Why no mention of “impeaching” criminal, terror sponsoring US congress for its refusal to pass the Stop Arming Terrorists Act?…“The war machine operating in Washington is so powerful that anything can be turned into an existential threat.”
12/4/19, “Democrats’ report confirms anti-Russia axis of impeachment inquiry,” Barry Grey, wsws.org
“In announcing the release Tuesday afternoon of the Intelligence Committee’s majority report, committee chairman Adam Schiff (Democrat from California) said, “This is not about Ukraine. It is about our democracy.” The exact opposite is the case. The Democrats’ 300-page report is all about Ukraine and the central role it occupies in the geo-strategic [US taxpayer funded] operations of the United States directed against Russia. It has nothing to do with the defense of democratic rights.
The basic argument the document makes is that Trump, by temporarily withholding military aid and diplomatic support from the right-wing, anti-Russian government in Kiev, in an attempt to bully Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky into announcing a corruption investigation against Hunter Biden, the son of Trump’s potential opponent in the 2020 elections, had undermined US national security.
The latter term [“national security”] is a euphemism for the global interests of US [taxpayer funded] imperialism. Behind the phrases about “abuse of power” and placing “personal and political interests” above the interests of the “nation,” Trump’s real crime, the document makes clear, is drifting from the aggressive anti-Russian posture adopted by the Obama administration and supported by the dominant factions of the military/intelligence and foreign policy establishments.
The document cites numerous State Department and National Security Council officials who testified during the two weeks of public impeachment hearings and condemned Trump for jeopardizing the buildup of Ukraine as a pliant semi-colony and front-line state in the struggle against Russia. At several points it repeats their references to the “hot war” being fought by Washington’s Ukraine proxies against Russian-backed forces in eastern [Russian speaking] Ukraine and the need to escalate US [taxpayer funded] military backing for the regime.
It echoes their praise for a [Ukraine] regime that came into being in the first place in a 2014 coup carried out by US-backed [“Yats is the guy"] and fascist-led militias, which overthrew the elected, pro-Russian government of Viktor Yanukovych in the so-called “Maidan revolution.” Among those hailed by the Democrats’ star witnesses was Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov, a sponsor of the fascist Azov Battalion, which glorifies Ukrainians who collaborated with the Nazis during World War II against the Soviet Union and were complicit in the slaughter of Ukrainian Jews. The document is permeated with a war-mongering and aggressive sentiment against Russia, continuing, in a new form, the concocted narrative of massive Russian interference in the 2016 election and collusion by the Trump campaign with the Putin regime. The phrase “Russian aggression” occurs 20 times. It describes Ukraine as “a bulwark against Russian aggression in Europe.” [Translation: The US needs boots on the ground to help it destroy places around the world such as Russia. Although US has emasculated Ukraine over recent decades, it still needs foot soldiers. Thus the pep talk that Ukraine is a “bulwark.”]
The Democratic leadership chose to time the passage of a House resolution on Tuesday opposing Trump’s talk of inviting Russia to next year’s G-7 summit to coincide with the forwarding of the impeachment report to the Judiciary Committee….[Not to worry, he always chickens out: “Tweet. Cave. Repeat.“]
Not only is the impeachment inquiry centered on Ukraine, it is largely based on a single incident: the July 25 telephone call between Trump and Zelensky in which Trump demanded as a “favor” a public announcement by the Ukrainian president of an investigation into Hunter Biden’s lucrative position on the board of a Ukrainian gas company that was under investigation for corruption, as well as an investigation of alleged Ukrainian support for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election.
In his preface to the report, Schiff writes:
“At the center of this investigation is the memorandum prepared following President Trump’s July 25, 2019 phone call with Ukraine’s president, which the White House declassified and released under significant public pressure. The call record alone is stark evidence of misconduct; a demonstration of the president’s prioritization of his personal political benefit over the [alleged] national interest.”
Schiff presents the core of the impeachment case as follows:
“In pressuring President Zelensky to carry out his demand, President Trump withheld a White House meeting desperately sought by the Ukrainian President, and critical US [taxpayer funded] military assistance to fight [alleged] Russian aggression in eastern Ukraine.
