'How Vladimir Putin became evil', by Tariq Ali, 30 July 2014

Once again, it seems that Russia and the United States are finding it difficult to agree on how to deal with their respective ambitions. This clash of interests is highlighted by the Ukrainian crisis. The provocation in this particular instance, as the leaked recording of a US diplomat, Victoria Nuland, saying "Fuck the EU" suggests, came from Washington.

Several decades ago, at the height of the cold war, George Kennan, a leading American foreign policy strategist invited to give the Reith Lectures, informed his audience: "There is, let me assure you, nothing in nature more egocentric than embattled democracy. It soon becomes the victim of its own propaganda. It then tends to attach to its own cause an absolute value which distorts its own vision … Its enemy becomes the embodiment of all evil. Its own side is the centre of all virtue."

And so it continues. Washington knows that Ukraine has always been a delicate issue for Moscow. The ultra-nationalists who fought with the Third Reich during the second world war killed 30,000 Russian soldiers and communists. They were still conducting a covert war with CIA backing as late as 1951. Pavel Sudoplatov, a Soviet intelligence chief, wrote in 1994: "The origins of the cold war are closely interwoven with western support for nationalist unrest in the Baltic areas and western Ukraine."

When Gorbachev agreed the deal on German reunification, the cornerstone of which was that united Germany could remain in Nato, US secretary of state Baker assured him that "there would be no extension of Nato's jurisdiction one inch to the east". Gorbachev repeated: "Any extension of the zone of Nato is unacceptable." Baker's response: "I agree." One reason Gorbachev has publicly supported Putin on the Crimea is that his trust in the west was so cruelly betrayed.

As long as Washington believed that Russian leaders would blindly do its bidding (which Yeltsin did blind drunk) it supported Moscow. Yeltsin's attack on the Russian parliament in 1993 was justified in the western media. The wholesale assaults on Chechnya by Yeltsin and then by Putin were treated as a little local problem with support from George Bush and Tony Blair. "Chechnya isn't Kosovo," said Blair after his meeting with Putin in 2000. Tony Wood's book, Chechnya: The Case for Independence, provides chapter and verse of what the horrors that were inflicted on that country. Chechnya had enjoyed de facto independence from 1991-94. Its people had observed the speed with which the Baltic republics had been allowed independence and wanted the same for themselves.

Instead they were bombarded. Grozny, the capital, was virtually reduced to dust as 85 percent of its housing was destroyed. In February 1995 two courageous Russian economists, Andrey Illarionov and Boris Lvin published a text in Moscow News arguing in favour of Chechen independence and the paper (unlike its Western counterparts) also published some excellent critical reports that revealed atrocities on a huge scale, eclipsing the siege of Sarajevo and the massacre in Srebrenica. Rape, torture, homeless refugees and tens of thousands dead was the fate of the Chechens. No problem here for Washington and its EU allies.

In the calculus of western interests there is no suffering, whatever its scale, which cannot be justified. Chechens, Palestinians, Iraqis, Afghans, Pakistanis are of little importance. Nonetheless, the contrast between the west's attitude to the Chechen war and Crimea is startling.

The Crimean affair led to barely any loss of life, and the population clearly wanted to be part of Russia. The White House's reaction has been the opposite of its reaction to Chechnya. Why? Because Putin, unlike Yeltsin, is refusing to play ball any more on the things that matter such as Nato expansion, sanctions on Iran, Syria etc. As a result, he has become evil incarnate. And all this because he has decided to contest US hegemony by using the methods often deployed by the west. (France's repeated incursions in Africa are but one example.)

If the US insists on using the Nato magnet to attract the Ukraine, it is likely that Moscow will detach the eastern part of the country. Those who really value Ukrainian sovereignty should opt for real independence and a positive neutrality: neither a plaything of the west nor Moscow.

The “Boeing” and the War, Sergei Kirichuk of Borotba, Ukraine July 27, 2014

source: http://liva.com.ua/ukrainewar-boeing.html

 
Without question, the Malaysian Boeing disaster became an event that may have long-lasting political consequences – and not only for Ukraine. The tragic death of innocent people stirred up public opinion in Ukraine and worldwide. In the first minutes after the accident, all concerned parties were quick to accuse their opponents of the deaths on the airplane. However, unfortunately, the circumstances of the tragedy and the information that is available, leaves more questions than answers on the cause.

