{"id":117994,"date":"2015-07-03T08:13:51","date_gmt":"2015-07-03T08:13:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/?p=117994"},"modified":"2015-07-06T07:23:46","modified_gmt":"2015-07-06T07:23:46","slug":"putin-gobsmacks-uncle-sam-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/?p=117994","title":{"rendered":"Putin Gobsmacks Uncle Sam \u2026 Again"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mike Whitney — Counter Punch June 29, 2015<\/a><\/h1>\n

Here\u2019s the scoop: Two days before the swaggering Sec-Def touched down in Germany, Gazprom announced that it was putting the finishing touches on a massive deal that would double the amount of Russian gas flowing to Germany via a second Nord Stream pipeline. The shocking announcement made it look like the clueless Carter had no idea what was going on and that his efforts to isolate Russia were a complete flop. And, make no mistake; the deal is huge, big enough to change the geopolitical calculus of the entire region. Robert Morley explains what\u2019s going on in a recent article at The Trumpet:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOnce this pipeline is finished, almost all of Eastern Europe can be completely cut out of the gas picture. There will be no need for any gas to transit through Ukraine, Poland, Romania, Belarus, Hungary or Slovakia.\u201d (Gazprom\u2019s Dangerous New Nord Stream Gas Pipeline to Germany<\/a><\/strong><\/span>, The Trumpet)<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Yep, Ukraine is out and Germany\u2019s in, which means that Washington\u2019s plan to extend US hegemony by driving a wedge between Russia and Europe is down the plughole.<\/span><\/p>\n

Judo expert Putin has done it again; he waited until the eleventh hour to pull the rug out from under the blustery Carter, and now he\u2019s sitting back enjoying the show. Is it any wonder why Carter\u2019s been running around Europe with his hair on fire? Here\u2019s more from the same article:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThink of the huge leverage this will give Russia\u2026..Germany may not have much in the way of natural resources of its own, but with Russia\u2019s help, it is becoming an energy hub of Europe! Increasing quantities of Russian gas are flowing through Germany before being distributed to countries like the Netherlands, Belgium, France and Britain. In this way Germany leverages the power of Russia. Western Europe also is becoming dependent on Germany for gas supplies too\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t let the current conflict in Ukraine cloud what is happening. Germany and Russia have a history of secret cooperation\u2014even when headline conflict appears to indicate otherwise. That Germany and Russia would push through such a deal when the West is supposedly sanctioning Russia for its actions in Ukraine speaks volumes.\u201d (\u201cGazprom\u2019s Dangerous New Nord Stream Gas Pipeline to Germany\u201d, The Trumpet)<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Talk about sour grapes! The author would like you believe that US motives in Europe are pure as the driven snow, but are they? Is Washington really afraid of Russian aggression or are they trying desperately to keep the unipolar model intact by separating Germany and Russia? Isn\u2019t that what the sanctions are all about? STRATFOR CEO George Friedman summed up it up perfectly in a recent speech he gave at The Chicago Council on Foreign Affairs. He said:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe primordial interest of the United States, over which for centuries we have fought wars\u2013the First, the Second and Cold Wars\u2013has 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<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Bingo. This is Washington\u2019s strategy in a nutshell, preventing German industry from linking up with Russia\u2019s vast natural resources. That\u2019s the lethal combo that will lead to an integrated Eurasian free trade zone that will dwarf US GDP and put an end to the empire. So don\u2019t believe the baloney about \u201cRussian aggression\u201d. What Washington really cares about is an economic rival that could leave it in the dust. And that\u2019s exactly what\u2019s going to happen when Germany becomes Moscow\u2019s biggest gas station.<\/span><\/p>\n

Naturally, the Gazprom news left Carter in a bit of a crabby mood, which may explain why he\u2019s been dragging himself from one Capital to the next issuing terse warnings to Putin while promising NATO more weapons, more troops, more joint-maneuvers, and more missiles. And for what? To stop the Cossacks from sweeping across the Steppe and into Baltics? Be serious. Putin\u2019s not going to invade Europe. He wants their business, that\u2019s all. Like we\u2019ve been saying from the beginning; Putin just wants to makes some dough. He wants to pull his economy out of recession, and, yes, beef up Gazprom\u2019s profits. Is there a problem with that?<\/span><\/p>\n

Nope. In fact, that\u2019s the way the US used to do things, y\u2019know, before they decided it was easier to just blow up stuff and steal whatever they could.<\/span><\/p>\n

But all this whining about Putin is ridiculous, don\u2019t you think? So he sells gas to Europe. So what? Get over it. No one likes a whiner.<\/span><\/p>\n

