Alastair Crooke, in what passes for a rant, I suppose, says it’s because of the Chicago Boys. This comes in a 26 minute video with Judge Napolitano. Despite the title—”Zelenskyy: Russian explosives planted on nuke plant roof”—the first 13 minutes, half of the entire video, is devoted to Paris in flames. You may or may not accept everything he says, but he’s an intelligent man who is obviously passionate about what has happened to the West. The question is, Where else will we see this? Are we in the early stages in America, or are conditions here fundamentally different?
Europe has made a lot of bad decisions over the years, which may contribute to this situation worsening. Ordinary citizens are increasingly fed up—or so it seems. Beyond the economic issues, here’s Crooke writing about The Diminishment of Europe:
Europe, in short, has made itself a vassal – a willing, submissive vassal. When the EU followed the U.S. and embraced sanctioning Russia, EU leaders anticipated the rapid financial collapse of Russia. They were wrong. When the EU selflessly disavowed the purchase of Russian energy, they calculated that Russia could not manage economically – absent the EU market – and would quickly capitulate. They were wrong. When NATO led the war on Russia (via Ukraine), the EU expected a rapid rout of Russian and Donbas forces. They were wrong. When Prigozhin launched his ‘insurrection’, EU leaders looked eagerly to immediate civil war. They were wrong again.
Now the EU finds itself locked into forever sanctions on Russia (with China to follow); a forever subsidy to ‘Kiev’; a forever cycle of NATO militarism; and an economy sliding into de-industrialisation, high energy costs and relative diminishment. The EU has not achieved its longer-for ‘global player’ status. By every measure, Europe has a diminished economy, and diminished agency around the globe.
When will EU leaders offer some accountability for their wrong decisions? When will they answer the Carlson question: Why exactly is it an European interest to be at war with Russia?
…
For the last thirty years, neo-cons have dominated U.S. foreign policy: The Guardian, as one example, has noted that as a subsidiary of Axel Springer, which has long-standing ties to the neocon clique, every employee at Politico is expected to be “pro-U.S., pro-NATO, pro-Israel, pro-austerity, pro-capital, anti-Russia, anti-China”. Springer said that they would not require Politico employees to sign documents in support of a transatlantic alliance, though this policy is enforced at the German newspaper Bild, another Springer subsidiary.
Europe is not ‘America’. The neocon trend represents but one facet to the U.S. that nonetheless has captured and held the commanding heights of U.S. policy-making for decades. It has failed in all that it has endeavoured, and has become increasingly detached from (even) the most basic interests of most Americans. Yet the EU leadership has made Europe subservient to this particular current – embracing it, and its inherent authoritarianism, with gusto.
Has this uniform ‘destiny’ benefitted the citizens of Europe? It has not. Have not its results proved unpredictable and different from that which was initially desired or expected? Recall: ‘Destiny can be a b*tch’!
Regarding the ZNPP nuclear plant, Crooke’s views are easily summarized:
The Ukrainians don’t have the capability to cause serious damage, and
Anyway, the important parts of the plant are too hardened to be damaged by missiles.
Crooke also gets into the Prigozhin farce. Referring to what Crooke has been saying—that the Prigozhin farce was the West’s final “Hail Mary” pass—Napolitano asks: Who threw the pass? Crooke: “The West”. Then he quotes The Grayzone—The real casualties of Russia’s ‘civil war’: the Beltway expert class:
“Expecting a bloodbath and seismic political upheaval, corporate networks like CNN had budgeted wall-to-wall coverage of the ‘coup that wasn’t’ – filling cable news ‘green rooms’ with rent-a-generals, K Street think-tankers, and war-hungry former diplomatic corps hacks: For just over 12 hours, everyone from former ambassador McFaul, to Zelensky to neocon pundit, Anne Applebaum, exploded with seemingly libidinal excitement about a supposed “civil war” that was certain to feature “Russians … killing Russians”, along with “lots of casualties” – and Putin “probably hiding somewhere”.
Is this why Paris is burning?
Is the State Department running a Color Revolution against France? If so, why? “The French are right: Diallo is a foreign-trained subversive. The tragedy is that her subversion is the result of an intentional program courtesy of an ally, the USA.” (credit: 10:30 am by Glenn Reynolds )
US State Department-Trained French Activist/Arsonist Pouring Fuel on the Fire
US State Department-Trained French Activist/Arsonist Pouring Fuel on the Fire (substack.com)
Great summary, as ever, Mark. "Rent-a-generals". Agreed on that one. It's truly scary that these maniacs were once in charge of hundreds of thousands of soldiers' lives. The most egregious example has to be Ben "Rumblossom" Hodges. He makes Wesley Clark seem like an adult.