The entire planet awaits with bated breath the avowedly inevitable Iranian response to the assault towards its consulate/ambassador residence in Damascus by the biblical psychopaths accountable for the Gaza genocide.
Enveloped in an aura of secrecy, every passing day betrays the immensity of the problem: the probably asymmetrical response have to be, concurrently, symbolic, substantive, cogent, convincing, affordable and rational. That’s driving Tel Aviv completely hysterical and the deciding cases of the Hegemon extraordinarily itchy.
Everybody with a functioning mind is aware of this moist dream of a stunt from the viewpoint of hardcore Zionists and US Christian zio-cons was a severe provocation, designed to attract the US to the long-cherished Israeli plan of putting a decisive blow towards each Hezbollah and Tehran.
The IDF’s Chief of Workers Herzi Halevi all however gave away the sport, when he mentioned this previous Sunday that “we’re working in cooperation with the USA and strategic companions within the area.”
Translation: by no means belief the Hegemon even because the notion is floated – through Swiss mediators – that Washington received’t intervene with Tehran’s response to Tel Aviv. One simply wants to recollect Washington’s “assurances” to Saddam Hussein earlier than the primary Gulf Conflict.
It’s not possible to take Hegemon back-channel assurances at face worth. The White Home and the Pentagon often dispense these “assurances” to Moscow each time Kiev strikes deep contained in the Russian Federation utilizing US-UK satellite tv for pc intel, logistics, weaponry and with NATO in de-facto operational management.
The state terror assault on Damascus, which shredded the Vienna conference on diplomatic immunity, crucially was additionally an assault on each the expanded BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Group (SCO). Iran is a member of each multilateral our bodies, and on high of it’s engaged in strategic partnerships with each Russia and China.
“If Iran assaults from its territory – Israel will reply and assault in Iran,” Israel’s overseas minister threatened Iran with strikes, tweeting in Hebrew and Persian and tagging Iranian Supreme Chief Ali Khamenei.
Iran’s supreme chief, for his half, later mentioned that the Israeli… pic.twitter.com/eWq4XDmu3Y
— Sputnik (@SputnikInt) April 10, 2024
So it’s no surprise the management in each Beijing in Moscow is rigorously contemplating all attainable repercussions of the subsequent Iranian transfer.
Tel Aviv’s purposeful escalation – in terms of increasing struggle in West Asia – occurs to reflect one other escalation: NATO’s no manner out in Ukraine besides by doubling down, ad infinitum.
That began with the invariably out of his depth Secretary of State Little Tony Blinken affirming, on the file, that Ukraine will (italics mine) be part of NATO. Which any functioning mind is aware of is translatable because the highway map in direction of a Russia-NATO scorching struggle with unbelievably dire penalties.
Little Blinkie’s felony irresponsibility was duly picked up and reverberated by the Franco-British duo, as expressed by British FM David “of Arabia” Cameron and French FM Stephane Sejourne: “If Ukraine loses, all of us lose”.
Not less than they bought that (italics mine) proper – though that took ages, in terms of framing NATO’s approaching cosmic humiliation.
“Twin Opposition” to “Twin Deterrence”
Now let’s change from clownish bit gamers to the adults within the room. As in Russian FM Sergei Lavrov and Chinese language FM Wang Yi discussing actually each incandescent file collectively earlier this week in Beijing.
Lavrov and Wang couldn’t be clearer on what’s forward for the Russia-China strategic partnership.
They are going to have interaction collectively on all issues concerning Eurasian safety.
They are going to go, in Lavrov’s phrases, for “twin opposition” to counterpunch the West’s “twin deterrence”.
They are going to be countering each try by the same old suspects to “decelerate the pure course of historical past”.
Add to it the affirmation that President Putin and President Xi will maintain not less than two bilaterals in 2024: on the SCO summit in June and on the BRICS summit in October.
In a nutshell: the canine of Eternally Wars bark whereas the Eurasian integration caravan marches on.
Pepe Escobar: Russia-China Partnership Defangs US Empire https://t.co/NSjFBfNHu3 pic.twitter.com/0dRWrnFnHV
— Sputnik (@SputnikInt) September 29, 2023
Each Lavrov and Wang made it very clear that whereas steering by means of “the pure course of historical past”, the Russia-China strategic partnership will hold looking for a technique to resolve the Ukraine tragedy, considering Russia’s pursuits.
Translation: NATO higher get up and odor the espresso.
This bilateral on the FM degree in Beijing is one more graphic proof of the present tectonic shift in what the Chinese language often describe because the “world correlation of forces”. Subsequent month – already confirmed – it will likely be Putin’s flip to go to Beijing.
It’s by no means sufficient to keep in mind that on February 4, 2022, additionally in Beijing, Putin personally defined to Xi why NATO/Hegemon enlargement into Ukraine was completely unacceptable for Russia. Xi, for all sensible functions, understood the stakes and didn’t subsequently oppose the SMO.
