1979 Russian Invasion of Afghanistan: Parallel to the Ukraine War?

The December 1979 invasion of Afghanistan was a watershed event, one that definitively ended “détente” between the global superpowers, the United States and the USSR, and inaugurated a new and more intense phase of tension. The invasion was a clearcut violation of international law and was widely condemned. At the time, it appeared that the Soviet invasion was completely unprovoked, either by the Afghans themselves or by the United States.

In the nearly half century that that has elapsed since the invasion, a large amount of new information has emerged that casts doubt on the benign image of the US government, as a bystander in the Afghan calamity, and suggests that US officials deliberately provoked the invasion; and then, after the invasion occurred, some US officials actively welcomed its occurrence.

A reexamination of the 1979 Afghan case seems especially relevant today, given the obvious parallels to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Indeed, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton declared that the US response to the invasion of Afghanistan offers a model of what US officials should seek to achieve in Ukraine. The similarities between the two historical cases are indeed striking: Above all, the 1979 Afghan invasion was widely viewed at the time as being an unprovoked act of aggression, very much the way that the Ukraine invasion is being viewed now. We will see that such claims are contradicted by the historical record. It was US provocation that triggered both conflicts.

The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan was widely presented as a major threat to Western security, but this was largely a propaganda invention. If one surveys the record of declassified documents from 1945 all the way to the late 1970s, one finds little US interest in Afghanistan, which was regarded as a strategic backwater, due to its exceptionally rugged geography and lack of access to the sea. The overarching US perspective was succinctly stated by a 1973 article in the Wall Street Journal, which was entitled: “Do the Russians Covet Afghanistan? If So, it is Hard to Figure Why.” The article went on to characterize Afghanistan as “a vast expanse of desert waste.” From the US National Security Council, a 1974 document stated: “Afghanistan is of no major importance to us.”

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Kamala Harris, Donald Trump, and the Armageddon Agenda

The next president of the United States, whether Kamala Harris or Donald Trump, will face many contentious domestic issues that have long divided this country, including abortion rights, immigration, racial discord, and economic inequality. In the foreign policy realm, she or he will face vexing decisions over Ukraine, Israel/Gaza, and China/Taiwan. But one issue that few of us are even thinking about could pose a far greater quandary for the next president and even deeper peril for the rest of us: nuclear weapons policy.

Consider this: For the past three decades, we’ve been living through a period in which the risk of nuclear war has been far lower than at any time since the Nuclear Age began — so low, in fact, that the danger of such a holocaust has been largely invisible to most people. The collapse of the Soviet Union and the signing of agreements that substantially reduced the U.S. and Russian nuclear stockpiles eliminated the most extreme risk of thermonuclear conflict, allowing us to push thoughts of nuclear Armageddon aside (and focus on other worries). But those quiescent days should now be considered over. Relations among the major powers have deteriorated in recent years and progress on disarmament has stalled. The United States and Russia are, in fact, upgrading their nuclear arsenals with new and more powerful weapons, while China — previously an outlier in the nuclear threat equation — has begun a major expansion of its own arsenal.

The altered nuclear equation is also evident in the renewed talk of possible nuclear weapons use by leaders of the major nuclear-armed powers. Such public discussion largely ceased after the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, when it became evident that any thermonuclear exchange between the U.S. and the Soviet Union would result in their mutual annihilation. However, that fear has diminished in recent years and we’re again hearing talk of nuclear weapons use. Since ordering the invasion of Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly threatened to employ nuclear munitions in response to unspecified future actions of the U.S. and NATO in support of Ukrainian forces. Citing those very threats, along with China’s growing military might, Congress has authorized a program to develop more “lower-yield” nuclear munitions supposedly meant (however madly) to provide a president with further “options” in the event of a future regional conflict with Russia or China.

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CIA, MI6 Chiefs Praise Ukrainian Invasion of Russia for Inflicting War on ‘Ordinary Russians.’

CIA Director William Burns and MI6 Chief Richard Moore made an unprecedented joint appearance in London on Saturday, discussing the Ukraine war. The event, hosted by the globalist Financial Times, saw both intelligence leaders praise Ukrainian forces’ incursion into Russia’s Kursk region.

Moore commended Ukraine’s controversial counter-invasion of Russia as “typically audacious and bold on the part of the Ukrainians,” praising it for having “brought the war home to ordinary Russians.” The surprise offensive on August 6 has bogged down in recent days but saw success early on, with around 500 square miles of Russian territory seized.

However, while portrayed as a great embarrassment for Russian leader Vladimir Putin, the Kursk operation may prove to be a significant strategic mistake. Ukraine has used limited reserves, armed with valuable Western equipment such as American HIMARS artillery systems and British Challenger 2 tanks, for the offensive—meaning they cannot be used to reinvigorate Ukrainian forces buckling under a grinding Russian offensive in the Donbas region.

