Freedom Rider: World War III | Black Agenda Report

Freedom Rider: World War III

by BAR editor and senior columnist Margaret Kimberley

“The United States is like a cornered and wounded animal, dangerous and afraid.”

President Obama and his NATO minions are risking world war with their constant provocations against Russia and China. The corporate media take their cues directly from the White House, and if they mention these events at all they express complete agreement with officialdom and join in vilifying the targeted governments. Obama has succeeded in painting Russia and China as menaces when in fact Washington and its allies are bringing the world to the brink.

Ever since the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, NATO has encroached further and further into eastern Europe. To add insult to injury there are now NATO troops, including Germans, performing military exercises on the same routes used to invade the Soviet Union in World War II. War games with titles like operation Anakonda-16 and Saber Strike may seem laughable but there is nothing amusing about bringing 31,00 troops to Russia’s border.

The risks should be obvious to anyone paying attention. The United States has moved backwards from the days of Ronald Reagan, who worked with Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev to significantly reduce the number of nuclear weapons. George W. Bush unilaterally abrogated the missile defense treaty with Russia and Obama is continuing on the same downhill track. Russia is quite rightly preparing for war and contrary to popular misconception there is no “missile shield” that can protect the West should Russia decide to defend itself with nuclear weapons.

“Obama has succeeded in painting Russia and China as menaces when in fact Washington and its allies are bringing the world to the brink.”

The unrelenting propaganda campaign against Russia and President Putin has had the desired effect of fooling all but a handful of Americans. Putin is alternately portrayed as a monster, or a ridiculous bare chested oaf. The United States instigates a coup in Ukraine and when Putin reacts by annexing Crimea, he is portrayed as a dictator/aggressor/21^st century Hitler. Most Americans who depend on the corporate media for information would now approve of any action their government might take against Russia.

Obama’s Asian “pivot” is created the same risks with China, another nuclear power. The president is playing a similar game in Asia by giving military aid to Vietnam and the Philippines and of course making the Chinese wary. They build artificial islands in the South China Sea in part to defend themselves from the United States military buildup in the region. They then frighten and anger these neighboring countries. American aggression is the unwanted gift that keeps on giving.

The jihadists which America claims to hate but in fact uses as foot soldiers have been given new territory in Iraq, Libya and Syria. America may defeat its declared enemies like Muammar Gaddafi or Saddam Hussein but not without creating new problems for itself and obviously for the human beings who are collateral damage. There should be no discussion of refugee crises In Syria and elsewhere without all fingers being pointed directly at Barack Obama.

“The vulgar, racist and unpredictable Donald Trump makes far more sense in his call to end the imperial state, but he is vulgar, racist and unpredictable.”

The horrific implications of having an imperialist president in peacemaker clothing are coming to fruition. The antiwar movement was completely defanged by the Obama campaign in 2008. In 2002 and 2003 this nation engaged in furious debate about the Bush plan to invade Iraq. There is no such discussion now that this country is on the verge of killing the whole planet. A presidential campaign is underway with a president leaving office by either starting a world war himself or handing it off to his successor. Hillary Clinton was the handmaiden of evil doing as secretary of state and is happy to oblige. The vulgar, racist and unpredictable Donald Trump makes far more sense in his call to end the imperial state, but he is vulgar, racist and unpredictable. He never learned to hide evil intent the way the professional politicians do and in the process he insures a Hillary victory.

The United States is like a cornered and wounded animal, dangerous and afraid. It succeeds in half measures, getting rid of Saddam Hussein and Muammar Gaddafi and destroying their countries but creating resistance, refugees and new enemies in return. It has succeeded enough to be emboldened but now the last targets can also do great damage. They can’t get regime change in Russia or China, so what will the masters of disaster do next?

“Climate change is occurring at faster rates than they predicted.”

These two countries have not been sitting idly by. They have grown closer and they are making their own plans. While pundits find new ways to make fun of Vladimir Putin he is warning Poland and Romania to think twice about their decision to allow American missiles on their territory.

While the United States and NATO risk worldwide conflagration there is another human-made catastrophe well under way. Scientists are warning that climate change is occurring at faster rates than they predicted. Arctic ice melt, dead coral reefs and rising temperatures are harbingers of doom. But perhaps these experts should calm down. There is another catastrophe brewing and no one is acting to stop that either. Maybe every species on earth will be killed by nuclear weapons instead of by extreme weather.

Margaret Kimberley's Freedom Rider column appears weekly in BAR, and is widely reprinted elsewhere. She maintains a frequently updated blog as well as at http://freedomrider.blogspot.com. Ms. Kimberley lives in New York City, and can be reached via e-Mail at Margaret.Kimberley(at)BlackAgendaReport.com.

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