by Stephen Lendman

Washington's imperial agenda reflects madness. Overreach may be its undoing. Potential global war threatens everyone. On Tuesday, Obama ended his Asian trip. Confronting China was prioritized. On April 28, Stripes headlined "Obama's Asia trip yields better military ties but no trade concessions," saying:

He returned home "partly successful." In Japan and South Korea, he reaffirmed post-WW II ties.

"In Malaysia, he made strategic inroads in a country that’s long been one of China's closest friends in Southeast Asia."

He firmed up Washington's chokehold colonization over the Philippines. A new 10 year military agreement solidified it. More on it below.

He bragged about stronger than ever US/Asian military alliances. It challenges China provocatively.

Beijing responded diplomatically. Its Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said Washington and China should promote regional peace, stability and security.

He expressed concern about America's Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA). It returns US military forces to the Philippines.

It does so since Washington's Subic Bay naval base and Clark air force base 1992 closure. It invigorates longstanding US/Filipino military ties.

At the same time, it angers China. Obama's claim about not trying to contain Beijing rings hollow. Doing so is official US policy.

China isn't fooled. It intends close monitoring of US words and deeds, said Qin. According to Austrailian-based Southeast Asia expert Aaron Connelly:

"There are aspects of (Obama's Asia) pivot that are clearly being done with an eye toward China."

He was surprised at Beijing's "mild" reaction. At the same time, he knows diplomatic language disguises real concerns.

Nations don't take kindly to military encirclement. They react accordingly. They firm up their own alliances. A Sino/Russian one is formidable. It provides a powerful counterweight.

EDCA terms took months to negotiate. US forces will deploy on a rotational basis. They'll do so on Filipino military bases. Effectively they'll become US ones.

Washington gets greater archipelago access than in over 20 years. Manila's constitutional prohibition against foreign military bases is bypassed.

In 2011, Obama's Asia pivot was announced. Advancing Washington's military footprint is prioritized.

Doing so aggressively is planned. China's growing economic might and military strength are targeted. So is checking Russia at the same time.

Containment is policy. Both countries are formidable rivals. Confronting them militarily is madness.

Obama prioritizes global belligerence. He's cold-blooded about US interests. Advancing America's imperium matters most.

Waging war on humanity reflects it. Targeting Asia escalated regional tensions.

It bears repeating. Challenging Russia and China reflects madness. Doing so risks open confrontation. Washington has been rebalancing for years.

Strategy calls for strengthening military, economic, and political ties with Japan, South Korea, India, Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Myanmar, Malaysia, Taiwan, Singapore and Vietnam.

It involves undermining Chinese and Russian influence. It's about isolating them regionally. It's about weakening them.

It's about asserting US dominance over territories and waters not it own. Doing so risks flashpoints. Small disputes risk greater ones.

WW I and II echoes remain audible. Never again is possible. Challenging Russia and China militarily risks the unthinkable.

It bears repeating. US policy reflects madness. Obama's Asia pivot risks the worst possible outcome. His strategy involves much more than meets the eye.

It reflects longstanding US hegemonic ambitions. It prioritizes whatever it takes to achieve them.

Obama's trip accomplished multiple objectives. American troops are returning to the Philippines.

Hardline Japanese Prime Minister Sinzo Abe sidestepped his constitution. Article 9 renounces belligerence. It affirms international peace.

It prohibits Tokyo's Self-Defense Forces from waging war. It states:

"Aspiring sincerely to an international peace based on justice and order, the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes."

"To accomplish the aim of the preceding paragraph, land, sea, and air forces, as well as other war potential, will never be maintained."

"The right of belligerency of the state will not be recognized."

Obama backs Japan's East China Sea Senkaku/Diaoyu islands dispute. It guarantees military support.

South Korean President Park Geun-hye agreed to effective US control over half a million Seoul military forces.

Both leaders agreed to boost their military alliance. Doing so provocatively targets China.

Malaysia is not a formal US ally. According to National Security Council (NSC) advisor Evan Medeiros:

Seoul's "very substantial and very robust joint statement by the US government and the government of Malaysia about our position on the South China Sea."

