The only USA base missing on this map is Ukraine - you guessed it, because Russia said "enough!"
On Mon, Sep 26, 2016 at 02:22:41PM -0700, Sean Lynch wrote: > On Mon, Sep 26, 2016 at 2:04 PM, Steve Kinney <ad...@pilobilus.net> wrote: > > > On 09/23/2016 08:04 PM, Zenaan Harkness wrote: > > > > > So the US government appears set on complete destruction of > > > Ukraine. Doesn't even make strategic sense at this point. I guess > > > unless you're an essentially evil Western oligarch who wants to > > > carve it up for purchase on the cheap, the people, the Russians, > > > and the world be damned. > > > > In the context of the Cold War, now arriving at the boiling point due > > to the Bush/Obama Administration's belligerent posture toward Russia, > > the U.S. annexation of Ukraine via a (literally) Nazi proxy force > > makes strategic sense: It was a destabilizing military and economic > > provocation against the Russian Federation, and has been followed by a > > massive conventional force buildup on Europe's eastern borders, adding > > pressure to the weight of U.S. controlled strategic nuclear assets > > that were /already/ present on that border. These deployments must be > > countered, which ties up Russian military assets and reduces that > > country's force projection capabilities in North Africa and the Middle > > East. > > > > Russia's continuing support of the ethnic Russian enclave on Ukraine's > > eastern border also makes strategic sense: It prevents full > > consolidation of power by the U.S. installed government, prevents > > routine deployment of East-facing U.S. controlled forces on the > > Ukraine/Russian border, and provides a potential haven for Ukrainian > > insurgents working against the government in Kiev. > > > > Crimea's value to Russia is self explanatory, and I do not recall > > hearing anything about the populace turning out to protest the orderly > > handover of power to Russia in preference to a U.S. sponsored gang of > > (literal) Nazis. Rather the opposite, and I saw no evidence that the > > U.S. even /tried/ to retain Crimea. > > I don't disagree with this, but I will say that I think there are other > equally valid interpretations that don't involve words like "annex", which > I think applies far more to Russia with Crimea than it does to the US > w.r.t. the rest of Ukraine. On the other hand, the main innovation of the > US flavor of imperialism is the more subtle/opaque means by which it > achieves its ends, thus ensuring that one can easily interpret it as not > imperialism. Not that the Russians are above subterfuge; they're just not > in a position to as easily use it in this situation. Backing off now I see. "Slut" comes to mind. That and "2014's propaganda" > > The "USA Number One!" mentality of comfortable Middle Class Amerikans > > makes sense of a kind: Their continued material prosperity relative to > > the former Working Class /does/ depend on global terrorism, enforced > > poverty, mass murder, cities reduced to rubble and refugee columns, > > etc. as the U.S. war of global economic conquest continues. They > > deserve to see the same things happen to their own children and > > families, and if they continue to get their own way they WILL see that > > - - unless they happen to be closer to ground zero "on the day." > > Unfortunately, this cheerful little scenario involves dragging those > > /not/ responsible for all that human misery and heaped, dead burnt > > bodies down into the same hell. > > This is by no means unique or even more prevalent in the United States than > elsewhere. The way for any government to retain its power is by convincing > a large enough segment of the population that it's better off than it would > be under some other situation they think they can achieve. Cognitive > assonance does the rest. I certainly suffer from it as much as anyone. I > like to think I'm more enlightened than the average person in my position, A little honesty is a good thing. > but TBH I have no idea what I'll do when the shit hits the fan. What I do > know is that my family comes before any kind of ideology. Which in a sense > is just selfishness, but I do feel like I was far more able to do things on > behalf of ideology that were not in my immediate self-interest before I had > kids. > > > > The real conflict here is not West vs. East or even USA vs. The Rest > > Of The World. It is the human race, vs. its own parasitic ruling > > class and their faithful servants. The parasites have already lost; > > if they do not surrender their power voluntarily (impossible), > > environmental limits enforced by the laws of physics will destroy that > > power (inevitable). Now the only game in town is about reducing the > > final body count, which no rational scenario places at less than a > > couple of billion, and preserving essential long term survival > > resources for the survivors. And that's where radical populist > > politics enters the scene. Communication is vitally important in > > political warfare, and providing the best possible tools to Our Side > > is the mission that makes "cypherpunk" bullshit worth doing. > > I don't share your pessimism as to bodycount, but that could be wishful > thinking.