The first and most important question is how civil aircraft appeared in the midst of armed conflict? For many days before, the media reported attempts by the rebel militia (successful and unsuccessful) to shoot down planes of the Ukrainian army. This information is well known. Previously, it was also reported that the airspace was closed for civil aviation. Besides this, the Malaysian Airlines plane significantly deviated from its original course – usually flying farther south. The world’s media, quoting Malaysian Airlines, also mentioned that the plane flew lower than usual over the danger zone at the request of the Ukrainian dispatchers. The answers to these questions should be given by an international investigation.

The second major issue is the publication of an alleged Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) radio intercept of certain “terrorist communications,” in which they plan on downing the plan. In the opinion of the author of this article, these communications look like a fabricated fake – but even if they were real, it would cause even more problems for the SBU. It would be as if, that the intelligence could listen to enemy communications, were aware of their plans, and ultimately, did nothing to prevent the tragedy.

However, the worst part is that the tragedy of the innocent victims, is used by the Ukrainian media as a kind of justification for any civilian casualties in the Donbas. The atmosphere of hatred swept the country and even many sensible people, began making warmongering statements. Meanwhile, the exhausted government offensive continued with more vigor – now without any regard for any loss of soldiers of the regular army or among the civilian population. It is the innocent civilians who have become the main victims of war hysteria and reckless new military offensive. The tragedy has been used to declare a new mobilization, and there is no doubt that the Ukrainian parliament, rapidly reformatted after the overthrow, will support the appropriate bill – so as to forcibly mobilize as many citizens as possible in order to fight in Donbas.

Besides this, pro-NATO advocates have received and new excuse to send Western troops into Ukraine. This is extremely important for the “war fraction” – in fact, despite the belligerent statements Cameron and Obama, it must be said that most NATO countries are not willing to get involved in the war. In the context of the events in Afghanistan, Syria and the permanent crisis in Libya, even talk of direct involvement can cause a serious political crisis in Brussels and Washington. Mass protests in Europe and the U.S. against the ground operation in the Gaza Strip revealed that Western public opinion will not accept a military solution to political conflicts. Germany, one of the most important countries in the world political order, is not ready to support military intervention in the crisis in Ukraine, and once again called for a negotiated settlement.

Also of importance is the economic factor – there is not enough money for the war, and for this the government wants to shift the burden of financing it on our shoulders. The Ukrainian government released data according to which the military operation in the east has cost more than 1.5 billion hryvnia (100 million euros) per month, which is a large burden on the Ukrainian budget,  already weak and in the midst of an economic crisis. All this is happening against the backdrop of rampant corruption sweeping the Ministry of Defense and the structures associated with the supplying the government army. A growing number of casualties among Ukrainian soldiers have already caused unrest in Ternopil and other western regions, where despite their initial support for the government, are not ready to be suppliers of “cannon fodder” for the front. There is no doubt that the new mobilization will expand the extent of these protests.

Famous Ukrainian lawyer Tatyana Montyan compared the crisis with the civil war and genocide in Rwanda. Such a comparison may seem excessive to some, but, unfortunately, it seems appropriate – given the fratricidal war is flaring up and strengthening the atmosphere of hatred on both sides of the front.

Unfortunately, the patriotic hysteria that has gripped Ukrainian society does not allow people to take a sober look at the reality of the situation in a country, where there is killing in their name and where they themselves are killed. There will be no Western armies fighting in the east of the country – there will perish Ukrainian soldiers and officers, rebels and civilians. Rejection of peace negotiations is leading the country to a military, economic and social catastrophe. To not see this – is to consciously or unconsciously push the country to ruin.

Sergei Kirichuk

Source: Liva

(Translated for marxist.com by Peter Mikhailenko)

Ukraine itself burns in wake of airliner shoot-down by: Emile Schepers July 23 2014

Source: http://peoplesworld.org/ukraine-itself-burns-in-wake-of-airliner-shoot-down/
Photo: At a camp for refugees from Ukraine's east, on the border with Ukraine near the Russian town of Donetsk in Rostov-on-Don region, July 13. A half million refugees, fearing for the safety and lives of their families, have already crossed into Russia.  Sergei Pivovarov/AP






According to reports today, two Ukrainian military aircraft have been shot down over the Eastern Ukraine. This latest incident comes only days after the shooting down July 17 of a Malaysian airliner over the area and the resulting deaths of 298 innocent persons. As today's events show, the deaths of the 298 people shot out of the sky last week will be a source of tension for some time. Incidents of this type sometimes require years before the full story comes to light.

Various people with their own agendas continue to push their versions of who is to blame. The United States has now backed away from directly accusing Russia, but points at dissident militias. Russia, for its part, has raised questions about Ukrainian air force jets that it says were in the vicinity of Malaysian Airlines flight MH 17 when it was knocked out of the sky.

