To the Editor:
When Russian President Putin signaled Moscow’s readiness to use every available means to protect Kaliningrad from threatened Western assaults, he was promptly accused of nuclear saber-rattling by the hypocrites of the Western press. What deadly nonsense!
Conveniently omitted from the mainstream narrative were the plans, discussed at length in several European publications, for surrounding and capturing the enclave, internationally recognized as Russian territory since 1945. Putin responded, in paraphrase: We have no intent to attack NATO nations. But please don’t make us choose between accepting the dismemberment of our nation or deploying our full arsenal. Notably, President Kennedy pointedly warned against giving any nuclear power that ominous either/or option, in his famous Rice University speech of June 1963.
Putin flatly accused European officials of hyping Russo-phobia to distract from their growing domestic economic-political failures. Spain has erupted in protest after an 87-year old handicapped woman was evicted after her rent was hiked 230% by her new hedge fund landlords. French high school students have launched a highly violent rampage in opposition to intolerable education policies. President Macron and German Chancellor Merz have repeatedly insisted on severe social program cutbacks to fund a rearmament drive in anticipation of a Russian invasion in 2030; no, 2029; no, 2027! Their approval ratings stand at 16-18% and 11-12% respectively, making President Trump’s abysmal 31% seem the acme of popularity in comparison.
The larger issue behind the war drive was articulated by, surprisingly enough, Iranian President Pezeshkian at the recent BRICS conference. The huge financial bubble in the Trans-Atlantic financial system is set to explode. The Global South and East nations aren’t cunningly conspiring to sink the dollar, but they are taking steps to protect themselves from the impact, like trading in their own currencies. Even these small measures provoke fury from London and Wall Street, who are determined to eradicate any challenge to the bankrupt old order through forever wars.
One final note: In August, Defense Undersecretary Elbridge Colby seriously proposed using tactical nuclear weapons to fight “limited nuclear wars.”
Please tell me again: Who’s rattling atomic sabers?
Sincerely, Doug Mallouk
