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“The plan of the U.S. with the sanctions… not just to try to undermine the Russian economy, but to deepen U.S. control over the Western European economy. Like the old saying goes…what’s the mission in NATO? It’s to keep the Russians OUT, the Americans IN and the Germans DOWN!” – Dr. Jack Rasmus (from this week’s interview.)

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Tens of thousands of Ukrainians, and a considerable number of Russians have died in the conflict now extending over more than 2 years and 2 months. [1]

The violence which appeared to shift in favour of the Ukrainian side in the summer and fall of 2022 soon ran up against a road block in the summer and fall of 2023, as huge numbers of Ukrainians died during the Grand Counter-offensive which got them back a little over a hundred square miles of territory. Around the second anniversary of the start of the invasion, Russia had finally taken the city of Avdiivka, considered by Russian-backed officials as a “fortress” and as strategically significant. [2][3]

In recent months, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has practically been begging governments in the U.S. and across the Western world for more weapons to direct toward the Russian aggressors. [4]

These days, even the mainstream (legacy) press seems (finally) doubtful about Ukraine’s prospects of winning back all of their pre-2022 territory, let alone Crimea! As pointed out in a recent article for the BBC:

“The Russian army’s tactics, leadership and equipment may be inferior to Ukraine’s, but it has such superiority in numbers, especially artillery, that if it does nothing else this year, its default option will be to keep pushing Ukraine’s forces back in a westward direction, taking village after village.” [5]

The defeat of Ukraine and NATO in this conflict is very clear, certainly to major critics such as Douglas MacGregor and Scott Ritter. The sanctions don’t seem to have worked to cripple Russia or instigate significant public opposition to their beloved “dictatorial” President. Ukraine’s soldiers are losing hope. The people are leaving Ukraine in large numbers. (The current population is 37,937,821. Six million lower than in 2020!) [6]

Then, on Wednesday, April 24th, U.S.A to the rescue! U.S. President Joe Biden signed a bill, voted for by the House of Representatives and the Senate, approving of a $95 billion war aid package, roughly two-thirds of which was aimed at Ukraine’s recovery. The question, of course, is will this delayed $61 billion in military support represent too little too late for the conflict. [7]

Our feature guest for this episode of the Global Research News Hour is Jack Rasmus, and he says not only that only a small fraction of the “colossal” amount is for actual new arms. Another bill will allow the U.S. and ultimately Europe to direct assets seized from Russia as part of the sanctions campaign when the Russian “special military intervention” started to the Ukraine Defense Fund, thereby defeating the enemy with its own resources. He will also discuss how this move will backfire, as the sanctions have, and talk about what kind of prospects in the long term, the BRICS alternative will have when pitted against the U.S. favoured Bretton Woods system, favoured since World War II.

This will be followed by geopolitical analyst and frequent guest Peter Koenig with his own assessment of the situation for Russia and for the other targets of the $95 billion foreign aid package.

Dr. Jack Rasmus is author of the books, ‘Central Bankers at the End of Their Ropes’, Clarity Press, 2017 and ‘Alexander Hamilton and the Origins of the Fed’, Lexington Books, 2020. Follow his commentary on the emerging banking crisis on his blog, https://jackrasmus.com; on twitter daily @drjackrasmus; and his weekly radio show, Alternative Visions on the Progressive Radio Network every Friday at 2pm eastern and at https://alternativevisions.podbean.com.

Peter Koenig is a geopolitical analyst and a former Senior Economist at the World Bank and the World Health Organization (WHO), where he worked for over 30 years around the world. is the author of Implosion – An Economic Thriller about War, Environmental Destruction and Corporate Greed; and  co-author of Cynthia McKinney’s book “When China Sneezes: From the Coronavirus Lockdown to the Global Politico-Economic Crisis” (Clarity Press – November 1, 2020).

Peter is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG). He is also a non-resident Senior Fellow of the Chongyang Institute of Renmin University, Beijing.

(Global Research News Hour Episode 430)

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Transcript of Peter Koenig, May 3, 2024

Background

Congress Approves US$ 91 billion “Aid” package for Ukraine (61 billion), Israel (22 billion) and Taiwan (8 billion)

Subject to revision, initial reports of the composition of the $61 billion [for Ukraine] indicate $23.2 billion of it will go to pay US arms producers for weapons that have already been produced and delivered to Ukraine. Another $13.8 billion is earmarked to replace weapons from US military stocks that have been produced and are in the process of being shipped—but haven’t as yet—or are additional weapons still to be produced. The breakdown of this latter $13.8 amount is not yet clear in the initial reports. One might generously guess perhaps $10 billion at most represents weapons not yet produced, while $25-$30 billion represents weapons already shipped to Ukraine or in the current shipment pipeline.

See this https://www.globalresearch.ca/ukraine-war-funding-failed-russian-sanctions/5855512 .

Global Research: What do you make of these numbers, and of what is being projected, and what might happen?

 Peter Koenig: This complicated Congressional numbers game, adding up to US$ 91 billion, of which US$ 61 going to Ukraine – is nothing more than to confuse people and to make believe something “game-changing” will happen after the money — and / or the weapons were shipped.

The Reality is very different.

