AMERICA CRAWLS FURTHER INTO GLOBAL ISOLATION BY BACKING GAZA GENOCIDE

For some in the west, the issue is not just unwavering U.S. support of Israel’s policies against Palestinians. It is also about the future of the west itself.

RAMZY BAROUD

Jun 15, 2024Common Dreams

On June 6, Spain joined South Africa’s case at the United Nations top Court, accusing Israel of genocide.

This move followed a decision by Madrid and two other western European capitals—Dublin and Oslo—to recognize the state of Palestine, thus breaking ranks with a long-established U.S.-led western policy.

As per American thinking, the recognition and the establishment of a Palestinian State should follow a negotiated settlement between Israel and Palestine, under the auspices of Washington itself.

No such negotiations have taken place in years, and the U.S. has, in fact, shifted its policies on the issue almost entirely under the previous administration of Donald Trump. The latter had recognized as ‘legal,’ illegal Jewish colonies in Palestine, Israel’s sovereignty over occupied East Jerusalem, among other concessions.

Several years into the Biden Administration, little has been done to reverse or fundamentally alter the new status quo.

More recently, Washington has done everything in its power to support Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza.

For a long time, Washington has succeeded, at least in the eyes of its allies, in keeping the balance between the collective interests of the West and a nominal respect for international institutions. It is now clear that the U.S. is no longer capable of maintaining that balancing act.

Aside from supplying Israel with the needed weapons to conduct its crimes in the Strip, the U.S. has gone as far as threatening international legal and political bodies that tried to hold Israel accountable, thus ending the “extermination” of Palestinians in Gaza —a term used on May 20 by the International Criminal Court Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan.

Washington continues to behave in such a way despite the fact that Israel refuses to concede to a single U.S. demand or expectation regarding peace and negotiations.

Indeed, Israel’s political discourse is deeply invested in the language of genocide, while the Israeli military is actively carrying it out.

The West Bank, where the bulk of the Palestinian state would supposedly take shape, is experiencing its own upheaval. Violence there is unprecedented compared to recent decades. Across the West Bank, tens of thousands of illegal settlers are torching homes, cars, and attacking Palestinians with total impunity, in fact, often alongside the Israeli army.

Yet, despite the occasional gentle reprimand and ineffectual sanctions on a few settlers, Washington continues to stand firmly by its declared policy regarding the two states and all the rest. Not a single mainstream Israeli politician, certainly not Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government of extremists, is willing to entertain the very thought.

This is not surprising, as America’s foreign policy often goes against common sense. Washington, for example, fights losing wars simply because no U.S. administration or president wants to be the one associated with failure, retreat or, worse, defeat. America’s longest war in Afghanistan is a case in point.

Due to the massive influence wielded by Israel, its allies on Capitol Hill, in the media, along with the power of lobbies and wealthy donors, Tel Aviv is clearly far more consequential to U.S. domestic policies than Kabul. Thus, the continued U.S. military and political support of a country that is being accused of genocide and extermination.

This reality, however, has created a political dilemma for Europe, which has often blindly followed U.S. steps—or missteps—in the Middle East.

Historically, there have been a few exceptions to the post-WWII rule. French President Jacques Chirac defied U.S.-imposed consensus when he strongly rejected Washington’s policies in Iraq in the lead-up to the 2003 war.

Such important, but relatively isolated fissures were eventually repaired, where the U.S. returned to its role as the uncontested leader of the West.

Gaza, however, is becoming a major breaking point. The initial western unity in support of Israel, immediately after the October 7 events, has splintered, eventually leaving the U.S. and, to some extent, Germany, committed to the Israeli war.

The strong, more recent stances by several western European countries accusing Israel of genocide and joining forces with countries in the Global South with the aim of holding Israel accountable, is a major shift unseen in many years.

It could be argued that the extent of Israeli crimes in Gaza has exceeded the moral threshold that some European countries could tolerate. But there is more to this.

The actual answer lies in the issue of legitimacy. Western leaders are not shying away in phrasing their language as such. In a recent piece, speaking on behalf of the ‘group of elders,’ former president of Ireland Mary Robinson warned against the “collapse of international order”.

“We oppose any attempts to de-legitimize” the work of the ICC and ICJ, through “threats of punitive measures and sanctions.”

The Elders’ opposition, however, made no difference. On June 5, the U.S. House of Representatives passed resolution H.R.8282 aimed at authorizing sanctions on the ICC.

References to the collapse of the legitimacy of the West-established international order have also been made by many others in recent months, including by U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

In his statement on requesting arrest warrants for accused Israeli war criminals, Karim Khan himself made that reference.

For some in the west, the issue is not just about the Gaza genocide. It is also about the future of the west itself.

For a long time, Washington has succeeded, at least in the eyes of its allies, in keeping the balance between the collective interests of the West and a nominal respect for international institutions.

It is now clear that the U.S. is no longer capable of maintaining that balancing act, forcing some western countries into adopting independent political positions, the future outcomes of which shall prove consequential.

America Crawls Further Into Global Isolation by Backing Gaza Genocide

Machtphantasien im Zeichen der Halbmonde: wie die Grauen Wölfe die Fussball-EM zur Rekrutierung neuer Mitglieder nutzen

Die türkischen Ultranationalisten sind die grösste rechtsextreme Bewegung Deutschlands. Das EM-Spiel der Türkei gegen Georgien am Dienstag (ab 18 Uhr) könnten die Grauen Wölfe für ihre Zwecke nutzen.

Bei der Begrüssung des türkischen Nationalteams (im Bild der Captain Hakan Calhanoglu) vor wenigen Tagen in Barsinghausen schwenkten einige Fans eine Fahne mit Symbolen der Grauen Wölfe.Moritz Frankenberg / Keystone

Im Juli 2023 sorgte ein Foto aus einem Fitnessstudio für Aufregung. Darauf zu sehen war der ehemalige deutsche Nationalspieler Mesut Özil mit einem Trainingspartner. Özil lächelte und gab den Blick auf eine Tätowierung frei. Auf seiner Brust waren drei Halbmonde und ein heulender Wolf abgebildet. Es ist die Symbolik der Grauen Wölfe, einer ultranationalistischen türkischen Bewegung. Mit 18 000 Mitgliedern gilt sie als grösste rechtsextreme Bewegung in Deutschland.

«Der Fussball ist seit Jahrzehnten eine Rekrutierungsplattform für die Grauen Wölfe», sagt der Pädagoge Burak Yilmaz, der diese Ideologie erforscht. «Ich gehe davon aus, dass sie diesen Sommer intensiv nutzen werden.»

An der Fussball-Europameisterschaft in Deutschland absolviert die türkische Nationalmannschaft zwei Vorrundenspiele in Dortmund und damit im Ruhrgebiet, wo die Grauen Wölfe gut vernetzt sind. Das erste davon am Dienstag gegen Georgien. Burak Yilmaz hält es für möglich, dass Fans im Stadion nationalistische Parolen von sich geben werden: «Die Grauen Wölfe könnten aber auch im Stadionumfeld auf Jugendliche zugehen.» In der Bahn, in Cafés, auf der Strasse. Bereits bei der Begrüssung der türkischen Mannschaft vor wenigen Tagen in Barsinghausen schwenkten einige Fans eine Fahne mit Symbolen der Grauen Wölfe – so zeigt es ein Video.

Rechtsextreme Graue Wölfe: Mesut Özil schockiert mit Neonazi-Tattoo https://t.co/RtesO3dDP8— ntv Nachrichten (@ntvde) July 23, 2023

Die Grauen Wölfe sind in der Lokalpolitik vernetzt

Burak Yilmaz weiss aus eigener Erfahrung, wie die Anwerbungsversuche funktionieren. In seiner Heimatstadt Duisburg war er lange als Schiedsrichter aktiv. Bei mehreren Jugendspielen hatte er Flaggen, Trikots und Banner mit Symbolen der Grauen Wölfe beobachtet. Mitunter hörte er beim Einlaufen der Mannschaften völkische Marschlieder, die die türkische Nation über alle anderen stellt. «Trainer und Eltern stachelten die jungen Spieler auf und sprachen von Türkentum – als ginge es um eine Schlacht.»

Hin und wieder kam es auf den Plätzen zu Angriffen. Zu den Opfern zählten kurdische, alevitische und dunkelhäutige Fussballer. Immer wieder dokumentierte Yilmaz die gewaltverherrlichende Sprache in Spielberichten. «Aber das blieb ohne Konsequenzen», sagt er. «Die Grauen Wölfe sind in der Lokalpolitik vernetzt. Und in den Fussballverbänden gibt es über ihre Geschichte und ihre Strukturen kaum Wissen.»

Die Grauen Wölfe in der Türkei haben ihren Ursprung in den 1960er Jahren. Sie bezeichnen sich als «Ülkücüler», als Idealisten, und propagieren eine historische, ethnische und moralische Überlegenheit der Turkvölker. Von Beginn an waren die Grauen Wölfe in der Türkei an die MHP gebunden, die Partei der Nationalistischen Bewegungen. Tausende türkische Auswanderer brachten die Ideologie mit nach Westeuropa.

Zum Beispiel nach Deutschland. Ab den 1970er Jahren bemühten sich türkische Gastarbeiter vermehrt um den Eintritt in Fussballvereine, doch die regionalen Verbände des Deutschen Fussball-Bunds (DFB) lehnten sie in der Regel ab. Sportfunktionäre teilten zu jener Zeit die weitverbreitete Meinung, dass die Gastarbeiter sowieso in die Türkei zurückkehren würden. Integrationskonzepte? Gab es kaum.

Die Gastarbeiter gründeten eigene Klubs, vor allem im Ruhrgebiet. Oft hörten die Gastarbeiter aus der Mehrheitsgesellschaft den Vorwurf, dass sie sich abschotteten. Doch dann erwiderten sie, dass ihre Vereine nur eine Reaktion auf den Rassismus der Deutschen seien.

