by Stephen Lendman

On September 4 and 5, Britain will host a summit meeting of NATO heads of state. NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen will chair the proceedings.

At issue is justifying the unjustifiable. It's doing so based on Big Lies. It's wrongfully accusing Russia of "illegal actions in Ukraine."

It's suppressing polar opposite truths. It's supporting Washington's imperial agenda. It's presenting a unified anti-Russian front.

It's deploying thousands of combat-ready forces closer to Russia's border. It's "sustain(ing) a robust (Eastern European) presence…"

It's risking the unthinkable. It's risking open East/West confrontation. it's risking global war.

It's risking the use of nuclear weapons able to extinguish life on earth. If enacted, Senate bill 2277: Russian Aggression Prevention Act (RAPA) increases the possibility.

It's called "(a) bill to prevent Russian aggression toward Ukraine and other sovereign states in Europe and Eurasia, and for other purposes."

It's madness. It wrongfully considers Russia an existential threat. It barely stops short of declaring war.

It provides "major non-NATO ally status for Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova for purposes of the transfer or possible transfer of defense articles or defense services."

It effectively incorporates these countries into NATO. It makes its killing machine more formidable. It lets Washington establish bases on Russia's borders.

Wrongfully accusing Moscow of invading Ukraine provides added justification for challenging Russia politically, economically and belligerently.

This writer's book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III."

It explains what everyone needs to know. It provides thorough cutting-edge analysis of the gravest geopolitical crisis since WW II.

James Petras called what happened "the biggest power grab since George Bush seized Eastern Europe and converted it into a NATO bastion confronting Russia…"

Paul Craig Roberts accused Washington of "set(ting) the world on a path to war."

Andrew Kolin discussed how Washington's orchestrated coup transformed Ukraine from a democracy to a police state.

Rodney Shakespeare asked if Ukraine is "a turning point in history." Is imperial America "riding for a fall?"

Will it go the way of other empires? Will arrogance, hubris and overreach bring it down? Will a safer, healthier world follow?

Or is WW III more likely? Russia and China prevent US world hegemony, says Paul Craig Roberts.

Unless Washington's longstanding geopolitical ambitions end, "nuclear war is the likely outcome," he believes.

Rick Rozoff explained Ukraine's geostrategic significance of US-led NATO's imperial advance east.

He calls Ukraine "the decisive linchpin in plans by the US and its NATO allies to effect a military cordon sanitaire severing Russia from Europe."

Its NATO membership is planned. At issue is marginalizing, containing and isolating Russia.

It's positioning new NATO bases on its border. It's threatening its security.

It's risking East/West confrontation. Humanity's fate hangs in the balance.

John McMurtry calls conditions in Ukraine "another variation on the great crisis of the world - the undeclared global war of transnational corporate money sequences to multiply themselves through human societies and life on earth in the diagnosable form of an invasive cancer."

What's different is Southeastern Ukrainian resistance. Rejecting fascist repression.

Demanding real democracy. Courageous freedom fighters putting their bodies on the line to achieve it. Risking all for what's too important to lose.

Will Ukraine "be a new turning point against the Great Sickness of our world," McMurtry asked? Or will imperialim's dark side worsen?

The fullness of time will tell. In the meantime, anti-Russian propaganda war rages. Cold War geopolitics never ended.

Since Soviet Russia's 1991 dissolution, Western policy remained hard-wired in place.

Obama and then Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's 2009 "fresh start" "reset" was a convenient illusion.

Putin's overwhelming March 2012 reelection heightened tensions. Relentless bashing followed.

He's public enemy No. 1. He's targeted for supporting multi-world polarity. For defending Russian sovereignty.

For opposing imperial lawlessness. For deploring war. For championing peaceful conflict resolution.

Distinguished contributors make "Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III" must reading.

Its thorough analysis is polar opposite MSM rubbish. Escalating crisis conditions risk global conflict.

Obama bears full responsibility. Complicit EU partners share it. Putin is wrongfully blamed for their crimes.

Washington stops at nothing to advance its imperium. Millions of corpses attest to its barbarity.

Replacing independent governments with subservient pro-Western ones is longstanding US policy.

Washington-supported Kiev putschists staged the most brazen coup since Mussolini’s 1922 march on Rome. Claims otherwise don't wash.

Obama's new friends represent mob rule. They include a rogue's gallery of societal misfits. They're illegitimate putschists.

They're xenophobic, hate-mongering, ultranationalist anti-Semites.

They're militant fascists. Many are neo-Nazi thugs. They openly display swastikas, Iron Crosses, SS insignia, other Nazi symbols and Sieg Heil salutes.

For the first time since WW II, overt fascists have real power. They hold key government posts. They mock democratic values.

Washington elevated them to power. It did so by ousting a democratically elected government.

Rule by intimidation is policy. So is waging dirty war on its own citizens.

Ukraine matters. It’s strategically located. It’s in Europe’s geographic center.

It borders seven countries. They include Belarus, Hungary, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Russia.

