Ukraine and the start of a new Cold War
- By Giovanni Vimercati
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E-mail China.org.cn, February 15, 2015
The current geopolitical confusion and escalating conflicts in so many areas of the world seem to invoke the most simplistic media narrative of Western democracy vs. Islam, free speech vs. totalitarianism, east vs. west, and so on. There are endless variations, but, in the end, it comes down to "good versus evil."
Of course, it's much more complex than that. Nothing exposes the fallacious nature of this narrative better than the current stand-off between Ukraine and Russia, an ostensibly regional conflict with far-reaching implications now threatening to degenerate into a full-blown conflict.
Last week, the New York Times reported that the Obama administration was considering arming Ukrainian forces fighting against pro-Russian separatists in what might be termed round one of a "new cold war."
The Ukraine accuses Russia of sending its troops into Ukrainian territory, which Moscow rejects. That's been enough to bring various interests flocking to take sides.
What is at stake is much more than the territorial sovereignty of Ukraine. In fact all major Western powers are mobilizing as the war clouds gather. Former NATO commander Jim Stavridis last week co-authored a report entitled "Preserving Ukraine's Independence, Resisting Russian Aggression: What the United States and NATO Must Do," calling military aid to be given to Ukraine.
The prospect of Ukraine joining NATO, something Russian leader Vladamir Putin firmly opposes, represents for America a major strategic goal in its stated commitment to "contain" Russia.
The Pentagon's "European Consolidation Initiative (ECI)" envisages the closure of 15 U.S. bases in Western Europe and a reduction of 1,200 U.S. military personnel, along with the relocation of 6,000 others in Eastern Europe.
With the need to confront the rise of China, America is trying to "secure" Eastern Europe from Russian influence. This is the reality, not the propaganda that would have America backing Ukrainian "independence" for freedom's sake.
With free market as the sole, universal ideology, wars today are fought in the name of interests, often private ones belonging to informal oligarchies of global dimension. The media tends to obscure the essence of modern warfare, which is that economic opportunism is the sole guiding principle in every conflict.
Even steps to resolve the Ukraine conflict peacefully are dictated by self-interest. French and German efforts to broker a peace between Russia and Ukraine are likely governed by their geographical proximity, for both are well aware of the potential for social and economic instability if conflict breaks out on the eastern fringes.
