‘In Search of an Enemy’

America means naked imperialism. And imperialism means war. America without war is unthinkable. It loses one war after another and yet it continues to wage war in new areas. It always needs an enemy to justify its astronomical defence budget. If there is no enemy they can always create one to keep its war machine roaring. How American military might was shattered in Vietnam is now history. And its inglorious departure from Afghanistan very recently is a case in point that a small nation can defeat a stronger military establishment if there is political will to fight the aggressor. Russian invasion of Ukraine has opened up new vistas for America and Britain, its trusted partner in crime against humanity, to revive the cold war era enemy perception.

The iron curtain is gone. So is bamboo curtain. All are open. There is no question of containing communism anymore. But the ghost of Soviet power is now being resurrected in Russian Federation while the Dragon syndrome is allegedly threatening American sphere of influence in the Indo-Pacific. The new enemy is not socialism. Ironically it is capitalism, pure and simple. They are to thwart advance of Russian capitalism and Chinese capitalism as well. And it demands war preparation all the time. America and NATO countries have already waged a war against Russia through Ukraine. Poor Ukrainians are paying the price to see helplessly how the Uncle Sam is enjoying war moments in the White House. As for China, America and its Pacific allies are regularly sending message by way of conducting dozens of war drills that any attempt by Beijing to overrun Taiwan will invite retaliation, not excluding nuclear options; albeit America officially accepts one China policy. Double standard is the hallmark of Washington’s foreign policy. There is no socialist bloc now. There is only one global economic order, it is capitalist order dominated by America. So the rising capitalist entities like China and Russia are being considered as a threat to American hegemony. So war is needed before it is too late. Ukrainian chessboard suits American design to weaken Russia, their main rival in Europe, by prolonging the Russia-Ukraine conflict in which the Pentagon is the main weapons supplier to Ukraine. Scramble for market domination continues despite one global order which in turn actually reflects sharpening of inter-imperialist contradiction.

Before invasion started in February, Russia never thought America would be able to mobilise all European and NATO member countries so quickly against it. Super Power Soviet Union is dead but militarily Russia is still a super power. America is also testing the level of Russian military capability through its indirect participation in the war. In future a direct confrontation between America and Russia-China axis cannot be ruled out.

American media has succeeded to create a Russo-phobia across the world, particularly in Europe. There is reason for east Europe, not to speak of the West, to go against Russia despite their dependence on Russian oil and energy, and rally behind American umbrella, because of their bitter experience during Soviet times. And today they apprehend Russian domination again if Ukraine loses the war. In truth the entire Warsaw Pact members, barring Russia of course, have been incorporated into NATO grouping, a tragedy that was hardly anticipated by any Russian at the time of dissolution of Soviet Union.

Russia is so isolated in its neighbourhood that even Bulgaria, North Macedonia and Montenegro refused to allow Russian Foreign Minister’s plane to fly through their air space. Small NATO nations that hardly matter in geo-political gambit are now showing audacity to challenge Russian might in contravention of international law. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was about to visit Serbia, an ally of Russia. Perhaps Serbia is still with Putin’s Russia because Moscow has long been supporting Serbia’s claim over Kosovo. Lavrov blamed NATO for the flight ban. Encirclement of Russia would be complete if Ukraine becomes victorious which is precisely the objective of America and its NATO partners. Almost an identical Indian sub-continental scenario as India has no cordial relations with any of its neighbours—big or small!

As the Ukraine war is in full swing, America is now trying to open a second war front in the Horn of Africa. Almost as soon as the Joe Biden administration announced a redeployment of US Special Operations Forces to Somalia on May 16, the western media began to spin the intervention. The US redeployment is sheer overlordism using ‘counter-terrorism’ as the latest in a long line of excuses to interfere in the politics of the strategically significant country in the Horn of Africa. Signatories of the UN charter have legal responsibilities to get authorisation from the Security Council before launching military operations—something the Biden government and its predecessors have never done in Somalia, or anywhere else, for that matter. International law is not for America, it is for the economically and militarily weak.

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Frontier
Vol 54, No. 51, Jun 19 - 25, 2022