US Justice Scalia death questioned - BBC | And Other Stories
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Questions are raised over the handling of US Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia's death, as Republicans and Democrats battle over his successor.
 TIME |
Ted Cruz Assails Obama for 'Years of Neglect' of US Military
ABC News Aboard a decommissioned World War II-era battleship here, Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz unveiled a sweeping plan to rebuild the U.S. armed forces, arguing that the military “has fallen to the bottom” of President Obama's priority list. “If ... Ted Cruz pitches military buildup: 'More tooth, less tail'Politico (blog) Ted Cruz Unveils Military Plan Aboard Aircraft Carrier: 'Islamism Will Join Other Discredited Ideologies … on the ...Breitbart News Ted Cruz Pledges Not to Provide Gluten-Free Meals to the MilitaryTIME SFGate all 52 news articles » |
Legislators in Puerto Rico have approved a last-minute bill needed to finalize a deal to restructure the U.S. territory’s heavily indebted public power company.
BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel would like to lift European sanctions on Moscow over the Ukraine conflict sooner rather than later but does not yet see the basis to do so, deputies from her party said on Tuesday.
Ukraine’s government survives no confidence voteby Katherine Jacobsen | AP
The government of Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk has survived a no confidence vote.
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After a riot, authorities find a king-sized bed and a luxury sauna.
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Mayor of Caracas goes on trial in Venezuela by Harriet Alexander
Antonio Ledezma, one of the most high-profile critics of President Nicolas Maduro, has gone on trial in Venezuela on conspiracy charges
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BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombia's Investigator General Alejandro Ordonez on Tuesday said he will probe whether the head of the national police force was involved in the creation of a male prostitution ring that allegedly served lawmakers and was aided by police officials.
U.S. Had Cyberattack Planned if Iran Nuclear Negotiations Failed by DAVID E. SANGER and MARK MAZZETTI
The plan, named Nitro Zeus, was designed to disable Iran’s air defenses, communications systems and parts of its power grid but was suspended after the deal was fulfilled.
Ukrainian government hangs by thread as confidence vote looms
Reuters-2 hours ago
Ukraine's international backers have invested much money and ... Poroshenko heads Ukraine'slargest party, and Yatseniuk the next largest.
Ukraine's parliament has rejected a no-confidence vote in Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk.
The decision came moments after lawmakers voted the cabinet's work unsatisfactory.
Earlier, President Petro Poroshenko had asked Mr Yatsenyuk to resign, saying that he had lost the support of the coalition.
Mr Yatsenyuk's government has been criticised over the economy and faces allegations of corruption.
Some 194 out of 339 MPs voted in support of the no-confidence motion - at least 226 votes were needed for it to be passed.
In a speech earlier during a report that reviewed the government's performance in 2015, the prime minister said his cabinet had done all it could under difficult circumstances.
Mr Yatsenyuk came to power in 2014, after the massive protests that removed former pro-Russia President Viktor Yanukovych.
Mr Yatsenyuk promised to tackle corruption and implement economic reforms in the former Soviet state, but has become the focus of accusations of corruption, even though no concrete evidence has emerged.
Completed His first three years at La Fortaleza, the governor Alejandro García Padilla Began running in January This Year the last '100 meters' of STIs mandate.
But, According to experts Several Consulted by This Means I have faces one last big populated stretch of the biggest obstacles -being the fiscal crisis That will Have to go with power decimated the political wear and questioning Their decisions, more freedom, Although without the pressure of the race.
Political strategist and exlegislador Popular Democratic Party (PPD), Eudaldo Baez Galib, Said That the obvious challenge That has to face Garcia Padilla This Year, after announcing the end of 2015 would not seek a new term as governor, is the situation of Puerto economy Rich.
"It's what we Have served at the table, with the difference of Having no political leadership, Having Ceased to be a candidate, That Makes it difficult to Mobilize people. Is facing financial problem is huge, but With one arm," Baez Galib Said in an interview to ASSESS the environment, Which will be the last months of His term.
Of course, not Baez Galib That Having stressed the moorings to be in career to a new term as chief executive, the situation stands now García Padilla, 44, free to say and do things Otherwise That would be forced to restrain Affect His candidacy.
