The Russian coup attempt through an American mirror

The Russian coup attempt through an American mirror

As long as this blatant intellectual and moral dishonesty pervades American thinking, how can there be genuine dialogue between the United States and Russia in mutual respect?

Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner group

From MK Bhadrakumar
Indian punchline
Comments by former US President Donald Trump on Yevgeny Prigozhin’s failed coup attempt in Russia stood out for their subtlety amidst the crude new Western narrative that highlighted the “cracks” in the Russian system in the dramatic events of June 2324.

No one bothers to explain what these “cracks” are, but the coinage suggests that Russia is headed for an implosion. Trump says Russian President Vladimir Putin may have been “a little weakened,” giving the United States an opportunity to negotiate a peace deal in Ukraine.

Trump focused on ending the conflict in Ukraine and proposed territorial concessions to Russia as part of an agreement, taking into account facts on the ground. However, the Biden administration is unlikely to follow this approach.

In this context, the remarks made by CIA Director William Burns on July 1st at a lecture at the Ditchley Foundation in Oxfordshire, the ceremonial county in southeast England, are very interesting. Especially since the backdrop is the battlefields of Ukraine.

The NATO disaster

PROCEED TO RECOMMENDATIONS

Kiev’s “counteroffensive”, much against its will and almost entirely under pressure from Washington, is failing, underscoring the catastrophic politicomilitary defeat NATO faces.

However, Burns lightheartedly stated:

“Putin’s war was already a strategic failure for Russia its military weaknesses were exposed; its economy was badly damaged for years to come; its future as China’s junior partner and economic colony was shaped by Putin’s mistakes; his revanchist ambitions have been dampened by a NATO that has only grown in size and strength.”

Any claim by Burns is disputed. Again he sees Prigozhin’s coup attempt as

“A scathing indictment of the Kremlin’s mendacious justifications for its invasion of Ukraine and of the behavior of the Russian military leadership during the war… Discontent with the war will continue to gnaw at the Russian leadership… This discontent creates a unique opportunity for us.” CIA, essentially a human intelligence agency. We’re not letting it go unnoticed (bragging about a new CIA initiative to recruit Russian agents over the internet).”

While serving as an adviser at the embassy in Moscow, Burns dealt with the bloody insurgency in Chechnya (fomented by the CIA). Therefore, it should not contradict the historical truth, which Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov recently recalled:

“Russia has emerged from all difficulties ever more resilient and stronger and it is hard to call this (Prigozhin’s uprising) more than a hardship. Besides, we already have the feeling that the process has started.”

Those who fabricate false and selfserving narratives run the risk of becoming their consumers. The unfinished task of crushing the Soviet Union strengthened American diplomacy in the early 1990s in the project to encircle and obstruct the Russian Federation.

The downside was the attempt to gradually transform Ukraine into an antiRussian state and the Clinton administration’s illconceived decision to expand NATO into Warsaw Pact territories.

Create an opponent

As a direct witness to these strategic blunders, Burns is well placed to remind President Biden that the CIA’s plan to foment separatism in the North Caucasus and undermine the unity and integrity of the fledgling Russian Federation, US interference in Ukraine and Georgia, the rupture the collapse of the former Yugoslavia, the expansion of NATO all went hand in hand with Russia’s legitimate security interests, which ultimately led to a Russian antagonist in the late 1990s.

But Burns puts all the blame on Putin, who took power in 2000.

With this blatant intellectual and moral dishonesty permeating American thinking, how can there be genuine dialogue with mutual respect between the United States and Russia?

Trump has put the Wagner case in perspective. Indeed, Putin may have “softened a little”, but that is largely thanks to Prigozhin, an outstanding and ambitious politician who cultivated a certain image of being close to Putin and used this to amass great wealth and spread his wings around the world to engage. type of harmful activities.

Putin’s guilt is that he didn’t clearly define inappropriate behavior, which “weakened him a bit”.

On the other hand, this phenomenon is common in all topdown political systems, including the US, where no one is able to verify the veracity of the appointee’s claims that he is connected to the source of decisionmaking.

Ultimately, Putin is accountable to the people. Remember how he “backed down” on pension reform in 2018? The Kremlin has reportedly started preparations for the 2024 presidential election campaign; Therefore, how Putin deals with Prigozhin’s betrayal will be closely monitored in the coming months.

The bottom line is that Putin managed to avoid the massive bloodshed that the CIA allegedly predicted in its secret meetings with US lawmakers leading up to Prigozhin’s attempted coup.

The Wall Street Journal today published an indepth report entitled “Putin’s Corporate Takeover of Wagner Has Begun” which shows that the Russian state has already begun in the face of the crude new Western narrative that the dramatic events of June 2324 would have revealed “cracks” in the Russian system.

Nobody wants to explain what these “cracks” are, but the expression gives the impression that Russia is headed for an implosion. Trump says Russian President Vladimir Putin may have been “a little weakened,” opening up an opportunity for the US to negotiate a peace deal in Ukraine.

Trump focused on ending the conflict in Ukraine and proposed territorial concessions to Russia as part of an agreement, taking into account facts on the ground. However, the Biden administration is unlikely to implement its plan.

In this context, the remarks made by CIA Director William Burns on July 1st at a lecture at the Ditchley Foundation in Oxfordshire, a ceremonial county in southeast England, are very interesting. Especially since the backdrop is the battlefields of Ukraine.

NATO disaster

Kiev’s “counteroffensive”, much against its will and almost entirely under pressure from Washington, is failing, and this illustrates the catastrophic politicomilitary defeat NATO faces.

However, Burns lightheartedly stated:

“Putin’s war was already a strategic failure for Russia its military weaknesses were exposed; its economy was badly damaged for years to come; its future as China’s junior partner and economic colony was shaped by Putin’s mistakes; his revanchist ambitions have been dampened by a NATO that has only gotten bigger and stronger.”

Any claim by Burns is disputed. Again he sees Prigozhin’s coup attempt as

“A scathing critique of the Kremlin’s mendacious justification for its invasion of Ukraine and the behavior of the Russian military leadership during the war… Discontent with the war will further undermine the Russian leadership… This discontent creates a unique opportunity for us” at the CIA that we are essentially a human intelligence agency. We won’t let it go (bragging about a new CIA move to recruit Russian agents over the internet).”

While serving as an adviser at the embassy in Moscow, Burns dealt with the bloody insurgency in Chechnya (fomented by the CIA). Therefore, he should not agree with the historical truth, which Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov recalled the other day:

“Russia has emerged from all difficulties ever more resilient and stronger and it is hard to call it (Prigozhin’s uprising) anything else than hardship. Besides, we already have the feeling that the process has started.”

Those who fabricate false and selfserving narratives run the risk of becoming its consumers. The unfinished business of dissolving the Soviet Union accelerated American diplomacy toward the project to encircle and weaken the Russian Federation in the early 1990s.

The flip side of the coin was the attempt to gradually transform Ukraine into an antiRussian state and the Clinton administration’s illconceived decision to expand NATO into Warsaw Pact territories.

Create an opponent

As a direct witness to these strategic blunders, Burns is well placed to remind President Biden that the CIA’s plan to foment separatism in the North Caucasus and undermine the unity and integrity of the fledgling Russian Federation, US interference in Ukraine and Georgia, the breakup of the former Yugoslavia, the expansion of NATO they all trampled on Russia’s legitimate security interests, eventually resulting in an adversary to Russia in the late 1990s.

But Burns puts all the blame on Putin, who came to power in 2000.

With this blatant intellectual and moral dishonesty permeating American thinking, how can there be genuine dialogue between the US and Russia in mutual respect?

Trump has put the Wagner case in perspective. Indeed, Putin may have been “a little weaker,” but that’s largely due to Prigozhin, an extraordinarily talented provocateur and socialite who cultivated a certain image of being close to Putin and used that to amass great wealth and focus on all sorts of things to engage in nefarious activities.

Putin’s mistake is that he didn’t clearly define inappropriate behavior, which “weakened him a bit”.

On the other hand, this phenomenon is widespread in all political systems from above, including in the United States, where no one is able to verify the veracity of the provocateur’s claims that he is connected to the source of decisionmaking.

Ultimately, Putin is accountable to the people. Remember how he “backed down” on pension reform in 2018? The Kremlin has reportedly started preparations for the 2024 presidential election campaign, so how Putin’s handling of Prigozhin’s betrayal will be closely watched in the coming months.

The key problem is that Putin has managed to avoid the massive bloodshed that the CIA would have predicted in its secret meetings with US lawmakers leading up to Prigozhin’s attempted coup.

The Wall Street Journal today published a lengthy report titled “Putin’s Entrepreneurial Appropriation of Wagner Has Begun,” which shows that the Russian state has attracted attention in Russia through subtle comments on Yevgeny Prigozhin’s failed coup attempt, in contrast to the crude Western one Narrative that highlighted the “cracks” in the Russian system in the dramatic events of June 2324.

No one bothers to explain the meaning of these “cracks,” but the expression suggests that Russia is headed for an implosion. Trump said Russian President Vladimir Putin may have been “a little weakened,” giving the US an opportunity to negotiate a peace deal in Ukraine.

Trump focused on ending the conflict in Ukraine and proposed territorial concessions to Russia as part of an agreement, taking into account facts on the ground. However, the Biden administration is unlikely to implement this.

In this context, the comments made by CIA Director William Burns on July 1 during a lecture at the Ditchley Foundation in Oxfordshire, England, are very interesting, particularly with regard to the battlefields in Ukraine.

The NATO disaster

Kiev’s “counteroffensive”, much against its will and almost entirely under pressure from Washington, is failing, highlighting NATO’s disastrous politicomilitary defeat.

However, Burns nonchalantly explained:

“Putin’s war was already a strategic failure for Russia its military weaknesses were exposed; its economy was seriously crippled for years to come; its future as China’s junior partner and economic colony was shaped by Putin’s mistakes; his revanchist ambitions have been undermined by a NATO that has only grown and strengthened.”