This time, Lavrov couldn’t however discuss with the 12-point peace plan on Ukraine proposed by Beijing final yr, which addresses the basis causes “primarily within the context of guaranteeing indivisible safety, together with in Europe and the world over.”
Your “Overcapacity” is Driving Me Nuts
Each Tehran and Moscow face a severe problem in terms of the Hegemon’s intentions. It’s not possible to positively conclude that Washington was not within the loop on Tel Aviv’s assault on Iran in Damascus – although it’s counter-intuitive to consider that the Democrats in an election yr would willingly gasoline a nasty scorching struggle in West Asia provoked by Israel.
But there’s at all times the chance that the White Home-endorsed genocide in Gaza is about to extrapolate the framework of a confrontation between Israel and Iran/Axis of Resistance – because the Hegemon is de facto implicated in myriad ranges.
To alleviate such stress, let’s introduce what beneath the circumstances could be understood as comedian aid: the “Yellin’ Yellen goes to China” journey.
US Secretary of Treasury Janet Yellen went to Beijing to basically ship two threats (that is the Hegemon, in any case).
1.Yellen mentioned that Chinese language corporations might face “important penalties” in the event that they supplied “materials assist for Russia’s struggle on Ukraine.”
2. Yellen accused Chinese language corporations of “overcapacity” – particularly in terms of the electric-vehicle (EV) business (by the way, 18 of the highest 20 EV corporations world wide are Chinese language).
The Chinese language, predictably, dismissed the entire present with barely a yawn, mentioning that the Hegemon merely can’t cope with China’s aggressive benefit, in order that they resort to one more occasion of “de-risking” hype.
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In sum: it’s all about barely disguised protectionism. Chinese language Commerce Minister Wang Wentao went straight to the purpose: China’s benefit is constructed on innovation, not subsidies. Others added two additional key elements: the effectivity of provide chains and ultra-dynamic market competitors. EVs, in China, together with lithium batteries and photo voltaic cells, are often known as the brand new “three main objects.”
Yellin’ Yellen’s theatrics in Beijing ought to be simply recognized as one more determined gambit by a former hyperpower which now not enjoys navy supremacy; no dominant MICIMATT (the military-industrial-congressional-intelligence-media-academia-think tank complicated, within the good formulation by Ray McGovern); no absolutely managed logistics and sea lanes; no invulnerable petrodollar; no enforced, indiscriminate concern of sanctions; and most of all, not even the concern of concern itself, changed throughout the International South by rage and utter contempt for the imperial assist for the genocide in Gaza.
Only a Tawdry Greek Tragedy Remix
As soon as once more it’s as much as the inestimable Michael Hudson to succintly nail all of it down:
“The official US place acknowledges that it may well’t be an industrial exporter anymore, although how is it going to steadiness the worldwide funds to assist the greenback’s change price? The answer is rent-seeking. That’s why the US says, effectively, what’s the primary new rent-seeking alternative in world commerce? Nicely, it’s info know-how and pc know-how.
That’s why the US is combating China a lot, and why President Biden has mentioned many times that China is the primary enemy. It moved first towards Huawei for the 5G communications, and now it’s attempting to get Europe and American and Taiwanese exporters to not export a pc chip to China, not for the Dutch to export chip-engraving equipment to China. There’s a perception that someway the US, if it may well forestall different international locations from producing high-technology mental property rents, then different international locations shall be dependent.
Lease-seeking actually means dependency of different international locations in the event that they don’t have a option to pay you way more cash than the precise value of manufacturing. That’s lease, the worth over worth. Nicely, the US, since it may well’t compete on worth due to the excessive value of residing and labor right here, it may well solely monopolize lease.
Nicely, China has not been deterred. China has leapfrogged over the US and is producing its personal etching equipment, its personal pc chips. The query is, what’s the remainder of the world going to do? Nicely, the remainder of the world means, on the one hand, the worldwide majority, Eurasia, the BRICS+, and alternatively, Western Europe. Western Europe is correct in the course of all this. Is it actually going to forego the a lot inexpensive Chinese language exports at value, together with regular revenue, or is it going to let itself be locked into American rent-extraction know-how, not just for pc chips however for navy arms?”
Graphically, this eventful week supplied one more howler: Xi formally acquired Lavrov when Yellin’ Yellen was nonetheless in Beijing. Chinese language students notice how Beijing’s place in a convoluted triad is admirably versatile, in comparison with the vicious impasse of US-Russia relations.
Nobody is aware of how the impasse could also be damaged. What is evident is that the Russia-China management, in addition to Iran’s, know full effectively the risks roaming the chessboard when the same old suspects appear to go all out playing every little thing, even figuring out that they’re outgunned; outproduced; outnumbered; and outwitted.
It’s a tawdry Greek tragedy remix, alright, but with out the pathos and grandeur of Sophocles, that includes only a bunch of nasty, brutish specimens plunging into their unblinking, self-inflicted doom.