THEREFORE, I appreciated the strong expressions of the past weeks the governor Against megachain Walmart, Whom I have called "nickel" and Against opposition Lawmakers WHO Oppose the VAT and the higher of His Party That led to protest the gates of La Fortaleza, not outbursts, but as words "Strategically Analyzed".
"The expressions made by the independent governor of sounding harsh or not, are strategic. I do not think what you are saying it for a moment of courage, And Also for outbursts. I think it does so Analyzed," Said Baez Galib, WHO in Addition to serving as a legislator, was secretary General of PDP electoral commissioner and the community.
However, Baez Galib That Recognized With the departure of Garcia Padilla of the ballot and the nomination of David Bernier "extremely delicate" situation Within the Pava is created.
"These are two intelligent, well-intentioned to Overcome the problem will Have to talk and be very patient. On the one hand We have a governor WHO is no longer president (PDP) and can not Mobilize the party and on the other, we have a party president can not Mobilize the government for electoral and political Objectives. to unfold esta figure the situation is created, but Knowing them both, I think They Will Achieve Overcome, "Said former senator.
The former director of the School of Public Administration at the University of Puerto Rico (UPR), Antonio Negrón Portillo, in turn Said That "there is a bit of everything" in recent expressions of García Padilla. The professor Explained That the governor eleven DECIDED not aspire applied what is Known as the syndrome of "lame duck", Which Refers to the political exit That has no political equity Because it is not on the ballot.
"Some people will not use it Because it has no power and no will be reliable to help advance Their projects. Not much to do in the eyes of others, Because no political power," Explained Negron Portillo to Explain the concept and now living García Padilla.
I Also Said That as García Padilla will not re-election, Do not have to care much and Sometimes It could be immaterial what you say.
"There you can see García Padilla shares dropped another time when it would Have Been more careful. In This case there are no political effects for him Because in January the power delivery, but there May be an effect on the game," I noted.
As for His role as statesman, Negron Portillo That Said That this is a problem has occurred many times in Puerto Rico and abroad Because the line Between political man or woman of state, is very thin and it's erased.
"Aspires, Although, is a behavior That Should display That you're still the first representative of the people and not around García Padilla, are all Those Who Have Been before him," Said the professor. For example, I have Recalled That in 1994, the then governor Pedro Rossello Gonzalez, after being defeated His proposal to limit the right to bail, "mockingly" dressed as Pedro Navaja.
"I think there is some 'lame duck' That You Do not have to answer to anyone and That is a time When low voltage work. As for the other aspect of the fine line of political leader is cleared and the statesman, though I May think it cost in the PPD, in Their quest for reelection. You have to see how That attitude does not harm Garcia Padilla David Bernier. not the fact That García Padilla is gone. The national project will continue and must continue With him or without him, "I Said.
Another professor Consulted, Silvia Alvarez Curbelo, School of Public Communication of UPR, García Padilla Said That the situation is difficult.
"The governor Took a nobleman decision not to defend and Assumed His intention to seek solutions to the crisis, but the problem was beyond him. Both choices here as the United States negatively colored the chance to find a balanced and fair position to Puerto Rico, "Said the journalist.
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EU Chief: Real Danger Europe Could Break Upby webdesk@voanews.com (VOA News)
European Council leader Donald Tusk said there is a "real" danger of the European Union breaking up over a deal to keep Britain in the union, as well as the strain of mass migration. "This is a critical moment," Tusk said in Bucharest, Romania, just days ahead of a key EU summit. "It is high time we started listening to each other's arguments more than our own. The risk of a break-up is real because this process is indeed very fragile and must be handled with care," Tusk said. "What is broken cannot be mended," he added. Tusk was in Bucharest as part of a tour of key EU capitals in an effort to bring about consensus at a crucial EU summit on Thursday and Friday. The summit is expected to focus on Britain's demands to renegotiate its terms of membership with the European Union. Also on the agenda is the wave of migrants that has arrived on the European continent in the past year. Tusk said the mass influx is "stretching our union to its limits." Some information from Reuters, AP and AFP.
Western powers condemned Russian air strikes on Syrian hospitals and schools that killed almost 50 civilians on February 15, with Turkey and France labeling them “war crimes.”