Any claim by Burns is disputed. Once again he sees Prigozhin’s attempted coup as

“A scathing condemnation of the Kremlin’s mendacious justification for its invasion of Ukraine and the behavior of the Russian military leadership during the war… Discontent with the war will continue to gnaw at the Russian leadership… This discontent creates a unique opportunity for…” us at the CIA , an important human intelligence agency. We won’t let it go (we’re talking about a new CIA initiative to recruit Russian agents over the internet).”

While serving as an adviser at the Moscow embassy, ​​Burns dealt with the bloody insurgency in Chechnya (fueled by the CIA). Therefore, he should not agree with the historical truth mentioned the other day by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov:

“Russia has emerged from all difficulties ever more resilient and stronger and it (Prigozhin’s uprising) can hardly be called more than an emergency. Besides, we already have the feeling that the process has started.”

Those who invent false and selfserving narratives often run the risk of becoming their consumers. The unfinished business of dissolving the Soviet Union drove US diplomacy to encircle and thwart the Russian Federation in the early 1990s.

The opposite of this was the attempt to gradually transform Ukraine into an antiRussian state and the Clinton administration’s illconsidered decision to expand NATO into Warsaw Pact territories.

create an opponent

Given these strategic mistakes, Burns is well placed to remind President Biden that the CIA’s plan to foment separatism in the North Caucasus and undermine the unity and integrity of the fledgling Russian Federation, US interference in Ukraine and Georgia and the disintegration of the former concerns Yugoslavia, the enlargement of NATO all of these violated Russia’s legitimate security interests, which ultimately made Russia an adversary in the late 1990s.

But Burns puts all the blame on Putin, who took power in 2000.

With this blatant intellectual and moral dishonesty permeating American thinking, how can there be genuine dialogue with mutual respect between the United States and Russia?

Trump has put the Wagner case in perspective. Indeed, Putin may have “slightly weakened,” but that’s largely thanks to Prigozhin, an extraordinarily talented namesake and rising star who cultivated a certain image of closeness to Putin and exploited it to amass great wealth and commit all sorts of outrages Activities.

Putin’s fault is that he did not clearly define inappropriate behavior, which “weakened him a little”.

On the other hand, this phenomenon is pervasive in all topdown political systems, including the United States, where no one is able to verify the veracity of the appointee’s claims about his connection to the source of decisionmaking.

Ultimately, Putin is accountable to the people. Remember how he “backed down” on pension reforms in 2018. The Kremlin has reportedly already started preparations for the 2024 presidential campaign, so Putin’s handling of Prigozhin’s betrayal will be closely monitored in the coming months.

The bottom line is that Putin managed to avoid the massive bloodshed that the CIA had predicted in its secret meetings with US lawmakers leading up to Prigozhin’s attempted coup.

The Wall Street Journal today published a comprehensive report titled “Putin’s corporate takeover of Wagner begins,” which reveals that the Russian state is already investigating the labyrinthine origins and activities of the vast business empire Prigozhin created.

The Journal estimates that Prigozhin “built one of the most complex and inscrutable corporate structures in the world, a network of hundreds of companies in Russia and other jurisdictions that often paid thousands of workers, mercenaries, cooks, mining geologists and media trolls.” The Wagnerrelated ventures made with African governments were informal, based on smuggling and illegal transfers, and negotiated personally by Prigozhin…making them even more difficult for the government to track down.”

How is Putin responsible for all this? President Biden refuses to be held accountable for even his son’s shady dealings. What Burns ignores is that the Russian people are far ahead of the American public in terms of political science a legacy of the social formation’s extraordinary achievements in the Soviet era.

For this reason, the Orwellian media censorship that is taking place in the United States today cannot work in Russian society, where people are educated enough to extract facts unlike the average, gullible American.

The Russian people have no sympathy for the oligarchs and will overwhelmingly support the Kremlin’s moves to bring Prigozhin to justice. Likewise, there is no doubt that all sections of Russian society supported Putin, who disbanded the coup plotters without bloodshed. The West’s attempt to portray Prigozhin as a charismatic figure with a broad popular base is utter nonsense.

The defeat in Ukraine changes the narrative

Such morbid satisfaction can only cloud rational thinking. Trump wasn’t a career diplomat specializing in Russia, but his intuition recognized that an opportunity had presented itself for the Biden administration to bring the Ukraine crisis to the negotiating table—namely, for the Russian state and Putin to stay here and become one. authentic interlocutor.

The only good thing about Burns’ speech is that he refrained from bragging about defeating Russia. The proxy war proved a failure and now the CIA is returning to the greener fields of internal subversion in Russia. To that end, a new narrative replaces the discredited narrative of Russia’s military defeat. The war in Ukraine has exposed the CIA’s superficial understanding of Russia.

Burns caricatures Russia as “the explosive combination of resentment, ambition and insecurity that Putin embodies”. He says Russia “constantly reminds us that forces in decline can be at least as devastating as forces in rise.”

Hello, where is the US in the pecking order? To the “climbers”?