Is this Western war on Russia simply stupidity?

Guest Post by Alastair Crooke

Not only is there no threat from Russia that is independent of American policy, but it is also the expansion of NATO to ‘meet the threat from Russia’ that creates the very threat that expansion was supposed to meet.

The US proxy war on Russia is stupid. Professor of Law at the LSE, Peter Ramsay, in a review of Benjamin Abelow’s book, How the West Brought War to Ukraine, outlines how the latter eschews the simplistic ‘Putin invaded Ukraine’ narrative — attributing primary responsibility for the war to less proximate causes: ‘American governmental stupidity and blindness’ and ‘the deference and cowardice’ of Europe’s leaders toward this American governmental ‘stupidity’.

“Although Abelow describes the self-deluding arrogance and hypocrisy of Western policy very clearly, he does not attempt to explain how; or why US policy has become so stupid or European leaders so cowardly. He appears dumbfounded by it, describing the level of irrationality involved as ‘almost inconceivable’”.

Nevertheless, we must conceive of it, because it has happened, and it is bringing revolutionary change to a Middle East busily re-configuring itself as an integral part of the BRICS+ bloc; a transition, which in itself, portends a huge shift to the framework of geo-economics.

At the bottom, the core “monumental stupidity” — for which Abelow quotes British Academic Richard Sakwa — is not something concealed, but rather, is one of those ‘truths’ that are ‘out there: hiding in the open’. It is that NATO’s existence derives its validation from the management of perceived ‘threats’ that in a circular process of thinking precisely were provoked by NATO enlargement — an enlargement done ostensibly to manage such ‘threats’.

In short, it is a circular closed-loop argument. Not only is there no threat from Russia that is independent of American policy, but it is also the expansion of NATO to ‘meet the threat from Russia’ that creates the very threat that expansion was supposed to meet.

Similarly, it is this type of circular reasoning which makes ‘Putin into Hitler’ — a self-fulfilling epithet that is created because NATO expansion is firstly ‘reasonable (a ‘Value’, and a national Right), and therefore that anyone contesting it therefore must be ‘fascist’.

Abelow asks simply, “What sane person could believe that putting a Western arsenal on Russia’s border would not produce a powerful response?”

At its root, Abelow laments that the insanity that bothers him intensely is that US policy-makers recognize the circularity of their argument (he gives examples), yet will not countenance for a moment any argument against it.  They know ‘one thing’, but say ‘another’, he says.

But the charge of insanity, Ramsay opines, “whilst appealing rhetorically, tends to obscure a vital aspect of the narcissism that drives Western policy: the aspect in which the self-regarding sense of virtue is informed by the dominant mindset of our time – ideas which influence not just ‘experts’ – but political leaders and entire populations.”

This Narcissism and smug self-regard are indeed a key factor, but we need fully to understand their role by turning to Leo Strauss, whose thinking so shaped a generation of American conservatives (the Straussians).

Strauss taught classes at the University of Chicago at two separate levels: At one, he gave his teaching openly to all students; but for the elect few — kept quarantined from the others — he taught a different ‘inner teaching’ (about, for example, Plato’s Republic). One set of students got the standard ‘gig’ about The Republic as a foundational western myth. The select few (many of whom were to become leading neo-cons), however, were taught Strauss’ view of The Republic’s inner meaning of Machiavellian, pathological manipulation.

Strauss taught Plato’s ‘truth’ had to be excavated by an elect class who possess a certain ‘nature’ and gifts most men lack: being able to grasp the occult meaning of literal words. These men, Plato wrote, would consist of the class of warriors, higher in rank and honor than the class of producers and exchangers. Strauss wrote in a similar vein that Machiavelli’s teaching was of a ‘two-fold’ character also.

But the core insight for the elect insiders was simple: Power is something you use — or lose.

And in this context, the neo-con ‘predicament’ simply is that inner meaning is lost amid the overwhelming din made by liberal discourse.

The leading neo-con thinker, Robert Kagan, for example, echoed Jimmy Carter’s Malaise Speech of 1979 by viewing America’s self-regarding liberalism as foreclosing on Americans’ ability to question the roots of their own malaise. Carter had identified it “as a crisis that strikes at the very heart and soul and spirit of our national will. We can see this crisis in the growing doubt about the meaning of our own lives and in the loss of a unity of purpose for our nation.”

The neo-con argument for war with Russia then, on its own terms, may be stupid but is not necessarily as irrational as commonly held. As Kagan pointed out, forward motion is the lifeblood of the American polity. Without it, the purpose of the civic bonds of unity inevitably comes into question. An America that is not a glorious republican empire in motion is not America, ‘full stop’.

