Category: Russia

The ongoing overt and covert war against Iran, instigated by the United States and Israel primarily, seeks to isolate Iran politically, militarily and, most importantly, economically.  The Western imperialists have as their goal no less than full-scale war with Iran, a key regional power and one that the United States has failed to control or otherwise manipulate since the revolution of 1979.

Their attempts to demonize Iran as an international pariah and an irrational actor on the world stage have been repeatedly thwarted, most recently at the Non-Aligned Movement summit in Tehran, where two thirds of the world stood alongside Iran in condemning the sanctions imposed by the US and its European allies.  However, Iran’s response to the series of aggressions and provocations by the West is not purely a diplomatic one as evidenced by the summit. Rather, Iran is engaging in a process of economic cooperation and mutual development with powerful regional and international partners – a process which could marry the economic future of Iran with that of other nations – thereby countering the continued attempts at economic strangulation by the West.

The Painful Reality of Sanctions

It is easy to think of the sanctions as a tactic in a political and diplomatic chess game between Washington and Tehran: they undoubtedly are part of such a match.  However, the reality of the sanctions is that they are an economic weapon trained directly at the people of Iran, despite whatever rhetoric may emanate from Washington regarding the targeting of the regime.  In fact, the sanctions are one of the most potent weapons in the imperialist arsenal, used by those in power in their attempt to foment chaos and unrest in Iran and topple the government from within. In an article entitled “Obama’s Counterproductive New Iran Sanctions” published in Foreign Affairs, the publication of the Council on Foreign Relations, Suzanne Maloney of the Brookings Institution writes:

The Obama administration’s new sanctions signal the demise of the paradigm that has guided Iran policymaking since the 1979 revolution: the combination of pressure and persuasion…the United States cannot hope to bargain with a country whose economy it is trying to disrupt and destroy… The White House’s embrace of open-ended pressure means that it has backed itself into a policy of regime change.

The notion that the sanctions are somehow intended to pressure Tehran into coming to the negotiating table and making the necessary concessions is completely fraudulent.  The ruling class in the United States (and Israel) knows full well that sanctions do not work in this capacity. One need only look to recent history for examples of sanctions that crippled nations and destroyed the lives of citizens but had little to no appreciable impact on the rulers – Iraq, Myanmar, etc.  Instead, the sanctions serve as a necessary prelude to either regime change or war.  This policy, aside from being immoral, is a belligerent one, greatly escalating tensions and the possibility of war.

One of the desired effects of the sanctions is the devaluation of the Iranian currency.  The most recent data suggest that the Iranian rial has lost more than half of its value since January, when the sanctions were announced.  This trend has only accelerated since July, when the new sanctions were fully implemented, preventing countries around the world from doing business with the Iranian central bank, a move aimed at destroying the Iranian export economy, particularly oil exports.  In fact, Reuters reported in April that the inflation rate in Iran was hovering around 21.5%.  This was well before the sanctions came into effect in July, after which inflation has increased even more dramatically. Nowhere are the sanctions more painful than in the oil export market.  According to recent data, Iran’s oil sales in July of 2012 fell to a quarter of sales from July 2011.  In fact, Iran has even admitted that much of the unsold oil is now being stored either in ports or on tankers at sea – a startling revelation that demonstrates quite clearly the difficult economic predicament Iran faces.   Such a significant drop in sales means that state revenues are down, only exacerbating the already difficult economic situation in the country.

However, the sanctions are not intended to cripple merely the commercial economy, they are also designed to erode public confidence in the government and foment unrest.  With the creation of an inflationary crisis, staple foods, medicines, and other basic necessities have become significantly more expensive and in much less supply, naturally generating anger from the Iranian people.  This, combined with the removal of food subsidies at the behest of President Ahmadinejad, has generated a feeling of unease within the general population regarding their economic future, which, in turn, has exposed very serious fractures within the political establishment in Tehran. Despite all of these challenges to its economy and the impact on the population, Iran remains committed to its own mission of independent economic and political development.  The defiance Iran has shown the United States and the imperialist ruling class is rooted in a larger strategy, one that combines economic development with diplomacy, seeking to find an alternative to either continued resistance in isolation or capitulation to the US and Israel.