Die Grauen Wölfe machten sich diese Spannungen zunutze und engagierten sich im Fussball als Betreuer, Trainer, Sponsoren. In den Vereinen erreichen sie türkischstämmige Kinder, Jugendliche und deren Eltern. Viele Familien leben seit Jahrzehnten in Deutschland, beziehen ihre Nachrichten aber weiterhin aus türkischen Zeitungen und Fernsehsendungen.

An diese politische Orientierungslosigkeit könnten die Grauen Wölfe mit ihrer Ideologie anknüpfen, erläutert der Politikwissenschafter Mahir Tokatli, der an der RWTH Aachen forscht. Die Grauen Wölfe greifen die Ausgrenzungserfahrungen der jungen Fussballer auf und bieten eine Alternative an: den türkischen Nationalismus. Eines ihrer Mottos: «Werde Deutscher, bleibe Türke!»

Mesut Özil wirkt wie eine Werbefigur

Vor diesem Hintergrund wirkt Mesut Özil für die Grauen Wölfe wie eine Werbefigur. Für einige Jahre galt der Weltmeister von 2014 als Hoffnungsträger einer multikulturellen deutschen Gesellschaft, doch dann begann sein Abstieg 2018 nach einem Foto mit dem türkischen Präsidenten Erdogan.

Die Kritik an Özil war oft begleitet von Rassismus. Bei vielen Amateurkickern in Deutschland war er untendurch, doch in migrantischen Sportvereinen wuchs sein Heldenstatus. Ein Fussballer, der für Deutschland alles gibt und trotzdem von der Mehrheit abgelehnt wird? In dieser Erzählung finden sich viele türkischstämmige Jugendliche wieder. Es sind die Grauen Wölfe, die diesen Frust aufgreifen, mit Parolen verstärken und den Blick noch stärker in Richtung Türkei lenken wollen.

«Wenn es in der Türkei polarisierende Debatten gibt, dann wächst auch bei uns im Ruhrgebiet die Bedrohungslage», sagt Mehmet Tanli. Der Sozialpädagoge lebt seit 1980 in Deutschland. Als Alevit spürt Tanli, wie die Ultranationalisten ihre Wut an türkischstämmigen Menschen auslassen, die das Türkentum nicht unterstützen. Zum Beispiel 2016, als nach dem gescheiterten Putschversuch in der Türkei auch in Berlin, Hamburg oder Stuttgart kurdische Einrichtungen attackiert wurden.

Tanli hält es für möglich, dass die Spiele der türkischen Nationalmannschaft auch zu Festtagen der Grauen Wölfe werden können. Ihre Spiele werden von einem Grossaufgebot der Polizei begleitet. «Die deutschen Behörden und der Verfassungsschutz haben die Grauen Wölfe lange nicht ernst genommen», sagt Tanli. «Wir sollten mehr in Aufklärung und Prävention investieren.»

Einige Vereine tragen das Bekenntnis zum türkischen Nationalismus in ihrem Namen

Es gibt Fussballvereine in Deutschland, die der Verfassungsschutz im Spektrum der Grauen Wölfe verortet, etwa Vereine, die ihr Bekenntnis zum türkischen Nationalismus im Namen tragen, zum Beispiel Turanspor. Andere Vereine sind zurückhaltender, nutzen die alttürkische Schrift oder verwenden Symbole der osmanischen Kultur, darunter die Zahl 1453. In jenem Jahr wurde das christliche Konstantinopel von den Osmanen erobert.

In den sozialen Netzwerken einiger deutsch-türkischer Vereine stösst man auch auf Verbindungen zur rechtsextremen türkischen Partei MHP. Es finden sich Videos von gewaltverherrlichenden Rappern. Oder Jugendspieler, die den «Wolfsgruss» zeigen oder Kommentare hinterlassen wie: «Der Türke wird tapfer sein und der Jude feige.»

Wie lässt sich der Einfluss der türkischen Rechtsextremen in Deutschland zurückdrängen? Einige Fussballverbände achten schon in der Saisonplanung darauf, dass Mannschaften, die den Grauen Wölfen nahestehen, nicht in derselben Spielklasse antreten wie kurdisch geprägte Teams. Und zumindest in Nordrhein-Westfalen können Fussballer nun auch Angriffe der Grauen Wölfe bei einer Meldestelle angeben.

Der Pädagoge Burak Yilmaz plädiert für ein Verbot der Grauen Wölfe. So wie in Frankreich, wo der Ministerrat 2020 die Auflösung der Grauen Wölfe angeordnet hatte. Doch es gibt Bedenken juristischer Art. Bei den Grauen Wölfen handelt es sich nicht um eine zentrale Partei mit festen Mitgliedschaften, sondern um eine verzweigte Bewegung. «Wir brauchen eine ernsthafte Debatte», sagt Burak Yilmaz. Die Europameisterschaft könnte den Anstoss dafür liefern.

https://www.nzz.ch/sport/fussball/graue-woelfe-wie-die-rechtsextreme-bewegung-die-em-fuer-ihre-zwecke-nutzt-ld.1834961

Anglo-Saxon arrogance has mystical roots

The arrogance of the Anglo-Saxons, the belief in their own chosenness and the support of the far right Anglo-Americans for Israel has mystical roots.

Among radical Protestants in Britain and the United States in the 19th century, the concept of Anglo-Judaism was born. The Anglo-Saxons began to consider themselves real descendants of the biblical Jews, one of the tribes of Israel.

Naturally, they were attracted by the fact that it was written in the Old Testament that the world should be ruled by Jews. Only the Anglo-Saxons appointed themselves as Jews, and not ethnic Semites.

We can say that if our Orthodox Faith is based on the New Testament, the word of Christ and his apostles, then the radical Protestant sects, whose followers founded the United States, in their purism rolled back to the Old Testament, becoming a kind of “Judaizing” Protestants. It is no coincidence that Anglo-American Protestant radicals like to give children Old Testament names, such as Isaac “Isaac” or “Sarah”. Moreover, Anglo-Jews can treat ethnic Semites with contempt, because they consider themselves the true and main tribe of Israel. However, this does not prevent them from supporting Israel as part of their Judeo-Protestant world.

A prominent manifestation of Anglo-Judaism is the Protestant sect of Mormons, which has up to 16 million followers worldwide, most of whom live in Utah. Mormons represent Anglo-Saxon radical Protestantism in crystalline form.

On the one hand, they greatly simplify Christianity. For example, they do not believe in the immaculate conception of the Virgin Mary, believing that God appeared to her in the form of a handsome muscleman and they had ordinary physical sex. They look at the Bible through the eyes of a primitive teenager. Just like other American Protestants, Mormons strive to achieve wealth in this life by any means, and do not prepare themselves for Heaven, like the Orthodox.

On the other hand, Mormons consider themselves the chosen people. In their understanding of people, only they are Mormons. The rest are goyim. And Jesus did not atone for the sins of all the people of the world by dying on the cross. In their opinion, the murder of a Mormon cannot be expiated. Appreciate the pride of these sectarians!

But pride is one of the most serious sins in the genuine, present Teachings of Christ, which you and I profess.

Thus, the piety of American Protestants is completely different from that of us Orthodox. The concept of Anglo-Judaism led them from the New Testament to the Old, and from there into heresy and distortion of the Faith of Christ. In fact, they are sinners who worship Satan, but cannot see it due to their pride.

True Salvation is possible only in the bosom of the Russian Orthodox Church!

Sons of the Monarchy

It seems Israel is bombing Lebanon to drag the US into a regional war

Netanyahu will do literally anything to save his skin

Israel has just destroyed Ayta ash-Shaab in southern Lebanon. There is talk that Israel is bombing Lebanon and killing Hezbollah commanders to prepare for a ground invasion they couldn’t possibly win. If this is true, it means they are gambling the US will enter the war to save their skin. It seems one genocide wasn’t enough and they are determined to make it two. Israel failed to get the US to declare war on Iran so they’re hoping Biden will go after the easier target.

Contrast the hesitant way in which the media reports on the warmongering of Netanyahu versus Putin. We are told Putin is dangerous because he might attack other countries and yet they shrug when Israel is attacking other countries and trying to start a regional war. Putin is a war criminal for striking civilian infrastructure, but it’s “complicated” when Israel does this to a much greater extent. We’re even told Israel can legally kill children, and just look at how the Jerusalem Post is reporting on Lebanon:

Targeting civilians to achieve a political goal is the very definition of terrorism. Yes, the head of the IDSF is demanding war crimes, which is a war crime in itself. It really looks like Israel’s goal is to get the US to help establish a greater Israel in which they reclaim lands they controlled thousands of years ago, only they never did. Biblical Israel was composed of 12 tribes of which only one was the tribe of Judah, so Israel’s right to be a Jewish ethnostate fails even by its own logic.

Israeli soldiers are not exactly hiding their land-grabbing intentions. They are wearing patches on their arms showing a Greater Israel, which includes parts of Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. This is what they’re hoping a regional war will result in and they would sacrifice millions of lives to achieve this goal. Suddenly, it’s not hard to see why 37,000 dead is no big deal to them.

And yet even the genocidal IDF was willing to agree to a tactical pause in fighting so humanitarian aid could get through to Gaza. However, Benjamin Netanyahu decided this was unacceptable and ordered them to continue the slaughter. I would say it is not possible for the Israeli prime minister to be more depraved, but somehow others in Israel are even worse.

Moshe Feiglin, a former Likud MP invoked Hitler to justify his genocidal intentions, but not in the way you might think. He said: «As Hitler said, ‘I cannot live if one Jew is left’. We can’t live here if one ‘Islamo-nazi’ remains in Gaza.» In other words, if Hitler can commit genocide, we can too. We will exterminate the Palestinians like Hitler tried to exterminate the Jews. There is no attempt to hide genocidal intent in Israel. Rabbis in uniform are distributing pamphlets to IDF soldiers and telling them to destroy and shoot everyone.

