by Stephen Lendman

The self-styled "indispensable nation" wages shameless political and economic war on Russia.

It bullies other nations to support its imperial agenda, or else. It bludgeons nonbelievers.

It wages permanent wars of aggression on humanity, It blames victims for its high crimes.

No nation in world history did more harm to more people over a longer duration than America. Without Soviet Russia's enormous contribution and sacrifices, Hitler might have won WW II.

Gratitude isn't Washington's long suit. Russia bashing continues relentlessly.

May 9 marks the 70th anniversary of what Russians call the Great Patriotic War.

It represents victory over Nazi Germany. It honors millions of Russians killed defending the Motherland.

It's an important day in world history. Kremlim officials invited 68 world leaders to participate in this year's commemoration.

As of March 17, 26 confirmed their attendance. "As for the participation of European leaders, this is being influenced by current US actions and aggressive forces inside the EU," Sergey Lavrov explained.

"The decision by German Chancellor Angela Merkel to come to Moscow will particularly help to undermine the anti-Russian campaign," he added.

"In which particular way she will participate is still to be determined."

Reportedly she'll skip May 9 commemorations. She'll arrive a day late. Why she hasn't explained.

She'll join Vladimir Putin laying wreaths at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Polish, Latvian, Lithuanian and Estonian presidents declined Putin's invitation. So did Obama claiming he's too busy to come.

Britain's David Cameron and European Council President Donald Tusk won't attend. France's Francois Hollande hasn't yet said whether or not he'll come.

All countries involved in defeating Nazi Germany were invited. They should feel obligated and honored to attend.

Invitations were sent in December. According to Putin aide Yuri Ushakov:

"Naturally, all countries which participated in the anti-Hitler coalition are invited."

"In addition, our closest allies as well as our partners, largest and most influential, including the BRICS states" got invitations.

Some nations accepted immediately. Others haven't yet responded. It’s unclear how many declined. Expect heavy US pressure to take its toll.

It's hard imagining Ukraine showing up. Porosehenko is a US-installed billionaire stooge. Illegitimate prime minister Yatsenyuk is a caricature of a leader.

In January, he reinvented history. He shocked German ARD TV viewers claiming "all of us still clearly remember the Soviet invasion into Ukraine and Germany."

"We need to avoid (repeating) it. Nobody has the right to rewrite the results of the Second World War. Russia's President Putin is trying to do exactly this."

On June 22, 1941, around four million Wehrmacht troops invaded Soviet Russia along multiple fronts.

It was called the largest invasion in the history of warfare. Driven by Hitler's quest for lebensraum. His obsession for conquest.

Fascists running Ukraine resemble their Nazi predecessors. So do neocon lunatics infesting Washington.

Obama's May 9 Moscow absence won't go unnoticed. On March 16, Putin denounced efforts to rewrite WW II history - substituting cynical Big Lies for hard truths.

Bashing Russia instead of offering high praise. No country sacrificed more for victory.

Millions of Russians paid with their lives to defeat fascism's scourge - now reemergent in Europe's heartland for the first time since its May 1945 defeat.

Will another Great Patriotic War need to be fought to eliminate it once and for all? Will humanity survive if it's waged?

Will Big Lies keep drowning out hard truths to bash Russia irresponsibly? Putin commented forthrightly saying:

"I reject these shameless conclusions and so called observations that have nothing to do with the truth."

"Their objective is clear. They want to undermine the power and moral authority of modern Russia and deprive it of the winner nation status with all consequences that would follow in international law."

"They want to divide peoples and instigate conflicts among them, to use historical lies in geopolitical games."

"(T)hey keep testing our society for maturity and unity and for the strength of our historical traditions and the connection between generations."

Russia's "task…is to calmly reply to these challenges on the basis of citizens' support and active cooperation."

"This is our victory, our history, which we'll vigorously defend from the lies and oblivion."

In January, Putin spoke on the 70th anniversary of Soviet Russia's liberation of Auschwitz.

He called attempts to hide Nazi war crimes "inadmissible and immoral."

Guilty parties try hiding their collaboration with Hitler. "Behind these attempts often lies the desire to hide one’s own disgrace, the disgrace of cowardice, hypocrisy and treachery, the intent to justify the direct or indirect collaboration with Nazism," Putin explained.

"In places where they imprint the ideas of ethnic and moral supremacy into people’s heads, where they destroy or scoff at human values, civilization is being quickly and inevitably replaced by barbarity."

Modern-day Nazism headquartered in Washington replaced Hitler's scourge. Permanent wars of aggression define it.

Putin highlighted Kiev forces committing cold-blooded murder in Donbass. History has a disturbing way of repeating.

This time perhaps with nuclear bombs. Humanity may not survive the onslaught.

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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.

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