Ukrainian servicemen are pictured at the military camp near the town of Svyatogorsk in Eastern Ukraine, June 20, 2014.
CREDIT: REUTERS/STRINGER
Stephen Lendman
[M]any previous articles explained the geopolitical importance of crisis conditions in Ukraine. The book “Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks World War III” discusses its gravity and much more in detail.
Ukraine remains in the eye of the storm. Neocons infest Washington. They influence administration policy. They want total unchallenged world dominance. Russia and China mainly stand in the way. United they pose formidable opposition to Washington’s imperial aims. At risk is a potential East/West confrontation.
July 28 marked WW I’s 100th anniversary. WW II followed the war to end all wars. US-led NATO bears full responsibility for perpetual wars through today’s ongoing conflicts. It’s a global killing machine.
Wars on humanity persist without end. World peace hangs by a thread. America’s rage for dominance risks WW III. Ukraine could become the flashpoint that ignites it. The risk is huge. Daily events should scare everyone.
Western propaganda wrongfully blames Russia for US crimes. Putin is maliciously vilified. Sanctions wars persist. An August 7 New York Times editorial urges Western unity against a fabricated in Washington Russian enemy.
It outrageously accuses Putin of “brazen(ly) challeng(ing) the post-Soviet order.” It falsely calls Southeastern Ukrainian freedom fighters “secessionists.”
It suggests possible Russian “direct intervention in support of the rebels” battling Ukrainian forces. It ignores their freedom-fighting struggle. Their rejection of illegitimate fascist governance. Their passion for real democracy.
Their willingness to risk all for it.
Numerous Western editorials and op-eds falsely accused Russia of downing MH17. Michel Chossudovsky cited expert Peter Haisenko’s analysis. A missile was not responsible for the plane’s destruction. No evidence whatever suggests it.
Shrapnel marks suggest a ” ’30 millimeter caliber projectile’ fired from a military aircraft.” Eyewitnesses reported a Ukrainian one flying close to MH17 when it was downed.
The New York Times and other Western media falsely blamed Russia and Southeastern Ukrainian freedom fighters for MH17’s destruction. The Kiev government in collusion with Washington bears full responsibility.
The obvious went unreported. Cui bono? Clearly, Russia and Ukrainian freedom fighters had nothing to gain and plenty to lose. In contrast, Kiev and Washington benefit greatly by blaming Moscow and Ukrainian freedom fighters for their crime.
The incident was a classic false flag. Planned in Washington. Executed by the illegitimate fascist Ukrainian government. Falsely blamed on Russia and Ukrainian freedom fighters.
On August 7, Malaysia’s New Straits Times accused Washington and Kiev of downing MH17. Western media ignored the report. It refutes the official propaganda narrative. It bursts the illusion of Russian/Ukrainian freedom fighters’ involvement.
At the same time, Moscow has verifiable satellite and radar data. They show a Ukrainian Sukhoi-25 warplane tailing MH17 before its destruction.
The New Straits Times cited “experts who had said that the photographs of the blast fragmentation patterns on the fuselage of the airliner showed two distinct shapes – the shredding pattern associated with a warhead packed with ‘flechettes,’’and the more uniform, round-type penetration holes consistent with that of cannon rounds.”
It bears repeating. Clear evidence is consistent with machine gun fire. No missile of any kind was involved. US and Western media claims otherwise are bald-faced lies.
A deplorable July 17 Washington Post editorial headlined “The world must know whose weapon destroyed a passenger plane.”
It falsely claimed nonexistent evidence of “a missile fired by Russian-made surface-to-air battery supplied to Moscow’s Ukrainian proxies.”
It called on Washington and its allied to “insist that those responsible be held accountable – including those in the Kremlin.”
It accused “Ukrainian rebels (of) cover(ing) up what occurred.” It ridiculed Putin’s correct analysis. It claimed he “disingenuously” blamed Kiev.
Wall Street Journal editors quoted billionaire anointed Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko. He accused “Russian staff officers (of) taking part in military operations against Ukrainian forces.”
No corroborating evidence was cited. Journal editors disgracefully accused Putin of “attempting to disguise his use of force to achieve his strategic goals…”
Facts are conveniently turned on their head. Truth is systematically suppressed. Pressure builds. It bears repeating. A potential East/West confrontation looms. Western media propaganda aids and abets the possibility.
So does John Kerry. He shames the office he holds. He’s an unindicted war criminal. He’s a serial liar. He claimed nonexistent “extraordinary circumstantial” evidence claiming freedom fighting Ukrainians downed MH17 with Moscow provided missiles.
The New Straits Times report discredits his fabricated account. So does other credible evidence. Don’t expect media scoundrels to explain. The official narrative repeats ad nauseam. It constitutes lies, damn lies, and malicious anti-Russian propaganda. Truth is consistently drowned out. Pro-Western propaganda substitutes.
In mid-July, Moscow’s UN envoy Vitaly Churkin submitted “elements” for a Security Council resolution on Ukraine. Another won’t follow, he stressed. “Instead, we offer the key elements that we believe are necessary to include in the text of the resolution,” he said.
They include halting all violence by both sides immediately. Giving journalists free access to cover events. Going all-out for equitable conflict resolution. He called Poroshenko’s peace plan “smoke screen” mumbo jumbo to militarize Ukraine’s East.
At the time, Poroshenko said “(f)or every taken life of our servicemen, they will pay with tens and hundreds of theirs.”
“Not a single terrorist will escape responsibility. Everyone will get what they deserve.”
