The United States sanctions against Russia for the Ukraine is one of the most stupid acts on the part of the US government and is a shimmering display of idiocy in its foreign policy and of the geopolitical landscape in which it is a player. If a policy act were a series of answers on an IQ test, Russian sanctions reveal the United States low IQ in foreign policy. Lets look at US ignorance displayed for all to see in its own State Department Press Release.
The sanctions are put in place for Russia “violating the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, or for stealing the assets of the Ukrainian people. Ukraine is a border country of Russia with deep ties that span its history.: 17% of its population is Russian and Russian is widely spoken in Ukraine. Part of Ukraine’s territorial integrity is that it still has deep ties with Russia and such deep ones that its own population is divided between closer bonds with the European Union and closer ties with the Russian Federation. The United States failed Ukraine 101 when it issued sanctions for Russia and ignored that Russian/Ukrainian relations go deep historically: Russia’s gas lines flow through Ukraine.
The United States disregarded Russia’s ties with Ukraine and the fact that this border country possesses the second largest army in Europe and has a sizable population.
If the EU were to acquire the Ukraine then the Ukraine will lend to the EU’s economy and eventual army that is on its agenda. An EU wide army is on the EU’s to do list and the framework for one was laid out in the EU’s Lisbon and earlier treaties. As I stated in a previous article this conflict is the first conflict in the Age of Empires between the EU and Russia and the United States has no business butting in this dispute.
The rhetoric in the State Department Press Release continues several times mentioning Russia using force, undermining democratic processes and institutions in Ukraine; and threatening its peace, security, stability, sovereignty and territorial integrity. What is so unbelievable about this statement is that the United States just failed among its many courses, Democracy 101. The press release states, “these actions with close coordination with our EU and international partners.” The US is accusing Russia of undermining the democratic process and yet lines itself with the undemocratically structured EU which has been fixing its own democratic deficit for years. Various Eastern bloc leaders have accused the EU of Soviet style secrecy and government, as major decisions are made behind closed doors. It is common knowledge that key EU decisions are made in secret and that the EU has a democratic deficit, so much so that former MEP Tony Benn once stated that if the EU were to try to join itself it would be turned down on the grounds that it were not a democracy.
The US also fails European Union Politics 101 as it used the term “EU and our partners” and is not aware yet that the EU is not its partner except in trade agreements and is forging ahead with its own economic and political agenda on the world stage that does not include the United States. The EU wants its own position in the world and you cannot blame them, they are an Empire as Commission President Barroso stated and of course the EU is going to look out for EU interests. The United States is under the assumption that many nations are our friends, and it has not dawned on US leaders that we are not as well liked by “our friends” as US politicians think.
Concerning our EU partner, where has the EU ever aligned with the US on any of its conflicts? Did they join the US’s current coalition? Did they get the EU to pressure Turkey into offering support for Kobaini seeing that Turkey has made one of its goals EU membership? Instead the United States is supporting Kobaini without any help from its EU partner. If all that I have written so far were not bad enough, the State Department’s Press Release ‘s statement “violating the sovereignty and integrity of Ukraine,
is written exactly as in the EU’s Commission’s newsroom page.
The State Department could not come up with their own reason for issuing the sanctions. They copied the EU. It gets even better, while the United States mentions the EU, the EU does not mention the United States. Not even a small u.s., no indication in footnotes, NOTHING, as if we do not exist in the sanction process. We stuck our necks far out, we issued sanctions first and not a whisper of the US along with the EU on their page. It gets even better than that. While the EU and US state that Russia is violating the sovereignty of the Ukraine, in order to join the EU a nation must relinquish parts of its own sovereignty. The European Union is not a big fan of national sovereignty, but the terminology came in handy for sanctions against Russia.
The last section of the press release goes beyond the United States having a low IQ. It either assumes that the American public is totally ignorant as our politicians or maybe there is some crack smoking going on at the State Department. It states “And thereby constitute and unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security of foreign policy of the United States.” Hmm lets see, Russia protecting its interests after the EU was raising its flag in Kiev at a Euromaidan Rally is now a threat to United States foreign policy. The United States just went from having a low IQ to being a total imbecile. If anything threatens its foreign policy interests it is these sanctions.
The US imbecile speaks again in this final statement, “A secure Ukraine, integrated with Europe and enjoying good relations with its neighbors, is in the interests of the United States, Europe and Russia. Whoever wrote this was watching the clock and couldn’t wait to finish this Press Release so that he or she could leave for the day. It looks like they also enlisted the help of their third grader. I am sure if Europe gained Ukraine with its 44 million citizens, which would bring the EU population up to 550+ million citizens, at its present population it is the third largest population area after China and India. Russia is going to feel real secure having the monolith EU at its borders. Is the US going to be happy the day it plays second to the EU because the EU is bigger and more powerful. That day is coming.
What is in the interests in the United States is to stay out of this situation and the United States has clearly made a fool out of itself by issuing sanctions and exposed its stupidity. These not only hurt US businesses that do business with Russia, and I realize they are few in number, but right now our economy needs every business to do well and
US and EU businesses oppose them. These sanctions are issued at a time when the United States is facing real enemies such as Islamic Militants and Ebola. It would be a smarter foreign policy path for the US to let Russia’s conflict remain between it and the European Union, which has greater economic ties with Russia than the US. The United States should seek to mend relations with Russia instead of inflame them because the US just might need to work with Russia regarding common enemies.
Meanwhile the United States State’s Department officials should go back to school. The US is no longer in the Cold War. It is over. This is the Age of Empires and the United States is not the leading player. It is a muli-polar world. The US must learn the definition of the word friends and allies before it uses the term so freely. The United States State Department has to make an effort to get their heads out of US think tanks and get into some of the teachings at EU think tanks to learn what is going on in the European Union. The media should follow behind. Once they get their lessons they will stop printing erroneous headline grabbers on how the EU or the euro is going to fall apart, because both are way beyond ever dismantling. The EU is not a partner on US policy but is following it own agenda. Since the US government and some members of the media do not have a clue what the EU is all about, I would also suggest a few classes at the College of Bruges a.k.a College of Europe. I am almost positive that neither has heard of the College nor are aware of its significance.
The EU is now bigger than the United States with 200 million more citizens than the US.
Ukraine would give the EU 44 million more. It might be in US interests for the EU to grow to 244 more citizens than its own, with an undemocratic institutional structure that will in time have its own army, but, Vladimir Putin does not see the situation as the US and neither does he give carte blanch to the EU or turn a blind eye as the United States. Vladimir Putin is looking out for his people and his empire and that is what he is supposed to do as a leader. He is not the world’s most dangerous man, he is not an evil dictator. He is a strong leader who is showing his strength in light of this unfair blow by the United States to Russia’s economy for doing nothing more than protecting Russian interests and getting into a dispute with the EU. Ukraine is an issue strictly between the EU and Russia and must be worked out around their negotiating table. The United States should maintain good relations with both the EU and Russia.
The EU didn’t ask for the United States help and has not even acknowledged the United States role.