by Stephen Lendman

Permanent war is official US policy. At issue is unchallenged global dominance.

All independent governments are targeted. Eliminating them is prioritized. So is replacing them with pro-Western puppet states.

Ukraine is Exhibit A. Obama bears full responsibility for ousting its democratically elected government. Elevating illegitimate fascist putschists to power followed.

Sham May elections will be farcical when held. Here's an example showing why.

Oleg Tsarev is a presidential aspirant. He's a former Yanukovych-led Party of Regions people's deputy.

On April 7, he was lawlessly expelled. During months of US-manipulated violent Maidan protests, he forthrightly opposed them.

He participated in a Svoboda Slova talk show. After finishing, neo-Nazi Right Sector thugs attacked him. They brutally beat him. He's hospitalized in critical condition.

His candidacy stands. He won't withdraw, he said. Washington ignored what happened. So did other Western countries. Media scoundrels buried the story. Russia bashing takes precedence.

Russian Foreign Ministry human rights commissioner Konstantin Dologov noted a "shy (Western) silence."

Presidential candidate Mikahil Dobkin participated on the same program. En route, Right Sector thugs confronted him.

They blocked his car. They damaged it. They attacked his aides. Dobkin explained on air.

He and Tsarvev are independent candidates. Ruling putschists intend having one of their own become president.

Rigged voting assures it. Opposition elements aren't tolerated. Tsarvev's treatment reveals their dark side. Police states operate this way.

Last weekend, CIA director John Brennan held secret talks in Kiev. Russian media said he arrived under an assumed name.

He held "a series of secret meetings." He did so with Obama's new friends. They're fascist thugs. They're societal misfits.

They represent mob rule. They have no legitimacy whatever. It doesn't matter. They enjoy full US support.

Washington belatedly confirmed Brennan's visit. White House press secretary Jay Carney lied claiming his arrival was "part of a trip to Europe."

"Senior level visits of intelligence officials are a standard means of fostering mutually beneficial security cooperation," he added.

CIA elements operate disruptively. They're not good will ambassadors. Their history reflects dozens of lawless operations.

Brennan came to plot war strategy. He wants Eastern Ukrainian freedom fighters attacked. He wants them eliminated. He wants them slaughtered in cold blood.

He wants challengers to Washington's imperium crushed. He risks civil war in Ukraine. He risks potential East/West confrontation. Putin is obligated to protect Russian nationals.

Weeks earlier, he issued a statement, saying:

"Due to the emergency situation in Ukraine and a threat being posed to the lives of Russian nationals, our compatriots, and the Russian military contingent stationed in Ukraine (the Autonomous Republic of Crimea) in compliance with international agreements, I ask the Federation Council for permit to use Russian armed forces on the territory of Ukraine until social and political situation in the country stabilizes."

Under Article 102 of Russia's Constitution, upper house Federation Council members are responsible for deciding whether to deploy government troops externally.

On March 1, they voted unanimously to do so. They won't let their nationals go unprotected. Nor will Putin.

On April 14, Sergei Lavrov was clear and unequivocal saying:

"If the authorities in Kiev use force, our entire cooperation on the Ukrainian issue will be undermined. We have let this known to our Western partners."

"Here is what is in line with Russian interests - an integral, united, brotherly Ukraine friendly to us, in which citizens live calmly," he added.

"This can be achieved solely by carrying out a deep constitutional reform, in which all political forces without an exception and all Ukrainian regions should participate on an equal basis."

"We support the stance of the southeast…Western hypocrisy over Ukraine is blown out of proportion."

Kiev's "decision to apply military force is an extremely dangerous development."

"Those, who encourage such actions in Kiev should be held responsible to the full extent."

He means Washington and rogue Western partners without naming them.

Ukraine is Russia's red line. Putin stressed it earlier. He forthrightly supports right over wrong. He's viciously bashed for doing so.

Russia's permanent NATO representative Alexander Grushko said Moscow will act responsibly to protects its interests.

