Plotting to destroy the planet

By *Jomo Sanga Thomas

(“Plain Talk” Sept. 6, 2024)

The mad rulers of planet Earth are inching closer to ending life as we know it. Sadly, few responsible and outspoken voices raise the alarm about the rapidly deteriorating situation.

Two weeks ago, President Biden announced a new nuclear strategy with immediate attention directed toward the People’s Republic of China. Last week, Russia declared that it had reassessed and redirected its nuclear policy to respond to American aggressive policies. North Korea is said to be on constant nuclear alert as it responds to pressures and threats to its very existence.

These days, unthinkable military actions are taken with such ease that it is as though the world leaders are having lunch rather than gambling on Earth’s future. In September 2022, western governments performed a previously unimaginable feat. They blew up the Russian-owned Nord Stream pipeline. The cheaper gas was intended to strengthen economic ties between Russia and Western Europe. Seven months into the Russian invasion of Ukraine to prevent the presence of NATO forces on its doorsteps, and two months after President Biden declared the line would be destroyed, the underwater explosion occurred. 

Keep in mind that Russia is one of the oldest nuclear powers and is said to hold the largest arsenal of nuclear weapons. Russia exercised restraint.

The Americans are intent on testing and stoking the Russian bear. As the war in Ukraine prolonged with disastrous consequences for the Ukrainians, the US and its NATO allies have reneged on everything they said would not be done. First, they noted NATO troops or military specialists will not enter the war. Today, there is an open acknowledgement that highly trained American, British and French military personnel are fighting and dying in Ukraine. It was also announced that American weapons would not be used to strike targets inside Russia. One month ago, Ukrainian forces entered the Kursk region in Southern Russia armed with Western armaments, including Abram tanks.

If these developments were not dangerous enough, things are about to get even scarier. Reuters reports that the US is close to agreeing to give Ukraine military long-range missiles to strike deep inside Russia. 

This dangerous escalation places all of us, indeed the entire world, at risk. Sadly, unlike decades ago when there was an active and vibrant peace movement, today, there is just a sliver of protest. As we saw with the protest against Western-supported Israeli aggression and genocide on colleges and universities in Palestine, the government has executed a criminal assault against protesters. The anti-Israeli encampments have been destroyed, and students are warned not to exercise their constitutional rights to free speech and assembly; independent journalists are harassed, stopped at airports, and prevented from travelling, while others are arrested and denied avenues to publish their work.

We are at a dangerous juncture in world affairs, but most people are not alert to the troubles. Only a mass awakening of people and worldwide protest could stay the hands of the bad dogs of war and prevent the destruction of life on earth.

Meanwhile, in our Caribbean, the American government continues its punitive aggressive policies against governments it opposes. Last Week, the American government seized an executive jet used by top Venezuelan officials, including President Maduro. The plane was seized in the Dominican Republic and flown to Miami. This recent act, a clear violation of international law, is in addition to over 2,000 sanctions levelled against Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela. Cuba has been embargoed for more than 60 years and improperly listed as a sponsor of terrorism. Venezuela, one of the wealthiest countries on the planet, has been placed in an economic stranglehold because of its government’s desire to share the riches of the nation with the population rather than allow a small parasitic elite to get fat while their people remain deprived. 

For that commitment, the Americans blocked all loans and credit to Venezuela and sabotaged and destroyed its oil and petroleum sector, thus causing millions to flee their homeland in despair. 

In Honduras, President Xiamara Castro has accused the Americans of attempting to instigate a military coup against her government. In 2009, her husband, Manuel Zelaya, was overthrown in what was described as President Obama’s first coup. 

On top of this is the simmering dispute between the Brazilian government and the American investor and the world’s richest man, Elon Musk. Musk is refusing to accept a decision of the Brazilian judiciary regarding X’s business dealings in Brazil. Musk is no newcomer to confusion and the sowing of strife in other countries. 

In 2019, Evo Morales, Bolivia’s first indigenous leader, was forced from office and exiled after a military coup. Musk was said to be one of the persons behind Morales’ ouster. Bolivia has huge deposits of lithium, a key mineral used in the production of batteries. Musk said then that if a country had minerals his company needed, he was prepared to “coup” or overthrow the legitimate government to gain access and/or control.

There is also a brewing conflict between the American government and Mexico. Last week, the American Ambassador expressed opposition to a proposal by Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, the outgoing Mexican president. The proposal is to hold direct elections for judges in Mexico. The ambassador, Ken Salazar, claimed the proposal “posed a threat to democracy” in Mexico. Never mind, across the United States, judges are routinely elected. Lopez Obrador, in response, said the US has long pursued an interventionist policy throughout the Americas and described Salazar’s comments as “unfortunate, imprudent and disrespectful of Mexico’s national sovereignty”.

Meanwhile, from Sept. 4 to 6, dozens of African leaders gathered in Beijing for the Africa-China Summit to discuss trade, investment, and development. The next BRIC summit will also loom, with Russia acting as host. BRICS originally comprised Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa are rapidly expanding. BRICS represent 45% of the world’s population and 28% of the global GDP. BRICS also holds a significant share of the world’s natural resources, including producing 45% of the world’s oil. Its ultimate goal is to create an alternative economic block to Western institutions and reduce dependence on the US dollar.

As America’s dominance in the world wanes, Washington acts even more aggressively to shore up its imperial ambitions.

*Jomo Sanga Thomas is a lawyer, journalist, social commentator and a former senator and Speaker of the House of Assembly in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

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