Articles
Thursday, June 2, 2022
The United States has shaped the world in which the conflict in Ukraine escalated and it calls the shots on the direction of the war and sanctions. The military encirclement of Russia progressed steadily since the end of the Soviet Union in defiance of commitments given to Soviet leaders that NATO would not expand eastwards. That build up over time and, more immediately, the increased shelling of Donetsk and Luhansk by Ukraine set the scene for the Russian reaction when it went into Ukraine. On the surface the United States is getting its way, forcing the EU, particularly Germany, into line but many tensions remain. What is perhaps most surprising in the current situation, however, is not that countries have capitulated to the US, but that so many have refused to join in with sanctions. This includes big swathes of the global south and important economies like India and Turkey.
Wednesday, June 1, 2022
The sanctions regime against Russia being imposed at the behest of the United States demonstrates its role in determining the direction of the war in Ukraine. It has expressed no interest in negotiations and wants to prolong the war to debilitate Russia as far as possible. The major loser, however, is unlikely to be Russia, which has alternative financial systems and markets to get round the effects of sanctions and is self-sufficient in food and energy. It will, rather, be US allies particularly in Europe who are dependent on Russian gas and oil supplies as well as essential metals used in high tech products and nuclear technology. The effects on the developing world will be even worse with a looming food crisis. The United States itself is relatively isolated from the impact of the sanctions it is imposing on the rest of the world. As it stokes war with Russia and threatens the same with China, it is also undermining European economies and further impoverishing the developing countries.
Tuesday, May 31, 2022
There is extraordinary bias in the reporting of the war in Ukraine. Nothing which deviates in the slightest from the UK/US official positions is being reported and there is widespread censorship of information from the war zone. Dubious Ukrainian sources being uncritically reported. Sites are being closed down and users are prevented from accessing others, but there is alternative information out there.
Monday, May 30, 2022
While people at home face a horrendous cost of living crisis the UK government is pouring arms into Ukraine as well providing training to its armed forces. This includes British military personnel being present in Ukraine itself. This is not entirely new, however, and is an extension of long term collaboration between the two countries.
Sunday, May 29, 2022
The trend towards the militarisation of the EU has accelerated since the start of the war in Ukraine. This is dangerous and destabalising, but there are alternatives. We especially need a peace movement arguing for these alternatives and for a world free from conflict.
Saturday, May 28, 2022
For propaganda effect NATO is routinely described in the mainstream media as a defensive alliance, but the reverse is the case. It was founded to confront the Soviet Union militarily and since then it has engaged in wars of aggression and military interventions across the world. This included breaking the post World War 2 peace in Europe by bombing Yugoslavia in 1999. Its hostile expansion eastwards was the most important factor leading to the present war in Ukraine.
Friday, May 27, 2022
Whilst we are used to the fiction that NATO is a defensive alliance, NATO has been busy dabbling in writing fiction as an ideological exercise in influencing opinion. It regards this as the 6th domain of warfare and demonstrates the importance of cultural struggle.
Thursday, May 26, 2022
Whilst the war in Ukraine is having an impact across the globe those who will be hardest hit are in the developing world which relies on food and fertiliser supplies from Russia and Ukraine. A real possibility of mass hunger looms.