The president engaged in this course of conduct for the benefit of his own presidential reelection, to harm the election prospects of a political rival, and to influence our nation’s upcoming presidential election to his advantage. In doing so, the president placed his own personal and political interests above the [alleged] national interests of the United States, sought to undermine the integrity of the US presidential election process, and endangered US national security.”
The report implicates other top administration officials as participants in the pressure campaign against Ukraine, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Vice President Mike Pence, Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney and former Energy Secretary Rick Perry.
It includes a section on Trump’s obstruction of the impeachment inquiry, which documents the White House’s effort to impose a total ban on cooperation with the congressional investigation. It notes: “The White House, Department of State, Department of Defense, Office of Management and Budget, and Department of Energy refused to produce a single document in response to our subpoenas.”
It lists 12 current or former administration officials who refused to testify, 10 of whom defied subpoenas. The list includes Mick Mulvaney, John Bolton and Rick Perry. The report states, “Indeed, it would be hard to imagine a stronger or more complete case of obstruction than that demonstrated by the president since the inquiry began,” strongly suggesting that the Judiciary Committee will include in its articles of impeachment a charge of obstruction of Congress.
The Republican minority report rejects all of the Democrats’ allegations, declaring, improbably, that there was no political motivation behind Trump’s demand that Zelensky announce a probe of the Bidens. The Republicans’ basic contention, however, that the impeachment inquiry is a political operation arising from differences over policy toward Russia, is undoubtedly true.
Their report states: “The fundamental disagreement apparent in the Democrats’ impeachment inquiry is a difference of world views and a discomfit with President Trump’s policy decisions.” In their findings, the Republicans reject the general media presentation of the corruption allegations against the Bidens as completely unfounded, noting that the “Obama State Department noted concerns about Hunter Biden’s relationship with [the gas company] Burisma in 2015 and 2016.”
They
also cite “indisputable evidence” that “senior Ukrainian government
officials opposed President Trump’s candidacy in the 2016 election and
did so publicly,” as well as media reports that the Democratic National
Committee worked with the Ukrainian Embassy to gather negative
information on then-candidate Trump. Notwithstanding the bitter differences over policy toward Russia between the Trump administration and the dominant factions of the [so-called] national security apparatus, for whom the Democrats speak, there is bipartisan support for the anti-Russian regime in Kiev and the [US taxpayer funded] drive to remove Russia as an obstacle to US hegemony in the Middle East and Eurasia. [Normal people (such as 63 million 2016 Trump voters) who want to stop endless US foreign aggression are not needed by either political party. The US is now effectively a monarchy because elections can’t change that the war industry is our master and we’re its slaves. Only the breakup of the US will do that]. Both factions in the conflict are right-wing and pro-war, posing the very real danger of a military conflict between the world’s two biggest nuclear powers.”
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Added: Ukraine has no banking system and no judiciary. Despite billions from US taxpayers, as of 2018, “Ukraine is now the poorest country in Europe. According to the International Monetary Fund, Ukraine overtook Moldova as the poorest country in Europe as measured in GDP per capita in 2018 at $2,963, 8 percent less than in Moldova.”… 4/26/2019, “What is wrong with the Ukrainian economy?“ Anders Aslund, Atlantic Council
Ukraine oligarchs still control 80-85% of the country’s GDP as of 4/30/2015..."On average, Ukrainian MPs [Parliament has 450 members] keep $700,000 at home. Those who have a lot of wealth transfer it to offshore havens, where the money is safe.…The banks’ primary problem is that their biggest clients do not pay…consider themselves too superior to pay, and unfortunately the Ukrainian judiciary agrees.”…"Since 2014 [through 10/3/2017] there has not been much change [in Ukraine]. Business people continue to hold leading political roles….After the Euromaidan protests [and US regime change], the political influence of some oligarchs increased even further.“…10/3/2017
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11/1/19, “NATO allocates 40 million euros for support of Ukraine,” 112.international/ukraine [US $44 million]
Image: NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg with Ukraine Pres. Zelensky, President’s Press Service “The money allocated for support in the spheres of a combatant command, cyber security and medical rehabilitation.”
