Inter-Imperialist Rivalry

AFRICOM: A Neocolonial Occupation Force?

December 12, 2018 Eric Draitser, Counterpunch.org Educate! Africa, AFRICOM, Inter-Imperialist Rivalry, US Imperialism

Amid the George HW Bush imperial death-orgy, the endless saga of Midtown Mussolini’s daily news cycle, the seemingly unprecedented political upsurge in France, and countless other show-stopping news stories, you likely missed three very sad, yet revealing, incidents out of the Sahel region of West-Central Africa. First, on November 18th, a massive offensive against a Nigerian military base by a faction of the Boko Haram terror group known as the Islamic State West Africa (ISWAP) killed upwards of 100 soldiers. The surprise attack came at a time when Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, who famously (and repeatedly) has declared victory against Boko Haram and terrorism...

The US Is Worried About China Spying Via Huawei Because It Did The Same In The Past

December 12, 2018 By John Detrixhe, Qz.com Educate! China, Inter-Imperialist Rivalry, spying, Technology, Telecommunications, United States

The US is again warning its allies about the risks of using telecom equipment made by China’s Huawei. American officials have briefed their counterparts in countries like Germany, Italy, and Japan about what they argue are potential cybersecurity risks, according to the Wall Street Journal (paywall). This follows previous warnings, such as a claim earlier this year that American citizens shouldn’t use Huawei’s phones. The US may be concerned about Chinese government influence embedded in Huawei’s technology because America’s spy agencies have done the same thing in the past. Western governments have long been wary of Huawei, which was founded by Ren Zhengfei, a former People’s Liberation Army soldier.

NATO’s Aggression Reaches For Russian Waters

December 11, 2018 Tony Cartalucci, Landdestroyer.blogspot.com Educate! Inter-Imperialist Rivalry, NATO, Russia

The intentional provocation executed by Kiev saw three Ukrainian naval vessels seized by Russia. The vessels were intentionally violating protocol for passing through the Strait - protocol previously agreed upon by Kiev and previously observed by Ukrainian naval vessels. The extent to which Ukraine was aware of these protocols and the 2003 agreement that put them in place includes entire events organized in Ukraine by NATO-sponsored "think tanks" discussing the necessity to "rip them up" and attempt to assert greater control over the current joint-use of the Sea of Azov.

China Warns Canada Of Consequences For Imprisoning Huawei’s Financial Director

December 11, 2018 Staff, Cubadebate.cu Resist! Canada, China, Finance, Inter-Imperialist Rivalry

The Canadian justice made the arrest last day 1 in the airport of Vancouver, while Meng was preparing to take a flight with connection to Mexico. Huawei denied the accusation and ensured compliance with all the regulations of the territories where it operates. In addition, the Government of China recalled that as a permanent member of the UN Security Council it always implemented the resolutions approved by that body, but at the same time it rejected the imposition of unilateral measures by one State against another.

Germany Allocates $62m To Development Projects In Palestine

December 7, 2018 Middle East Monitor, Mintpressnews.com Create! Development, Germany, Inter-Imperialist Rivalry, Palestine, Uneven Development

Germany allocated €55 million ($62.5 million) to be dispersed to Palestinian development projects in the occupied West Bank and the besieged Gaza Strip in 2019. Klaus Kramer, the head of division in the German Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development, told reporters in Ramallah that it was agreed, in coordination with various ministries in the Palestinian government, that the money will go to mainly three sectors: sustainable economic development, infrastructure such as water projects and local governance, including projects with municipalities. While the funds in the form of grants will go mainly to these three areas, development projects in other fields will also get part of the money, such as projects carried out by civil society organisations.

EU Pushing For Euro To Challenge Dollar’s Role

December 7, 2018 Staff, Atimes.com Create! Currency, European Union (EU), Inter-Imperialist Rivalry, US Imperialism

The European Commission is expected to publish a blueprint to promote a “stronger international role” for the euro in the face of policies pursued by the Trump administration, it was reported on Monday. The Financial Times says that a draft of the document stresses a need to address recent challenges to “international rules-based governance and trade.” As part of this, the plan calls for political pressure to make contracts denominated in the euro.

A US-China Trade War ‘Armistice’?

December 5, 2018 By Jack Rasmus, Zcomm.org Educate! China, Inter-Imperialist Rivalry, Tariffs, Trade War, United States

The first reports emerging from the G20 meeting in Buenos Aires today, December 2, 2018, are that Trump and Xi have agreed to put their trade war on hold, a kind of ‘trade war armistice’, at least for the next 90 days. Trump entered into his meeting this past weekend with China’s president, Xi, having imposed $50 billion in tariffs at 25% on China goods imports last July, to which another $200 billion was added thereafter. Tariffs on the $200 billion were set at 10%, but were scheduled to rise to 25% on January 1, 2019. Before the US November elections, Trump further threatened to add a further $267 billion if China continued to refuse to meet with the US.

Trump’s Trade Czar, The Latest Architect Of Imperial Disaster

December 4, 2018 By Alfred W. McCoy, Tomdispatch.com Educate! Inter-Imperialist Rivalry, Trade, Trump Administration

As Washington’s leadership fades more quickly than anyone could have imagined and a new global order struggles to take shape, a generation of leaders has crowded onto the world stage with their own bold geopolitical visions for winning international influence. Xi Xinping has launched his trillion-dollar “Belt and Road Initiative” to dominate Eurasia and thereby the world beyond. To recover the Soviet Union’s lost influence, Vladimir Putin seeks to shatter the Western alliance with cyberwar, while threatening to dominate a nationalizing, fragmenting Eastern Europe through raw military power. The Trump White House, in turn, is wielding tariffs as weapons to try to beat recalcitrant allies back into line and cripple the planet’s rising power, China.

