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Mike Whitney<\/p>\n
\n\u201cThe primordial interest of the United States, over which for centuries we have fought wars\u2013 the First, the Second and Cold Wars\u2013 has been the relationship between Germany and Russia, because united there, they\u2019re the only force that could threaten us. And to make sure that that doesn\u2019t happen.\u201d George Friedman, STRATFOR CEO at The Chicago Council on Foreign Affairs<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
The Ukrainian crisis has nothing to do with Ukraine. It\u2019s about Germany and, in particular, a pipeline that connects Germany to Russia called Nord Stream 2. Washington sees the pipeline as a threat to its primacy in Europe and has tried to sabotage the project at every turn. Even so, Nord Stream has pushed ahead and is now fully-operational and ready-to-go. Once German regulators provide the final certification, the gas deliveries will begin. German homeowners and businesses will have a reliable source of clean and inexpensive energy while Russia will see a significant boost to their gas revenues. It\u2019s a win-win situation for both parties.<\/p>\n
The US Foreign Policy establishment is not happy about these developments. They don\u2019t want Germany to become more dependent on Russian gas because commerce builds trust and trust leads to the expansion of trade. As relations grow warmer, more trade barriers are lifted, regulations are eased, travel and tourism increase, and a new security architecture evolves.\u00a0In a world where Germany and Russia are friends and trading partners, there is no need for US military bases, no need for expensive US-made weapons and missile systems, and no need for NATO.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s also no need to transact energy deals in US Dollars or to stockpile US Treasuries to balance accounts.\u00a0Transactions between business partners can be conducted in their own currencies which is bound to precipitate a sharp decline in the value of the dollar and a dramatic shift in economic power. This is why the Biden administration opposes Nord Stream.\u00a0It\u2019s not just a pipeline, it\u2019s a window into the future; a future in which Europe and Asia are drawn closer together into a massive free trade zone that increases their mutual power and prosperity while leaving the US on the outside looking in.<\/p>\n
Warmer relations between Germany and Russia signal an end to the \u201cunipolar\u201d world order the US has overseen for the last 75 years. A German-Russo alliance threatens to hasten the decline of the Superpower that is presently inching closer to the abyss. This is why Washington is determined to do everything it can to sabotage Nord Stream and keep Germany within its orbit. It\u2019s a matter of survival.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s where Ukraine comes into the picture.\u00a0Ukraine is Washington\u2019s \u2018weapon of choice\u2019 for torpedoing Nord Stream and putting a wedge between Germany and Russia.\u00a0The strategy is taken from page one of the US Foreign Policy Handbook under the rubric: Divide and Rule.<\/p>\n
Washington needs to create the perception that Russia poses a security threat to Europe. That\u2019s the goal. They need to show that Putin is a bloodthirsty aggressor with a hair-trigger temper who cannot be trusted.\u00a0To that end, the media has been given the assignment of reiterating over and over again, \u201cRussia is planning to invade Ukraine.\u201d What\u2019s left unsaid is that Russia has not invaded any country since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, and that the US has invaded or toppled regimes in more than 50 countries in the same period of time, and that the US maintains over 800 military bases in countries around the world. None of this is reported by the media, instead the focus is on \u201cevil Putin\u201d who has amassed an estimated 100,000 troops along the Ukrainian border threatening to plunge all of Europe into another bloody war.<\/p>\n
All of the hysterical war propaganda is created with the intention of manufacturing a crisis that can be used to isolate, demonize and, ultimately, splinter Russia into smaller units.\u00a0The real target, however, is not Russia, but Germany.\u00a0Check out this excerpt from an article by Michael Hudson at The Unz Review:<\/p>\n
\n\u201cThe only way left for U.S. diplomats to block European purchases\u00a0is to goad Russia into a military response\u00a0and then claim that avenging this response outweighs any purely national economic interest. As hawkish Under-Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Victoria Nuland, explained in a State Department press briefing on January 27:\u00a0\u201cIf Russia invades Ukraine one way or another Nord Stream 2 will not move forward.\u201d\u00a0(\u201cAmerica\u2019s Real Adversaries Are Its European and Other Allies\u201d<\/a>, The Unz Review)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
There it is in black and white.\u00a0The Biden team wants to \u201cgoad Russia into a military response\u201d in order to sabotage NordStream.\u00a0That implies there will be some kind of provocation designed to induce Putin to send his troops across the border to defend the ethnic Russians in the eastern part of the country. If Putin takes the bait, the response would be swift and harsh. The media will excoriate the action as a threat to all of Europe while leaders around the world will denounce Putin as the \u201cnew Hitler\u201d. This is Washington\u2019s strategy in a nutshell, and\u00a0the whole production is being orchestrated with one goal in mind; to make it politically impossible for the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to wave NordStream through the final approval process.<\/p>\n
Given what we know about Washington\u2019s opposition to Nord Stream, readers may wonder why earlier in the year the Biden administration lobbied Congress NOT to impose more sanctions on the project. The answer to that question is simple: Domestic politics. Germany is currently decommissioning its nuclear power plants and needs natural gas to make up for the energy shortfall. Also, the threat of economic sanctions is a \u201cturn-off\u201d for Germans who see them as a sign of foreign meddling. \u201cWhy is the United States interfering in our energy decisions,\u201d asks the average German. \u201cWashington should mind its own business and stay out of ours.\u201d This is precisely the response one would expect from any reasonable person.<\/p>\n
Then, there\u2019s this from Al Jazeera:<\/p>\n
\n\u201cGermans in the majority support the project, it is only parts of the elite and media who are against the pipeline\u2026<\/p>\n