Stephen Lendman

Washington operates extrajudicially. Threatening world peace. The world's global outlaw. Russia its moral leader. Vilified for doing the right thing. For defying America's hegemonic ambitions. Forthrightly. Courageously. Honorably. Responsibly. Supporting nation-state sovereign independence inviolability. Holding firm against America's rage to dominate. Especially over Russia. Never, according to Vladimir Putin. Not now. Earlier. Or ever. For sure not with him in charge.

On Tuesday, he spoke at the all-Russia People's Front. Responding to film director Yuri Kara. Asking if America wants to humiliate Russia.

"(N)ot so," said Putin. "The United States is not trying to humiliate us. It wants to subdue us, to settle its own problems at our expense." "To make us succumb to its influence. No one has ever managed to achieve this aim in relations with Russia or ever will," he stressed.

At the same time, Washington dominates other states. Bullying and pressuring them to go along. At the expense of their own self-interest.

"Try(ing) to defend (what benefits America). (F)or obscure reasons and with very hazy prospects." "I sometimes feel utter confusion,"Putin said. Protection of the so-called pan-European, Western influence to the detriment of one’s own national interests as a rule is fraught with several problems."

Universally defined common interests don't exist, Putin believes. Geopolitical ones vary from country to country.

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Stephen Lendman

Russia prioritizes cooperative relations with all countries. Washington provocatively seeks confrontations, threatening world peace.

New NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg mimics his predecessor. A convenient US stooge. A CIA asset. Beholden to America's imperial interests. Mindless of rule of law principles.

Repeating one Big Lie after another. Wrongfully claiming Donbass democratic elections were unlawful. Shamelessly accusing Russia of threatening Ukraine's border. Groundlessly saying it "continues to support, train and equip" Donbass self-defense forces. Ludicrously "call(ing) on Russia to make genuine efforts toward a peaceful solution."

No country anywhere did more for it responsibly since conflict erupted in Ukraine. None exerted more genuine efforts tirelessly.

Polar opposite Washington's rage for war. Along with its rogue NATO partners. What Stoltenberg didn't explain. Washington's man at NATO. A convenient US stooge. Chosen for that reason. For sure not for world peace.

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Stephen Lendman

Russia is geopolitical enemy No. 1. Not for wrongdoing. Or posing an existential threat. Or acting irresponsibly in any way. For defending its sovereign independence responsibly. Lawfully. Wanting other nations respecting it. Believing rule of law principles are inviolable. For Vladimir Putin, Sergey Lavrov and other officials telling it like it is. Expressing important views candidly, forthrightly and unambiguously.

Polar opposite duplicitous Western politicians. Especially Obama. A caricature of a leader. Arguably America's worst ever. A serial liar. A moral coward. A war criminal multiple times over. A shameless head of state. A deplorable one. A dangerous one. A lawless one. A ruthless one. Neo-liberal, reactionary, belligerent, pro-war, pro-monied interests, anti-democratic, anti-progressive, anti-populist, anti-labor and anti-social justice. A world-class thug. A threat to global peace at the most perilous time in world history.

Russia's Deputy Defense Minister Dmitry Rogozin commented. He explained Moscow's response to real existential threats. It's proud independence. Able to defend its interests effectively. Not about to roll over for Washington or other rogue Western partners. More on his remarks below.

Welcome to Cold War 2.0. The first one never ended. Since Soviet Russia's 1991 dissolution, Western policy remained hard-wired in place. Russia bashing persists. Intensely. Raging daily. Exceeding the worst of Soviet era levels. Daily vilifying a maliciously reinvented Evil Empire. It's back to the future. Unsurprisingly. Neocons infest Washington. Other Western capitals. Business as usual continues. At stake is world peace.

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Stephen Lendman

Ukraine's so-called government is a US-installed fascist dictatorship. It has no legitimacy whatever. Tyranny masquerades as democracy. None exists. Ordinary people have no say. Like in America. Monied interests run things in both countries. One fascist regime supports another. Sunday's snap parliamentary elections were farcical. Expect worse than ever business as usual going forward.

