this article is short enough that i pasted it all here with the link following as usual. i think its short and clear describing some recent events as looking like the empire is fishing for starting a war;
US Ambassador to NATO Kay Bailey Hutchison is a highly placed
diplomat. Her words, whatever they may be, are official, which includes
the ultimatums and threats that have become the language increasingly
used by US diplomats to implement the policy of forceful persuasion or
coercive diplomacy. Bellicose declarations are being used this way as a
tool.
On Oct. 2, the ambassador proved it again. According to her statement,
Washington is ready to use force against Russia. Actually, she
presented an ultimatum — Moscow must stop the development of a missile
that the US believes to be in violation of the Intermediate-Range
Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty). If not, the American military will
destroy it before the weapon becomes operational. “At that point, we
would be looking at the capability to take out a (Russian) missile that
could hit any of our countries,” Hutchison stated at a news conference.
“Counter measures (by the United States) would be to take out the
missiles that are in development by Russia in violation of the treaty,”
she added. “They are on notice.” This is nothing other than a direct
warning of a preemptive strike.
It is true that compliance with the INF Treaty is a controversial issue. Moscow has many times claimed that
Washington was in violation, and that position has been substantiated.
For instance, the Aegis Ashore system, which has been installed in
Romania and is to be deployed in Poland, uses the Mk-41 launcher that is
capable of firing intermediate-range Tomahawk missiles. This is a
flagrant breach of the INF Treaty. The fact is undeniable. The US
accuses Moscow of possessing and testing a ground-launched cruise
missile with a range capability of 500 km to 5,500 km (310-3,417 miles),
but there has never been any proof to support this claim. Russia has
consistently denied the charges. It says the missile in question — the
9M729 — is in compliance with the provisions of the treaty and has never
been upgraded or tested for the prohibited range.
This is a reasonable assertion. After all, there is no way to prevent
such tests from being detected and monitored by satellites. The US
could raise the issue with the Special Verification Commission (SVC).
Instead it threatens to start a war.
This is momentous, because the ambassador’s words were not a botched
statement or an offhand comment, but in fact followed another “warning”
made by a US official recently.
Speaking on Sept. 28 at an industry event in Pennsylvania hosted by the Consumer Energy Alliance, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke suggested that
the US Navy could be used to impose a blockade to restrict Russia’s
energy trade. “The United States has that ability, with our Navy, to
make sure the sea lanes are open, and, if necessary, to blockade… to
make sure that their energy does not go to market,” he said, revealing
that this was an option. The Interior Department has nothing to do with
foreign policy, but Mr. Zinke is a high-ranking member of the
administration.
Two bellicose statements made one after another and both are just
short of a declaration of war! A blockade is a hostile act that would be
countered with force, and the US is well aware of this. It is also well
aware that Russia will defend itself. It’s important to note that no
comments or explanations have come from the White House. This confirms
the fact that what the officials have said reflects the administration’s
position.
This brings to mind the fact that the Interdiction and Modernization
of Sanctions Act has passed the House of Representatives. The
legislation includes the authority to inspect Chinese, Iranian, Syrian,
and Russian ports. Among the latter are the ports of Nakhodka, Vanino,
and Vladivostok. This is an openly hostile act and a blatant violation
of international law. If the bill becomes law, it will likely start a
war with the US acting as the aggressor.
Trident Juncture,
the largest training event held by NATO since 2002, kicks off on
October 25 and will last until November 7, 2018. It will take place in
close proximity to Russia’s borders. Russia’s Vostok-2018 exercise in
September was the biggest seen there since the Cold War, but it was held
in the Far East, far from NATO’s area of responsibility. It’s NATO, not
Russia, who is escalating the already tense situation in Europe by
holding such a large-scale exercise adjacent to Russia’s borders.
Russia is not the only country to be threatened with war. Attempts are being made to intimidate China as well. Tensions are
running high in the South China Sea, where US and Chinese ships had an
“unsafe” interaction with each other on Sept. 30. A collision was barely
avoided. As a result, US Defense Secretary James Mattis had to suspend
his visit to China when it was called off by Beijing. The security
dialog between the two nations has stalled.
Perhaps the only thing left to do is to give up on having a normal
relationship with the United States. Ambassador Hutchison’s statement is
sending a clear message of: “forget about diplomacy, we’re back to the
Stone Age,” with Washington leading the way. This is the new reality, so
get used to it. Just shrug it off and try to live without the US, but
be vigilant and ready to repel an attack that is very likely on the way.
It should be noted that Moscow has never threatened the US with
military action. It has never deployed military forces in proximity to
America’s shores. It did not start all those unending sanctions and
trade wars. When exposing the US violations of international agreements,
it has never claimed that the use of force was an option. It has tried
hard to revive the dialog on arms control and to coordinate operations
in Syria. But it has also had to issue warnings about consequences, in
case it were provoked to respond to a hostile act. If the worst happens,
we’ll all know who is to blame. Washington bears the responsibility for
pushing the world to the brink of war.
https://www.lewrockwell.com/2018/10/no_author/us-openly-threatens-russia-with-war-goodbye-diplomacy-hello-stone-age/
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