Mike Whitney, The Crisis in Ukraine Is Not About Ukraine. It’s About Germany

Mike Whitney

“The primordial interest of the United States, over which for centuries we have fought wars– the First, the Second and Cold Wars– has been the relationship between Germany and Russia, because united there, they’re the only force that could threaten us. And to make sure that that doesn’t happen.” George Friedman, STRATFOR CEO at The Chicago Council on Foreign Affairs

The Ukrainian crisis has nothing to do with Ukraine. It’s about Germany and, in particular, a pipeline that connects Germany to Russia called Nord Stream 2. Washington sees the pipeline as a threat to its primacy in Europe and has tried to sabotage the project at every turn. Even so, Nord Stream has pushed ahead and is now fully-operational and ready-to-go. Once German regulators provide the final certification, the gas deliveries will begin. German homeowners and businesses will have a reliable source of clean and inexpensive energy while Russia will see a significant boost to their gas revenues. It’s a win-win situation for both parties.

The US Foreign Policy establishment is not happy about these developments. They don’t want Germany to become more dependent on Russian gas because commerce builds trust and trust leads to the expansion of trade. As relations grow warmer, more trade barriers are lifted, regulations are eased, travel and tourism increase, and a new security architecture evolves. In a world where Germany and Russia are friends and trading partners, there is no need for US military bases, no need for expensive US-made weapons and missile systems, and no need for NATO.

There’s also no need to transact energy deals in US Dollars or to stockpile US Treasuries to balance accounts. Transactions between business partners can be conducted in their own currencies which is bound to precipitate a sharp decline in the value of the dollar and a dramatic shift in economic power. This is why the Biden administration opposes Nord Stream. It’s not just a pipeline, it’s a window into the future; a future in which Europe and Asia are drawn closer together into a massive free trade zone that increases their mutual power and prosperity while leaving the US on the outside looking in.

Warmer relations between Germany and Russia signal an end to the “unipolar” world order the US has overseen for the last 75 years. A German-Russo alliance threatens to hasten the decline of the Superpower that is presently inching closer to the abyss. This is why Washington is determined to do everything it can to sabotage Nord Stream and keep Germany within its orbit. It’s a matter of survival.

That’s where Ukraine comes into the picture. Ukraine is Washington’s ‘weapon of choice’ for torpedoing Nord Stream and putting a wedge between Germany and Russia. The strategy is taken from page one of the US Foreign Policy Handbook under the rubric: Divide and Rule.

Washington needs to create the perception that Russia poses a security threat to Europe. That’s the goal. They need to show that Putin is a bloodthirsty aggressor with a hair-trigger temper who cannot be trusted. To that end, the media has been given the assignment of reiterating over and over again, “Russia is planning to invade Ukraine.” What’s left unsaid is that Russia has not invaded any country since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, and that the US has invaded or toppled regimes in more than 50 countries in the same period of time, and that the US maintains over 800 military bases in countries around the world. None of this is reported by the media, instead the focus is on “evil Putin” who has amassed an estimated 100,000 troops along the Ukrainian border threatening to plunge all of Europe into another bloody war.

All of the hysterical war propaganda is created with the intention of manufacturing a crisis that can be used to isolate, demonize and, ultimately, splinter Russia into smaller units. The real target, however, is not Russia, but Germany. Check out this excerpt from an article by Michael Hudson at The Unz Review:

“The only way left for U.S. diplomats to block European purchases is to goad Russia into a military response and then claim that avenging this response outweighs any purely national economic interest. As hawkish Under-Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Victoria Nuland, explained in a State Department press briefing on January 27: “If Russia invades Ukraine one way or another Nord Stream 2 will not move forward.” (“America’s Real Adversaries Are Its European and Other Allies”, The Unz Review)

There it is in black and white. The Biden team wants to “goad Russia into a military response” in order to sabotage NordStream. That implies there will be some kind of provocation designed to induce Putin to send his troops across the border to defend the ethnic Russians in the eastern part of the country. If Putin takes the bait, the response would be swift and harsh. The media will excoriate the action as a threat to all of Europe while leaders around the world will denounce Putin as the “new Hitler”. This is Washington’s strategy in a nutshell, and the whole production is being orchestrated with one goal in mind; to make it politically impossible for the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to wave NordStream through the final approval process.

