The Euxine Crisis: Russia, America and Europe

One of the primary reasons the United States invaded Panama in 1989 was to ostensibly protect the lives of its citizens. Few were convinced of this as the timing was more than a little coincidental.

The Berlin Wall had just fallen and the United States wanted to make a statement to the larger world. Such geopolitical statements cannot be proved. We cannot see into the minds and hearts of those in command and yet there have been several occasions in modern history that timing suggested there was more in the motivation than what was being proclaimed in the press reports.

For the United States to suggest to any other country that they are breaking International Law is something of bad joke, in fact a real of travesty. No country violates International Law more often than the United States, but since the American public is generally ignorant of this, these types of arguments can be used and will resonate with the American public.

President Obama's presidency has largely been a failure. Hated by the Right, those on the Left (despite the reporting of FOX news) have little love for him either. He's betrayed them on almost every point and has proved to be a less than honest or honourable leader. Of course I believe words like honest and honourable are meaningless in the political context.

At this point he's placed himself once again in a terrible bind. He's issued ultimatums that put his credibility on the line. Ironically it was Putin who rescued him with Syria. This doesn't suggest that Putin wanted to rescue him; simply his actions gave Obama a way out.

The Republican's are out for blood. The war mongers like John McCain will push him one direction while others will simply try to destroy his credibility and portray him as a weak leader. Politically he is indeed weak and it's still astonishing that he won a second term. No president was more vulnerable than he was in 2012. His victory came only because the Republicans put forward one of the worst candidates they have ever fielded, a sort of Republican version of the unelectable Michael Dukakis.

While I am no fan of Obama and as I learn more every day regarding the activities of the Military-Intelligence complex it would seem there has really been little 'change' at all. The policies of Bush have continued. I'm speaking of the real policies that will ultimately affect every area of law. The surveillance/police state that is developing literally means the Constitution is a dead document. In some ways it has been for a long time, but now even the basic principles of law and society (contained in the Bill of Rights) are being eliminated. Bush had decimated them, and many believed Obama would start the path of restoration. He has instead sealed the coffin.

It must be said though if the Democrats went after Bush in the same manner as the Republicans in a time of geopolitical crisis and in the framework of foreign policy, it would have been called treasonous and unpatriotic.

I don't really care about the prestige of the presidency or the so-called honour and integrity of the United States. No Christian should. But, I say this in the context of honesty because there's precious little of that coming out of Right and especially Christian Right news media.

I'm reminded of when Curtis Lemay told Kennedy that he was in a 'pretty bad fix'. Kennedy had to point that Lemay was in it with him. Lemay was a political enemy and Kennedy knew it.

http://whitehousetapes.net/clips/1962_1019_lemay/

But that was all done behind closed doors. The Right would have never dreamed of going after Kennedy in public over a foreign policy issue the way the Republicans do today.

Just as the American public was ignorant of NATO actions in Turkey and its placement of nuclear weapons there, the public today is largely ignorant of what America has been doing vis-a-vis Russia since the early 1990's.

This doesn't excuse Putin. He's an evil man, but Obama (and Bush) no less so. As I've said before Putin though evil is no fool. His actions are a logical response. He lost a round in Ukraine and now he's acting on it. Fine you stage a coup, I'll split the country.

But the ignorance of the American public and a complicit media will make the situation worse and the Republicans will use the opportunity to make the president look weak and indecisive. If Obama acts strongly, they'll say he's dangerously incompetent. If he doesn't act decisively enough, they'll say he's weak. He can't win with the Right and that's the point. Again it would have been considered treason by the FOX news crowd when Bush was president.

It's obscene to pull up the news on the Internet and to see a buffoon like Sarah Palin jumping up and down saying 'I told you so'. As if she understands any of it. But it doesn't matter. There are plenty of Christians who in their spiritual blindness will praise her words.

The absurdity here is that if Russia, China or any other country was involved in political machinations or the staging of coups d'état in Mexico, Canada or in the Western Hemisphere at all, then the response of the United States would be a lot stronger than simply moving some troops in to protect American citizens.

The double standard is ever present in American actions. The dubious morality of the double standard is justified by the political idea of American Exceptionalism, and when that belief is cast in theological terms by those in Christian circles it is quite literally a dangerous heresy.

It is also interesting that the European Union plays the role of the Byzantines in all this. By this I am referencing that during the East-West battles of the Crusades the Byzantine Empire (while officially allied with the Crusaders) often played a self-interested role and often despised both sides, even if it 'needed' the West.

Many in the EU are tired of the arrogance of the United States and the way it manipulates them and treats them with contempt. They don't want to see Putin succeed nor do they wish to see the Americans build up even more power in their region. The US has worked hard to expand its power eastward through NATO expansion and loosely through the European Union which it can manipulate. That's Britain's official task in this policy.

But their allies are sometimes bitter and in this case they may play the secret hand and try to work out something that brings this crisis to an end but doesn't fully please the American overlord. To many of them the operations on June 6, 1944 were aptly and unfortunately named. They weren't there merely to drive the Reich from Western Europe but to establish hegemony. It's been a sometimes bitter but necessary relationship. Some have wondered why twenty-five years after the Wall came down, the relationship hasn't changed.

I used to be an avid reader of Tom Clancy. In fact in my unregenerate foolishness reading his works played no small part in fomenting my desire to join the military. I loved 'The Sum of All Fears' and at first was really disappointed with the re-boot/re-cast version of that story that was made into a movie a few years back. I still think the book was better. They almost always are.

Nevertheless, the re-cast version in the movie has proved very interesting. I'm certainly not into all the American Hero stuff, but the premise that the European Right (exaggerated in the movie of course) would try to turn Russia and the US against each other to get both of them off their back (and ultimately break up the EU) is an interesting idea. I'm not saying that's what is happening here. The European Right has not yet gained any real political power. The key word being 'yet'. However, the general scenario (in a less exaggerated manner than the movie) continues to grow more plausible.

There are many Christians in the Ukraine and I'm not speaking of the Orthodox or Uniates. I'm speaking of Biblically minded and faithful Christians. I know some have been caught up in this. I pray for wisdom both for them, those in power and overall for peace. I pray that no matter what the outcome the Beasts on all sides would lose some power and slither away.