Energy – Pipelines & Power Lines

The sanctions imposed by the United States and the European Union are intended to cripple the Iranian economy by specifically attacking Tehran’s ability to participate in the world oil market. However, it is important to note that the sanctions are not solely directed at actual oil sales but, rather, all the mechanisms necessary for international oil transactions including debt settlement, tanker insurance, and much more.  Indeed, in examining the sanctions in their totality, one begins to see that they are intended to strike at the heart of the Iranian economy and hamper Tehran’s ability to do business of any kind. Despite all of this, Iran continues to survive economically.  Much of this is due to the fact that Iran has effectively cemented its economic relations with key international actors, particularly India, Pakistan, and China, each of whom has resisted pressure from the United States to scale back their dealings with the Islamic Republic. In fact, Bloomberg recently reported that China has continued to purchase Iranian oil in massive amounts despite the sanctions.  This demonstrates not only that China wants to continue to do business with Iran, but that Iran sees expanded engagement as the only way to ensure their continued economic growth.

In fact, Iran-China trade is booming as many Western companies pull out of Iran due to the sanctions and international pressure. This has left the door open for China to fill the void, having imported more than $45 billion from Iran in 2011. China is not the only international player to increase Iranian oil imports since the embargo.  Countries such as Italy, Japan, and India have also begun to increase their imports of Iranian oil despite the arm-twisting of the US.  These major energy importers view Iran not as a pariah state and threat to world peace as Western demagogy would have one believe.  Rather, they see in Iran the possibility of a long-term strategic and economic ally that, due to political circumstances, could become heavily dependent on them. Although the energy exports themselves are very significant, it is the delivery infrastructure, especially pipelines, which permanently cements these sorts of mutually beneficial economic arrangements and, consequently, makes the continued isolation and subversion of Iran more difficult.  Perhaps the most important of all the pipelines in which Iran is a participant is the Iran-Pakistan pipeline, also known as the “Peace Pipeline”.  This project will deliver Iranian energy to Pakistan – a nation dealing with a protracted and crippling energy shortage.  The pipeline is crucial to Iranian strategy not only because it will generate much needed revenue for Tehran, but also because of its significance as a symbol of the warm relations between Iran and Pakistan.  Moreover, this project is still in its early incarnation.  One can easily imagine the pipeline being extended into China, thereby becoming China’s direct link to the vast energy resources of the Middle East while providing Iran with the security of a superpower ally.

The Iran-Pakistan project is not the only important pipeline under construction.  In fact, Iran is currently in the process of implementing no less than fifteen new pipeline projects all throughout the country.  This is more than just economic expansion. Instead, it is the necessary modernization of the energy infrastructure of the country, allowing the Islamic Republic to maintain its status as one of the world’s leaders in energy exports while, at the same time, improving delivery capabilities within the country itself. Energy exports and pipelines are also at the heart of the expansion of relations between Iran and Turkmenistan.  Having emerged in recent years as a world leader in gas exports, Turkmenistan has become a crucial player in the Caspian region, necessitating a close working relationship with the Islamic Republic.  As Iranian President Ahmadinejad recently stated, relations between the two countries must be cultivated and expanded.  This demonstrates not only Iran’s desire to have friendly relations with its neighbors, but also Tehran’s recognition of the dangers of isolation in the region, particularly at a time when Caspian energy exploration and development are still in the early stages.

Oil and gas are not the only forms of energy that Iran is looking to export in order to subvert the US-led sanctions.  One of the most critical aspects of Iranian energy exports is the sale and delivery of electrical power, particularly to Pakistan which, as already mentioned, suffers from a painful and perpetual energy shortage.  Iran is poised to become Pakistan’s energy benefactor as there has been renewed interest in upgrading and expanding the shared energy infrastructure of the neighbor countries.  It was recently reported that an Iranian firm is planning a one gigawatt power project in Pakistan that will connect the Iranian port at Chabahar with the Pakistani port of Gwadar.  This is a hugely significant deal because it will provide much needed electrical power to Pakistan while solidifying, in physical form, the close relations between the two countries.  However, what this project also indicates is the growing importance of Iranian ports, especially Chabahar, as well as other infrastructural and technological projects, to the future of Iranian economic development.

