The crisis in Ukraine (1).

Is not about Ukraine. It's about Germany. "The primordial interest of the United States, over which for centuries we have fought wars - the First, the Second and Cold Wars - has been the relationship between Germany and Russia because united there, they're the only force that could threaten us. And to make sure that that doesn't happen". George Friedman, STRATFOR CEO at The Chicago Council on Foreign Affairs.

The Ukrainian crisis has nothing to do with Ukraine. It's 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's a win-win situation for both parties.

The US Foreign Policy establishment is not happy about these developments. They don't 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. In 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. There's also no need to transact energy deals in US Dollars or to stockpile US Treasuries to balance accounts. Transactions 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. It's not just a pipeline, it's 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. Warmer relations between Germany and Russia signal an end to the "unipolar" world the US has overseen for the last 75 years. A German-Russo alliance threatens to hasten the decline of the Superpower that is 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's a matter of survival.

That's where Ukraine comes into the picture. Ukraine is Washington's 'weapon of choice' for torpedoing Nord Stream and putting a wedge between Germany and Russia. The strategy is taken from page one of the US Foreign Policy Handbook under the rubric: Divide and Rule. Washington needs to create the perception that Russia poses a security threat to Europe. That's the goal. They need to show that Putin is a bloodthirsty aggressor with a hair-trigger temper who cannot be trusted. To that end, the media has been given the assignment of reiterating over and over again, "Russia is planning to invade Ukraine". What's 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 "evil Putin" who has amassed 100,000 troops along the Ukrainian border threatening to plunge all of Europe into another bloody war.

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. The real target, however, is not Russia, but Germany. The Biden team wants to "goad Russia into a military response" in order to sabotage Nord Stream. That implies there will be some kind of provocation 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 will denounce Putin as the "new Hitler". This is Washington's  strategy in a nutshell and the whole production is being orchestrated with one goal in mind; to make it politically impossible for the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to wave Nord Stream through the final approval process.

........to be contd.  

Tailpiece.

Got up at a quarter past 6, the chores and was ready by a 10' past 10. The delay was because I was following the President's Fleet Review on television which was a grand event, as usual.

Worked on my Muthachhan's biography.

Helped Lekha in watering the plants.