The Next Five Years Are Crucial for the US and the World

What I have to say could be heard from many others. I won’t quote only dissidents like Noam Chomsky, for sure. What about Robert Gates (the former chief of the Pentagon), Paul Roberts (former secretary of the treasury under President Reagan), Zbigniew Brzezinski (former national security adviser, well-known for his strong anti-Russian feelings), Angela Merkel (Germany’s chancellor), Ron Paul (a U.S. presidential candidate who sought the presidency more than once)? These are just a few of the prominent politicians and experts who have come to the conclusion that the aggression in Ukraine was ignited by the U.S. and that what happened there was actually a coup.

Unfortunately, there were few Bulgarian media who quoted similar opinions. There was plenty of enthusiasm among media teams when it came to the announcement — “we have news: the Maidan snipers were sent by Yanukovich!” — but no enthusiasm followed the conclusion of the independent commission summoned to investigate who were the snipers who shot both police and protesters in February this year. The conclusion was released a few days ago.

According to the commission, the snipers weren’t from Berkut* (in other words, sent by Yanukovich): The ammunitions they carried and the other circumstances of the shooting lead in other directions. For instance, the German journalists who were there claim they heard shots from a hotel behind them, while the police force was right in front of them. Besides, that same hotel was taken over by the Maidanists after the shooting and turned into the headquarters of the latter. We also have photos of the snipers, provided by the German journalists, and the tape of a radio listener who had tuned into the Berkut communication frequency and released the record to the press. “Who is shooting on them?” a police officer clearly says, caught on tape. “Not us,” his colleague responds, “we are only shooting at the armed ones.” Even more troubling was the leak of a conversation between Catherine Ashton, the high representative for foreign affairs of the EU, and the Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Paet, in which they mention that the leaders of Euromaidan hired the snipers.

What does the U.S. have to do with that? A country once brimming with excess, the U.S. has turned into a nation burdened with deficit and a growing national debt. When the American economy headed downward, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan started. Today, the aggression in Syria and Ukraine seems to have burst for the same reasons. Americans know they can’t raise the debt ceiling forever. By the way, China is now the number one economic power and they only need to strengthen their position as such — just take a look at the Chinese economic growth compared to the EU, U.S. or Russia.

The Americans, Though, Have a Shale Trump in their Stack of Cards

And they’ll make good use of it in the next couple of years. I don’t think the U.S. or NATO ever imagined they could turn a country right next to Russia into a full-fledged ally with their own military bases. That would be only a bonus if it were possible. But it is not. Russia responded. In regards to Crimea, the West hypocritically rewound the tape with the speeches about democracy. As Ron Paul asked, “Why does the U.S. care which flag will be hoisted on a small piece of land thousands of miles away?” They knew this would happen.

Why did no one cry for democracy when there was a referendum for the independence of South Sudan in a situation of civil war? Not only was there a civil war, but that war happened to be one of the longest and bloodiest we have seen. Maybe it is because today American companies, such as Shell, are depleting South Sudan’s oil resources — in this case, a referendum is not a problem.

According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, the American reserves of shale gas are enough to outrun today’s leading gas exporters — Saudi Arabia and Russia. But the report also points out something that will make good reading for the local fracking lobbyists of the American shale companies — these resources would only feed the demand for five years. After that, the old status quo will be restored with Saudi Arabia and Russia taking back their leading role.

This is why people from the inner circle of top U.S. officials — like Hunter Biden, son of the U.S. vice president, who was appointed to the board of directors of the largest private Ukrainian gas company, Burisma Holding — are taking key positions in strategic sectors of the Ukrainian economy. Even before Yanukovich was overthrown, Victoria Nuland — assistant secretary of state — suggested that it would be best for Ukraine to sign an agreement with American gas companies who are interested in exploring shale gas resources. Of course, the clauses of the agreement won’t be favorable.

Weeks after his appointment, interim Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, who won just seven percent in the latest presidential elections in Ukraine, announced that the gas storage facilities of the country are empty. Why did his government need a month to acknowledge the fact? Where did the gas go? Aside from the missing gas, there were some speculations that the gold reserve of Ukraine was secretly taken out of the country. That’s their problem. American friendship always has a high cost — if the relationship between the U.S. and its satellites could be called a friendship. Of course, the missing Ukrainian gas only adds to the crisis.

Europeans To Put Up with Cold

Someone needs a gas crisis and a breakdown in EU-Russia relations. Although the cooperation between those two is the only path to peace and stability, the U.S. is against it. And Europe turns its back on its own interests to obey its trans-Atlantic ally. Shy voices among our own politicians also started mentioning alternatives to Russian gas — American shale gas or lifting the moratorium on fracking for American companies like Chevron. OK, but how to convince Angela Merkel to impose sanctions against Russia (meaning real sanctions, not cosmetic ones) while Germany is buying Russian gas at such a good price? Maybe the American intelligence services who wiretapped the German chancellor were looking for the answer to this same question.

As for Ukraine, the goal is to make it stop payments to Russia’s Gazprom, which will eventually turn off the gas for Ukraine, and then Europe. The sabotage of projects like South Stream is one of the specific goals of the U.S., which will affect Bulgaria as well. Some countries, though, like Italy, flatly refused to abandon the project. There are many unknowns in the plan of the Americans. The next president of Ukraine will be in charge in the next five years, and it is crucial for the U.S. that he or she is a pro-Westerner, like Timoshenko.

This is the simple truth. And I expect a scenario similar to Libya, Syria and Ukraine to take place in Venezuela as well (one of the richest countries in terms of oil and natural gas reserves, who banished the American corporations and nationalized its oil resources). The next five years are the United States’ last chance to preserve its Pax Americana. The Americans are running out of time and they will have to act. Let’s not forget that the only true winner of World War II was the U.S. While the U.K. lost so much of its influence, Russia got exhausted and Germany crashed, the U.S. was doing well. There are archives, declassified today, which suggest that the Cold War may have been promoted by the U.S. If that is the case, we can pray for another Cold War instead of World War III.

*Translator’s note: Berkut is the special police force in Ukraine.