This morning’s key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com
- Iran says that the Ukraine crisis is ‘a divine blessing’
- Ukraine’s ‘anti-terrorist operation’ turns into a fiasco
- Russian ambassador signals coming invasion of east Ukraine
- Pakistan Taliban refuses to extend ceasefire, wants ‘peace talks’ anyway
Iran says that the Ukraine crisis is ‘a divine blessing’
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei has previouslydeclared the need to adopt a “resistance economy,” to defeat theWestern sanctions. Expediency Discernment Council Secretary andformer IRGC (Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps) Commander Mohsen Rezaeidiscussed the “resistance economy”:
“In my opinion, we have so far been successful in theGeneva negotiations, but these negotiations could have been donebetter. The wall of sanctions was not successful because we havebeen able to increase our oil exports. America cannot revert tothe past because a lack of confidence has been created init. Fortunately, the Ukrainian matter became a divine blessing forus, because America can no longer convince China and Russia. …
Resistance economy means the people’s jihad and that the economymust be made resistant against the enemies’ shocks andpressures. …
Resistance economy seeks to bring the Westerners and the Americansto their knees against sanctions, to the extent that they admitthat sanctions were mistake.”
Ukraine’s ‘anti-terrorist operation’ turns into a fiasco
The “anti-terrorist operation” by Ukraine’s army to strike back atpro-Russian separatist activists in cities in eastern Ukraine isturning into a fiasco, a day after it was announced by Ukraine’sacting President Olexander Turchynov. Six of the Ukrainian army’sarmored personnel carriers (APCs) were captured by pro-Russianmilitants in eastern Ukraine, amid reports that Ukrainian soldiersswitched sides to support the militants. The Ukrainian soldiers wereobviously unhappy with being deployed against crowds of civilians.
Evidence is growing that Russian armed forces special agents are ineast Ukraine, training the separatist militants with tactics — takintover buildings, setting up blockades, fomenting protests. Speaking inLondon, UK Foreign Secretary William Hague said Russia had sentoccupation of buildings.
Ukraine is not a member of Nato, but fears are growing that Russiadoes not plan to stop with annexing Ukraine. Latvia and Estonia areNato members, and have large ethnic Russian communities. Natoannounced that air patrols over the Baltic republics are to beincreased, while Nato warships will deploy to the easternMediterranean and the Baltic Sea. BBC and CNN
Russian ambassador signals coming invasion of east Ukraine
Vladimir Chizhov, Russia’s Ambassador to European Union, wasinterviewed on the BBC on Wednesday. With violent pro-Russianactivists in east Ukraine taking over police stations, airfieldsand government buildings, he was asked why the Russian governmentdoes not tell them to stand down (my transcription):
“Well I think in the current situation situation therewould be seen by people in eastern Ukraine as Russia betrayingthem, because they want to see their interests protected, and theywant to see a federalization of the country. Our view, and mypersonal view, is the only way to save Ukraine as a singledemocratic country.”
The “federalization of the country” means making eastern provincesindependent republics, which would make them like Crimea, andthen vulnerable to Russian annexation. Ukraine is alreadyno longer a “single democratic country,” having lost Ukraineto Russian annexation.
Chizhov was asked what would happen if separatists in Russiawere occupying police stations and airports. Would Moscowstand by and let this happen?
“I don’t think you should draw a comparison between alegitimate government like the one in Russia and self-proclaimedgovernment that came to power as a result of an armed coup inKiev.”
So according to Chizhov, Kiev isn’t allowed to do anything to stop theviolence in east Ukraine because it’s not a “legitimate” government,even though it’s the only government. And Russia won’t even ask theprotesters to stop the violence, because that would be “betraying”them. Therefore, according to Russian logic, Kiev just has to let theviolence continue.
What Chizhov didn’t mention is that Russia’s government isn’tlegitimate either. The December 2011 parliamentary elections and theMay 2012 presidential election were so fraudulent that they triggeredmassive protests, which Russia’s security services brutallysuppressed. ( “8-May-12 World View — Putin becomes president of Russia again, facing harsh new challenges”)
Watching Chizhov on television, one can almost see the sleaze oozingout of every pore. But the bottom line is that Russia is fomenting ain order to “protect” the ethnic Russians.
Pakistan Taliban refuses to extend ceasefire, wants ‘peace talks’ anyway
The one-month ceasefire that the Pakistani Taliban (Tehrik-e-Taliban -TTP) declared has now expired, and on Wednesday announced that it willnot be extended. However, the TTP wants to continue the “peace talks”with complete “sincerity and seriousness” which, I assume, means thatTTP will keep on blowing up crowded marketplaces and mosques while itpretends to want peace.
It recently emerged that the TTP agreed to the one-month ceasefire inthe first place only because prime minister Nawaz Sharif agreed to release 19 Taliban militants fromjail. Sharif secretly kept this process last month, though the secretwas revealed recently. Apparently the TTP is willing to agree to aceasefire only as long as murderers are being let out of jail.
In a more bizarre development, two factions of the TTP in Pakistan’stribal area have been fighting each other for control, and have shed alot of blood doing so. So the TTP leadership has appealed to theAfghanistan Taliban to send a delegation to Pakistan to act asmediators between the two warring factions, and end the fighting.The Express Tribune (Pakistan) and The News (Pakistan)
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