Beyond Energy

One of the most common misconceptions regarding Iran is the belief that the future of the Islamic Republic’s economic development rests solely on the energy sector.  On the contrary, Tehran is in the process of developing a number of ports and other projects that will spur growth and development in the coming decades.  The first and most important of these projects is the Iranian port of Chabahar.  Situated on the coast of Iran, Chabahar is intended to be a port of regional and international importance. Tehran recently announced that it will invest $25 billion into the Chabahar port to transform it into one of the great energy hubs of the world.  Naturally, China figures prominently in this vision, as it looks to Chabahar for that coveted land-based access to the Indian Ocean.  However, China is not the only regional player that is interested in the port.  Recently, Iranian representatives met with their Indian and Afghan counterparts to discuss regional trade and the role of Chabahar.  In light of this meeting, it is clear that Chabahar is fast becoming one of the most important ports in Asia.  Additionally, the port would make Iran an integral player in commercial shipping, providing access to the Iranian market to international companies that would otherwise be impossible. This opening of Iran via the Chabahar port undoubtedly figures prominently in Tehran’s plans to integrate itself into the world economy on its own terms, rather than those dictated by the Western imperial powers.

Iran is not solely relying on Chabahar. In fact, Iran has recently announced more than $4 billion of investment into a number of Iranian ports.  This level of investment demonstrates Iran’s willingness to invest in its own economic future while, at the same time, showing outside observers that development is not just an idea, it is a reality.  These ports, Tehran hopes, will transform the country into a shipping center that could rival those of the Gulf monarchies and make Iran an indispensible partner for the region and the world’s powers. The Islamic Republic has also turned its eyes to the sky in search of development.  Iran has recently launched a full-fledged space program and is currently constructing a national space center to be used for the launch of satellites by itself and other Muslim countries.  Iran’s foray into the space sector benefits the country in a number of ways.  First, and perhaps most importantly, this development is a major propaganda victory for Iran.  It catapults the country into the top tier of world powers, gaining Tehran the respect of nations around the world.  Beyond the propaganda however, the development of a space program provides fertile ground for Iranian science to make other technological breakthroughs in a number of different sectors.

Lastly, the space center helps integrate Iran into the region and Muslim world by making it an attractive partner for other nations wishing to launch satellites or other projects.  The space center, like the ports and pipelines, helps Iran overcome the isolation imposed upon it by the US, Europe, and Israel. Iran has had to endure an unprecedented international assault in recent years.  Because of the unwillingness of the government and the Iranian people to bend to the will of the Western imperialist ruling class, the Islamic Republic has been attacked quite literally from all sides.  Having to endure a covert war of sabotage and terrorism while being demonized internationally, Tehran has managed to repel these attacks to this point.  Despite economic hardship caused by the US-imposed sanctions, Iran continues to keep an eye toward development and progress.  As the world saw recently at the Non-Aligned Movement Summit, Iran is not as isolated as the US and Israel would like to see.  On the contrary, Iran looks to other nations of the world for partners while taking the initiative to build its own future.  Of course, nothing infuriates the forces of international finance capital and imperialism more than economic independence.  For this reason, Iran will remain the bogeyman for much of the Western world while working to shape its own economic future.

Eric Draitser is an independent geopolitical analyst based in New York City.  He is the Founder and Editor of StopImperialism.com as well as host of the Stop Imperialism podcast.

