Murray Hunter
Guest Editorial: United States: Fighting to the last Ukrainian
By Lim Teck Ghee
Nov 20, 2024
When Joe Biden leaves office, he will leave as the president with a record that places him amongst the most militaristic of American leaders with responsibility for inflicting suffering and bringing death to possibly the largest number of innocent civilian casualties in this modern era. This is as a result of the wars taking place during his watch in Ukraine, Gaza and elsewhere. This record will become worse if the bleak outcome of his latest foreign policy decision becomes reality.
In what independent observers view as a further attempt by Biden to continue and escalate the war in Ukraine, the lame duck president has authorised Ukraine to use American long-range missiles to strike deeper inside Russia.
In the US, the following response by Congress representative Marjorie Greene has received 2 million views on X and 47,000 likes
On his way out of office, Joe Biden is dangerously trying to start WW III by authorizing Ukraine the use of U.S. long range missiles into Russia.
The American people gave a mandate on Nov 5th against these exact America last decisions and do NOT want to fund or fight foreign wars. We want to fix our own problems
Marjorie Taylor Green, Congress representative for Georgia, X post, 14 Nov 2024
This decision, allowing Kyiv to use the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMs) with their superior range of up to four times more than the current missiles supplied to Ukraine for attacks inside Russia, has been justified with the most flimsy of excuses.
Quoting American officials reported to be ‘knowledgeable’ about the matter but obviously designated by the White House to provide justification propaganda, the major policy change is being pitched by western media to the world as a response to North Korean troops reported to be positioned along Ukraine’s northern border.
The explanation rings hollow.
Since the war began, Russia has not called upon or relied on any non-Russian troops to fight its war. At this late stage when victory appears to be in sight, Putin will want for it to enter into the history books as an exclusive and singlehanded Russian victory against the combined forces of the US, Britain, Canada, Australia, the European Union, Japan and other allies of the West. It will be foolish and extremely unlikely for Putin to welcome any participation from Russia’s allies in the current battlefield and military endgame in Ukraine.
As to the presence of North Koreans in Ukraine, it is possible that there is a small number of them at the frontline. However, South Korea, which has the best intelligence on North Korea, has not been able to confirm that North Korean troops are now engaged in combat as reported by some US and Ukraine officials.
Explaining Biden's Last War Hurrah
What explains Biden’s last hurrah in US foreign policy is not difficult to understand. Firstly, he is giving way to the late ditch effort by the military-industrial (MIC) and deep state complexes that are key players of US domestic and foreign policy to obstruct the incoming president, Donald Trump, in his plan to end the war. Such a move which Trump has promised to take place within 24 hours after his assumption of office, would obviously adversely impact the windfall profits that the war in Ukraine has generated for the MIC complex.
Biden had earlier resisted pressure from Zelensky and Western supporters to allow Ukraine to strike military targets deeper inside Russia for fear that this escalation could draw the US and NATO into direct conflict with nuclear-armed Russia.
His change of mind at this late hour can also be interpreted in other ways besides his finally giving in to the military and industrial forces working behind the political scene in Washington and Kyiv.
Foremost appears to be his personal animosity towards Trump who he condemned in a recent election campaign rally as a threat to democracy and someone that needed to “be locked up”. Related to that animosity may also be a quest for retaliation against his nemesis fuelled by Kamala Harris’s election loss which many Democrat leaders attribute to Biden’s late withdrawal from the presidential race.
Failure by Trump as the new president to stop the war as promised would put Biden’s foreign policy legacy of support for Ukraine in a better light and make Trump the loser in the American history books which Biden is now focused on influencing and rewriting.
Earlier in his youth, Biden had shown promise of being anti-war in his sentiment. Like earlier presidents - George W. Bush and Bill Clinton - he was successful in avoiding the draft. According to a report by the US Army Times newspaper which serves active, reserve, national guard and retired US army personne, and analysed the draft dodging strategies of various presidents:
Biden not only received deferments for his undergraduate days at the University of Delaware, but for three years of law school at Syracuse University. When his education deferments expired in 1968, Biden requested a deferment based on the fact he had asthma as a teenager. He did this in spite of the fact that, according to his own book, he was a star athlete in high school and in college played intramural sports and was a lifeguard in the summer.
https://www.armytimes.com/opinion/commentary/2021/01/21/dodging-and-deferring-trump-wasnt-the-only-potus-to-avoid-the-draft/
The report also noted that as soon as he received his asthma deferment, Biden ran for local office and within two years after he would have been discharged from the Army, assuming he was not wounded or killed, he was elected to the Senate.
As an outgoing president, Biden clearly has embellished his war record with this latest variant of US foreign policy - that is, of fighting to the last Ukrainian. This recalibration of US foreign policy is also being applied to hotspots such as Gaza and Lebanon in the Middle East and Korea and Taiwan in Asia.