Russia "exited the Cold War and has no intention to return there," he said. "At the same time, we will take into account in our military planning any possible changes in NATO forces and configurations and, if necessary, will take necessary measures in the interests of ensuring our security."

US-led NATO countries alone threaten world peace. Challenging Russia recklessly is official policy. Escalating conflict in Ukraine risks letting things spin out-of-control.

Obama risks doing it. He appears headed for war. Institutionalized recklessness threatens everyone. Confronting him resolutely matters.

Stopping him matters most. Putin most of all needs to do so. If not him, who? Humanity's fate hangs in the balance.

On April 15, illegitimate putschist president Aleksander Turchynov announced an "anti-terrorism operation" launched in northern Donetsk region.

Overnight Monday it began, he said. He lied claiming it's "to protect the citizens of Ukraine." It's being conducted "stage-by-stage," he said.

A video clip showed Rodinskoye residents stopping a tank en route to engage peaceful protesters.

Putschist National Security and Defense Council head Andrey Parubiy said first battalion National Guard forces "comprised of volunteers from Maidan self-defense troops" were deployed to southeast Ukraine.

Earlier Turchynov proposed having so-called UN peacekeepers involved. Ones he has in mind are regime-supporting paramilitary thugs. The kind Washington endorses.

Lavrov categorically condemned using them. He called doing so "totally unacceptable." Security Council authorization is needed to send them. Russia's veto threat assures blocking deploying them.

Brennan plotted with Turchynov and other regime thugs to wage war. Apparently it started. Neo-Nazi Right Sector thugs are involved. Widespread bloodshed is likely.

On Monday, Putin urged Obama to prevent it. Doing so fell on deaf ears. A Kremlin statement following their conversation said:

"In response to the president of the United States' expressed concern about Russia's supposed meddling in southeastern Ukraine, the president of Russia noted that such speculations are based on inaccurate information."

Kiev putschists bear full responsibility for Eastern Ukrainian resistance. They're unwilling and unable "to take into account the interests of the Russian and Russian-speaking population," it added.

Obama criticized Putin. He wants Ukrainian freedom fighters crushed. He lied about Russian troops mobilized on Ukraine's border. He told Putin to withdraw what doesn't exist.

Putin stressed involving "all political forces in the country, creating a federalized state and guaranteeing Ukraine's nonaligned status."

His press secretary Dmitry Peskov said Kremlin authorities got repeated pleas from Eastern Ukrainians for protection.

"He is getting a lot of appeals addressed personally to him, asking him to intervene in one way or another. He is monitoring the situation in Ukraine with great concern."

On April 15, cited witnesses claiming a downed Ukrainian warplane. Government "armored vehicles…entered the city of Slavyansk in the eastern Ukrainian Donetsk Oblast," it said.

Local media reported "500 servicemen, 20 armored personnel carriers (APCs), buses and other vehicles."

According to acting mayor Vyacheslav Ponomaryov, Slavyansk is reportedly surrounded.

Kiev-appointed illegitimate mayor Nelli Shtepa lied claiming looters terrorized city residents.

Ponomaryov said she willfully spreads disinformation. She's part of the problem. She's not the solution.

"(S)he betrays her own city," said Itar Tass. She "fled Slavyansk the day before." The city appears calm.

"No cases of riots or looting (were) registered since" federalization protests began.

"Most shops, clinics and a hospital work in line with (their) ordinary schedule."

"Classes in schools and kindergartens (were) suspended. Slavyansk residents move around the city easily."

Public transport keeps running. Restrictions limit private cars from entering city center areas.

Anti-putschist protesters said Kiev forces seized Kramatorsk's airfield.

"They started negotiating with the people's militia, which is in control of the airfield. The shooting started unexpectedly."

"There are injured among the people's militia, and there may be deaths," they said.

Other militia members blocked Kramatorsk's entrance. They're ready to defend their city. They control it.

"We were forced out of the airfield," they said. They won't let Kiev troops inside their city. A bloody confrontation may follow.

General Vasily Krutov is Ukrainian Security Bureau (SBU) first deputy head. Putschists put him in charge of Anti-Terrorist Center operations. He's leading them against protesters.