Chechen double agents in ISIS, fighting radical islam with bullets and words, Kadyrov interviews
Top secret CIA poison dart gun 'gives targets deadly HEART ATTACKS and leaves no trace'
Express.co.uk It can pierce through clothing leaves no signs of impact on the skin except a small red dot, according to insiders. The weapon, a modified Colt 1911, is believed to have been mentioned during the infamous Church Committee probe into the CIA in 1975. PHOTO OF THE DAY: CIA Heart Attack gunSky Valley Chronicle all 3 news articles » |
HANAHAN, S.C. (AP) -- Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Monday offered rival Ted Cruz an ultimatum, threatening to sue Cruz over his eligibility to serve in the White House unless the Texas senator stops airing what Trump calls "false ads" and apologizes for what the billionaire real estate mogul called a series of lies about his positions....
Shimon Peres: ‘Israel Will Be Stronger When She Achieves Peace’ by Yardena Schwartz/Tel Aviv
When the 92-year-old former Israeli President, Prime Minister and Nobel Peace Prize winner Shimon Peres suffered a heart attack on Jan. 14, followed by another rush to the hospital for chest pains a week later, Israel nearly lost one of the most influential leaders in its 67-year history.
Peres’s impact on Israeli politics and society began even before the birth of the state itself. He has been at the forefront of every stage of Israeli history. Of a founding generation of the Jewish State that include his mentor, Israel’s first Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion, and his rival Yitzhak Rabin, only Peres is still alive. Until his retirement in 2014 as Israel’s President, Peres was the world’s oldest head of state, and he remains one of the most beloved and controversial figures in the country today.
As the Israeli government and public grows increasingly right-wing and increasingly skeptical of a peaceful resolution to the Palestinian conflict, Peres remains one of the last political leaders who still believes in a two-state solution. On the same day as Peres’s exclusive interview with TIME on Feb. 8, in which he reiterated his faith in the prospects of peace despite a five-month wave of Palestinian terror attacks, Peres’s successor and Israel’s current president Reuven Rivlin declared peace with the Palestinians “impossible.”
Read More: The Murder That Shook Israel
Yet despite being the face of Israel’s dwindling peace bloc, for much of Peres’s life, he was a man of war. After his family moved from Poland to what was then British Mandate Palestine in 1934, Peres went onto lead several Zionist youth movements, and in 1947 joined the Hagana, the precursor to the modern-day Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Peres became one of Ben-Gurion’s closest aides, serving as the head of Israel’s navy during and after the 1948 War, and becoming director general of Israel’s Defense Ministry in 1953 at the age of 29. He went on to serve as minister of defense between 1959 and 1969, and during his time in office, created Israel’s officially secret nuclear program and established the country’s first West Bank settlements.
So how did a man with the resume of a hawk become known for his dovish views? To hear Peres tell it, he stayed the same—a pragmatist, who cares first and foremost about Israel’s national interest. And over the course of his career, he’s come to believe that peace with the Palestinians is in Israel’s interest. The number of settlements that were built during his left-wing Labor government, he says, were trivial— just 21 compared to the tens of thousands of new settlers that have grown since right-wing Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu took power beginning in 2009. And if it weren’t for Israel’s nuclear program, Peres argues, the historic Oslo Accords he helped negotiate with the Palestinians wouldn’t have been possible.
“Dimona [the location of Israel’s nuclear reactor] helped us to achieve Oslo,” Peres tells TIME. “Because many Arabs, out of suspicion, came to the conclusion that it’s very hard to destroy Israel because of it, because of their suspicion. Well, if the result is Dimona, I think I was right.”
This is a rare confession by Peres—Israel officially neither confirms nor denies the existence of a nuclear arsenal—and he even credits the nuclear program for leading to regional deterrence. He rejects the idea that it might have fueled a nuclear arms race in the Middle East, arguing that it’s not the weapon that matters, but who wields it—which is why Peres is so concerned about the possibility of an Iranian bomb. “If Switzerland would try today to have a nuclear bomb, I’m not sure people would be very concerned,” he said. “But when you have Ayatollahs who call for the destruction of Israel and even for the destruction of the United States of America – ‘the big Satan and the small Satan’—that is a very dangerous combination.”
But unlike Netanyahu—who fought the White House over nuclear negotiations with Iran—Peres believes the deal struck last year by President Obama is a good one for Israel. “I know many people objected to it, and like every agreement, there are probably some problems,” he says. “But we have to look at the opportunities that were created afterwards. And undoubtedly this agreement created opportunities.”
