AP Photo/ Evgeniy Maloletka[/caption]The longer and bigger the war in Ukraine becomes, the more lucrative it becomes for US politicians and big business, says Alexandr Khrolenko, a columnist for the Rossiya Segodnya information agency.
MOSCOW, February 2 (Sputnik) The pro-independence militia inthe Donbas are inthe process ofliberating new territories. The encirclement ofa large group ofUkrainian forces numbering inthe thousands is taking place aroundthe city ofDebaltseve; a narrow gap inthe front there is soon set tobe eliminated. And nevertheless the war will continue, and fora long time, because even inthe limited Donbas format, it will result inprofits forAmerican corporations.
The West Will Help Arms Companies
Over the course oftwo weeks, according todata released bythe hacker organization 'CyberBerkut,' the Ukrainian armed forces suffered over1,000 fatalities and more than100 oftheir tanks were destroyed, withdozens ofsoldiers and officers surrendering tothe militia. These days, the US needs Ukrainian casualties.
Kiev is being forced intoa war. On January 24, US Vice President Joe Biden discussed the situation inDonbas withUkrainian President Petro Poroshenko. The pair condemned the violence and expressed their conviction that "the costs forRussia will continue torise" forits alleged aggressive actions againstUkraine.
The possible [new] victims and the idea ofUkraine being responsible forthe conflict are not even being considered; Poroshenko was given a carte blanche and an indulgence. Shortly thereafter, the Verkhovna Rada officially declared that Russia is an aggressor nation, asif this was another step towardthe direction ofa peaceful resolution ofthe conflict.
Ukraine and the European Union serve assubordinate instruments ofUS foreign policy. The Europeans are being pushed headfirst towardwar. On January 28 inWashington, US Assistant Secretary forEuropean and Eurasian Affairs Victoria Nuland urged NATO todeploy command posts and tocreate rapid-reaction forces toits eastern members. "We must install command and control centers inall six frontline states assoon aspossible," Nuland noted. She explained that "NATO is a defensive alliance," and that "our goal is deterrence ofaggression," but "if that fails we have tobe ready." In other words, she's asking NATO tobe ready tostage preemptive attacks. Europeans are being convinced ofthe need forwar withRussia, setting them upfor the next advance onMoscow and beyond.
Last Week, US Deputy Secretary ofDefense Robert Wark said that the NATO alliance has come face toface withseveral potential enemies atonce (Russia, China, North Korea and Iran) and called foran increase indefense spending totwo percent ofGDP byNATO countries. First and foremost, this is a form ofdirect lobbying ofthe interests ofthe American corporations which manufacture weapons toNATO standards. Moreover, it was announced that the already considerable defense spending ofthe United States would be increased once more in2016.
Against the background ofsubstantial guaranteed profits, American officials constantly forget toread upon their history, underestimating their potential enemy. How many thousands or millions ofEuropean citizens must once again lay downtheir lives onthe battlefield outof the political short-sightedness and greed ofa few politicians? From the Ukrainian events of2013-2015, only a small number ofAmericans have come toreach the right conclusions.
Some American Analysts Reach the Right Conclusions
New York University Professor ofGlobal Affairs Mark Galeotti noted inBusiness New York recently that that Kiev presently lacks a fighting spirit and a meaningful strategy, asif they ever had either. Jumping upand downon Maidan Square forAmerican cookies is easier thandefending American interests underthe bullets ofthe militia inDonbas.
Andrew Weiss, Vice President forStudies atthe Carnegie Endowment, and former National Security Council director duringthe Clinton Administration, noted inPolitico recently that "the Wests position ofstrength is not asstrong asit appears. The reformist government inUkraine is simply too fragile tosurvive a protracted, full-scale confrontation withMoscow. For all its current difficulties, Putins Russia is not going tobe brought toits knees bythe existing array ofsanctions and diplomatic pressure. Yet Western officials are still implicitly assuming, atbest, that Putin one day will cry uncle or, atworst, that the Ukraine crisis can be left tosimmer onthe back burner."
And when all is said and done, time is not onPoroshenko's side. In the military confrontation Kiev will never be able toachieve victory. Russia, withall its international influence, will not allow fora genocide againstRussians inDonbas, and Ukrainian conscripts will not stop running away frommobilization indroves, even if Poroshenko, Yatsenyuk and Turchynov personally stand inthe blocking detachments.
We have seen how large scale military defeats have forced Ukraine tothe peace talks table [in Minsk], followingwhich Kiev saves upits strength, and once again throws its troops intothe Donbas region. This can continue onfor a long time.
However, the lack offighting spirit and the degradation ofthe Ukrainian economy will sooner or later have the potential toturn thousands ofUkrainian radicals, now withcombat experience, towarda new Maidan. At that point, Poroshenko can be saved only bythe direct (military) intervention ofthe European Union and the United States. In the heart ofEurope, onthe borderline separating two worlds, each ofthem nuclear-armed, the flames ofwar continue togrow.
Onward Towards A Hundred Years ofWar
Having overcome the inertia intheir perception ofreality, now even serious foreign analysts are calling the conflict inUkraine a war, and are attempting topredict its duration. Foreign aid toKiev is growing. For example, Poland is ready toprovide boots onthe ground withinan international mandate, alongwith any kind ofweapons all fora fee ofcourse. The USA too is also no longer hiding its involvement.
The first evidence ofthe presence offoreign professionals inthe conflict zone was revealed inthe summer of2014, while the protagonist inthe recent TV story fromMariupol, combat-equipped native English-speaking Chris Garrett, explained that he was a 'volunteer' servicing ina volunteer battalion and carrying outa highly voluntary mission.
Gradually being drawn intothe Ukrainian conflict viarations, sleeping bags and combat capability, the West will not help Kiev wipe Donbas fromthe political map. The conflict ofgeopolitical interests and the team ofWestern stooges inKiev doom Ukraine toa long and hopeless armed confrontation. Drawing onthe resources ofthe EU and NATO, the war may continue onindefinitely.
In a way, the present draw inthe fighting suits the West. In this way, the US and NATO do not lose face, receive reasons forincreasing their military budgets, and justify their presence inEurope. Ukraine maintains pseudo-statehood status. And the Donetsk and Lugansk republics demonstrate their independence, becoming de-facto geopolitical subjects. Donbas can grind the superior forces ofthe enemy foryears. For the US, the death ofthe local indigenes inconflicts is a familiar and even traditional affair.
Perhaps the war inUkraine can carry onfor ten years, afterwhich the Americans will call it a mistake, likethey did withIraq. In any case, the conceptual re-division ofthe spheres ofinfluence inthe world will not stop. If the conflict inUkraine is extinguished, it is easy topredict the development ofa new epicenter ofconflict inthe post-Soviet space, sinceit is profitable forthe United States.
By Sputnik News
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