After Western/Central Russia, it’s Europe’s largest country territorially.

Kiev putschists reveal fascism's dark side. Ukraine is its re-emergent epicenter.

Ruling authorities want all opposition elements crushed. They want fascist rule institutionalized. They want democracy prevented at all costs.

A Russian “White Book” contains documented hard evidence. It reveals appalling Kiev human rights violations.

It covers them from late November 2013 through March 2014. They include:

(1) Violations of human rights.

(2) Interference by the European Union and United States.

(3) Weapons and violent methods used by protesters.

(4) Restrictions on basic freedoms and crackdown on dissidents.

(5) Discrimination based on ethnic background.

(6) Religious persecution.

According to Moscow's press service, content is "based on reports in the Russian and Western media, as well as statements by representatives of the current Kiev authorities and their supporters, eyewitness testimon(ies), observations and on-site interviews collected by Russian nongovernmental organizations."

A second White Paper covers the period April through July 2014. It calls conditions "aggravated in all areas." They're worse than ever.

Evidence indicts illegitimate putschists. It includes ultranationalist extremists, Nazism’s reemergence, brazen pressure and threats, severe repression, physical violence, and suppressing press freedom.

Kiev fascists banned Russian TV channels. They suppressed independent news sources. They want their message alone getting out.

They harass, beat, and terrorize independent journalists. They brutalize anti-fascist activists.

They're waging war on freedom. They enjoy full US support and encouragement.

No-holds-barred brutality is official policy. Ukraine is unsafe to live in.

It's reminiscent of 1930s Nazi Germany. History has a disturbing way of repeating.

Its core elements are unchanged. They include waging war on freedom. Anti-Semitism is rife.

Thousands of Jews left. Others prepare to do so. They're vulnerable. They're justifiably scared.

Fascism gives no quarter. Things may become as horrific as before. Ukrainians have just cause for concern. They're on their own.

Washington bears full responsibility for conditions. Expect worse ahead, not better.

On Saturday, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso promised "very strong and clear (anti-Russian) measures" without change in Southeastern Ukraine or if conditions worsen.

Barroso lied claiming the "opening of new fronts and the use of Russian regular forces against Kiev. It's "not acceptable and represents a grave transgression," he said.

More sanctions are planned. Washington intends imposing additional ones.

Sergey Lavrov responded, saying:

"It’s not the first time we've heard wild guesses, though facts have never been presented so far."

"There have been reports about satellite imagery exposing Russian troop movements. They turned out to be images from video games. The latest accusations happen to be much the same quality."

"We’ll react by remaining persistent in our policies to stay bloodshed and give a start to the nationwide dialogue and negotiations about the future of Ukraine, with participation of all Ukrainian regions and political forces, something that was agreed upon in Geneva back in April and in Berlin (in August), yet what is being so deliberately evaded by our Western partners now."

"From a military point of view, self-defense militia are doing a very simple thing."

"They are driving Ukrainian troops and National Guards from their positions used to shell peaceful cities, destroying kindergartens, schools, hospitals, Orthodox churches and infrastructure, and killing a large number of civilians."

"Definitely, to stop all this given the conditions of Kiev and its sponsors unwillingness to fulfill unconditional ceasefire obligations, the only way to save lives of civilians and diminish the number of casualties is to force the Kiev forces out of their positions used for bombardment."

Vladimir Putin called on Kiev to begin constructive dialogue. Deescalate conflict, he urged. "We have agreed on a plan, so its realization must be pursued," he said.

Kiev "must immediately start substantial talks - not a technical discussion - on the political organization of society and the state in southeast Ukraine so that the interests of people who live there are protected," he added.

Putin's plan prioritizes constructive peace talks. It's up to Kiev.

At the same time, self-defense freedom fighters won't patiently await what so far hasn't materialized.

Not while Kiev's military bombs and shells their "cities and towns…to the ground…"

Not while innocent civilians are murdered. Not while hundreds of thousands flee for safety. Not while war without mercy rages.

Putin believes it's impossible to know when crisis conditions will end or under what circumstances.

As long as Washington encourages and orchestrates them, expect conditions ahead to worsen, not improve.

Expect Russia to be wrongfully blamed. Expect war without mercy to continue. Expect innocent civilians to suffer most.

Sanctions wars cut both ways. Putin advised his counterparts to reconsider what they're planning.

"What are the so-called European values," he asked? "Support for an armed coup, suppression of opponents with armed forces?"

"So these are 'European values?' I believe our colleagues should be reminded of their own ideals," he added.

Their policies belie their rhetoric. At issue is marginalizing, weakening, isolating, containing and co-opting Russia.

It's smashing its sovereign independence. It's replacing it with pro-Western stooge governance.

It's turning Russia into another US colony. It's stealing its resources. It's exploiting its people. It's eliminating a major rival.

It's isolating China. It's attempting to replicate the same strategy.

It's recklessly pursuing unchallenged global dominance. It's risking global war in the process.

-###-

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.

http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour