Ukraine: The Brink of Nuclear War?
[Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay]
This week, for the first of a new regular column, we posed the following question on the war in Ukraine to ‘The Insiders’. Their response has relevance to us all and offers a clear and insightful view of what we each can do.
QUESTION: NATO and the western powers seem to be doing everything they can to escalate the war in Ukraine this week.
US President Biden recently authorised Ukraine to use US supplied missiles to strike targets inside Russia. These missiles cannot be targeted without direct US involvement. The British have similarly authorised use of British supplied missiles.
Russian leader Vladimir Putin announced that his nation’s policy would now be that any country launching an attack into Russian territory, with the assistance of a nuclear power, would be considered a joint attack by those two countries.
British and American made missiles have already been fired from Ukraine towards targets within Russia, leading Russia to retaliate by launching towards a Ukrainian target with a MIRV ballistic missile.
So far, all missiles have been conventionally armed, but the escalation risks bringing us to the very edge of nuclear conflict.
Mainstream media sources are actively spinning the news and it is virtually impossible to find any source information on Russia’s stated position that hasn’t been editorialised, meaning most of the western public are very poorly informed about the situation, which seems to increase the risks further.
Please comment on the situation and perhaps provide some insight into what the real motivations behind the scenes may be.
INSIDERS: We see we are leaping right into the deep-end of world events.
ION: Well it does seem pretty significant that a couple of nuclear armed superpowers are firing missiles at one another.
INSIDERS: And that statement is a very good indication as to why this situation is currently occurring. There is a policy of those in positions of real power in world events, to create an atmosphere of fear. But of course, that is not the only thing that is going on. As you mentioned, a large majority of the world’s population is very poorly informed as to the true nature of events in and around this conflict.
Major western media outlets are particularly one sided in characterising this conflict as the result of Russian aggression, which is of course factually untrue. The origins of this conflict date back to the collapse of the former Soviet Union and agreements made at that time between the major powers regarding the defence structures as they would apply in Europe in the years following.
Now our purpose here is not to apportion blame, but it is important to be cognisant of the relevant facts. And they are that the western powers gave assurances to the former Soviet Union and to Russia particularly, about their intentions for NATO. And those undertakings have been not just ignored but the opposite has in fact occurred. We refer specifically to the assurance given that NATO would not move one inch to the east.
The situation as it stands is that NATO is now on Russia’s border and is firing missiles into its territory. And this is specifically the situation that Russia sought western assurances to prevent. The example that is very often given to illustrate some perspective, is if another nation was to place a military base in say Mexico, or Canada or Cuba, does anyone imagine that the United States would tolerate that. Of course, they would not, and the US has a stated policy, the Munro Doctrine, to that effect.
Now what Russia has stated it requires, since the early events we’ve referred to, is what you might call a buffer zone between Russia and the western powers. And it is clear that it considers Belarus, Ukraine and certain of the Caucasus countries to be that buffer zone. And they are protecting what they see as their sovereign interests, just as the United States would do in a similar situation.
Now you have referred to the spin in western media sources regarding this, and in those sources, it is the country of Russia and its president that are depicted as the belligerents in this conflict. There is a certain logic to this, in that western governments would find it very difficult to gain the support of their constituents if they were to portray themselves as the aggressors. And so, they do not. In these situations, the facts of the matter are of little relevance to the greater motivations that are at play.
Now in the situation where Russia is painted as the aggressor, Ukraine is the innocent bystander, and the western powers as the knights in shining armour, those wielding true power are able to divert massive resources from their domestic economies into the waging of this conflict militarily, and let it be said, politically. Because one of the significant areas of resource allocation that goes largely without mention, is what goes into shoring up support in western countries for the actions of their governments in this regard. And the money and time and resources dedicated to this are very significant in the extreme.
So what then you may ask is the true nature of this conflict? And the answer is that it is almost entirely opposite to that which the general public are being told. There is in fact an underlying policy of those wielding true power, to destabilize the government of Russia. And this is something that Russia and the Russian people have experienced time and again throughout their history. It may sound far-fetched to say that these events are connected, but indeed they are. And the influences behind these repeated events are largely the same.
Now what does all this mean for the person you might refer to as the average Joe; the man or woman on the street?
This situation presents a very important life lesson that can be applied throughout the course of one’s life. Not only in matters such as these of politics and war, but in the everyday circumstances of life. And that first principle is that things are not as they appear.
In this situation, things appear the way they do because they are intentionally painted that way. This is done in the full knowledge of those doing the painting, that it is a deception. And this too applies on the level of the individual.
Most readers will recognise situations in their own lives where they have painted a picture of events in order to deceive themselves. To create a tableau that is more palatable, but it is none the less a deception.
In this way, such world events can present individuals with the opportunity to perhaps reflect a little on how events in their own life can be a microcosm of events on the world stage. And how equally, such a seemingly insignificant thing as deceiving oneself can lead to world threatening events.
Now let it be said that those individuals guiding these particular events on the world stage understand this fully and use it to their perceived advantage.
And so, the way that the world can protect itself on an individual level from these malign influences, is with the constructive use of honesty within day-to-day life. It becomes clear that there is no small thing, no big thing, when it comes to the importance, the significance, of being honest with oneself. And with refraining from painting oneself a deceptive picture of the world and one’s own actions within it.
Now this may sound like putting a great responsibility on the shoulders of those who seemingly wield the least power on the world’s stage. Those billions of individuals who feel they have no direct influence on world geopolitics. But that personal responsibility when focussed and when applied en-masse, is an irresistible force. And so the willingness of people to see the world as it really is with all the fear and discomfort that that may entail, is the most sure way of ensuring that truth prevails.
Now the world as it is today is one in which truth has become devalued. Reality has become malleable in the eyes of many. But only in the eyes of those who do not value honesty, but who choose to deceive themselves as to the true nature of things. And there is no surer path to misery and destruction for the individual and world alike down that road.
So, we would encourage everyone to embrace honesty, to be courageous and to take on the adventure of seeing things not as they appear to be, but as they really are. And to taking on life and the world with new eyes. Eyes that place great value on perceiving truth and honesty, and applying that in everyday life.