http://news.yahoo.com/us-military-dusts-...ories.html
he US and four major European powers—Germany, Britain, France and Italy—yesterday agreed to greatly increase co-ordinated economic sanctions against Russia in a bid to force it to bow to their demands to end any support for pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine. Details of the sanctions are yet to be finalised, but they will apply to arms sales to Russia, and to the Russian energy and finance sectors.
In statements reeking of hypocrisy, Washington and its allies seized on the downing of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 and allegations that Moscow was supplying heavy weapons to Ukrainian rebels to justify economic penalties. The US has provided no evidence to support its deluge of propaganda blaming Russia and Russian-backed separatists for the MH17 crash.
The sanctions were announced after US President Obama held a video-conference yesterday with his European counterparts. His deputy security adviser Anthony Blinken told the media: “They agreed on the importance of coordinated sanctions measures on Russia for its continued transfer of arms, equipment and fighters in eastern Ukraine, including since the crash, and to press Russia to end its efforts to destabilise the country.”
In a transparent attempt to ratchet up pressure on Moscow before the video-conference, the US State Department released a four-page memo on Sunday claiming to prove that military forces inside Russia fired on Ukrainian troops in eastern Ukraine. Russian officials dismissed the evidence and branded the low-resolution satellite images in the memo as fake. Moscow also denied arming pro-Russian fighters in Ukraine.
The sanctions are aimed at buttressing the far right Ukrainian regime, installed with US and German backing in a fascist-led coup in February. The crisis-ridden government in Kiev, whose parliamentary coalition collapsed last week, is waging major military offensives in eastern Ukraine that have already resulted in scores of civilian deaths and a stream of refugees fleeing the area. In flagrant breach of the UN Security Council resolution on MH17, the Ukrainian military is conducting operations to seize the crash site and surrounding areas.
The European powers’ decision to support tougher sanctions reflects both pressure from Washington and a determination to exploit the MH17 crash to the hilt.
Previous penalties applied to targeted individuals and companies, rather than to broad sectors of the Russian economy that will also impact European business interests.
The shift is marked in Germany, which has strong trade ties with Russia and depends heavily on Russian energy supplies. Christiane Wirtz, spokeswoman for German Chancellor Angela Merkel, told journalists yesterday that the MH17 crash created “a completely new situation that makes further measures necessary … Only a substantial package would enable a clear, strong signal to Russia.”
The comments reflect similar sentiments in the German media and from business figures. Writing in the Handelsblatt on Monday, Ulrich Grillo, president of the Federation of German Industries, stated: “As painful as further economic sanctions will be for European business development, German exports and individual companies, they can’t—and may not—be excluded as a way to pressure the Russian government.”
Martin Wansleben, head of the Association of German Chamber of Commerce and Industry, declared in an interview: “This shooting down of a plane is really a turning point. It’s such an outrageous act that one must give a clear response.”
Both the German government and business chiefs regard the MH17 crash as an opportunity, not to be missed, to aggressively assert the economic and strategic interests of German imperialism in Ukraine and other areas of the former Soviet Union. The barrage of anti-Russian propaganda is aimed at overcoming broad popular opposition to actions that threaten military conflict.
French President Francois Hollande and British Prime Minister David Cameron also released statements yesterday indicating their strong support for tough sanctions. Calling for “a strong package of sectoral sanctions as swiftly as possible,” Cameron denounced Russia for continuing “to transfer weapons across the border and to provide practical support to the separatists.”
The European powers stopped short of blanket embargos on arms sales and entire sectors of the Russian economy. France will be permitted to deliver the first of two warships being built by a French shipyard for Russia. In a concession to Britain, European restrictions on Russia’s finance sector will only cover banks that are more than 50 percent Russian-owned. Sanctions on the energy sector will not apply to Russia’s natural gas industry, on which Germany is greatly reliant.
Russia responded cautiously to the announced sanctions. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov declared: “We do not want to act tit-for-tat.” While acknowledging that the measures would have an economic impact, he added: “We will overcome any difficulties that may arise … and maybe we will become more independent and more confident in our own strength.”
The European Union is due to meet today to discuss the sanctions package.
War Is Coming
The extraordinary propaganda being conducted against Russia by the US and UK governments and Ministries of Propaganda, a.k.a., the “Western media,” have the purpose of driving the world to war that no one can win. European governments need to rouse themselves from insouciance, because Europe will be the first to be vaporized due to the US missile bases that Europe hosts to guarantee its “security.”
As reported by Tyler Durden of Zero Hedge, the Russian response to the extra-legal ruling of a corrupt court in the Netherlands, which had no jurisdiction over the case on which it ruled, awarding $50 billion dollars from the Russian government to shareholders of Yukos, a corrupt entity that was looting Russia and evading taxes, is telling. Asked what Russia would do about the ruling, an advisor to President Putin replied, “There is a war coming in Europe.” Do you really think this ruling matters?”
The West has ganged up on Russia, because the West is totally corrupt. The wealth of the elites is based not only on looting weaker countries whose leaders can be purchased (read John Perkins’ Confessions of an Economic Hit Man for instruction on how the looting works), but also on looting their own citizens. The American elites excel at looting their fellow citizens and have wiped out most of the US middle class in the new 21st century.
In contrast, Russia has emerged from tyranny and from a government based on lies, while the US and UK submerge into tyranny shielded by lies. Western elites desire to loot Russia, a juicy prize, and there stands Putin in the way. The solution is to get rid of him like they got rid of President Yanukovich in Ukraine.
The looting elites and the neoconservative hegemonists have the same goal: make Russia a vassal state. This goal unites the Western financial imperialists with the political imperialists.
I have recorded for readers the propaganda that is used in order to demonize Putin and Russia. But even I was stunned by the astounding and vicious lies in the UK publication The Economist on July 26. The cover is Putin’s face in a spider web, and, you guessed it, the cover story is “A Web of Lies.”
You need to read this propaganda both in order to see the gutter level of propaganda in the West and the obvious drive to war with Russia. There is no evidence whatsoever in the story to support The Economist’s wild accusations and demand for the end of Western appeasement of Russia and the harshest possible action against Putin.
The kind of reckless lies and transparent propaganda that comprises The Economist’s story has no other purpose than to drive the world to war.
The Western elites and governments are not merely totally corrupt, they are insane. As I have previously written, don’t expect to live much longer. In this video one of Putin’s advisors and Russian journalists speak openly of US plans for a first strike on Russia:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NePChnsuMNs
