Robert Bridge
May 16, 2022
Physical aggression against Russian diplomats is now deemed "understandable" in the West, Robert Bridge writes.
A dark age of bigotry and prejudice has descended once again upon the European continent, this time against the Russian people, which, unless brought to heel, will result in dire global consequences.
In a display of disrespect not unlike that reserved for Russian athletes, businessmen and chess players, consider how Russian ambassador to Poland, Sergey Andreyev, was treated when he paid homage to Victory Day in Warsaw.
As Andreyev attempted to lay a wreath at a Soviet war memorial, he was doused with a red liquid by a protester. Not only did the Polish authorities fail in the simple task of securing the site so the Russian delegation could, peacefully, commemorate the Soviet defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, but they actually rationalized the humiliating assault.
"The gathering of opponents of the Russian aggression against Ukraine, where genocidal crimes are committed every day, was legal," Polish Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski wrote on Twitter. "The emotions of Ukrainian women, who took part in the protest and whose husbands are bravely fighting to defend their homeland, are understandable."
I return with a clear to do list:
1. This war will be won on the battlefield. Additional €500 million from the #EPF are underway. Weapon deliveries will be tailored to Ukrainian needs.
Yes, you've heard that right. Physical aggression against Russian diplomats is now deemed "understandable." Kaminski then goes on to perpetuate the 'Russian aggression' myth without ever mentioning what forced Moscow to open its special operation in Ukraine in the first place. That is no small oversight. For eight long years, the Russian-speaking population of the Donbass endured regular attacks by an illegitimate government in Kiev, which rose to power on the back of a U.S.-led coup in 2014. Yet not a peep from Kaminski about those unmistakable episodes of 'Ukrainian aggression.'
It stands to reason that had such a balance of information been provided to a hoodwinked public, more people would at least understand what has triggered Moscow's actions. But any semblance of balance in the discussion is the last thing that NATO land wants.
But the insane rhetoric coming from Eastern Europe was only warming up.
This week, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki wrote in an opinion piece about the perils of "Russian nationalism," which has absolutely nothing to do with what spurred Moscow to action.
Russian nationalism "is a cancer which is consuming not only the majority of Russian society, but also poses a deadly threat to the whole of Europe," Morawiecki argued, before coming dangerously close to suggesting full-blown confrontation with Russia. "Therefore, it is not enough to support Ukraine in its military struggle with Russia. We must root out this monstrous new ideology entirely."
It's very difficult to understand how an individual who occupies such a high level of office could utter a comment so tragically bereft of diplomacy, foresight and understanding of the overall situation now confronting the European continent. Morawiecki, like one million other political mediocrities before him, mindlessly parrots the pro-NATO line that refuses to see the situation from Russia's perspective.
Even at the height of George W. Bush's disastrous and illegitimate 'War on Terror,' which saw millions of innocent people killed, injured and displaced in various military offensives, there was never anything like this level of fear and loathing aimed at Americans and other Westerners whose militaries participated in those egregious operations. And when it is considered that the U.S. mainstream media is often more supportive of military conflicts than the military brass, that lack of bad press should surprise nobody.
Any unbiased, sober-minded analysis of the Ukraine-Russia conflict would lead to the conclusion that Moscow, which has been providing ample warning on both NATO expansion and the need to uphold the Minsk Protocol for many years, was not motivated to action by any "nationalistic" impulses, but rather out of a simple concern for national security.
So where has the fake news of 'Russian aggression' brought us? Ever deeper into the morass of media-fueled paranoia. Just this week, the Latvian capital of Riga said it would begin work on May 13 to dismantle the monument to Soviet soldiers Liberators of Riga. This follows on the heels of a ruling in the Latvian Seimas that terminated a Latvian-Russian treaty devoted to the preservation of memorial structures. It will be very interesting to see how Riga, which, like Kiev, has a soft spot for neo-Nazi fan clubs, handles any Russian demonstrators who may wish to salvage the Soviet-era statue. Where do they find these short-sighted political geniuses, who sing and dance for Washington at the toss of a coin?
Meanwhile, Finland, no less delusional, has said it will take the necessary steps to join NATO. Sweden appears to be next. This is sheer madness, of course. A quick glance at a map of Europe clearly shows it is not Russian military bases that have been encroaching on European territory since the collapse of the Soviet Union, but rather U.S.-led NATO members pushing forward. And now the situation threatens to reach a tipping point with Moscow placed in a existential scenario where it has no other choice but to, at the very least, further militarize its borders.
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Finland's NATO membership would "absolutely" present a threat to Russia, and that further expansion of the 30-member military alliance "isn't making our continent more stable and secure." It's safe to say those latest words of fair warning will also go unheeded.
The non-stop Russophobia that Western leaders, in cahoots with a complicit media, continue to propagate, mostly as a means to prop up an imaginary enemy i.e. Russia that NATO desperately needs to justify its own existence needs to stop before the situation reaches a point of no return. Why can't European leaders understand that Russia is not the bogeyman that Washington needs it to be; Moscow is merely responding to threatening advances on its borders that no country in the world would accept. Wake up Europe and stop this express train to disaster.