Fighting to the last Palestinian, Korean or Taiwanese can be expected as the US continues with its efforts to maintain geo-political dominance.
When Joe Biden leaves office, he will leave as the president with a record that places him amongst the most militaristic of American leaders with responsibility for inflicting suffering and bringing death to possibly the largest number of innocent civilian casualties in this modern era. This is as a result of the wars taking place during his watch in Ukraine, Gaza and elsewhere. This record will become worse if the bleak outcome of his latest foreign policy decision becomes reality.
In what independent observers view as a further attempt by Biden to continue and escalate the war in Ukraine, the lame duck president has authorised Ukraine to use American long-range missiles to strike deeper inside Russia.
In the US, the following response by Congress representative Marjorie Greene has received 2 million views on X and 47,000 likes
On his way out of office, Joe Biden is dangerously trying to start WW III by authorizing Ukraine the use of U.S. long range missiles into Russia.
The American people gave a mandate on Nov 5th against these exact America last decisions and do NOT want to fund or fight foreign wars. We want to fix our own problems
Marjorie Taylor Green, Congress representative for Georgia, X post, 14 Nov 2024
This decision, allowing Kyiv to use the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMs) with their superior range of up to four times more than the current missiles supplied to Ukraine for attacks inside Russia, has been justified with the most flimsy of excuses.
Quoting American officials reported to be ‘knowledgeable’ about the matter but obviously designated by the White House to provide justification propaganda, the major policy change is being pitched by western media to the world as a response to North Korean troops reported to be positioned along Ukraine’s northern border.
The explanation rings hollow.
Since the war began, Russia has not called upon or relied on any non-Russian troops to fight its war. At this late stage when victory appears to be in sight, Putin will want for it to enter into the history books as an exclusive and singlehanded Russian victory against the combined forces of the US, Britain, Canada, Australia, the European Union, Japan and other allies of the West. It will be foolish and extremely unlikely for Putin to welcome any participation from Russia’s allies in the current battlefield and military endgame in Ukraine.
As to the presence of North Koreans in Ukraine, it is possible that there is a small number of them at the frontline. However, South Korea, which has the best intelligence on North Korea, has not been able to confirm that North Korean troops are now engaged in combat as reported by some US and Ukraine officials.
Explaining Biden's Last War Hurrah
What explains Biden’s last hurrah in US foreign policy is not difficult to understand. Firstly, he is giving way to the late ditch effort by the military-industrial (MIC) and deep state complexes that are key players of US domestic and foreign policy to obstruct the incoming president, Donald Trump, in his plan to end the war. Such a move which Trump has promised to take place within 24 hours after his assumption of office, would obviously adversely impact the windfall profits that the war in Ukraine has generated for the MIC complex.
Biden had earlier resisted pressure from Zelensky and Western supporters to allow Ukraine to strike military targets deeper inside Russia for fear that this escalation could draw the US and NATO into direct conflict with nuclear-armed Russia.
His change of mind at this late hour can also be interpreted in other ways besides his finally giving in to the military and industrial forces working behind the political scene in Washington and Kyiv.
Foremost appears to be his personal animosity towards Trump who he condemned in a recent election campaign rally as a threat to democracy and someone that needed to “be locked up”. Related to that animosity may also be a quest for retaliation against his nemesis fuelled by Kamala Harris’s election loss which many Democrat leaders attribute to Biden’s late withdrawal from the presidential race.
Failure by Trump as the new president to stop the war as promised would put Biden’s foreign policy legacy of support for Ukraine in a better light and make Trump the loser in the American history books which Biden is now focused on influencing and rewriting.
Earlier in his youth, Biden had shown promise of being anti-war in his sentiment. Like earlier presidents - George W. Bush and Bill Clinton - he was successful in avoiding the draft. According to a report by the US Army Times newspaper which serves active, reserve, national guard and retired US army personne, and analysed the draft dodging strategies of various presidents:
Biden not only received deferments for his undergraduate days at the University of Delaware, but for three years of law school at Syracuse University. When his education deferments expired in 1968, Biden requested a deferment based on the fact he had asthma as a teenager. He did this in spite of the fact that, according to his own book, he was a star athlete in high school and in college played intramural sports and was a lifeguard in the summer.
https://www.armytimes.com/opinion/commentary/2021/01/21/dodging-and-deferring-trump-wasnt-the-only-potus-to-avoid-the-draft/
The report also noted that as soon as he received his asthma deferment, Biden ran for local office and within two years after he would have been discharged from the Army, assuming he was not wounded or killed, he was elected to the Senate.
As an outgoing president, Biden clearly has embellished his war record with this latest variant of US foreign policy - that is, of fighting to the last Ukrainian. This recalibration of US foreign policy is also being applied to hotspots such as Gaza and Lebanon in the Middle East and Korea and Taiwan in Asia.
