The Geneva Meeting

What was all about ?

I start with the following fact :

The US insisted on having the meeting. Practically, the US stalked the Russians for a meeting. Why is the US so desperate to talk to a ” regional power ” as Obama once described Russia ?

1. We have to understand the psychology affecting the US ‘ behavior : the cowboy mentality = shoot first , ask questions ( talk ) later.
2. The US fired multiple shots at Russia ( and her strategic allies ) , but not one reached its intended targets. It was time to ask questions / talk : this is why Geneva was pursued.
3. Russia doesn’t have any illusions, but she prefers stability, wants international treaties establishing boundaries and believes in the international recognized laws over rules-based order .
4. Let’s count the shots fired by the US that tried to coerce Russia :

• shot fired at Belarus ( the US not only tried a coup d’etat , it tried to kill Lukashenko and his family
• then, the US tried to fire again at Belarus, but it did not realize it was using a blind bullet called Protasevich . Protasevich is now singing, exposing the entire charade.
• then, the US tried to shoot from the hip, to ” de- occupy Crimea ” .
• And the Russians pulled a much bigger gun . What made an impression was not only how big the Russian gun was, but how quickly Russia pulled it : by the time the Russians were ready, the NATO trannies were still applying their make-up.
• Syria : here , the US lost track of the bullets shot . The result ?
• Assad just re- won the presidency . Overwhelmingly. The US, trying to explain to the millions of Syrians celebrating this victory in the streets , that their elections were not free, seemed a little ridiculous. The Syrians are still celebrating- in the millions
• And Russia is still in Syria : Russia just built new runways at Kmeimim Air Base, accommodating Russia’s bombers Tu-22M3, Tu-95MS, and Tu-160 and now has nuclear submarines in a modernized Tartus base
• But what mostly worries the US ( the main reason for the meeting ) is that Russia has bigger guns : strategic weaponry and defense system, way above anything the US has.
• What’s the score ? The US = 0 , Russia = 6 ( at least )
• Such a poor result requires either a change in the profession of cowboy or negotiations
• So, the US realized it was time for a treaty in arms control .
• I made this drawing depicting Putin and the Donald after Putin announced Russia’s new hypersonic weapons, on March 1, 2018 . It is a reference to the movie “ The Good, the Bad and the Ugly “ .

Blondie ( Putin ) :

“YOU SEE, IN THIS WORLD THERE’S TWO KINDS OF PEOPLE/COUNTRIES, MY FRIEND: 

THOSE WITH  HYPERSONIC WEAPONS ( KINZHAL, AVANGARD) AND S-500 DEFENSE AND THOSE WHO DIG. YOU DIG.”

My version of “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly”

Tuco is the Donald, burying the American exceptionalism.

But , it just happened that the Donald was the president .

There is a list of Tuco(s), starting with Clinton, then Bush, Obama, the Donald and now Biden.

When the CIA made Yeltsin president of Russia ( Clinton was the president), the US thought that it mortally wounded Russia and that it had won for ever. Russia was dead and would remain dead.

But, it is not so easy to kill Russia : many had tried and failed.

While the US believed it was fulfilling its ” Manifest Destiny ” and was the only superpower left and was busy bringing ” freedom and democracy to the ME ” , Russia recovered and built big, really big guns. The type that takes generations to build 

The US is not years behind, it is at least a generation behind . 

And this makes the US very nervous . Nervous people don’t shoot well.

The US is lucky and unlucky at the same time – the US thrives on paradoxes.

The US is LUCKY because the Russians like treaties. 

Even when they know that the US is agreement incapable.

The US is lucky because the Russians don’t have this messianic mentality the US has and don’t feel the need to do chest bumping .

The US is lucky because the Russians ( and the Chinese ) want stability and predictability and want to be left alone to go their way .

The US is UNLUCKY because it can’t accept and understand that it is over :

Russia and China are rising while the US is collapsing . 

The US is unlucky because it can’t realize that its propaganda and lectures give no ROI

( returns on investments )

It is going to take a while ’til the US understands all these ( if ever). 

The US might be forced into admitting it, because the reality has a way of imposing in such a manner that even the most stubborn empires can’t ignore it.

‘Til then, in the US, it will be a competition on who is better at insulting Putin and Russia .