Bulgaria's New Cyber-Hub

https://www.thedefensepost.com/2023/09/22/bulgaria-us-funded-cyber-hub/

https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/news/russian-oil-imports-to-eu-via-bulgaria-surge/

America maneuvers and manipulates the politics in other countries and then if need be it will even finance the build-up of their militaries. The US has many tools in its banking toolbox and a lot of them flow through the State Department and Pentagon. 

 

This is of course from start to finish all about Russia and an attempt to create mechanisms and an apparatus for Bulgaria to police itself and clampdown on pro-Russian elements within the country. You can be sure the US will want to run interference given that Russian oil is moving through the Bulgarian economy. This new hub will create opportunities to pounce on those who aren't complying with US demands.

Overall, this new facility will also be as much a tool of the US as it is Sophia. Bulgaria is the tip of the Balkan spear and even more critically is located on the Black Sea. No one is going to say it openly but Türkiye is also part of the Pentagon's calculations as the relationship with Ankara continues to falter and Erdogan has sought to bolster his country's influence in the Balkans as it has deep historical ties with the peninsula's Muslim populations.

For the people of Bulgaria – American money has meant jobs and these jobs open up opportunities for work and study in much of the EU and in the US itself.

And what are the costs? They lose some of their autonomy and they become a front-line state in the case of war.

As long as the economy is thriving and there's peace, then everyone is happy. If that changes, some will begin to understand that their leaders have sold them out.

Someone might argue that given Bulgaria's history the deal is worth the security – okay, if you're willing to fight and bleed in wars that you did not start and are not in your interests. For some – especially in the upper middle and upper classes, the price is worth it. For others, they may have a different opinion especially if things go south.

In the meantime we watch and observe – all of these little bits of information and seemingly innocuous stories give us a glimpse into how the empire works. Think if all that money had been invested in other things – things that people could use and need in their everyday lives, things that would make lives better.

But that's not how empires work nor is it how their Mandarin classes think.

And for the record, China is now the fourth largest arms dealer in the world. The US is first of course – no one comes close. They are followed by Russia, France, and then China. China's sales are significant and alarming Western leaders and strategists and it's certainly a means Beijing can wield influence – they have studied the American method for 'doing empire' for a long time. And yet, their sales are largely small-scale in terms of what they're selling. It's not on par with the United States and its military investment.

Regardless, the world is becoming dangerously militarised – a sure sign of coming trouble.