Glad to have him on Windows to Russia and may you learn a little more about the world, when you read it…

Windows to Russia…

“Improvised explosive devices, and the networks that use these asymmetric weapons, will remain an enduring threat to U.S. forces and the nation for decades to come, the Defense Department’s top counter-IED official told lawmakers Sept. 20. The IED is the weapon of choice for threat networks because they are cheap, made from readily available off-the-shelf components, easy to construct, lethal and accurate, said Army Lt. Gen. Michael D. Barbero, Joint IED Defeat Organization director, during testimony to the House Appropriations Committee Subcommittee on Defense.” JIEDDO Press Release, September 2012

And these guys get paid the big-bucks for this type of insight? Incredible!

American Congressman C.W. Bill Young (Republican-Florida) has said he has had enough of the war in Afghanistan. The death of one of his soldier constituents by an improvised explosive device (IED) was the last straw for Young. More’s the pity the soldier, in a letter to Young, had predicted his own demise at the hands of a commander’s ludicrous orders and an IED.

Young has stated that it is time to remove from Afghanistan. That is to be applauded. Unfortunately, the US march to war with Iran is on. Should that become a reality, many more US casualties on the ground in that region of the world will invariably come as a result of more advanced IED’s developed by the Iranian military.

Young is rightly incensed by the lack of progress made by the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Organization (JIEDDO), a group that has spent nearly $20 billion (US) to find ways and means to limit the destruction of US forces by the adversary’s use of improvised explosive devices (IED’s), a crude system that is in essence a typically vicious landmine. Landmines have been used by fighting forces for hundreds of years and attempting to rid them from being constructed and surreptitiously placed is a fool’s errand. The Center for Public Integrity summed up JIEDDO’s woes in a well-put article titled JIEDDO, The Manhattan Project that Bombed.

A little known factoid about JIEDDO is that one of the errant children that JIEDDO gave birth to was the US Army Human Terrain System, a program that has failed to produce any significant quantifiable results to “attack the network.”

It certainly did not live up to the hype that JIEDDO heaped upon it back in 2007.

“The Human Terrain System (HTS), a comprehensive, proof-of-concept civil affairs initiative sponsored by the Joint IED Defeat Organization (JIEDDO), completed its preliminary testing in Afghanistan this summer with overwhelmingly positive results…The outcome of this assessment is particularly promising to JIEDDO and its efforts to attack IED networks. By actively engaging and interacting with the indigenous populations of Afghanistan, the report notes that American forces substantially improve their IED-related intelligence collection capabilities and increase support for the respective host nation governments…Human Terrain Teams help the commanders in theater promote regional stability while simultaneously providing them and JIEDDO critical cultural and situational awareness of the local population. This provides tremendous benefit in defeating IED networks within those areas…”

Some employees within the US Army Human Terrain System, and military personnel escorting them, were killed/wounded by IED’s.

Nearly six years later in 2012, the program continues its tortuous existence with CGI Federal (Quebec, Canada) at the helm. Trade publications in Washington, DC announced in mid-September 2012 that CGI Federal of Manassas had been awarded $42 million to keep the US Army Human Terrain System alive.

The news was met with incredulity by sources within the program.

“Apparently, CGI is actively recruiting for an October class. This is a stunning development, considering that HTS still has at least two classes that either have not graduated, completed training at Fort Polk, or been sworn in. The program and personnel were horribly mismanaged under [former program manager] Sharon Hamilton. It is no longer amazing that this program costs so much. The cost of recruiting and training 50-60 personnel, only to have them released, brought back, retrained, and released again, is so bizarre that only an audit on expenditures over the last two years will reveal how badly this program is being mismanaged.

Additionally, even though HTS is trained to work as a team, they are often deployed as individuals, for as long as one month, with little or no contact with each other. As a result, and this can be verified by reading open source reports on the Internet, the teams are generating little more than ride-along reports, that are generally anecdotal, unscientific, and totally useless to the supported commander. Reducing training by four weeks will not save HTS any money, in fact, the total costs will continue to climb, as these new people accumulate overtime, plus their HTS salaries, and other allowances.”

Perhaps Congressman Young should look into getting back that $42 million from the Pentagon that has been directed to the US Army Human Terrain System. He might re-direct the money to care for those American soldiers and families wounded in so many ways by the senseless continuance of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Congressman Young might also revisit his pro-war stance on Iran. Should war take place between the USA and Iran, Young will lose many more Floridians in the ensuing madness.