Oslo itself is a prime example of the contradictions built into Peres’s life and career, which in a sense reflect the very country he helped to build. Rabin and Peres were longtime political rivals, jockeying for power on the Israeli left for decades. Even in their stewardship of the Oslo Accords, they fought over how exactly to negotiate, with Peres favoring talks with then-Palestine Liberation Organization leader Yasser Arafat—who he and most Israelis considered a terrorist.
The Oslo Accords earned Peres a Nobel Peace Prize, alongside Arafat and Rabin. They also resulted in the murder of Rabin in 1995 by an Israeli extremist who opposed the compromise, which turned over some Israeli-occupied land to the Palestinians. Peres assumed the role of Prime Minister in the wake of Rabin’s death. Yet he was voted out of power a year later when Israelis, traumatized by a wave of Palestinian suicide bombings that followed the peace accord, voted for his right-wing opponent, Netanyahu, who had denounced Rabin in the run-up to Oslo.
Despite their differences, Peres would remain paired with Netanyahu. In 2007, Peres left the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, to serve as president of Israel. The Israeli presidency is a ceremonial role with no legislative power, and Peres was forced to sit back as Netanyahu, who became prime minister again in 2009, carried out policies he vehemently opposed. During that time he held his tongue—something he no longer has to do after retirement.
“I think that Netanyahu should have followed what he said he is for, namely the creation of a two-state solution,” Peres told TIME. “He says, ‘I am for two states.’ He’s already seven or eight years prime minister and nothing was done or moved.”
As for Netanyahu’s frequent argument that he lacks a “partner for peace” on the Palestinian side, Peres told TIME, “Whoever you try to negotiate with is not a partner. You start from animosity, not from peace. The purpose of negotiation is to convert somebody who is not a partner to somebody who will be a partner.”
Peres not only criticized Netanyahu’s failure to bring Israel closer to peace, but also his success in moving Israel further away from its most crucial ally. “The right thing was to have the bipartisan support,” said Peres, referring to the notion that Israel has grown more aligned with the Republican party under Netanyahu. “Anything that endangers it is a mistake, because I believe that we enjoyed something so unique and promising, having the two parties support the State of Israel in a very difficult time.”
When Peres retired from politics in September 2014, it was to spend more time running the Peres Center for Peace, located in a predominantly Arab section of Jaffa. Befitting his unwavering optimism, Peres’s office faces the blue Mediterranean.
“In my lifetime I saw many things that people said they were unsolvable,” said Peres, referring to the two-state solution, which he believes must come about sooner or later. “I think it’s the only thing which is possible in order to bring an end to terror, violence and hatred.” For a man who spent much of his career engaged in the art of war, Peres believes that true security for his country can only come when the fighting ends. “Israel will be stronger when she achieves peace,” he says. “Two states can bring peace. The lack of two states can prevent peace. And nations without peace, people without peace, are going to live in a terrible tragedy.”
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Obama faces political puzzle in naming Scalia successorby By KATHLEEN HENNESSEY and MARK SHERMAN
WASHINGTON (AP) -- For most presidents, choosing a Supreme Court nominee is a puzzle. For President Barack Obama, the chance to pick a successor to Justice Antonin Scalia is more like a Gordian Knot....
Uncertainty, Intrigue Surround US Supreme Court Vacancyby webdesk@voanews.com (Michael Bowman)
Two days after the death of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, the path to installing a successor remains murky and a topic of intense intrigue in a nation where political divisions and polarization are magnified by a fierce presidential campaign. The White House said Monday that President Barack Obama has started preliminary discussions about a nominee. Spokesman Eric Schultz said Obama would look for a nominee who understands that justice is something that affects...
Hospitals lack basic medications and birth control is scarce as the country reels from an economic crisis.
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 ТАСС |
Премьер Турции заявил, что Крым - это не Россия
ТАСС КИЕВ, 15 февраля. /ТАСС/. Премьер-министр Турции Ахмет Давутоглу, находящийся с визитом в Киеве, заявил, что не считает Крым частью России. "Для нас является фундаментальной ценностью территориальная целостность и независимость Украины, поэтому Крым мы ... Премьер Турции обещает поддерживать позицию Украины по КрымуРосбалт.RU Премьер Турции отказался признавать Крым российскимВзгляд Премьер Турции назвал Крым "неотъемлемой частью Украины"Московский комсомолец Эксперт Online -Федеральное агентство новостей No.1 -Slon.ru - Редакция деловых новостей Все похожие статьи: 168 » |
RT |
Did the pope just kiss Putin's ring?
