Fog of War or Smoke and Mirrors?
Once again, Western leaders have fallen for Putin’s trick: using the fog of war as a smokescreen to deceive us and reveal our weakness.
Today on the front page of the Cosmopolitan Globalist, Nicolas Tenzer writes that again, yet again, Western leaders have fallen for Putin’s trick—using the fog of war as a smokescreen to deceive them and reveal the West’s inconsistency and weakness.
… It’s worth asking how the West sees itself through these distorting mirrors and how it should respond. Putin began proposing that NATO threatens Russia about a decade ago; he did not say so before. Surprisingly, some in the West, including people well outside the circles that propagate the Kremlin’s narratives, agree with him, even though it is manifestly absurd to imagine NATO would attack Russia. Naivete, perhaps, or opportunism inspired by cowardice, prompts them to argue that Russia’s perception is reality, not a rhetorical slight-of-hand. They swallow the argument without considering the purpose it is meant to serve; it fails occur to them that Moscow promotes this line to weaken the West’s own security. Certainly, there is a real deficit in Western governments of the ability to analyze and understand propaganda. Lacking the requisite intellectual weapons and failing to realize the importance of these tools, they permit the Russian regime operate on conquered ground.
Read the whole thing, along with our companion reading list, below. Nicolas does a superb job of putting these items in context.
By the Cosmopolitan Globalists
Cristina Maza sends a note from Washington: “Under Secretary of State for political affairs Victoria Nuland briefed the Senate twice last week, once in a classified setting and once publicly, and outlined the policy options that the Biden administration is considering as it seeks to prevent war in Eastern Europe. Sources say the administration is considering a sweeping set of sanctions to wipe out the Russian banking sector.”
She writes: Washington weighs responses if Russia invades Ukraine. With Russia massing around 175,000 troops on its border with Ukraine, will the US and its allies counter Russian aggression through economic measures, offensive military support, or both?
If you missed our weekly French Election Twitter Summit, with Arun Kapil, Frédéric Guarino, and Jérome Clavel, you can listen to it here. It was very good!
Anthony Bartaway reviews From Odessa with Love, by Vladislav Davidzon.
A Russia-Ukraine reading list
Putin rues Soviet collapse as demise of “historical Russia.” “It was the disintegration of historical Russia under the name of the Soviet Union,” Putin said of the 1991 breakup, in comments aired on Sunday in a documentary film titled Russia. New History. “We turned into a completely different country and what had been built up over 1,000 years was largely lost,” he said, adding that 25 million Russians in newly independent countries suddenly found themselves cut off from Russia, part of what he called “a major humanitarian tragedy.”
Russia threatens to deploy mid-range nuclear missiles in Europe. Russia said it may be forced to deploy intermediate-range nuclear missiles in Europe in response to what it sees as NATO’s plans to do the same. The warning from Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov came as East-West tensions are at their lowest since the Cold War ended.
Putin to Johnson: NATO is threatening us. Russian President Vladimir Putin told British Prime Minister Boris Johnson that members of the NATO alliance were threatening Russia by expanding activity in Ukraine, the Kremlin said.
What Russia Wants From A Ukraine Crisis: A Sphere Of Influence In Eastern Europe. “Putin no longer bothers to equivocate when it comes to relations with the West …. He is determined to compel Europe to revisit the spheres of influence formula, with Russia gaining in the process a key vote on the Continent’s security and economic issues.”
Germany pledges to cancel Nord Stream 2 if Russia escalates. (In French.) Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki asked Germany to suspend the pipeline, saying Moscow would use it to “blackmail” Europe. The new German foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, said the pipeline would not be allowed to operate in the event of an escalation in Ukraine, this under the terms of an agreement between Berlin and Washington.
What does Russia want? “Sowing havoc at the expense of near-abroad nations, NATO, and the United States advances Russian geopolitical goals, while Moscow sees it as worthwhile for the sheer hell of it. That makes Vladimir Putin a more formidable competitor than a better-armed but humorless figure like Xi Jinping.”
The West must deter Russia or accept defeat. Putin hasn’t set his sights on just Ukraine. Further destabilization of Georgia is next on his agenda.