He warned them to lay down arms. Otherwise they'll be attacked. They'll be "destroyed," he said.

He lied claiming hundreds of Russian Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) elements involved.

Putin's press secretary Dmitry Pushkov responded, saying:

"These are absurd statements. There are no Russian troops there. The president and the foreign minister have spoken about it."

"We can only be startled by the fact that all these statements made by the Russian side are deliberately chosen not to be heard."

Truth is systematically silenced. Big Lies block them out. Moscow calls ordering attacks on anti-regime protesters "criminal."

Jay Carney lied. He accused Russia of "provocative actions."

"I can assure you that Russia's provocations - further transgressions and provocations - will come with a cost," he said.

"And I'm not here to specify what cost will come from which specific action, but there have already been costs imposed on Russia; there will be further costs imposed on Russia."

State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Washington stands ready to impose sanctions on more individuals and entities.

She named financial services, energy, metals, mining, engineering and defense sectors. Doing so cuts both ways.

Russia and China plan mutual trade in their own currencies. Doing so will greatly impact dollar strength. Other countries may follow suit.

America is vulnerable. Chickens eventually come home to roost. Maybe sooner expected. Perhaps with major impact.

It's long past time America got its comeuppance. No nation in world history is more ruthless. None more lawless. None more reckless.

None more venal. None more run by criminals masquerading as politicians. None more controlled by monied interests.

None more contemptuous of democratic values. None more recklessly out-of-control.

None more responsible for human misery globally. None more threatening humanity's survival.

Stopping this monster's rampaging matters most. Replacing it with responsible governance. Holding its criminal elements responsible.

Survival depends on it. American tyranny is by far the world's most dangerous. Resisting it is a moral imperative. If not now, when? If not us, who? If that's not reason enough to act, what is?

A Final Comment

Days earlier, Putin addressed 18 EU leaders. He did so by letter. He did responsibly. He called for urgent cooperation. He discussed Ukraine's gas debt.

It's been unpaid for three months. He wants addressing it prioritized. Failure to do so risks cutting off supplies.

Poland's Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said European officials planned a joint Monday response.

European Commission chairman Jose Manuel Barroso requested it. He'll deliver it in person in Moscow.

It'll address issues Putin raised. EU members stress "preserving unity in relations with the Russians," Sikorski said.

On Monday, Itar Tass discussed what Moscow wants EU officials to say. Russia's permanent EU representative Vladimir Chizhov said four-power April 17 Geneva talks depend on it.

He's unimpressed with what EU officials sent. Their document

contains many issues, he said. "(B)ut I would like to pay attention to what it lacks."

"Unfortunately, it does say a word, gives no assessment to actions of Kiev authorities which are prepared to throw not only eastern Ukraine, but also the whole country in turmoil of the civil war."

"(T)he EU Council conclusions condemned only some armed elements in eastern Ukrainian cities who allegedly try to destabilise that country."

"The fact that those who seized power in Kiev in an armed coup consistently destabilise Ukraine by their actions is not mentioned in the document."

"It also contains the scope of wordings biased and unjust for Russia's policy towards Ukrainian crisis up to a demand that is already absolutely unacceptable and is not just interference in domestic affairs, but also domestic lawmaking."

It wants Putin's authorization to use troops to protect Russian nationals cancelled. It wants Western-backed Ukrainian forces given free reign to attack their own people.

"As for practical consequences, this document is purely political which we will certainly take into account, but mostly important is that what will be happening…in Ukraine in next few days and even hours."

"Appeals and vigorous statements over a four-party meeting in Geneva this Thursday sound certainly optimistic, but it is clear that if the situation in Ukraine grows in(to) a massive bloodshed, there will be nothing to discuss with the so-called acting Ukrainian foreign minister."

Incendiary conditions exist. Mass slaughter may follow. It bears repeating. Washington bears full responsibility. Brennan authorized full-scale conflict. It's early stages appear underway.

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

His new book is titled "Banker Occupation: Waging Financial War on Humanity"

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

Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com

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