Thursday, March 6, 2014

The Ukraine Discussion has Fingers Pointed at Russia, but what if the Ukraine Scenario Was Started by U.S. & European Special Interests (And George Soros) to Block Russia’s Ability to Freely Move Gas & Oil to Global Markets?




The Ukraine Discussion has Fingers Pointed at Russia, but what if the Ukraine Scenario Was Started by U.S. & European Special Interests (And George Soros) to Block Russia’s Ability to Freely Move Gas & Oil to Global Markets?
Today's News, World 
By Eric Odom
March 4, 2014
By Eric Odom
The title of this post is fairly provocative and while I’m no professional analyst, nor do I claim to have a good grasp on the underlying realities happening “under the hood” in Ukraine, there is a long line of evidence that suggest something rather sinister is at work that most media refuses to report on. If you get the bulk of your news from CNN, Fox News or one of the other major media hubs, you’ll find the media world wants us all to believe a bunch of innocent and passionate citizens of Ukraine had enough and overthrew their President. But if you actually take the time to dig a little deeper you’ll find it’s not at all this simple. In fact, the entire scenario may very well have been staged by U.S. and European interests vs. Russian interests as part of the great global energy wars.

Before I get to the evidence I mentioned above, take a moment to watch this clip of John Bolton, former U.S. Ambassador to the UN talking about the middle east wars the U.S. has constantly been dragged in to.

WAR FOR OIL & GAS

Here’s the quote should you have missed it in the video.

The critical oil and natural gas producing region that we fought so many wars to try and protect our economy from the adverse impact of losing that supply or having it available only at very high prices.
 
Consider me a late-comer to the “war for oil” reality club. Better late than never, I suppose. But I’m now firmly of the opinion most middle eastern wars are over the control of oil. Not about chemical weapons, not about dictators and not about helping people controlled by awful leaders of these nations. It’s about the control of oil and the ability to access it at low costs. I know, many of my long time readers are probably thinking… you’re just now getting it? It’s not that I didn’t see it before. I think it’s just a natural refusal to believe men can be this evil and greedy, placing financial reward and survival of certain economies above the value of life.

I believe these wars happened as a result of two very different perspectives. One is a perspective of people like John Bolton and others who truly believe in protecting the interests of the US economy at all costs. Some call them Neocons. I think Neocon is an outdated label and I won’t use it here. But while I disagree with the “end justifies the means” actions of leaders like Bolton, I don’t harbor hatred towards them and sort of understand where they’re coming from. I’ve met guys like Bolton and I think they sincerely believe they are/were put in position of protecting Americans via our global interests. I think their chosen processes were abhorrent in many instances, but their intentions were not solely motivated by money and greed.

The second perspective is much more evil. The contractors and corporations that benefit from middle eastern/central asian wars don’t want it to end. In fact, the more unrest we have in the middle east, the better their potential future profits become. Ultimately, the companies and contractors want total domination over the energy supply and the ability to move the supply from source to market.

Two different perspectives and players are involved here, but both have the same goal. Complete control over cheap energy and the ability to move it unchecked.

Now before we get to Ukraine, let’s look at some maps/images provided by Washington’s Blog.

Here’s a closer look at the network of the main pipelines delivering gas/oil through the middle east to global markets.

Now let’s focus in on Ukraine’s pipeline network… zoomed in from the image above. Keep in mind 33% of Europe’s gas comes from Russia via Ukraine’s pipelines.

Let me point out one more image of note.


How ironic is it that our CIA has been running guns through the Middle East for years and years, essentially fueling wars/unrest in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, Egypt and the rest of the region, when at the end of the day WE hold the keys to the movement of oil and gas? This regardless of what it means for the people of these nations.

Now before you think we’re not so evil as to want to fabricate reasons to go to war to dominate energy sources and the ability to move the energy to market, consider that it’s far more than just about getting the energy for our own consumption. Yes, this is key. But a bigger part of the picture is Russia and China. In essence, this is a great proxy war with China and Russia using energy as the primary weapon of choice. Less energy in their control weakens them in the global scene. More energy strengthens us on the global scene.

THE RUSSIA VS. USA & EU DYNAMIC (Part 1)

Washington’s Blog also has a link to a 2012 PDF from the Institute of Regional Studies and their “Spotlight on Regional Affairs” research. The PDF brings light to “The New Great Game,” a U.S. driven campaign to confront Russia and China in a massive race to control the flow of energy out of the Middle East/Central Asia. I highly recommend you force yourself to read the entire report as it provides a profound background on the previous wars of the Middle East and the conflicts we’re currently caught up in. Click here to read the entire research paper.

