US
Plans To Muscle In
On Russia's Turf
By Peter Chamberlin
19 November,
2008
Countercurrents.org
The recent US/Israeli attempt
to foment war with Russia in South Ossetia, and the upcoming “testing”
of Obama are acts of desperation by a fading global empire. The American
era is over. All that remains is the dispensation of America’s
remaining nuclear resources in such a way as to reap the greatest
advantage for America’s corporate owners in the great repositioning
that is now taking place.
The loud
sucking sound you hear is the great vacuum of corporate ownership
passing over our heads, as it gathers our last remaining resources
to its soulless center. The inhuman parasite class feeds off of the
rest of the world and the world does nothing to rid itself of this
disease.
The human suffering generated by the wholesale raping of the earth
and its abundant resources is irrelevant, as long as profits continue
to flow. Acts of desperation taken to remedy the suffering caused
by this world-rape, such as the financial bail-out and the resource
wars in the Middle East, are emergency measures intended to maintain
the constant flow of profit, nothing more. What the world needs is
a prolonged period of no profits for the ruling class, with all available
assets going instead to the most desperate of the remaining 98% of
humanity.
The dictatorship has no intention of allowing this to happen, passing peaceably into a new humane era. For proof of the true intentions of the masters of the universe, just look at what has been done to Iraq to accommodate the seizure of its oil assets. The same savage looting operation has been planned for every key nation in the global energy network. Beginning with the seizure of Iran and Pakistan, nations along proposed pipeline corridors will be taken-over or destroyed, in order to harvest the Caucasus gas and Middle Eastern oil reserves.
The planned
Nabucco pipeline is meant to be an instrument of economic warfare
to wield against Iran, Russia and China. Investment in this endeavor
by the European Union and others represents a substantial investment
to prevent eastern powers from developing the shortest, most economical
route through Iran.
The near-monopoly on natural gas maintained by the Russians must be broken.
“Russia
holds the world's largest natural gas reserves, the second largest
coal reserves, and the eighth largest oil reserves. Russia is also
the world's largest exporter of natural gas, the second largest oil
exporter and the third largest energy consumer.
According to IMF and World Bank estimates, the oil and gas sector
generated more than 60 percent of Russia’s export revenues (64%
in 2007)”
The surest way to undermine Russian attempts to counter US moves into the Caucasus is to deprive it of a chunk of this income. This will also undermine Russia’s capability to dictate to Europe in the winter and its attempt to challenge American hegemony over Europe.
"The Ukraine’s threat to join NATO and train U.S. missiles on Russian borders is an empty one that will only end up shooting the Ukrainians in the foot (or maybe the head, depending on how high those missiles are pointing). Gazprom has all the power in the situation, and the government-owned corporation knows it." — Stephanie Grimmett
There is some speculation in the Western media that the “great testing” of Obama will come with a Russian military move to consolidate its position in Ukraine and the other breakaway countries, in order to create a path for its own new transmission line to Europe. The South Stream pipeline will run under the Black Sea to the European Union.
If Russia is allowed to maintain this domination of European gas it
will be in a position to challenge US domination, something the neocon
West has promised never to countenance. The two former superpowers
are headed for a collision over this issue of central Asian pipelines,
as they maneuver themselves into an advantageous position for a title
fight over future energy sources. Even if one side manages to come
out on top after a potential conflict, it would not be able to supply
the first cubic meter of gas or oil for at least three years. We are
going into a fight based on sheer speculation. The anticipation of
future profits is fueling war fever right now.
If the United States had not spent the past eight years antagonizing the rest of the world with our wars of conquest and bullying domination we might be in a better position today to help other nations develop the next generation of energy suppliers (like Kazakistan, Azerbaijan, even Cuba). This next step in energy production and transmission cannot be developed without major investments by Western governments and oil companies. These new resources could be developed at half their potential costs if major wars were not required to create them.
The Santos basin off the Brazilian coast is estimated to be the third largest in the world and will be in production long before the first drop transits the Caspian or Black Seas.
The oil wars of Bush and Cheney will not end even if they submit to the coming transition of power, just as the robbing of America will not be diminished by nationalizing the savings and retirement accounts of ordinary Americans. The looting and pillaging of Americans can only accelerate, just as the wars being fought to enrich the same evil men who are behind both the military and economic crises can only intensify and spread under the cloak of “change” that is "Obamaism” personified. The only “changes” in foreign policy that the Democrats are laying-out before us will not be ones that bring hope.
In the next 3-4 months we shall bear stark witness to the proof that there is only one party in the United States, the party of war and limitless greed.
