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Trump Revolution Ends In A Whimper
Educate! <https://popularresistance.org/category/educate/> Asia Pivot
<https://popularresistance.org/tag/asia-pivot/> , Russia
<https://popularresistance.org/tag/russia/> , Trump
<https://popularresistance.org/tag/trump/> , Wars and Militarism
<https://popularresistance.org/tag/wars-and-militarism/>
By Mike Whitney, www.counterpunch.org
<http://www.counterpunch.org/2017/02/17/blood-in-the-water-the-trump-revolut
ion-ends-in-a-whimper/>
February 18th, 2017
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Above photo: Above photo: More than 30,000 peace activists demonstrate
against the US military base, May, 2015, Naha City, Okinawa, Japan. AFP.
The Flynn fiasco is not about national security advisor Michael Flynns
conversations with the Russian ambassador. Its much deeper than that. Its
about Russia. Its about Putin. Its about the explosive rise of China and
the worlds biggest free trade zone that will eventually stretch from Lisbon
to Vladivostok. Its about the one country in the world that is obstructing
Washingtons plan for global domination. (Russia) And, its about the
future; which country will be the key player in the worlds most prosperous
and populous region, Asia.
Thats whats at stake, and thats what the Flynn controversy is really all
about.
Many readers are familiar with the expression pivot to Asia, but do they
know what it means?
It means the United States has embarked on an ambitious plan to extend its
military grip and market power over the Eurasian landmass thus securing its
position as the worlds only superpower into the next century. The pivot is
Washingtons top strategic priority. As Hillary Clinton said in 2011:
Harnessing Asias growth and dynamism is central to American economic and
strategic interests
Open markets in Asia provide the United States with
unprecedented opportunities for investment, trade, and access to
cutting-edge technology
..American firms (need) to tap into the vast and
growing consumer base of Asia
The region already generates more than half of global output and nearly half
of global trade
. we are looking for opportunities to do even more business
in Asia
and our investment opportunities in Asias dynamic
markets.(Americas Pacific Century, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton,
Foreign Policy Magazine, 2011)
In other words, its pivot or bust. Those are the only two options.
Naturally, ruling elites in the US have chosen the former over the latter,
which means they are committed to a strategy that will inevitably pit the US
against a nuclear-armed adversary, Russia.
Trumps National Security Advisor, Michael Flynn, wanted to normalize
relations with Russia. He rejected the flagrantly hostile approach of the US
foreign policy establishment. Thats why he had to be removed. And, thats
why hes been so viciously attacked in the media and why the threadbare
story about his contacts with the Russian ambassador were used to force his
resignation.
This isnt about the law and it isnt about the truth. Its about
bare-knuckle geopolitics and global hegemony. Flynn got in the way of the
pivot, so Flynn had to be eliminated. End of story. Heres a clip from an
article by Robert Parry:
Flynns real offense appears to be that he favors détente with Russia
rather than escalation of a new and dangerous Cold War. Trumps idea of a
rapprochement with Moscow and a search for areas of cooperation and
compromise has been driving Official Washingtons foreign policy
establishment crazy for months and the neocons, in particular, have been
determined to block it.
Though Flynn has pandered to elements of the neocon movement with his own
hysterical denunciations of Iran and Islam in general, he emerged as a key
architect for Trumps plans to seek a constructive relationship with Russian
President Vladimir Putin, Meanwhile, the neocons and their
liberal-interventionist sidekicks have invested heavily in making Putin the
all-purpose bête noire to justify a major investment in new military
hardware and in pricy propaganda operations. (Trump Caves on Flynn
<https://consortiumnews.com/2017/02/14/trump-caves-on-flynns-resignation/>
s resignation, Consortium News)
US foreign policy is not developed willy-nilly. It emerges as the consensus
view of various competing factions within the permanent national security
state. And, although there are notable differences between the rival
factions (either hardline or dovish) there appears to be unanimity on the
question of Russia. There is virtually no constituency within the political
leadership of either of the two major parties (or their puppetmaster
supporters in the deep state) for improving relations with Russia. None.
Russia is blocking Washingtons eastward expansion, therefore, Russia must
be defeated. Heres more from the World Socialist Web Site:
US imperialism seeks to counter its declining world economic position by
exploiting its unchallenged global military dominance. It sees as the
principal roadblocks to its hegemonic aims the growing economic and military
power of China and the still-considerable strength of Russia, possessor of
the worlds second-largest nuclear arsenal, the largest reserves of oil and
gas, and a critical geographical position at the center of the Eurasian land
mass.
Trumps opponents within the ruling class insist that US foreign policy must
target Russia with the aim of weakening the Putin regime or overthrowing it.
This is deemed a prerequisite for taking on the challenge posed by China.
Numerous Washington think tanks have developed scenarios for military
conflicts with Russian forces in the Middle East, in Ukraine, in the Baltic
States and in cyberspace. The national security elite is not prepared to
accept a shift in orientation away from the policy of direct confrontation
with Russia along the lines proposed by Trump, who would like for the
present to lower tensions with Russia in order to focus first on China.