Meanwhile, fierce fighting continues. US-led NATO is funding and arming Kiev forces. Doing so, it claims, is to “protect (Ukraine’s) eastern border against (nonexistent) Russian aggression.”
The battle of words accompanies hot conflict. Deaths and destruction continue. On August 7, US-led NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen expressed support for Ukraine’s putschist fascist government, saying:
“NATO’s support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine is unwavering. Our partnership is long-standing.”
“It’s strong, and in response to Russia’s (nonexistent) aggression, NATO is working even more closely with Ukraine to reform its armed forces and defence institutions.”
Rasmussen shamelessly accused Russia of massing troops on Ukraine’s border, shielding “separatists,” and using pretexts for further intervention.
He turned reality on its head. He pointed fingers the wrong way. He made similar comments many times before. He lied blaming Russia for US-led NATO/Ukrainian crimes.
He called on Russia “to step back from the brink. Step back from the border. Do not use peacekeeping as an excuse for war-making.”
He “urge(d) Russia to follow the genuine path to peace. To stop its support for separatists. To pull pack its troops from Ukraine’s border. And to engage in a sincere dialogue for a peaceful solution.”
Russia’s Defense Ministry blasted NATO’s claims. It called them unsubstantiated. They support a litany of Big Fat Lies. Shameless Russia bashing continues unabated. Putin genuinely wants peaceful conflict resolution. Washington wants war without mercy.
It continues unabated. Western media sanitize deaths, destruction and appalling Kiev atrocities. They report nothing about ordinary Ukrainian soldiers. They’re underpaid, poorly fed and clothed, as well as deplorably treated.
Many young men seek refuge in Russia to avoid serving in a conflict they want no part of. Others are forced to fight against their will. In contrast, Ukraine’s National Guard is controlled by neo-Nazi extremists. Western media ignore their involvement and appalling atrocities.
Myth-making substitutes for reality. Lawless fascist elements are considered democrats. Courageous freedom fighters are called terrorists. Truth telling is verboten. Most Americans are mindless of the real Ukraine story. They’re indifferent about a distant war. It’s in a country they know nothing about. On the one hand, they’re fed up with US wars. They want them ended. They crave elusive peace. On the other, they’re unaware of US military and political involvement in Ukraine.
Euromaidan conflict erupted last November. Obama’s dirty hands bore full responsibility. Last February, Washington orchestrated democratically elected Viktor Yanokovych’s ouster. It replaced him with putschist fascist governance.
Euromaidan protesters didn’t go quietly into the good night. They remained. Their protests continue. They clashed with police. They fortified old barricades. They erected new ones. They threw stones and Molotov cocktails at police. They burned tires. They remain in control of government buildings and hotels seized earlier.
Ukrainian prosecutor general, Vitaly Yarema, said refusal to clear Maidan and leave occupied buildings constitutes criminal responsibility. So far, protesters remain committed. It’s unclear what may follow. Kiev’s Independence Square again is on fire.
Despite Ukraine’s new government, protesters say they’ll remain in Maidan to ensure promised change benefitting them and all Ukrainians. Expect them to be bitterly disappointed. What follows remains to be seen.
At the same time, Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko said protesters agreed to vacate the city’s administration building as well as an area from the Central Department Store (TsUM) to Proreznaya Street.
Turmoil still rocks the city. Robberies and attacks on journalists increased. Garbage piled up. Sanitation is poor. Kiev police initiated three criminal cases. Police chief Aleksandr Tereshchuk said “investigation(s) were underway under three articles of Ukraine’s criminal code into car theft, illegal handling of firearms, ammunition and explosives, and hooliganism.”
At the same time, Russia bashing and false accusations persist. Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov categorically denied Russian military forces attempting to infiltrate Ukrainian territory.
“We struggle to understand what the Ukrainian side means. There have been no attempts of infiltration by the Russian army,” said Peskov. Claims otherwise are false. They’re Big Fat Bald-Faced Lies. They repeat. They persist. They risk potential global war.
Ukraine is the gravest geopolitical crisis since WW II. Washington stops at nothing to advance its imperium. Millions of corpses attest to its barbarity. Replacing independent governments with subservient pro-Western ones is longstanding US policy. Wars are waged to achieve it.
Previous articles explained that Obama’s Ukrainian allies are fascist thugs. They have no legitimacy whatever. They represent mob rule. They’re murdering their own people in cold blood. They’re committing appalling atrocities.
Western media turn a blind eye. They support what demands condemnation. Major conflicts begin this way. Potential nuclear war is possible. Preventing the unthinkable matters most. Obama pledged full support for Kiev. Even at the risk of open confrontation with Russia.
Belligerence is longstanding US policy. “Washington threatens the world,” says Paul Craig Roberts. Its reckless irresponsibility is the greatest threat to world peace and stability. The battle for Ukraine’s soul persists. The struggle for humanity’s survival matters most.
A Final Comment
An astonishing number of supportive well-wishing emails continue welcoming me back. Words can’t properly express my gratitude. Good friends are precious. I’m blessed with many. My sincerest thanks to everyone wishing me well.
It’s wonderful being home. It’s glorious doing what I love best. It’s special knowing many friends, colleagues and readers care. So do I. About spreading important truths on vital issues at the most perilous time in world history.
Survival depends on enough good people committed to doing the right thing. Settling for nothing less that peace, equity and justice for everyone. This writer for sure is committed. Hopefully, good health will permit many more active years speaking truth to power – no punches pulled.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. His new book as editor and contributor is titled “Flashpoint in Ukraine: US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III.”
http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html
Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com.
Listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network. It airs three times weekly: live on Sundays at 1PM Central time plus two prerecorded archived programs.
http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour
