Neocons want to permanently destroy Russia. Crimea is the crucial stepping stone.
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The key to understanding the conflict in Ukraine is the role Crimea plays. The neocons in the Obama admin thought it would be terrific foreign policy to halt an ascendant Russia, by taking control over Crimea and converting Sevastopol into an US/NATO naval base.
This would position Washington to box-in Moscow with an arsenal of nuclear weapons, right on Russia's doorstep. It would also position Washington to have geostrategic domination of the Black Sea basin. Crimea, for this purpose, is therefore a prize of the highest magnitude for the neocons who control Washington's foreign policy establishment.
The problem was how to make it happen. The first step was gauging opposition, if the Crimean population was open to the idea of hosting a US/NATO base, then the idea would be a much easier sell. Washington quickly discovered that the population identifies predominantly as Russian and/or Crimean, with only a minority identifying as Ukrainian.
Since Crimean opposition was assessed to be fierce, this shifted the plan to a strongarm takeover. Washington would have to conduct a regime change operation and take control of the Ukraine government. Once Washington had control, Ukraine could be swiftly assimilated into NATO and Russia's lease on Sevastopol canceled. Local opposition would simply be steamrolled, the city and base transformed into host for a joint US-Ukraine naval base, ostensibly for NATO purposes.
The mechanics of the coup were carried out in 2013-2014, with much of the ground prepared by Victoria Nuland and organizations like the NED. The NED being one of Washington's primary regime change NGOs, run by the CIA and funded by taxpayer money. Large sums were spent astroturfing the "Maidan" movement and incentivizing nationalists groups to get behind it. The nationalists were key to the coup, which would have failed without the extreme levels of violence they supplied. Nuland made sure these groups were well funded and supported.
When Washington's Kiev coup ultimately succeeded, the great majority of the Crimean population was having none of it. They felt disenfranchised, enraged that their representation in govt had been illegally stolen from them by the coup. It was Crimeans themselves who organized the referendum, and in an organic process chose by a landslide to affiliate with Moscow instead of Kiev.
The subsequent annexation was an absolutely devastating blow to the plans of the Washington neocons. Putin and Russia had almost trivially snatched Crimea right out from under the noses of Washington. This was made possible due to two facts: the majority of Crimeans support Russia and that Russian forces already legally occupied Crimea. The reunion with the Russia Federation was carried out swiftly, almost without a shot.
Washington's retribution was severe, harsh sanctions on Russia and a serious effort to build-up Ukraine militarily, aided by other NATO members. The general idea was to supply the nationalist extremists with weapons and resources. Washington would then just wait for what comes naturally to nationalist extremists, which is to attack and molest disobedient minorities. In particular, the ethnic Russian separatist movements in eastern Ukraine.
Of course there is much more to it, but the general idea was to provoke Russia into "aggression," then Washington's proxy army would engage Russia and grab Crimea back. The continued dangling of the NATO carrot in front of Kiev also compounded the degree of provocation to Moscow.
Washington's Kiev overthrow was achieved in 2014, thanks to devoted imperialistic fuckery, but the real goal was always getting control of Crimea. This would guarantee a major geostrategic defeat for Russia, Putin's political demise, and a serious destabilization of the country. All the preconditions necessary for Washington to do to Russia what it did to Ukraine. This is why neocons like Victoria Nuland are singularly obsessed with Crimea.
Thus, what makes Sevastopol and Crimea important to Russia is not necessarily the Black Sea base, what makes it important is that Washington can never, ever, be allowed to control this territory and exploit it for the purpose of dismantling Russia.
Tom |