(Behind the Flynn resignation and Trump crisis: A bitter conflict over
imperialist policy
<http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2017/02/15/pers-f15.html> , WSWS)
Foreign policy elites believe the US and its NATO allies can engage Russia
in a shooting war without it expanding into a regional conflict and without
an escalation into a nuclear conflagration. Its a risky calculation but,
nevertheless, it is the rationale behind the persistent build up of troops
and weaponry on Russias western perimeter. Take a look at this from the
Independent:
Thousands of Nato troops have amassed close to the border with Russia as
part of the largest build-up of Western troops neighbouring Moscows sphere
of influence since the Cold War
Tanks and heavy armoured vehicles, plus
Bradley fighting vehicles and Paladin howitzers, are also in situ and
British Typhoon jets from RAF Conningsby will be deployed to Romania this
summer to contribute to Natos Southern Air Policing mission
Kremlin officials claim the build-up is the largest since the Second World
War. (The map that shows how many Nato troops are deployed along Russia
<http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/russia-nato-border-forces-ma
p-where-are-they-positioned-a7562391.html> s border, The Independent)
Saber-rattling and belligerence have cleared the way for another world war.
Washington thinks the conflict can be contained, but were nor so sure.
The inexperienced Trump who naively believed that the president sets his
own foreign policyhas now learned that thats not the case. The Flynn
slap-down, followed by blistering attacks in the media and threats of
impeachment, have left Trump shaken to the core. As a result, he has done a
speedy about-face and swung into damage control-mode. On Tuesday, he tried
to extend the olive branch by tweeting that Crimea was taken by Russia and
by offering to replace Flynn with a trusted insider who will not veer from
the script prepared by the foreign policy establishment. Check out this
blurb on the Foreign Policy magazine website on Wednesday:
President Donald Trump offered the job of national security advisor to
retired Vice Adm. Robert Harward on Monday night
If, as expected, Harward
accepts the job today, he is likely to bring in his own team, from deputy on
down, with a focus on national security types with some experience under
their belts
Harward also would work well with Defense Secretary James Mattis. When
Mattis was chief of Central Command, Harward was his deputy. Mattis trusted
him enough to put him in charge of planning for war with Iran. Mattis has
urged Harward to take the NSA job.
If Harward becomes NSA, Mattis would emerge from the Flynn mess in a
uniquely powerful position: He would have two of his former deputies at the
table in some meetings. The other one is John Kelly, now secretary for
Homeland Security, who was his number two when Mattis commanded a Marine
division early in the invasion of Iraq in 2003. (A Mattis protégé poised
to take the helm of Trump
<http://foreignpolicy.com/2017/02/15/robert-harward-plans-a-housecleaning-of
-trumps-national-security-council-staff/> s NSC, Foreign Policy)
In other words, Trump is relinquishing control over foreign policy and
returning it to trusted insiders who will comply with pre-set elitist
guidelines. Trumps sudden metamorphosis was apparent in another story that
appeared in Wednesdays news, this time related to Rex Tillerson and General
Joseph Dunford. Heres a clip from CNN:
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Gen. Joseph Dunford meet face to face with their Russian counterparts
Thursday, as the Trump administration evaluates the future direction of
US-Russian relations
.But even as Tillersons plane was taking off in
Washington, the Pentagon announced the meeting between Dunford and his
Russian counterpart Valeriy Gerasimov, which will take place Thursday in
Baku, Azerbaijan
.
The military leaders will discuss a variety of issues including the current
state of U.S.-Russian military relations
Trumps envoys have been
expressing positions more keeping with previous US policies.
Ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, indicated the US would
maintain sanctions on Russia for annexing Crimea in 2014. She condemned what
she called the Russian occupation of the Ukrainian territory
The US has deployed thousands of troops and tanks to Poland and Romania in
recent weeks, while other NATO allies have sent troops to Latvia, Lithuania
and Estonia.
There is a common message from the President, from his security team, the
secretary of state, the secretary of defense, that they stay strongly
committed to NATO, he added.
Lets summarize: The sanctions will remain, the tanks are on the border, the
commitment to NATO has been reinforced, and Dunford is going to explain
Washingtons strategic objectives to his Russian counterpart in clear,
unambiguous language. There will be no room for Tillerson, who is on
friendly terms with Putin, to change the existing policy or to normalize
relations; Dunford, Haley, and Defense Secretary James Mattis will make sure
of that.
As for Trump, its clear by the Crimea tweet, the sacking of Flynn and the
(prospective) appointment of Harward, that hes running scared and is doing
everything in his power to get out of the hole hes dug for himself. Theres
no way of knowing whether hell be allowed to carry on as before or if hell
be forced to throw other allies, like Bannon or Conway, under the bus. I
would expect the purge to continue and to eventually include Trump himself.
But thats just a guess.
The hope that Trump would bring an element of sanity to US foreign policy
has now been extinguished. The so called Trump Revolution has fizzled out
before it ever began.
In contrast, the military buildup along Russias western flank continues
apace.
Mike Whitney lives in Washington state. He is a contributor to Hopeless:
Barack Obama and the Politics of Illusion
<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1849351104/counterpunchmaga> (AK
Press). Hopeless is also available in a Kindle edition
<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B007X497NM/counterpunchmaga> . He
can be reached at fergiewhitney@xxxxxxx. - See more at:
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/46471.htm#sthash.6SH9DiIa.dpuf
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