Listen to what the other side is saying
One of the biggest failures of the West from the beginning (and still fully at play today) is an unwillingness to consider that Russia has any valid national security concerns and how they might react to Western actions they deem antithetical to their interests. Looking through the lens of Moscow does not equal sympathy or understanding of their position or justification for their responses.
Daniel L. Davis, a Senior Fellow for Defense Priorities and a former Lt. Col. in the U.S. Army who deployed into combat zones four times. He is the author of “The Eleventh Hour in 2020 America.”
In the above piece, published 3 days ago, this experienced US military officer and analyst, who has always been pro-Ukraine, warns of the increasing possibility of nuclear war.
A couple of days earlier, former Russian PM and close Putin ally, Dmitry Medvedev wrote the following chilling and incisive OpEd also warning that global nuclear war is a higher risk than during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Even if you think he and Putin are evil Hitler like characters, it is worth listening because they have the capability to match their rhetoric, both in terms of conventional and nuclear military power.
I have published this on Hive in full, translated automatically with my corrections and format editing (so maybe it will survive a global nuclear war). The original can be found here
Age of confrontation
Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev.
- How the tectonic civilizational fault can and should be resolved 2 July 2023
When it seems that the whole world is opposed to you, remember that the plane does not fly in the wind, but against it.
The dictum is attributed to Henry Ford and is mentioned by Ayn Rand. Accurate source is unknown.
In the West, they once again made a white noise and continue to pour accusations against Russia with all their might. Everyone is trying - from patients with severe Russophobia of the senate senates to unstable old people in the White House. It would seem that everything has long been said and done. Why do Western politicians again bear any nonsense about the need for a "power signal" about the participation of the Kiev protectorate in the North Atlantic Alliance? Why do they continue to conjure about peace for Ukraine only on the terms of the Nazi Kiev regime? Why so much rage almost after a year and a half of the SVO?
Of course, our enemies - both external and internal - were hardly pleased with the result of the recent armed rebellion. Power in Russia convincingly proved its strength and stability, and the people of the country demonstrated readiness to rally around Supreme Commander Vladimir Putin to defend the motherland. On the other hand, our opponents are hardly so upset at last taken by us Artemovsk, he is Bakhmut. The defeat of the Armed Forces on this front was a predetermined affair. Another thing is that the beginning of a counteroffensive for Western political morons was unexpected. They sacredly believed in the genius of their instructors, the omnipotence of unlimited dough and the power of boasted NATO technology.
Nevertheless, here and there the western official and not very, but from this no less nasty faces Taldychat: Russia has already lost, we have won. Why did they suddenly tighten such bravular songs? Facts are a stubborn thing, there is no place for illusions. First, let's figure out their arguments.
The tectonic fault that has formed in the understanding of the future in different parts of the world will only worsen. Confrontation will be very long
1: "Russia is in isolation". Not at all. Political contacts with Asia, Africa and Latin America are actively developing. Their markets are open, their companies are working with us with might and main, despite sanctions. Enraged the end of the era of the almighty dollar. On the agenda is the transition to national and digital currencies.
Yes, relations with Europe have significantly decreased (but have not disappeared, say directly). But with the global South and no less global East, they have grown significantly. The goods from Europe that we needed are replaced by others. Europeans lost our market for a very long time, their investments burned down, although the production itself remained. Thanks to them for the free or severely cheaper capacities that have become the property of Russian companies. Their firms bite their start-up elbows, clean the balance sheets from losses, but based on the notorious political correctness and, what to hide, cowardice in front of the overseas Suzeren is silent, swallowing tears of lost income.
2: "The Russian economy is falling apart". In no way. Production growth is much higher than in Europe. Even the agency Reuters recognized: in April 2023, activity in the Russian manufacturing sector showed an increase of the 12th consecutive month. At the same time, inflation is significantly less than in many Western countries. It is close to the historical minimum and amounts to 2.9 percent. By the end of the year, 5 percent will not rise. Whereas, according to the forecast of the European Commission, inflation in the eurozone in 2023 will be close to 6 percent. At the lowest historical level, we have unemployment - 3.3 percent.
