John Chuckman
COMMENT POSTED TO AN ARTICLE IN RUSSIA INSIDER
“Like Jackson-Vanik, EU's Russia Sanctions Are Here to Stay Forever
“It will take a major world shake up and realignment for these sanctions to ever be dropped -- as long as the world remains in roughly its present configuration the EU anti-Russian sanctions are a permanent feature”
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Response to another reader’s comment:
Accessories indeed.
It is a terrible shame, but Europe today has little independence of action. It is effectively territory occupied by the United States. European leaders have allowed that to happen over some decades.
My favorite example of the ugly stuff now forced on Europe by American policies is the recent terrible refugee problem.
The United States is responsible for creating all these refugees with its bombing and support for various mercenary terror groups, as in Syria. But it accepts absolutely no responsibility. Indeed, a politician like Trump sits back and blubbers about Europe and speaks hatefully about refugees.
But Europe went along with unjust and destructive American policies from the beginning, the so-called Neocon Wars. That’s when it should have “put its foot down” but it didn’t.
I believe Mrs. Merkel came privately to regret that support of wars which proved terribly destructive.
She tried to compensate by opening the gates to masses of refugees, refugees running from American-induced terrors.
Although she was extremely well-intentioned, this caused a strong political backlash with too many new and strange, strange in German eyes, kinds of people coming all at once.
She has now paid the political price. And America goes right on with its bombing and destruction and support for terror.
And Trump goes on about his hate for refugees and migrants and making threats.
Apart from all the other ugly acts and demands of the United States – tearing up good treaties, demanding more money for NATO, insisting everyone buy American equipment, ordering countries not to buy cheaper, plentiful Russian gas, demanding everyone show patience for that basket-case called Ukraine which itself takes no steps towards peace – this experience with Neocon Wars and refugees has contributed to the growing sense of alienation in major European countries from the United States.
It is hard to see how it could be otherwise when America keeps insisting on the dangerous and irrational and self-serving, showing no understanding of the views or understanding of its traditional allies.
If Europe genuinely does turn towards more independence of action, it will be the one good thing to come out of an extremely destructive set of American policies.
“Whom the gods would destroy…”
