September, 03 2008, 04:08pm EDT
US Tries to Create An 'Iron Curtain' Around Russia
What is really behind the EU's divided stance on the Georgia-Russia conflict?
INTERNATIONAL
Russian president Dimitri Medvedev criticizes the European Union's
biased stance on Georgia's actions in South Ossetia, while
simultaneously approving the EU's decision not to place sanctions
against Russia. Author and political economist F William Engdahl
believes that the EU's divided stance on the Russia-Georgia conflict is
a complex powerplay of economics and positioning for global power.
"The European elites are divided on having peaceful relations with
Russia or simply following as a lackey everything Washington has on its
agenda," Engdahl states. With a flailing economy, the US is suffering a
crisis as the world's reigning superpower, and Engdahl believes that
the US government is using the Georgia-Russia conflict to disturb
political relationships within the EU.
"The EU is in a far different position from Washington on this
Georgia business. It's clear from the background of US military
involvement in Georgia since 2002 that Washington wanted to set a trap
or set a provocation that would force Russia into a situation where she
had to respond militarily or face a catastrophic collapse of confidence
all over Central Europe," Engdahl states. According to Engdahl, the
US's prime goal in this situation is to create a new iron curtain
between Western Europe, particularly Germany, and Russia.
The Russian economy is appealing to foreign investors, especially
from Germany. Since Putin, the Russian economy has been rebuilt. After
paying off debts to the IMF and the World bank, Russia boasts the third
largest foreign currency reserve in the world, following China and
Japan. Germany, Italy and France are dependent on Russian gas supplies.
This economic connection, Engdahl believes, is key to explaining why
there were no sanctions placed against Russia. "Forty-three percent of
German natural gas comes from Siberian and Russian gas fields," Engdahl
states.
Comparing the flailing state of the US empire to post-war Britain
as another fading superpower, Engdahl comments that if the US could get
out of its "psychological denial" about their current political
condition, "the US and the world would be a lot healthier for it."
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[image or embed]
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