Sullivan vs Starmer: On the Railroad to Kazan
How much war should there be?
[An annotated graphic from the US Congressional Research Service's recent report.]
Published: 2024-09-21
Above the military-to-military hand-brake put on WWIII last weekend is a political contest. Consortium News' Editor in Chief, Joe Lauria delineates between the camp of warmongering, "crazies in the basement" represented by US Secretary of State Blinken in Washington and British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer in London, and the "realists" of National Security Advisor Sullivan and some elements of the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO, the UK equivalent to the State Department). This is a battle between camps of just how much war there should be, ranging from WWIII to continued, profitable opportunistic wars. In reality, these lesser of this evil, the "realists", fail to account for changes in geopolitics, geoeconomics, military technology and actual realities which exist today.
One should understand that the diplomatic services of powerful nations worldwide are not only interested in this political battle between factions in the US and UK, but that they know what occurred and who is pushing for which outcomes. We can thank Joe Lauria for his research and publication to assist us in understanding the factional struggle.
Unexpected Outcomes
As with all senior political meetings, the majority of details have to be agreed beforehand by foreign ministers or equivalent subordinates. The expected outcome of approval, at the US+UK White House meeting, for the "long range missiles" to attack Russia was leaked to the British press by new Foreign Secretary Lammy, no doubt with the approval of Starmer. Similarly, Blinken-lights signaled to US media the upcoming approval via his Mockingbirds.
Starmer and 5 British ex-Defence Secretary chaps wish to continue to push the UK out in the front of the European NATO member states' warfare against Russia. A fortnight into the disastrous NATO facilitated invasion of the Russian Federation's Kursk Oblast, by Ukrainian soldiers and foreign national mercenaries trained in the use of NATO weapons systems, allegations that Britain's MI-6 were heavily involved in its planning and approval emerged. The inaugural joint public appearance by the CIA and MI-6's leadership declared ongoing support their "intelligence partners" in Ukraine and praised the invasion. Starmer and co's desire to launch missiles deep into Russia and cause WWIII is an extension, a further escalation, of this murderous support.
From a Times article cited by Lauria we learn that a group of nameless officials in the FCO are opposing this insanity.
Starmer [...] has faced down an attempt by the Foreign Office to get Britain to change its stance on Ukraine and “get back in the pack”, so the UK is no longer the most forward-leaning member of the western alliance in advocating the arming of Ukraine.
Writing from the British perspective, The Times adds:
Sources in London say there is a split in Biden’s team between Blinken and Jake Sullivan [...] who held [...] talks before the White House meeting with Tim Barrow, his opposite number. “The problem is Sullivan, not Blinken,” a British defence source said. “All the way through it has been Sullivan.”
So are the lines drawn between Starmer and 5 ex-Defense Secretaries in London with Blinkenlights in Washington, and Sullivan (and the US Dept. of Defense and Joint Chiefs of Staff) in Washington and anonymous officials in the FCO in London.
Geopolitics
Notwithstanding the avoidance of a nuclear holocaust last weekend, we remain in troubling geopolitical times. The US has two "partners" pulling its military into directions of extreme danger. One is the UK and its "forward leaning" encouragement of the war against Russia.
The second is Israel. Its terrorist attacks of a few days ago meet the desire of genocidal Prime Minister Netanyahu to rid southern Lebanon of Hezbollah's military wing and so achieve the "return" of Zionist settlers to the occupied territories of Syria. Mossad's constructed communications bombs masquerading as pagers and walkie-talkies has damaged Hezbollah's internal communications, injured some of its soldiers and weakened Lebanon's health services. US CENTCOM's General Kurilla visited Tel Aviv repeatedly recently to warn the IOF against initiating a ground war with Hezbollah. There are numerous reasons for this, not the least of which is that US munitions stockpiles have been seriously drained by its support for the war against Russia in Ukraine.
The US Congressional Research Service's report of 2024-09-16 asks:
Do U.S. and global suppliers possess adequate industrial capacity to achieve congressional objectives regarding Ukraine?
That the CRS is informing Congress that the question requires evaluation is indicative.
On Friday 20th September's The Duran program, Prof. Jeffrey Sachs introduced the discussion by repeating with more authority the message which this newsletter has been conveying using his and other informed sources for years. In Kazan from the 22nd to 24th October, 2024, the BRICS "Meeting of State Leaders" is expected to outline further progress in establishing non-USD trade mechanisms for member states. As Sachs outlines the US weaponization of its dollar, the current dominant "reserve currency", and its repeated impounding (theft) of foreign nations Reserve Banks, has forced nations outside of its geopolitical block, the G7, to find ways to continue to trade and avoid the thieving. The unilateral mechanisms which the US has been using to inhibit international trade to further its geopolitical aims have lead the BRICS group to call for a return to international law, as represented by the UN and its court the ICJ, rather than succumb to the hegemonic, mercurial "rules based international order".
The West's warmongering, coups and abuse of the US dollar has motivated the formation of this alliance against its lawlessness and violence. To the pleasure of some sections of the US establishment, notably the "neocons", the war in Ukraine has filled the coffers of its "Military Industrial Base" (to use the Congressional Research Service's term) while those political forces enjoyed Slavs killing Slavs. The West's desired and predicted rapid political implosion in Russia, early in the war due to economic sanctions, was a fantasy. In reality, Russia has grown its military, trialed new armaments and most importantly, learned the successful tactics of state of the art ground warfare. Its national economy sustained strategy of attritional warfare has proved itself successful, yet again.
