U.S. Empire of Chaos Loses its Footing and Attempts to Topple Democratically Elected Philippine President Rodrigo Roa Duterte: Part One

Ferdinand Magellan Trip Around The World

On the 16^th of March 1521, Spaniard explorer Ferdinand Magellan, sailing from Spain, reached the archipelago of what was to become the Philippines. With the colonization that followed, the Philippines became part of the Spanish Empire, ending in 1898 when the U.S. Deep State targeted Cuba’s local gold (sugar) thanks to the 15th February 1898 dubious explosion of the U.S.S. Maine battleship in the harbor of Havana. This terrorist act did trigger the Spanish-American war and the beginning of the American Colonial Era of the Philippines. The Spanish-American war was followed by the 1899—1992 Philippine—American War and the Commonwealth period that was designed as a transitional administration in preparation for the country’s full achievement of independence.

Rodrigo Roa Duterte: Philippines 16th President

Rodrigo Roa Duterte, born in 1945 in Maasin, Southern Leyte, a law graduate, with a seven times Davos City’s Mayor proven track record, became the 16th President of the Philippines. Rodrigo Roa Duterte presents a potential threat to the Washington neocon leaders as he turned towards China and Russia and waved a French farewell “au revoir” to the Washington neocon thugs. The U.S. Empire of Chaos does not take this sort of loyalty shift lightly and many of us know what the Washington entourage is capable of when countries stop toeing the Washington neoconservative fascist line.

China President Xi Jinping with Philippine President Dutarte during official in China (October 2016)

During an October 2017 visit to Beijing China, Philippine President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, accompanied by 250 Philippine business leaders, made some remarkable comments that paved the way to what he called “a new commercial alliance as relations with longtime ally Washington deteriorate . . .In this venue, your honors, in this venue, I announce my separation from the United States.” Duterte told Chinese and Philippine business people, to applause, at a forum in the Great Hall of the People attended by Chinese Vice Premier Zhang. “Both in military, not maybe social, but economics also, America has lost.” Furthermore, President Dutarte added “For as long as I am here, do not treat us like a doormat because you’ll be sorry.” He added. “I will not speak with you. I can always go to China.”

Exercises in the disputed South China Sea have been put on hold, and 107 US troops operating drones surveilling Muslim militants will also have to leave the country soon, the Philippines Defense chief said. President Rodrigo Duterte said he wants an ongoing US-Philippine amphibious beach landing drill to be the last in his six-year presidency, with plans to halt all the 28 military exercises carried out with US forces every year.“This year would be the last,” Duterte pledged on Friday in Davao in the southern Philippines, AP reported. Dutarte also made some crude comments towards (former US. President) Barack Obama: the outspoken Philippines leader said his US counterpart Barack Obama, whom he has previously publicly called a “son-of-a-b***h,” should “go to hell.” Experts say the Philippines president’s plans to limit the presence of US troops will thwart Washington’s intention to beef up US forces in Southeast Asia in order to counter China. “President Duterte’s shoot-from-the-hip style of parochial democracy is deeply troubling,” Carl Thayer, an expert on the South China Sea, told AP. “If Duterte moves to curtail US rotational military presence from bases in the Philippines, this would undermine the US ability to deter China not only in defense of Philippines sovereignty, but regional security as well.”

Meanwhile the warmongering U.S. Empire of Chaos is remodeling Guantánamo Bay (Cuba) facilities and planning to invest a mere USD 500 million in new construction, from which USD 250 million for the hospital facilities: five additional beds: USD 50 million per bed.” Not bad for a Zimbabwe money printing style nation with twenty trillion USD debt!

Things are not doing well for the Anglo-American elite, The Bretton Woods Reserve Currency USD is losing its grip on an international community beginning to create and establish alternative competing financial products and institutions:

• BRICS: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa as an alternative to the Bretton Woods Western nations’ USD, GBP, EUR and ¥EN
• SCO: Shanghai Cooperation Organizationas as alternative to NATO
• AIIB: Asian Infrastructure and Investment Bank as alternative to the IMF
• CIPS: Chinese inter-banking payment system as alternative to SWIFT
• Shanghai Gold Exchange as alternative to the fraudulent financial paper markets of London and New York
• CFFEX: China’s New China Financial Future Exchange

The AIIB or Asian Infrastructure and Investment Bank is a major development in the international world of finances and a direct threat to US Dollar based institutions such as the Federal Reserve (FED), the IMF (International Monetary Fund), the World Bank, the Bank of England (BoE), the European Central Bank (ECB), the Bank of Japan (BoJ), and last but not least the Bank of International Settlements in Basel (BIS.)