Given what we know about Washington’s opposition to Nord Stream, readers may wonder why earlier in the year the Biden administration lobbied Congress NOT to impose more sanctions on the project. The answer to that question is simple: Domestic politics. Germany is currently decommissioning its nuclear power plants and needs natural gas to make up for the energy shortfall. Also, the threat of economic sanctions is a “turn-off” for Germans who see them as a sign of foreign meddling. “Why is the United States interfering in our energy decisions,” asks the average German. “Washington should mind its own business and stay out of ours.” This is precisely the response one would expect from any reasonable person.

Then, there’s this from Al Jazeera:

“Germans in the majority support the project, it is only parts of the elite and media who are against the pipeline…

“The more the US talks about sanctioning or criticizes the project, the more it becomes popular in German society,” said Stefan Meister, a Russia and eastern Europe expert at the German Council on Foreign Relations.” (“Nord Stream 2: Why Russia’s pipeline to Europe divides the West”, AlJazeera)

So, public opinion is solidly behind Nord Stream which helps to explain why Washington settled on a new approach. Sanctions are not going to work, so Uncle Sam has flipped to Plan B: Create a big enough external threat that Germany will be forced to block the opening of the pipeline. Frankly, the strategy smacks of desperation, but you have to be impressed by Washington’s perseverance. They might be down by 5 runs in the bottom of the 9th, but they haven’t thrown in the towel just yet. They’re going to give it one last shot and see if they can make some headway.

On Monday, President Biden held his first joint-press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at the White House. The ballyhoo surrounding the event was simply unprecedented. Everything was orchestrated to manufacture a “crisis atmosphere” that Biden used to pressure the chancellor in the direction of US policy. Earlier in the week, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki repeatedly said that a “Russian invasion was imminent.” Her comments were followed by State Department flak Nick Price opining that the Intel agencies had provided him with details of an alleged Russian-backed “false flag” operation they expected to take place in the near future in east Ukraine. Price’s warning was followed on Sunday morning by national security advisor Jake Sullivan claiming that a Russian invasion could happen at any time maybe “even tomorrow.” This was just days after Bloomberg News agency had published its sensational and utterly-false headline that “Russia Invades Ukraine”.

Can you see the pattern here? Can you see how these baseless claims were all used to apply pressure to the unsuspecting German chancellor who seemed oblivious to the campaign that was aimed at him?

As one might expect, the final blow was delivered by the American president himself. During the press conference Biden stated emphatically that,

“If Russia invades … there will no longer [be] a Nord Stream 2.. We will bring an end to it.”

So, now Washington sets policy for Germany???

What insufferable arrogance!

The German chancellor was taken aback by Biden’s comments which clearly were not part of the original script. Even so, Scholz never agreed to cancel Nord Stream and refused to even mention the pipeline by name. If Biden thought he could sandbag the leader of the world’s third biggest economy by cornering him in a public forum, he guessed wrong. Germany remains committed to launching Nord Stream regardless of potential flare-ups in far-flung Ukraine. But that could change at any time. After all, who knows what incitements Washington might be planning in the near future? Who knows how many lives they are prepared to sacrifice in order to put a wedge between Germany and Russia? Who knows what risks Biden is willing to take to slow America’s decline and prevent a new “polycentric” world order from emerging? Anything could happen in the weeks ahead. Anything.

For now, Germany is in the catbird seat. It’s up to Scholz to decide how the matter will be settled. Will he implement the policy that best serves the interests of the German people or will he cave in to Biden’s relentless arm twisting? Will he chart a new course that strengthens new alliances in the bustling Eurasian corridor or will he throw his support behind Washington’s crazed geopolitical ambitions? Will he accept Germany’s pivotal role in a new world order— in which many emerging centers of power share equally in global governance and where the leadership remains unflinchingly committed to multilateralism, peaceful development and security for all– or will he try to prop up the tattered post-War system that has clearly outlived its shelf-life?

