Blinken’s blunders epitomize the bankruptcy of US power and diplomacy
Editorial, Strategic Culture, May 24 2024
As the Iranian nation mourned the tragic death of President Ebrahim Raisi this week, the United States could not even muster a respectful offer of condolence. US Sec State Antony Blinken, officially that country’s top diplomat, made a crass remark that the Iranian people would be “better off.” This as the Islamic Republic had declared five days of mourning for the late president whose funeral in the city of Mashhad was attended by millions of Iranians. President Raisi was killed in a helicopter crash along with the country’s much-respected Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and several other dignitaries who were also on board the aircraft. The fatal crash happened in treacherous weather over a mountainous region in northwest Iran as the president’s entourage returned from a visit to Azerbaijan. Most of the world expressed shock and grief over the loss. The UNGA held a minute’s silence and at the funeral, 68 nations were represented including officials from Russia and China. The US and Iran have been staunch adversaries for more than half a decade following the Iranian revolution in 1979. Nevertheless, it is a basic matter of diplomacy and etiquette for countries to show a token of sympathy at such a time of national mourning.
The disgraceful and cheap comments about the death of Iran’s president show how inadequate Blinken is as the supposed US primary diplomat. But the failure is not merely a personal matter, it epitomizes the general collapse of Washington’s political quality and international standing. The US presumes to be a world leader but it evidently has no class. Biden, the president and Blinken’s boss, is a foul-mouthed crank who regularly insults other leaders with ignorant prejudice. On Blinken’s insult over the Iranian president’s death, Russia’s presidential spokesman Dmitri Peskov expressed the disgust of many observers around the world when he said:
It is hard to believe that a diplomat, let alone a high-ranking official of a country such as the US, would make such a clumsy remark, to say the least. In essence, it was an insult directed at an entire nation.
Apart from the lack of human decency, there is a total lack of politics. Blinken’s offensive comment comes at a moment of extreme tension in the Middle East amid a genocide perpetrated by the Israeli regime with support from the US. The powder-keg situation could explode at any time into an international war engulfing the entire region. Israel and Iran have already exchanged military blows. All diplomats worth their salt should be trying to calm tensions, not inflame them. Blinken’s contemptible insult to the Iranian people is a reckless provocation. But such sensibility and respect are too much to expect from Blinken, who has shown himself to be way out of his depth as a diplomat.
Last week, the “top diplomat” embarrassed his office by playing guitar on stage in a bar during an official visit to Kiev. Blinken was in the Ukrainian capital promising billions of dollars more in military aid to prolong a bloody and futile proxy war against Russia. Reliable estimates put the Ukrainian military death toll at over 0.5m in over two years of combat. Yet here was Blinken strumming electric guitar with a local rock band. Even more cringe-making was his choice of song, Neil Young’s ‘Keep on Rockin’ in the Free World.’ Not only was Blinken tone deaf to the horror of war, but he was oblivious to the fact that the song is an explicit condemnation of American imperialist barbarity. How could anyone be so stupid and insensitive? That is the measure of Antony Blinken right there.
Lamentably, Blinken has a lot of dubious company in Washington. Their collective arrogance and incompetence are driving the world to calamity. It is reported this week that Blinken is among those in Washington advocating for the supply of long-range US weapons to strike Russian territory. Others pushing this recipe for WW3 include Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson and former State Dept official Victoria Nuland. Blinken’s blunders should have seen him sacked long ago in disgrace. He was a chief cheerleader for arming the Kiev regime long before the conflict escalated in Feb 2022. He along with Nuland and others was instrumental in setting the course for this proxy war that runs the risk of spiraling into a nuclear war.
During his previous posts as national security advisor to President Obama and Biden when he was vice president, Blinken endorsed the NATO “human rights” war on Libya and the “pro-democracy” proxy war for regime change in Syria. The latter involved Washington arming sectarian terror gangs, until Russia and Iran put an end to that dirty operation. This trail of disaster chartered by Blinken should have ensured his barring from ever ascending to the prominence of Sec State. However, that is assuming such appointments are made based on sanity and sound foreign policy. No, Blinken is a war criminal whose ignorant narcissism knows no bounds. He is nothing but a useful tool for American imperialist warmongering. The guitar-playing, Harvard-educated Blinken is a manikin that provides a pseudo-liberal image to cover for the barbarity of US global power. His ineptitude is leading the world to an abysmal state of confrontation in the Middle East and between nuclear powers over Ukraine.