Why The U.S. Threatens China — As A New Superpower

December 3, 2018 By Sara Flounders, Workers.org Educate! China, Inter-Imperialist Rivalry, United States

China’s growth into the world’s second-largest economy is being evaluated by all the corporate media, reflecting debates in U.S. ruling circles and the U.S. top military command. They are forced to admit that most of their hopes and dreams that the Chinese government could be easily overwhelmed, and that Wall Street would find an open road into China, are now dashed by the reality of a stable government that seems to have wide mass support and growing prosperity. The New York Times Sunday edition ran a 20-page special supplement titled “China Rules” on Nov. 25. It begins with the admission: “The West was certain China would fail. Government-controlled economies stifle growth. Oppression smothers innovation. The Internet is an untamable force. A new middle class will demand a vote.

Meeting For Peace – We Too… (SB)

November 30, 2018 Staff, Schattenblick.de Educate! CIA, Inter-Imperialist Rivalry, NATO

In 2000, Asian expert and CIA advisor Chalmers Johnson warned in his much-publicized non-fiction book "Blowback" about the dangers threatening the US because of its global "base empire" - in vain. On September 11, 2001, Johnson's cassandra visions became a terrible reality with the spectacular airplane raids on the twin towers of the New York World Trade Center and the Pentagon in Arlington. Instead of thinking better, the US, under the pretext of a "global war on terror", displayed a tremendous actionism that exacerbated the fundamental evil - "imperial overstretching" to use the term historian Paul Kennedy instead of eliminating it.

‘Obvious Threat’: Russian Officials Warn Poland Not To Proceed With Permanent US Military Base

November 27, 2018 Staff, Rt.com Educate! Inter-Imperialist Rivalry, Military bases, Poland, Russia, United States

Moscow will have to respond if Warsaw pushes through a plan to build a permanent US base on its soil, top Russian officials have warned, as the Polish defense chief said construction of the so-called Fort Trump was a done deal. Poland’s Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak confirmed that a permanent US military installation will be “undoubtedly” created on the country’s territory. While bolstering US military presence is not a matter for negotiation, the exact mechanism and select units to be deployed are still being discussed, Blaszczak told Polish Radio on Tuesday. However, he did not reveal any details citing the need to protect a “strong negotiating position.”

The Dramatic Struggle For Our Planet And For Humanity In Henoko, Okinawa

November 26, 2018 Kawaguchi Mayumi, Worldbeyondwar.org Resist! Inter-Imperialist Rivalry, Okinawa, US Imperialism

The political scientist and activist Douglas Lummis has written, “The reasons for abandoning construction of the new US Marine Corps Air Facility at Henoko in northern Okinawa are many.” Indeed. It is hard to think of any legitimate reasons to go through with the project. Illegitimate reasons I can think of off the top of my head include increased status for the US and Japanese military, more power for ultranationalists and militarists in general, and a steady Pentagon-centered cash flow from US and Japanese taxpayers to fat-cat weapons suppliers. Professor Lummis outlines some of the many reasons why we all should oppose this new base construction...

China And Russia Look To Ditch Dollar With New Payments System In Move To Avoid Sanctions

November 26, 2018 Karen Yeung, Scmp.com Create! China, Inter-Imperialist Rivalry, New Economy, Russia, Sanctions

China and Russia are drafting a pact to boost the use of their national currencies in bilateral and international trade, underscoring their intent to cut their reliance on the US dollar. The development of a new international financial payments system aims to address rising concerns over additional US sanctions and trade tariffs. Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, during his visit to China earlier this month, said the two nations were discussing the launch of a new cross-border system for direct payment of trade invoices in the yuan and the rouble. He also said discussions were under way to allow the use of China’s UnionPay credit card in Russia and Russia’s Mir card in China.

US Prepares For Global War

November 24, 2018 By Danny Sjursen, Tomdispatch.com Educate! Inter-Imperialist Rivalry, US Imperialism, Wars and Militarism

American militarism has gone off the rails -- and this middling career officer should have seen it coming. Earlier in this century, the U.S. military not surprisingly focused on counterinsurgency as it faced various indecisive and seemingly unending wars across the Greater Middle East and parts of Africa. Back in 2008, when I was still a captain newly returned from Iraq and studying at Fort Knox, Kentucky, our training scenarios generally focused on urban combat and what were called security and stabilization missions. We’d plan to assault some notional city center, destroy the enemy fighters there, and then transition to pacification and “humanitarian” operations.

Climate Change Action Would Kill Imperialism

November 24, 2018 Manuel Garcia, Jr, Counterpunch.org Educate! Climate Change, Imperialism, Inter-Imperialist Rivalry

...the hard power that overtly invades and seeks to control territory to impose American capitalist domination, as for example capturing pipeline routes south through Afghanistan and Pakistan–away from China–out of Central Asian oil fields; the guarding of sea lanes crucial for petroleum transport west, as at Suez and the Strait of Hormuz, and east to Japan, Korea and Australia (if they behave); and the securing of scarce metal ore and rare earth deposits in Afghanistan and Africa (for elements used in solid state electronics)...

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