Ukraine: Potential Flashpoint for Global War

By Stephen Lendman
2-28-14

Obama heads the most recklessly dangerous regime in world history. It's ruthless. It's lawless. It's out-of-control. It's reincarnated Nazism writ large.

War on humanity is the new normal. Crazed hegemonic ambitions drive policy. A potential devastating East/West confrontation looms. Will Ukraine be the flashpoint igniting it?

US-supported neo-Nazis usurped power. Anyone opposing them risks arrest, physical harm or death.

Democracy is a dead letter. Fascists rule solely by diktats. Elections when held will be farcical.

Ukrainians haven't yet awakened to nightmarish conditions they face. How they'll react remains to be seen. Civil war may erupt.

Most eastern and southern Ukrainians favor close ties to Russia. They reject neo-Nazi coup d'etat Kiev governance. It has no legitimacy.

Conditions remain incendiary. Obama bears full responsibility for what's ongoing. Corrupt EU partners share it.

Neocons run US policy. Unchallenged global dominance ambitions drive them. One war after another is waged.

Peace is a convenient illusion. Media scoundrels cheerlead what demands condemnation. Ordinary people able to resist do nothing.

The Cold War never ended. An inevitable showdown seems possible. Washington wants Russia eliminated as a rival. It wants it neutralized. It wants it balkanized into powerless mini-states.

Imagine the unimaginable. Imagine possible global war. Waging it risks the unthinkable. Crazed US policymakers ignore the risk of armageddon.

Events in Ukraine remain fluid. They're fast-moving. Overnight, dozens of armed men in military uniforms raided Crimea's Simferopol International Airport.

They left but still patrol outside. According to an airport spokesman, they searched for Ukrainian airborne troops. They pulled back after finding none.

They set up a perimeter around Simferopol's Belbek civilian/military airport. One man told BBC: "I'm with the People's Militia of Crimea. We're simple people, volunteers."

"We're here at the airport to maintain order. We'll meet the planes with a nice smile. The airport is working as normal."

New Interior Minister Arsen Avakov is one of many fascist thugs in charge. In 2012, he was placed on an Interpol wanted list. He was charged with illegally transferring land.

He was detained in Italy. He was placed under house arrest. He managed to avoid imprisonment.

He holds a powerful position in Ukraine's coup d'etat government. He enjoy's Washington's support.

He wrongfully accused Moscow of blockading Sevastopol's airport. He called it an "armed provocation," adding:

"I consider what happened to be a military invasion and occupation in violation of all international agreements and norms."

Russia denied involvement. A statement issued said: "No units of the Black Sea fleet were deployed in the area of Belbek nor did they take place in blockading it."

From Brussels, US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel warned Russia against involvement in Ukrainian affairs.

"We expect other nations to respect Ukraine's sovereignty and avoid provocative action," he said.

"That's why I'm closely watching Russia's military exercises along the Ukrainian border..."

NATO secretary general Fogh Rasmussen Twittered his own warning, saying:

"I urge Russia not to take any action that can escalate tension or create misunderstanding. I'm concerned about developments in Crimea."

At a news conference, he called them "dangerous and irresponsible."

NATO ministers in Brussels issued similar warnings. A statement said they'll "continue to support Ukrainian sovereignty and independence, territorial integrity, democratic development and the principle of inviolability of frontiers, as key factors of stability and security in Central and Eastern Europe and on the continent as a whole."

US-led NATO is a killing machine. It threatens world peace. It's responsible for turning peaceful countries into dystopian wastelands.

It wants them plundered for profit. It wants their people ruthlessly exploited. Moscow urged NATO to stop issuing provocative statements.

Russia's Foreign Ministry said "(w)hen NATO starts giving a consideration of the situation in Ukraine, it sends out the wrong signal."

In 1992, six former Soviet republics formed the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). They include Russia, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

They belong to the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). Its Secretary General Nikolai Bordyuzha expressed alarm over events in Ukraine, saying:

"(D)estabilization and social chaos" remains ongoing. Militants said they'll take over every region of the country.

Physical reprisal threats are made. Memorials are vandalized. "There is a growth in extreme manifestations of (ultra)nationalism, Russophobia and anti-Semitism," said Bordyuzha.

"All this is happening against the backdrop of a forcible regime change and violations of the Ukrainian settlement deal concluded by the president and the opposition on February 21."

"The foreign ministers of France, Germany and Poland who certified the deal and supported the US have actually disavowed and breached the deal and denied recognition of the legitimacy of the lawfully elected Ukrainian president to whom they gave their firm assurances."

"We urge every side to stop the confrontation and anti-constitutional actions, to take the path of dialogue and start working on the restoration of stability and the provision of security."

"The lack of a constructive attitude and account of interests of third states in the Ukrainian settlement process will lead to further deteriorat(ing) (conditions) and will be fraught with a sharp aggravation of the situation in Europe."

On Friday, Ukraine's parliament called for a Security Council session. It wants it to discuss internal crisis conditions.

Under a 1993 agreement, major powers agreed to guarantee Ukraine's territorial integrity. It stipulates nothing about recognizing coup d'etat authority.

Moscow accused Washington and EU partners of blatant hypocrisy. Earlier in Munich, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused Western politicians of inciting Ukraine violence.

They support the worst of what's ongoing, he said. They back hooliganism over responsible law and order.

"Why (did) no one condemn (the seizure of) administrative buildings, attack(s) (on) policemen (and) racist and anti-Semitic  (chants and) slogans," asked Lavrov?

"Why (did) prominent European (and US) politicians actually encourag(e) the moves in question, although in their own countries they immediately clamp down on any encroachments on the letter of the law?"

"How would the European Union (and America) react if the Russian government openly supported street riots in (Washington), London, Paris or Hamburg, and sent its ministers to these cities to encourage the protesters?"

"What (do violent riots) have to do with promoting democratic principles?"

Coup d'etat governance prevents it entirely.

On February 27, Stop NATO headlined "Russian Combat Planes Redeploy to Emergency Airfields in West."

"Advanced groups of aviation specialists" are involved. Special ground-based equipment was delivered. What's ongoing relates to events in Ukraine.

Its coup d'etat government said Russian military forces outside stipulated areas would be considered acts of aggression.

Ukrainian interim president/Rada speaker Oleksandr Turchynov said "Ukrainian enemies should not try to destabilize the situation, should not encroach on our independence, sovereignty and territory."

"Any attempts to seize (Crimean) administrative buildings will be viewed as a crime against the Ukrainian state," he added.

At the same time, Crimea's parliament rejected the autonomous republic's government. Its Supreme Council passed an overwhelmingly supported no confidence motion.

It called work done by the Council of Ministers in Crimea in 2013 unsatisfactory. It terminated its powers. It dismissed its chairman.

Crimea's parliament rejects Kiev authority. A May 25 referendum will determine the autonomous republic's future. Ironically on the same day as Kiev's planned rigged election.

Odds favor Crimean independence declared. Doing so is entirely legal. According to the General Assembly Declaration of Principles of International Law in accordance with UN Charter provisions:

If government officials don't "conduct themselves in compliance with the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples and possess a government representing the whole people, belonging to the territory without distinction as to race, creed or color," it's grounds for secession.

Crimea may join Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

Doing so means confrontation. Will Russia defend its new member? Diplomatically for sure. Militarily if necessary.

CSTO provisions consider aggression against one member affecting them all. Signatories agreed to defend their collective security.

Ukrainian thugs are no match against well-trained troops. Key is what US-led NATO will do. Therein lies a key potential flashpoint.

Anything could follow an East/West confrontation. By no means can it be ruled out.

Wars follow incidents. Things can easily spiral out-of-control. America's entire history is belligerent. One war follows others.

Peace doesn't have a chance. Will Ukrainian events trigger war with Russia? Will the world's two most powerful nuclear states collide?

Does diplomacy have a chance to defuse things? Will cooler heads prevail? What happens going forward demands close watching.

Crimean militias were formed. They include thousands of volunteers. They control key roads. They looking for potential western Ukrainian and other hostile "visitors."

Senior Russian parliamentarians visited Crimea. They did so to express support. They met with local authorities.

Kharkov's Governor Mikhail Dobkin visited Moscow. On return, he resigned. He did so to run for Ukraine's presidency.

He's doing it more to challenge neo-Nazis than win. Whether he could legitimately succeed isn't clear. At most he can cry foul after losing.

What's planned is rigged to defeat regime challengers. The electoral outcome is a foregone conclusion.

A potential East/West military confrontation is very much up for grabs. Imagine if a country most Americans never heard of sparks it. Imagine what hopefully won't happen.

Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

His new book is titled "Banker Occupation: Waging Financial War on Humanity."

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanII.html

Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com.

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