THE imperialist war alliance NATO is already engaged in a war against Russia. The war front鈥檚 name is Ukraine.
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Soldiers and generals
SOLDIERS and specialists, obviously military personnel, from a number of NATO countries are taking part in the Ukraine war. They play different roles in supporting the Kiev regime. Generals from a number of NATO countries are involved in the planning of the war the Kiev rulers have been employed to wage. Satellites and other surveillance mechanisms from a number of NATO countries constantly feed the Ukraine forces. A number of NATO countries鈥� territories are used as training ground and weapons dumps for the Kiev military. Psy-ops by NATO against Russia are open and incessant. The imperialist military alliance鈥檚 arms supplies to the Ukraine forces and financing the Kiev regime in its day-to-day governance activities and sanctions against Russia are an operation in continuum. There is no point to disagree that NATO is at war against Russia.
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It is war
A PART of the war is clandestine while a part is in public view. Elements of the war lead a section to tag it as a hybrid war although there is no reason to have such a mark as all wars have similar elements and phases depending on the capacity of warring parties. Moscow has reasons to identify it as a hybrid war as terming it as a war will carry legal and other meanings, including diplomatic implications and obligations, at home and abroad.
On the war front, the Ukraine military has lost strategic initiative. It is pushed back by Russian fighters. There are talks of possible collapse of the Ukraine defense line, whatever is there. Imperialist media that were waging a propaganda war, part of NATO psy-op, nowadays intermittently present facts that are bitter for NATO and Kiev supporters and that the Russians reported weeks and months back.
Even, one or two NATO or EU political or military leaders opine: (1) no possibility of recovering the territory the Kiev regime has lost and no possibility of defeating Russia; (2) sanctions against Russia are turning a boomerang; (3) a war is not the ultimate approach to subdue Moscow, opposite to which many NATO and EU leaders adamantly said two years back; and (4) negotiations with Moscow should be resumed.
But, hawkish tones propagate regularly. Military measures, including hitting inside certain areas of Russia, have formally been taken, which are identified as a new phase of the war. For long, the Kiev regime was hitting Russia鈥檚 interior with NATO-supplied weapons. But now, it is a formal nod from Kiev masters. Biden now allows Ukraine to strike targets deep inside Russia with long-range weapons supplied by the Pentagon.
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Emerging global map of capital
NOW, in view of the Kiev masters鈥� formal approval to hit inside Russia, the hovering question is: shall NATO escalate its war against Russia further? Much serious questions are there: where shall the escalation reach? Shall that be a fatal devastation in Europe already seating on a heap of failures in global competition? How capitals in Europe are going to align with emerging global capitals鈥� map of competition?
One day, a leader from a European country, obviously a NATO member, calls for sending soldiers to Ukraine to fight out the Russians. The other day, another leader from another European country expresses caution 鈥� no sending of soldiers; and the leader makes an about turn the next day. In the war, the smaller, Estonia, Latvia and similar brand, sound more hawkish.
It reflects a tug of war between factions within the NATO camp 鈥� one faction taking stock of the war that appears a net loss while the other is trying to continue with profiteering from the war.
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Shifting sands
THE issue of adjustments within the imperialist global order is yet undecided. Already, new elements that have emerged within the order are putting stress on the order led by the imperialist power that still considers itself as the sole power of the planet. But, under its feet, sands are shifting.
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Brinkmanship
THIS situation is dangerous for the entire planet as yet uncertain is the answer to the question: Shall a part of global capital need a nuclear boom to keep its dominance intact or make adjustment in the global order or will its parts be able to have a soft landing? The imperialist camp has already begun resorting to brinkmanship as it is stepping into a planetary danger zone.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian president Zelensky accused China of helping Russia to disrupt an upcoming Swiss-organised peace conference on the war in Ukraine. Ironically, Russia was not invited to the peace meet. The conference produced nothing, not even a propaganda flow. The gimmick failed.
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Farooque Chowdhury writes from Dhaka. The article, published in Frontier, the independent socialist weekly from Kolkata, in Vol 56, No 51, June 16鈥�22, 2024 issue, has been slightly modified.
