One side argues that, had Ukraine been made a NATO member, it would have sat permanently deep inside the heart of Russia as a nuclear threat. To avoid the imminent risk, Russia invaded Ukraine. The other side argues that Russia made it an excuse just to annex the Donbas region or take the area under its sphere of influence permanently. Russia did it to fulfill its expansionist design and strategic interest. The controversy has been discussed at length and breadth often with Goebbelsian propaganda. The subject matter of this article is different.
It can be said without giving any explanation that the USA is a major party to the Ukraine war. It is the USA that is waging the proxy war in favor of Ukraine against Russia. It has successfully included some of its obedient followers/associates including NATO as allies. If one analyzes the overall picture deeply, it will be evident that the interest of the MILITARY and OIL industries is playing a very significant role in this war. Apparently, it seems that they are engaged in thwarting the Russian invasion, but their other goal is to check the emergence of China as a parallel power in the world. They, under no circumstances, are ready to accept China as the number one power.
1.The interest and influence of the Oil – Gas and Petrochemical sectors: These two sectors are immensely powerful in the USA. They have a tremendous influence on both the Democratic and the Republican parties. It is very difficult to stay in power by antagonizing them. Some of the oil-rich middle eastern countries were destroyed more than once due to their displeasures. Dictatorship and autocracy are still prevailing in countries like Saudi Arabia and the UAE because of their patronage and support.
However, the US dependence on Middle Eastern oil has come to a very minimum level in recent years. US citizens are buying or being forced to buy internally produced oil and gas at higher prices. The profit from higher prices is going to the accounts of the owners of these industries. The US has a huge reserve of oil and gas in comparison to internal demands. If it could export a significant portion of its surplus reserve to Europe, it could have earned billions of dollars from liquid gold.
The US was trying to do this for a long time. But the higher price is the main obstacle. The main supplier of oil and gas to Europe is Russia because its price is much cheaper. The cost of oil and gas production in the USA is so high that it cannot compete with Russia. If the export of Russian oil to Europe is stopped for some reason, the US intention can be fulfilled. The Ukraine war has brought this opportunity to them in which the Goebbelsian media propaganda has been employed.
The Western media is controlled by the oligarchs of the West from behind the scenes. At times they build syndicates to perpetuate their unethical interests. This media is now carrying out such a unified and continuous propaganda campaign that importing oil from Russia will be considered a great sin. No one should be involved in such unethical business. The non-stop propaganda has yielded the desired result. The people have become convinced. A country like Germany, which is heavily dependent on Russian oil and gas and where somewhat a pro-people government is in power, has decided to phase out Russian imports. From now on, people must buy oil and gas at a much higher price, a part of which will come from the USA in the form of LPG and CNG. The profit will go into the pockets of US businessmen and producers.
2. War Industry – Arms Business: It is known to all that the weapons and military industrial complex has enormous control and influence over the US administration. It has a permanent lobby representation at the White House and Capitol Hill, being so powerful that the administration cannot ignore big arms producers like Boeing and Lockheed.
The US is the largest arms exporter in the world. Russia is in second place with a considerable distance. The People’s Republic of China is coming up rapidly, though it is far behind the US and Russia. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) and Worldblaze, during the 2017 – 2021 period, the USA earned more than $47 billion by exporting different types of weapons and war materials. During the same period, Russia earned over $33 billion and China more than $9 billion from arms exports. More than 50% of earnings from annual global weapons export go to the two countries- the US and Russia. It is said that the weapons producers and businessmen not only look for war but also welcome armed conflicts. No doubt, they will reap the profits of the Ukraine war.
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine on the 24th of February, the Western world led by the US is continuously supplying war materials to Ukraine. The US, other western countries and NATO are not directly waging war against Russia because it may lead to the start of the Third Word War which invariably will turn into a Nuclear War and that will be tantamount to a collective suicide by both parties. They are engaged in a war against Russia by continuously supplying arms to Ukraine. As the so-called leader of the free world, the US has become the main supplier of arms. If Ukraine has the ability to repay the price of these arms is a separate question. If Ukraine fails to repay, it will remain obedient to the US in the future, too.
But the US is making payments to the arms producers and related businessmen for purchasing these arms for Ukraine. And ultimately it is the American people who pay the price because the government has no money of its own. That is why a strong public opinion must be created in favor of this proxy war by the USA. Therefore, Americans must be convinced that it is only Russia that is responsible for this war. The media which is controlled and run by the western oligarchs and their associates all over the world are making all-out efforts to make this propaganda happen. They are also thus engaged in this war.
The Ukraine war has brought new marketing windows worth billions of dollars for the arms producers and dealers. The war has introduced some new arms and ammunition which have been used in it. The last introduction is new types of US drones. Russia has also used new types of missiles. No doubt, some Middle Eastern countries like Saudi Arabia will be interested to buy new versions of US arms and India and other countries which are heavily dependent on Russian arms will be looking for new types of missiles produced in Russia.
The two countries who have won most in the Ukraine war are the US and Russia. By this time, Zelensky has accepted the fact that it is impossible for Ukraine to become a member of the NATO alliance. He has categorically accepted this, the main demand of Moscow. It now seems that the Donbas region is going out of Kyiv’s control permanently.
Russia has created the scope to build a land corridor between Donbas and Russia. Most analysts forecast Ukraine has to give up the hope of getting back Crimea from Russia. In that case, Russia will have access to the Black Sea through this region whereas, Ukraine’s access will be diminished. On the other hand, though the US has failed to include Ukraine in NATO, it has gone a long way to extend the alliance by attempting to add Finland and Sweden to it. It is now a question of time to formalize the matter officially.
Secondly, thanks to this war, the US intention of selling oil at higher prices to Europe is going to be materialized. The US and Russia are net winners of the Ukraine war. The net loser is Ukraine itself. The country as a whole has been devastated and some big cities have been destroyed. Those who are thinking that Russia will give full compensation for all these destructions are living in a fool’s paradise.
The whole world has suffered due to Covid-19. The Ukraine war has made the world economy much worse. One can forget the conditions of the developing countries. Even the people of developed countries have started feeling the cost of the war. The supply chain of products has been broken. The price of commodities is going beyond the level of ordinary people’s reach. The stock market has tumbled, though it will not hurt the rich shareholders who can hold their shares for a much longer time. When the prices will go up, they will make a profit. The main victims of this war are ordinary people but this does not bother warmongers.
Many observers believe that the Ukraine war is a stage rehearsal for the coming armed conflict between the US-led West and the People’s Republic of China on the Taiwan issue. If Russia cannot be defeated totally in the Ukraine war, the inclusion of Taiwan into China cannot be averted when China is much stronger than Russia. And if the US loses to China, the hegemony of the United States over the world will come to an end. How can the US accept?
That is why they are warning Beijing not to support Moscow in the Ukraine conflict. They know that if China opposes Russia in this war, Russia in turn will oppose China in the Taiwan conflict. The main motive of Washington’s endeavor to create conflict and misunderstandings between Beijing and Moscow is very much known to both of them. That is why it seems that Washington will not succeed in this manipulative game.
The world is yet to see the end game. However, one must not think that if China replaces the US as the number one country on our planet, the world will invariably be a better place to live in. Not necessarily
*The writer is a senior Bangladeshi journalist now residing in Sweden.
May 23, 2022
The viewpoints expressed by the authors do not necessarily reflect the opinions, viewpoints and editorial policies of Aequitas Review.
