John Chuckman
COMMENT - UNRELENTING HOSTILITY AND AGGRESSION, A SINGLE MORNING IN THE LIFE OF THE AMERICAN EMPIRE
Just glancing through some news sources early in the day, we have the following reports relating to American activities.
The United States has imposed a new economic embargo on the government of Venezuela, freezing all of its assets. America’s earlier coup attempt against the country’s elected government, a government it just doesn’t like, was such a public failure, it is taking more strangulation measures. Already, from five years of various ugly measures, the people of Venezuela suffer badly.
John Bolton announced that the United States would support no new election in Venezuela so long as the existing government remains. How’s that for interference in other people’s elections?
The United States says it will base new intermediate range nuclear-capable missiles in countries within range of China, just as soon as it can. One location mentioned is near Darwin, Australia. Intermediate range missiles seriously shorten the flying time for delivering a nuclear warhead, as compared to intercontinental missiles. That fact, of course, shortens reaction times and raises the risk of a pre-emptive strike.
Right now, all Chinese short and intermediate range missiles are defensively positioned well within Chinese territory and not in positions to target others, but that will, of course, change if the United States does what it says it is going to do. In the world of nuclear weapons, allowing any nuclear-capable missiles to be based on your territory makes you an automatic target, a practice the United States, just as much as others, strictly follows.
Stock indexes in the United States fell hard in view of Trump’s threat of further massive tariffs against China.
China’s currency, the yuan, fell, as of course you would expect in response to all the bad news from the markets, but the United States’ Treasury immediately designated China as a “currency manipulator,” just a totally false claim, but one with consequences.
Britain’s new Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab, promised to work towards building a stronger alliance with the United States against Russia and Iran after completing BREXIT. That of course begs the question of just what threat either Russia or Iran in fact represent. They aren’t the ones ringing other countries with warships and bombers and tanks.
Britain is to be part of a United States naval mission in the Gulf with two ships joining two American ships to accompany tankers through the Strait of Hormuz. Hasn’t Britain blundered enough with its idiotic tanker hijacking near Gibraltar, done at John Bolton’s suggestion, having started a whole wave of negative activity? Iran is perfectly capable of policing the waters of the Strait, as it has for years, and foreign warships only represent new risks.
Large-scale American military drills with South Korea are proceeding despite North Korea’s strong protests. Such regular drills, always rather threatening and requiring close watching owing to the threat of disguised invasion, are one of the American practices North Korea reasonably expects to see ended before any agreement on denuclearization.
Just a few days ago, the United States withdrew from the Intermediate Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty that dates back to Reagan’s time. The act threatens the security of Europe because any placement of intermediate-range nuclear-capable missiles will be matched by Russia. All reaction times are shortened by such missiles and the threat of a pre-emptive strike is raised, just as in the case of China discussed above.
Today marks the 74th anniversary of America’s atomic-bombing of Hiroshima, a civilian center of no military importance, an act that set one of the most dangerous precedents of all time. In three days, it will be the anniversary of America’s atomic-bombing of Nagasaki.