One thing is certain; whatever Germany decides is bound to affect us all.

Michael Whitney is a renowned geopolitical and social analyst based in Washington State. He initiated his career as an independent citizen-journalist in 2002 with a commitment to honest journalism, social justice and World peace. He is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG).

 

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14 thoughts on “Mike Whitney, The Crisis in Ukraine Is Not About Ukraine. It’s About Germany”

  1. OK, adding to my comment at 7:14 AM…..the idiot-in-chief may have said “Uranian” and not Iranian….but my question would now be, “Where is Urania?”

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  2. The real question my friends is. Is there really an invasion of the Ukraine ? I seriously doubt it and this a just a distraction for the continuous implementation of the WEF Global Reset. As I said at the beginning of the scamdemic,this had nothing to do with a virus.
    The following article is long and concise but helps with understanding the deception being played out in the front of us today.
    https://www.technocracy.news/technocracy-the-operating-system-for-the-new-international-rules-based-order/
    I once attended this symposium online a few years ago with a fair amount of alphabet agencies employees and everyone in the know knew the Russians ain’t hacking us… just our friendly government 😉

    https://cyberpolygon.com/about/

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  3. In this complicated situation, it’s good to remember that it may not be between Biden and Putin at all, they may very well be dancing to the NWO’s tune, playing their parts in a longterm world-domination agenda. For one thing, Biden is not really battling for American interests vis a vis the pipeline; he is a globalist pawn, a teleprompter reader, and a poor one at that. Witness “his” opening of the Southern border: hardly something to benefit America. Two, Putin graduated from the Young Global Leadership program of Klaus Schwab (just like Justin Trudeau, see the similarities and the confluence of game-plans?); and he thus no doubt has several motives, as the NWO always has: one, to strengthen Russia by annexing Ukraine, two, to reap massive profits, power, and control for himself and his support stooges and the NWO, three, to increase a tenser (for being more equal) playing field between East and West (to divide and conquer and reap untold profits and additional control for the NWO military-industrial complex) and, in consonance with the New World Order divide-and-conquer problem-reaction-solution routine, to cause psychological fear and emtional division that allows a global police state security clampdown down the road (and how many of us are now really afraid of Vladimir Putin and his nasty nuclear saber-rattling? oh no the Russian Bear is back!), and all this further distracting us all from the NWO Scamdemic and global pushback currently taking place, and the encroaching NWO global communist transhumanist police state growing all the while. As a Russian, Putin is a longterm chessplayer, just like the NWO, not motivated by anything by the power, profit, and control matrix of himself, his sponsors, and his support team. His only aim is to win the endgame, no matter how many pieces — or people — he has to sacrifice. What is the solution, the only solution available to us as patriots and humanitarians? IMHO, to keep sharing information with humanity that helps expose the plans of the NWO and takes back power to the people. Not an easy task, you will remind me, but what other course is there?

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  4. Russia figures that if the US can war on its own people {Sandy Hook hoax & Boston Marathon Fraud, etc., etc.] then Russia can invade other countries. A morally bankrupt nation such as the US will not interfere with Putin, he can do as he likes.

    A nation of morons like the US has no moral authority in the world.

    File: DEAD children singing at the Super Bowl. Only a sick, depraved nation would ignore this.

    Attachment

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  5. Here is another viewpoint about Russia’s soft invasion of Ukraine from an American in Kiev. I think he is making a boat load of sense. His take is Russia wants to capture Ukraine in tact along with it’s military. So they own the sky and are careful not to destroy civilian infrastructure like water, power and communication utilities. The Russians are also being careful not to harm any civilians. And that Russia could have annihilated the Ukrainian Military already and have not. Check him out.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vdiEABLFoo&t=536s

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    1. Yeah…good stuff….I had posted that before. It makes sense that Putin would use that strategy….especially since he’s not beholden to corporations to rebuild the country, which is the strategy the US uses when it “shocks and awes”, eh? The US may not like that pipeline going through, but they really have no say. Who can blame Putin for protecting resources that Russia would depend upon. Of course, the demented one will hype this up tomorrow night as saving democracy and stopping the “bear”….along with his single handedly stopping the vid. They’ll pump him up with something or possibly use a hologram and maybe even find some way to prop his eyes open….ala AOC..