This inner understanding of American ‘malaise’, however, cannot publicly be aired against a smothering liberal monopsony on public discourse, he suggests.

Pat Buchanan (leading political commentator and thrice presidential candidate) has made the same point, “How long before the American people … begin to lose confidence in the democratic system itself? Clearly, among the reasons for our present division and national malaise is that we have lost the great animating cause earlier generations had: the Cold War.”

“George H.W. Bush’s ‘New World Order’ excited only the élites. George W. Bush’s crusade for democracy did not survive the Afghan and Iraqi forever-wars that he launched in its name. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s “rules-based order” will suffer the same fate.”

So, put plainly, the apparent ‘stupidity’ inherent in the NATO narrative may be understood as the tensions between the neo-cons having their insider reading of politics, yet being willing to weaponize the NATO argument to destroy Russia.

That absurd neo-con and NATO circular rationale for war with Russia, of course, clearly serves to mobilize the American ‘liberal’ and EU constituencies, where destructive narcissistic laziness and unwillingness to practice self-awareness is obliterating critical thinking, in the Straussian view (i.e. blocking their understanding of the power-imperative of Putin being seen to fail).

But the Straussians — with their inner reading of politics — perceive that America cannot survive either a Russian victory or a Chinese technical and economic rise to pre-eminence, for if the US doesn’t ‘use (its power), it will ‘lose (its global primacy)’.

Washington clearly made a possibly existential error in thinking that sanctions leading to a financial collapse in Russia would be a ‘slam dunk’ success. Team Biden thus painted themselves into a Ukraine ‘corner’, and deserve no sympathy. But at this stage – realistically — what choice does the White House have? The neo-cons will argue that backing down becomes an existential risk for the US. Yet, it may be one that may ultimately prove unavoidable.

Again — and just to be clear — this is not so much about maintaining US military hegemony; it is about maintaining America’s finance hegemony — upon which all else depends, including its ability to fund US $850bln defense budgets.

And “here we come to the real glue of America.” Darel Paul, Professor of Political Science at Williams College, writes: “From the founding of the country in the fires of war, the United States has been an expansionary republican empire ever incorporating new lands, new peoples, new goods, new resources, new ideas … Continuous military, commercial, and cultural expansion since Jamestown and Plymouth cultivated the restlessness, vigour, optimism, self-confidence, and love of glory for which Americans have long been known.”  This ‘glue’ thus becomes existential in a non-military sense.

Ah… but the élite also built America’s financial system on the same principle of the forward motion — not just of military forces, but of dollar ‘lifeblood’ (‘ever incorporating new lands, new peoples, new goods, new resources’…, etc.).  Should, however, America’s financial expansion (and its $30tn of dollars held externally) become peripheral to trade necessity, we may witness the fetters tying an inverted pyramid of financialised debt to a tiny pivot of hard collateral rupture … and the pyramid will crash.

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hardscrabble farmer
hardscrabble farmer

It is a deliberate attempt, once again, of a small minority of psychopathic ugly people to try and get the best and the bravest to mass murder each other so they can steal their resources and commit crimes against the survivors.

That’s all it is.

Eddie
Eddie

It’s worse than stupidity, it’s pure insanity!

Satan NEVER sleeps (I wish he would take a vacation).

P.S. When Satan was cast out of heaven, I would have sent him to Venus or Mars, not Earth……

Diogenes' Dung
Diogenes' Dung

God cast His lure where the fat tuna of the universe, humanity, have been schooling for eons.

Venus is heavenly. Satan doesn’t deserve a nap in its shade.

m
m

Are “the best and the bravest” those folks in Ukraine – or are you already thinking ahead to massive US troop involvement?

hardscrabble farmer
hardscrabble farmer

If you don’t understand what I wrote you’re probably in over your head.

OfftheHingeZ
OfftheHingeZ

Hahaha

Let the world burn
Let the world burn

Being the mindless dogs for the servants of devil is hardly “best” and “bravest”. May they burn forever in hell.

Abigail Adams
Abigail Adams

ugly people”

Lol. Of course.

B_MC
B_MC

Vox Day made a similar point yesterday….

At this point, it’s fairly obvious that the Trotskyite Clown Worlders now ensconced in the USA are primarily waging war against Europeans by forcing Russians to kill them. The NATO-Russian war is something of a Xanatos Gambit; while Clown World hoped to use Ukraine and NATO to defeat Russia, their primary enemy, they’ll happily settle for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians, Poles, and Germans, all of whom they hate nearly as much as they hate the Russians.