Many of us may not have heard of the AIIB, but let’s not kid ourselves, The AIIB is a major financial threat to the 1944 Bretton Woods International Reserve Currency agreements. No less than 57 countries contributed to the start of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank; among others: The Philippines, France, Germany, Switzerland, Britain, South Korea, Canada, Belgium, Hungary, Ireland and Hong Kong.

But let’s get back to the Philippines, three archipelagos became of strategic importance for the geopolitical control of the U.S. Empire: the Philippines, Taiwan and Japan. As a footnote let’s not forget that following World War II, Japan and Germany remained to this very day two U.S. vassal states and US-occupied territories…

To be followed….

Bruno P. Gebarski for Geopoliticalnews.wordpress.com

 

 

 

George Friedman: A Neocon’s Blatant Speech on U.S.–Exceptionalism and U.S. Single-Handed International Warmongering Rights

Stratfor, a U.S. neocon geopolitical think-tank, should be considered as an extended arm of the United States’ Criminal Information Agency also known as the CIA.  George Friedman, a Jewish Hungarian naturalized U.S. citizen, is the CEO and co-founder of Stratfor: an organization that has often been described as the “Shadow CIA.” Geopolitical News considers Stratfor’s writings and geopolitical views as an unashamed ambassador for the Anglo-American neocon doctrine of worldwide hegemonic dominance or as coined by F. William Engdhal: Full Spectrum Dominance Totalitarian Democracy.

In order to remain a monocentric Empire, Friedman says, the United States of America must make sure, as it has been doing since World War One and for the last hundred years, that a rapprochement between Germany and Russia never takes place. A pluricentric world could threaten the U.S. Empire particularly a Russo-German alliance that would combine Germany’s state of the art technology and Russia’s vast amount of natural resources.

Another U.S. center of neo conservative Anglo American factories is the CCGA: The Chicago Council on Global Affairs. The CCGA is a non-elected, de facto U.S. government agency where renowned world leaders such as John Kerry, former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl and Dr. Angela Merkel have all held speeches.  

In George Friedman’s CCGA speech, “Europe — Destined for Conflict?” (February 3^rd of 2015), Friedman cynically touches on very sensitive nerves when straightforwardly admitting that the U.S. coup d’état in Ukraine was the “most blatant coup in history.” Two main points emerge from Friedman’s speech: 1. Creation of a European cordon sanitaire between Western Europe and Russia. 2. Prevention of a rapprochement thus détente and cooperation between Russia and Germany.

1. Creation of a European cordon sanitaire

U.S. policy of containment encircling Russia

Cordon sanitaire according Wikipedia “is a French phrase that, literally translated, means ‘sanitary cordon’. It originally denoted a barrier implemented to stop the spread of infectious diseases. It may be used interchangeably with the term ‘quarantine’, and although the terms are related, cordon sanitaire refers to the restriction of movement of people within a defined geographic area, such as a community. The term is also often used metaphorically, in English, to refer to attempts to prevent the spread of an ideology deemed unwanted or dangerous.” 

French Prime Minister George Clémenceau (1917—1920) is credited with the first use of the phrase as a metaphor for ideological containment. In March 1919, he urged the newly independent border states that had seceded from Russian Empire and Soviet Russia to form a defensive union and thus quarantine the spread of communism to Western Europe: he called such an alliance a cordon sanitaire. As a native speaker of French, I can only underline the arrogance and rudeness of such geopolitical choice of words. 

George Friedman speaking at the CCGA

Getting back to George Friedman’s CCGA speech and the Q&A session that followed, let’s review Friedman’s answer to an attendee’s first question:

(44:50) “Mr. Friedman, thank you for your analysis very much appreciated. If you are in Ukraine right now, and you are the Ukrainian government . . . or the people . . . what do you do? . . . What is next for Ukraine?”

