Putin Says Russia Could Target US if New Missiles Put in Europe

Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers a state-of-the-nation address in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2019. (AP)

 

President Vladimir Putin says Russia is prepared to target American “decision-making centers” if the United States sends new missiles to Europe.

The Russian leader spoke Wednesday during his state-of-the-nation address in Moscow. He said Russia would answer any U.S. move to deploy new missiles closer to Russia by stationing its own new missiles closer to America or by deploying faster missiles.

Ukraine: Is Russia Planning A New Invasion?

Pictured: A Russian-backed rebel observing Ukrainian army positions near Donetsk, Eastern Ukraine, May 17, 2015. (Image source: Mstyslav Chernov/Wikimedia Commons)

 

• Russia’s aggression into Ukraine came in direct violation of its obligations under the 1994 Budapest Memorandum.
• “After four years of war, Russia has at least 260,000 troops deployed along the Ukrainian border,” ready to advance. — Oleksandr Turchynov, Chairman of Ukraine’s National Defense and Security Council, April 13, 2018.
• The First Deputy Head of the Ukrainian Security Service, Viktor Kononenko, recently reported that Russia might be planning another attempt to destabilize Ukraine in the fall “under the pretext of protecting the Russian-speaking population”.

This April marks the fourth year of the ongoing war in Ukraine between the Ukrainian military and Russian backed separatists in the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics in eastern Ukraine, also known as the Donbas region. Prior to the beginning of the war in eastern Ukraine in April 2014, Russia annexed Crimea.

Ned Goodman:The dollar is about to be dethroned as the world’s de facto currency (Video)

The Fed will very likely never ‘taper’.  If so, there will be a bond sell off which would quickly spiral out of control. Quantitative easing, or QE, will be permanent until it eventually causes a collapse.

The Fed not tapering is also supported by Egon von Greyerz, the founder of Matterhorn Asset Management in Switzerland, in an interview just two days ago.

The ‘day of reckoning’ is indeed coming. The question is not if, but when.

On Sept. 15, Canadian billionaire Ned Goodman spoke at the Cambridge House regarding the U.S. dollar, and the state of the Western economies. In his nearly eight minute speech, the 75 year old CEO of Dundee Capital Markets and Chancellor of Brock University painted a picture of the upcoming change in reserve currency control by the U.S., and how the dollar will soon be replaced as nations around the world rush to get rid of their currency reserves.

Ned Goodman: In my view, the dollar is about to become dethroned as the world’s de facto currency. I’ll tell you how I came to that conclusion so quickly… the new President of China, Xi Jinping, his first visit on the day of his becoming President, was at his request to meet with Mr. Putin. And he immediately made a deal with Mr. Putin to get all the oil that he needs, which he can buy in Renminbi.

We’re headed to a period of stagflation, maybe serious inflation, but stagflation for sure, and the United States will be losing the privilege to print at its will, the world’s reserve currency. A period that’s going to be very inflationary, and I can tell you that before that happens, it is likely that it is going to get quite ugly. – Ned Goodman, Cambridge House

Obama softens on nuclear Iran: Keep components, just promise not to weaponise them

The moderate mien of Iran’s new president Hassan Rouhani has had its intended effect – even before nuclear dialogue began. President Barack Obama had only one demand of Tehran:  “Iran would have to demonstrate its own seriousness by agreement not to weaponise nuclear power,” he said Wednesday, Sept. 18. He thus took at his word Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who declared the day before: “We are against nuclear weapons. And when we say no one should have nuclear weapons, we definitely do not pursue it ourselves either.”

The symmetry between the words from Washington and Tehran was perfect in content and timing – and not by chance.

Inside Putin’s Plan to Dominate the World’s Oil and Gas Markets

Vladmir Putin once called the collapse of the Soviet Union “the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century.” But in Central Asia and Eastern Europe, a new economic union, aimed at collecting the scattered pieces of the Russian Empire, is growing. Should Putin’s Eurasian Union succeed by incorporating all of Central Asia and Eastern Europe minus the Baltic States and Balkans, Russia will effectively hold sway over some of the largest concentrations of natural gas, oil, and uranium in the world.