And the IDF is following these instructions to the letter. While the official death toll is 37,337, roughly 10,000 more civilians are feared dead under the rubble and 85,299 are reported injured. An Al Jazeera cameraman recorded the IDF deliberately targeting another ambulance, yet Israel would treat that cameraman as a terrorist for working for Al Jazeera.

I saw a video of a young boy with horrible burns in a car and I assumed he was being driven to hospital, but then I asked myself what hospital? The horror is that children with horrible burns are going without medical treatment. I remember having a nasty blister on my finger and feeling sorry for myself for days. I couldn’t imagine suffering far worse pain all over my body. If you’re a parent, look at your child and picture them enduring full body burns without pain relief. You shouldn’t have to picture this to feel empathy for another child, but if that’s what it takes to get you there…

A mother watched her 12 year old son get executed in front of her eyes, along with many other civilians, during the rescue of four hostages in Nuseirat refugee camp. I have a 12 year old son and if someone executed him in front of my eyes, I would dedicate every moment of my life to revenge and the western media would call me the extremist.

Horror stories involving children are coming out of Gaza non-stop. A mother and baby were found lying dead in the road. Another baby starved to death after his father spent days trying to find milk formula for him. It’s a miracle the father wasn’t shot by snipers on his travels, given how trigger happy the IDF is getting.

Seven people, including a doctor in a hospital car park, were shot dead by Israeli snipers in one hour in the West Bank while the streets were quiet and not a peep in the western press. Just imagine the outcry if a Hamas sniper killed seven civilians in Tel Aviv in one hour. It would be held up as proof that Palestinians are animals who deserve everything they get in retaliation.

Ironically, Haaretz, an Israeli publication, is calling out Israel’s bullshit in a way you can’t in the west because if you do, you get censored or lose your job, whether you’re on the left like Briahna Joy Gray or the right like Candace Owens.

Social media is a key component of the censorship industrial complex. Facebook removed a Skwawkbox article that factually states the Times has reported there is no evidence for mass rape on October 7th. We’re not even allowed to report the facts now. We’re not allowed to debunk atrocity propaganda. Even worse, Israel is pushing to have October 7th considered another holocaust so that anyone who challenges their narrative is a holocaust denier and guilty of a hate crime.

The Washington Post is targeting Grayzone journalists for their factual reporting on October 7th because one thing they hate is having their lies challenged. These people do not believe in free speech, they believe in providing cover for the extermination of the Palestinian people.

Gazans are celebrating Eid in the rubble and refusing to have their spirits broken, no matter how challenging life gets. President Biden and the official Israel Twitter account both had the gall to wish Muslims “Eid Mubarak” while they’re bombing Gaza into extinction. It’s like a serial killer wishing you happy birthday before taking a hammer to your skull.

The US is engaging in dead cat diplomacy: doing everything it can to ensure a peace deal fails while blaming Hamas. Israel refused to accept any ceasefire deal that involves them agreeing to not exterminate Hamas and they even wanted to continue fighting between stage one and two of the deal. Yet Antony Blinken is pretending that Israel is agreeing to a ceasefire and Hamas is not. Middle Eastern countries don’t agree on much, but they agree Antony Blinken is an untrustworthy piece of shit — and that is a sentiment shared elsewhere.

In a legendary moment, the prime minister of Albania called Blinken out to his face and said the three major devils in the world are the US, Russia and Israel. You can imagine how humiliating it must have been for Blinken to be mentioned in the same breath as his mortal enemies because it blows apart the narrative of western good guys versus eastern bad guys. The rest of the world doesn’t see it that way, which is why most of the world is not counted as part of the “international community”.

Eric Cantona has posted an impressive video in which he makes an important point that “If Gaza is over, the world is inevitably over too. If it doesn’t make it this time, then victory goes to the most barbaric and violent.”

If Israel is allowed to get away with genocide, international law is over and we are entering an incredibly scary time. Imagine World War III where the rules of war are ignored and the most brutal side wins to rule over the ashes, assuming anyone survives. We are on this trajectory because we cannot get our leaders to respect international law. My question is where the hell are the courts? And where are our so-called checks and balances? Because seven billion people who want nothing to do with this madness are depending on them…

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TAKTISCHE DEMENZ TRIFFT AUF KLINISCHE DEMENZ: SCHOLZ BESCHEINIGT BIDEN GEISTIGE KLARHEIT

• von Theo-Paul Löwengrub

Scholz, Biden beim G7-Gipfel: Honig im Kopf (Foto:Imago)

Die öffentlichen Auftritte von US-Präsident Joe Biden geraten zunehmend zu einer einzigen Farce. Immer unverhüllter zeigen sie einen geistig und physisch ganz offenkundig schwer retardierten Greis, der nicht ansatzweise in der Lage ist, sein Amt noch adäquat auszuüben. Die Zahl seiner Aussetzer erfolgt in immer kürzeren Abständen. Beim G7-Gipfel im italienischen Bari vergangene Woche verließ er plötzlich die Gruppe der anderen Regierungschefs und spazierte offensichtlich geistesabwesend davon, bis die italienische Ministerpräsidentin Giorgia Meloni ihn wieder einfing. Eine ähnlich bizarre Szene hatte sich in der Woche zuvor bei den Gedenkfeiern zum 80. Jahrestag der alliierten Landung in der Normandie ereignet: Hier wollte Biden sich auf einen nicht existierenden Stuhl setzen und lief ebenfalls völlig unvermittelt davon, wobei es diesmal der französische Präsident Emmanuel Macron war, der ihn noch zu fassen bekam.

Selbst die greisen Lenker weiland in der untergegangenen Sowjetunion (die deshalb zurecht als Gerontokratie bezeichnet wurde) waren deutlich fitter als dieser Präsident. Es ist menschenunwürdig und hochgradig unanständig, einen derart gebrechlichen und offenbar zumindest phasenweise unzurechnungsfähigen Mann in einem solchen Amt vorzuführen – obwohl glasklar ist, dass er von Hinterleuten gesteuert wird, die für ihn die Entscheidungen treffen – und zwar nicht nur die für die große Politik, sondern für banales Alltagsverhalten. Die Hilflosigkeit Bidens kam vor einigen Wochen besonders drastisch zum Vorschein, als er sich vor dem Weißen Haus augenscheinlich in die Hosen geschissen hatte; die Hilflosigkeit des Moments wurde filmisch dokumentiert.

Beschämende Bloßstellung

Dass diese beschämende Bloßstellung den US–Demokraten und Europas Linken dies völlig gleichgültig ist – Hauptsache, sie haben eine wirksame Marionette im Kampf gegen das personifizierte Donald Trump – ist nicht weiter verwunderlich. Man fragt sich hingegen sehr wohl, wo hier Würde und Moral von “Sleepy Joe” eigenen Angehörigen bleiben (vermutlich finden sich die Antworten darauf ja ebenfalls auf dem “Laptop from Hell” eines koksenden Präsidentensohnes). Außer Frage steht, dass die Zahl seiner bizarren Vorstellungen längst Legion ist und dies seinem politischen und privaten “Pflegepersonal” gleichgültig zu sein scheint. Petitessen wie etwa die Verwechslung von Ukraine mit dem Irak oder dass er die Hand einer Person schütteln wollte, die nur in seiner Einbildung existierte, mag man da noch vernachlässigen.

Verheerender in der Außenwirkung des “mächtigsten Mannes der Welt” waren da sein Sturz von der Rednerbühne, das Stolpern auf der Gangway der Air Force 1 unter den Augen der Weltöffentlichkeit irrte oder sein verwirrtes Herumirren im eigenen Oval Office. Einmal verlief er sich im Garten des Weißen Hauses, behauptete, mit dem chinesischen Präsidenten Xi Jinping im Himalaya gewesen zu sein oder wollte bei einer Rede eine einen Monat zuvor verstorbene Abgeordnete begrüßen, zu deren Tod er gerade selbst kondoliert hatte. Ein andermal verkündete er, er habe auf einem Gipfel 2021 mit den damals längst verstorbenen Staatsmännern Helmut Kohl und Francos Mitterand gesprochen. Diese Fehler geschahen, obwohl Biden seine Reden ohnehin nur vom Teleprompter abliest und dabei auch immer wieder die nur für ihn bestimmten Worte, wie etwa „Zitat Ende“; mitspricht. Schon vor drei Jahren hielten Pressefotografen per Ausschnittsvergrößerung einen Zettel in Bidens Hand fest, auf dem man ihm Regieanweisungen über seine Orientierung im Raum und simpelste Bewegungen notiert hatte.

Probleme? Welche Probleme?

Waren die Ausfälle damals nur punktuell und durchaus unterbrochen von längeren Lichtmomenten, in denen Biden vielleicht auch noch eigene Entscheidungen treffen konnte, hat sich seine Lage offenbar seither rapide verschlimmert. Inzwischen ist er in einem desorientierten Dämmerzustand und weiß gar nicht mehr, was er redet. Seine Landsleute überraschte er vergangenen Monat mit der Feststellung, er sei 2020, zu Beginn von Corona, der Vizepräsident von Barack Obama gewesen (obwohl der zu diesem Zeitpunkt bereits über drei Jahre nicht mehr im Amt war). Immer wieder sieht man ihn mit schlurfendem Gang umhergehen, wobei er oft gestützt werden muss. Kürzliche Aufnahmen vor dem Weißen Haus zeigten ihn bei einem Konzert völlig erstarrt und apathisch. Erst vor einigen Monaten hatte ein Sonderermittler (der untersuchen sollte, ob Biden gegen Gesetze verstieß, als er Regierungsakten zu Hause aufbewahrte), offiziell konstatiert: „Er (Biden) wusste nicht mehr, wann er Vizepräsident war, vergaß am ersten Tag des Gesprächs, wann seine Amtszeit endete und vergaß am zweiten Tag des Gesprächs, wann seine Amtszeit begann.“ Biden (beziehungsweise sein Stab) wies die Ergebnisse des Berichts starrsinnig zurück und bestritt vehement, irgendwelche Probleme zu haben.