Development is in all sectors of the economy. According to Rosstat, in March this year, industrial production increased by 1.2 percent compared to last March. In April, their growth was already 5.2 percent. Impressive successes in construction. In 2022 alone, the volume of construction work increased by 5.2 percent. The growth of agricultural production over the past year was more than 10 percent. And for all commodity items in this sector, we actually close our needs, actively work for export. By the way, dependence on agricultural products and food products from our country was realized everywhere, from here endless stones on the topic of the grain transaction. Although it is already clear to everyone that in its current form it is not needed and should be necessarily terminated. We can help our partners anyway, and feeding the fat-faced European burgers is not our task. To do this, they have their own old and bald "liver sausage" there, as well as a mass of highly educated gynecologists who brilliantly rule the European economy.
3: "Russia wanted to restrain NATO, and the alliance expanded to include Sweden and Finland". This is a lie of clean water. We never tried to restrain NATO. This is not in our power and capabilities, but these two Scandinavian countries were already associated with the alliance. We always asked for only one thing - to take into account our concerns and not invite to NATO former parts of our country. Especially those with which we have territorial disputes. Therefore, our goal is simple - to eliminate the threat of Ukraine’s membership in NATO. And we will achieve it. Anyway. Today, even stoned leaders of the Kiev regime recognized - in a state of conflict, Banderorubriina ( or whatever it is now customary to call her rotting remains ) into the alliance will not be accepted. Hence, however, a very simple and sad conclusion: if conflicting countries do not accept NATO, then the conflict will be permanent, because it is a question of the existence of Russia.
So the reasons for their indignation are obvious. Russia could not be broken, the anti-Russian front failed. And it’s not a matter of politics, not of strategy, and not even of tactics. Just the finale is already very close. The hour has struck. Our eternal ideological opponents are one step away from the loss of what is most appreciated. First of all, their global dominance, on which their well-being has been based for centuries. Therefore, Western politicians are trying to escalate fear. But in fact, the Oruel characters of the barnyard - arrogant English pigs and other cattle subordinate to them - themselves in complete animal horror. They want, as they constantly did before, to demonstrate their strength to the world. But this time they are only painted in their own impotence. They create information noise, but there is practically no content in it. Everything is obvious: their time is up.They do not even belong today. Tomorrow is all the more.
I will name three things that it is time for the Anglo-Saxon world to finally realize.
The first one. Confronting the collective West has become global.
2022-2023 will go down in history as a time of a powerful civilizational fault, peak of the existential crisis of mankind in the 21st century. Its direct consequence was the beginning special military operation in Ukraine. Russia was forced to take place to protect its sovereignty and territorial integrity, the security of millions of citizens. Our country, as you know, exercised its right to self-defense, relying on Art. 51 UN Charter.
What is happening in Ukraine and in Donbass is not just a “regional conflict”, but something completely different. It is total confrontation between the collective West and the rest of the world. It is caused by the diametrical opposite of views on the further development of mankind. On one side are Western countries that do not want to recognize that the world has radically changed and lose their dominance. The hybrid war that they are waging with us now is their last chance to maintain a status quo that is beneficial to themselves, not to lose weakened power and influence. On the other side is not only Russia, but also the global East and the South. Their population is almost two thirds of the globe. These are countries that continue to gain strength, gradually overcome the economic and political consequences of the colonial past. They stand for the equal development of all states. Without older and junior partners. Without a cynical division into historically developed and underdeveloped countries. Or the "genuine"democracies "and" authoritarian regimes ", from the point of view of the West, of course.
Their desire for independence is very disliked by former colonialists. They cling to the past with all their might. The new conflict has already caused an order of magnitude more tension than during the previous Cold War and extremely negative consequences. In fact, put the world on the brink of the third world. Moreover, with the outbreak of the conflict in Ukraine with the filing of the United States, the full package of "double standards" was again put into operation". Nothing new, everything is as usual: independence and territorial integrity, according to the collective West, can only be defended by those who are the highest allowed. The rest should be pacified, crushed, and preferably smeared on their own territory with bloody scummets. Russia did not want to recognize such logic. I did not obey the will of others. And she rebuffed - hard and unambiguous.
