Flashback to 09-2022: Germany (?) Using Novichok As Leverage With Kremlin Over Pipeline (Nordstream 2)

Germany (?) Using Novichok As Leverage With Kremlin Over Pipeline (Nordstream 2):

We want them to buy from us, not the Russians,” said Robert McNally, president of Rapidan Energy Group, a market research firm, describing Washington’s policy.

From PFYT2’s censored blog.

According to Wikipedia: “During the first term of President George W. Bush, [Bob] McNally served on the White House staff as Special Assistant to the President on the National Economic Council and Senior Director for International Energy on the National Security Council.”

Related:

Who sabotaged the Russia – Germany NordStream2 gas pipeline?

No Russian Shadow Over Italy. Con Giorgia Meloni Rome Confirms Itself As Washington’s Most Faithful Ally

They are wrong in Kremlin if anyone thinks that Italy will become the EU’s weak link vis-à-vis Russia. The center-right coalition won in the elections on 25 September. A success far beyond the expectations of Giorgia Meloni, the right-wing passionate who grew up in the myth of “good” fascism and Tolkien as a natural leader. The center-right that is about to govern Italy is made up of three different political groups. The real winner of the dispute is the “Fratelli d’Italia”, the party founded a little over ten years ago by Giorgia Meloni, Ignazio La Russa and Guido Crosetto. Heirs of the post-fascist tradition, the women and men led by Meloni have always been on the margins of society. They are the heirs of the tradition of the Italian Social Movement, the party that was liquidated in the mid-nineties after Mussolini’s rejection of nostalgia.

No Russian Shadow Over Italy. Con Giorgia Meloni Rome Confirms Itself As Washington’s Most Faithful Ally

Slava Slush Fund: despite economic crisis, Congress readies $12 billion more for Ukraine + More

U.S. has now allocated over $80 billion to Kiev.

Sure, financial markets and national currencies are imploding worldwide, but the military industrial regime needs to keep churning, and that means pumping more money into the Slava Slush Fund.

Slava Slush Fund: despite economic crisis, Congress readies $12 billion more for Ukraine

Related:

There’s no debating it: Biden will get billions in new Ukraine aid

“Oversight of Ukraine aid is sorely needed,” Julia Gledhill, a defense analyst for the Project on Government Oversight (POGO), tells Responsible Statecraft. “The State and Defense departments are handling billions of dollars in Ukraine funding, but neither have permanent inspectors general in place to investigate and prevent abuse of funds.”

Senate advances spending bill for Ukraine with $12 Billion

After the Senate invoked cloture for the legislative vehicle to carry out the CR, it will now be up for a full vote by the Senate. The House will next vote on it, likely on Friday.

Report: US Preparing $1.1 Billion Arms Package for Ukraine

The weapons package will likely include HIMARS rocket systems, HIMARS ammunition, counter-drone systems, radar systems, training, and technical support.

The arms package is expected to be provided to Kyiv using the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) as opposed to sending the arms directly from US military stockpiles. The USAI allows the Biden administration to purchase military equipment for Ukraine from the US arms industry.

Peace in Ukraine or U.S. Hegemony? America Must Decide

Peace in Ukraine or U.S. Hegemony? America Must Decide

But looking at it from another angle, Putin’s speech also presents a golden opportunity for the United States to checkmate Russia, end the war in Ukraine, avoid a nuclear catastrophe, and shape a new world order. It might sound strange, but this is a “now or never” moment to steer the world out of the immediate mess created by Russia, as well as decades of bad statecraft by the United States and Europe.

It will come at a price. These three countries will resist being enrolled in an initiative that has a hidden agenda of helping the United States maintain global supremacy. They more or less acquiesced to Russia in the first place precisely given their resentment of U.S. supremacy. This allowed them to overlook their adversarial interests with Russia in Central Asia, for example. To help end the war, they will ask that the United States soften the pursuit of its values abroad as a policy benchmark. Even more so, they will ask for the United States to amend and reform the international system so that it no longer serves American interests exclusively and is used by the United States to underwrite its global policies.

The United States might get away with going solo thanks to its military power. It might be possible to push Russia back and uphold America’s right to be the global leader. Recalling prognoses for global economic growth putting Emerging Markets and Developing Economies (EMDE) in the forefront, such a policy might postpone the reckoning by a decade. Yet, the risks of doing so are higher compared to the benefits of moving now when the United States is still strong and can play a major role in designing a new global system that does not exclusively reflect American and European interests.

H/T: MoonOfAlabama

Not sure what he’s trying to get at, as it seems contradictory. It sounds like he’s saying that the US should accept a multipolar world, yet he also states that there would be a “hidden agenda of helping the United States maintain global supremacy”. Doesn’t sound multipolar to me. 🤷🏼‍♀️