US-Russia Relations: Common  Enemies & Shared Interests -II

-DR. ABDUL RUFF

Cold Ties:  USA, Russia & Europe

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Washington avoids direct wars with equal powers like Russia. Both try to “settle” their mutual “bites” on alien lands but as quickly as possible so as not to distract from the ongoing illegal genocides of Afghans, Pakistanis and Iraqis. The key objective of US policy for Moscow now is to somehow make Russia behave pro-US in collaborating with the NATO terror syndicate by the US-UK terror twins in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Today USA takes special care not to annoy Russia in any manner so that Russia does not create problems for the 60 plus NATO terror states occupying Afghanistan. One example would illustrate this point. USA skillfully handled the recent spy sandal and also made the issue irrelevant to international politics.

The Cuban Missile crisis in 1963 at the height of the Cold war almost forced the then superpowers to press the nuclear buttons putting an end to the human civilization, but they refused to do so. In the Russia-Georgia war in 2008 both the Kremlin and President B. Obama sought to prevent the arrests from affecting relations that had been improving after hitting lows with Russia's  war against Georgia.

Although every country relies on the secret  spy networks to pursue their interests across the globe, both legal and illegal, USA and Russia (perhaps UK also) has got  largest such notorious spy networks. Recent spy scandals, involving the diplomatic personnel of each other nations, rocked the global media  but could be controlled by the top leaders through a swap offer. This is not a major cause for them to fire missiles straight away to each other as they would never go far wars directly. The swap helped resolve a scandal that threatened to strain US-Russian relations and revealed shocking details about 10 people living double lives as ordinary citizens while trying to infiltrate US policy making circles.

The decision to swap spies without any aggressive posture on either side has clearly demonstrated the US-Russia weakness against each other, rather than fear and the episode was utilized by both as global gimmicks only to sell their weapons to third world. US Obama was fully informed about the swap and endorsed it. Apparently, the US investigation was done, as it has always been the case in US policy, to gain a "bargaining chip" with Russia. But U.S. Attorney claims these arrests and prosecution send a message to every other intelligence agency that “if you come to America and spy on Americans in America, you will be exposed and arrested." Hopefully the the real culprit sf Sept-11 could be exposed too.

Swaps are not unusual or unprecedented but were more a fixture of the Cold War, when the USA and the former USSR were sworn enemies competing for world domination. The 10 suspects were sentenced to time already served -- 11 days since their arrests on June 27 -- and had separate charges of money-laundering dropped. The 10 suspects were sentenced to time already served -- 11 days since their arrests on June 27 -- and had separate charges of money-laundering dropped. One of them, Anna Chapman, became a staple of the New York tabloid press, which splashed pictures of her across their pages and labeled her a party-hopping "sexy redhead" and a "Manhattan beauty." Also known as Anya Kushchenko, the 28-year-old was arrested in Manhattan, where she ran a $2 million real estate business. Three of the prisoners Russia agreed to release were convicted of treason and serving long prison terms.

So, the networks of spies do and will exist with state shield. Only people must be beware of them.

The Kremlin is opposed to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization or the horrible NATO which is basically a terrorist alliance led from the front by by the uniolar USA working against world peace and now promoting anti-Islamism even in Muslim world. When NATO was established in the post-World War II period there were mainly three goals. These can be summarized as “Soviets out, Germans down and the U.S. in.” So, the Russians know NATO is the most dangerous terror alliance they should fear. The US-UK terror twins unconvincingly argued that extra militarist institution like NATO was necessary to balance a power like Soviet Union trying to export communism worldwide.  Under the Cold War dynamics, NATO fulfilled all these given targets and served as a transformative mechanism in Eastern Europe during the 1990s against Russian influence and interests. NATO would serve US aims to create strong bonds with NATO member countries by creating fake threat perceptions.

NATO is becoming more powerful terror organization. One gets the impression that these days, Russia is getting closer to USA to reduce tensions wit that unipolar superpower. The leaders of both countries keep meeting at regional meets and other places in the name of “European shield” and sorting out the issue of dramatic, false disarmament. As an emerging strategic partner of NATO, Russian  and its leader D. Medvedev also attended NATO's annual summit at Lisbon in November in a bid to revive ties with the global terror organization known as NATO. NATO head Rasmussen visited Moscow before the NATO summit on November 19-20 in Lisbon to approve the strategic concept. Russia has originally opposed the idea of European missile defence, fearing the shield would make Russia dependent on the USA.

Many Muslim nations like Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Persia (Iran) had been wooed by USA and UK to join the NATO by using the “communist threat” to Islam as  the most effective tool terrorize these vulnerable Muslim nations. However, while supporting them against Soviet any possible aggression, the US-USA and Europe also hatched a conspiracy to exclude all of them from the UNSC (now a terror club) created to control the world, its resources, global politics and even sport and climate. (Today NATO terror wars have spoiled the climatic conditions and the UNSC controls the rains too)  In promoting their joint agendas, the UNSC has made the world unsafe.

Upon ending the so-called Cold war by removing the Berlin Wall that had separated capitalist nations and socialist ones and unilaterally dismantling of Moscow-led Warsaw Treaty military block making the NATO the only military block to control the world, Russia keeps insisting on the dismantling of the NATO too by citing irrelevance of this now since there is  no serious threat to USA, but USA always claimed there could more threats in future and hence NATO would stay forever. When Russia pressed more, Osama and his followers were created by the CIA (and possibly the Interpol) to terrorize the world by using them. This CIA drama, coordinated by its global allies, culminated in the Sept-11 tragedy, unleashed only to prove that NATO’s existence is vital for the survival of America, imperialism, US, colonialism, capitalism and their terror allies.