Russia and the UK: How Labour can build on the Integrated Review:
There is a staggering amount of Russian economic crime and illicit finance in the UK, with as much as 50 percent of dirty money from some post-Soviet laundromats flowing via UK corporate structures. Kremlin associates have long been able to park their money 8 and mistresses in London, enjoying the same rule of law, property rights, and freedoms that they deny to Russian citizens at home. The Conservative Party refuses to do anything about this injustice, seemingly frightened about scaring off all the other dirty money. This only enhances the UK’s role as a post-imperial butler for Russia’s rich and powerful, a state of affairs that is rightly impacting the UK’s reputation around the world, including in Russia where ordinary people ask why a country so rhetorically committed to liberal values is happy to accept such obscene amounts of money from, and give so many visas to, leading figures who repress the rights of ordinary people in Russia.
By allowing the Kremlin to treat London as its playground, the UK Government not only works to keep Vladimir Putin and his acolytes in power, it also demonstrates that it is not serious about defending itself or its citizens. Unfortunately, the [UK Government’s 2021 Integrated Review] reiterates this lack of seriousness. While it contains eleven glib statements that the UK will tackle illicit finance, only on one occasion does the [Integrated Review] explain how: by passing the legislation needed to implement the Economic Crime Plan “as soon as parliamentary time allows.” The Government has not provided Parliamentary time for this major plan. In fact, the legislation is so delayed that by now the Economic Crime Plan needs to be updated and upgraded.
Don’t sell out Ukraine. History shows that pledges of neutrality by Ukraine or any other country in the region do nothing to abate Putin’s appetite; rather, they feed it.
Of course the Russians are coming to Ukraine. They want to rebuild their empire. A fighting force of almost a million regular soldiers and reservists is on alert because of the constant threat of a Putin-ordered invasion.
Broader Risk: Russian Control over Ukraine and Belarus. “The US, in particular, needs to look beyond China and see how critical NATO and strategic partnerships with Europe really are. The must move firmly away from burden-sharing bullying and focus on effective collective deterrence and defense. It also needs to realize that Russian willingness to exploit opportunities for spoiler operations in the Middle East, Artic, and Africa—and arms sales to nations like Egypt, India, Iran, and Turkey—can be as critical as the similar efforts by China. Both Russia and China are far more than direct regional competitors and potential threats—they are global ones as well.”
What the Russian invasion of Ukraine could do to Europe. A senior Western intelligence official warned that if Russia decided to invade Ukraine , the conflict could easily spill over to Europe. “Let’s not be blind. If Russia initiates a scenario of any kind it will also initiate action against NATO members.” These concerns were echoed by Britain’s Chief of the Defence Staff, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin: “The significance of the worst scenarios in terms of a full-scale invasion would be on a scale not seen in Europe since the Second World War.”
Russians believe Ukrainians want to be “liberated.” Delusions about Moscow’s “little brother” are common and dangerous.
The European Court of Human Rights ordered Russia to pay 370,000 euros to domestic violence victims for failing to take action to protect them. These include Margarita Gracheva, whose husband cut off her hands with an axe after law enforcement ignored her calls. (In Russian.)
“Russia’s conscience”on trial as civil rights group faces closure. Memorial, which documents Soviet-era atrocities, faces dissolution as cases return to court this week
Worth re-reading: The hidden author of Putinism: How Vladislav Surkov invented the new Russia, by Peter Pomerantsev.
From Tucker with Love
Tucker Carlson accused of promoting Russian propaganda as Putin masses forces n Ukraine border.
Tucker Carlson is America’s most watched Kremlin propagandist.
Tucker Carlson justifying an invasion of Ukraine is where he has been heading all along
'Feedback loop' between Fox and Russian state TV
“The best thing that could be said about Tucker Carlson’s love letter to Vladimir Putin on his show Tuesday is that it didn’t sound any better in the original Russian. —Garry Kasparov.
Cosmopolitan Globalist Quiz:
Q: Why does Tucker Carlson sound indistinguishable from RT?
He’s given it a lot of thought, and he truly believes Russia should damned well invade anyone it wants to invade. The world, he holds, would be better that way.
He’s on Russia’s payroll.
It severely annoys Rachel Maddow.
Controversy is good for ratings.
Other?
Offer your theory in the comments, or via email. The Cosmopolitan Globalists are sincerely puzzled. What does it mean that Tucker Carlson is taking his cues from RT? Doesn’t this seem strange to you?
Global Eyes and Today’s Cookie: the Chräbeli
News and notes from around the world
Asia
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to The Cosmopolitan Globalist to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.