It is always interesting when one starts in the middle of the story, open their eyes and exclaims "why are you shooting at me". I'm innocent! Really? I really think that we need to understand ourselves i.e. the West, and get real.
As a proxy for the West, we can only look to the US of A. Since Bretton Woods, a looong time ago, the US has had the tools of imperialist. Is it imperialist? You decide.
The US can just print money and has done so for a long time now. However, the last escapade might just be its last. We will see.
It will be interesting for all of the hangers on like Canada and Europe when the US has to finally pay its own way. It has been a joke in Canada from the Liberal left, hate those Americans but get the money that slops off the table. You can then claim that job growth was from your policies. Anyway, enough said about that.
You were talking about evil Russia. Well maybe they are but, maybe that is pot calling the soapy but dirty water black. What blasphemy, really now?
Ten years ago, or so, we were all friends, where we not? Russia, USA, Europe and China, but most of all China. Wow, look at them grow. We need to do as they do so we can all have those shiny new trains and houses and roads.
Then came along another shiny object, the great awakening in the Middle East. For America, this was irresistible. Another opportunity to bring freedom into the world. It's been awhile but we need to dust off our old tool box of regime change.
This should be easy, just see who is in the majority (democracy you know) and support them for government. Good old USA, never look at history, just plunge right in. We are starting off with a new slate guys, just forgive and forget. But is seems that the people there were not very eager to have that happen. They remembered how it was the last time those guys were in charge.
You remember in Syria, everybody was the bad guy that wasn't Sunni because, the Sunnis were in the majority. Really, there were many Sunnis that didn't want to go there either, along with every other religious minority.
Civil war, ain't this fun. Send your wives and children away, (read Ukraine now) and let's have a tussle. If you can't win legally, just set up your fighters in the local hospital or kindergarten. Maybe a little false flagging too. And guess what, your own people believed everything they were being fed.
What a neat sandbox to play in, and you can have real people to play with, not your ordinary "digital" on a screen victims.
I am not being very kind to the US, am I? But they had a lot of help and encouragement from Britain, and others. too.
After a while, somebody decided to step in to try to get this problem solved. Russia, our savior??
Not appreciated by the West at all. Now our people must know that "the Soviet Union" is coming back. Beware everyone, we need to bulk up for invasion. That's what those guys do, you know. The Evil Empire reemerges in the name of PUTIN. What an evil monster.
We need a plan. Hmmmm, how about getting rid of that pro Russian guy in the Ukraine and replacing him with someone more amenable. Then a simple message in his ear, "Want NATO membership and you really don't have to deal with your Russian population, just don't sign that deal for the Donbass". You do remember the Garden of Eden and the guy that spoke in Eve's ear. That fruit is tasty. Was it Biden that spoke in ____'s ear?
Interesting scenario eh? What might Russia do? Now Europe is paying dearly for this game.
The reactions of 'non-aligned' nations to the Ukraine invasion has been too little considered and Philip's piece is very timely. All of Europe should be worried that a country like South Africa has not automatically aligned itself with the NATO position and look at itself in the mirror on why there is evidently no immediate political solidarity. Apart from the hypocrisy and post-colonialism which many nations will have pereceived in US-led wars in the middle-east, it strikes me that the lack of solidarity shown during Coronavirus is also important. Rich western countries, with UK being arguably the worst offender, over-ordering vaccines and failing to deliver on promises to vaccinate the world must be fresh in memories. The economic and human toll on South African society has been immense. Looking particular at the UK with its government's assertion of a 'Global Britain' and talk of reviving Commonwealth links is exposed as rank hypocrisy also by politically-motivated cuts to development aid, and then the sight of the most desparate asylum-seekers being subject to the most hostile path to safety, abused as welfare-chasers and even deported without due process. If I were a Nigerian or South African minister, I would find it very difficult to raise a finger to help such a mean-spirited group of rich nations.