(46:44 —48:10) George Friedman’s answer: “. . . He [ Lt.Gen. Ben Hodges, Commander U.S. Army Europe ] then left and announced . . . that the U.S. will be pre-positioning armor, artillery and other equipment in the Baltic [Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania], Poland, Romania and Bulgaria, which is a very interesting point . . . In all of this, the United States acted outside the context of NATO . . . So the point is, the United States is prepared to create a cordon sanitaire around Russia. Russia knows it, Russia believes the United States intends to break the Russian Federation; I think that, as Peter Lorry put it, ‘We do not want to kill you, we just want to hurt you a little bit.’ Either way, we are back in the [Cold War] old game (emphasis Geopolitical News) . . .”

2. Prevention of a rapprochement between Russia and Germany

The second question asked is of quintessential importance because it nails the U.S. perspectives vis à vis its European geopolitical ambitions:

(53:17 — 53:34) Attendee question: “is Islamist extremism really the major threat to the USA and will it die on its own or will it keep growing?”

George Friedman’s answer: “It is a problem to the United States but it is not an existential threat; it has to be dealt with but it has to be dealt with proportionately; we have other foreign policy interests. So … the primordial interest of the United States of America, over which for centuries we fought wars, First and Second and Cold War, has been the relationship between Germany and Russia because united they are the only force that could threaten us, and to make sure that does not happen (emphasis Geopolitical News), I say this as a possible victim of Islamic terrorism, it will happen … Even if we develop all of our efforts to preventing it, we will fail therefore if we do what we did in a decade after 9/11, which is utterly concentrate on that issue to the exclusion of all else, so that our army cannot fight unless it has sand under its feet, just not used to it, there are much larger dangers to the United States out there. It is very difficult to say to a country that has been hit by 9/11: take it in stride and no government can. But, the discipline of governance is that, while at the same time reassuring people that you are doing everything you can, you make sure you are not. . You are making as much as you reasonably should and our government… We have to remember the United States is like a fifteen year old, it’s manic depressive, in the morning it is love peace, love and happiness, at night it is suicidal because their best friend does not like them anymore: We are a very young empire we don’t even want to think about being an empire. We want to go home and have libertarian dreams: it won’t happen but it takes us a very long time to become mature. Georges Bush had not idea that his presidency was going to be about 9/11 and had no idea how to respond and neither did his critics. Barack Obama decided he could wish it all away. If he was nice, they won’t try to blow him up. We have to find a pattern of governance that combines an American Republic with what it never wanted to be, but we are almost one quarter of the world’s economy; we are going to piss people off a lot.”

In other words, the goal of the United States of America with its annual military budget exceeding 600 billion USD (more than all other nations’ military budgets combined) is to achieve the Pentagon’s Joint Vision 2020 of a unipolar world of full spectrum dominance: divide and conquer, Divide Et Impera.

George Friedman’s neocon views are sharp and high-pitched, cynical and arrogant, particularly when criticizing the U.S. wasting time and resources on a “Muslim threat” that does not qualify as an existential one! So one could and should ask: why on earth is the U.S. “allegedly fighting terrorism” in so many countries: Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria and Yemen via its proxy Saudi Arabia?

( to be continued…)

for Geopolitical News: Bruno P. Gebarski

Syria’s Pipelineistan: the Liquid Natural Gas War Between the United States of America and Russia (Part One)

“. . . There are a lot of every day human beings being marginalized by our very corrupt political system . . . [with] two political parties who are funded by predatory banks, fossil fuel giants and war profiteers…” —Dr. Jill Stein | US 2016 Presidential Candidate

Looking at all the illegal wars the United States of America, the rogue Empire of Chaos, has in progress, the most complex one is probably the Syrian war. So what could drive the U.S. to undertake such a crusade in this already battered part of the world? Why is the Rogue Empire of Chaos waging yet another war? Let’s follow the money trail and look at a few facts about Syria.