SAVAGE: ‘Putin just did one thing I agree with 100%’

From time to time, the Soviet Union is also a nation of laws. Even if it is a country ran by a highly corrupt intelligence agency, Mr. Savage has a point.

While performing in Russia, pop star Madonna voiced her support for three “performance artists” who are in jail for trashing an Orthodox church building.

“This is not about free speech,” Savage said after praising Putin’s crackdown on these criminals. “Either you have a society of laws, or you have lawlessness.”

“Madonna went to Russia to give a concert,” Savage explained. “The stoners in Russia are no different than the stoners everywhere else,” adding:

You’re allowed to go see an aging grandmother cavorting on the stage.

So while she’s there, Madonna calls for the release of three gangster women in Russia.

I call them gangster women because you won’t believe what they did. The media here made you think they were just punk rockers who were arrested by Putin for being wild and crazy.

But no, that’s not what happened.

They went to the main Russian Orthodox church, stormed the pulpit, performed obscene acts and screamed that the Orthodox Church is too closely tied to Putin.

So Putin had them arrested, and I agree with him 100 percent.

There’s a certain point at which society breaks down unless you control the vermin: the vermin drug addicts, the vermin anarchists and so on. We’ve seen that in our own country.

Russian politicians are not constrained like our petty bureaucrat politicians are.

The deputy prime minister got so mad at Madonna that he said, “Every ex-wh*** tends to lecture everybody with age, especially during world tours and concerts. Either take off the cross or put on your panties.”

These so-called punk rocker performances offended the great majority of the Russian people who belong to the Orthodox Church. Their trial is certainly not about free speech.

Either you have a society of laws, or you have lawlessness.

Full article: SAVAGE: ‘Putin just did one thing I agree with 100%’ (Michael Savage)

Putin Confirms the Invasion of Georgia Was Preplanned

Further sealing the deal that this war was a long time in the making before the decision to invade. Georgia was essentially going to be Europe’s energy cooridor, with help of building infrastructure from the United States, that would decrease dependence from Russia — and also relieve pressure from the Soviet Union’s dominate political leverage which has been displayed by shutting off the energy resource transit pipelines (at will) that run from Ukraine to Europe, thus leaving European nations cold during the winters in previous years. The Soviet-Georgian war was never about a hostile regime in Georgia, a pocket-sized country with a population of roughly only 4.7 million.

Putin’s press service immediately confirmed the “Lost Day” as a genuine documentary. After a meeting with his Armenian counterpart, Serzh Sargsyan, in the Kremlin, Putin confirmed to journalists the accuracy of some of the “Lost Day” allegations. According to Putin, the plan to invade Georgia was prepared in advance and “the Russian side acted within the framework of that plan.” The General Staff of the Armed Forces prepared the plan of military action against Georgia “at the end of 2006, and I authorized it in 2007,” continued Putin. According to the plan, heavy weaponry and troops were prepared and mobilized for the coming invasion. As part of the Russian Defense Ministry plan, Ossetian separatist forces were trained and armed to act as auxiliary forces in the preplanned engagement with the Georgian military. According to Putin, “Our military specialists believed they [Ossetian separatist militias] could not provide assistance in a clash of regular armies, but they turned out to be much needed.” Putin confirmed he phoned from Beijing several times on August 7 and 8, 2008 to talk with Medvedev and Serdyukov (RIA Novosti, August 8).

