The world is teetering dangerously on the verge of a possible escalation anew of clashes over the bombings in Syria and mounting tensions with Russia that could possibly lead to a global nuclear war, while on the other side of the globe, the potentials for a new renaissance led by China’s massive global infrastructure thrust called “Belt and Road” initiative (BRI) are attracting the interest of about 140 countries.
In short, the world is faced with two choices—revive the Cold War with Russia and China by escalating the Syrian war and confrontation with Russia that could trigger a nuclear war annihilating human civilization in one to two hours, or join China’s win-win development agenda which Xi Jinping calls a “common destiny of humankind.”
Rushing the Russian bogey. If Syria and Russia were guilty of chemical bombings, the hasty missile attacks by Britain, the United States and France were premature as the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Warfare (OPCW) still had to investigate if chemical bombings happened and who were behind. Moreover, the attacks violated the UN Charter and had no Congress or Parliamentary approval.
The British seems to fall into its trap of the proverbial “boy crying wolf” story as it blames Russia again, while half of Europe no longer believes its tale. Earlier, Prime Minister Theresa May blamed Russia for poisoning double agent Sergei Skrippal and daughter Yulia. Sergei was jailed in Russia and released on a spy exchange.
May expelled 23 Russian diplomats, and got the US and 18 European Union members and others to kick out 144 Russians. May raised the Russian bogey for Russia to prove its innocence in a mockery of justice when the burden of proof supposedly shifts back to the accuser.
We may not believe Russia’s self-serving defense, but neither could we believe Britain for not producing proofs and ignoring Russia’s 14 valid questions. Putin could not risk tarnishing his name weeks before his March 18 reelection. Syria is also winning the war so why risk a setback on these chemicals.
Some British are brutish in lies? In jurisprudence, the burden of proof is on the accuser, but why is the perceived accused made to prove his innocence. We are traditionally biased against Russia, but must take caution and political cushion now, owing to the countless political distortions done by the British in history.
For one, Iraq war happened on the hoax peddled by Tony Blair that Saddam Hussein possessed “weapons of mass destruction,” but swallowed hook, line and sinker by President George W. Bush.
Arguably, it was more believable and perceived justifiable owing to Saddam’s history of abuses, but May’s pronouncements and the attacks on Syria appear questionable with contrary reports about the British-created “White Helmets” rescue organization colluding allegedly with the jihadi “Jaish al-Islam” in the chemical bombing.
Rightly or wrongly, we need to sift and discern through the Goebellian propaganda surreptitiously peddled by media influenced by the Council on Foreign Relations, whose tentacles of control and alleged twisted reporting is what Trump complains about.
The Trump contradiction. Trump is a contradiction of sorts for his arrogance, impulsive decisions and racial, Islamophobic and misogynist remarks, while he goes for peace, irking neoconservative war-hawks representing the military-industrial complex. He wants to stop regime changes, cutdown defense, revive space spending instead, calls Cold War Nato obsolete, and wants to make friends with China and Russia.
He wants US troops out of the Middle East, claiming over $7 trillion have been wasted, which also shows the magnitude of the war business. He hit the “color revolutions” backed by George Soros (i.e., 2004 Orange revolution in Ukraine; 2003 Rose Revolution in Georgia; 2005 Tulip revolution in Kyrgyzstan, 2005 Cedar revolution in Lebanon, Yellow Umbrella Revolution in Hong Kong; Arab Spring in the Middle East, the failed White Revolution in Russia. It was for Trump’s anti-war position that the Russiagate campaign against him was launched, which is backlashing and revealing again the British hand through intelligence officer Christopher Steele.
His impulsiveness made him expel Russian diplomats and joined the Syria bombing, but maybe he was forced due to mounting pressures at home.
“Art of Deal” and “Art of War.” Trump has no depth, hates books and prefers abbreviated impulsive Twitter messages, but because of his nature as expressed in his book Art of the Deal he wants to do business with Russia and China and do a Sun Tzu “Art of War” by talking peace and win for US without firing shots.
With Xi Jinping and South Korea, Trump contributed in softening North Korea’s Kim Jong Un through the Pyongyang-to-Pyeongchang Winter Olympic diplomacy, dominated by images of Ivanka Trump and Kim’s sister. A meeting is being brokered by China this May. This may revive peace and the Korean “Iron Silk Road” achieved in 2002 to build railways from Busan, through North Korea, up to Rotterdam, and industries at Kaesong border, employing 50,000 North Koreans by 123 South Korean firms, but all stopped under Bush-Cheney.
World peace with Belt and Road. While Trump doesn’t know poker diplomacy, his ”Trump card” style of reaching out to arch enemies may help “bring world peace,” a motto of the Miss Universe pageant he once owned.
China’s BRI with Russia heavily involved, which is an improvement of the BRICS coalition, is a promising idea for a new renaissance and peaceful alternative to the “zero-sum dog-eat-dog game” of globalization, “geopolitics” of perpetual Cold War and revolutions, resulting in “winners and losers” and massive poverty, amid few pockets of wealth. BRI ignores British Empire Lord Palmerston’s concept of “permanent wars and permanent revolutions” and his saying, “There are no permanent friends and enemies, but permanent interests.”
China plans six development corridors across Asia, Europe, Africa and Southeast Asia, including the 30-year delayed Kra Canal in Thailand, cutting travel by 1,200 kilometers to the Indian Ocean and bypassing Singapore, the $49-billion Nicaragua Canal about 3.5 times longer than Panama Canal. And if America is involved, link Russia’s Siberia and Alaska at the Bering Straits, and massive projects all the way to South America, among others.
Threats are ominous, amid the potentials for a new renaissance, we just have to make the right choice as what we have long followed for what is right are deceivingly leading us to perdition or hell.
E-mail: mikealunan@yahoo.com.