Sergey Lavrov is a world class diplomat. He combines candor and statesmanship with tactfulness, discretion, thoughtfulness and prudence. His comments warrant highlighting. He addressed post-electoral Ukraine. He did so for Moscow's Life News television and Izvestia. He believes Russia will recognize Ukraine's election results. Even though they fell short of international standards nationwide.

It's "critically important for Ukraine to obtain, at long last, a leadership that will not engage in petty infighting and drag the country from east to west and back again, but one that will address real Ukrainian problems, Lavrov said.

"Ukraine needs a government that will think how the nation should regain unity. It needs a government to guarantee an equal status to all Ukrainian citizens irrespective of the language they speak and political convictions they have." "No one should be victimised on political and other grounds, as has been the case until recently."

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Stephen Lendman

US-controlled NATO operates lawlessly. It's a killing machine. A monster threatening world peace and stability. Anders Fogh Rassmussen is gone. Jens Stoltenberg replaced him. He did so seamlessly. He's an imperial tool. A puppet serving US interests. His marching orders are clear. Instituting Washington's policy. Serving Western monied interests. Benefitting war-profiteers. Like his predecessor and others before him, he's a convenient US stooge.

He wasted no time proving it. On Sunday, he said NATO will deploy forces wherever it wants. For any reason. Anywhere. "These capabilities already exist. We have them, and we can deploy them in individual regions. And this is only an add-on to what the alliance already has," he said. It intends using its might how it wishes. Regardless of potential harm. No matter the consequences. He was in Poland at the time. Visiting Lask Air Base.

Heading for Kiev on Wednesday. Meeting with illegitimate putschist foreign affairs minister Pavlo Klimkin. Doing so to plot resumed war strategy once Ukraine's battered military finishes regrouping. He expressed gratitude to Alliance members for prioritizing regional security. He praised their commitment to NATO.

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Stephen Lendman

Conflict continues. Peace is a convenient illusion. Fascists don't wage wars to quit. Washington manipulates events destructively. It uses its installed stooge government to solidify unchallenged control over Ukraine.

Straightaway after assuming power, oligarch president Petro Poroshenko said:

"The first steps that we will take at the beginning of our presidential term should be focused on stopping the war, to put an end to this chaos and bring peace to a united Ukraine."

Days later he promised to crush

"pro-Russian separatist war being waged against our country." "We will end this terror," he said. "The anti-terrorist operation has finally just truly begun."

Washington offers support, encouragement and military aid. Poroshenko promised no civilian attacks. He willfully unleashed Kiev forces against them. He wrongfully blames Russia for Kiev crimes. He shamelessly accused Southeastern Ukrainian freedom fighters for earlier regime ceasefire violations.

Previous articles called chances for durable peace virtually zero. One month after both sides accepted ceasefire terms, intermittent conflict persists daily. Shelling of Donetsk continues. Residents say it never stopped.

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Stephen Lendman

He didn't surprise. His address lasted a mind-numbing 45 minutes. He made painful listening. All his speeches feature demagogic mumbo jumbo Big Lies. They drown out truth.

Two years ago, he lied about Libya. He claimed US-led NATO intervened to "cope with violent conflict, care for the wounded, and craft a vision for the future in which the rights of all Libyans would be respected." He "supported the birth of a new democracy…Libyans held elections…(They) built new institutions…(They) move(d) forward after decades of dictatorship."

Truth is polar opposite Obama's Big Lies. Libya was Africa's most developed country. Most Libyans supported Gaddafi. They did so for good reasons. Libya was a model social justice society. Gaddafi used its oil wealth responsibly. He provided free healthcare, education and other vital benefits.

