Ukraine, Russophobia & The Death of Neutrality

I recently came across an interesting article by security and organised crime expert (and Moscow Times Columnist), Mark Galeotti, on his blog https://inmoscowsshadows.wordpress.com/.  In this article, he talks about, among other things, the death of neutrality.  The heightening of tensions in relations between East and West,  US, NATO vs Russia, an apparent return to Cold War footing and rhetoric,  has made it more difficult for objective analysts such to present themselves, or be accepted as truly disinterested parties. In particular, when considering the events in Ukraine - the article struck a chord with me.

"The death of neutrality. It is increasingly difficult not to be on one side or the other. We’ve already seen this over Ukraine (I’ve been castigated as a Kremlin stooge for not using the word “terrorist” to describe the rebels, and a Western shill for claiming that Russian troops are present, all for the same article!), but I think it’s also happening with Russia. Not to regard Putin as a murderous mafioso-fascist-tyrant-kleptocrat who kills for the hell of it is to be an apologist. To refuse to believe the State Department is actively trying to install Navalny in the Kremlin makes you a tool of Western “colour revolution.” Analysis increasingly, I’m sorry to say, takes second place to assertion of the world as the observer “knows” it to be." Mark Galeotti

I'm no apologist for the Putin regime, and have been supportive of UK and US policy, perhaps in the naive belief that Western democracies, led by the US, have generally been a benign, positive  force in the world, but I have been astounded at the outcomes we have managed to achieve over the last decade or so foreign policy adventures. I think this echoes the sentiments of British Journalist and Author, Peter Hitchens, who said this recently in his Sunday Mail blog:

"Perhaps, after years in which I genuinely believed that our Government and the Americans were a pretty straightforward force for good, I now find it harder to accept, having seen the wrong and foolish things we do in the Middle East and now also in Ukraine."

I have no axe to grind on this matter, but what we are being told about Ukraine and Russia is a crock of shit.  The US and EU stirred things up in Ukraine, encouraged the opposition movement towards a 'color revolution',  and played some kind of shadowy role in the overthrow of Yanukovich's regime in Ukraine - an apparent masterclass in "hybrid" warfare.  The result - a failed state, a collapsing economy, political turmoil and civil war - right on the borders of a nuclear state, Russia.

But those that assert this or question what what the mainstream media is presenting,  are branded a "useful idiots", deluded pro-Putin members of the awkward squad, Russian internet trolls,  or RT propagandists.

The rampant Russophobia, the anti-Putin and anti-Russian sentiment in the mainstream media of the West  has crowded out any kind of objective and measured analyses of the situation or, for that matter, alternative viewpoints.  As a consequence of this, the tragedy unfolding on Europe's doorstep, in the Donbass, and the Ukraine regime's substantial role in this, has largely been ignored by the mainstream media.  

NEWSFLASH - COLD WAR OFFICIALLY ENDED 25 YEARS AGO!

On 2 December 1989, the official end to the Cold War was declared at a summit between President George H. Bush and Mikhail Gorbachev in Malta on 2 December 1989.  Has anyone told the Western media?

Former General supports Russian position over Crimea

Last week's Sunday Times, 28 September 2014, contains an interview with one of Britain’s former top soldiers, General David Richards, who retired last year.  The article was essentially discussing the crisis in Iraq and Syria, and Friday's vote in the House of Commons to commit the UK's armed forces to airstrikes against the terrorist group ISIL in Iraq, but in it he expresses some refreshingly honest, and accurate views on Russia, which run counter to the prevailing Russophobia in the western press.

General Richards outlines his solution to the crisis, which includes, among many other things, some kind of arrangement with Russia - their assistance in tackling Islamic terrorism is crucial.  But he does on to express some pro-Russian views in respect of the events in the Ukraine and Russia's annexation of Crimea.  In respect of Crimea, he refers to the annexation as Putin's "cleverly executed plan".   

“I don’t want to sound an apologist for Russia, but think Falklands, think Cuba, and you begin to understand what Russia feels about Ukraine.....it’s been a part of their country for hundreds of years." In respect of Crimea, he refers to the annexation as Putin's "cleverly executed plan" 

I do tend to think that you are on dodgy ground when you try to establish borders and rights to territory on the basis of a arbitrarily selected point in time (or a point in time chosen to support your case), especially in the case of historically contested territory and fluctuating borders of nation states, kingdoms, princedoms, tribes.  However, General Richards goes on to state:

"Crimea is Russian. The Russians, British and French went to war over Crimea 170 years ago. The idea that Crimea was ever going to be allowed by Russians to be part of Ukraine, or a Ukraine that was hostile, was cloud-cuckoo-land. And from a purely military sense, it was a rather cleverly executed plan."

On the events Ukraine, he expresses a more honest opinion than you usually read in the western press; he asks:

"are we really certain those protesters in the early days were properly representative of the majority of Ukraine? There were certainly some dodgy elements, and a president who was democratically elected was kicked out, however much you don’t like him."

He goes on to express his worry, which I believe is quite an honest assessment of western actions in Ukraine, Georgia, Syria and elsewhere: we get involved, we give encouragement, moral support, but we don't follow through; we keep encouraging people to get to the top of the hill but don't do enough to get them there. Perhaps like Sisyphus in Greek mythology: as a punishment for chronic deceitfulness, Sysyphus is compelled to roll an immense boulder up a hill, only to watch it roll back down, and to repeat this action forever.

RT - Russia Today News Channel

I have an admission: I occasionally like to watch RT the Russian state English language news channel which is free to view in the UK on Freeview.  It it is good to get some alternative perspectives on world events and sometimes to see things in other countries which are not necessarily covered by upon in western media for whatever reasons.

But, you have to wonder about its editorial bias and question the credibility of its output when they give a platform to the likes George Galloway on the station -  someone who presents their own program - Sputnik.  Former MP, leftwinger and Trotskyist, Dave Nellist, was also on the other night being interviewed at length.  RT seems to give a lot of airtime for a rag-tag of rent-a-mob, anti-capitalist, leftwingers.  Sometimes I think they focus too much on the negative aspects of the western societies, poverty crime, demonstrations - there is too much handwringing and schadenfreude and self-righteous tone to their reporting style.

It's odd that it has a left wing bias in its coverage of western countries when in terms of economic policy and authoritarianism Russia is on the right wing and anti-liberal.   RT seems to give voice to an odd alliance of left wingers, conspiracy theorists and anti-US and anti-capitalist academics.  

Has RT forgotten that Russia is a capitalist economy nowadays?  On the basis of how much the state accounts for a country's GDP, the UK and France are more socialist by comparison.

Having said that, the rampant Russophobia we have been seeing the western media over recent years and especially since the start of the Ukraine crisis, you would think that the west had forgotten that Russia was no longer communist and the Cold War finished nearly 25 years ago!

Nevertheless, RT does have some good programmes.  Peter Lavelle's Crosstalk is good (but watch out for the dodgy academics); the Kaiser report is entertaining of only they could turn down his rabid winy voice; and occasionally they have some good documentaries on aspects of Russian life you would not normally get to see.