Wednesday, 31 May 2017

Senator John McCain visits Australia to reinforce US alliance

By James Cogan 


John McCain, the 80-year-old chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee and former Republican Party presidential candidate, flew into Australia on Monday. The purpose of his visit was to engage in discussions on Asia-Pacific security issues with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and the foreign and defence ministers, as well as to meet with prominent representatives of the Australian corporate and political establishment.
McCain arrived against the backdrop of a steady build-up toward war on the Korean Peninsula, a provocative “freedom-of-navigation” operation by the US Navy challenging Chinese territorial claims in the South China Sea, and the voicing of differences with the US by major European powers, especially Germany.
To an extent, the senator solidarised himself with the disquiet in Australian ruling circles over the state of affairs in US politics and its impact in Australia. A wing of the Australian establishment is primarily concerned with protecting the country’s major economic interests in Asia, particularly with China, its largest trading partner. This layer has seized on the nationalist economic policies and political volatility of the Trump administration to step up their calls for Australia to distance itself from the US alliance.
What McCain said in private to the Turnbull government is not known. His public statements, however, could be characterised as a combination of appeals and warnings to the Australian ruling class not to deviate from its strategic and military alignment with the US. He indicated that American policy would not, in the final analysis, be decided by Donald Trump and at least implied that moves are underway that may result in the president’s removal.
Presidents, he raised several times, come and go. US-Australia relations, he asserted, “are unbreakable, they are eternal.”
McCain conveyed his open contempt for Trump. In his first public statements—an interview on Monday night with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s “7.30” program—McCain said the new president made him “nervous from time to time.” He declared the European powers were “legitimately concerned” and he understood their “repudiation of Donald Trump.”
McCain highlighted his leading role in the campaign against the Trump presidency over its supposed links with, and soft line toward, the Russian government of Vladimir Putin. McCain said Putin was the “premier and most important threat” in the world.
McCain lambasted the American establishment for having “done nothing … to respond to Vladimir Putin’s attempt to change the outcome of our elections.” Last year, he labelled the alleged Russian hacking of Democratic Party servers as an “act of war.”
McCain advocated harsher sanctions against Russia by the US Congress. Most significantly, he endorsed the investigations into Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner over supposed relations with Moscow, which have led to calls in the US media for the president’s impeachment.
Last night, McCain escalated his attack on the Trump administration at an event organised by the University of Sydney-based US Studies Centre (USSC). The senator’s audience of 500 people featured a veritable who’s-who of the Australian political, military, intelligence, strategic and corporate establishment, including former prime ministers, John Howard and Bob Hawke.
After hailing the historical relationship between the US and Australia, McCain declared: “I realise that some of President Trump’s actions and statements have unsettled America’s friends. They have unsettled many Americans as well. There is a real debate underway now in my country about what kind of role America should play in the world. And frankly, I don’t know how this debate will play out.”
McCain continued: “What I do believe, and I do not think I am exaggerating here, is that the future of the world will turn, to a large extent, on how this debate in America is resolved.”
Americans, he asserted, “are counting on Australia and our other allies to stick with us... Just as America is counting on Australia, I believe Australia, and our other allies and partners, can still count on America.”
In a particularly blunt warning to the assembled Australian dignitaries, McCain declared: “No-one has ever got rich betting against America, my friends, and now is not a good time to start.”
The senator proceeded to lay out what the US expects from its Australian ally, regardless of who sits in the Oval Office. First and foremost, it is continued collaboration and involvement in the drive to undermine and ultimately shatter China as an economic, strategic and potential military challenger to US global hegemony.
American imperialist strategy, stretching back to the end of the Soviet Union in 1991, has been to prevent any power or group of countries emerging as a rival centre of world power. McCain personifies the ruthlessness which with the American ruling class is prepared to use military force in every part of the globe in pursuit of this strategy.
At present, McCain, along with the Democratic Party, is insisting on action against Russia over Putin’s interventions to disrupt the US and European intrigues in Ukraine and Syria. At the same time, McCain has not in any sense retreated from his insistence that China be opposed on every front—economic, diplomatic and military. McCain was only critical of the Obama administration’s “pivot to Asia” from the standpoint that it was not aggressive enough.
McCain issued a scathing attack on the Trump administration for repudiating a key aspect of the “pivot”—the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) economic bloc that excluded China. In a remarkable statement, he suggested that Japan and Australia proceed with the TPP without the US, because “hopefully, in the future, under different circumstances, America will decide to join you.”
McCain addressed the foreign policy debate in Australia that has become more intense as its trade relations with China have expanded exponentially and the US has adopted an ever-more confrontational stance with Beijing.
“I know there is a real concern about Australia becoming entangled in a strategic competition between America and China,” he stated. “And I know that contributes to a belief among some in this country that your economic relationship with China and your security relationship with the US may be irreconcilable, and that you must choose one over the other.”
McCain made clear that, as far he was concerned, Australia has no such a choice. The US, he reminded his audience, “remains Australia’s largest foreign investor” and remained the world’s overwhelming military power.
China, McCain declared, “seems to be acting more and more like a bully.” It was refusing to open its markets, engaging in intellectual property theft and making territorial claims “that have no basis in international law.” The role of the US and Australia, he asserted, was to support “China’s reformers.”
The real choice, he continued, was “whether Australia and America are better off dealing with China’s strategic and economic challenges together, or by ourselves.”
In answer to concerns over Trump, McCain suggested that decisions would be made by the cabal of generals, intelligence chiefs and corporate oligarchs who dominate his cabinet—naming Jim Mattis, H.R. McMaster, John Kelly and Mike Pompeo, as well as Dan Coats and Rex Tillerson.
During a question and answer session, McCain defined more concretely what is wanted from Australia by the wing of the American establishment for whom he speaks. This includes involvement in escalated US military operations against the Russian-backed Syrian government; the dispatch of significant numbers of Australian troops to a new “surge” of US forces to Afghanistan; and support for stepped-up “freedom of navigation” operations against China in the South China Sea.
McCain’s visit was timed to take place one week before the first Australia-US ministerial talks (AUSMIN) under Trump, in Sydney on June 5. The Turnbull government has already announced the dispatch of a token 30 additional troops to Afghanistan. To what else it will agree—or has already agreed in talks with McCain—will likely emerge in coming weeks.
http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2017/05/31/mcca-m31.html

