by Stephen Lendman

Ukraine is the most serious post-WW II geopolitical crisis. At risk is escalated East/West confrontation. Possible global war.

Obama bears full responsibility. Complicit EU partners share it. America goes all-out to advance its imperium.

Millions of corpses attest to its barbarity. Replacing independent governments with subservient pro-Western stooge ones is longstanding US policy.

Washington-supported Kiev putschists staged the most brazen coup d'etat since Mussolini's 1922 march on Rome.

Ukraine is the epicenter of European fascist reemergence. Hardline rule masquerades as democracy. Elections are farcical when held. Illegitimate by any standard.

Donbas freedom fighters reject fascist rule. For good reason. For democratic rights everyone deserves. Ones Kiev rejects.

Naked aggression launched last April continues. Violating core international law. Geneva and Minsk ceasefire terms.

Heading toward escalated confrontation. Oligarch president Petro Poroshenko vows "full-scale war. (B)etter prepared than five months ago," he said.

At the same time, ludicrously claiming he wants peace. While waging genocidal war. Murdering his own citizens in cold blood. Non-combatant civilians.

Governing illegitimately. Extrajudicially. Established by force. Run by ultranationalist neo-Nazis. Banning opposing views.

Substituting fascist dictatorship for democracy. Obama's new friends are thugs. He and Putin met in Brisbane. On the G20 sidelines.

Calling his interaction "businesslike and blunt." Shamelessly telling Putin "to take a different path…(T)o resolve the issue of Ukraine in a way that respects (its) sovereignty and is consistent with international law."

Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Victoria Nuland admitted Washington spent around $5 billion sabotaging Ukrainian democracy over the past 20 years.

Lying. Calling it "democracy promotion…We stand with the people of Ukraine," she claimed.

Caught red-handed on tape. Months earlier. Urging regime change. Discussing it with US Ukraine ambassador Geoffrey Pyatt.

Circulated widely on You Tube earlier. Damning evidence of Washington's dark side.

Its quest for global dominance. No matter the human cost. Regional instability. Greater conflict. Possible war with Russia. Potentially catastrophic if happens.

US-led NATO risks the unthinkable. On Thursday, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg visited Estonia's Amari airbase.

Stressing Alliance solidarity. "NATO’s greatest responsibility is to protect and defend our Allies," he said. "And NATO is here to protect and defend Estonia."

From nonexistent threats. Lying about "a growing number of Russian flights near our airspace. Including here in the Baltics."

Calling them "dangerous and provocative." Saying NATO is "resolve(d) to defend all Allies against any threat."

Separately lying about Russian troops massed on Ukraine's border. Including "troops, material, artillery and very modern air defense systems."

Saying what doesn't exist is "a serious military buildup…(Calling on) Russia to withdraw its troops."

Earlier accusing Moscow of invading Ukraine. Citing no corroborating evidence. None exists.

On November 19, Russia's Foreign Ministry said Kiev uses banned weapons in Donbas civilian neighborhoods. Chemical and incendiary ones. Cluster bombs.

"The Russian Investigative Committee continues a criminal investigation into the use of prohibited means and methods of warfare in the conflict in Ukraine," it said.

Stop NATO reported Alliance "Train(ing) (a) Strike Force for Article 5 War-Fighting In Europe."

High-intensity combat drills. Testing "NATO's ability to coordinate and execute (its) Collective Defence operation in a multinational environment."

At the behest of any member, Articles 4 or 5 can be invoked.

Article 4 calls for members to “consult together whenever, in the opinion of any of them, the territorial integrity, political independence, or security of any” is threatened.

Article 5 considers an armed attack (real or otherwise) against one or more members, an attack against all. Calling for collective self-defense.

An earlier article said waging war is easy. Instigate provocative incidents. Blame them on targeted countries.

False flags work as planned. So do Big Lies. Repeated enough times to get most people to believe them.

Fear-mongering persists. Nonexixtent threats are hyped. So is claiming good v. evil. Mix well with misinformation and duplicity.

Sun Tzu was right. Wars depend on deception. Big Lies. Modern technology makes it easy.

Churchill said lies get halfway around the world before truths get their pants on. Global communication today is instant.

Proliferating hawkish information is as simple as ready, aim, fire. US-led NATO threatens world peace.

Encroaching on Sino/Russian borders. Surrounding both countries with US bases. Pentagon commanders call NATO an "effective tool for the projection of US force worldwide."

Imagine if Russia had bases in Canada and/or Mexico. Patrolled America's Gulf with warships. Its East and West coasts.

Provocatively overflew border areas. Washington would consider it a cause for war. The unthinkable could follow.

America deplores peace and stability. Wages one war premeditated war of aggression after another. So-called "long war" according to Pentagon strategists.

Post-9/11, Dick Cheney warned of them not ending in our lifetime. GWH Bush's New World Order notion.

Attacking, ravaging, destroying, colonizing, and pillaging one country after another. Without mercy. Might justifying right. Monied interests alone benefitting.