What’s more though is the deplorable truth that Washington is full of clones like Blinken. The level of political culture in the US establishment that spawns the likes of Blinken is so putrid and prevalent, that it is difficult to envisage any quality thinkers and leaders emerging. The degeneration of politics and diplomacy in the US has been on a long decline much like its global power. Some of Blinken’s more recent predecessors include Mike Pompeo (“we lie and cheat all the time”) and Hillary Clinton (who gloated about the murder of Muammar Gaddafi with “we came, we conquered, he died”); Condoleezza Rice (of Iraq war and rendition torture notoriety) and Colin Powell (who told barefaced lies to the UNSC over WMD). The list of degenerates goes on. But in Blinken’s case, he’s probably the high point, or maybe that should be the low point, of polished incompetence. Cometh the hour of US failure, cometh the man who embodies abject failure.
Western elites fret over Ukraine and Gaza… and Russian nukes
Martin Jay, Strategic Culture, May 24 2024
With the unannounced visit of Anthony Blinken in Kiev recently, there was naturally a great deal of speculation as to what the mindset is in Washington during an election year not only for the US but for the EU as well, and let’s not forget Britain, whose leader just announced a snap election which caught everyone off-guard. Western elites are getting skittish. And they have a lot on their plates to justify their nervous twitches of late. The recent meeting between Russian and Chinese leaders affirmed the message to them: the multipolar world is coming quite fast. In Ukraine, there is little point any more in faking it. The West is losing, and the hope that Blinken has in the establishment there to keep up a failing military campaign is misguided and foolish. Desperation now is no longer opaque and shrouded in the smoke and mirrors of fake news by western journalists who only have their NATO talking-points to write up. Now it is palpable.
Barely a week passes without a new measure taken by either NATO or President Zelensky which must have a devastating impact on morale. Just recently Zelensky signed into law a bill allowing some Ukrainian convicts to serve in the country’s military in exchange for the possibility of parole at the end of their service, a move described even by the NYT as “Kyiv’s desperate attempts to replenish its forces after more than two years of war.” Of course for those criminals to benefit from their contribution they also have to live, an unlikely scenario for most of them on the front line of battle surrounded by old men or 25-year olds making up the numbers of what has been dubbed the “meat grinder.” In fact, Zelensky might stop short of actually enacting it as it has been pointed out to him that the measure echoes a practice that Russia has widely used to bolster its forces and that Ukraine ridiculed at the beginning of the war. Yet being ridiculed is not really an issue this late in the game. Blinken on his part should be well used to looking a dumbfounded numpty on the world state as even his hardened support base has noticed that whenever he gets on a plane and jets in to a troubled hot spot, all that is produced is an ejaculation of banal sound bites. And that’s it.
He seems to think that the number of times he flies to a location makes him an expert on the place or gives his arguments more gravitas, as he pointed out to Ted Cruz recently in Congress where the Republican senator cross-examined him on the genocide which the US is helping Israel carry out there. It was mind-numbing how ignorant Blinken was on a host of subjects, and just goes to prove that without preparation how unqualified many western politicians are on their own subjects. Without notes and with no planted questions from friends in the press pack, Blinken’s exchange with Cruz was so cruel that most of us had to look away as blow after blow came down on the battered body of Blinken. It was literally like watching someone shoot dead fish in a barrel with a Magnum. Blinken, who is America’s foreign policy guru, didn’t even know how many barrels of oil Iran is producing daily. Amazing. If this is the guy running US foreign policy advising ‘Ol Joe about the world, then it is hardly surprising that Biden is heading to he polls with two world wars which he has instigated, and is currently funding, while Russia, China and Iran just get stronger by the day, all, it should be stressed by both Biden’s reckless policies but also, perhaps more importantly, his weakness.
This isn’t just a blundering, bellicose Washington circus which rides into town and shoots all the wrong people before setting up camp. This is America at its worst whose miscalculations in Ukraine are going to divide further a weary NATO as western elites are forced to take the food out of the mouths of their own poor to spend more on guns n ammo. It is also an administration which is behind the Gaza genocide which is threatening to spill over into the region and will certainly not leave the U.S. a victor either there or back home. The NATO birthday party, planned very shortly, will give the satirists plenty to work on as western leaders soil their underpants watching Russia moves its nuclear weapons around near the Ukrainian border and Europeans head to the polls to elect MEPs in the European Union, a project which is a headless chicken on its best day and makes Blinken, by contrast, look quite credible.