The Biden Administration and Congress know exactly what they are doing.

They are openly wasting money – tax-payers money that is – and if tax-payers, the public at large, would understand what is really going on – they might protest Big Style.

The truth is that the Biden Admin. and Congress know very well that this proxy-war is lost against Russia, that it was lost from the start.

It is a proxy-war between the US and Russia. Never with the idea that Ukraine would win it. At best, the intention was to weaken Russia for perhaps a later direct invasion – because what the US self-styled empire wants since WWI – and before – is dominate the largest country in the world, and to take over – or steal, in more common language, Russia’s huge natural resources.

That is what the elite always wanted. Dominating people and resources.

That is what psychopaths want.

The empire and its allies are run by psychopaths.

This money, the US$ 61 billion, is spent for pure propaganda and to finance the black-market with more or less sophisticated weaponry.

Of course, other than making the war-industry, and those who own it, like BlackRock and Co., even richer.

Do you know for example, that about 70% of the arms shipped to Ukraine never see the front, but go directly to the black market? Where they are picked up by future – or present – “terrorist groups”, already created or to be created in the near future – to terrorize countries so they can be invaded by the empire….

The classical scheme that we know since CIA’s creation of Al Qaeda at the beginning of the 1980s.

By the way – the 70% of weapons and the black market was even reported by CNN, BBC, and the Wall Street Journal. So, it is not a secret.

Just most people do not know it.

As to a Plan B – I do not believe in a plan B.

There is no Plan B.

And Plan A is so simple, it does not even have a name.

If Russia wants to take over the entire Ukraine, they can do it in less than 48 hours.

That was never Russia’s intention.

Remember – already months ago, NATO Chief, Jens Stoltenberg, said, and repeated it on several occasions, that the war really started already in February 2014, with the Maidan Coup, instigated by Madame Victoria Nuland and her Washington backdrop. The Nuland part was not said by Stoltenberg, of course. These are my words.

Then came the Minsk agreements One and Two in September 2014, and in March or April 2015.

By now we know, as Mme. Merkel said last year, they were all a planned deception, make the world believe that Peace was on their priority list, when in fact they, the Minsk Accords, would serve to prepare Ukraine better for a war with Russia.

Yes, Ukraine was used as a platform to weaken Russia, but never, did anybody in Washington or Europe think Ukraine would win a war against Russia.

Spending, as the US did so far, some US$ 200 billion on Ukraine – was sheer waste, furthering even more corruption and as I said before – fueling the black market with arms for further “terror-implanted” conflicts.

It is actually simple.

But hard to make people believe in so much evil intentions.

Now, during the 8 years between the Maidan Coup in February 2014 and the Russian intervention in Donbass in February 2022, some 14,000 Russian-origine people were killed, and like in Israel, the intention was to kill as many women and children, because the proportion is about the same – some 70 percent of the slaughtered Russians in the Donbass region are women and children.

Not by accident. Children are the future generation and women are the bearers of the future generation.

That is when Russia intervened. Never to take over Ukraine, but to liberate the Russian population from the Nazi-aggression of Kiev’s.

Yes, Nazi – the same kind – the Banderas, the Right Sector – that fought with Hitler in WWII, killing tens of thousands of Jews and other “undesirables”. On behalf of Hitler.

These same people are leading today’s regime in Kiev.

And Europe and the United States are allied with these Nazis.

Just imagine!

In Germany and many other European countries, the promotion of Nazism and / or association, or alliance with Nazis is strictly and Constitutionally forbidden.

Yet, German and the EU do it. They are disregarding their own legislation, associating with a Nazi Government in Kiev, just to attempt doing as much harm to Russia as possible.

What more is there to say about the West?

A word about Money going to Israel and Taiwan….

Aid to Israel – some US$ 22 billion; it is openly meant to kill more Palestinians. Washington is run by Zionists and Zionists are already running the world, just most have not noticed it yet.

However, they will not succeed and becoming the Chosen People – controlling the world and the world’s resources; what they pretend their bible says was their destiny.

If there is a real God, he or she would never allow such evil.

So, Palestine will LIVE – and Zionist-driven Israel and Washington and Europe will either agree to a two-state solution or – else….

Aid to Taiwan 

These US$ 8 billion are an equally ludicrous initiative as is Ukraine – a mini-proxy war against China – never winnable.

This too is well-known to the Biden Administration.

Still, they make believe, and want Americans to believe that the self-styled empire will eventually take over China. Not even in Washington’s own pathetic and wildest dreams they believe such nonsense.

But they create unease – unnecessary tension.

In reality, Mainland China and Taiwan have already for years a fairly well-developed, mutual interest relationship: Common businesses, investments on either side of the Taiwan strait — exchange of labor and executives — great trade and business collaboration and cooperation.

A serious inquiry in Taiwan would result in a majority of Taiwanese wanting to end this state of tension and integrate into Mainland China, as soon as possible.

This is inevitable, sooner or later.

What is Washington pretending to do in an area which is half a world away from their home-land?

How anybody can think differently is simply beyond reason

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The Global Research News Hour airs every Friday at 1pm CT on CKUW 95.9FM out of the University of Winnipeg.