By Dimitris Konstantakopoulos
After the live-streamed genocide of the Palestinians, carried out with the support of almost the entire West, the bombing of Venezuela and the abduction of President Maduro and his wife mark the entry into one of the most dangerous periods in the history of Western imperialism and of the entire planet. They also mark a milestone in the rise of a new form of global Totalitarianism.
The attack on Venezuela does not aim merely at achieving full control over Latin America, as Trump and his propagandists misleadingly try to persuade us—especially through the deception of the new “National Security Strategy” issued by the U.S. President on the eve of the operation against Venezuela, in which he once again attempts to deceive by claiming that he does not seek global domination and that he supports multipolarity!
Even on the issue of peace in Ukraine, which he supposedly promotes (after having armed Ukraine to the teeth during his first term), it is increasingly likely that he is simply deceiving. It is not possible for the head of NATO—always an American-controlled position—Mark Rutte, to make the statements he does against Russia if the Americans truly disagreed. It is not possible for the Italian general, head of NATO’s Military Committee, to speak of a pre-emptive strike against Russia—i.e., to threaten Moscow with nuclear war—without American approval. It is not possible for Ukrainians, with the help of London, to carry out increasingly provocative operations against Russia (strikes on presidential residences and nuclear facilities) without the approval of the Americans and the CIA, and without the knowledge of Mossad. The supposed disagreements between Americans and Europeans over Ukraine look more like a useful division of roles. Never in history, moreover, have European states been as subordinated to the Americans as they are today. If Trump wanted to, he could indeed end the war in Ukraine. If he does not, it is either because he does not want to end it and prefers to continue a war of attrition against Russia, or because he is seeking greater concessions from Moscow—not necessarily limited to Ukraine alone.
Of course, it is not irrational for Moscow to try to exploit any possible contradictions within the Western Imperium, provided they are real and not merely pretextual. Nor is it irrational for it to try to avoid the terrible dangers of escalation, so long as it does not provoke even greater ones.
The Importance of Latin America in the Global Balance
An openly declared aim of Trump, in the same U.S. “National Security Strategy,” is to annihilate any foreign influence—namely that of Russia, China, and Iran—on the American continent. He states this openly, partly to secure support from the most bellicose and primitive segments of US public opinion and the far Right, and partly to “reassure” the Russians and Chinese that his interests are supposedly limited to that region, that his moves are somehow “defensive,” that he does not consider Russia and China to be “threats,” and perhaps that he would even make certain concessions to Russia and China by recognizing some “spheres of influence.”
All this, of course, is a fairy tale for small children. Trump has no intention whatsoever of accepting Russia’s current strategic nuclear parity, or China’s future one. Nor, obviously, is a power that has carried out more than 200 invasions, coups, or assassinations of foreign leaders since 1900 prepared to sit back calmly and watch China’s economic, technological, and ultimately military ascent.
There is no place left on the planet that is completely independent. For centuries, the core of British—and subsequently American—strategy has been to secure their “island,” so that Britain could safely launch attacks against Europe, and the United States against Eurasia and Africa.
The Missiles in Cuba
Nikita Khrushchev understood this in the past, and for precisely this reason Moscow reacted to the deployment of American nuclear missiles in Turkey—missiles that could be used for a first nuclear strike against the USSR—by placing similar missiles in Cuba. This move was dangerous and nearly led to global nuclear catastrophe, but had Moscow not taken it, it would have risked suffering a “first strike.” The wisdom, however, of the then General Secretary of the CPSU and of the Kennedy brothers—reflecting one of the most democratic periods in human history—not only ultimately allowed an agreement for the removal of missiles from both Cuba and Turkey, along with a U.S. commitment not to attack Cuba, but also laid for the first time the foundations of Washington–Moscow cooperation to avoid war and mutual destruction. This understanding led to the major nuclear arms control agreements, from which Washington gradually withdrew after the self-dissolution of the Warsaw Pact and the USSR—without any guarantees as to what would replace them. In reality, Khrushchev, through his move, restored the U.S.–USSR balance achieved at Yalta, which the Americans attempted to overturn immediately after the war and are attempting once again now, after the suicide of Soviet “socialism” and “communism,” thus risking the nuclear and ecological destruction of humanity.
Cuba, a declared target of Trump after Venezuela, is not just another Caribbean island. Like Venezuela, it is a central element of the strategic balance between the United States and the USSR in the past, and between the United States, Russia, and China today. In the absence of a willingness for disarmament and other radical social measures, this balance is a fundamental prerequisite for avoiding global catastrophe.
Greenland, too, is of strategic importance in a nuclear war with Russia, among other reasons because Russian nuclear missiles could be struck there during their initial launch phase. It would also allow control of Arctic Sea routes once the ice melts due to climate change—a deranged plan passionately promoted by American oil companies under Trump’s leadership (***). In our next article, we will examine the return of the United States to the German interwar strategy of Hitler and Haushofer—not at the European level, but on a global scale.
Of course, it must be noted that action always provokes reaction. It does not follow that because the Americans plan these things, they will necessarily succeed. This is demonstrated by the remarkable resilience and growing popular support for Venezuela’s Bolivarian regime. What is certain is that we are entering the most dangerous period in the entire history of humankind.
We must also emphasize from now on that it is absolutely necessary to organize immediately a very large global campaign for the preservation of life and for the immediate release of the courageous President of Venezuela
(https://www.defenddemocracy.press/president-maduro-before-new-york-court-i-am-president-of-venezuela-and-i-consider-myself-a-prisoner-of-war/ ) and his wife, who are threatened by what one of the greatest American journalists and writers, Chris Hedges, calls a gangster state https://chrishedges.substack.com/p/america-is-a-gangster-state
Notes
(*) Since Trump first appeared on the scene, the author has argued that it is simply impossible for a representative of the US far Right, closely linked to the Israeli far Right, to be a peace-loving and Russia-friendly president who would challenge the establishment. Unfortunately, illusions and self-deceptions, both inside and outside the United States, correspond to very deep human needs and are not easily overcome. For a discussion of Trump’s first term, readers are referred to an earlier article: https://www.defenddemocracy.press/can-trump-be-a-solution-2/
(**) This is not the first time in history that leaders of imperialist powers have resorted to deception. Deception is systematically one of their weapons. Americans were mocking Europeans that slaughtered each other like beasts and were proclaiming isolationism while —until the U.S. decided to intervene militarily in World War I, ensuring that it, rather than Germany, would dominate postwar Europe. Before World War II, Hitler convinced Stalin that he was an ally and friend, with consequences well known to all (and vividly described at the beginning of the memoirs of Marshal Zhukov, the victor of World War II). During World War II, they continually promised to open a “second front” in Europe, but did so only when the Red Army had already defeated Hitler and was advancing rapidly toward the center of the continent, while powerful armed communist resistance movements already dominated several European countries. In the 1980s, they convinced Gorbachev that they wanted to help democratize, modernize, and thus strengthen the USSR. Today, since the product of so-called “democracy” and “markets” has become deeply repellent, they are trying to “sell” nationalism, claiming to be “allies” of Russia against “globalization,” and perhaps hoping to use it against China.
But American and Israeli nationalism are by their nature aggressive, imperialist, and global in scope. America has been built as a global Empire, and only under its umbrella—and by controlling it—can Zionism survive in the long term. Donald Trump’s America First is, in essence, no different from Deutschland über Alles, as Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov aptly observed.
(***) On Trump’s climate policy, see: https://www.konstantakopoulos.gr/35209/
Translated by Christian Haccuria
Also read
Will Trump Strike Venezuela? The Risk of a New Vietnam, an interview with Beatriz Bissio
