Report from Russia

By Regis Tremblay

Six days in Moscow. Watching the news from over here. Very discouraging. From the EU comes news how they are angry that Trump (US neocons) pulled out of the Iran nuclear agreement. They are figuring out 1) they can't trust their American masters, 2) they must take their own interests first, 3) they have to avoid war. 4) because of US wars of regime change in Iraq, Libya, and Syria, millions of "immigrants" have flooded the EU and are causing havoc and chaos. In Sweden they are experiencing a 160% increase in violent crime over one year. The same is true in Germany, Italy, France, and the UK.

Things are very bad in the EU politically, economically, and militarily. It seems they have been forced to recalculate the relationship with the US and what is best for each country. The Transatlantic Partnership is being torn apart....thanks be to whomever for that.

Trump is being portrayed as a fool, clown, moron, and unstable. America's actions with Trump center stage makes one embarrassed to be associated with it.

Here in Russia, people are carefully watching the election in Iraq today, Iran's reaction to the US pullout of the nuclear agreement, Israel's bombing of Gaza and Syria and the attacks on Israeli positions in the Golan Heights.

From what I can tell, Russia wishes to avoid war at all costs. Being here for the second time, I can understand why. Russians seem to believe that President Putin will not take the country to war unless the Motherland is attacked.

Westerners claim that Putin is weak and has backed down to the US and Israel. Russians insist that he is not weak, but strong and insisting on international law and the UN Charter.

I learned today that Russia's "relationship" with Israel is almost purely the history of Russian Jews who migrated to and formed the (illegal - my judgment) 1948 formation of Israel. There are still millions of Russian Jews here in Russia.

Russia is a friend of Syria and has offered military and economic assistance to the Assad government. There, Russia will "bend" but not "break."

In relation to Iran, Russia "doesn't have a dog in the fight" except for being a partner in the Nuclear Agreement. Her interests in the Middle East are not oil, but 1) a pipeline for gas and oil to Europe, and 2) the completion of the New Silk Road connecting far east Asia with Europe, all the way to Portugal. I point out in my film, Thirty Seconds to Midnight, that America will never let this happen without risking all-out war. A united Eurasia would represent the most powerful economic, political, and military bloc in the world and a new world order not based on American interests.

I have also learned, from some, that there are indeed thousands of Russian troops in Donbass to protect Russians and Russian speakers there from the attacks of the Ukrainian army.

Putin has made it clear, in spite of thousands of NATO/US troops and bases along Russia's borders, that Russia's line in the sand is any invasion or attack on Russia itself.

The feeling of the people I have met is that tensions are very high and the worst ever. Many are afraid of war and some are afraid of nuclear war...because of America's aggression and attempts to subjugate the entire world.

I often quote Henry David Thoreau who said in the late 19th century, "How does it become a man to behave towards the American government today? I answer, that he cannot without disgrace be associated with it."

When people ask me where I am from (they really know before asking) I say "North America." I then explain that the American government does not represent me and I am ashamed to be associated with it. I tell them, I come as friend and a citizen of Mother Earth...and I come in peace and solidarity.

They get it.

Je Suis Russia!

Regis Tremblay
Brunswick, Maine