The Economist But after his meeting with the Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill on February 12th, some were left wondering whether the pontiff had rushed in where angels fear to tread. The meeting with hisRussian counterpart drew Francis deep into geopolitics, and ... 'We need to do everything to avert major war' – Russian Patriarch Kirill to RTRT Unity call as Pope Francis holds historic talks with Russian Orthodox PatriarchBBC News Pope meets Russian Orthodox leader 1000 years after Christianity splitFox News New York Times -The Guardian all 5,525 news articles » |
 Reuters |
Russia reports first case of person infected with Zika virus
Reuters This is a 36-year old Russian woman who was in the Dominican Republic and came back to theRussian Federation in February," Skvortsova told reporters at a UN briefing on Russia's Ebola vaccine. Skvortsova said the unnamed woman's family were ... First case of Zika virus reported in Russia – consumer protection agencyRT all 45 news articles » |
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 Росбалт.RU |
США возглавили рейтинг военной мощи, Россия оказалась на втором месте
Росбалт.RU Эксперты портала Global Firepower отдали России второе место в глобальном индексе военной мощи. Согласно ежегодному отчету компании, первое место в рейтинге заняли США, третья позиция досталась Китаю. В десятку также вошли Индия, Великобритания, Франция, Южная ... РФ заняла 2-ое место в мировом рейтинге военной мощиНовости 24 часа - MyNewsOnline24.ru Россия вошла в тройку мощнейших военных державРИА Свежий Ветер Россия стала одним из лидеров Глобального рейтинга военной мощи в 2016 годуHB Daily Новости России -Корреспондент.net Все похожие статьи: 83 » |
Putin’s Selective Revival of Soviet Past Throwing Russia Out of Europe and Back into Asia, Inozemtsev Saysby paul goble (noreply@blogger.com)
Paul Goble
Staunton, February 15 – Vladimir Putin in his celebration of the Soviet past wants to strip it of its revolutionary core, a highly selective approach that calls into question his right to claim that Russia is the Soviet Union of today and Russia’s close relationship with Europe, something the Bolshevik revolution reaffirmed, according to Vladislav Inozemtsev.
In a commentary for the Intersection Project, the Moscow economist points out that there is ever more officially promoted nostalgia for the Soviet Union and that it is increasingly linked to ideology and not just to the sense of loss of geopolitical status engendered by the disintegration of the USSR (intersectionproject.eu/node/330).
But suggesting, as Putin has, that the Soviet Union was Russia “only called by a different name,” is simply wrong, Inozemtsev says. “It was in the first instance a country based on ideas and goals and not by history or national identity.” The conflict between the USSR and the US was one between two super powers “whose very names pointed to their non-national and extra-historical nature.”
The Russian economist suggests that there were “three fundamental aspects of the Soviet mentality” – “a justification for change, a promotion of equality, and the assertion of internationalism.” In this essay, he says, he won’t deal with the second or third, especially because they are at odds with a country like Russia today with its thieving bureaucracy.
Inozemtsev insists that the 1917 Bolshevik revolution “confirmed the European nature of Russia” because “the invention of revolutions … made Europe a center of world civilization.” Other countries had revolts and pogroms, but Europe was the first to have revolutions, from Magna Carta to the East European revolutions of 1989.
“The Soviet Union, including both its ruling party and its ‘armed detachment,’ was born in the fires of one of the most dramatic revolutions in history,” one that on the basis of Marxist ideology rejected private property, social strata and privileges and “proclaimed the construction of a society of equality and justice.”
“The new republic legitimated the Soviets,” it promoted “an extraordinarily harsh secularization,” and it although “organized as a spontaneous federation marched into the world having overthrown the ‘sacred’ ideas of sovereignty in the name of being effective to the greatest degree possible of effectively advancing the world revolution.”
The USSR, Inozemtsev says, “became the most important transforming force on the global periphery having promoted the destruction of the system of colonial dependency and in this way making an exceptional contribution to present-day globalization.” The country “even died as it had lived” by declaring “’perestroika’ to be a continuation of the revolution.”