John Stanton is a Virginia based writer specializing in national security matters. Reach him at cioran123@yahoo.com.

The views of the above author are not strictly the views of Windows to Russia. They are an independent view from an outside source and country that brings a better light on the world in general and Windows to Russia is pleased to have John Stanton’s article on its pages today. It is hoped that we will have many more of his writings in the future…

Windows to Russia!

Over 5,000 residents of Russia’s Ryazan region took part in the Plant a Tree campaign.

People of all ages and professions planted some 675,000 pines across the area of over 150 ha.

The trees are to replace those destroyed by forest fires in summer 2010.

Windows to Russia…

First picture is old Volga M21 – still running and still traveling the world. You can tell it leaves the country by the Russ stickers on the back of the car…

Second picture is a home made boat. The fishing lakes make their own boats, not buy any pre-made, but actually builds the boats themselves. This is how it should be…

Third picture is my sweety pie (Sveta) and she is all smiles…

Fourth picture is “The orthodox Holy Water Spring!” This is a blessed source of water… (Gives me heartburn to drink it! :))

Fifth picture is how I do car repair as we travel. This is how you should be able to work on any car, anywhere, anytime and anyplace…

Sixth picture is Boza looking out over the village river! Sveta caught a wonderful picture of him and the river…

I am having a rough day! My heart has been bothering me today and last night! I took nitro and am doing better, so I decided to think of the good things in life today…

What you see is the Russia Sveta and I live in…

Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia…

This morning I sipped that cup of wonderful coffee and thought about how many people ridiculed me, called me names and threatened my life, over my support of Gaddafi in Libya…

I did not support Gaddafi, I was against the US support of terrorists in Libya and that made me supportive of Gaddafi, because he was in the correct way of life at that particular moment in history. Gaddafi said that Al Qaeda was behind what was happening in Libya and then America totally supported Al Qaeda in its quest. Even going as far as blowing the $%#@ out of Libya to help Al Qaeda…

So yes, I had to support Gaddafi as he was the only thing keeping Libya from a civil war and total chaos. It was Gaddafi or having the West shove democracy up Libya’s ass…

Now look at Libya and the mess we created. It is totally gone awry in Libya and we are really in a pickle trying to cover it all up. It has become a losing battle to keep it under wraps…

So now we have this from the Western world: US officials have explained the September 11 attack on the US consulate in Benghazi was carried out by Al Qaeda, the same Al Qaeda that Washington supported while NATO toppled the Libyan Strongman Colonel Muammar Gaddafi. They have explained that Abu Sufian Ibrahim Ahmed Hamouda bin Qumu is the main potential figure behind the attack, which killed four Americans in Libya recently…

Hmm! So now we cry crocodile tears over the death of an Ambassador and cronies and also we run around like, “What did we do wrong?” “We saved the country (Libya) from a mad man – and and and and and and…” (Insert any and all lies told about Libya within the and’s…) Then, “OMG – Al Qaeda killed our Ambassador! But but but but but but…” (No! It is BUTT!)

I will sip my coffee and wonder about all the sick and psychotic people that supported our involvement in destroying Libya, for what ever mentally dimwitted reasons they dreamed up in their menial minds and then I am thankful that I do not live in such a country anymore…

Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia…

I am from the old days and use terms that are akin to that era. Sveta is a trip to listen to her talk English, as I hear myself in her words. Sveta is sharp as a tack and just calling her an intellect is a disservice to say the least…

One expression that I taught her recently is Cracker Jack’s and Having a Cracker Jack’s License. As per normal, I take her to the internet and we look up what I am talking about. Then she starts using these terms that I teach her in everyday life…

It is strange to hear my words come from her mouth and I smile when I hear my terminology…

This “Cracker Jack’s License” comes up every time I drive Russia and every time I see a map of wrecks at any given time in Moscow! (Well except maybe three am in the morning…)

Look at this map which is 3:40 in the afternoon…

Driving Moscow is interesting to say the least. The red circles with дтп in the middle is an accident of some type. This changes regularly and stays full like this all day during regular driving times. It does clean up during the wee hours of the night though…

Actually traffic would not really be an issue in Moscow except Muscovite’s wreck into something constantly! I mean they drive so bad that they hit everything. In Russia it seems to me that instead of using the brake to avoid something, they press on the gas pedal to try to go around it. Hence I say…

What? Did they get their license from a Cracker Jack Box?

When we go for a ride in Moscow! I can promise you that you will see several wrecks and the places we travel, there are times we see a dozen wrecks a day. Many of them are very serious, because a Russian will, if his car is able to go 250 km per hour, will drive that fast even in a residential area. Much less care if there are cars in front of him. That is what the opposite side of the road is for, or a sidewalk…

We make it unscathed because I drive very defensively and watch every move the other drivers make…

I remind myself that Russians really never drove until 20 years ago and then it was an avalanche of drivers all at once, but still they need to take all license away and start over…

Maybe, this time really getting a “License From A Cracker Jack Box” would be an improvement?

Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia…

Chukotka is the farthest northeast region of Russia, situated on the shores of the Bering Sea It has large reserves of oil, natural gas, coal and gold. You will see how to mine for gold and to work under extremes. In winter, miners dig up the sand from 30 meters below in the permanently frozen earth!

Windows to Russia…

Boza and I walk in the forest many times and as you see by the picture that many people walk in this forest. In fact in Moscow there is so many people that you virtually never can find a time or place that someone else is not there also. I do find that 3 am in the morning though comes pretty close to no one around… 🙂

When I come upon this spot in the woods, I allow Boza to pick the way to go. He follows his nose and we wander where his nose leads him. I suspect that he follows a trail of a cat or another dog, or even the trail of a squirrel at times. But what ever it is, he picks a different path almost every time we come here…

I think about this spot and realize that every path has something at the end of it. Every path is a means to get to a different place…

This is our lives and these paths are what we have to make a decision to follow. Sometimes we have the opportunity to make a random decision. Then we sometimes make a detailed decision. Then sometimes we are forced to make that decision and follow a path…

The picture above flows like this:

Path to the right is the hospital…

Path straight ahead is to the movie theater…

Path to the left is to our flat…

Then the path with the woman pushing her kid in a stroller is to a hole in the huge fence that surrounds these woods…

This is life in a nutshell and according to which way that you go and on which path you pick, life can be changed in an instant…

I call a place like this…

Multiple Futures!

Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia…

What’s the point in Stars and Stripes flying full staff anymore? What joy or pride is there in looking up at the American Flag when it seems that each week it is lowered for this and that death, current or past? And knowing that over the last three decades or so, most of those deaths and sacrifices would turn out to be at the altar of dismal failure (except for those promoted or who profited in stock and US dollars).

One day the US flag is down by half in remembrance of September 11, 2001, another day it is downed for those murdered in a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, and yet another day for an ambassador killed in action in Libya, and yet another day for college students killed on a campus in Virginia. Inevitably it will be lowered for former presidents President George H. W. Bush and Jimmy Carter and who knows who else.

Just as torture has lost meaning in America, so has the American flag (and what it represents) lost its inspiration. Even the Bald Eagle, America’s Number One bird, had to be saved from American hunters, DDT and other pollutants (thanks to the US government).

The US Flag should remain at half-mast every day for all those who have died and or were wounded in the largely senseless wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and for all those unknown American soldiers dead/wounded in Foreign Internal Defense or Kill-Capture operations on the African Continent, the Philippines, Mexico and a host of other countries where the US attempts to secure its economic interests.

The American Flag should be packed away for a time because there is no United States of America. There are States in a sort of ad hoc union in these rough and tumble times in which American political, economic, cultural and military leadership ignores critical domestic issues and is quite happy to play abroad in the sandboxes of Africa and the Middle East while the Homeland burns. It is a leadership that watches as domestic unemployment grows, infrastructure collapses and public education is assaulted. Just as the flag is up one day and down the next, America’s leadership is this way on an issue on Tuesday and then that way on Wednesday. Why not lower the American Flag for those who will never find another job to pay the rent, or those 25 million children living in poverty.