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    2. An excellent video, Dave. Pardon my continuing verbosity, but it raises a very important point: the Ukrainians now have three options: One, fight the Russian Bear with everything they have, and risk their lives in the process, most likely many thousands of them dying, with very dubious chances of success, as probably the Russians have been so far playing it kind of slow in order to take the Ukraine relatively intact (as expressed by the knowledgeable commentator in the video above, the Russians could have easily won otherwise by destroying the Ukraine’s infrastructure and bombing all opposition into oblivion, a more American-like strategy used in Iraq, rather than long-term encircling their resistance) and if they see civilians with guns, those civilians will easily be vanquished by superior forces and firepower; or Two, capitulate and work on taking back their government and freedoms longterm with superior moral and popular force and eventual infiltration and nonviolent resistance (also risky, but with much less bloodshed and at least in some people’s opinion suggesting the likelihood of more possible longterm success); or three, some combination of the above. Of course, morally the Ukrainians are in the right. The Russians are completely out of line, one could say evil, invading a sovereign democratic state. There is a part of me, not a good part I warrant, that would love to see Russian forces not only totally repelled but even annihilated. But will that happen? And what of the fate of the volunteer resisters in this situation? One million Iraqis died trying to repel American forces earlier in this century. and, once again, as the commentator in this video states, the Russians may easily have been holding back to take the Ukraine relatively intact, but they will not let armed civilians roam about without killing them. Can the Ukrainians patriots win by force of arms? Almost no reputable commentator thinks so; particularly not if the Russians have been slow-playing their hand. Indeed, it is clear that the Ukrainians must now seriously consider which strategy will win longterm. And to remember, that through long-term resistance rather than short-term confrontation, the Iraqis, for example, seem to have won longterm, up to a point. Will other nations leap to their rescue, which has not happened so far, and did not happen in Iraq? What can they do? They are a Christian nation, and It’s not hard to guess which Jesus Christ and Mohandas Gandhi would recommend, violent or nonviolent resistance. But nothing could be more controversial for anyone else to espouse than the Ukrainians themselves. It is their decision and their destiny, live or die, compromise and survive and possibly prevail in the longterm or succumb gloriously, nobly, and tragically in the coming days. Or, once again, the most likely result of all, some combination of the two.

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  6. That’s some intriguing insight. The confusion grows by the day on what’s actually happening. Separating the wheat from the chaff in the alternative media is a full time job. No wonder so many people have permanently tuned out. Perhaps they are better off than main stream news consumers who think they know what’s going on but actually have no clue. I heard someone spouting off in the lift line the other day what NATO needs to do about Ukraine and it was boiler plate news ministry speak.

    Biden’s eyes get more slit like every time I see him appear. Eventually they will just be two little horizontal lines. Is there anything behind those eyes? Maybe he’s been replaced with Westworld life like robot

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    1. BTW, Slitty Eyes, as you mention, Dave, in Chinese and Western face-reading show one who is secretive, introverted, and often capable of any kind of atrocity due to emotional indifference. They can also keep secrets well. Look at the Bushes, father and son, Clint Eastwood and his movies, lots of cops (particularly their administrators), and Creepy Joe Biden, who is clearly an amoral zombie. Then look at artists, actors, and babies, with beautiful wide open receptive and caring eyes. There oughta be a law …

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  7. Now that makes more sense that anything I have read to date. I dare to say that if Trump was here, negotiations would be primary and war off the table. But with Brandon there, war is on the table since the man has no verbal skills and could not negotiate his way out of a bathroom stall. This is not to say I believe we should have any say in the matter, but geopolitics rule and nation states only exist as a distant memory. What a time to have a virtual imbecile at the helm. Russia bad. Ukraine good. Germany the pawn. The puppet show continues. The corporatocracy pulls the strings.

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