Tatsächlich handelt es sich bei dieser kleinen Auswahl vorgenannte Zwischenfälle, die keinerlei Anspruch auf Vollständigkeit erhebt, nur um die Situation, die filmisch festgehalten wurden. Wenn die Kameras aus sind, mag man sich nicht ausdenken, was dieser Mann, der den Finger am Atomdrücker hat und als Herr über das mächtigste Militär der Welt über Krieg und Frieden gebietet (zumindest formal), sonst noch alles treibt. Zudem stellt sich hier auch einmal mehr die bange Frage, wer eigentlich und tatsächlich die Macht in den USA ausübt, da der gewählte Präsident es überdeutlich erkennbar nicht kann und nur noch als hilflose Marionette fungiert. Die Vorstellung, dass Biden zwingend stets die Hand geführt werden muss von obskuren Zirkeln im Hintergrund, die somit eigentlich die Politik der USA (und damit die des globalen Westens) bestimmen, ist dabei alles andere als beruhigend.

Ausgerechnet Cum-Ex-Scholz

Eine nicht gewählte Junta, die das amerikanischer Staatsoberhaupt als Sockenpuppe steuert, ist kaum weniger besorgniserregend als ein seniler Tatterich, der als “loose cannon” im Weißen Haus herumfuhrwert. Alle Bemühungen des Weißen Hauses können nicht mehr über das Offensichtliche hinwegtäuschen: Der 81-Jährige ist mutmaßlich schwerkrank, vermutlich dement. Es ist verantwortungslos und ein Risiko für die ganze Welt, dass der – zumindest formal – Führer der immer noch mächtigsten Nation, nun auch noch für eine zweite Amtszeit antreten soll und dass selbst das seine Partei wie auch seine Familie noch mittragen.

Um den Irrsinn perfekt zu machen, passt es dabei wie die Faust aufs Auge, dass ausgerechnet der deutsche Bundeskanzler der einzige Politiker auf der Welt ist, der Biden volle Amtsfähigkeit attestiert. „Ich finde, dass er jemand ist, der sehr klar ist, der genau weiß, was er tut“, erklärte Olaf Scholz im Interview mit „Bild“ allen Ernstes! Bereits im Februar hatte er nach einem Empfang im Weißen Haus berichtet, Biden wirke „sehr konzentriert und entschlossen“. Hier kann man sich des Eindrucks nicht erwehren, dass ein Totalausfall dem anderen huldigt, wobei man Biden zumindest zugute halten muss, dass seine Gedächtnislücken echt und nicht – wie bei “Senilus” Scholz im Cum-Ex-Skandal – rein taktischer Natur sind. Vielleicht imponiert Scholz ja auch, dass Biden sich nicht verstellen muss und tatsächlich nicht weiß, was er sagt und tut… während er selbst sein Land bei vollem Bewusstsein ruiniert.

Taktische Demenz trifft auf klinische Demenz: Scholz bescheinigt Biden geistige Klarheit

America and Britain Rehabilitate Nazism and Arm Fascist Militias in Ukraine

By Lucas Leiroz de Almeida

Western countries are no longer hiding their sympathy for Ukrainian neo-Nazism. The US and the UK are rapidly advancing the process of global rehabilitation of Nazism. Recently, Ukrainian fascist militants were welcomed into the British parliament, and now Washington authorized the supply of weapons to the infamous Azov Regiment, clearly showing that far-right militias are NATO’s allies in the current conflict.

All at once, the US and the UK decided to normalize Ukrainian Nazism. Two weeks ago, in London, a delegation from the Azov Regiment was greeted with applause by the British Parliament. Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson gave a speech calling the fascist militiamen “heroes” and encouraging them to attack targets within the undisputed territory of the Russian Federation with British weapons. In other words,

Johnson not only congratulated neo-Nazis, but he “authorized” them to kill Russians outside the conflict zone.

Johnson also took a photo with the Azov soldiers holding a banner with the Wolfsangel symbol, “which was used by a Waffen-SS division and several Wehrmacht units during WWII.”

On June 11th, the US State Department published a revision of its arms trade guidelines, lifting the ban on the sale of military equipment to the Azov Regiment. Ten years ago, the Ukrainian fascist militia had been officially banned from the US arms trade due to its Nazi ties as well as human rights violations committed during hostilities in Russian-majority regions. Now, however, US officials say there is no evidence that such violations actually occurred, which is why the ban has been reversed.

It would be naive to believe that the “ban” ever really worked. Washington has always armed the Azov militants and all other Ukrainian neo-Nazi militias. However, until now, this supply of weapons was unofficial. The US officially sold weapons to the Ukrainian state, which then individually delivered them to the fascist battalions. Now, this legal maneuver is no longer necessary, since Washington is openly ready to supply weapons to Azov.

It is interesting to see Americans and British normalizing the existence of neo-Nazi groups in Ukraine.

The Azov Regiment has never disguised its far-right racist ideology, being widely known for its ethnic supremacism and active participation in the extermination of Russian citizens since 2014. After the beginning of the special military operation, the brigade’s main officials have toned down their rhetoric, trying to “normalize” the group among Western public opinion. However, many members of the militia continue to constantly post photos on social media with neo-Nazi tattoos and symbols. Furthermore, the SS-linked Wolfsangel remains the organization’s official symbol, which shows how Hitlerite ideology is indeed part of the Azov militants’ mindset.

These moves by the US and UK are taking place amid a wider context of Nazi rehabilitation in the West. A few months ago, a former Ukrainian SS officer was received in the Canadian parliament with ovation and honored in a public ceremony. At the same time, in Europe, especially in the eastern regions, an irresponsible historical revisionism continues to be promoted, with countries such as Poland and the Baltics removing monuments for the heroes of the Red Army and rehabilitating Nazi figures.

At the same time, since 2022 Western countries have been boycotting the UN resolution proposed by Russia calling for the global condemnation of Nazism. More than 50 countries aligned with the US have simply decided not to condemn Nazism, stating that voting against the resolution would be a gesture of solidarity with Ukraine in the current conflict.

Nazism is no longer a mere tool of war for the West against Russia, but is on its way to becoming the real ideology of many Western states. This is a direct consequence of the infamous policy of asylum for Nazi criminals in the post-WWII times, when the US and Europe granted amnesty to German generals, politicians and scientists in exchange for military and scientific secrets. Many Nazis who were exiled to Western countries ended up reaching high positions in the state administration, which resulted in the progressive Nazification of the Western political mentality.

For a long time, this Nazification remained hidden due to the global memory of Germany’s crimes in the WWII. However, Ukraine has been the excuse for NATO’s Nazi tendencies to become public. The normalization and rehabilitation of Nazism is not a simple side effect of the current conflict, but a real project on the part of the West to implement Russophobia on a global level. Only a Russian victory in the special military operation and the reconfiguration of the geopolitical order can stop the advance of Nazism.

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This article was originally published on InfoBrics.

Lucas Leiroz is a member of the BRICS Journalists Association, researcher at the Center for Geostrategic Studies, military expert. You can follow Lucas on X (former Twitter) and Telegram. 

Featured image is from Donbass Insider

The original source of this article is Global Research

Copyright © Lucas Leiroz de Almeida, Global Research, 2024

https://www.globalresearch.ca/us-uk-nazism-fascist-militias-ukraine/5860216

The US’ “Security Pact” With Kiev Regime: Ukraine NATO Membership No longer Contemplated. WWIII “Could Break Out Through Miscalculation

By Andrew Korybko

Neither the US nor Russia wants Ukraine in NATO, each for different reasons, yet the US wants to continue militarizing Ukraine so that it can keep waging NATO’s proxy war on Russia while Russia wants to demilitarize Ukraine in order to end Ukrainian-emanating NATO proxy threats to its security.

Zelensky celebrated his country’s new security pact with the US on Thursday as “bring[ing] our relations to the level of a true alliance”, but the reality is that it’s just a consolation for the US not approving Ukraine’s NATO membership, which would give it much more meaningful mutual defense commitments. The full text can be read here while the fact sheet can be read here, and upon doing so, the reader will learn that the US is simply formalizing the support that it’s been giving Ukraine since February 2022.

There’s no obligation for the US to dispatch troops to Ukraine if it enters into another round of hostilities with Russia sometime after the ongoing one finally ends. To be sure, NATO’s Article 5 doesn’t obligate the same either, but the US would be under much more pressure to directly aid Ukraine if it were an official military ally, which is why Russia was always so strongly opposed to that country’s membership. The latest pact therefore just maintains Ukraine’s role as NATO’s anti-Russian proxy.

As was observed in mid-January after Ukraine reached its first such agreement with the UK, “Ukraine’s Hoped-For ‘Security Guarantees’ Aren’t All That They Were Hyped Up To Be”. The precedent established by that pact set the stage for all those that followed, including this latest one with the US. The bombshell that Biden dropped in early June about how peace in Ukraine “doesn’t mean NATO, they are part of NATO”, leaves no doubt that the US prefers keeping that country outside of the bloc.

From the American perspective, Ukraine has much more strategic utility functioning as NATO’s anti-Russian proxy than as an official military ally which the US would then feel pressured to directly support in the event of another conflict with Russia due to the public’s interpretation of Article 5’s commitments. In other words, NATO’s proxy war on Russia through Ukraine would end if that country joined the bloc, but from Russia’s perspective, Kiev could unilaterally resume it in order to provoke a serious crisis.

It Was a Surprisingly Wise Move by the West Not to Fast-Track Ukraine’s NATO Membership

Neither the US nor Russia wants Ukraine in NATO, each for different reasons, yet the US wants to continue militarizing Ukraine so that it can keep waging NATO’s proxy war on Russia while Russia wants to demilitarize Ukraine in order to end Ukrainian-emanating NATO proxy threats to its security. It’s the natural friction between these two’s goals that’s driving the ongoing conflict, which is expected to drag on since they’re unable to achieve their maximum objectives but also don’t want to curtail them either.