Azerbaijan is becoming an excuse for France to maintain its imperialist practices
Lucas Leiroz, Strategic Culture, May 24 2024
France refuses to give up old colonial and imperialist practices. Maintaining control over overseas territories on foreign continents such as South America and Oceania, Paris is undoubtedly one of the greatest current representatives of ancient European expansionism. Obviously, people abused by colonial oppression tend to react violently at certain times, which generates situations of crisis and conflict. A popular uprising is currently taking place in the French overseas territory of New Caledonia, an island zone in the Pacific that has until now enjoyed great regional political autonomy, despite submission to French sovereignty. Recently, however, Paris decided to change several local laws in New Caledonia and increase political interventionism in the modern colony, which has generated strong reactions. Without investment in improving the living conditions of the local people and with a substantial worsening of the French colonial policy of occupation, the people of New Caledonia are taking to the streets to protest for changes. Some protesters demand absolute independence from France, while others call only for an increase in regional autonomy. As expected, the French authorities are reacting irresponsibly, brutally attacking protesters and leaving dead and injured among the victims. Paris is even taking steps towards an official military intervention in the region, having approved the deployment of troops to contain the demonstrations. This reveals the fear of French authorities that the situation in New Caledonia will escalate and become out of control, leading to a permanent crisis of French sovereignty.
As if trying to quell the demonstrations through violence wasn’t enough, Paris is also spreading lies about the case, trying to point to foreign agents as responsible for the crisis in the colonial areas. The current French target is Azerbaijan. According to authorities in Paris, the Caucasus country is the main architect behind the escalation in Caledonia. The reason for the accusation is the fact that New Caledonia and Azerbaijan signed a joint inter-parliamentary declaration recognizing the local people’s right to self-determination. At no point did Baku initiate any effective policy of endorsing the active struggle for independence, merely admitting that the island’s residents have the right to decide what they believe is best for them. Even so, France is spreading the fallacious narrative that there is an Azerbaijani plot behind the legitimate protests. The accusation sounds convenient for Paris in the current international context, as France is looking for arguments to protect its declining territorial and political dominance. French imperialism, like American and British ones, is in a phase of decline amid current geopolitical circumstances. With the rise of multipolarity, there is less and less room for imperialist practices. French foreign policy, not by chance, is falling into decline. In Africa, there have been a series of pro-Multipolar revolutions aimed at reducing French influence. Many governments in the Sahel region, for example, accuse Paris of cooperating with terrorist groups, which has also led many African countries to seek direct Russian help in the military sector.
To react to new trends, Paris has urgently sought to secure its remaining areas of influence, as well as conquer new territories. In the post-Soviet space, France has expanded into the Caucasus, promoting broad interventionism in Armenia. Paris has been one of the main “allies” of the current pro-Western regime in Yerevan. The objective is simple: foment war in the region, reduce Russian influence in the post-Soviet space and justify the presence of a NATO “peace mission” in the future. In fact, Azerbaijan is a major agent provocateur in the Caucasus, being responsible for several crimes against the Armenian civilian population. However, the French interest in creating tensions with Baku has nothing to do with Azerbaijani actions. The objective is simply to foment tensions in order to, in the long term, intervene in the Caucasus and expand French imperialism. More than that, Azerbaijan appears to be becoming an excuse for Paris to justify its imperialism anywhere in the world, not just in the Caucasus. By blaming Baku for the crisis in New Caledonia and using force against legitimate protesters, France is showing that any action by the Azerbaijani government now serves as a pretext for a violent reaction. In the end, all France wants is to maintain its colonial and imperialist practices. After the losses in Africa, Paris is looking for new targets.
Against all odds, Iran and Saudi ties remain strong
Steven Sahiounie, Strategic Culture, May 23, 2024
Ebrahim Raisi, the eighth President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, died in a helicopter crash on Sunday, along with his Foreign Minister and others. Raisi will be remembered foremost as a cleric. He was successful in garnering support from the political circles, as well as the religious ones. He studied Islam at the seminary in Qom, and called himself an ayatollah, which is a title reserved for high-ranking Shiite clerics. His black turban identified him as a descendant of the Prophet Mohammed. Raisi had been seen as a possible successor to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as supreme leader, the highest political and religious position in Iran. Following the death of Iran’s first supreme leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1989, Raisi was appointed prosecutor of Tehran, and took his position as a jurist based on Islamic law very seriously.