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Added: Ukraine has become the Mexico of Europe, a huge percentage of its population has to leave loved ones behind and seek work outside Ukraine, sending scraps from their paychecks home to relatives as “remittances.” Ukraine is now the top recipient of remittances in Europe, with a staggering percentage of its population migrating abroad in search of work.”….10/14/2019, “DC’s Atlantic Council Raked in Funding from Hunter Biden’s Corruption-Stained Ukrainian Employer While Courting His VP Father,” Consortium News, Max Blumenthal
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Added: In Dec. 2013 US Senator McCain traveled to Ukraine to lead an anti-government “regime change” protest:
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Above, 12/13/2013, McCain in Kiev promoting overthrow of Ukraine government, AP, UK Guardian, AP
[US Senator McCain said,] “And of course Ukraine is the crown jewel.…Russia, without Ukraine it’s an eastern power, with Ukraine it’s a western power."
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Added: Russian President Putin urges Ukraine eastern regions to remain part of Ukraine:
6/6/2015, “Vladimir Putin Urges Donetsk And Luhansk To Remain Part Of Ukraine,” International Business Times, Christopher Haress
“This is a fundamental issue.”…
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Added: Russian President Putin fully endorses Minsk agreements: 6/6/2015:
6/6/2015, ”Putin: self-proclaimed republics’ readiness to remain in Ukraine is precondition for talks,” unian.info
““I would like to stress that Russia is interested in and will strive to ensure the full and unconditional implementation of the Minsk agreements, and I don’t believe there is any other way to settle this conflict today,“ he [Mr. Putin] added.”…"The leaders of the self-proclaimed republics in eastern Ukraine have publicly stated that under certain conditions-meaning the implementation of the Minsk agreements-they are ready to consider themselves part of the Ukrainian state, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview in an Italian newspaper on Saturday.”…
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Added: In 2014, Donetsk region of Ukraine declared its independence and asked to join Russia. While respecting the will of Donetsk citizens to declare their independence, the Russian government didn’t invite Donetsk to join Russia, instead advised dialogue with Kiev:
May 12, 2014, “Ukraine crisis: Donetsk region asks to join Russia," UK Guardian, Shaun Walker in Donetsk and Oksana Grytsenko in Luhansk
“Instead of previous statements saying it would protect people in the regions with troops if need be, the Kremlin called for dialogue between the government in Kiev and the south-east regions of the country.
“In Moscow, we respect the will of the people of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions [to declare their independence] and are counting on practical implementation of the outcome of the referendum in a civilised manner, without any repeat of violence and through dialogue,” the Kremlin said.”
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Added: Trump impeachment document describes Ukraine as “a bulwark against Russian aggression in Europe,” but Ukraine citizens don’t see themselves in that role. Ukraine population flees: 1991-2018 Ukraine population dropped by over 7 million, per World Bank...
Even Communism was better for Ukraine than two decades as a “U.S.-controlled aboriginal regime.”
From 1991-2018 Ukraine population dropped by over 7 million, per World Bank...Chart, 1960-2018
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1991-2018 pop. dropped by over 7 million
1991, 52,000,470…
1993, 52,179,210...
2014, 45,271,947 (After US regime change…“Yats is the guy" 629,428 more Ukrainians fled)
2018, 44,622,516…
US “regime change” in 2014 created even worse misery, causing 629,428 to flee, 2014-2018.
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Reference:
11/16/19, “Charlottesville and Ukraine: the Parallels That Mainstream Media Don’t Want You to See,” Daniel Lazare, Strategic Culture
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Comment: US desperately needs “boots on the ground” as it remakes the globe. It’s clear they’re trying to sell the hopeless idea that Ukraine can be its “bulwark,” ie, US boots on the ground in colonizing Russia and Asia--as Islamic terrorists have been US boots on the ground in Syria for 9 years. “Hopeless” because US gutted Ukraine over the past two decades. When "US military" is in Ukraine to “train” Ukraine soldiers, please ask US personnel why anyone should listen to a word they say since they can’t or won’t protect their own dangerous 2000 mile southern border. Hopefully Ukraine citizens will never again make the mistake of believing that any US politician or government representative cared about them or their country. “Elections” are to elect the best US puppet. Ukraine’s US led “regime change” in 2014 created even worse misery for Ukraine citizens, causing 629,428 to flee, 2014-2018.
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