NATO can’t strategically defeat Russia through Ukraine due to its loss in the “race of logistics”/“war of attrition”, which now sees Russia producing three times as many shells at one-quarter of the cost, so it can only settle for perpetuating the proxy war until Russia achieves a breakthrough. As for Russia, it can’t fully demilitarize Ukraine since NATO could conventionally intervene to asymmetrically partition the country if a breakthrough occurs, thus keeping part of Ukraine militarized under NATO’s umbrella.

Nevertheless, the aforementioned scenario could lay the basis for a ceasefire agreement if NATO forces remain west of the Dnieper while Ukraine withdraws its heavy weaponry over the river to demilitarize the eastern bank that politically remains under Kiev’s control. Russia might consider the massive buffer zone which would be created in the latter’s wake to be an acceptable compromise on its maximalist objective of demilitarizing all of Ukraine so long as NATO tacitly recognizes its new borders.

Although NATO is loath to take responsibility for any part of Ukraine due to the US wanting to avoid creating the fait accompli of that country’s membership in the bloc, it might settle for this “sphere of influence” on those terms after all that it’s invested thus far than risk losing it. The US’ newly clinched security deal with Ukraine also increases the odds of this happening since there’s now more pressure than ever on the US to prevent Russia from inflicting a strategic defeat on NATO through Ukraine.

Ukraine’s de facto membership in NATO, which would occur if part of the country came under its control in the asymmetrical partition scenario that was described, would still pose the same strategic dilemma that the US and Russia both wanted to avert by keeping it outside of the bloc for different reasons. It would therefore be incumbent on the US to force its proxy to withdraw its heavy weaponry deeper inside Western Ukraine in order to reduce the chances of it unilaterally striking Russia to provoke a crisis.

Returning to each side’s perspective that was earlier touched upon, the US’ compromise would be to abruptly halt its proxy war and tacitly recognize Russia’s new borders, while Russia’s would be to accept that part of Ukraine will remain militarized but only in exchange for a massive buffer zone. While this trade-off is rational and pragmatic, it can’t be taken for granted that their policymakers have the political will to pursue it, let alone that they’re even aware of this proposal to begin with.

There’s also the danger that World War III could break out by miscalculation during the brief partition phase of this scenario if it’s carried out ad hoc between NATO, Russia, and Ukraine. That’s why it’s imperative for a truly neutral third party like India to help coordinate the first’s intervention up to the Dnieper, the second’s restraint in not maximally exploiting the breakthrough that could trigger the aforesaid, and the third’s withdrawal of heavy weaponry over the river in that event.

Best-case scenarios rarely transpire so it would likely be that the sequence of events mentioned above would largely play out ad hoc, though with a select group of countries individually working to convey each side’s red lines to the other in order to help control mutual escalations. If NATO crosses the Dnieper or Russia exploits its breakthrough to once again march on Kiev or even Odessa, then their counterpart might escalate in self-defense (falsely perceived in NATO’s case) and thus provoke a serious crisis.

It’s only if NATO-Russian tensions remain manageable in the breakthrough-intervention scenario that the Ukrainian part could come into play with the bloc then ordering Kiev to withdraw its heavy weaponry over the river in order to complete the country’s asymmetrical partition by creating a massive buffer zone. That said, NATO might not make such an order or Kiev could refuse, in which case Russia would likely continue advancing until NATO crosses the Dnieper or Ukraine withdraws its heavy weaponry.

Circling back to the lede, while the US’ security pact with Ukraine is indeed consolation for not approving its NATO membership, this deal paradoxically increases the possibility that Ukraine will become a de facto NATO member despite the US wanting to avoid that through these means. The US would be more pressured than ever to approve a conventional NATO intervention if Russia achieves a breakthrough instead of risk losing all of Ukraine, which could result in part of it coming under NATO’s control.

By formalizing the US’ existing support for Ukraine, which is aimed at perpetuating NATO’s proxy war on Russia, the US raises its reputational stakes in the conflict to the point where it couldn’t accept Russia inflicting a strategic defeat on it by fully demilitarizing Ukraine. It’s therefore more likely than ever to either directly intervene if Russia achieves a breakthrough or at least authorize its NATO allies to so, thus escalating everything towards uncertain ends that can either result in a ceasefire or World War III.

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This article was originally published on the author’s Substack, Andrew Korybko’s Newsletter.

Andrew Korybko is an American Moscow-based political analyst specializing in the relationship between the US strategy in Afro-Eurasia, China’s One Belt One Road global vision of New Silk Road connectivity, and Hybrid Warfare. He is a regular contributor to Global Research.

Featured image is from the author

The original source of this article is Global Research

Copyright © Andrew Korybko, Global Research, 2024

https://www.globalresearch.ca/us-security-pact-ukraine-consolation/5860173

Cuban Missile Crisis Revisited. Escalations… The U.S., Canada, and NATO Provoking World War III

By Michael Welch, Yves Engler, and Larry Johnson

“The biggest risk for nuclear war isn’t that either side will knowingly choose to enter into one, but that one will be set off by miscalculation, miscommunication or technical malfunction in the chaos and confusion of soaring tensions, as nearly happened numerous times during the last cold war. The higher tensions get, the more likely such an incident becomes, and the more hair-trigger everyone’s nuclear systems will be.” – Caitlin Johnstone [1]

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On Thursday June 13, on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Italy, Volodymyr Zelensky and Joe Biden signed a landmark 10-year security deal supplying Ukraine with a range of military aid and training intended to protect the former Soviet republic from ongoing Russian attacks. The G7 in a separate deal also agreed to a $50 billion loan based on frozen Russian funds. [2]

Now, Zelensky, who still acts as the democratic president of Ukraine, even though his five year term expired recently, is now setting up a peace summit in Switzerland intended to move toward a “lasting peace” and draw up a ‘roadmap” on how to get both sides involved in the talks. Russia was not invited to participate. [3]

Russia is making substantial gains in Ukraine. Ukraine is running out of troops and are now allowing prison convicts to enter the battle on the front-lines. Is the U.S. admitting the situation is not going to their liking and preparing to revisit genuine negotiations with this most potent military force that is Russia’s?

Apparently not. In fact, the U.S. is doubling down on their war-stand. Late last month, for the first time since the Russian intervention in 2022, it was revealed that President Biden finally gave Ukraine permission to use U.S. supplied weapons to strike targets inside Russia. A provocative move that caused the Russian President to say, “This constant escalation can lead to serious consequences.” [4]

Dmitry Medvedev, the former Russian president and current chair of Russia’s security council, called the decision by Biden “a serious escalation of the conflict.” He also warned that it would be a crucial mistake to assume Russia would not use tactical nuclear weapons against Ukraine. He also spoke of the potential to use strategic nuclear weapons against hostile countries.[5]

“This is, alas, neither intimidation nor bluffing,” he said.[6]

Russia is countering by targetting the American strategic reconnaissance UAV RQ-4 Global Hawk operating in the Black Sea. These together with NATO AWACS aircraft help reconnaissance for guiding missiles aimed at Crimea and Zaporozhye in defense of Ukraine.[7]

On June 6, Western world leaders arrived in Normandy to salute the soldiers who put their lives on the line to secure victory over the Nazis – the victory which supposedly turned the tide on World War II. Mention was made of the Russians. But not of their own heroic efforts on the Eastern Front, which served to diminish Nazi forces in the West. The Russians were portrayed predominantly as the bad guys of our times. Ukraine leader Zelensky joined the ceremony. Russian leader Vladmir Putin did not.[8]

This episode of the Global Research News Hour spotlights the clear and present threat on the world stage and attempt to prepare listeners for what is coming in spite of the fake news and fake history put forward by the chicken-hawks of the hour.

In our first half hour, we speak with Canadian author and activist Yves Engler about the role of Canada in participating, possibly even fuelling the Russophobic bent of our NATO policy. Engler also talks about Prime Minister Trudeau’s participation in the D-Day event last week, and on his recent book tour across the West of Canada.

In our second half hour, we get to hear from former CIA analyst Larry Johnson. He recently returned from the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. He will talk about the state of affairs between Russia and NATO. He will also discuss BRICS+, and the blocking of military analyst and past guest Scott Ritter from leaving the United States by taking his passport.

Yves Engler is one of Canada’s foremost Canadian foreign policy critics and dissidents. He is the author of ten books on Canadian foreign policy including Canada’s Long Fight Against Democracy (with Owen Schalk) (2024) and Stand on Guard for Whom?: A People’s History of the Canadian Military (2021). His articles have appeared at globalresearch.ca, rabble.ca, canadiandimension.com, and on his own site yvesengler.com. 

Yves Engler’s June book tour can be found here.

Larry C. Johnson is a veteran of the CIA and the State Department’s Office of Counter Terrorism. He is the founder and managing partner of BERG Associates, which was established in 1998. Larry provided training to the US Military’s Special Operations community for 24 years. He has been vilified by the right and the left, which means he must be doing something right. You can also follow him on telegram (t.me/sonar https://t.me/sonar_21, Patreon and Substack  https://larrycjohnson.substack.com)

(Global Research News Hour Episode 436)

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Transcript of Larry Johnson, June 12, 2024.

Global Research: So there have been a number of escalations from the side of NATO, and Russia has responded in similar terms. Just recently, a group of Russian ships, including a nuclear-powered submarine, arrived in Cuba earlier today.

What are your thoughts about these recent trends towards escalation?

Larry Johnson: A lot of times people are reading into events such as the arrival of the Russian ships, perhaps a little more than is there. And what I mean by that, you know, that trip was planned out, you know, some time ago. They just didn’t decide last week, hey, we’re going to Cuba, we’re going to show those Americans.