Fighting to the last Palestinian, Korean or Taiwanese can be expected as the US continues with its efforts to maintain geo-political dominance.
Lim Teck Ghee
Lim Teck Ghee, ANU PhD graduate, is a Malaysian economic historian and policy analyst. He has a regular column, Another Take, in The Sun, a Malaysian daily and Oriental Daily; and is the author of Challenging the Status Quo in Malaysia, and Dark Forces Changing Malaysia (with Murray Hunter).
Friday Nov 22 +61 coming up in two days
ReplyDelete~~~~~
https://www.vanityfair.com/style/story/jfk-staged-murder-home-movie-hammersmith-farm
Why JFK Staged His Own Murder in a James Bond–Inspired Spy Film—2 Months Before His Assassination
The untold tale—and never-before-seen photos—of a 1963 home movie directed by Jacqueline Kennedy at Hammersmith Farm.
By James Robenalt
November 19, 2024
...
Lim Teck Ghee the Putin spokesman
ReplyDeleteI'm amazed, in this entire article , the is not one single criticism of Russia violating Ukraine's sovereignty.
ReplyDeleteThen again. Not surprising coming from Left Wing Wanker like Lim Teck Ghee.
https://x.com/RnaudBertrand/status/1859446480198828360?s=19
ReplyDeleteThe story around China issuing USD-denominated sovereign bonds in Saudi Arabia is generating an enormous amount of buzz in China, and could potentially be immensely important.
I strongly suspect it's a message to the upcoming Trump administration.
Let me explain what seems to be going on.
On the face of it, it's not a major story: China issued $2 billion in USD-denominated sovereign bonds in Saudi Arabia, which means that investors lent USD to the Chinese government that they promised to pay back. That's what a bond is. So far, relatively boring.
The first somewhat interesting aspect of it is that the bonds were oversubscribed by almost 20x (meaning $40+ billion in demand for $2 billion worth of bonds), which is far more demand than usual for USD sovereign bonds. Typically US Treasury auctions see oversubscription rate between 2x to 3x so there obviously seems to be very strong market appeal for China's dollar-denominated debt.
The second interesting aspect is that the interest rate on the bonds was remarkably close to US Treasury rates (just 1-3 basis points higher, i.e. 0.01-0.03%), which means that China is now able to borrow money - in US dollars (!) - at virtually the same rate as the US government itself. That's the case for no other country in the world. As a benchmark, countries with the highest credit ratings (AAA) typically pay at least 10-20 basis points over US Treasuries in the rare instances when they issue USD bonds.
The third interesting aspect is the venue itself for this bond sale: Saudi Arabia. This is unusual since sovereign bonds are typically issued in major financial centers, not in Riyadh. The choice of Saudi Arabia and the fact that the Saudis agreed to this is particularly significant given its historical role in the global dollar system, the so-called 'petrodollar' system which I don't need to explain... By issuing dollar bonds in Saudi Arabia that compete directly with US Treasuries, and getting essentially the same interest rate, China is demonstrating it can operate as an alternative manager of dollar liquidity right in the heart of the petrodollar system. For Saudi Arabia, which holds hundreds of billions in dollar reserves, this creates a new option for investing their dollars: they can invest it with the Chinese government instead of the US government.
Ok, that's all interesting but still not the main reason why Chinese social media is abuzz. The reason why is because they postulate that this is trial round by China to demonstrate to the US that they can effectively use their own currency against them, with potentially dramatic consequences.
How?
First of all, think it through, imagine if China scales this up and instead of issuing $2 billion worth of bonds, they start issuing 10s or 100s of billions worth of it.
What this means for the US is that China would effectively be competing with the US Treasury in the global dollar market. Instead of countries like Saudi Arabia automatically recycling their dollars into US Treasury bonds, they could put them into Chinese dollar bonds that pay the same rate.
...(comment too long)
P/s MBS a good buddy of DJT...
China has very large offshore US$ dominated reserve. So paying back in US$ is never a worry for bond buyers.
DeleteBesides bond usually has a long tenure. The volatility of the current US$ has also casted a investment worry for these investors.
A hidden clause, not mentioned, is the bond can be repaid with alternatives, such as goods & RMB.
A future downgrading of the US$ is also a viable consideration for accepting these alternative payments in kind.
Thus, the 20x popularity I'm demands.
Interesting...
ReplyDelete~~~~~
https://x.com/RealAlexJones/status/1859369405806719241?s=19
BREAKING: Under The Constitution, The 25th Amendment Removal Of Biden For Launching WWIII Would Hand Power To Congress To Remove Kamala Harris As Well, Reports Dr. Naomi Wolf
@naomirwolf
WATCH/SHARE THE LIVE SHOW HERE:
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