US threats to China are myriad, from naval patrols, to political incitement and arms supply in Taiwan, to constructing even more foreign military bases on the Western Pacific rim. China has reminded the US, explicitly, of its strategic partnership with Russia. Into that mix one should place Iran with which Russia has now a strategic alliance. These three are the current primary targets of US "full spectrum dominance".
The US is bankrupting itself though both its expensive arms manufacturing, base construction and excessive military budget while it is still losing ever war it fights. Yemen’s Ansar Allah have just defeated the US Navy in the Red Sea as one deployment for Operation Papa’s Garden (Prosperity Guardian) limps home and the next lines up watching impotently as a hypersonic missile flies overhead to explode in Tel Aviv.
[St. Louis Federal Reserve — Federal government current expenditures: Interest Payments.]
The US has lost political and economic control of its former vassal states in southwest Asia which produce the majority of the world's oil supply. This loss was signified by both the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's agreement to sell oil to China in national currencies, and by the rapprochement between the Kingdom and the Islamic Republic of Iran with which China has a 25 year agreement in trade and support. That agreement was one of the mechanisms which Iran used to minimize the impact of US unilateral economic sanctions after former US President Trump junked US participation in the JCPOA (the Iran "nuclear" deal, which is equally an anti-sanctions deal).
That unilateral withdrawal was just another reason why no nation outside, and to some degree within, the G7 can trust the US. It is a rogue state. Its support of Israel's genocide is just another extreme example. Recall, we just avoided a nuclear war because of the sanity of the US military as opposed to its civilian “leadership”.
This is the backdrop, the context for the upcoming heads of state meeting under the Russian presidency of BRICS which is the topic further discussed on The Duran with Prof. Sachs. The list of nations wishing to join BRICS to escape US financial attack is long. Recent applicants include Türkiye, a NATO member state, and Malaysia, a significant integrated circuits producer. Malaysia is also the guardian of the Straits of Malacca, a sea lane the importance of which will replace the Suez Canal once the International North-South Corridor of transport from the Arabian Sea to Baltic Sea is operational. There are monumental changes occurring in international trade settlement and transport, and all of these changes are happening against US desires because of US foreign policy.
The war in Ukraine and the one being escalated in Lebanon by the Zionists are headed by political leaders in desperation. Pepe Escobar’s recent article reminds us to beware of false flag attacks. Both Israel and Ukraine want the US to fight their wars for them, for without the US they have lost. As Larry Johnson put it:
Ukraine and Israel both share at least one thing in common — they are desperate and flailing about trying to get the United States directly involved in their respective wars.
Johnson is explicit describing the US military position and advice to Israel:
The US Commander of CENTCOM, with the blessing of Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, told Netanyahu that if he provokes a war, he will fight it on his own. The US will not intervene.
The US military knows the fragility of its current, conventional, military capacity. A false flag is a known method to override military hesitancy by generating public outrage.
We are in very dangerous times.
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Sources
The Madness of Antony Blinken, Joe Lauria, Consortium News, 2024-09-20
Defense Production for Ukraine: Background and Issues for Congress, Congressional Research Service, 2024-09-16
Ukraine and Israel Following the Same Playbook, But Uncle Sam Doesn’t Want to Play, Larry Johnson, SONAR21, 2024-09-20
Europe Prepares For Hot War With Russia, US Readies For Hot War With China, Caitlin Johnstone, Caitlin's Newsletter, 2024-09-21
This Ain’t No WWIII: This Is a War of Terror, Pepe Escobar, The Unz Review, 2024-09-18
Houthis Launch Long-Range Missile Into Central Israel, Dave DeCamp, Antiwar, 2024-09-15
Five ex-defence secretaries tell PM: let Ukraine fire our missiles, Caroline Wheeler & Tim Shipman, The Times, 2024-09-14 [https://www.thetimes.com/world/russia-ukraine-war/article/go-it-alone-and-let-ukraine-fire-missiles-keir-starmer-told-9mc0q5w2w]
Biden Poised to Approve Ukraine’s Use of Long-Range Western Weapons in Russia, David E. Sanger, Helene Cooper & Eric Schmitt, The New York Times, 2024-09-12 [https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/12/us/politics/biden-ukraine-weapons.html]
Lammy: UK missiles are vital to stop Putin, Ben Riley-Smith, The Telegraph, 2024-09-12 [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2024/09/12/lammy-uk-missiles-vital-ukraine-putin/]
9/19/24 Dave DeCamp on the Pager Attack in Lebanon and the Ongoing Slaughter of the Palestinians, Horton interviews DeCamp, The Scott Horton Show, 2024-09-19
Calendar, BRICS Russia 2024
London, Washington. We have a problem., YesXorNo, 2024-09-20
Paging Hezbollah, YesXorNo, 2024-09-18
🎧 Paging Hezbollah ... Extended, YesXorNo, 2024-09-19
Malacca, YesXorNo, 2024-07-30
NordStream I & II, YesXorNo, 2023-02-08
Federal government current expenditures: Interest payments, Fed. Reserve. St. Louis
BRICS Meeting to Develop Multipolar World - Jeffrey Sachs, Alexander Mercouris & Glenn Diesen [s0qFuH4UfKw], Sachs interviews by Diesen & Mercouris, The Duran, 2024-09-20
Copyleft: CC0
David Lammy - what a sellout! He's betrayed everything he claimed he stood for when he was coming up in the Labour Party. How do they find these people?