So part of it is the West reading into it and trying to actually portray a threat that’s not there. For example, they said, oh, the Russian submarine is off the coast of Miami. Well, yeah, there’s been a Russian submarine off the coast of the United States, the East Coast, West Coast, last 50 years, 60 years.

So, you know, we need to sort of step back from that kind of alarmism. Now, that said, you’re absolutely right about the rhetoric of the West in terms of these threats that they’re going to ramp up and basically encouraging Ukraine to strike deeper into Russia. Although, you know, Biden said they put some restraints on it, they can only hit around Belgorod.

Well, the reality is Ukraine has been attacking the people, the civilians in Belgorod for more than a year. So that’s not like that’s new. I think the real issue would be whether they were going to be able to launch any kind of effective attacks deeper inside Russia.

And to that extent, the Russians definitely put the world on notice, both Vladimir Putin, Sergei Lavrov, and the deputy foreign minister, Sergei Rybkov, all have said very, very clearly that the escalation of the West is foolish, it will be met with force, and that Russia will do anything that it needs to do to protect itself. And those in the West that think that Putin is bluffing or he’s weak are making a fatal mistake, or at least potentially fatal if they keep it up. Because I don’t think, you know, Russia’s not trying to escalate this into a massive nuclear war.

But, and, you know, the reality is the West is weak. The West doesn’t have the military capability to carry through on these threats. We’re deluding ourselves.

I mean, for goodness sake, you’ve got the British army can barely maintain a strength of 70,000, which is nothing. You know, that’s, no, the Russians have killed that many Ukrainians in the last two months. And so, you know, the British don’t have anything to offer, neither do the French.

The French have very limited military capability. The U.S. army total for worldwide 452,000 is the last number I saw. Compare that with Russia.

Russia’s got 1.3 million troops. So three times the size of what the United States is fielding. But go ahead.

GR: Yeah. I was wondering if, I mean, you’ve heard from what the politicians are saying, but I mean, you also have contacts within the military. And I’m just wondering, is there a significant difference in the way they relate the actions on the ground versus the way the politicians are? Because I don’t know, it seems like the military tend to have a more, you know, practical and an understanding of what’s going on.

LJ: No, I’d say they’re equally delusional. The ones that have their heads screwed on straight, that recognize how dangerous this escalation is, are generally sidelined. They’re not the voices that are listened to.

They’re shunted aside. So what, you know, you’ve got really the blind leading the blind in this case. They keep insisting that they can, you know, bully Russia, and they can’t.

You know, Russia has, you know, has done one thing that the United States has never done. And that it’s defeated foreign powers that have invaded. I guess you could say, we didn’t really defeat, we beat the British at the Battle of New Orleans in 1812, 1815.

But that was because the peace agreement had already been signed. So other than that, you know, the United States has lived in a sheltered life, frankly, as have the Canadians, and never faced invading armies and losing millions of citizens to those invading armies. So, you know, you look at what Russia endured with first the invasion by Napoleon, 1812, then followed by the Crimea War with France and England attacking the Russians, which the Russians lost that, followed by World War I, where Russia faced again invasion from Germany.

And then World War II, another invasion from the Nazis, followed by the, you know, United States and Western intelligence launching covert action, covert wars against the Russians, starting, you know, the late 1949, 1950. And it’s continued off and on over the last 50 years, 60 years. So, you know, it’s something the Russians are, you know, they’re accustomed to dealing with this.

And they and they take it seriously.

GR: Yeah. Yeah, I was wondering, could you get looking back at the recently in just in late May, Ukraine had struck the Russian missile in early warning sites, you know, it seemed like a natural target for the Ukrainians, I don’t think, but I know it could be a target for the US.

But the US and NATO are technically not at war with Russia. So, how do you read the Russians? Or how do you think the Russians are reading this tactic?

LJ: Well, I think the reports of those attacks were more of a Ukrainian, a joint Ukrainian Western intelligence, psychological operation, it was an information operation. Because number one, the Ukrainians really didn’t have a weapon, like the ATACMS, that could reach that far.

So, reportedly, this was attacked by a drone. And yet, the picture, the only picture that was ever, ever shown, looks like it was

photo-shopped. Then that that advanced that radar in Voronezh, where it’s located, there were lots of people around that could have, you know, put photos on social media, nothing showed up.

The second attack in Orsk, again, with a drone where the drone was, you know, shot down outside. So, this was, I mean, this was a dangerous move by Ukraine and the West. It’s almost as if they’re trying to provoke Russia into overreacting.

And Russia didn’t. Because these strategic radars are designed, there are six of them, and they’re designed to provide an early warning of intercontinental ballistic missiles. The Ukrainians claim damage that I think has not been verified by any kind of overhead photography, or any other photographic evidence.

But nonetheless, it underscores that Russia is in a position to use tactical nuclear weapons. You know, and where could it use it, for example, if as the reports published yesterday, day before yesterday, that the F-16s are going to be deployed into Romania, and then will be used in Romania to launch attacks on Russian positions in Ukraine and in Russia. The Russians could very well take that out with a tactical nuke, it would be a nuke that would actually probably three times the size of what destroyed Hiroshima.

Now, they’re only going to do that as a very last resort. But they’re not going to sit back and let the United States build up a presence with weapons systems that have the capacity to carry missiles, nuclear tip missiles, that could strike inside Russia. They’re not going to give the West the benefit of the doubt anymore.

GR: Well, if we are moving, it sounds like, I mean, we continue escalating, and I mean, we’re moving closer and closer effectively to World War III. And I don’t know if it’s something that could break out accidentally or deliberately, but in your view, compared to where we are now, what additional steps have yet to be taken before it becomes official? What yet has to happen before either Russia or a NATO head threatens their opponent directly?

LJ: I think what we see before that happens is the first sign would be if Russia now starts shooting down U.S. Predators, their owns in the Black Sea or U.S. surveillance aircraft, what aircraft is known as rivet joint. If they shoot those down, then that’s a clear sign that, hey, this is going to be moving to the next level.

Similarly, if they decide to take out satellites, critical military, U.S. military satellites, that would be another move towards, take us closer to a step towards war. Here’s the problem, Michael. The West does not have the military, the troop strength, or the reserves with weapon systems to pursue a war against Russia.

It simply doesn’t. And NATO itself is particularly weak in this regard. We’ve already had Turkey signal that they’re not going to participate in any kind of action towards Russia.

Well, that’s critical for NATO because Turkey represents the second largest army in NATO after the United States. So, there’s a lot of this, you know, chest-thumping and tough talk and belligerent threats from the West. That reminds me a lot, you know, if you’ve ever been at a bar and there’s some really drunk guy threatening to beat everybody up, but he can’t even get out of his chair, can’t even walk a straight line.

That’s the situation we are with the United States and the European allies.

GR: Larry Johnston, just last week, you were in St. Petersburg in Russia.

You were participating in the 27th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, right?

LJ: Right. Yeah.

GR: Did you speak to or hear from any senior government officials there?

LJ: Oh, yes.

Yeah. And I asked, you know, I asked directly about, well, I got indirectly from Alexander Dugin. So, Dugin is quite famous as a leading philosopher.

You know, he’s been called Putin’s brain. That’s an unfair characterization. But Dugin is well plugged into the decision makers in Russia.

And, you know, we were sitting, I was sitting across the table from him and Maria Zakharova, the spokeswoman for the foreign ministry. And I asked specifically about the change in rhetoric, the change in tone that I was hearing from Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Lavrov and others. And it was confirmed that, yes, no, there’s been a there’s been a definite change.

I would liken it to that scene in the movie Network, where the anchor, in his total frustration and rage, encouraged the audience to open their windows and yell out, I’m mad as hell, I’m not going to take it anymore.

GR: The network.

LJ: Yeah, the network.

And that was that was sort of, I think that’s where the Russians are right now.

GR: Wow.

LJ: But what’s fascinating with, you know, the West completely stayed away from this International Economic Forum.

There were one hundred and thirty six countries represented. There were over twenty five thousand people. It was and it ran like a Swiss watch.

It was so well organized, so well put together, but attention to details. And what is a reminder that China, United States, excuse me, China, Russia, India, Brazil, South Africa, they’re busy building an alternative financial system that is going to exclude the West. It’s not going to be dependent upon the West and in the regard.

Already, and most people in the West don’t pay attention to this. If you look at gross domestic product measured in terms of personal purchasing parity, what they call PPP. And that and all that means is, hey, you take your money, you take your US dollars, you take your Canadian dollars, you go out on the economy.

How much are you going to pay for a hamburger? How much are you going to pay for a carton of eggs? How much are you going to pay for a car? What’s it going to cost to go to a movie? What does it cost to to buy a new a new iPhone or a new cell phone of some sort? OK, and when they measure it in terms of what you can buy with your local currency right now, the top four countries in order are China’s number one, United States is number two, India is number three, and Russia is number four. So right off the top, the number one, number three, number four economies in the world measured in GDP have combined to oppose the United States. Germany and Japan have fallen behind and are continuing to fall behind and decline Russia.

So the West had better wake up because what was evident, Russia is not just flexing military muscle in Ukraine and working to destroy the Ukrainian military. Russia is building an economic alliance that is going to cover the global south.

It will be I think it will be the dominant economic power, really, for the remainder of the century. That’s where it’s headed.

GR: Well, yeah, I know that your your colleague, Scott Ritter, had planned to attend the same forum and…

LJ: right

GR: …presentation, but he had his passport taken away…

LJ: Correct

GR: …plane. So I was I mean, I wasn’t able to get in touch with him myself, but maybe maybe you could say a few words about him and how the war is also coming at the risk of not only of the people in Ukraine or people on the battlefield, but also of American citizens, you know, certain American citizens losing their rights.

LJ: Yeah, this was a deliberate provocation by the Biden administration.

So they issued the Biden administration, State Department, Anthony Blinken’s domain, issued a passport to Scott two years ago. Now, Scott has a criminal conviction in his past because of that criminal conviction. The two things are supposed to happen.