The Kursk offensive does not appear to have diverted enough Russian resources from the Donbas to halt Russian offensive operations in that theater, with the Ukrainians losing several towns and villages as the Russians close in on the vital logistics hub of Pokrovsk.

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World War III Watch: Russia Threatens to Wipe Kiev Off the Map If Biden and NATO Send Ukraine Long Range Missiles to Fire Deep Inside Russia

Secretary of State Tony Blinken and Joe Biden’s handlers are working diligently to escalate the War in Ukraine and initiate World War III before the November presidential election.

The globalist elites want to approve Western made high precision long range missiles in attacks inside Russia.

Vladimir Putin pointed out that it will take Western intelligence to operate these weapons. The US will not only be providing these long range missiles to fire deep inside Russia but Western intelligence will operate the weapons for Ukraine using Western satellite systems.

Vladimir Putin warned on Thursday that the NATO approval will change the essence of the conflict. Putin also warned that Kiev would be destroyed.

Vladimir Putin: The key is that only NATO servicemen can enter flight assignments into these missile systems. Ukrainian servicemen cannot do this. And so this is not about allowing the Ukrainian regime to strike Russia with these weapons or not. It’s about deciding whether NATO countries are directly involved in the military conflict or not. If this decision is made it will mean nothing other than the direct participation of NATO countries, the United States, European countries, in the war in Ukraine. This is their direct participation and this already significantly changes the very essence and the very nature of the conflict… This would mean that NATO countires, the United States are at war with Russia.

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. urged Joe Biden and his handlers to “Stop It!”

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Americans Can’t Hide From Nuclear War, Moscow Warns As West Mulls Escalation

The Kremlin has issued yet more warnings following reports that the Biden administration could soon greenlight long-range attacks by Kiev forces on Russian territory using US-supplied arms.

Both the UK and Canada are on board, we reported earlier, and British Prime Minister Ken Starmer is visiting Washington where he’s directly lobbying Biden to jump on board and grant Zelensky’s urgent request to lift all restrictions on Western weaponry.

However, The New York Times suggests that saner minds are prevailing at this point. “President Biden’s deliberations with Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain about whether to allow Ukraine to attack Russia with long-range Western weapons were fresh evidence that the president remains deeply fearful of setting off a dangerous, wider conflict,” the publication writes.

Let’s hope this is the case, given this is arguably the most dangerous moment and decision-point of the war to date. Pentagon leadership has recently stressed that granting the permission for long-range strikes will do little strategically to change the battlefield, where Russian momentum has continually gained in eastern Ukraine.

Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov on Friday added to prior Kremlin warnings, telling Rossiya 24 channel that he fears American leadership and the people are under “illusion”.

He said they seem to think that “if there is a conflict, it will not spread to the territory of the United States of America.”

Antonov continued by stressing that Americans can’t hide from nuclear war if this unthinkable happens. “I am constantly trying to convey to them one thesis that the Americans will not be able to sit it out behind the waters of this ocean. This war will affect everyone, so we constantly say – do not play with this rhetoric,” Antonov stated according to state media translation. 

As for UK PM Starmer’s visit to Washington, The Wall Street Journal had earlier previewed that “While the final decision on Storm Shadow will be made by the U.K. government, British officials will ask for the Biden administration to weigh in because some components of the missiles are made in the U.S.”

But based on NSC spokesman John Kirby’s words as of Friday afternoon, Washington’s policy has not changed and no permission has yet been given to Ukraine.

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UK’s Starmer, Canada’s Trudeau, Pressure Biden To Escalate With Russia Despite Putin Warning Of ‘War’ With NATO

Kirby came out on Friday and told reporters that there’s been no change in US policy regarding Ukraine using Western arms for long-rage strikes inside Russia. But the pressure is quickly ramping up: first Canada’s Trudeau said he supports greenlighting this, despite Putin making clear this would mean ‘direct war’ between Russia and NATO, and now UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is coming out in support. According to breaking reporting in The Wall Street Journal: 

U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer is expected to urge President Biden on Friday during a visit to Washington to sign off on allowing Ukraine to use long-range European-made cruise missiles to strike targets deep inside Russia, according to U.S. and Western officials.

…A decision to lift a ban on Kyiv using the Storm Shadow missile, which can hit targets 155 miles away, to fire into Russia would be a major win for Ukraine, which has been urging Western countries for months to loosen restrictions on long-range weapons.

Yes, Zelensky has been essentially begging for it, but we highly doubt a “win” will follow especially given as we detailed below Putin still holds many cards, and would likely escalate attacks on Kiev in a big way.

