Moscow, Russia – One of the largest circulation newspapers in the world is Stars and Stripes, produced by the U.S. Department of Defense. On Dec. 10, it ran an article about the latest anti-Russian war game held by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The article, titled “NATO Land Command Fully Operational, Says Commander” cites Lt. General John Nicholson and declares this “NATO’s largest training exercise since the end of the Cold War.” NATO was created as an anti-Soviet military alliance of U.S. and it’s junior partners.

In the last days of the Soviet Union, President George Bush made a promise to Mikhail Gorbachev that NATO would not be expanded. A promise that is never meant to be kept is a lie. Since that day, NATO has ceaselessly grown in Russia’s direction.

According to Stars and Stripes, this was “NATO’s largest training exercise since the end of the Cold War.” The exercise involved 3700 troops, the largest number from the U.S., and took place in Estonia, which borders Russia. Of course, NATO’s scenario “dealt with the hypothetical invasion” of Estonia. What is the truth? Are there tens of thousands of Russian troops on the borders of the U.S.? No. By these ‘games,’ which threaten actual war, the U.S./NATO is maneuvering to weaken and contain Russia.

Another commander, named Breedlove, states, “As you have seen over the past few months, Russia’s aggressive actions in Ukraine have triggered the alliance to begin a series of assurance and adaptation measures to assure our allies and adapt our military organizations to the new security environment in Europe.”

It is the U.S. that has carried out aggressive actions in Ukraine, pouring $5 billion into a campaign that engineered a fascist-led coup against the government in the capitol, Kiev, in February 2014. The new pro-U.S. government has slashed social benefits for working people, carried out violent political attacks against communists and banned the use of the Russian language in schools or government. When the Russian minority revolted against the illegal Kiev government, the fascist forces that had led the violence in the February coup were given more arms by the new regime and launched against the Russian minority. Thousands have been killed by this U.S./NATO backed assault.

Anti-war Conference in Moscow

A group of peace activists from the U.S. are in Moscow this week for a conference entitled, “The right of nations to self-determination and the struggle for a multi-polar world.” The conference has been called by a new group, Anti-Globalization Movement of Russia.

According to their members, the group was created in 2011, after the U.S./NATO war in Libya. When Western-backed armed groups launched a war to overthrow the government of Col. Moammar Gaddafi that spring, the U.S. convinced the U.S. Security Council to grant a No Fly Zone. The Obama administration then used this as a green light to launch a massive air war by U.S. and NATO. Together with arms and intelligence provided to the different rebel factions, and the contribution of U.S. Special Forces, Gaddafi’s government was ousted.

The experience taught Russia and China both that the U.S. had adopted a new, aggressive military strategy to remove governments that were not friendly to the West. As a result, the two countries have exercised their vetoes in the U.N. repeatedly since then. Along with the military defeats of the U.S.-backed armies fighting the government in Syria, Russia and China’s vetoes have frustrated the U.S. war drive.

The U.S. has responded by becoming even more aggressive toward Russia. The use of outright fascists in Ukraine is the outcome of this desperation. And within Russia, activists began to organize protests against the imperialist agenda.

The activists from the U.S. are members of the United National Antiwar Coalition (UNAC). The Russians told us that they became aware of UNAC because of the protests we led against the U.S. wars of intervention in Syria and Ukraine in 2013 and 2014.

The conference begins Dec. 13, and countries expected to have delegations include Italy, Venezuela and Ukraine in addition to the U.S.

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