Here’s a key part.

Russia and the USA have been in a state of competition in this region, ever since the former Soviet Union split up, and Russia is adamant on keeping the Americans out of its Central Asian backyard. Russia aims to increase European gas dominance on its resources whereas the US wants the European Union (EU) to diversify its energy supply, primarily away from Russian dominance. There are already around three major Russian pipelines that are supplying energy to Europe and Russia has planned two new pipelines.

The research paper also mentions China’s part in this massive global game of chess.

The third “big player” in this New Great Game is China, soon to be the world’s biggest energy consumer, which is already importing gas from Turkmenistan via Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan to its Xinjiang province — known as the Central Asia-China Pipeline — which may tilt the balance towards Asia. Pepe Escobar calls it the opening of the 21st century Silk Road in 2009 when this pipeline became operational. China’s need for energy is projected to increase by 150 per cent which explains why it has signed probably the largest number of deals not just with the Central Asian republics but also with the heavily sanctioned Iran and even Afghanistan. China has planned around five west-east gas pipelines, within China, of which one is operational (domestically from Xinjiang to Shanghai) and others are under construction and will be connected to Central Asian gas reserves.

SOROS & SPECIAL INTERESTS INVOLVED?

Going back up to the maps above, you’ll notice Russia’s ability to move their energy resources to the global market is being significantly damaged. The US now controls, thanks to constant war in the Middle East, most of the flow of gas & oil throughout the region. One of Russia’s last major methods of moving gas & oil to global markets is Ukraine.

I mention George Soros in the title and for good reason. Some of my friends are now starting to uncover evidence of carefully crafted organization behind the “protests” that eventually led to the collapse of the government in Ukraine. Soros founded the Renaissance Foundation in Ukraine in 1990. I’m currently fumbling through documentation, but from what I can find it looks like Soros has his fingers across all levels of government infrastructure in Ukraine. Soros and his Open Society are running massive propaganda campaigns as we speak!

This video, for example, was published by the Open Society Foundation just days ago.

Here’s what the Open Society Foundation’s own website says.

After three months of generally peaceful protests in Kyiv’s Independence Square, Ukraine is in crisis. On February 22, Parliament voted to oust President Yanukovych and hold new elections. Yanukovych subsequently fled the country. The deep mistrust in government that originally ignited the protests was then fueled by pictures and video of Yanukovych’s lavish estate.  
The interim government faces immense challenges. In addition to the social and cultural fissures dividing the country and the disastrous economic situation, Russia now has de-facto control of Crimea.   
The International Renaissance Foundation, part of the Open Society family of foundations and active in the country since 1990, is vigorously monitoring events on the ground. The foundation and its partners were at the epicenter of these extraordinary events. The local foundation ensured that legal aid was made available throughout the crisis to civic activists, protesters, and journalists; supplied victims with medical care; while its human rights partners documented cases of torture, beatings, and police abuse.
The disinformation campaign waged by Russia has been extraordinary, with faux photos purporting to show hundreds of thousands of citizens in Ukraine fleeing to Russia. The local foundation is providing space and access to journalists to provide more objective coverage. Where feasible, the foundation is using video coverage to document the situation on the ground.

Is it beyond the realm of possibility to think Soros had a hand in Parliament’s vote to cast out the pro-Russian President of Ukraine? Is it beyond the realm of possibility to think Soros had a hand in providing major support infrastructure to the organizers who brought on the collapse of the government?

Just days ago, in fact, George Soros personally took pen to paper and published a column in The Guardian, painting a fantastical picture of his own version of what is happening in Ukraine. Read it here.

Take a look at this video. The video gives a profound half hour glimpse behind the scenes of what took place in Ukraine. Throughout the half hour video you’ll see countless instances of organization that seems impossible considering how quickly the events unfolded and how little time they had to plan.

At the 10:00 mark we see representatives of an organization called EuroMaidan SOS. I work in the internet world. I’m very involved in organizing online, building online infrastructure and organizing people with that infrastructure. I find it incredibly difficult to believe that a handful of volunteers built up huge online infrastructure, organized a network of attorneys, built out locations to coordinate from WITH INTERNET and PHONE CONNECTIVITY with no money and no help from any funded organizations.

