As is often the case, the real story is found in the lack of
media coverage. With a few paltry exceptions, Western media continues to ignore
reports of weapons bound for Ukraine ending up elsewhere.
In Europe, especially in Scandinavia, there are reports of
Ukrainian-designated arms ending up in the underworld.
Elsewhere, there are reports of Ukrainian War-related arms
ending up in Africa, particularly in the Sahel region around the Lake Chad
Basin. This region is the focal point for an ongoing low-intensity and
multi-faceted war that has been raging since 2009 with the rise of Boko Haram.
The troubles were further exacerbated by the NATO toppling of Gaddafi in 2011
and then the rise of ISIS which appeared in the region about 2016. These
conflicts are also inseparable from the resource strain in the region,
population growth, long-term drought and the depletion of water sources. As the
Libyan Civil Wars flooded the region with weapons, refugees, fighters, and
political operatives – the Ukrainian War is having the same effect but on a
larger scale.
Less proximate to Africa, Ukraine's war and its
socio-economic effects are now playing out globally. There also reports of
weapons flowing into the powder keg of the Balkans – and in particular into
places like Albania and Kosovo. It's suspicious to say the least as Washington
backs these states and even now the larger region is on edge, on the cusp of a
new war in which Serbia will likely end up in a fight with Bosnia and/or Kosovo
and possibly (or by proxy) with Albania.
The Zelenskiy government was known for its authoritarianism
and corruption before it became the darling of the West. The fact that weapons
are being sold off, and that individual Ukrainian oligarchs (as well as
military and political officials) are being enriched is not surprising in the
least. Once again, where's the reporting? Al Jazeera and MSN have mentioned it
but very briefly, and the mainstream outlets have chosen to ignore the story.
One hates to grant anything to the GOP and one certainly has
to question their motives – as the Republican Party has a long track record of
supporting militarism, proxy war, and corruption, and yet in this case the flow
of weapons and money to Ukraine is unprecedented in terms of cost and scale.
Their true motivations are largely political a 'black' to Biden's 'white', as
it were. I don't believe they genuinely care about the proliferation of war or
even the budget. But there is something to the argument raised considering the
unaccountability of these weapons and resources.
The sad thing is these weapons will filter into these
troubled regions and help to fuel further war. Once again we saw this clearly
in the aftermath of Gaddafi's overthrow as the ripple effect played out in
places like Mali, Chad, and the Central African Republic – not to mention the
geopolitical strains and tensions that erupted over the two-phase Libyan Civil
War and its larger effect on the geopolitics of the Mediterranean.
One has to wonder if the weapons flowing into the Balkans are
connected to CIA operations and pipelines that were run during the Syrian Civil
War just a few years ago. The Balkans were a center of these operations and as
NATO is waxing bold at the moment, it would seem there's a degree of eagerness
to deal with that old thorn in its side – Serbia. It wouldn't surprise me to
learn the CIA is skimming off the top of the Ukrainian weapons shipments and
staging them in the Balkans, in preparation for another big operation that's on
the near horizon.
Will Serbia take the bait? It will all be packaged very
nicely into an anti-Russian narrative. On the one hand Putin would like a
European distraction I'm sure, but at the same time he will then lose Serbia
and whatever influence he retains in the Balkans.
One is reminded of how the US war in South Vietnam was spread
into the wider Indochina region and how Saigon (a very sewer of corruption and
intrigue) became a hub for these operations.
On a larger scale, one has to sit back and minute and reflect
on how world wars start and are generated. Let's hope this doesn't continue to
spread but it almost seems as if the Washington, London, and the Brussels-based
architects of The Ukraine War are in a frenzy as they continue to expand not
just the level and nature of the weaponry being given to Ukraine, but the once
unthinkable scenarios (such as attacks within Russian territory) are now being
openly endorsed. And it's clear enough that NATO elements are directly involved
in providing everything from weapons to logistics, targeting, and intelligence
to the Ukrainians and no one knows just how many troops, operatives, agents
re-packaged as mercenaries and the like are even now on the ground. We know
they're operating within Ukrainian territory, but we just don't know to what
extent.
While Putin's corrupt and evil regime is the subject of a
massive propaganda campaign – that has made mainstream news such as BBC and NPR
almost indigestible, the Zelenskiy regime with its corruption and fascistic
ties is whitewashed. The coverage is ridiculous at times. Putin offered a
Christmas truce. When Ukraine rejected it and kept fighting, Moscow effectively
shrugged its shoulders and kept at it too. This was then spun by Western media
as a testimony to Putin's treachery. It wasn't treachery (though he is treacherous).
His offer was rejected and so the fighting continued. He wasn't bound to keep
the truce if Kyiv rejected it. The coverage was farcical.
The war is beginning to affect the whole of Eurasia. German
politics are on edge as the Defense Minister has been ousted. The politics of Cyprus
(and its upcoming election) are being affected by the war, all the more as a
great deal of Russian money is held in its banks. Everything, every story is
being militarized and manipulated.
These are the days of lies.
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