Jackals and Wolves

US proxy jailed in Cambodia, Russia has open road, Scholz-Biden secrets, Zelensky in security & military mess, US invisible hand is visible, US top brass steals oil

Mar 09, 2023

UPDATE: US government through the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) and its subsidiaries has sponsored opposition parties and organisations in Cambodia for years including Kem Sokha’s Cambodian National Rescue Party.

Russian forces will have an "open road" to seize other critical settlements in eastern Ukraine if they capture Bakhmut, but Zelensky fires top security officials and is in conflict with top brass.

The dash for the White House in Washington on Friday by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz remains a riddle wrapped in a mystery. Scholz landed in DC, drove to the White House and was received by President Biden in Oval Office for a conversation that lasted over an hour. No aides were present. And he flew back to Berlin.

Zelenskyy makes five decrees and the SBU (Ukraine Security ) loses five heads. Meanwhile Zelenskyy and Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi have conflicting views on how the military should handle the situation in Bakhmut.

Ukraine crisis seems to be driven by “invisible hand […] Conflict, sanctions, and pressure will not solve the problem...The process of peace talks should begin as soon as possible, and the legitimate security concerns of all parties should be respected" China’s Foreign Minister Qin Gang

The sudden unannounced arrival of Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in Syria’s remote northeast on Friday was about occupation, ISIS and stolen oil to pay for its operations in Syria. The Syrian foreign ministry, says the cumulative losses on account of theft of oil and other US actions were to the tune of $107 billion.

US Proxy Jailed in Cambodia for Treason Amid US Meddling Region-wide in Asia

US meddling is far from confined to Ukraine as part of its proxy war with Russia. The US pursues a similar policy against China by targeting nations all across China’s periphery; - US government through the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) and its subsidiaries has sponsored opposition parties and organisations in Cambodia for years including Kem Sokha’s Cambodian National Rescue Party.

In 2017 Kem Sokha openly admitted to working with the US to overthrow the Cambodian government in a Washington-sponsored Serbia-style color revolution; - Cambodia has now jailed Kem Sokha for 27 years for treason; - The US government, Western media, and Western “rights” groups in concert are falsely claiming the charges are “fabricated,” illustrating how the West uses human rights advocacy as a smokescreen to advance US foreign policy objectives;

References:

The Guardian - US condemns ‘fabricated’ case as Cambodian opposition leader is jailed for 27 years (March 2023): https://www.theguardian.com/world/202...

The Phnom Penh Post - Sokha video producer closes Phnom Penh office in fear (September 2017): https://www.phnompenhpost.com/nationa...

New York Times - Who Really Brought Down Milosevic? (2000): http://www.nytimes.com/2000/11/26/mag...

Licadho - About Us: https://www.licadho-cambodia.org/abou...

Licadho - Donors: https://www.licadho-cambodia.org/dono...

Cambodian Center for Independent Media - CCIM Background:

https://ccimcambodia.org/?page_id=489

Radio Free Asia - Cambodia and China shore up ties with new agreements (February 2023): https://www.rfa.org/english/news/camb...

The Diplomat - Cambodia Has Little to Gain From Hosting a Chinese Military Presence (June 2022): https://thediplomat.com/2022/06/cambo...

Harvard University’s Atlas of Economic Complexity - Cambodia exports by partner: https://atlas.cid.harvard.edu/explore...

Russia gains “Open Road”

Russian forces will have an "open road" to seize other critical settlements in eastern Ukraine if they capture Bakhmut, President Volodymyr Zelensky told CNN, reiterating his bid to continue the city's defense.

"This is tactical for us… after Bakhmut, they could go further. They could go to Kramatorsk, they could go to Sloviansk," Zelensky said in an interview from Kyiv. "That's why our guys are standing there."

The report comes a day after President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an address to Ukrainians that there was consensus between him and Ukraine's top military leadership that Ukrainian forces should continue to hold the city.

Citing unnamed sources in the Ukrainian government, Bild reported on March 6 that Zelensky and Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine's Armed Forces Valerii Zaluzhnyi disagree on how the military should handle the situation in Bakhmut.

The battle for Bakhmut, a city in Donetsk Oblast, has been raging for the past seven months. The Russian military is attempting to increase its grip over the entirety of the oblast, around half of which it currently occupies.

Around March 2, Russian forces reportedly destroyed the only paved bridge still under Ukrainian control, and with the coming of spring, muddy unpaved roads are "likely" making Ukraine's resupply efforts more difficult.

Despite a recent claim by Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of the Russian state-backed mercenary Wagner Group, that Bakhmut is "practically surrounded," Zelensky insisted this is exactly what Ukraine aims to avoid.

Scheiße! Scholz-Biden Secret meeting

Associated Press reported cryptically, “If any agreements were reached or plans made, the White House wasn’t saying.” Scholz had insisted while leaving Berlin that he and Biden “want to talk directly with each other.” Scholz mentioned “a global situation where things have become very difficult.” He said, “It is important that such close friends can talk about all of these questions together, continually.”

Scholz’s dash to the Oval Office came at a defining moment in the Ukraine conflict. Russia has seized the initiative in the Donbass campaign and Ukraine’s military took heavy battering and the country depends almost entirely on western financial handouts and military aid for survival.

Most important, Kiev’s western backers are no longer sure of its ability to reclaim all the territory under Russian control — roughly, one-fifth of erstwhile Ukraine. An inchoate belief is also gaining ground in the western mind, behind all rhetoric, that the burden of the war effort is not going to be sustainable for long if the conflict extends into an indeterminate future.

Support for Ukraine is waning in the western public opinion. A new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Centre for Public Affairs Research shows that while 19% of Americans repose confidence in Biden’s ability to handle the situation in Ukraine, 37% say they have only some confidence and 43% have hardly any.

Vast majority of adults, including most Democrats, do not want Biden to run for president in 2024. Many also express little confidence in his abilities.

The heart of the matter is that the Ukraine conflict has shattered the existing security architecture of Europe. Germany, Europe’s powerhouse, is hit badly. The German electorate is increasingly skeptical about the West’s approach to the war. There has been animated discussion in Germany over the findings of the renowned American journalist Seymour Hersh regarding the sabotage of the Nord Stream.

If Scholz was privy to Biden’s plan to destroy Nord Stream, it signifies an act of collusion. A major German national strategic asset owned in joint venture with Russia was destroyed, seriously damaging the country’s economy and impacting tens of millions of jobs, putting many lives at risk.

Germany has had to pay 10 times the market price for gas to bolster its reserves. Europe has fallen into the trap of becoming highly dependent on US energy imports. The US is the main beneficiary of Europe’s energy crisis and its ensuing “deindustrialization” and “industrial hollowing-out.” A deep recession appears inevitable in Germany. This climate forebodes dire consequences for the German government, as the election to the Bundestag in 2025 draws closer.
While Scholz is urging peace talks, the Russophobic East European and Baltic leaderships are clamouring for Russia’s defeat and a regime change in Moscow. According to Politico, Biden had to deliver a reminder to the Bucharest Nine “that the goal of the war is not to remove the regime under Putin.”

Thus, European strategic autonomy has become meaningless talk. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said last week that the most important realisation of the war is that “Europe has retired from the debate.”

“In the decisions adopted in Brussels, I recognise American interests more frequently than European ones,” he added, also pointing out that today in a war that is taking place in Europe, “the Americans have the final word.”

For Putin, the bottomline will be that no NATO membership for Ukraine and the ground realities must be heeded. But, fundamentally, peace talks would vindicate the raison d’être of Russia’s special military operation, which aimed to force the West to negotiate regarding NATO expansion.

Zelensky dismisses five SBU officials

The decrees to that effect have been published on the website of the head of state, Ukrinform reports. According to decree No. 130/2023, Oleksandr Yakushev was dismissed as deputy head of the Security Service of Ukraine, and according to decree No. 131/2023, Oleksandr Provorotov was dismissed as head of the agency's department of economic activities.

By decree No. 132/2023, the president dismissed Ihor Nosko as head of the SBU's department for protecting state secrets and licensing.

By decrees Nos. 133/2023 and 134/2023, the head of state decided to dismiss Borys Bezrukyi as head of the SBU office in the Zaporizhzhia region and Eduard Fedorov as head of the SBU office in the Sumy region.

By decree No. 135/2023, Zelensky appointed Oleh Khramov head of the SBU department for protecting state secrets and licensing.

In accordance with decree No. 136/2023, Oleh Krasnoshapka was appointed head of the SBU office in the Sumy region.

Zelenskyy in conflict with top brass

President Volodymyr Zelensky and Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine’s Armed Forces Valerii Zaluzhnyi have conflicting views on how the military should handle the situation in Bakhmut, according to unnamed sources within the Ukrainian political leadership cited in a report by Bild.