Meanwhile, there is a shooting war in Eastern Ukraine between military forces under the control of Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, and local militias who reject the Poroshenko government and respond to the orders of the Donetsk and Luhansk "Peoples Republics."

At first, Ukrainian military forces sent by the Kiev government to crush any resistance to its control in the east suffered from defeats, surrenders and defections. But after Petro Poroshenko was elected president (in a highly questionable election lacking meaningful voter participation in huge swaths of the country) on May 25, the tide began to turn.

Part of the reason the Kiev government was able to reverse defeats on the battlefield was its willingness to rely on the help of extreme right-wing militia groups. One of these groups, the Right Sector, had played a major role in the violence in Kiev itself back in February. Their leader, Dmitryo Yarosh, has been seen on the battlefront in the east with the Azov Battalion. The Azov Battalion fights in cooperation with Ukrainian government forces under the patronage of Interior Minister Arsen Avakov, himself an extreme right winger who is a major figure in the drive to ban the Communist Party of Ukraine as well as the Party of the Regions.

In the past, the Communist Party of the Ukraine and the Party of the Regions are the two parties that have had the most electoral support in Eastern Ukraine.

Azov Battalion leaders are known for their racist and extremist rhetoric, and are feared by the majority Russian-speaking population in Eastern Ukraine. They are believed to have played a key role in the violent capture, by the Kiev forces, of the cities of Slavyansk and Kramatorsk over the 4th of July weekend. There were reports of many civilian casualties.

There are also indications that Right Sector forces were behind the massacre in Odessa on May 2, in which at least 41 opponents of the Kiev government were burned, suffocated and beaten to death after they were trapped in the Trade Union Hall.

Poroshenko and his officials, including Andriy Parubiy, another right wing extremist official who is coordinating the military action in the East, have refused to negotiate with the dissident forces in Luhansk and Donetsk, claiming that they are "terrorists" and "animals" under the control of Russia. They call for "revenge' for the loss of lives of soldiers. There is reported to be a massing of forces for a full attack on Donetsk and Luhansk, cities of 1 million and 425,000 people respectively. Shelling and bombing have already reached Luhansk and the suburbs of Donetsk. Air raids followed by street-by-street fighting could ensue.

A half million refugees, fearing for the safety and lives of their families, have already crossed into Russia. At least five Ukrainian military aircraft have been shot down, with fatalities.

The General Secretary of the Communist Party of Ukraine, Petro Symonenko, has called for a full and impartial investigation of the shooting down of the airliner, as have Russian President Putin, the United Nations Security Council and many others. The Ukrainian Communists' position has been for a united Ukraine with a federal system to protect the rights of minorities, but Kiev nevertheless accuses it of being pro-Russian and "separatist". On Tuesday, the Kiev Parliament, the Rada, voted to ban the Communist Party faction. (This decision has to be ratified in the courts).

On Tuesday also, a violent brawl broke out on the floor of the Rada, when Poroshenko narrowly won a vote authorizing the calling up military reserves to face a supposed Russian threat. One of the remaining deputies from the Party of the Regions denounced the killing of civilians in Eastern Ukraine, and a fistfight was started by ultra-right deputies, including the well-known Svoboda Party goon Igor Miroshnichenko.

The United States, NATO and the European Union see this struggle as a fight to bring Ukraine under their sway, and out of the orbit of Russia. In play are questions of trade, geopolitics and access to fossil fuels. The Kiev regime, the key ally of these "Western" forces, is, however, playing with fire by allying with neo-Nazis for the purpose of crushing resistance by people in Eastern Ukraine. Top officials such as Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk are opportunists, not ideologues. Eventually they will clash with the neo-fascist forces who are not "pro Europe" and are, many of them, anti-Semites. Remember General von Schleicher? [German Chancellor during the Weimar Republic, he was assassinated in 1934 by order of his successor, Adolf Hitler, in the Night of the Long Knives.]

Russian President Vladimir Putin has been denouncing the way ethnic Russians and Russian-speaking Ukrainians are treated by Kiev, but fails to mention that the government in Kiev will prove no friend of ethnic Ukrainians either, once it pursues its line of integrating this poorest of European countries with the European Union. So he too is playing a "national" card.

We in the U.S. should demand that our government, which has heavily supported the Kiev regime, back away from its hard line position, and call for negotiations, not just between Kiev and Moscow but between Kiev and Donetsk also.

And there should be no truck with neo-Nazis, or support for a government that includes them.