by Pepe Escobar, The Unz Review:
And Russia is fighting an existential war for the survival of the Motherland – what it has done repeatedly over centuries.
This ain’t no party
This ain’t no disco
This ain’t no fooling around
No time for dancin’
Or lovey-dovey
I ain’t got time for that nowTalking Heads, Life During Wartime
First we had action: President Putin – cool, calm, collected – warns that any attack on Russia with long-range NATO missiles will be an act of war.
TRUTH LIVES on at https://sgtreport.tv/
Then we had reaction: NATO rats scurrying back to the gutter – in haste. For now.
All that was a direct consequence of the Kursk debacle. A desperate gamble. But the state of things in the proxy war in Ukraine was desperate for NATO. Until it became crystal clear it’s all basically non-recoverable.
So there are two options left.
Ukraine’s unconditional surrender, on Russia’s terms, tantamount to NATO’s complete humiliation.
Or escalation to all-out war (italics mine) with Russia.
The U.S. – but not the UK – ruling classes seem to have registered the essence of Putin’s message: if NATO is at war with Russia, “then, bearing in mind the change in the essence of the conflict, we will make appropriate decisions in response to the threats that will be posed to us.”
Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov was ominously more precise: “The decision has been made, the carte blanche and all indulgences have been given [to Kiev), so we [Russia] are ready for everything. And we will react in a way that will not be pretty.”
NATO de facto at war with Russia
For all practical purposes, NATO is already at war with Russia: non-stop reconnaissance flights, high-precision strikes on airfields in Crimea, forcing the Black Sea Fleet to relocate out of Sevastopol, these are only some instances. With “permission” to strike as far as 500 km deep into Russia, and a list of several targets already submitted by Kiev for “approval”, Putin has clearly stated the obvious.
Russia is fighting an existential war for the survival of the Motherland – what it has done repeatedly over centuries.
The USSR suffered 27 million losses and emerged from WWII stronger than ever. That demonstration of willpower, in itself, scares the collective West to death.
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov – whose Taoist patience seems to be exhausting – added some color on the Big Picture, drawing from English literature:
“George Orwell had a rich imagination and historical foresight. But even he could not imagine what a totalitarian state would look like. He described some of its contours, but failed to penetrate the depths of the totalitarianism that we now see within the framework of the ‘rules-based order.’ I have nothing to add. The current leaders in Washington, who suppress any dissent, have ‘outdone’ him. This is totalitarianism in its purest form.”
Lavrov concluded that “they are historically doomed.” Yet they don’t really have the guts to provoke WWIII. Trademark cowards can only resort to a War OF Terror.
Here are some instances. The SVR – Russian foreign intel – discovered a Kiev plot to stage a Russian missile attack on a hospital or kindergarten on Kiev-controlled territory.
The objectives include raising the – collapsed – morale of the AFU; justify the complete removal of any restrictions on deep missile strikes inside the Russian Federation; and attract support from the Global South – which overwhelmingly understands what Russia is doing in Ukraine.
In parallel, if this massive false flag works, the Hegemon would use it to “increase pressure” (How? Screaming at the top of their lungs?) on Iran and the DPRK, whose missiles would likely be the perpetrators of the carnage.
As much as this seems far-fetched on a Maximum Stupidistan level, considering the Deep Dementia ranging from Washington and London to Kiev it does remain possible, as NATOstan de facto retains the strategic initiative in this war. Russia for its part remains passive. It is NATO that is choosing the method, the place and the time for its key, choice strikes.
