Eastern Europe between Russia and West - bridge or wall?

54th VR Live Panel: Eastern Europe between Russia and West - bridge or wall?

Speaking at the celebration of the anniversary of the first victory of non-communist parties at elections in Poland, Obama lashed out at Russia for what he called provoking violence in eastern Ukraine. He threatened imposing more sanctions on Russia and pledged to allot one billion dollars in military aid, which would increase NATO's military presence in Poland and other East European nations bordering Russia.

These remarks by Obama found an enthusiastic audience on the Castle Square in Warsaw, where he delivered his speech. He was applauded by not only the presidents of Poland and Ukraine, but also by the presidents of the Baltic states, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Slovenia.

But does it mean that the peoples of all of these countries actually view Russia as a threat to be countered by increased NATO military presence and by what Mr. Obama called "isolation"?

Francis Boyle, professor at the University of Illinois College of Law and a graduate from Harvard University, James Thacara, a novelist and a human rights activist, Peter Lavelle, a well known RT's television host, and Srđa Trifković, the foreign affairs editor at Chronicles Magazine, participated in Radio VR 54th Live Discussion Panel to share their views on the issue.

Mr. Lavelle was puzzled by a rather belligerent speech delivered by Obama in Warsaw. "There are plenty of people like Victoria Nuland that continue this steamrolling of bringing military hardware and alliance that actually does use violence (we've seen it in Afghanistan, in Libya) and it gives NATO, in my opinion, a new breath on life. This is what they've been looking for. They need an enemy and Russia is the most convenient one," he said.

Francis Boyle noted the absence of Mikhail Gorbachev at the ceremony despite the fact that he played a much more important role in the events 1989 than some presidents of Eastern Europe present. "Gorbachev would have been an embarrassment, because, as you know, Jim Baker made a promise to promote the reunification of Germany, that NATO would not advance one inch to the east. And of course President Clinton immediately after the collapse of the Soviet Union proceeded to violate that pledge. And now with what is happening in Ukraine, we are seeing a reorientation of the American foreign policy towards a direct confrontation with Russia," Mr. Boyle said.

He also added that it is a "dual confrontation" as the US seeks to take on both Russia and China at the same time, and that perhaps the fact that Obama was essentially Zbigniew Brzezinski's apprentice might be an important factor. "In the 2008 presidential campaign, and this really explains how Obama came from nowhere on the south side of Chicago to running for the president, Brzezinski was in charge of managing the entire foreign affairs and defense component of Obama's 2008 presidential campaign. And then, he stacked the Obama administration with his protégés," he said.

James Thacara claimed that Obama actually is not interested in interfering in Eastern Europe, considering how he "has promised less money than Poroshenko has in his private bank account" in order to increase NATO's military presence in Poland and other East European nations bordering Russia. Peter Lavelle disagreed however, pointing out how Obama warned Moscow against the so called "dark tactics in Ukraine," and that Putin was not the one responsible for the coup in Ukraine on February 21.

"No, the Maidan shootings were conducted by the Svoboda Party. And what is going on in Kiev seems to me rather like what Bush did when he promised the Marsh people in Iraq and the Kurds that he would go to their rescue. Nobody is going to go to Ukraine's rescue," Mr. Thacara replied.

He also added that the current situation in Ukraine, reminded him of the US interventions in Latin America. However, he argued that Russia, not the US, is actually in control. "Why I'm saying Putin is in charge? I said this to one of the BBC talking heads about four months ago and he said - absolutely agree, Putin is in charge, there is nothing the West can do. They can supply weapons, they can cause trouble, they can create the most incredible amount of ranting and shouting which we've been hearing, but militarily they can do nothing in Ukraine, except damage the Ukrainian people," Mr. Thacara said. "And I think Putin has been very wise to withdraw his military from the border. And at a certain point the West will be begging on their knees to have Putin try to sort this out. I mean, I hope this doesn't result in a complete civil war."

Srđa Trifković suggested that the one should consider the geopolitical perspective as, according to him, the US - the thalassocratic power - is "taking over the mantle of Great Britain after the WW II in exercising the anaconda strategy of controlling the Rimland of the Eurasian land base."

"The objective is always the same - to control the so-called Rimland, the periphery which goes from the Central and Eastern Europe across the ME into the subcontinent, South China Sea, Japan and Korea - all of the areas which are now very much in the news. And the ultimate objective is to cut Russia into as many smaller states as possible, and to change its regime, to change its internal character, and to make Russia join the postmodernia of gay marriages and open borders." He also pointed out that this agenda is coupled with "the intense cultural dislike of the Western elite class for Russia, which already had its propagandistic discourse defined as early as the Crimean war in the 1850'es."

Mr. Trifković was also amused by the Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski writing an article headlined "Nationalism is Exactly What Ukraine Needs." "If you had the Front Nationale activists saying similar things, they would be demonized. But what Sikorski's spouse is advocating is not the Ukrainian nationalism, because such a beast simply does not exist, but the Galician, west-Ukrainian chauvinism which defines itself through blind animosity to all Moscow. And let's not forget the anti-Semitic strip. And it the kind of nationalism that literally does need the hated other, in order to be able to define itself," said Mr. Trifković, adding that "Europe needs that kind of nationalism like a hole in the head."

Read more: http://voiceofrussia.com/2014_06_07/54th-VR-Live-Panel-Eastern-Europe-between-Russia-and-West-bridge-or-wall-7347/

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