Skip to main content

A Ray of Hope. EU Backlash against Washington’s Sanctions Regime directed against Russia



Dr. Paul Craig Roberts
Dr. Paul Craig Roberts
26 July 2017

America has been a discouraging landscape ever since the neoconservatives took over US foreign policy during the Clinton regime and started the two decades of war crimes that define 21st century America and ever since US corporations betrayed the US work force by moving American jobs to Asia.

The outlook became darker when the Obama regime resurrected the Russian Threat and elevated the prospect of military conflict between the nuclear powers.

As Europe is caught in the middle, in normal circumstances European countries would have insisted that Washington cease the gratuitous provocations of Russia. But normal circumstances have not existed. Since the end of WW2, European countries have been vassals without independent economic and foreign policies.

Europe hosts US military bases that threaten Russia. Europe has backed Washington’s wars of aggression against Serbia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria, Washington’s air attacks on provinces of Pakistan, and Washington’s use of Saudi Arabia to fight its proxie war against Yemen.

Europe has backed Washington’s gratuitous economic sanctions against Iran and Russia, sanctions that have cost Europe much and Washington little.

Accustomed to having its way with Europe, Washington commits Europe without even consulting the vassal governments. Now it seems Washington’s extraordinary arrogance and hubris has resulted in overreach. Confronted with a new round of sanctions against Russia, Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission told Washington that the time has passed when Washington can put its interests first and Europe’s last.

The new sanctions have devastating economic and political consequences for Europe. Juncker said that if Europe’s
“concerns are not taken into account sufficiently, we stand ready to act appropriately within a matter of days.”
The German and French foreign ministries added their support to Juncker. The German foreign ministry said:
“It is not in the Americans’ right to judge or stipulate which way European companies may engage in cooperation with any third parties – particularly, with Russian energy companies.”
The French foreign ministry said: the sanctions “contradict international law” due to their “extraterritorial reach.”

Europe views the sanctions as a tool of US industrial policy that elevates US business interests over Europe’s business interests.

Let’s hope that Washington’s arrogance will not permit Washington to back down and that Europe will give Washington the finger and disengage from the American Empire. Without Europe to host its military bases and to parrot its propaganda, Washington’s ability to threaten Russia would significantly decline. Indeed, a continuation of the hostile threatening attitude toward Russia would leave Washington isolated in the world. No country wants the risk of experiencing nuclear war merely for the sake of Washington’s unilateralism.

Source: http://www.globalresearch.ca/a-ray-of-hope-eu-backlash-against-washingtons-sanctions-regime-directed-against-russia/5601194

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The French “Patriot Act”: Why is France Extending Its State of Emergency? From Pseudo-Democracy to Dictatorship

Guillaume Kress Global Research 19 February 2016 President Francois Hollande, whose legitimacy stems from nothing but a fraudulent multiparty electoral system , has repeatedly abused his authority  since taking office in 2012 by waging illegal wars in foreign countries (i.e., Mali, Syria) without consulting his electors. [1] He  recently failed to confer with them when his Socialist government responded to last year’s terrorist attacks in Paris by adopting Orwellian domestic policies – policies that have allowed the Hollande administration to spy on citizens , block websites containing “terrorist related content” , strip convicted “terrorists” of French citizenship , and criminalize activism against Israeli occupation .[2] These policies prevent the spread of information which may expose the government’s criminal activities. We should note, here, that the state of emergency greatly facilitates political corruption. [3] To put it briefly, the state of...

EDITORIAL: Be Careful Italy

Ne News 2 June 2018 As you may be aware, there was a constitutional crisis in Italy following the decision to make a Eurosceptic Italian Finance Minister, which resulted in the Italian President to dissolve the government. Just a couple of days ago, this was resolved. However, it is worth noting that one of the parties in this coalition is the far-right wing Northern League, as well as the Five Star Movement. However, the people of Italy must be careful, especially in regards to the Northern League, as they may be the party to destroy Italy’s sovereignty and hand it over to the unelected and unaccountable European Union, which is increasingly becoming a fascist police state. That’s right, despite denying it and claiming that they are Eurosceptics, the Northern League may actually be the most pro-European Union party in the Italian Government. Throughout the world (and in particular the Western World), we are seeing the rise of far-right wing parties who claim ...

“Peace Negotiator” Mike Pompeo: There is a CIA Plot to Assassinate Kim Jong-un?

Prof. Michel Chossudovsky Global Research 27 May 2018 In May of last year, the DPRK accused both the CIA (headed by Mike Pompeo) and the ROK’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) of “a failed plot to assassinate its leader Kim Jong-un with a biochemical bomb at a military parade in Pyongyang.” Neither the CIA nor the White House responded to these accusations. While press reports acknowledged the CIA’s “long history” of political assassinations, the DPRK’s accusations were casually dismissed. According to The Guardian  (March 5, 2017) “The CIA has a long history of helping to kill leaders around the world. US intelligence agency has since 1945 succeeded in deposing or killing a string of leaders, but was forced to cut back after a Senate investigation in the 1970s” According to North Korea’s ministry of state security, the CIA has not abandoned its old ways. In a statement on Friday, it accused that the CIA and South ...