“Many elements of the Soviet experiment are impossible to celebrate,” but if one is asked to celebrate the Soviet system, one should only do so by accepting all of its aspects, including its revolutionary nature. In Soviet times, Moscow would have accepted the various “springs” around the world as revolutions and would have seen governments which had lost the support of their populations as illegitimate.
In short, “the Soviet Union (with the possible exception of the Brezhnev period) was undoubtedly a revolutionary force.” Indeed, Inozemtsev says, “the history of the Soviet Union is inseparable from the revolutionary idea … ‘Stability’ and ‘conservatism’ are concepts incompatible with ‘the nature of ‘Sovietism.’”
If one understands that, the Moscow analyst continues, it becomes clear that Putin’s Russia is not the Soviet Union of today. Instead, if there is such a country out there, one committed to revolution rather that stability and to being part of Europe rather than an outlier, it is Ukraine.
Because it is in Ukraine where a revolution is making Ukraine ever more part of Europe and not in Russia where opposition to revolutionary change is “throwing it back to Asia.” And because that is so, Inozemtsev says, “those unknown activists” who paint Soviet symbols with Ukrainian colors are fundamentally right, however much they may not recognize that fact.
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The Kremlin’s sharks are circling, likely because at the moment there are large pools of blood spilling into the water.
Vladimir Putin’s strategy to break the West and expand Russia’s power has perfectly exploited current events and the lack of resolve of his chief opponents. As Ukraine faces a major political crisis, Russian troops are once again surging across eastern Ukraine’s borders. As Syrian refugees are fueling anti-Europeanism closer to home, Russian airstrikes are devastating Western-backed rebels and civilians alike — driving more refugees to Europe and empowering the pro-Putin far-right. Meanwhile, the West has never been weaker. Allies of the United States believe that they have beenbetrayed by American policy. Europe is on the verge of fracturing, and not only could Russia be the main benefactor, it is also playing a major role as one of the catalysts of that destruction.
Ukraine’s crisis has once again spread to the political sphere and there are two major points of contention which, some are warning, could rip apart the current government. The first and perhaps most immediate was catalyzed two weeks ago by the resignation of economic minister Aivaras Abromavicius who angrily announced that he was fed up with rampant corruption and the lack of governmental reform.
The crisis has divided Ukraine’s politicians further and has shaken the confidence of foreign investors and governments. Abromavicius was well respected in the international community, both by Western officials and by foreign investors, and was brought into the Poroshenko administration in December 2014 to cut government spending, increase privatization, and fulfill Ukraine’s requirements for receiving its loans from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). When Abromavicius quit, he did so loudly, calling out specific officials and practices that he said were corrupt. The next day, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko called an unprecedented emergency meeting of the ambassadors of the G7 nations, who had sent a clear message themselves — they were “deeply disappointed” in Abromavicius’s resignation as he had made important strides in “implementing tough but necessary economic reforms to help stabilize Ukraine’s economy, root out endemic corruption, bring Ukraine into compliance with its IMF program obligations, and promote more openness and transparency in government.”
Their statement continued:
Ukraine’s stable, secure and prosperous future will require the sustained efforts of a broad and inclusive team of dedicated professionals who put the Ukrainian peoples’ interests above their own. It is important that Ukraine’s leaders set aside their parochial differences, put the vested interests that have hindered the country’s progress for decades squarely in the past, and press forward on vital reforms.
On February 11, US Vice President Joe Bidden spoke with Poroshenko over the phone. About two-thirds of The White House’s readout of that conversation focused on the political crisis and Ukraine’s need to reform. The message could not be more clear — according to Kiev’s allies, this is Ukraine’s last chance at reform.
Perhaps the most central complaint of the Euromaidan protests was the rampant corruption within the government. After the Yanukovych administration fled to Russia two years ago this month, there was a window of opportunity due to the post-revolution euphoria, similar to the “first 100 days” that many political scientists say new presidents enjoy. This chance for massive reform, however, was derailed as the central focus of the new government became keeping the country intact and defending against foreign invaders. Just days after Yanukovych reached Rostov-on-Don, Russian troops spread out across the Crimean peninsula. Weeks after this, Russian-backed separatists began to capture government buildings in the Donbass. Soon, not only were government officials focused more on Russia than on reform, but even leading Euromaidan activist groups were almost entirely focused on the war in the east. By focusing on military mobilization, and policies that ensured that Ukraine’s powerful oligarchs did not betray the fledgling government, Kiev was able to avoid losing even more territory, but for a price which has now become due.