His Libya no longer exists. Obama transformed it. He made it a charnel house catastrophe. A dystopian wasteland. Tens of thousands were ruthlessly slaughtered. Many more were injured and/or displaced. Libyans had benefits Americans can't imagine. Obama replaced them with dystopian harshness. Mostly civilians were harmed. US-led NATO willfully targeted them. Obama destroyed Libyan sovereignty. He replaced it with instability, insecurity, and daily violence. Last year, he ludicrously said...

"...we come together to reaffirm the founding vision of this institution. For most of recorded history, (the) idea that nations and peoples could come together in peace to solve their disputes and advance a common prosperity seemed unimaginable."

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Stephen Lendman

It's no surprise. Obama's intentions were clear for weeks. Naked aggression is longstanding US policy. In his September 10 address, he said Washington was prepared to "conduct a systematic campaign of airstrikes (against Islamic State terrorists) wherever they are." "That means I will not hesitate to take action against ISIL in Syria as well as Iraq." Last week, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said US Central Command has a plan to take "targeted actions against ISIS safe havens in Syria." Obama added another high crime against peace to his rap sheet. It overflows.

Attacking a country posing no threat to America constitutes a grave breach of international, constitutional and US statute laws. US-led airstrikes began at around 8:30 PM local time. Pentagon press secretary Rear Admiral John Kirby confirmed them, saying:

"US military and partner nation forces…undert(ook) military action against (Islamic State) terrorists in Syria using a mix of fighter, bomber and Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles. Given that these operations are ongoing, we are not in a position to provide additional details at this time," he added. "The decision to conduct theses strikes was made (Monday) by the US Central Command commander under authorization granted him by the commander in chief." "We will provide more details later as operationally appropriate," he said.

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Stephen Lendman

Russia's President Vladimir Putin addresses the audience as he
takes part in festivities to mark the 75th anniversary of the vic-
tory in the Battle of Khalkhin Gol in Ulan Bator, Mongolia,
September 3, 2014. (Distributed by Reuters)

Fail safe days appear over. The unthinkable appears possible. At stake is world peace.

On Wednesday, Putin offered a seven-point plan to end Southeastern Ukraine's conflict. A previous article discussed it. It's genuine. It's sincere. It's fair-minded. It favors neither side. It's a way to restore regional peace. It's an important proposal to keep conflict from spreading.

It doesn't matter. Obama wants war, not peace. So do rogue NATO partners. Kiev's puppet regime is a convenient proxy. Obama commented before Putin explained his plan, saying:

"There is an opportunity here. But no realistic political settlement can be achieved if, effectively, Russia says:" 'We are going to continue to send tanks and troops and arms and advisors under the guise of separatists who are not homegrown, and the only possible settlement is if Ukraine cedes its territory or its sovereignty or its ability to make its own decisions about its security and its economic future.’"

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Stephen Lendman

Anti-Russian lies keep repeating. So many proliferate, it hard keeping up. The latest is over-the-top and then some. It accuses Russia of launching a major offensive against Ukrainian forces. Accusations without evidence are made.

Kiev sources are cited. They've been caught red-handed lying many times. Nothing they say is credible. It doesn't matter. Major media scoundrels repeat their rubbish like gospel. More on this below.

State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki claimed unsubstantiated reports "indicate a Russian-directed counteroffensive is likely underway in Donetsk and Luhansk."

"(W)e're also concerned by the Russian Government's unwillingness to tell the truth even as its soldiers are found 30 miles inside Ukraine," [she said]. "Russia is sending its young men into Ukraine but are telling - are not telling them where they’re going or telling their parents what they’re doing."

Asked why she said "likely" instead of saying a Russian invasion is underway, Psaki said she "decided to say likely." "But why," she was asked? "(L)ikely implies…some uncertainty because there is a possibility that it's not." Psaki ducked the question. She merely cited "a range of (unsubstantiated) reports." "Well, is it an invasion," she was asked? "(A)re we seeing, like, brigades or divisions crossing the borders into Ukraine?" "I don't have any other details to read out for you at this point in time," she said.

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