Instead of “curbing Russian aggression” – which it clearly can’t and won’t do – how about preventing (instead of encouraging) American aggression?
Joe Biden issuing an uninspired “deterrent” to Russia claiming that NATO will prevent a Russian invasion of Ukraine is tragically laughable, much like his claim to “take on the Taliban” while US troops were, literally, in full retreat. The analogies are endless – this time I’m picturing, a la Conan O’Brien’s impression, a 1940s comedian “putting up his dukes” while backing up.
Even using the phrase “Russian invasion of Ukraine” seemed like an impossibility after the end of the Cold War, but in actuality, it was easily predictable because an entity that should have ceased to exist chose to remain standing – NATO. It was founded after World War II to “counter the threat posed by the Soviet Union.” The Soviet Union fell in 1989 and relations with the West had already improved drastically, so common sense dictates that…actually, there was no way that NATO would disband as it was an invaluable tool used to promote US imperialistic foreign policy and commit mass human rights abuses throughout the world (as opposed to their tragically ironic claim of “spreading democracy and human rights).
The problem is that the majority of Western citizens believe that their countries are “noble and good” while “Russia is bad”. Guess what, there can be two “bad guys” and, very often, it is the US that is the gold medal winner in the Oppression Olympics. Western political leaders know what they’re doing – and they don’t care. The vast majority of other Western politicians (and pundits, journalists and diplomats) blindly follow along and even believe the rhetoric as if they’ve been subjected to hours of old-school propaganda films. And they have, but with modern methods.
Frame the debate, win the debate. The West makes it a point to claim moral superiority, so when it commits the same – or often, much worse – human rights violations than “the enemy”, the public conception is that they either didn’t happen (and Western powers are almost 100% successful at hiding them from the public) or, that they’re somehow “justified”.
A human rights violation is exactly that – a human rights violation – and since we’re all equal (although we’re not treated as such), it must be condemned no matter who the perpetrator. Actually, a repeat offender – we can all agree – should be punished more severely.
So, when the US invades yet another country and murders countless innocent civilians, it must be punished. The same applies when they drop another bomb and employ more drone strikes, wiping out entire families that they deem expendable. Even when the US doesn’t militarily invade, the killing, interfering, and oppressing goes on, and it never ends.
Case in point – Macedonia. After dropping bombs all over the Aegean part of Macedonia (annexed by Greece in 1913) and murdering countless Macedonians – many members of my family included – the US, in support of Greece’s ruling Nazi-supporting fascists (this should not be a shock as the US will prop up anybody, Saddam Hussein, Osama bin Laden, anybody…if it suits their misguided [read: messed up] foreign policy), the US moved to different tactics in some countries (while still employing the previously mentioned tactics in many) including, in the past few years:
Installing a dictator in the Republic of Macedonia, pardoning terrorists, terrorizing the population, ordering riot police attacks on innocent civilians, imprisoning and subjecting them to abhorrent prison conditions, threatening their families, criminalizing the expression of their ethnic identity, violating international law, causing and enabling physical attacks by secret police and neo-Nazis (here we go again) in several countries throughout the Balkans, stripping Macedonians of our most basic of human rights, it goes on…
Why?
To force through the illegal name, identity and history change to “North Macedonia” and “North Macedonians” – eradicating everything Macedonian – in order to appease our biggest oppressors, Greece and Bulgaria. Another, why? Because they threatened to veto the Republic of Macedonia’s (unnecessary and unwanted, but that’s another story) NATO and EU membership bids unless our name, identity and history were wiped out. And the US took the lead to fulfil its own misguided, racist foreign policy and to satisfy its insatiable thirst for imperialism.
This is NATO. And again, it should come as no surprise to you. If it does, you need to stop listening to the “greatest” imperialist the world has ever known – the United States.
Bill Nicholov, President
Macedonian Human Rights Movement International
twitter.com/billnicholov
Macedonian Human Rights Movement International (MHRMI) has been active on human and national rights issues for Macedonians and other oppressed peoples since 1986. MHRMI demands respect for Macedonia’s name, identity and human rights for oppressed Macedonians in the Balkans. For more information: 1-416-850-7125, info@mhrmi.org, www.mhrmi.org, twitter.com/mhrmi, facebook.com/mhrmi, instagram.com/MacedonianHumanRights #OurNameIsMacedonia