posted by Satish Sharma at 22:48 0 Comments

Russia is forsaking the West and moving toward China

Bryan MacDonald is an Irish journalist, who is based in Russia
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As the West dithers, Russia is moving closer to China, and it increasingly appears the G7 will never be the G8 again.
Soon after the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, advertisements began appearing around the city for the “G8 English School.” The proprietor was evidently using the conference, slated for the Black Sea city, to drum up interest in learning the language.
After all, those American, Canadian, Japanese and European visitors would need interpreters and local fixers to help them navigate the notoriously monolingual Kuban in Southern Russia.
Of course, the event never happened. Angered by Russia’s reabsorption of Crimea, the other seven members suspended Moscow from the club. And since then, the Kremlin has expressed no urgent desire to return. Meanwhile, the remaining leaders have plowed ahead, without Vladimir Putin.

Different Times

As a result, attitudes are changing in Russia. For instance, your writer spent most of the period from 2010-2013 in Khabarovsk, the capital of the Russian Far East. The city is located barely twenty kilometers from China but the only Chinese you encountered, during this period, were working at the local markets, selling knock off designer clothing and the like. Back then, locals were suspicious of their populous neighbor and often made a point of referencing how European they were.
Go there now, and Khabarovsk is crawling with Chinese tourists and business people. A rapid development which has taken residents by surprise, but ignited a mini-boom in the remote city. Much to the delight of local hoteliers and restauranteurs.
Russia’s three-year-old pivot, away from Europe and toward Beijing, isn’t some Kremlin bluff. Instead, it’s a real process, more visible in the regions than Moscow or St. Petersburg, and heralds the end of a quarter century where the country attempted to integrate into the Western fold. Needless to say, there are serious geopolitical implications here.
Luckily, being a journalist who isn’t intrinsically hostile to Russia, and tries to report and analyze the country fairly, has its upsides. Such as the ability gain insight from insiders who understand real government thinking. Something completely denied to correspondents of North American and West European outlets in recent years. Thus, I’ve been taking advantage of this access over the past few weeks to get an idea of where Russia is headed in the medium to short term. And the answer is fairly clear: as close to China as possible.

Horses' Mouth

“If you go back to 1991, the Americans decided to structure the world in their own interests and create a unipolar system. That didn’t work for two reasons. Firstly, they stupidly attacked Iraq twice and became obsessed with removing any regime hostile to their interest. Secondly, they foolishly assumed that economics would sooner or later force China to surrender to the West's rules of the game and its political system,” a senior Russian official told me.
“But the plan failed. Unexpectedly for them, Russia again became strong enough to defend our own national interests. And Beijing not only refused to fall in line but now seeks a fairer international order. Washington’s reaction to this appears to be that it's better to have no rules than any other rules if they are not American. And this is very dangerous.”
“Look at what the Trump administration has been doing. It’s openly and provocatively ignoring international law and absolutely proud of being concerned with only American interests. The White House’s behavior is erratic and is endangering global security. For instance, one day it’s illegally striking Syria and shortly afterward, dropping a mega bomb on Afghanistan. But for what? Where is the ultimate plan, the follow-up?” the source asks. “Now we see them saber rattling at North Korea. But, again, what’s the endgame here? The annihilation of millions of people in Seoul, the capital of their loyal ally?”
“The other issue is US blindness. From reading their media and talking to them directly, it’s obvious that they think China is not prepared to withstand serious pressure and military provocations. They also believe that Russia is about to implode. And they’ve been engaged in this wishful thinking for twenty years. All you have to do is read their foreign policy journals, which are something like the movie Groundhog Day,” he added.
When speaking to Russian officials and opinion formers, there is one common theme which always seems to unite them in disdain. And that’s the American consensus where it’s only a matter of time before the current Kremlin system is replaced with one more suited to their interests. This also explains why Western media continuously exaggerate the chances of various opposition figures who profess hostility to Putin.