After taking office as president, Raisi faced a difficult situation because of US sanctions on Iran. Trump had torn up the nuclear deal, and had launched a maximum pressure campaign of even more sanctions. In 1998, Richard Haas wrote that US sanctions are not effective on major changes such as ‘regime change.’ But the Oval Office and Capitol Hill refuse to stop imposing sanctions on countries around the world, regardless of their lack of success. The crushing sanctions on Syria are a prime example of sanctions killing citizens, but having no effect on ‘regime change.’ Iran’s economy was suffering under US sanctions, but also the effects of corruption, nepotism and inefficiency, which are the same factors most of the regional countries in the Middle East are grappling with. Raisi promised the people he would tackle inflation, corruption and tax evasion and had some success. But by May-Jun 2022, the price of food had escalated to more than 80% compared with the same period in 2021. After the government cut some subsidies, which caused a spike in prices of food staples, protests erupted across several provinces, which brought out the security forces, and resulted in the deaths of at least five people, while dozens were arrested. Iranian officials acknowledge the right of citizens to protest, but will not allow the protests to evolve into chaos and lawlessness. Security forces in some cases used heavy-handed methods, which drew criticism from the west and Iranian opposition groups in the west. The Raisi government knew too well that western interests would be served if the protests were violent and disruptive to the country; therefore, they tried to manage the protests on a short leash.
Most countries are unwilling to trade or invest in Iran due to the US sanctions. This handicapped Raisi and prevented his government from expanding and developing trade and foreign investment. Countries who might want to do business in Tehran are fearful of being cut off from trade with the US, but China was willing to buy a lot of Iranian oil. Under Raisi, Iran increased oil exports to China, and China has also continued to invest in a broad range of Iranian industries, including oil and gas, lumber, and light manufacturing. By Jan 2022, Iran exported more than 700kb/d of oil, which was more than Iran exported before the re-imposition of US sanctions in 2018. Raisi set his eyes on developing ties with his Asian and Arab neighbors. His death came after a visit with the leader of Azerbaijan. Raisi’s first trip was to Tajikistan, where he participated in the SCO summit in September 2021. The regional economic and security bloc, led by China and Russia, accepted Iran’s bid for membership 15 years after it applied. He pushed for trade with Central Asian countries, and by Jul 2022, he had traveled to Oman, Qatar, Russia, Tajikistan, and twice to Turkmenistan. One of the most significant developments of Raisi while in office, was the expansion of ties to Russia despite the military operation of Ukraine. The Supreme Leader of Iran had issued a policy statement validating the Russian position in Ukraine. Basically saying, that given the US-NATO threats to Russia in Ukraine, that Russia was justified in a military operation to prevent the western powers from setting up a military offensive position toward Russia within Ukraine. When Putin visited Tehran, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei justified Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, telling Putin:
If you had not taken the helm, the other side would have done so and initiated a war.
Raisi met Putin three times in the first seven months of 2022, and Russia has bought Iranian drones. Concerning oil, the two countries have cooperated as part of OPEC+ to try to keep oil prices high. Raisi’s foreign minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, also died in the crash along with others. He received a PhD in international relations from the University of Tehran, and during his career at the foreign ministry, he was posted to Iraq and Bahrain and had developed expertise on issues facing the region. Following Raisi’s directives, Amir-Abdollahian focused on improving relations with the Arab and Asian neighbors of Iran. In Aug 2021, Foreign Minister Amir-Abdollahian participated in a regional conference in Baghdad, along with French President Emmanuel Macron. Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and the UAE also participated, with the goal of easing regional tensions. Iran continued to support an array of Shiite militias and political parties in Iraq. In Mar 2023, China successfully brokered a reconciliation between Saudi Arabia and Iran. The surprise detente between Iran and Saudi Arabia followed years of bitter rivalry that had destabilized several Middle Eastern countries, including Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen and Bahrain.
When word broke that the Iranian helicopter was thought to have crashed, Saudi Arabia was one of the first nations to offer all help and support to Iran. Saudi Arabia’s deputy minister of foreign affairs, Walid Elkhereiji, on Tuesday offered condolences and sympathy to Iran following the deaths of President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, and personally called upon the Iranian ambassador to the Kingdom, Alireza Enayatiat, at the Iranian embassy in Riyadh. Last year’s normalization of ties between the two regional powers paved the way for more direct flights. On Apr 22, the first group of Iranian pilgrims flew to Medina in Saudi Arabia for a ten-day religious pilgrimage for the first time after 9 years. According to the Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson:
Based on the two countries’ mutual willingness and negotiations carried out by their respective foreign ministers, the obstacles have been removed. The transportation of Hajj pilgrims to Saudi Arabia officially started today.
Iran has suffered from past helicopter accidents:
- On Sep 29 1980, a military helicopter crashed killing several high-ranking military officers, including the Defense Minister, Mousa Namjo.
- On Aug 16 1980, the first Iranian President, Abu al-Ahasan bin Sadr, was in a helicopter crash but survived.
- In 1994, a helicopter crashed killing the head of the Iranian Air Force in Isfahan.
- On Jan 5 1995, a helicopter crashed killing the head of the Iranian Air Force, and 10 other officers.
- On Jun 2 2013, Mahmoud Ahmadinajad survived a helicopter crash.
Niqnaq 