Bild Zeitung writes that General Zaluzhnyi was deliberating a tactical withdrawal from Bakhmut weeks ago over concern for the wellbeing of his troops. The Ukrainian government told Bild that remaining in Bakhmut was the right decision due to the serious damage it inflicted on Russian military personnel and equipment. However, according to other sources cited by the publication, the situation is at risk of becoming untenable.

Another Ukrainian military analyst told Bild that "the troops should have been withdrawn three weeks ago when the Russians took Krasna Hora. The decision to keep Bakhmut was a good one, but they overdid it.”

U.S. Defense Secretary Loyd Austin told journalists during a trip to Jordan on March 6 that Bakhmut was more of "symbolic" than "strategic" value for the Ukrainian military and that he didn't think Ukraine's potential troop withdrawal would cause any major setbacks for the course of the war.

Ukrainian infantrymen recently told the Kyiv Independent of unprepared, poorly-trained battalions being sent to the front line to survive as best they could with little support from armored vehicles, mortars, artillery, drones, and tactical information.

The Invisible Hand: China Foreign Minister, Qin Gang

Less than two weeks ago, China issued China’s Position on the Political Settlement of the Ukraine Crisis. It offers 12 propositions, including respecting the sovereignty of all countries, abandoning the Cold War mentality, ceasing hostilities, and resuming peace talks. The core stance is to promote talks for peace.

Regrettably however, efforts for peace talks have been repeatedly undermined. There seems to be “an invisible hand” pushing for the protraction and escalation of the conflict and using the Ukraine crisis to serve certain geopolitical agenda.

The Ukraine crisis has come to a critical juncture. Either hostilities stop and peace is restored and the process of political settlement begins, or more fuel is added to the flames and the crisis further expands and spirals out of control. Conflict, sanctions and pressure will not solve the problem. What is needed is calmness, reason and dialogue. The process of peace talks should begin as soon as possible, and the legitimate security concerns of all parties should be respected. This is the right way to achieve durable security in Europe.

Read full transcript here.

Gen. Mark Milley slips into Syria: oil thefts continue

According to a Reuters report, the sudden unannounced arrival of the top US military officer General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, at a dusty American base in Syria’s remote northeast on Friday was about something else than oil — purportedly “to assess efforts to prevent a resurgence” of the Islamic State militant group and “review safeguards for American forces against attacks, including from drones flown by Iran-backed militia.” Now, that is a stretch for two reasons — one, there are only around 900 US troops all in all in Syria and Milley doesn’t have to undertake such routine mission; two, there is actually no history of the Islamic State [ISIS] having ever attacked the US forces in Syria.

According to eyewitness accounts, as recently as last week, on 27 February, US troops transported at least 34 tankers filled with stolen Syrian oil through the illegal Al-Mahmoudiya border crossing to their bases in Iraq. In the estimation of the Syrian foreign ministry, the cumulative losses incurred by the country’s oil and gas sector on account of theft and other US actions were to the tune of $107 billion as of August last year.

On the contrary, the folklore among regional states is that the US mentors the Islamic State, gives training to the cadres of the shadowy militant group at the remote American base at Al-Tanf on the Syrian-Iraqi border, and even provides logistical support to the group’s operations in Syria’s desert region.

Legislation to end the US involvement in Syria that will be up for a vote in the US Congress this week. US Congressman Matt Gaetz (Republican from Florida) who last month introduced a War Powers Resolution to direct President Joe Biden to remove the US Armed Forces from Syria has frontally attacked Milley’s visit.

The bottom line is that there is no rationale other than geopolitical considerations for the continued US occupation of about a third of Syrian territory. These considerations are principally:

Need to keep US footprint in the strategic Eastern Mediterranean;
US’ troubled relations with Turkey;
Israel’s security;
Russian bases in Syria;
the Russian-Syrian-Iranian axis; and, most important,
the geo-strategy to keep Syria weak and divided for the foreseeable future.

A commentary last year in the China Daily poignantly captured the Syrian tragedy: “The alleged plunder of Syrian oil by the United States and its proxies will only worsen conditions in the sanctions-hit country as it struggles to rebuild after years of war… consumption of Syria’s limited resources by the hegemonic power and its proxy groups in the troubled nation will encourage militancy and undermine efforts to stabilise the wider region.”

The Assad government’s normalisation process with the regional states in the Gulf — especially, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar — as well as Egypt and Turkey has put the US in a predicament. It is particularly galling for the US that Russia is mediating the Turkish-Syrian rapprochement.

Suffice it to say that Washington is increasingly left with no option but to stir up the Syrian pot again and create turmoil with a view to create an alibi for the continued occupation of Syria.

Long Mekong

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