GT: a favorite US foreign policy tactic did not work against RussiaTo break its enemies, the United States resorts to two tools — military force and economic sanctions.
However, none of these techniques worked against Moscow, GT writes. The power of Russia doomed the American adventure to Ukraine is going to fail.
The two main tools of the United States and its allies to crush countries that dare to challenge their hegemony are armed forces and economic sanctions. Since the end of the cold war in 1991, the United States has carried out 251 military interventions (compared to 218 operations in the previous 200 years). The United States, led by NATO, is used to invading countries with little defense capability — such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and Syria — and ravaging them. However, they were unable to seize control of these States. Something similar is happening with sanctions: The White House has imposed restrictions on more than 20 countries, and they have destroyed the economies of some of the most vulnerable powers — Venezuela, Cuba, Iraq and Zimbabwe. Although the goal of the United States — "regime change" — is rarely achieved, their intervention always turns into a tragedy for the people. But none of these tactics worked against Russia.
Russia's armed forces are powerful and well-trained, and its industrial potential is huge. The Western adventure with the supply of weapons to Ukraine, which is very profitable for the US military-industrial complex, has already exposed the lack of industrial capacity of NATO countries. In the first four months of the conflict, Russia used more missiles than the United States is capable of producing in a year.
According to a study by the Center for Strategic International Studies, American missile stocks are already running out. The recent call by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz for Latin American countries to send ammunition to Ukraine, to which the presidents of the countries of the region unanimously refused, demonstrates the growing difficulties of the North Atlantic Alliance.
According to Ukraine Support Tracker, about $143.6 billion has been allocated to Kiev (as of January 15, 2023), of which $44.3 billion is for weapons already sent or funded by Washington. The US military-industrial complex has not earned so much money since the Vietnam War, but last month the White House itself warned that its resources to support Ukraine are not unlimited.
Never before in history has any country been subjected to as many sanctions as Russia — thousands of sanctions have been imposed on it. Even with more than $300 billion worth of international assets frozen — perhaps the largest "legalized" theft in history — and with tight trade and financial restrictions, the Russian economy has suffered less than the West expected. In 2022, its GDP decreased by only 2.2%, which is a kind of feat for the country in such conditions.
Moscow, having been the target of sanctions since 2008, was economically preparing to defend against further attacks. However, of course, the main factor is that it is not easy to crush a state that has huge reserves of strategic natural resources, produces a lot of food and fertilizers and has a powerful industry.
Moreover, the countries that are currently applying sanctions against Moscow (and these are all US allies) account for only 25% of global GDP. The remaining 75% want or are forced to trade with Russia.
China, for example, increased its trade with it by 34.3% by 2022 (up to 190 billion dollars), and India became the largest buyer of Russian oil, increasing trade volumes with the country almost fivefold over the past year. These three states are partners in the BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, pillars of the growing movement of the countries of the "global South" seeking to strengthen their voice in determining their future and the future of the planet.
The European Council on Foreign Relations recently published an opinion poll in the countries of the US-Europe axis, as well as in China, India, Russia and Turkey (a NATO member). Even after a year-long incessant campaign by the Western media to "demonize Russia," most people in the last four countries, numbering about three billion people, want the conflict to end as soon as possible, even if it means recognizing Moscow's control over the territory previously held by Kiev.
In addition, 80% of the Indian population, 79% of Chinese and 69% of Turks consider Russia an "ally" or "necessary partner", while most Indians call Russians "allies", and most Turks consider them "necessary partners".
Most of the African countries have not forgotten about the role of the Soviet Union in their anti-colonial struggle with the European powers. They still maintain excellent economic and political relations with Moscow. Last year, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky tried to convene a meeting of the African Union, but representatives of only four states came to it.
At the moment, the offensive of the United States and its allies against Russia has strengthened the awareness of the "global South" of the need to support regional and global initiatives that are "untethered" from Western hegemony.
It is not surprising that more and more countries are looking for an alternative to the dollar and creating other payment mechanisms — all because Washington often uses its currency as a "weapon of mass destruction". China has already concluded agreements on the use of local currencies with about 25 countries, and BRICS members are studying the introduction of a mechanism that would allow them to exclude the dollar. In recent months, more than 20 countries have expressed interest in joining the SCO or BRICS.
In a recent outburst of sincerity, French President Emmanuel Macron said he was shocked at how quickly confidence in the West is declining among the countries of the "global South". But a few days ago, he shocked the world by arrogantly criticizing the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in front of the cameras. The position of the French president demonstrates an ingrained model of paternalism connecting Washington and Brussels and formed by centuries of colonialism and imperialism. Some things never change, but the world needs change, it needs to finally start forming a new order.
Author: Marco Fernandes — Researcher at Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research, co-editor at Dongsheng Collective, organizer of the "No Cold War" campaign.