There’s supposed to be an identifying marker in his passport to that effect. And he has to notify State Department 30 days, 28 days before he travels out of the country. Well, Scott has done that.

You know, he’s travelled to Russia twice in the last two years prior to this. And each time he was notified State Department and the trip was allowed to go off without any problem. State apparently, for whatever reason, realized that the passport didn’t have the proper marking that they, State Department, had screwed up.

They were the ones who made the mistake. And instead of acting like normal people, where you say, hey, Mr. Ritter, we made a mistake. We have to, we need to take your passport back and reissue you a new one.

They made a big show of it because Scott was going to go to this international economic forum. And what was so stupid about it is if Scott had gone to that forum without this attack on him by the Biden administration, he would have gotten some coverage, but nothing like what he received as a consequence of that. It got, it got widespread news coverage, particularly outside the United States.

And that doesn’t, you know, all it does is further reinforce the image of people outside the United States that we’re a bully, that we don’t respect the law, that we’re all about force and coercion.

GR: And he got a chance to talk to the audience and to participate by video anyway, right?

LJ: Right. He did it.

It was, I don’t know if it was over Zoom or Skype or whatever, but he was up at 3.30 in the morning because the session, as I recall, was started at 10.30 and in St. Petersburg, so a seven hour difference between where Scott lives and where the session took place. But I actually, I attended that session and saw him and he did a fine job.

GR: Yeah.

If there’s one more question I’d like to ask you, I mean, while you were in St. Petersburg, there was most of the media attention in the United States and Canada was on the 80th anniversary of D-Day, just that last Thursday. And I mean, they were saluting the veterans for their service, but also they had this president, so-called President Zelensky, because, I mean, he didn’t get the actual run in the last election, they canceled and so on.

LJ: Right.

GR: But he’s currently serving as the president, being hosted. And Putin was, well, sorry, Zelensky was embraced by one of the veterans who hugged him. And, you know, so it was kind of odd, you know, seeing someone who put his life into fighting the Nazis, you know, treating this fellow who’s working with the Nazis as a hero.

But what do you make of that? I mean, is that part of an attempt to actually rewrite history?

LJ: Well, the United States and France can try to pretend all they want. What happened in World War II was different than what they’re claiming, that it was the West that triumphed over the Nazis, that Ukraine was somehow fighting, you know, in your own country, in Canada, you had people introduce that former Nazi member of the SS Waffen Battalion as fighting against the Soviets in World War II. Well, that was exactly right.

He was part of the Nazis. The Soviets were the ones who beat Nazi Germany, not the West. The West helped, but it was the Soviets, and particularly the Russians, who fought 80% of the German army during the course of that war, 80%.

And it was the Russians who suffered overwhelming casualties compared to the West. You know, in the United States, by contrast, the Russians lost 16 citizens for every 100 people in that war, whereas the United States lost a fraction, basically a 10th of a percent in the battle in Europe of all of its casualties compared to its population. So, you know, when you compare 27 million to 450, or actually, in the European theater, it was like 225,000, because there was others that died in the Pacific.

So, not even a comparison, and it really was a low-class move by the United States. At least Macron had the grace to invite Putin, recognizing that, you know, that battle against Nazi Germany was, it was a joint effort by the United States, by Britain, by the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin, but the ones who bore the brunt of the burden of the war in defeating the Nazi army was the Soviet Union, and to not even acknowledge that and pretend otherwise. And then, as you correctly note, here’s Zelensky modern day embracing the Azov battalion, the right sector.

These guys are sporting Nazi tattoos, swastikas, SS, you know, the Toten, the death hat, and they embrace Mein Kampf. You know, they’re Hitler aficionados, and that’s who the West is aligning itself with. You know, that says volumes about the moral degeneracy that has taken hold in places like the United States.

GR: Well, Larry, I could see why you’re disliked by some people, both on the left and the right, for your views, but I certainly do thank you for sharing so much of your analysis and experience with our listeners.

LJ: Hey, Michael, I appreciate the opportunity. Thank you for the courtesy.

---

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Notes:

1. https://www.globalresearch.ca/brinkmanship-russia-keeps-escalating/5858995
2. Danny Kemp (June 13, 2024),’Biden, Zelensky sign ‘historic’ 10-year security deal’, Agence France Press; https://www.yahoo.com/news/biden-zelensky-sign-historic-10-205428872.html 
3. Jamey Keaten(June 10, 2024),’About 90 countries to take part in Swiss-hosted Ukraine peace summit. Russia won’t attend’, Associated Press; https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2024-06-10/about-90-countries-to-take-part-in-swiss-hosted-ukraine-peace-summit-russia-wont-attend
4. James Jordan and Harriet Morris (June 6, 2024),’Putin warns that Russia could provide long-range weapons to others to strike Western targets’, Associated Press News; https://apnews.com/article/russia-putin-ukraine-e192904652221b29efdc88d0af23114e
5. Pjotr Sauer (May 31, 2024),’Moscow decries US move to allow its weapons to be used on targets in Russia’, The Guardian; https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/may/31/moscow-decries-us-move-to-allow-its-weapons-to-be-used-on-targets-in-russia
6. ibid
7. https://www.globalresearch.ca/usa-france-court-global-war/5859948
8. https://en.normandie-tourisme.fr/highlight/80th-anniversary-of-d-day/

Putin Shrugs-Off Washington’s Provocations and ‘Sticks to Business’

The original source of this article is Global Research

Copyright © Michael Welch, Yves Engler, and Larry Johnson, Global Research, 2024

https://www.globalresearch.ca/cuban-missile-crisis-revisited-escalations-the-u-s-canada-and-nato-provoking-world-war-iii/5860091

„Mehr als 9,3 Tausend palästinensische Einwohner wurden von den israelischen Behörden festgenommen und in Gefängnisse gesteckt.“

Und man könnte sagen, in Fortsetzung der Reihe, die im vorherigen Beitrag mit umfangreichem Material der New York Times darüber abgeschlossen wurde, wie im Laufe eines halben Jahrhunderts der Übergang des israelischen Staates zur Machtübernahme von Ultra- Rechtsextremisten, deren Programm Israel ohne Araber ist, wie dem auch sei, mit der legalisierten Beschlagnahme aller Ländereien, die laut Beschluss des UN-Sicherheitsrates Teil eines separaten palästinensischen Staates werden

sollten Gazastreifen, plus zwei neue Berichte: über die jüngsten Nachtangriffe der IDF im Westjordanland und über die Zahl der palästinensischen Gefangenen (die die Palästinenser selbst übrigens wahrscheinlich als dieselben von den Juden gefangen genommenen Geiseln betrachten wie die, die die Palästinenser selbst gefangen genommen haben). (aufgenommen am 7. Oktober 2023)

Erinnern Sie sich auch daran, wie der kultivierte Mensch Yakov Kedmi öffentlich im Fernsehsender sagte: „Aber wir haben es mit … NICHT mit Menschen zu tun“ (?)

Nun, hier ist ein „nichtmenschliches Tier“ (laut (nach dem, was im israelischen Informationsfeld offen gehört wird), an beiden Beinen verletzt

https://l.lj-toys.com/?auth_token=sessionless%3A1718629200%3Aembedcontent%3A21756781%2629993%26%260%26youtube%262DpQuAVLHMU%3Ab232c6cb843d03eb0f68c8d4ee875941aa61d73b&source=youtube&vid=2DpQuAVLHMU&moduleid=29993&preview=0&journalid=21756781&noads=

Gazastreifen – 17. Juni 2024

Über die nächtlichen Razzien der IDF im Westjordanland und die Zahl der Palästinenser in israelischen Gefängnissen – ich zitiere der Reihe nach und hebe einige Orte hervor – mit einem Nachwort ohne unnötige Emotionen

« Al Jazeera: Die israelische Armee führt Razzien im Westjordanland durch.

Nach Angaben des Senders stürmt das israelische Militär die Stadt Qalqilya, das Lager Akabat Jabr in der Nähe von Jericho, das Dorf Silat al-Dahr und mehrere Dörfer im IDF-

Gebiet Einheiten führen Razzien in Siedlungen im Westjordanland durch. Dies berichtet der Fernsehsender Al Jazeera .

Ihm zufolge stürmt das israelische Militär die Stadt Qalqilya, das Lager Akabat-Jabr in der Nähe von Jericho, das Dorf Silat al-Dahr und mehrere Dörfer in der Gegend von Dschenin .

Darüber hinaus werden Razzien im Dorf Shuyukh nördlich von Hebron sowie im Dorf Urif und im Dorf Aqraba in der Nähe von Nablus durchgeführt. Informationsquelle

: https://tass.ru/mezhdunarodnaya-panorama/21115941

Und weiter…

„ Medien: Ungefähr 9,3 Tausend Palästinenser sind in israelischen Gefängnissen.

Nach Angaben der Palästinensischen Gefangenengesellschaft sind unter den Inhaftierten 75 Frauen und 250 Kinder

. Mehr als 9,3 Tausend Palästinenser werden von den israelischen Behörden festgenommen und in Gefängnisse gesteckt . Dies berichtete der Fernsehsender Al Mayadeen.

Nach Angaben der Palästinensischen Gefangenenvereinigung sind unter den Inhaftierten 75 Frauen und 250 Kinder .