This brings us to the second major fault-line in Ukrainian politics — what to do with eastern Ukraine. According to the Minsk agreements which are supposed to provide the roadmap for a more permanent resolution to the crisis, the Ukrainian government is supposed to grant the territories of Donestk and Lugansk, both currently occupied by Russian troops and proxies, more autonomy. This has not yet happened, as many in Ukraine feel that President Poroshenko has already given too many concessions to the Russian-backed separatists despite the lack of reciprocity. Poroshenko would like to see constitutional amendments pass that would grant this “special status” to the east so that his government can say that they have held up their end of the bargain, but so far this has been a tough sell to Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada. At the moment, Poroshenko’s offer is conditional — if Russian-backed fighters stop violating the ceasefire then greater autonomy can be granted — but even this has yet to pass.
Since the most basic step called for by the Minsk protocol — a ceasefire — has never really come to pass, it’s easy to forget that Russian-backed separatists have broken every other provision of the deal. The separatists have made no attempt to hold local elections, according to Ukrainian law, despite the fact that multiple election cycles have come and gone. The border is still controlled by Russian proxies. Russian military hardware has not been withdrawn across the border. Russia’s proxies still hold 133 Ukrainian soldiers as prisoners, but Ukraine’s top negotiator nowfears that many of the soldiers have been executed because the self-declared governments of eastern Ukraine have failed to even provide Ukraine or the international community with proof that they are alive.
Russia is taking full advantage of this situation. In the last two months, ceasefire violations have steadily increased. Friday, February 5, just two days after the resignation of Abramovicius, the Ukrainian military reported the highest level of fighting since August, right before the newest iteration of the ceasefire went into effect. That same day, alarming amounts of Russian armor were spottedmoving through Shakhtyorsk on their way to the western capital of the Russian-backed fighters in Donetsk. Large military convoys have also been spotted on the move in Russian-occupied Crimea last weekend, and last week the Russian military began unannounced snap drills in the Southern Military District which abuts Ukraine’s eastern border. This past weekend, fighting exploded, and the Ukrainian military claimed that
Russian military intervention has expanded greatly recently and six Russian military officers were killednear the front lines. Lamberto Zannier, the Secretary-General of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), now says that there is “circumstantial evidence” that Russia is once again directly supplying the Donbass militants with military equipment, but the OSCE monitors have been systematically blocked from confirming these reports. “Why are they blocking us so systematically? But of course we cannot… report on anything specific because we are not there,” he told the press.
Russian military intervention has expanded greatly recently and six Russian military officers were killednear the front lines. Lamberto Zannier, the Secretary-General of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), now says that there is “circumstantial evidence” that Russia is once again directly supplying the Donbass militants with military equipment, but the OSCE monitors have been systematically blocked from confirming these reports. “Why are they blocking us so systematically? But of course we cannot… report on anything specific because we are not there,” he told the press.
The strategy employed here seems to be to either force Ukraine’s government to respond militarily, which will make Kiev look like the aggressor to the international community, or to make the Poroshenko administration, and the West, look impotent if they do not act. Vladimir Putin knows that if Ukraine ratchets up the violence enough, then Moscow could raise the alarm and directly intervene like it did in the fall of 2014 under the false clarion call of “protecting ethnic Russians.” Short of that, however, every civilian who is killed on either side of the line of demarcation makes reuniting the east with the west — the stated goal of the Minsk agreements which all parties have signed — harder to realize.
Either way, Russia wins. It is now clear that Vladimir Putin has decided that his country cannot compete against 21st century democratic and open societies by playing by their rules. He has rejected freedom of speech, government transparency, and international law while embracing a legacy of militarism, dictatorship and corruption. As a result he is waging an imperialist zero-sum game. It is also clear that Russia’s moves in Ukraine and Syria have more to do with crushing popular pro-democratic uprisings than geopolitics or regional security.
To this end, Russia is seeing its second great victory, this time over the West itself. Beyond Ukraine’s borders, Europe is falling apart. The economic downturn is just the latest bad news for the EU. As a reaction to German-directed austerity measures, the people of Europe are electing anti-EU populist politicians, isolationist reactionaries who reject any involvement in the international arena. Thanks to the tidal wave of refugees fleeing war-torn countries in the Middle East and Africa, this upswell in populism is also nationalist, often disturbingly xenophobic, in nature. Vladimir Putin’s propaganda wing has spent years warning that Western intervention in the Middle East would cause a surge in terrorism and the flood of refugees.
