U.S.-NATO Stirring Up Trouble Along Russian Borders

The New York Times, that helped sell George W. Bush's needless and illegal 'shock and awe' attack on Iraq in 2003, is now working to vilify Putin and create the pretext for war with Russia.

In a story headlined Russia’s Military Drills Near NATO Border Raise Fears of Aggression the NYT misleads with the title itself, even before you begin to read the article.  What is a NATO border?  Is NATO a country now with legally defined borders?  Does NATO suppose that where ever it decides to put a base or hold military drills that it has the right to declare itself a sovereign nation?

But most incredibly how can the NYT claim that Russia has 'done something wrong' when it holds military exercises inside its own country and in neighboring Belarus where they have been invited?  Since when is that illegal?

The Times reported:

Russia is preparing to send as many as 100,000 troops to the eastern edge of NATO territory at the end of the summer, one of the biggest steps yet in the military buildup undertaken by President Vladimir V. Putin and an exercise in intimidation that recalls the most ominous days of the Cold War.

Western military officials caution that the United States and Russia are not on the brink of war. But they expressed concern that the heightened Russian military activity could lead to unintended confrontations.

This article is drawing much interest and discussion on Fazebook today.  One prominent peace activist Kevin Zeese from Popular Resistance wrote in response:

This is a NY Times story that no one should believe. It is a classic example of pro-war propaganda seeking to escalate tensions. The author should have been fired for his role in the false WMD build-up to the Iraq War. Michael Gordon, along with Judith Miller, were the government propagandists for that war. Gordon continues his 'start a war' reporting now focused on the new target, Russia. This is one example of many why the Times cannot be trusted when it comes to national security issues.

In the end the numbers don't lie.  The chart below clearly reveals who is the real threat to world peace as we look at 2016 global military spending levels and see that the US leads the pack.  The Pentagon is way out front with 36% of the world total and when you add in the various NATO members and partners the figure reaches about 60%.  Russia is at 4.1% and even if you add China they come far below the US-NATO numbers.

What that means in the real world is that Russia has a military that is fundamentally about defending their borders.  Moscow does not have the capability to launch an offensive operation to retake eastern Europe as the NYT and Washington Post frequently imply.  In addition it must be known that Moscow cut their military budget last year and this year - largely due to the drop in world oil prices and the impact of western economic sanctions.

The bottom line is the US is trying to stir up trouble - is expanding its military operations up to the Russian borders - and like most bullies cries out in desperation when the recipient of their bullying stands up to them.

The US wants regime change in Moscow and Beijing and is willing to create global chaos in order to fulfill the world dominance dreams of the neo-cons that now run the US corporate government.  The NYT is nothing more than a mouth piece for that corporate agenda.  People would be wise to steer clear of these corrupt media outlets whose stories are likely being written by agents from the CIA.

Bruce