https://www.unz.com/proberts/cuban-missile-crisis-redux/
A country without an honest media is blind to its fate. In the US there is no media, only repetition of official narratives. The foreign policy narrative is: Russia Bad. China Bad. Iran bad. That is the extent of US foreign policy.
Any person who wants to improve relations with one of the black hats, as Trump did with Russia, is branded an agent of that country. The US Justice (sic) Department has gone further. Any American who writes for the English language Russian websites , Strategic Culture Foundation and SouthFront, is subject to fines and perhaps prison. https://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2021/11/18/us-blacklists-strategic-culture-foundation-in-attack-on-independent-journalism-and-political-dissent/ I see this as the beginning of branding any American who differs from the narrative as a foreign agent. Historically, as well as in dystopian novels, this is the way explanations are controlled.
The curtailment of information also blinds the government, and this is now happening in Washington to a dangerous extent. Washington overthrew the Ukrainian government in 2014 for the opportunities a Ukrainian puppet state provides to destabilize Russia and her security.
To restore stability, the Kremlin put together the Minsk Agreement, but Washington and its new puppet state have abandoned it. The Kremlin now faces the weaponization of the Ukraine and Washington’s intention, whether tomorrow or in a future year, to incorporate Ukraine into Nato. As the Kremlin sees it, this means nuclear weapons on Russia’s border only a few minutes away from targets.
Russia has made it clear that no such thing will be tolerated, but Washington has continued to ignore the Kremlin’s request to negotiate an end to a destabilizing situation. As I pointed out ( https://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2021/12/14/russia-speaks-can-the-dumbshits-in-washington-hear/ ), suddenly the language changed. The euphemistic “our partners” became “our opponents.” In place of polite and ignored requests that Russia’s concerns be addressed, there is a stark demand.
The heavy work is being done by deputy foreign minister Sergey Ryabkov. This leaves Lavrov and Putin clear to step in and negotiate a friendly agreement should anyone in Washington notice that Russian patience has run out.
Ryabkov says that if Washington’s ears remain blocked, one consequence will be Russian nuclear missiles in Cuba and Venezuela. The consequences for US security will be dire. “Lack of progress towards a political and diplomatic solution to this problem [Ukraine] will lead to our response being military and technological.” Washington’s “irresponsible behavior creates grave military risks for all parties involved, up to and including a large-scale conflict in Europe. . . . it is necessary to officially disavow the decision taken at the 2008 NATO summit in Bucharest about Ukraine and Georgia becoming NATO members. . . . We insist that serious long-term legal guarantees are provided, which would exclude NATO’s further advancement to the east and deployment of weapons on Russia’s western borders which are a threat to Russia. This must be done within a specific time frame.” Ruabkov adds: “We insist on receiving a concrete response,” otherwise the next round “will be a confrontation.”
Have you heard anything about this from CNN, NPR, the New York Times? Of course not. Is President Biden addressing this extremely serious situation? No, Biden is busy pumping up Big Pharma’s profits with scare hype over the harmless Omicron variant.
The Kremlin cannot put it any clearer. The Kremlin expects a solution now to its security concern or “the consequences will be dire.” As for NATO, RIA Novosti quotes Ryabkov:
“There is basically no trust in NATO. Many times we have found ourselves in a situation where today one thing is announced, the day after tomorrow another, a year later – the third, and all this is done as if nothing had happened. And one of the reasons why Russia is now demanding legal guarantees of security at the highest level is related to the fact that so far all promises, all assurances and statements, and even political obligations have been overturned. Western foreign policy acts in a way that is beneficial for Washington. It does not reckon with the interests of our security. Therefore, we no longer play such games and do not believe in NATO assurances.”
So what has Washington’s foreign policy achieved? It has discredited Washington’s word. It has created suspicion and distrust in the minds of the leaders of a militarily powerful country. Washington’s arrogance is driving a crisis. Washington having destroyed all pillars of stabilization built over decades now leaves us confronted once again with Armageddon. (Republished from PaulCraigRoberts.org by permission of author or representative)