The seven weeks war, or rather ‘special operations’ in Ukraine as Russians call it might not be going according to what the world anticipated of a lightening run and vanquished Ukraine, but so far, the US, EU and NATO, too have failed to break Russia. It’s now entering what appears to be a stalemate. And yes, millions, made to believe that Western Europe is paradise have fled.
The four major components to this conflict include the media narrative, public opinion, economic warfare and military superiority. Despite West allies’ propaganda, Russia still appears to be winning in three of these fronts. Ukraine is winning with propaganda. The array of political, military, diplomatic, economic and financial sanctions meant to strangulate Russia, its energy sector, President Putin, his close allies, and international business people derisively called oligarchs, seems not to be achieving the intended objectives, at least for now.
Russia, or more appropriately Vladimir Putin singularly blamed by the West, has given people previously unwanted in Europe, a blanket cheque to enter the EU, and yonder to UK, US and Canada. The figures of soldiers and civilians trapped, wounded, fleeing or killed are suspect because they are being given mostly by western allies, their intelligence, research, humanitarian, civil society, and media propaganda machinery.
These organisations that cheered on while the US and allies invaded, destroyed, killed millions and made Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and Libya desolate, today have the impudence without blinking eyes to accuse Russia and Putin of mass rape, war crimes, crimes against humanity and possible genocide. Knowing as the world does now how the US and allies falsified ‘intelligence’ on Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, and Libya it’s difficult to believe their claims of mass rape including allegedly of children and babies.
The colourful Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy now claims that he has received “hundreds of cases of rape” by Russian soldiers. He adds “New mass graves are found almost daily. Testimonials are being collected. Thousands and thousands of victims. Hundreds of cases of torture. Bodies continue to be found in drains and cellars. Hundreds of cases of rape have been recorded, including young girls and very young children. Even a baby.” This choreographed narrative is meant to portray the Russians as Stone Age barbarians.
Yet, in the twenty years of US military occupation of Afghanistan there isn’t a single case of successful investigation or prosecution of American soldiers or officials for what took place there. Today, Afghanistan is in the throes of humanitarian, social, economic, and state collapse of unimaginable proportion because, the US in bitterness for its humiliating defeat continues to tighten the noose of sanctions. Israel, a US ally accused of killing 1285 Palestinians in Gaza in 2008, 105 in 2012, 2147 in 2014 and 320 in 2021 and ignoring many UN Resolutions, hasn’t been held to account. Palestinians cannot get any justice. Similarly, in Iraq, where over one million civilians died because of US invasion in 2003 under the false pretext of getting rid of the so-called weapons of mass destruction which never was, and stealing Iraq’s oil without metering it, the US can still portray itself like a benign benefactor.
America’s weapons of wars around the world are presented as not lethal to civilians. Only Russian weapons kill civilians. The wars by the US and its Western allies in Nicaragua, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, and Libya, are presented as liberation and against terror, while war by others like Russia is genocide. Yet, the only country to have pulverized another with nuclear bombs, and drenched North Korea and Vietnam in chemical weapons has been the US.
While Joe Biden may call Putin a war criminal, George W Bush and Tony Blair who should be squatting in prison cells for crimes in Afghanistan and Iraq remain free because US hegemony doesn’t permit any form of investigations against them or their governments. Biden as a former long-standing chairman of the Senate Foreign relations committee, and Barrack Obama’s Vice President for eight years could be treated as an accomplice. Providing weapons is not meant to protect Ukrainians, but to weaken Russia and probably overthrow Putin. All countries must serve US interests, or they face sanctions.
There has been no American president who hasn’t waged wars and murders abroad, five of whom still alive. Jimmy Carter in El Salvador, Guatemala, Angola, Mozambique and Afghanistan. Bill Clinton in the Balkans, Iraq, Sudan and Rwanda. G.W. Bush in Iraq, and Afghanistan. Obama in Libya, Syria, Yemen, and Afghanistan, and yet no one called them criminals, let alone war criminals or terrorists. During their cumulative 24 years, Clinton, Bush and Obama invaded nine countries, murdered 11 million people and scattered many more to the wild winds.
The million-dollar issue is that US and allies aren’t being held accountable for their crimes elsewhere like they are trying to hold Russia in Ukraine today. When 25,000 babies are aborted and over 3000 murders happen yearly, mostly of the same race, Blacks in the US, the ground upon which you judge others becomes shaky.
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