The anti-EU movement in the Netherlands has petitioned and successfully forced the Dutch government to hold a referendum that would reject Ukraine’s association agreement with the European Union. Though the vote is non-binding, it puts the Dutch government in an awkward position. If it passes it could jeopardize Ukraine’s goal of joining the EU, a move which would renege on promises made to Kiev and would leave the eastern European country on its own, sandwiched between the EU which it cannot join and Russia which is openly hostile.
Ironically, this is a crisis of Moscow’s making. Ignore for a moment that Russia, since day one of the Syrian crisis, has provided all the weapons that have killed nearly all of both combatants and civilians alike, and has propped up the mass-murdering Assad regime. Ignore the fact that Russia is still not focusing its attacks on ISIS but is rather destroying Western-backed rebel units. Ignore that the majority of refugees who speak to reporters say that they are fleeing Russian bombs, not terrorism or Western-backed rebels. Ignore reality because the European people are increasingly ignoring it. Just as the populist politicians — in France and Greece, Hungary and Poland, the Netherlands and the UK — are anti-EU, they are simultaneously pro-Putin. In fact, as Alina Polyakova, deputy director of the Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center at the Atlantic Council, argues in a new paper, the Kremlin has covertly and overtly helped fostered Euroskeptic political parties, anti-Western politicians, and anti-immigrant xenophobia, both at home and across the world. The Russian state media has also fueled racism and fear. Perhaps the most iconic example of this occurred last month in Germany, where the Kremlin’s premier propagandist Dmitry Kisilyev spread a fake-and-thoroughly-debunked story about a 13 year-old girl who was allegedly kidnapped and raped by a gang of immigrants. As Anton Shekhovtsov, an expert on Russian neo-Nazis and global far-right movements, has pointed out now numerous times, the Kremlin media supports and promotes ultranationalist publications, politicians and news stories. Some of Putin’s key advisors are neo-Eurasianists who have played a vital role ingetting ultranationalists to fight in the Donbass against Ukraine, and Russian fascists have evengiven money to European far-right parties(just to link to a few examples). Is it any surprise, then, that Putin is both directly supporting Europe’s far right while bombing the Syrian people into fleeing to Europe and providing them more fuel for their xenophobic fire?
Furthermore, the Russian state-controlled media outlets are pushing the UK towards a “Brexit,” a development which could drive one after another major player out of the economic union which Russia so forcefully opposes.
Just as corruption was the central complaint of the Euromaidan Revolution, EU membership was the central goal. If the Ukrainian government does not collapse under the weight of its internal political struggles, it could be frozen out of the central aims of its revolutions. Either way Putin wins, as Moscow continues to point to Kiev, and to Syria, as examples of popular unrest that destroy nations. While the Putin regime destroys its political opponents at home, it is running up the scoreboard in Ukraine and within the European Union.
No matter what happens in Kiev, or the Donbass, or Crimea, or Syria, Putin should be confident that there will be no backlash from the West. Europe shows no appetite for new sanctions, and many EU observers have been surprised that current sanctions against Russia have not already been rolled back. Russian troops and airstrikes have been able to wage a successful military campaign in Syria, and the world is sitting back and watching a complete disaster unfold as a result. In fact, already today Russia has destroyed five hospitals and two schools across Syria in an apparently-systematic effort to drive the populace from northern Syria. The more who flee Syria, the fewer people left who oppose Assad, the worse the humanitarian crisis becomes, and larger the flood of refugees which are fueling the ultranationalist parties in Europe which could split the EU apart.
Yet somehow the international community speaks about Russia’s role in the Middle East as if it were the peacemaker, not the primary arms dealer, and now murderer.
There is also no sign that this is changing as most yet-to-be-elected political candidates in both Europe and the United States appear to favor rapprochement with the Kremlin. In the United States, even if the new president were to take a harder line on Russian aggression, they will not take power for another year. As long as the current Western leadership is willing to accept this, what will be left of Syria, Ukraine, or the European Union by then?
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О суде над Синявским и Даниэлем - Владимир Буковский, Александр Даниэль, Алексей Макаров
Forbes |
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