"Very significantly in the joint statement, they actually came out in support of the principle of international arbitration, which has been a subject of some diplomatic wrangling in recent months as the Philippines has sought to pursue an arbitration case regarding its disputes with China.”

Washington one-sidedly backs Manila. It does so in disputes with China. Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak "welcome(d) America's rebalancing toward Asia."

He affirmed greater "military-to-military cooperation," he said. It reflects a more "comprehensive partnership."

Doing so harms Kuala Lumpur's self-interest. Getting in bed with the devil assures trouble. For sure it undermines regional stability.

Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu expressed concern about Washington encroaching on Russia's borders.

He stressed Western anti-Russian hysteria. It escalates tensions. US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel lied.

He claimed Washington's increasing Eastern European presence has nothing to do with targeting Russia.

It's about strengthening Eastern European allies defensive might, he said. Why so without enemies he didn't explain.

At the same time, Shoygu categorically denied sending Russian agents to Ukraine. No "subversive actions" are planned, he stressed.

Claims otherwise are groundless, he said. Making them undermines stability.

Russia's Defense Ministry wants to discuss Ukrainian crisis conditions responsibly with Pentagon officials.

So far they stonewalled responding. Washington deplores constructive dialogue. Compromise is out of the question. Hegemons operate this way.

On April 29, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov pointed fingers the right way. He blamed Washington and Western partners.

He did so for backing Kiev putschists. Moscow rejects them. They lack legitimacy.

He "denounce(d) sanctions in all their forms, including those that have been announced by the United States and the EU against all common sense due to events in Ukraine."

"We insist on immediate resolution through all-Ukrainian national dialogue," he added.

Since Ukrainian crisis conditions erupted, Lavrov went all-out to resolve them diplomatically. So did Putin and other Russian officials.

Washington spurned their best efforts. Rogue EU allies were bullied to go along. Unresolved conflict festers. It risks spinning out-of-control.

Coop-appointed Kiev defense minister Mykhailo Koval said military conscription could be reestablished.

"The army will be professional," he said. "This is the future of the Armed Forces."

"But now the Armed Forces are not ready for this. Therefore we might have to return 21-23-years-old men for a while, and they will serve the state."

Deescalating crisis conditions should be prioritized. Washington's imperial agenda undermines doing so.

Ukraine remains potential ground zero for the unthinkable. Obama bears full responsibility. He shows no signs of backing off.

A Final Comment

The Daily Beast is a neocon front publication. On April 29, it headlined "Kerry: US Taped Moscow's Calls to its Ukraine Spies," saying:

He "claimed in a private meeting that the US intelligence community has recordings of pro-Russian forces being managed by government handlers in Moscow."

"The United States has proof that the Russian government in Moscow is running a network of spies inside eastern Ukraine because the US government has recordings of their conversations," he said.

"Intel is producing taped conversations of intelligence operatives taking their orders from Moscow and everybody can tell the difference in the accents, in the idioms, in the language."

"We know exactly who's giving those orders. We know where they are coming from."

"It's not an accident that you have some of the same people identified who were in Crimea and in Georgia and who are now in east Ukraine."

"This is insulting to everybody's intelligence, let alone to our notions about how we ought to be behaving in the 21st century."

"It's thuggism. It's rogue state-ism. It's the worst order of behavior."

It bears repeating. Kerry mocks legitimacy. He shames the office he holds. He's a world class scoundrel.

He's been caught red-handed lying numerous times before. He's at it again.

Fact: No evidence suggests Russian Ukrainian crisis conditions involvement.

Fact: Plenty indicts Washington.

Fact: Kerry can't name names because none exist.

Fact: So-called taped phone calls are fake.

Fact: Washington bears full responsibility for Ukrainian crisis conditions.

Fact: Blaming Russia reflects bald-faced lies.

Kerry lies read like bad fiction. He repeats them ad nauseam. They wore thin long ago. He makes more enemies than friends doing so. He mocks his own legitimacy in the process.

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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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