The US did everything in its power to sabotage South Stream, and they succeeded too. Score one for Team USA. But did they really think it would end there? Did they really think that that Putin would just fold his tent and go home for a good cry? Did they really think he was going to walk away from his biggest trading partner and move on to China?<\/span><\/p>\n

Of course not. Any fool could have seen this coming, so why was the Pentagon caught flatfooted? Don\u2019t they have anyone on the payroll who can figure out stuff like this or are they too busy with their damn wargames? And why is Carter talking about tanks and missiles systems when US trade reps should be looking for ways to cut a deal? Isn\u2019t that the way capitalism is supposed to work or has the US degenerated to the point where it has to incinerate anyone it can\u2019t compete with? It\u2019s pathetic! Here\u2019s a clip from Carter in Europe:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOne of [Putin\u2019s] stated views is a longing for the past and that\u2019s where we have a different perspective on the world and even on Russia\u2019s future, Carter said. \u201cWe\u2019d like to see us all moving forward, Europe moving forward, and that does not seem to be his stated perspective.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

C\u2019mon, Carter. Can\u2019t you just man-up and admit the US can\u2019t compete anymore so you\u2019ve decided to start a war instead. Is that so hard to say?<\/span><\/p>\n

Of course Carter has made every effort to sweep the Gazprom story under the rug and pretend that nothing has happened, but anyone who follows these things can figure it out. The fact is, he got his clock-cleaned by Putin, and not just once either. There was another bombshell on Wednesday that just added a little icing to the cake. Check this out from Oil Price.com:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cRussia\u2019s state-run gas company Gazprom says it has taken a step toward building the Turkish Stream pipeline by securing permission from Ankara to begin surveying waters of the Black Sea for the offshore leg of the project\u2026..Alexander Novak, Russia\u2019s energy minister, says he expects Ankara and Moscow will sign an agreement to build Turkish Stream by the end of June.\u201d (Controversial Gazprom Pipeline Clears Hurdle<\/a><\/strong><\/span>, Oil Price)<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

That\u2019s what you call the double whammy! Now Putin\u2019s going to be pumping gas into Europe from both directions leaving Uncle Sam out in the cold. Can you feel those Russian pincers starting to tighten around Europe? Now you can understand why Carter\u2019s been running around Europe with his knickers in a twist; it\u2019s because his glorious divide and conquer strategy just exploded in his face. His only option now is to scrap Plan A altogether and go back to drawing board. What a freaking disaster.<\/span><\/p>\n

There\u2019s another story that broke during Carter\u2019s euro-junket that\u2019s also worth mentioning. This is from Bloomberg:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cUkraine will miss a bond coupon payment in July, setting off a default on about $19 billion of debt, as a standoff with creditors shows no sign of abating, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

Ukraine is giving creditors a few weeks to accept a proposal that includes a 40 percent writedown to principal before it imposes a debt moratorium, a person familiar with the talks said on June 19.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cUkraine will not make the July 24 coupon payment and, as a result, will enter into default at that point,\u201d Matheny said of his base-case scenario in the report. \u201cWe do not expect the ad hoc committee to accept Ukraine\u2019s latest restructuring proposal.\u201d (Goldman Sees Ukraine Default in July as Debt Standoff Holds<\/a><\/strong><\/span>, Bloomberg)<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Ukraine is busted, are you kidding me? The country that was so critical to US plans for luring Putin into a Vietnam-type quagmire, is headed for bankruptcy? So all that work was for nothing\u2013toppling the government, arming the Nazis, fomenting a civil war, incinerating buildings full of civilians in Odessa, shooting down commercial airliners, and plunging the state into Somalia-like chaotic abyss? It was all just a big miscalculation, a boo-boo; is that it?<\/span><\/p>\n

Can you see why the United States can\u2019t be trusted as \u201cthe guarantor of global security\u201d? Washington destroys everything it touches with its wrecking ball foreign policy; Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria. Now it\u2019s destroyed Ukraine. Who\u2019ll be next?<\/span><\/p>\n

Putin has done us all a favor by throwing a wrench in Washington\u2019s plans and helping to bring the era of imperial overreach to a swift and merciful end. We all owe him a debt of gratitude.<\/span><\/p>\n

Way to go, Vladimir.<\/span><\/p>\n

MIKE WHITNEY<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong>lives in Washington state. He is a contributor to\u00a0Hopeless: Barack Obama and the Politics of Illusion<\/a>\u00a0(AK Press).\u00a0Hopeless is also available in a\u00a0Kindle edition<\/a>.\u00a0He can be reached at\u00a0fergiewhitney@msn.com<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The judo expert has done it again. Way to go, Vladimir. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[61,91],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-117994","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-Commentary","category-russia"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117994","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/121"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=117994"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117994\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":117996,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117994\/revisions\/117996"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=117994"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=117994"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=117994"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}