It seems to me the police forces in Ukraine never had a chance. They had little to no orders from above, no clear plan as to what they were supposed to do and who they were supposed to support, and were thrown into a melting pot where conflict was naturally bound to happen.

Let me state for the record I don’t claim to have answers here. I do claim to have a lot of questions that don’t have answers. And media has no interest in asking these questions or answering them.

According to the Moscow Times, this is what a senior Russian official has to say: “If Ukraine breaks apart, it will trigger a war.”  Ukraine “will lose Crimera first,” because Russia “will go in just as we did in Georgia.”  Another Russian official said: “ We will not allow Europe and the US to take Ukraine from us. The states of the former Soviet Union, we are one family. They think Russia is still as weak as in the early 1990s but we are not.”

THE MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR GAS BILL UKRAINE OWES RUSSIA

I’m not trying to be sympathetic to Russia here. I think Putin is a thug and not to be trusted. But while the media tries to suggest Putin is in control and the rest of the world is along for the ride, I’m starting to disagree.

You see, Russia has two major problems to address. The first we’ve already discussed… the pipelines through Ukraine to grant Russia access to the global markets. The second is the nearly $3 BILLION Ukraine owes Russia for gas.

Defending Moscow’s December 18, 2013 agreement to provide Ukraine with an aid package estimated at about $15 billion, and cheaper natural gas through discounts and “gas debt forgiveness” estimated as able to save Ukraine $7 bn in one year, Vladimir Putin said the decision to invest $15 bn in ‘brotherly slavic’ Ukraine, and grant the gas discount was “pragmatic and based on economic facts”.
At the time, the “investment” in Ukraine was already conditional – not only on the political issue of Ukrainian loyalty to Moscow – but on Ukraine complying with previous longstanding, often revoked, modified or extended commitments to repay gas debts dating from as far back as the early 1990s.  In December, Russia’s Finance minister Anton Siluanov said payment of the “aid or investment” funds to Ukraine, in tranches of about $2 bn each, would need Ukraine making a serious response to end-2013 estimates, by Russia, of the minimum “monetized gas debt” Ukraine has to pay. Siluanov’s ministry said this was about $2.7 bn, itself a large downward revision on other published figures from Russian sources, extending well above $5 bn. His ministry also published statements suggesting that Ukraine’s non-payment of gas taken and consumed by the country, since 2010, ran at a yearly average as high as $2 – $2.25 bn.
To be sure, events starting in February as the “Maidan movement” drew massive public support in the capital and western Ukraine to overthrowing the government-in-place. This was a repeat of Egypt’s anti-Morsi flash mob street revolution, followed by the Saudi-financed military coup against elected president Morsi. In Ukraine, however, the street magic stopped in the east, and especially in Crimea where 75%-85% of votes cast in the 2010 election were for Viktor Yanukovych.

So here we have a scenario that threatened Russia with the possibility of not being able to get its almost $3 billion back owed for gas as well as the potential control over all pipelines leading to Europe and the rest of the globe.

THE RUSSIA VS. USA & EU DYNAMIC (Part 2)

This post provides a lot of questions and very few answers. But one thing seems sure, Russia stands to be significantly weakened with what is happening in Ukraine. I don’t advocate Russia’s invasion of Ukraine by any stretch, but I’m starting to understand their reasons for it. What I don’t understand is who and what is the true driving force on the other side of the equation. Considering everything mentioned above, there could be some very nasty forces at play on a global chess board kind of scale.

The story has all the hallmarks needed to have legs. Billions upon billions upon billions in energy and its movement to the markets? Check. A EU & US vs a Chine & Russia dynamic? Check. Powerful special interests like George Soros building behind-the-scenes legal and government infrastructure necessary for a change in Ukraine’s power structure? Check.

Question everything, folks. Don’t trust anything for its surface appearance. Always follow the money and power.

UPDATE: As Zero Hedge points out, oil and gas account for around HALF of Russia’s revenue.

UPDATE 2: As a follow-up thought, the questions raised in this post lead me to believe this is more of a U.S./Soros type move vs it also having EU involvement. I think the EU’s dependency on Russian gas is exactly why they refused to take part in the sanctions talk Obama and his ilk in Washington have been engaging in. The EU isn’t going to bite the hand that keeps it warm and running. Unless there is another hand that can come in and replace it.

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