The Turkish policy has been undergoing sea-changes these days, tilting towards Islam. NATO sought to place some parts of the shield in Turkey to target and terrorize Islamic Iran. Turkey worries the $280m missile upgrade by NATO will be seen to be targeted at next-door Iran – which is indeed its main purpose, in American eyes at least. Before the crucial NATO summit in Lisbon in November, the US was increasing pressure on Ankara to accept the shield proposal, but Turkey was reluctant because USA wanted to target Iran with which Turkey has been building up better relations. In order to  to precipitate the issue further,  the US military secretary Robert Gates said that Washington would not ask NATO member Turkey to provide new bases for missile systems. The specter of a multipolar Europe suggests enhanced co-operation between the EU, Turkey and Russia is considered both unavoidable and desirable.

As part of the Obama administration's new missile shield project, one which will be integrated with NATO to take in all of Europe and extend into the Middle East and the Caucasus, the Patriots will be followed by Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) interceptor deployments on warships in the Baltic Sea and, for the first time ever, a land-based version of the same. An SM-3 was used by the Pentagon to shoot a satellite out of orbit in February of 2008 to give an indication of its range. More advanced, mobile systems would be put in place later elsewhere in Europe. The first step is to put existing sea-based weapons systems on Aegis-class destroyers and cruisers.

USA and UK are bent upon placing as many nukes as possible in Europe thereby making US position stronger in the continental operations. The simmering row over Germany’s call to remove nuclear weapons from European soil was overcome with a compromise that NATO would strive for a world free of nuclear weapons, but until then it had to remain a nuclear-armed alliance. The prolonged dispute over whether to concentrate on territorial defence of NATO countries, or on expeditionary missions in Afghanistan cannot be resolved unless USA frees the occupied nations on fictitious pretexts. Transition has been much talked about for years now, and the Afghan capital, Kabul, is already under nominal security control of the Afghan government.

Russia pressed for the dismantling of the notorious NATO structure after the close of the Soviet made Warsaw Pact military organization. The joint terror operations in Central Asia, Afghanistan and Iraq have helped USA and Russia improve their terror ties considerably.

Although the US-Europe ties are now stronger after the end of Cold war, Russia still continues with its efforts to bring European nations closer to Moscow by taking them away from US clutches and keep the unipolar USA out. France and Germany now appear to be seriously flirting with this idea amid talk of a joint economic and security co-operation zone with Russia and shared EU-Russia forums. Though both France and Germany seek improved ties with Russia, they put the transatlantic alliance first.

European states fear, maybe without  any basis, without US guidance  they cold be crushed by the Moscow nukes and other arms systems. American shave spread such false perceptions almost free to Atlantic horizon. The Russians generally have some bad publicity in some anglosaxon countries just because they have decided to put their interests before the ones of the US, who have fought a war in their doorsteps causing significant troubles to them. This doesn't make them a bad partner to do business with or to plan cooperation in security.

Even as USA makes efforts to keep Russian influence out of Europe as far as possible, there seems to a consensus among a few European states to forge closer ties with energy rich Russia. A European security identity should be fostered by encouraging the involvement of Russia in projects like missile defence. An informal 'trialogue' involving the EU, Turkey and Russia should be established. Turkey was an emerging regional power. To keep Ankara on side, its EU membership application should be fast-forwarded. Britain's Conservative-led government is unlikely to support an enhanced role for the EU over NATO. But others may do so. In this way, Europe may eventually replace the American-led security agenda with one of its own, more closely tailored to its 21st-century needs.

Russian efforts for years now to move closer to Europe is resented by Washington which is keen to maintain its “traditional” strongholds over the continent on fake threat perceptions. Behind all pleasantries and niceties of diplomacy, the US led West still considers the Moscow Kremlin the most threatening power on earth, blocking the onward economic and political march of unilateral USA and obstructing to US advancement of immoral interests by the most illegal means like state terrorism.

The American-directed post-cold war order is unraveling while the EU is entitled to seek new strategic partners. EU feels the current European security structures were dysfunctional, European capitals were pulling in different directions, and "the US is no longer a European power and is no longer focused on Europe's internal security. It had failed to prevent wars in Georgia and Kosovo, remove the disruption of Europe's energy supplies, and ongoing instability on the EU's eastern borders with the Black Sea and Caucasus regions. America deliberately gets distracted by an emerging Iran, the Middle East and the rise of China.

Persisting irritations over the NATO, both need each other in advancing their interests. Obama’s “change” policy has got some feeble facelift only in US-Russia ties. Obama, who hosted Russian President D. Medvedev at the White House last year, now needs Moscow's help for efforts to rein in Iran's nuclear program and keep supply lines open for the war in Afghanistan. Russia wants US support to gain entry to the World Trade Organization. The outright denial of entry of Russia into WTO has always angered and some sections of opinion makers around the world believe in Moscow’s lead role in Sept-11 attack WTC (World Trade Center), displaying Moscow’s anger.

Washington feels its interests are at stake if Europe is not with it. The major task at the NATO conclave in Lisbon, therefore, was to ensure European support for US terror operations and to take stock of the terror operations in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq and  add more troops  and money for the eventual successful withdrawal. NATO plans to phase out combat operations in Afghanistan by the end of 2014, and continue training and humanitarian missions beyond that time. So, US-Russia terror collaboration gets its way in Afghanistan.