It is always interesting when one starts in the middle of the story, open their eyes and exclaims "why are you shooting at me". I'm innocent! Really? I really think that we need to understand ourselves i.e. the West, and get real.
As a proxy for the West, we can only look to the US of A. Since Bretton Woods, a looong time ago, the US has had the tools of imperialist. Is it imperialist? You decide.
The US can just print money and has done so for a long time now. However, the last escapade might just be its last. We will see.
It will be interesting for all of the hangers on like Canada and Europe when the US has to finally pay its own way. It has been a joke in Canada from the Liberal left, hate those Americans but get the money that slops off the table. You can then claim that job growth was from your policies. Anyway, enough said about that.
You were talking about evil Russia. Well maybe they are but, maybe that is pot calling the soapy but dirty water black. What blasphemy, really now?
Ten years ago, or so, we were all friends, where we not? Russia, USA, Europe and China, but most of all China. Wow, look at them grow. We need to do as they do so we can all have those shiny new trains and houses and roads.
Then came along another shiny object, the great awakening in the Middle East. For America, this was irresistible. Another opportunity to bring freedom into the world. It's been awhile but we need to dust off our old tool box of regime change.
This should be easy, just see who is in the majority (democracy you know) and support them for government. Good old USA, never look at history, just plunge right in. We are starting off with a new slate guys, just forgive and forget. But is seems that the people there were not very eager to have that happen. They remembered how it was the last time those guys were in charge.
You remember in Syria, everybody was the bad guy that wasn't Sunni because, the Sunnis were in the majority. Really, there were many Sunnis that didn't want to go there either, along with every other religious minority.
Civil war, ain't this fun. Send your wives and children away, (read Ukraine now) and let's have a tussle. If you can't win legally, just set up your fighters in the local hospital or kindergarten. Maybe a little false flagging too. And guess what, your own people believed everything they were being fed.
What a neat sandbox to play in, and you can have real people to play with, not your ordinary "digital" on a screen victims.
I am not being very kind to the US, am I? But they had a lot of help and encouragement from Britain, and others. too.
After a while, somebody decided to step in to try to get this problem solved. Russia, our savior??
Not appreciated by the West at all. Now our people must know that "the Soviet Union" is coming back. Beware everyone, we need to bulk up for invasion. That's what those guys do, you know. The Evil Empire reemerges in the name of PUTIN. What an evil monster.
We need a plan. Hmmmm, how about getting rid of that pro Russian guy in the Ukraine and replacing him with someone more amenable. Then a simple message in his ear, "Want NATO membership and you really don't have to deal with your Russian population, just don't sign that deal for the Donbass". You do remember the Garden of Eden and the guy that spoke in Eve's ear. That fruit is tasty. Was it Biden that spoke in ____'s ear?
Interesting scenario eh? What might Russia do? Now Europe is paying dearly for this game.
The reactions of 'non-aligned' nations to the Ukraine invasion has been too little considered and Philip's piece is very timely. All of Europe should be worried that a country like South Africa has not automatically aligned itself with the NATO position and look at itself in the mirror on why there is evidently no immediate political solidarity. Apart from the hypocrisy and post-colonialism which many nations will have pereceived in US-led wars in the middle-east, it strikes me that the lack of solidarity shown during Coronavirus is also important. Rich western countries, with UK being arguably the worst offender, over-ordering vaccines and failing to deliver on promises to vaccinate the world must be fresh in memories. The economic and human toll on South African society has been immense. Looking particular at the UK with its government's assertion of a 'Global Britain' and talk of reviving Commonwealth links is exposed as rank hypocrisy also by politically-motivated cuts to development aid, and then the sight of the most desparate asylum-seekers being subject to the most hostile path to safety, abused as welfare-chasers and even deported without due process. If I were a Nigerian or South African minister, I would find it very difficult to raise a finger to help such a mean-spirited group of rich nations.
Another piece of hypocrisy would be Boris Johnson’s Great Britain breaking international law. Small, maybe.