Germany Declares War on Russia

m
m

It’s always hilarious to see the people thinking (and writing) stuff with decades-old ingrained preconceptions, which they never reconsider.

Newsflash:
The US is not immune to getting hit/attacked anymore by 2 oceans or something, as the Russians have developed missiles which can not just easily cover the distance, but are also close to indefensible against!
At some point -and long before the killing of all Europeans is complete-, the US will get it’s share of the action!!

m
m

Nice tweet:
“It [Abrams and Leopard tanks] might change the outcome of the war. Instead of the war ending in Kiev, it might end in Berlin.”

flash
flash

There is nothing stupid about evil and only gatekeeping Deep Shekel controlled fag will try to cover the stench of sulfur with the neutral scent of stupid. smh.

comment image

flash
flash
KJ
KJ

They can lie all they want without consequence on the floor of the House and Senate because they have congressional immunity. That immunity doesn’t extend to their lying while not on the floor of the House or Senate.

In theory, of course, because there won’t ever be any consequences for them.

ken31
ken31

There probably used to be some truth to that.

flash
flash

I posit that 2500 years from now a bucket of Home Depot washers will hold more value a mountain of FRNs.

Matthew 7:25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.

” The fortune of a Japanese samurai was found by archaeologists in the Saitama Prefecture near Tokyo in August of 2018 and has been named the largest haul of medieval coins ever found in Japan.

The coins were found in a large two foot wide ceramic jar dating back to the fifteenth century. The copper in the bronze coins found inside has turned bright green due to the natural oxidation process of verdigris.

The jar had been buried over six feet deep possibly to hide the warrior’s riches which were in danger due to the civil unrest in Japan at the time.”

https://www.thevintagenews.com/2020/10/26/archaeologists/?chrome=1&ios=1&safari=1

WilliamtheResolute
WilliamtheResolute

All wars are Bankers wars…the only way to hide the failing Western fiat Ponzi scheme is war first, last, and always. Central Bankers run the world…the Bankster Khazarian/Jesuit mafia resurfaces every 100 years or so.

Anonymous
Anonymous

Russia

15-24 years: 9.54% (male 6,920,070/female 6,602,776)

25-54 years: 43.38% (male 30,240,260/female 31,245,104)

Ukraine

15-24 years: 9.28% (male 2,087,185/female 1,987,758)

25-54 years: 43.66% (male 9,456,905/female 9,718,758)

Larry Maier
Larry Maier

Same old pro-Russia propaganda.

hardscrabble farmer
hardscrabble farmer

You got lost on your way-

https://littlegreenfootballs.com/

Paleocon
Paleocon

Putin is buying up abandoned U.S. military equipment from the Taliban for pennies on the dollar. When can we see a debut of these arms in Country 404?

JoeBob
JoeBob

Satanists control America.

rhs jr
rhs jr

TPTB have used the Military to seize and control all the UFOs that have crashed, and at least one that had an internal fire but landed safely; and kept them to themselves Above Top Secret for exploitation; because the Oligarchs are such superior special clay chosen by god. But all they gain in technology will be utilized for Evil because they are the same SOBs that are responsible for our Evil greedy ZOG System, all our stupid political Evil bloody wars, The Clot Shot Genocide Goy Holocaust occurring now etc. It won’t be US Starships for Humanity; it will be US Starships of ZOG for plunder and wars (manned by Goy); “we” are now controlled by the Bad Guys. I don’t blame God, the Aliens and the BRICS+ for mortal concern about the direction of the Evil Empire of Lies. American Citizens did nothing after 2020/2022 and J6. God will allow (compel) outsides to do it.

overthecliff
overthecliff

To call these people stupid is to excuse their evil. They know what they are doing is not only wrong but evil. The root of all evil is the love of money.

rhs jr
rhs jr

I think this Ukraine War is the straw that will break the camel’s back with the backlash from the BRICS+; that will do in the US Economy within 2 years (plus the CBDC planned crash and Reset that will take advantage of it all); like Greece and Rome’s war follies. We had the Stupidest Flu Shot Pogrom, the Stupidest Election 2020, Ukraine will be the Stupidest War, followed by the Stupidest Currency Action. TPTB are a snowball gaining size and speed headed for Hell.

The Central Scrutinizer
The Central Scrutinizer

is-this-western-war-on-russia-simply-stupidity?

I have to point out that there’s nothing simple about this level of stupidity. You got to work your ass off to get that stupid.

BL
BL

I’m leaning toward scripted stupid, Scrut. Amazing that (((they))) planned three world wars more than 120 years ago and Bada-Bing….. two down and third is cranking up. What a coinky dink.

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