Building a Groundswell for Peace and Development

The United States Embassy in Moscow issued a new travel advisory on Feb. 13, warning American tourists and residents to leave Russia immediately. While this is not the first such warning over the past year, it included, this time, the Embassy’s assessment that “terrorist groups, both transnational and local” are planning attacks. Shortly thereafter, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov reported that Russian intelligence services have advised that “the United States is planning to send [terrorist] militants into Russia” to carry out attacks. They are to be trained in making and using improvised explosive devices, sabotage, etc.

This represents a very dangerous escalation of the U.S.-Russia confrontation, whatever the details of the operation may be. It comes on top of the potential delivery to Ukraine of the most advanced weapons, as well as increased talk of the deployment of nuclear bombs in Russia’s planned offensive.

Simultaneously, Washington is escalating its hostile moves against China. Since the U.S. Air Force shot out of the skies a Chinese “weather balloon” that had strayed off-path on Feb. 4, three other “flying objects” have been taken down over American or Canadian territory. A great deal of mystery continues to surround these incidents and where the objects came from, but that has not prevented the hysteria against China from growing. Chinese authorities have denied any ownership of these objects, much less their alleged “spy” functions. They have, however, pointed out that the United States has the largest spy and surveillance apparatus in the world, and has no qualms about using it.

For these and other reasons, support for the policy run from Washington and London is crumbling throughout the world. The brutal refusal to lift the murderous sanctions against in Syria in the wake of the tragic earthquake, has shocked even the most hardened supporters of the “unipolar world” in the Global South.

The most effective way for citizens in Europe and elsewhere to express their rejection of this policy is to join the antiwar movement that is finally growing, including by participating in the rallies planned this month (cf. below). And by demanding that their respective governments support a new security and development architecture, as proposed by the Schiller Institute.