American leadership’s excuse at the moment is the US Presidential Election (and what an excuse it always is!). No matter who sits in the Oval Office while getting America’s war on, in this case Barak Obama, American life is sacrificed for the sake of a Donkey–the Democratic Party and its donors. And if Romney were the President, he would sacrifice Americans for an elephant, the Republican Party and its donors. The difference between them is trivial. The choice is a “with us or against” one. Vote Republican or Democrat, the grand brains say. Not voting, they say, means the degradation of American democracy will be the common folks fault.

At this moment, Americans are waiting on an election that they think will magically change the theme from uncertainty and hard times to President Ronald Reagan’s mythical “Morning in America.” Of course even that was all cartoonish. Reagan’s legacy was to teach politicians the world over how to act in front of the camera; stage the airport tarmac; market the message, not the person; and use slick propaganda techniques pushing form, not substance. This is what Reagan left behind for the politicians that followed him. His administration would begin the undercutting the infrastructure of America to include “government” which, to Reagan and followers, was evil (tell the Bald Eagle that).

The interests of America are represented through the narrow prisms of Republican and Democratic interests, not the needs of the United States of America. It is the interests of the Party that matters to Obama and his Democratic cronies. They will sprint whichever way the wind blows to get a second term in office. Romney and his Republican hustlers will do nearly anything (praying too) for a foreign or domestic disaster to bring Obama down.

The system of American government has nothing to do with protecting and defending the American people and their way of life (viewed by America’s leadership as “children” as Richard Nixon once eloquently said). Rather the goal is to protect and defend Party, power, cash and bragging rights. Moreover, it is to preserve the electoral theater that America’s elite so love to create and participate in.

The day will come when Americans are required to vote or face a fine and public censure. The rush to the national security/surveillance society guarantees it. And the day is not far off when Americans have to register to own a computer and “drive” through the Internet to the World Wide Web. Just take the US government’s Cyber Security strategy and tactics to their logical conclusion: Isn’t the Internet/WWW as dangerous as a gun or bomb? Witness the fallout from the Mystery Science Theater candidate “Innocence of Muslims.” Protests at US embassies around the globe continue apace.

American political, economic, cultural and military leadership spend their lives in the midst of sycophants who ache for a position “that matters.” American leadership spends its time living in television studios, briefing rooms, gated communities and secure facilities. Their thoughts are hardly their own. Debates are staged and negotiated.

American leadership is dangerously out of touch with the world as it is down in the dirt and in the unearthly confines of the Internet/World Wide Web. Much of America, and the world, can operate in both worlds. America’s leaders do not have that ability.

Voting or not, Americans should keep the US Flag and Bald Eagle in mind.

John Stanton is a Virginia based writer specializing in national security matters. Reach
him at cioran123@yahoo.com

The views of the above author are not strictly the views of Windows to Russia. They are an independent view from an outside source and country that brings a better light on the world in general and Windows to Russia is pleased to have John Stanton’s article on its pages today. It is hoped that we will have many more of his writings in the future…

Windows to Russia!

Russia’s Foreign Ministry confirmed on Wednesday the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is ending its activity in Russia.

“The Foreign Ministry confirms the closure of USAID [in Russia]” a ministry source said, adding more information would be released “soon.”

US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland announced the termination of USAID’s activity in Russia on Tuesday.

“The United States recently received the Russian Government’s decision to end USAID activities in the Russian Federation,” Nuland said in a statement. “We are extremely proud of what USAID has accomplished in Russia over the past two decades, and we will work with our partners and staff to responsibly end or transition USAID’s programs.”

USAID’s move comes in response to the Russian government’s decision to halt USAID’s programs in the country, the State Department said.

Nuff said and we all know why USAID has been removed. They are one of the American sponsored groups that got caught, “Handing Out Cookies to the Natives!”

Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia…