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| Russian President Vladimir Putin © Maxim Shemetov / Reuters Russia’s successes & challenges: Putin’s State of the Nation address in detail Published time: 1 Mar, 2018 09:01Edited time: 2 Mar, 2018 07:17 President Vladimir Putin has delivered an address to the Russian Federal Assembly – a joint session of the two chambers of the Russian Parliament. He spoke on a wide range of issues from the economy to the newest weapons … for more, go to https://www.rt.com/news/420103-putin-federal-assembly-address/ |
Russia’s clear warning to the war-waging US and its allies!
Post World War ll (WWll) has seen the US bombing and killing millions of people to occupy sovereign states to serve their global imperialism agenda.
However, the 21st Century digital world and superior technology have empowered the rest of the world to not fear the US.
Saddled with a national debt of between US$20 trillion and US$222 trillion (Read this for context: https://ilovemalaysiachinasilkroad.blogspot.my/2018/01/is-us-debt-us20-trillion-or-us222.html), the US today does not have the financial might that it had in the 20th Century to wield its fast dwindling global agenda and influence.
The US has thus become a desperado, and is now openly and shamelessly threatening the use of nuclear arms.
What do you expect others to do? Sit down and not react and do nothing?
US Central Command (CENTCOM) head General Joseph Votel shamelessly declared to the US Congress that “Russia threatens our ability to dominate”!
So, it has come to such a desperation that the US feels no shame in declaring that its global agenda is to dominate the rest of the world.
He also identified Russia and China as a threat to Washington’s hegemony.
So, only the God-forsaken US can progress to lord over all others?
It is because of the China-Russia combo and its combined technology and military might that’s maintaining the global check-and-balance on the American’s thirst for world domination, war and occupation of sovereign states.
So, Mr Votel, are you saying this world belongs to the US and no other nation can progress in terms of economy, technology and military?
Here are the news reports reproduced for the convenient reading of I Love China-Malaysia Silk Road followers:
"Putin on new US nuclear stance: If attacked, Russia will use nukes
Published time: 1 Mar, 2018 11:06Edited time: 2 Mar, 2018 08:18
The new US nuclear posture allows a nuclear strike in response to a conventional attack. President Vladimir Putin said Russia, if attacked with nuclear weapons, would not hesitate to respond in kind.
The warning came during a state of the nation address delivered by the Russian president on Thursday, in which he presented a number of new advanced strategic weapon systems which, he said, would render all anti-missile capabilities that the US currently has powerless. Putin also mentioned the new American nuclear posture, which has relaxed some rules on when the US is prepared to use its nuclear weapons.
鈥淲e are greatly concerned by some parts of the new nuclear posture, which reduces the benchmark for the use of nuclear weapons. Whatever soothing words one may try to use behind closed doors, we can read what was written. And it says that these weapons can be used in response to a conventional attack or even a cyber-threat,鈥?/em>聽he said.
鈥淥ur nuclear doctrine says Russia reserves the right to use nuclear weapons only in response to a nuclear attack or an attack with other weapons of mass destruction against her or her allies, or a conventional attack against us that threatens the very existence of the state.鈥澛?/em>
鈥淚t is my duty to state this: Any use of nuclear weapons against Russia or its allies, be it small-scale, medium-scale or any other scale, will be treated as a nuclear attack on our country. The response will be instant and with all the relevant consequences,鈥?/em>聽Putin warned.
US training Europe to use tactical nukes against Russia is threat to non-proliferation – Lavrov
Published time: 28 Feb, 2018 10:29Edited time: 1 Mar, 2018 12:48
US programs which train non-nuclear powers on how to use American tactical nuclear weapons violate the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.
Lavrov’s comments reiterate Russia’s critical stance regarding the US and its training of NATO allies. The US is training European states who do not possess nuclear arsenals of their own on how to use American nuclear weapons stationed there. Moscow considers it a breach of the NTP, the cornerstone of the current non-proliferation regime.
Lavrov criticized the US deployment of tactical nuclear weapons on European soil as well as the involvement of non-nuclear states in training programs, at a session of the UN Conference on Disarmament in Geneva on Wednesday.
“Everybody should understand that the US military are preparing the militaries of European states to use tactical nuclear weapons against Russia,” he stressed.
The US stores an estimated 200 of its B61 nuclear bombs in countries including Germany, Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands and Turkey as part of NATO’s nuclear-sharing program. Russia considers the presence of American nuclear weapons in other nations as a hostile gesture. The US is currently upgrading the B61, making the weapon more flexible in use, claiming it is necessary to counter Russia’s arsenal of tactical nuclear weapons. Russia says its arsenal is necessary to protect it from NATO’s overwhelming superiority in terms of conventional arms.
So, Mr Votel, are you saying this world belongs to the US and no other nation can progress in terms of economy, technology and military?
Here are the news reports reproduced for the convenient reading of I Love China-Malaysia Silk Road followers:
"Putin on new US nuclear stance: If attacked, Russia will use nukes
Published time: 1 Mar, 2018 11:06Edited time: 2 Mar, 2018 08:18
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| 漏 Ramil Sitdikov / Sputnik |
The warning came during a state of the nation address delivered by the Russian president on Thursday, in which he presented a number of new advanced strategic weapon systems which, he said, would render all anti-missile capabilities that the US currently has powerless. Putin also mentioned the new American nuclear posture, which has relaxed some rules on when the US is prepared to use its nuclear weapons.
鈥淲e are greatly concerned by some parts of the new nuclear posture, which reduces the benchmark for the use of nuclear weapons. Whatever soothing words one may try to use behind closed doors, we can read what was written. And it says that these weapons can be used in response to a conventional attack or even a cyber-threat,鈥?/em>聽he said.
鈥淥ur nuclear doctrine says Russia reserves the right to use nuclear weapons only in response to a nuclear attack or an attack with other weapons of mass destruction against her or her allies, or a conventional attack against us that threatens the very existence of the state.鈥澛?/em>
鈥淚t is my duty to state this: Any use of nuclear weapons against Russia or its allies, be it small-scale, medium-scale or any other scale, will be treated as a nuclear attack on our country. The response will be instant and with all the relevant consequences,鈥?/em>聽Putin warned.
US training Europe to use tactical nukes against Russia is threat to non-proliferation – Lavrov
Published time: 28 Feb, 2018 10:29Edited time: 1 Mar, 2018 12:48
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| © Jörg Carstensen / Global Look Press |
US programs which train non-nuclear powers on how to use American tactical nuclear weapons violate the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.
Lavrov’s comments reiterate Russia’s critical stance regarding the US and its training of NATO allies. The US is training European states who do not possess nuclear arsenals of their own on how to use American nuclear weapons stationed there. Moscow considers it a breach of the NTP, the cornerstone of the current non-proliferation regime.
Lavrov criticized the US deployment of tactical nuclear weapons on European soil as well as the involvement of non-nuclear states in training programs, at a session of the UN Conference on Disarmament in Geneva on Wednesday.
“Everybody should understand that the US military are preparing the militaries of European states to use tactical nuclear weapons against Russia,” he stressed.
The US stores an estimated 200 of its B61 nuclear bombs in countries including Germany, Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands and Turkey as part of NATO’s nuclear-sharing program. Russia considers the presence of American nuclear weapons in other nations as a hostile gesture. The US is currently upgrading the B61, making the weapon more flexible in use, claiming it is necessary to counter Russia’s arsenal of tactical nuclear weapons. Russia says its arsenal is necessary to protect it from NATO’s overwhelming superiority in terms of conventional arms.
Russia ‘threatens our ability to dominate’ – US general to Congress
Published time: 28 Feb, 2018 01:37Edited time: 28 Feb, 2018 09:51
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| General Joseph Votel, commander of US Central Command © Yuri Gripas / Reuters |
The US is seeking to contain Iran’s rising influence in the Middle East and fend off challenges to Washington’s hegemony posed by Russia and China, the top general commanding US forces in the region told Congress.
General Joseph Votel, head of the US Central Command (CENTCOM), briefed the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) on Tuesday on the efforts against Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) and the wars in Syria, Afghanistan, and Yemen. All of which fall under the purview of CENTCOM, “the only geographic combatant command executing active combat operations,” Votel pointed out.
The US has partitioned the globe into six combatant commands. Under this arrangement, CENTCOM’s area of responsibility extends from the Libyan border with Egypt to Pakistan’s border with India, and from Kazakhstan’s border with Russia to Sudan.
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| US geographical combatant commands / Wikipedia |
“An increase in Russian surface-to-air missile systems in the region threatens our access and ability to dominate the airspace,” Votel complained at one point, discussing Syria.
Unlike the US forces present in that country, Russian forces are in Syria at the invitation of the government in Damascus. Votel argued that the legal basis for the presence of US troops was the “collective self-defense of Iraq” from IS.
“The principle reason we are in Syria is to defeat ISIS, and that remains our sole and single task,” Votel told the lawmakers, echoing last week’s remarks by President Donald Trump.
Declaring the IS largely defeated, Votel cautioned that “Sunni populations remain vulnerable to identity-based recruitment”into terrorist groups, adding that “impressionable youth in this tumultuous region, seeking community and justice, are highly susceptible to extremists’ teachings.”
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Vera Bergengruen✔@VeraMBergenReplying to @VeraMBergen
CENTCOM's Gen. Votel: "Moscow is playing the role of arsonist and firefighter – fueling the conflict in Syria between the Syrian Regime, YPG, and Turkey, then claiming to serve as an arbiter to resolve the dispute."
11:35 PM - Feb 27, 2018
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Votel made no acknowledgment of any role Russia’s intervention in Syria has played in the demise of IS. Rather, the general had some harsh words for Moscow, accusing Russia of playing “arsonist and firefighter,” fueling the conflict in Syria and then “claiming to serve as an arbiter to resolve the dispute.” As Votel explained, Moscow was offering diplomatic alternatives to “Western-led political negotiations” in Syria and Afghanistan.
Russia’s influence in the Central Asian countries that were formerly parts of the Soviet Union is “problematic,” as that could “limit US engagement options” and endanger NATO’s supply lines into Afghanistan, Votel said.
The general described Russia and Iran as “historic rivals” who nonetheless share interests, “including an overarching desire to sideline, if not expel, the US from the region.” The Russian and Persian empires did fight a series of wars over the Caucasus from 1651 to 1828. Iran was an ally of Washington from the 1953 CIA coup to the 1979 Islamic revolution, at which point the two countries became bitter enemies.
This is reflected in Votel’s testimony, in which he refers to common Washington tropes about Iranian imperialism and the “Shia crescent” from Iran to Lebanon. However, the CENTCOM chief seemed to backtrack from the previous narrative about the war in Yemen being instigated by Iran, choosing to describe it as a civil war in which Iran intervened to harm its regional rival Saudi Arabia.
“The conflict in Yemen has opened opportunities for Iran, which continues to provide support to the Houthis with the aim of building a proxy to pressure the Saudi-led coalition and expand its sphere of influence,” Votel said. He also revealed that the US has increased the number of advisers to the Saudi military over the past year, which should “help mitigate incidents of avoidable civilian casualties in Yemen.”
The Saudi-led coalition has been fighting in Yemen since March 2015, without much success.
27 Feb
Jeff Seldin✔@jseldinReplying to @jseldin
"Both #China & #Russia seek to fill in perceived gaps in US interest by increasing defense cooperation & sales" per Gen Votel "They both are also cultivating multidimensional ties with #Iran" pic.twitter.com/te2f06Uy4b
Jeff Seldin✔@jseldin“Countering #Iran is not one of the coalition missions in #Syria” per @Centcom’s Gen Votel pic.twitter.com/hhLyRbGigo
12:08 AM - Feb 28, 2018
· 4
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Though Votel explicitly denied that Washington’s mission in Syria is to counter Iran, he said that the US should “build [a] strong relationship” with the Iraqi military and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) “to impede Iran’s objectives in establishing lines of communications in these critical areas.”
Intervention by the US-led coalition and “regional powers” – by which Votel presumably meant Turkey – has already “blocked Assad’s ability to recapture major portions of northern Syria,” the general said, referring to Syrian President Bashar Assad.
He also talked about “ad-hoc democratic organizations” that have been established in territories liberated from IS by the SDF, which rely on US and coalition funding for survival. Continued funding would “help them maintain popular support and set conditions for enduring, stable governance,” said Votel.
However, US efforts to work with the Kurds in northern Syria have been threatened by the recent Turkish military incursion into the Kurdish-held district of Afrin. While the Kurdish militia that are there are not part of the US-backed SDF, there are family and tribal ties between them.
“Our alliance with Turkey is paramount,” Votel said, “but we must continue to urge restraint as their actions have clearly increased risk to our campaign to defeat ISIS.“
The CENTCOM chief also argued that Moscow and Tehran are seeking an end to the Syrian war because they are pouring “billions of dollars” in aid into Damascus.
Yet, in the same hearing, he argued that Russia “has to admit it is not capable or that it doesn’t want to play a role in ending the Syrian conflict,” and that Moscow’s role was “incredibly destabilizing.” No explanation was offered for the discrepancy."
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| © Bettmann / Getty Images Washington’s ‘crackpot’ nuclear posture endangers the world to an alarming degree Finian Cunningham (born 1963) has written extensively on international affairs, with articles published in several languages. Originally from Belfast, Northern Ireland, he is a Master’s graduate in Agricultural Chemistry and worked as a scientific editor for the Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge, England, before pursuing a career in newspaper journalism. For over 20 years he worked as an editor and writer in major news media organizations, including The Mirror, Irish Times and Independent. Now a freelance journalist based in East Africa, his columns appear on RT, Sputnik, Strategic Culture Foundation and Press TV. Published time: 6 Feb, 2018 15:18Edited time: 1 Mar, 2018 15:10 Washington’s latest Nuclear Posture Review imperils global security in three ways: it inflates perceived threats to the US, it conflates conventional & nuclear war and it pushes for the development of low-yield nuclear weapons. These three new moments in US policy increase the risk of nuclear war rather than lowering it, as American Defense Secretary James Mattis claimed in signing off on the Nuclear Posture Review published last week. Mattis states that the long-term goal of the US is the elimination of all nuclear weapons from the world — but Washington has no intention of ever doing this. That’s because US leaders never cease to view the world as a relentlessly threatening place, justifying a $1 trillion upgrade of the nation’s nuclear arsenal. The NPR states: “This review comes at a critical moment in our nation’s history, for America confronts an international security situation that is more complex and demanding than any since the end of the Cold War.” Four specific threats are outlined: Russia, China, North Korea and Iran. But what’s perplexing is that so little credible detail is presented by the Pentagon to justify why it considers these four entities to be such dire threats, requiring greater US nuclear posturing … for more, go to https://www.rt.com/op-ed/418020-us-nuclear-pentagon-russia/ |
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