View From The Top

However, when it comes to Donald Trump, Beijing and Moscow also appear to have found a common posture. And a recent Valdai Club article by Timofei Bordachev seems to confirm it. The writer, a well-connected and influential foreign and defense policy expert, noted how “Russia and China are increasingly of the opinion that the new American administration cannot be taken seriously.” 
"The threatening, contradictory and irresponsible statements by the US president and members of his inner circle do not translate into practice, and their erratic, borderline insane and intentionally scandalous policies go a long way toward confirming this conclusion."
“Russia-China relations are much more respectful. Both countries' leaders meet regularly and, by all appearances, listen attentively to each other's views on the most varied issues of foreign policy and governance. And this is quite natural. Russia has much to learn from its great partner about economic development or the fight against corruption,” he continued. “China, in turn, can borrow a lot from Russia in such areas as maintaining a harmonious multi-ethnic state or staunch defense of foreign policy interests. So far, China has not faced the same tough challenges from the West as Russia has. But, given the radicalism of the new US administration, a harsh test is just round the bend.”
Most Western analysts continue to doubt the possibility of a China-Russia alliance. And they usually cite the economic imbalance between the two countries. Which is especially amusing when referenced in the British press. Because the same organs frequently cite the US/UK “special relationship,” without noting how the US economy dwarfs the British by a bigger multiple than Beijing enjoys over Moscow. This theory also misses the point where Russia has resources China desperately needs whereas Britain’s usefulness to Uncle Sam is almost exclusively diplomatic these days.
“Look, the Americans and the Eurocrats have made mistakes after mistake toward Russia in this century. Because they didn’t listen to what we were saying, instead listening to pundits and advisors who have no serious contacts in Moscow,” the insider notes. “Putin and his ministers constantly warned about NATO expansion, about Georgia and about Ukraine and they ignored everything. Now we are pivoting toward China, and they are ignoring that too, and instead obsessing over things like the Baltic states and supposed dangers to countries in Europe. Listen carefully; the Baltic is already gone. We don’t care about it. And and the same applies to Poland. If they really believe these countries are in peril, they better sack all their advisors.”
As for Sochi’s G8 school, it soldiers on, under the same name. Suggesting there may still be, a microscopic, window left for the West to pull the Kremlin back into its orbit. But, at this stage, it’d be a long shot. Russia and China is a thing, but Western opinion formers probably won’t realize until it’s far too late.
The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.

posted by Satish Sharma at 22:36 0 Comments

Who’s funding Britain's terrorists? ‘Sensitive’ Home Office report may never be published

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Who’s funding Britain's terrorists? ‘Sensitive’ Home Office report may never be published
Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Muhammad bin Nayef welcomes British Prime Minister Theresa May, April 4, 2017. © Bandar Algaloud / Reuters
An investigation commissioned by former Prime Minister David Cameron into the revenue streams behind jihadist groups operating in Britain may never be published, the Home Office has admitted.
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The forward deck of HMS Belfast © Luke MacGregor Global Britain? Theresa May risks isolating UK as European & Gulf allies turn away
The inquiry is thought to focus on British ally Saudi Arabia, which has repeatedly been highlighted by European leaders as a funding source for Islamist extremists, and may prove politically and legally sensitive, the Guardian reports.
The UK has close ties with Saudi Arabia. Prime Minister Theresa May visited the country earlier this year.
In January 2016, a specialist Home Office unit was directed by Downing Street to investigate sources of overseas funding of extremist groups in the UK. The findings were to be shown to Cameron’s then-Home Secretary May.
Eighteen months later, however, the Home Office told the Guardian the report had not been completed and would not necessarily be published, calling the contents “very sensitive.”
A decision on the future of the investigation would be taken “after the election by the next government,” a spokesperson said.
Cameron was urged to launch an investigation in December 2015 as part of a deal with the Liberal Democrats in exchange for the party supporting the extension of British airstrikes against Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) from Iraq into Syria.
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British Prime Minister Theresa May (R) and Saudi King Salman bin Abulaziz Al-Saud (L). © Hamad I MohammedTheresa May defends Saudi alliance amid human rights criticism
According to the Guardian, Tom Brake, the Lib Dem foreign affairs spokesperson, has written to the prime minister asking her to confirm that the investigation will not be shelved.
“As home secretary at the time, your department was one of those reading the report. Eighteen months later, and following two horrific terrorist attacks by British-born citizens, that report still remains incomplete and unpublished,” Brake wrote.
“It is no secret that Saudi Arabia in particular provides funding to hundreds of mosques in the UK, espousing a very hard line Wahhabist interpretation of Islam. It is often in these institutions that British extremism takes root.”
Lib Dem leader Tim Farron said he felt the government had not held up its side of the bargain.
The report must be published when it is completed, he said, even if its contents are sensitive.
“That short-sighted approach needs to change. It is critical that these extreme, hardline views are confronted head on, and that those who fund them are called out publicly.
“If the Conservatives are serious about stopping terrorism on our shores, they must stop stalling and reopen investigation into foreign funding of violent extremism in the UK.”

posted by Satish Sharma at 22:17 0 Comments