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This week, while commemorating the anniversary of the war in Tskhinvali, Medvedev rejected the narrative of the “Lost Day” film, announcing that the decision to use force against Georgia was taken “at the right time” and “the decision of a rocket attack was taken at 4 a.m., August 8 [2008].” In the passage about an authorized rocket attack, Medvedev is apparently referring to the order to attack Georgian cities and military bases with ballistic Tochka-M and Iskander missiles. According to Medvedev, “Those who speak different, do not know, or are lying – such decisions are taken by only one man, the Commander-in-Chief, and that was me.” Medvedev insisted the decision was not easy “since we recognized until August 26 [2008] the foreign state of Georgia [with sovereignty over Abkhazia and South Ossetia].” Medvedev added, “We had special relations with Abkhazia and South Ossetia, but also talked about the territorial integrity of Georgia, though we understood this was practically impossible” (Interfax, August 9).

The “Lost Day” film and the comments by Putin and Medvedev have revealed a great deal: that the invasion of Georgia in August 2008 was indeed a preplanned aggression and that so-called “Russian peacekeepers” in South Ossetia and Abkhazia were in fact the vanguard of the invading forces that were in blatant violation of Russia’s international obligations and were training and arming the separatist forces. The admission by Putin that Ossetian separatist militias acted as an integral part of the Russian military plan transfers legal responsibility for acts of ethnic cleansing of Georgian civilians and mass marauding inside and outside of South Ossetia to the Russian military and political leadership. Putin’s admission of the prewar integration of the Ossetian separatist militias into the Russian General Staff war plan puts into question the integrity of the independent European Union war report, written by Swiss diplomat Heidi Tagliavini that accused the Georgians of starting the war and attacking Russian “peacekeepers,” which, according to Tagliavini, warranted a Russian military response (www.ceiig.ch/pdf/IIFFMCG_Volume_I.pdf).

After agreeing not to seek reelection for a second term as President and becoming Prime Minister last May, Medvedev has been visibly sidelined on the Moscow political scene and has been struggling to assert himself. The “Lost Day,” which praises Putin as the great statesman and brands Medvedev a coward, has been interpreted as a move by Putin’s entourage in the Kremlin to undermine Medvedev and possibly initiate his ouster (Moskovsky Komsomolets, August 9).

In response to the “Lost Day” controversy, the Georgian Foreign Ministry has issued a statement calling the international community to “demand from Russia nonuse of force against Georgia” (www.newsgeorgia.ru, August 9). However, Putin does not seem to expect any censure from Brussels or Washington, where the Barack Obama administration is continuing to appease Moscow with its luckless “reset” policy. Most likely the Russian General Staff today has another “plan” of invading and occupying the rest of Georgia, while the decision to go and when, as last time, will be decided by the same one person – Putin.

Full article: Putin Confirms the Invasion of Georgia Was Preplanned (Jamestown Foundation)

WikiLeaks’ Assange surfaces in Russia as media star and Putin tool

In another indication of his service to the Russians, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has told The New Internationalist magazine that the Swedish security services intercept 80 percent of Russian Internet traffic and share the information with the United States. The claim is making big news in Russia, where Assange is regarded as a hero for his charges and disclosures damaging to America and its allies. The Russian state news agency RIA Novosti trumpets Assange’s charges.

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A promo for the new Assange Russia Today show, “The World Tomorrow with Julian Assange,” insists that he wants to “keep journalism honest” and achieve the “maximum political impact” by releasing “full source material.”

But Assange has been anything but honest about his own sources. For example, he insisted that he had no contact with U.S. Army intelligence analyst Bradley Manning, now on trial for treason, when evidence at Manning’s preliminary hearing demonstrated correspondence and communication between the two. Manning is accused of leaking hundreds of thousands of documents to WikiLeaks, some of them dealing with counter-terrorism and sensitive national security matters.

Perhaps in a preview of what he intends to talk about on his own RT program, Assange attacked alleged Swedish cooperation with the U.S. in his interview with The New Internationalist, saying that “…the FRA [Försvarets Radioanstalt], which is the big spy agency in Sweden, intercepts 80 per cent of Russian Internet traffic and they sell it on to the national security agency in the US.”

Such a claim can only serve the purposes of those, like the Russian government, who object to cooperation with the U.S. on intelligence matters.

Full article: WikiLeaks’ Assange surfaces in Russia as media star and Putin tool (World Tribune)