The Alliance of the Threatened

BERLIN/WASHINGTON/MOSCOW (Own report) – The EU and USA have expanded their sanctions against Russia and – in addition to individuals – have now also placed important Russian companies on their lists. Washington has restricted dealings, for example, with Rosneft and the Gazprombank. Brussels has announced the possibility of preventing EU companies from doing business with Russian companies and is planning to list them by the end of July. German business circles are protesting. They have already suffered billions in losses. Experts are warning that, with its sanctions against Russia, the West may experience, in the economic arena, an overreach similar to that experienced by the US in the military arena with its war on Iraq. With the power of the West obviously waning, it has already become noticeable that even close allies are defecting. Observers explain this with the Crimea conflict: NATO countries had been unable to retain the Crimea within the reign of its allied Ukrainian government; therefore it seems that an alliance with NATO countries would no longer be a reliable assurance against ones enemies. Defections can be noticed in Asia and Latin America, not least of all because of the recent founding of the BRICS development bank, rivaling the US-dominated World Bank. Russia and China are among the founders of this bank.

A New Grand Strategy

Berlin choosing Moscow over Washington emphasizes the fact that in the real world there is no such thing ‘allies’, but ‘interests’. This article precisely underscores this fact. Although its true regarding the persuit of ‘two global policies’, Germany has historically chosen Russia over America which has ironically lead to two of the bloodiest wars in world history as both have used economic/political/military cooperation to out-maneuver the other for strategic military advantage before an actual war is declared. History is repeating itself and the only difference this time around is the Fourth Reich (German-dominated EU) versus Putin’s neo-Soviet Union.

BERLIN (Own report) – An influential German weekly opened a debate on the call for redefining EU – US relations. The West’s current policy toward Ukraine is diametrically opposed to “European” interests, according to an article published in the online-edition of the German weekly “Die Zeit”. “Europe should not deprive itself of cooperation with Moscow; it should rather be enhanced. At the same time, the EU should intensify its relations with Washington, while pursuing “its own concepts” with more determination. The objective should be a “new and more promising transatlantic grand strategy.” The article was authored by an associate of the Global Policy Institute, a think tank in London, but his standpoint also reflects opinions being expressed within the German foreign policy establishment. Back-stage disputes over Germany’s policy toward Ukraine are slowly surfacing into public view.