Since the 1980s, Syria has been depleting its resources of own crude oil. After peaking at 650,000 bpd (barrel per day) in 1995, crude oil production has plummeted to about 380,000 bpd in 2007. With declining output and rising consumer demand for petroleum products, Syria’s overall oil balance has turned negative in 2007, thus the need for Syria to orientate itself towards new sources of revenue.

Image 1. Bashar Al-Assad Four Seas Strategy Project | Google Maps

In 2009, recognizing that the heady days of Syrian oil production of the 1980s were long gone and that the sector’s future lay in transit, Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad announced a “Four Seas Strategy” (Image 1.) aimed at transforming the country into a regional hub for oil transportation between the Persian Gulf and the Black, Caspian and Mediterranean seas. Bashar Al-Assad started at taking steps to realize the country’s transit-center potential and bring the four seas strategy closer to reality.

In late 2010, Bashar Al-Assad’s government signed a memorandum of understanding with Iraq for the construction of two oil and one gas pipeline to carry gas and oil from Iraq’s Akkas and Kirkuk fields, respectively, to the Syrian port of Banias on the Mediterranean Sea. In July 2011 Iranian officials announced a $10 billion gas pipeline deal between Syria, Iraq and Iran that would transport gas from Iran’s South Pars gas field, the world’s biggest, through Iraq to Syria.

Image 2. Tweet from Dr. Jill Stein | October 22. 2016 | 8:30 PM

Looking back at the 2016 U.S. Presidential election Geopolitical News recalls Presidential Candidate Dr. Jill Stein as the only candidate who had the honesty to inform her voters about the real reason for the US-Syrian war (Image 2.). It’s about the United States of America and Russia controlling the Persian Gulf’s largest liquid natural gas field in the world. This gas field is shared between Qatar and its North Dome and Iran and its South Pars. Here are a few facts about the North Dome/South Pars gas field from Wikipedia:

Image 3. Qatari North Dome and Iranian South Pars | Wikipedia

 

The South Pars/North Dome field is a natural-gas condensate field located in the Persian Gulf. It is by far the world’s largest natural gas field. Iran and Qatar share ownership of the field. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the field holds an estimated 1,800 trillion cubic feet (51 trillion cubic meters) of in-situ natural gas and some 50 billion barrels (7.9 billion cubic meters) of natural gas condensates. On the list of natural gas fields it has more recoverable reserves than all other fields combined. It has significant geostrategic influence. This gas field covers an area of 9,700 square kilometres (3,700 sq mi), of which 3,700 square kilometres ,400 sq mi) (South Pars) is in Iranian territorial waters and 6,000 square kilometres (2,300 sq mi) (North Dome) is in Qatari territorial waters.

A “minute detail” that bothers the U.S. neocons is the fact that Syrian President Bashar Al Assad has refused to support the Qatari pipeline in favor of the Iranian one sponsored and supported by Russia: one of the main reasons why the US and Europe are involved in a conflict of geopolitical and geo-strategic importance: the Syrian conflict is about who will control the export of Middle Eastern gas: the United States of America or Russia?

Brazilian reporter Pepe Escobar qualifies this war as “Syria’s Pipelineistan being a war of deals, not bullets.” Please notice that the LNG reserves of Qatari-Iranian North Dome South Pars gas fields have more recoverable reserves than all other fields combined.

It’s about the geopolitics of who is going to control the supply of LNG towards Europe and the world: Qatar and its US allies defending the Petrodollar or Iran and its Russian allies defending the Petroyuan? (Image 4.)

Image 4. Persian Gulf: Qatar and Iran | Qatar: North Dome & South Pars: Iran | Google Maps

Pipeline One:  Petroyuan Russian side: Persian Gulf South Pars from Iran via Iraq, Syria, Lebanon; a project backed up by Russia (Gazprom), Iran and China.

Pipeline Two: Petrodollar U.S. side: Persian Gulf North Dome from Qatar, via Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria; a project supported by the United States of America and its allies: Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates. 

Image 5. Financial War Petrodollar vs Petroyuan

Who will win this financial war? (Image 5.) The United States and its European Allies with the Petrodollar or China and Russia with the Petroyuan?

This is the real dichotomy of the Syrian conflict.

Bruno P. Gebarski for Geopolitical News