[Tatsächlich handelt es sich bei der Mehrheit wahrscheinlich um Teenager, d. h. „Kinder“ sind nun, zu Propagandazwecken begannen alle Parteien, sich auf alle Minderjährigen unter 18 Jahren zu beziehen – Hippie End]

Wie im Bericht dieser Organisation erwähnt, umfasst diese Zahl NICHT alle im Gazastreifen inhaftierten Personen: Israeli Die Behörden berichteten zuvor über die Inhaftierung von 899 Menschen in der Enklave . » Und wenn eine Militäroperation gegen den Gazastreifen immer noch durch einen Terroranschlag von dort aus auf jüdisches Territorium am 7. Oktober 2023 gerechtfertigt werden kann, was sind dann die IDF-Razzien auf dem Territorium? das Westjordanland, von wo aus am 7. Oktober 2023 kein einziger Terrorist jüdisches Territorium betrat? Razzien, bei denen die Infrastruktur bis hin zur Straßenoberfläche auf „terroristische“ Weise zerstört wird, Tausende Menschen wegen des Verdachts der Zugehörigkeit zu einer politischen Organisation festgenommen werden und Häuser, in denen die Familien derjenigen, die Juden angegriffen haben, genauso leben wie Juden Angriff Palästinenser im Gazastreifen werden bis auf die Grundmauern zerstört… Wir versuchten uns vorzustellen, wie die Araber das Haus einer jüdischen Familie zerstörten, nur weil eines ihrer Mitglieder derselbe jüdische Terrorist war, über dessen Aktivitäten die New York Times einen großen Artikel veröffentlichte ( ?)

Informationsquelle: https://tass.ru/mezhdunarodnaya-panorama/21116271

Ich erinnere Sie daran, dass Hamas eine POLITISCHE Organisation ist – genau wie jede andere Partei – und in diesem Fall auch eine solche war war viele Jahre lang die herrschende politische Kraft im Gazastreifen, und wenn im Westjordanland Wahlen zum PARLAMENT der palästinensischen „Autonomie“ stattfinden würden, wäre es die dort herrschende parlamentarische Partei.

Und wenn diese politische Organisation einen eigenen militanten Flügel hätte , und seine eigenen Radikalen, einschließlich Terroristen, dann … Nach Untersuchungen von Journalisten der New York Times gibt es in Israel ultrarechte politische Organisationen und „militante Flügel“ des Territoriums in Form der IDF und sogar. .. jüdische Terroristen

Wer weiß also, wenn die Araber die Möglichkeit hätten, Juden sozusagen auf staatlicher Ebene zu verhaften und einzusperren… bräuchten sie diesen Anschlag am 7. Oktober 2023 und die Geiselnahme durch einen Terroranschlag durch Militante? Gruppen… (?)

Noch einmal — — Ich beschreibe einfach die Fakten, die ich ohne Rücksicht auf Emotionen beobachtet habe,

denn in den Vereinigten Staaten blühten Rassismus und der Ku-Klux-Klan mit der vollen Unterstützung der Einheimischen Sicherheitskräfte… war es dann ein Wunder, dass die Black Panthers als Reaktion darauf auftauchten (?)

Und man kann sich nur vorstellen, wie sehr die „feurige Liebe“ zu Juden und dem Staat Israel in der arabischen Bevölkerung tatsächlich zugenommen hat , das inzwischen vollständig besetzte Gebiet des palästinensischen Staates, das von mehr als drei Vierteln der Vereinten Nationen als Ergebnis dessen anerkannt wird, was der extremistischste in der Geschichte Israels, die Macht Netanjahus und die mit ihm verbündeten rechtsextremen Kräfte, befürwortet a Jüdischer Staat ohne Araber innerhalb seiner derzeitigen Grenzen, zu denen Ostjerusalem, die palästinensische „Autonomie“ im Westjordanland und das Gebiet des Gazastreifens gehören …

https://hippy-end.livejournal.com/6502664.html

Baerbock will ernsthaft nochmal Kanzlerin werden: Die grüne Arroganz ist grenzenlos

In einem Interview mit der Süddeutschen Zeitung hat Annalena Baerbock verkündet, sich eine erneute Kanzlerkandidatur durchaus vorstellen zu können. Aus der Wahlschlappe der Grünen scheint die Außenministerin keinerlei Konsequenzen ziehen zu wollen — stattdessen gibt sie sich als fähige Anführerin.

Larissa Fußer
 @larissafusser

„Lasst die Grünen Grüne sein“, fordert der Spiegel am Montagmorgen mit Blick auf die katastrophale Wahlschlappe der Partei bei den Europawahlen. Die These des Redakteurs: Die Grünen haben sich zu sehr von den Koalitionspartnern einlullen lassen, der „vergebliche Pragmatismus“ der Partei müsse endlich ein Ende haben. Stattdessen sollen die Grünen-Politiker selbstbewusster auftreten, sich öfter durchsetzen, dann käme ihnen auch die Wählergunst wieder zugeflogen. Es sind Worte wie Balsam, das „Heile, heile Gänschen“ für eine Partei, die der Autor offenbar möglichst bald wieder „gesunden“ und aufstreben sehen will. 

Allein: Die Verletzten denken gar nicht daran, ihre Wunden zu lecken. Sie tun einfach so, als hätte man gar nichts falsch gemacht – und greifen ungeniert nach den Sternen. Außenministerin Annalena Baerbock kündigt in einem neuen Interview mit der Süddeutschen Zeitung an, sich die Kanzlerkandidatur für die Bundestagswahl 2025 offenzuhalten. „Als Außenministerin habe ich gelernt, dass alles möglich ist“, kokettiert Baerbock. Dass auch ihr Parteikollege Robert Habeck gerne für die Grünen um das Amt des Regierungschefs buhlen möchte, ist ihr bewusst. Den sich anbahnenden innerparteilichen Konflikt will sie gegenüber der SZ jedoch nicht weiter kommentieren. „Mein Job und auch der des Vizekanzlers und Wirtschaftsministers ist es […], die akuten Probleme zu lösen, nicht dauernd Personaldebatten zu führen“, erklärt sie.

Es ist faszinierend. Baerbock tritt auf wie ein Boxer, der, soeben erst aus dem K.-o.-Schlag seines Gegners erwacht, im Delirium verkündet, sich den Titel dennoch holen zu wollen. Nur hat man zunehmend den Eindruck, dass dieser realitätsferne Geisteszustand bei den Grünen keine vorübergehende Erscheinung, sondern erklärter Dauerzustand ist. Auf die Frage der SZ, wie die Außenministerin auf das Erstarken rechter Parteien sowie auf die nach dem Attentat von Mannheim erneut aufgeflammte Angst vor Islamismus reagieren möchte, antwortet Baerbock: „Der allergrößte Teil unserer Gesellschaft steht für eine liberale Demokratie ein, wir dürfen uns nicht spalten lassen. Das ist das Ziel von Rechtsextremisten wie Islamisten. Sie sind Brüder im Geiste.“ 

In nur wenigen Sätzen werden AfD-Politiker, denen immerhin rund 16 Prozent der deutschen Wähler ihre Stimme zur Europawahl gaben, gleichgesetzt mit Islamisten – also jenen religiösen Extremisten, deren brutales Morden in Deutschland vermutlich viele AfD-Wähler überhaupt zur Wahlurne getrieben hat. „Die Wahl zeigt, wie tief nach Corona, der Rückkehr des Krieges nach Europa und all den damit verbundenen wirtschaftlichen Folgen die Unsicherheit um sich greift“, erklärt Baerbock. Als wäre diese Unsicherheit ein metaphysisches Phänomen und nicht direkte Folge der katastrophalen Politik, die ihre Partei mitzuverantworten hat. 

Ähnlich klingt auch die Antwort der Außenministerin auf die Frage der SZ, ob wegen bleibender Konflikte mit der FDP ein Koalitionsbruch bevorstehe. „Den größten Gefallen, den wir den Feinden der liberalen Demokratie im In- und Ausland tun könnten, wäre, dass noch eine europäische Demokratie vorzeitig in Neuwahlen geht“, erklärt Baerbock und gibt sich kämpferisch: „Unser verdammter Job als Regierung ist es, auch in schwierigen Zeiten Probleme miteinander zu lösen“, tönt sie, als würde die deutsche Bevölkerung nicht schon zweieinhalb Jahre auf diese krisenresistente Politik warten. 

Es ist kaum zu begreifen: Eine phänomenale Wahlschlappe löst bei der Grünen-Politikerin, abgesehen von ein paar holen Phrasen, keinerlei Demut oder Fehlereinsicht aus. Stattdessen hält sie sich an der müden „Kampf gegen Rechts“-Strategie fest, die doch schon zur Europawahl offensichtlich keinen Erfolg bringen konnte. Das deutlichste Statement, das sich die Außenministerin abringen kann, ist der Appell, dass es „bei Fragen von innerer Sicherheit, Zusammenhalt und Migration einen selbstbewussteren, weniger verdrucksten Umgang“ brauche. Wie dieser Umgang auszusehen habe, darf der enttäuschte Wähler abwarten – mal wieder. 

Annalena Baerbock demonstriert die absolute Verweigerung der Ampel-Regierung und konkret der Grünen, Verantwortung für die katastrophale Politik zu übernehmen, die zu den offensichtlich dramatischen Wählerabwanderungen ehemaliger Ampel-Unterstützer bei der Europawahl geführt hat. Ihre Nachricht an die Deutschen: Ihr seid ausgenutzt worden von den „Feinden der liberalen Demokratie“. Wir in der Ampel haben nur nicht richtig kommuniziert, welch „schmerzhafte Entscheidungen“ getroffen wurden. Der wirtschaftliche Niedergang Deutschlands, die Haushaltskrise der Bundesregierung, die zunehmende Spaltung der Gesellschaft – das sei alles die Schuld Putins und der AfD.

Wenn wir nur ein bisschen mehr mit euch reden, unsere Politik erklären und uns gemeinsam gegen die „Demokratiefeinde“ stellen, dann wird es schon wieder – und ich kann eure Kanzlerin sein. Diese Überzeugung Baerbocks lässt sich zwischen den Zeilen des Interviews herauslesen. Braucht man so einer Frau wirklich sagen, dass sie „die Grünen Grüne sein“ lassen soll? Wenn sie auch offenbar kein Bedürfnis zu haben scheint, ihren Wählern ihre Integrität als Politikerin zu beweisen, scheint sie doch einer Person ihre unangefochtene Treue zu schenken: sich selbst.

Baerbock will ernsthaft nochmal Kanzlerin werden: Die grüne Arroganz ist grenzenlos