“While the final decision on Storm Shadow will be made by the U.K. government, British officials will ask for the Biden administration to weigh in because some components of the missiles are made in the U.S.,” WSJ continues in the Friday afternoon report.

Hours earlier, PM Trudeau made his position clear: 

Canada fully supports Ukraine using long-range weaponry to “prevent and interdict Russia’s continued ability to degrade Ukrainian civilian infrastructure”, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Friday.

Trudeau told reporters that Russian President Vladimir Putin was trying to deeply destabilize the international rules-based order and added: “That’s why Canada and others are unequivocal that Ukraine must win this war against Russia.”

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WWIII: Pentagon Orders Study Of Potential Nuclear Strike In Eastern Europe

The US Defense Department has ordered a study to simulate the impact of a nuclear conflict on global agriculture. According to a solicitation notice posted on a government procurement platform, the study will focus on regions “beyond Eastern Europe and Western Russia,” which in the simulation is the epicenter of the hypothetical nuclear weapons deployment.

The project will be spearheaded by the US Army Corps of Engineers, Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC).

According to the notice posted earlier this week, the ERDC has already chosen Terra Analytics, a Colorado-based company that specializes in advanced data visualization and analyses, as the contractor. However, it states that other potential contractors are invited to share their proposals if they are able to provide similar services.

The notice lists requirements for contractors to fulfill, such as providing personnel, equipment, facilities, supervision, and other items necessary to conduct the study. The contractor would, among other things, need to incorporate aerial mapping in the simulation and model a scenario in which a “non-destructive nuclear event” takes place. The cost of the contract has been set at $34 million.

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Are You Ready For WW3? U.S. Says Ukraine Will Join NATO

The trek toward World War 3 just took another giant leap forward. The United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Ukraine will join NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization).

The ruling class of the United States has been clear that it wants Ukraine to “win” the conflict and join NATO. Blinken has made the case for Kyiv’s membership in NATO before, however, the bloc has officially declared, both in Washington this summer and last year in Lithuania, that this could only happen “when allies agree and conditions are met.”

“At the July summit, we declared that Ukraine’s path to NATO membership is irreversible,” Blinken said on Wednesday according to a report by RT. He was reminding his hosts that the U.S.-led bloc has “established a command dedicated to support Ukraine’s membership.”

Hungary and Slovakia have already said they will not agree under any circumstances because bringing Ukraine into NATO, would mean a hot war with Russia.

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Israeli Torture Chambers Aren’t New. They Provoked October 7

For many years I lived just up the road from Megiddo prison in northern Israel, where new film of Israeli guards torturing Palestinians en masse has been published by Israel’s Haaretz newspaper. I drove past Megiddo prison on hundreds of occasions. Over time I came to barely notice the squat grey buildings, surrounded by watch towers and razor wire.

There are several large prisons like Megiddo in Israel’s north. It is where Palestinians end up after they have been seized from their homes, often in the middle of the night. Israel, and the western media, say these Palestinians have been “arrested”, as though Israel is enforcing some kind of legitimate legal procedure over oppressed subjects – or rather objects – of its occupation. In truth, these Palestinians have been kidnapped.

The prisons are invariably located close to major roads in Israel, presumably because Israelis find it reassuring to know Palestinians are being locked up in such large numbers. (As an aside, I should mention that transferring prisoners out of occupied territory into the occupier’s territory is a war crime. But let that pass.)

Even before the mass round-ups of the past 11 months, the Palestinian Authority estimated that 800,000 Palestinians – or 40 per cent of the male population – had spent time in an Israeli prison. Many had never been charged with any crime and had never received a trial. Not that that would make any difference – the conviction rate of Palestinians in Israel’s military courts is near 100 per cent. There is no such thing as an innocent Palestinian, it seems.

Rather, imprisonment is a kind of terrifying rite of passage that has been endured by generations of Palestinians, one required of them by the bureaucracy managing Israel’s apartheid-occupation system.

Torture, even of children, has been routine in these prisons since the occupation began nearly 60 years ago, as Israeli human rights groups have been regularly documenting.

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U.S. Ruling Class Is About To “Allow” Ukraine To Cross Russia’s Last Red Line

Russia’s restraint against NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) and the West is one of the few things left keeping the globe from being flung into a full-fledged World War 3. But now, the United States ruling class is about to “allow” Ukraine to use the weapons donated by the West to strike deep inside Russian territory; crossing the last red line Russia laid down.

Washington intends to lift restrictions on Kyiv’s use of U.S.-provided ATACMS (Army Tactical Missile System) missiles to strike deep inside Russian territory, an Axios reporter has claimed, citing a prominent member of Congress, as reported by RT.  Current ruler, Joe Biden confirmed this saying “We’re working that out now.”

Other Western allied countries have already publically stated that they think crossing all of Russia’s red lines is reasonable and “permissible.”

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