Now the new degenerative generation of Western politicians is clearly not aware of what they are doing and what they are calling for. And, it seems, they forgot what the retaliatory actions on our part will be if the provocations go too far. Fortunately, while in places like last year’s snow, common sense in the heads of some of them has still been preserved. God grant, it does not melt completely, because then it really is the end.
The second one. The confrontation will be very long, and the obstinate ( that is, us ) will be tamed late.
That tectonic fault, which has formed in the understanding of the future in different parts of the world, will only be exacerbated. No need to be a seer to understand: phase of confrontation will be very long. The confrontation will last decades. One way to resolve it is the Third World War. But it is obviously bad, for the winners are not at all guaranteed further prosperity, as happened after the previous world wars. Most likely, there will simply be no winners. After all, one cannot consider as a victory the world in which the nuclear winter has come, the millionaire cities are in ruins, there is no electricity due to the extreme electromagnetic pulse, and a huge number of people died from the shock wave, light radiation penetrating radiation and radioactive contamination. Where terrible epidemics and famine reign.
No Anti-Russia should be in principle anymore, otherwise sooner or later everything will end very badly. The Kiev Nazi regime must be annihilated
And then I will notice one thing that politicians of all stripes do not like to recognize: such an Apocalypse is not only possible, but also quite likely. Why? There are at least two reasons.
First one. The world is in opposition much worse than during the Caribbean [Cuban Missile] crisis, for our opponents have decided really smash the largest nuclear power is Russia. They are no doubt complete morons, but that is exactly so. And the second reason is completely prosaic - nuclear weapons have already been used by anyone and where, which means, there is no taboo!
The second way to resolve this total contradiction is finding the most difficult compromises for a long time. The formation of a new respectful world order, which will be based on the balance of interests of all countries. Moreover, this, of course, is not the notorious "order based on rules", which can cause nothing but gag reflex in any country independent of the United States. Yes, you will have to talk a lot, endure, show restraint, leave negotiations and return to them again, but in the end create international contours of an equal and safe world of the 21st century. This is likely to take years, possibly decades. But this is definitely better than to be fooled by everyone together on the day of the Apocalypse.
And therefore - the third. What we are ready to go out of the phase of total confrontation.
Indeed, we are ready to seek reasonable compromises, as the Russian president has repeatedly spoken about. They are possible, but with an understanding of several fundamental points. Firstly, our interests should be taken into account to the maximum extent: no Anti-Russia should be in principle anymore, otherwise sooner or later everything will end very badly. The Kiev Nazi regime must be annihilated. Legislatively prohibited in civilized Europe as fascist. Thrown out like a rotten piece of fat in a landfill of world history. What will replace him, we do not know, like what will remain of the former Untargeted. But the West will have to accept this if it does not want the apocalyptic end of our imperfect civilization.
Secondly, all the suffering results of the total confrontation must be consolidated in a new document such as the Helsinki Act, which ended the famous 1975 Meeting. Only Helsinki itself, alas, is not suitable for obvious reasons. Now for us, Finland is a hostile country, once created by Lenin’s unthinkable and joined NATO today. With Finland and others like it, ( like Poland, the Baltic countries and, of course, Britain ) it would be better to temporarily suspend diplomatic relations at least for the time being to lower their level.
Thirdly, it is likely that a neat reassembly of the UN and other international organizations will be required. It is possible only with full respect for the rights of the permanent members of the Security Council, otherwise it will be completely ineffective. And then the UN will sink into oblivion as an institution that did not live up to the hopes of free peoples. I'm not talking about the fate of the current international freaks such as the ICC, the Council of Europe or the OSCE. They are already on the stinking garbage dump of world development.
Will it be possible to take the path of compromises, I do not know. Not sure. So far, the finally degenerated Western political class is trying to raise rates in the chorus of bloody clowns. In a state of persistent dementia, our small world is pushing to the third world. He teaches the stoned Kiev regime to war to the last Ukrainian.
In other words, I'm not optimistic. No wonder Anton Pavlovich once noticed that "life is essentially a very simple thing, and a person needs to make a lot of effort to ruin it".
But there is always hope.
Please vote for my Hive witness. (KeyChain or HiveSigner)