Terrorism is what they do, not us. Reasons for imperial wars are suppressed. Sacrificing human lives and freedoms are small prices to pay. Humanity is at risk but who cares.

Media scoundrels aid and abet US crimes. Marching in lockstep with what demands condemnation.

Big Lies substitute for hard truths. Peace a convenient illusion. Democracy pure fantasy.

Ukraine is in the eye of the storm. Washington wants all former Soviet republics and Warsaw Pact countries co-opted into NATO.

Ukraine its crown jewel. Eastern resistance threatens Obama’s imperial project. Preserving it requires crushing it.

At risk is spilling things cross border. It bears repeating. The unthinkable could follow.

Russia's OSCE ambassador warned about Kiev troops mobilized "along the dividing line." In Donbas.

Separating forces from both sides. Raising "the suspicion that the Ukrainian side is preparing a large-scale lightening attack."

Kiev's war tax raised $93 million. Used for weapons and munitions. Supplementing what Washington and other countries supply.

Moscow has reason for concern. Putin spokesman was clear and unequivocal, saying:

"We want our counterparts to know we have our red lines and they can’t cross these lines.”

He accused Western countries of ousting Ukraine's legitimate government. Replacing it with fascist putschists.

In late October, Putin said Washington supports "dubious" Ukrainian groups.

Ranging from "open neo-fascists to Islamic radicals." IS, Nusra Front, Al-Qaeda and likeminded groups. Using them as US proxies.

"Why do they support such people," he asked? "They do this because they decide to use them as instruments along the way in achieving their goals, but then burn their fingers and recoil."

America's goal is unchallenged unipolarity, he said. Serving its own interests. At the expense of others.

Rejecting peaceful conflict resolution. Kiev operating the same way. Poroshenko and putschist prime minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk ruling out negotiations with Donbas freedom fighters.

Opting for continued war. Heading toward full-scale. Greater mass slaughter. Poroshenko threatening Russia with "total war."

Fascists operate this way. On Wednesday, Kiev's deputy UN envoy, Andrei Tsymbalyuk, ludicrously claiming its Donbas military operation complies with international law obligations.

Calling premeditate naked aggression "an anti-terrorist operation. (F)ully compl(ying) with the United Nations Charter and meets Ukraine's liabilities under international law, including human rights norms, refugee rights and international humanitarian law."

At the same time, wrongfully accusing "one of Ukraine's neighbors (with) violating its obligations in the sphere of anti-terrorism fight."

Triggering Donbas destabilization. In response, Russia's deputy UN envoy Yebgeny Zagainov criticized "inappropriate intimations and interpretations."

Calling on Security Council members "for constructive participation in the discussion on the agenda but not to replicate such fabrications."

Russia's Foreign Ministry information and press department deputy head, Maria Zakharova, accused US-led NATO of demonstratively ignor(ing) Russia's consistent efforts to stabilize the situation in Ukraine…"

"(W)orsening social and economic situation in the southeast of this country and its de-facto blockade by the Kiev government."

Ignoring Kiev high crimes against peace. Lying about Russia's involvement.

"We are convinced that responsible international players should avoid making statements and estimates that are not based on facts, even if they are guided by timeserving and narrow geopolitical interests," she added.

Last week, Stoltenberg lied about Russian involvement in Ukraine. Deploying troops cross-border.

Planning full-scale invasion. Citing no corroborating evidence. None exists.

On April 1, US-led NATO suspended cooperation with Russia. Over Ukraine. Maintaining minimum ambassadorial and other high-level contacts.

Blaming Moscow for Kiev high crimes. Washington's direct involvement.

Previous articles saying swarms of CIA, FBI and other US elements infest Kiev. Directing policy. Supporting naked aggression.

Moscow categorically rejects claims of involvement in Ukraine. Including supplying Donbas freedom fighters with weapons and munitions.

It doesn't matter. Big Lies persist. Putin bashing is standard practice. Ignoring his overwhelming homeland popularity.

For good reason. Defending Russia's interests responsibly. Straight talk on Washington's imperial ambitions. Refusing to succumb to its influence.

Washington Post editors lied. Accusing him of "graft, cronyism, paranoia and resentment at Moscow's diminished post-Soviet stature."

Relying on "propaganda." For "control, influence and intimidation." Claiming "Western-style journalism and the free flow of news are anathema."

WaPo is a lying machine for the manufacture of Big Lies. Like other US media scoundrels

Burying hard truths on issues mattering most. Substituting managed news misinformation.

Repeatedly. Consistently. Disgracefully. Putin is public enemy No. 1. No matter his championing peace and stability. Going all-out for them.

Stressing mutual cooperation with all countries. Observing rule of law principles.

It doesn't matter. Media scoundrels bash him relentlessly. Anti-Russian propaganda rages. Relentlessly. Shamelessly. Irresponsibly.

Neocons infest Washington. Hugely influencing policymaking. US wars on humanity persist. Threatening world peace. The battle for Ukraine's soul continues.

-###-

Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

His new book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks World War III".

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html

Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com.

Listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network.

It airs three times weekly: live on Sundays at 1PM Central time plus two prerecorded archived programs.