Saturday, August 23, 2008

Making Money on a New Cold War

By Morgan Strong
August 23, 2008

The Russia-Georgia clash has generated heated anti-Moscow rhetoric from John McCain and U.S. neoconservatives about a new Cold War, a prospect that most people might see in a negative light but which many military contractors surely view as a financial plus.

One unstated reality about revived tensions between Washington and Moscow is that it will mean a bonanza in military spending – billions of additional dollars for anti-missile weapons systems, larger armies, construction of new bases in Eastern Europe, etc.

Read on.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great article, Mr. Strong. It confirms much of what I've been saying for a long time: ardent Cold Warriors who've been working in Washington for 40+ years, plus the influence of conservative think tanks comprised of the same people, who also happen to be very wealthy.

Anonymous said...

Good work. My only concern is that after reading the article, it seems the big fish in Washington are too strong to be matched (short term). I mean if they can cause the situations in Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine, etc, how can they be stopped

Anonymous said...

For Bush, McCain, and the neo-con Cold Warriors of the GOP, an abrupt renewal of US/Russian sabre rattling could not have arisen at a more opportune time.

The subject is changed from how to end the occupation of Iraq to how America shall stand up to the big, badass Russkies. The US media focuses on Vladimir Putin the neo-imperialist aggressor, ignoring how Bush's earlier unilateral trashing of the ABM treaty, US recognition of Kosovo's break away from Serbia, and Bush's offers of NATO membership to Ukraine and Georgia (parts of the former Soviet Union itself) were the precipitating sequence of provocative events that led to the Russians' retaliatory incursion into Georgia in the first place.

Lost in the shuffle is the crucial fact that Russia is no longer a Communist regime, and the rabid anti-leftist rhetoric that was a staple of GOP partisanship for the last half century should be a relic of history past.

This is all about American nationalism versus Russian nationalism. It has nothing whatsoever to do with whose economic system is the wave of the future, who's gonna bury who, or who has the bigger, better bombs.

Realpolitik for just a moment.

Which is really more important to the American national interest - rewarding and standing staunchly by Saakasvilli for his contribution of 2,000 troops to the coalition force occupying Iraq, or keeping Russia constructively involved in dealing with Iran's role in the future of the Middle East?

Which is really more important from a US national security standpoint - securing the western oil companies' investment in Bechtel's alternative pipeline route through Georgia that avoids both Russian and Iranian territory, or maintaining Russia's cooperation and assistance in keeping all those loose nukes off the international arms black market?

Along with Afghanistan, northwest Pakistan, Iraq, Somalia, the southern Phillippines, Columbia, and the Iranian border areas, we can now add Georgia as another outpost (and potential flashpoint for international conflict) in George W. Bush's imperial legacy where we've got American boots on the ground in harm's way. The Ukraine, or even Poland or the Baltic states, may be next in line for revisiting a Cold War-style crisis mentality - but this time, the game will be playing out on Russia's historic home turf.

The GOP hard line true believers and John McCain's campaign strategists are salivating over this turn of events.

Will Barack Obama and Joe Biden stick with their initial characterization of this latest spate of anti-Russian sabre rattling as "bluster" and ideological self-deception, or will the Dems cleverly (ie., mindlessly) try to co-opt the issue from the Republicans, and try to red bait against the master red baiters again this US election cycle?

The Cold War is over. What's going on in Georgia and eastern Europe right now is blowback against Bush's NATO expansionism.
It's all about ego and blind super patriotism. Period.

Not only is it economically suicidal for the US to consciously embark upon another round of a global arms race, but throwing a hissy fit and alienating Russia at this historical moment is simply dumb, dumb, dumb - regardless of who in the military/industrial complex stands to make a billiion bucks.

Bill from Saginaw

Anonymous said...

There is no question that the Bush Regime/NEOCONS planned to surround Russia , cut off OIL deals, cut off pipeline access, set up bases surrounding Russia, with supposed "defensive " missiles . Not to mention take over the middle east, Eurasia , noticed once they read PNAC, or " Full Spectrum Dominance "doctrine . And the space weapons programs are not aimed at Kenya .
I predicted years ago , Russia would haver to draw a line in the sand and aggressively take a stand ,against the blood thirsty ambition of the Bush Regime or Imperialism on steroids .
And if the military Industrial complex they can make a few bucks at the same time , cha-ching .
Kahoneez

Willie said...

Thank you, thank you for the wonderful piece you have written. I have been on top of this issue since the invasion and have read many articles and Op-Eds ranging from "Who started it?" to how we must now "contain this new Russia." Most of which have missed the point and failed to reveal the true source of the conflict;
The issue of NATO expansion.

A legitimate concern, which Moscow has politely addressed a number of times over the past years. They feature that a U.S. military presence camped out on their borders is a direct threat to their National security. Just as the U.S.A. might take issue with French occupiers suddenly making themselves at home in Vancouver and Toronto in a show of support for Quebec.

The latest throwdown with the former soviet satellite is, by standard definition, an invasion. That is'nt a matter of debate. That it is illegal, is also indisputable. Yet, it would appear that through western provocation, they have felt moved to assert force in a challenge to Washington to show their cards.

Saakashvili, in the stereotypical role of groomed stooge, has for his part, put the whole world in grave peril with his complacency in these games.

Now with this latest business of moving a missile shield from Germany into Poland, Con Rice has created a snowball to hell with her empty and naked claim that it is only a "defense" against "Rogue States."

Three weeks ago we had a friend and ally in Russia. One with whom we shared both intelligence and economic cooperation.

Now with this recent tampering with an already unstable political orbit, they've managed to put us all at a very real risk of doom.

Between planting the Stars an Stripes in Georgia and expanding NATO to the borders of Russia in direct violation of the post-cold war agreements made by the Clinton and papa administrations, Washington has deliberately pushed us into direct confrontation with Moscow, recreating a climate of hostility where there for twenty good years, has been none.

As you clearly and correctly point out, the only beneficiaries to this new conflict are the U.S. and Israeli WMD manufacturers.

-Rampart

Anonymous said...

Yop,
The "defense against Rogue States" is akin to my showing up on your doorstep brandishing a polished, chrome, Desert Eagle ten and announcing I've come not to cause any harm, just wanna Defend myself. (No offense.) It's bad behavior. Bad business.
The only "containment" that needs to take place as far as I can see is that of the aggressive, expansionist ambitions of the civilian, ( Project for New American Century) fascists who've hijacked the U.S. foreign policy establishment.
-
peace

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