"Summit for Democracy" is a Cover for Imperial Geopolitics and War

By Harley Schlanger
Dec. 6 -- On December 9-10, the Biden administration will convene a "Summit for Democracy", with the announced intent "to renew democracy at home and confront autocracies abroad." The themes to be addressed are 1.) "Defending against authoritarianism"; 2.) "Addressing and fighting corruption"; and 3.) "Promoting respect for human rights."

But in looking at the diplomatic and military activity of the leading nations of the Trans-Atlantic world in the weeks preceding this event, it would perhaps be better named the "Summit of Hypocrisy", as their continued drive to impose a unilateral, arbitrary "Rules-Based Order" makes a mockery of the idea of "democracy." Dr. Andrey Kortunov, the Director of the Russian International Affairs Council, describes it in an op ed published in Global Times as an "Attempt to advance one single model over all others." With this event, he continues, the Biden administration is "launching an ideological crusade against China, Russia and other nations that dare to deviate from the fundamentals of the Western development model."

Left unsaid by Kortunov is that this "model" is undergoing an accelerating collapse, as it has no answers to reverse current urgent crises, such as a spreading global pandemic, hunger and starvation facing tens of millions, and surging hyperinflation. Instead, its promoters are organizing a global banker's dictatorship they call "The Great Reset", which would centralize the issuance of credit in the hands of central banks, which act not on behalf of the development of sovereign states, but in the interests of private banks and financial institutions primarily centered in the City of London and Wall Street.

This would facilitate imposing a "Green New Deal", using the control of credit to eliminate the use of efficient energy production from fossil fuels and nuclear power, in favor of investment by both governments and private funds, in inefficient "sustainable" sources and entities with a "zero-carbon" profile. Organized under the direction of the former Governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, more than 400 financial institutions have signed on to this new "banker's compact" to cut lending to any nation or institution which rejects the zero-carbon model -- hardly an example of "democracy."

Last month's climate summit, the COP26 in Glasgow, was meant to forge a consensus behind this model. Instead, it failed, turning into FLOP26, as many nations rebelled, insisting instead on their sovereign right to pursue development models which include the use of energy production systems of higher energy-flux density, such as coal and nuclear, which the climate mafia is attempting to outlaw. In addition to countries such as Nigeria, India, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia, which reacted against the consolidation of a new climate dictatorship, Russia and China insisted on their right to use energy sources not approved by the COP26 model.

"You Are Either For Us, Or Against Us"

Behind the facade of democracy is the threat of regime change and war, which have been launched repeatedly against nations which refuse to submit to the "world order" which emerged following the fall of the Soviet Union. The "New World Order" proclaimed by President George H.W. Bush in 1991 as he launched a war against Iraq, was premised on a new wrinkle in British imperial geopolitics, which declared that the "western democracies" emerged triumphant in the Cold War, meaning the only acceptable paradigm for all nations is that defined by neoliberalism and free trade. Defense of this order was used to justify U.S and NATO military intervention against Iraq in the first Gulf War, and was extended to Europe in the intervention in the Balkans.

It was expressed more crudely by President George W. Bush to justify the invasion of Afghanistan after the 9/11 terror attacks, and was explicit in the war which toppled Saddam Hussein and morphed into the barbaric "endless wars" which continue to this day. As stated by the younger Bush, "Every nation, in every region, now has a decision to make. Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists."

This expression of unilateralism lies behind the frequent invocation of the "Rules-Based Order" (RBO) piously pushed by the war criminal and former Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, and adopted by his successor, Antony Blinken. Defense of the RBO was a central theme in the G7 Summit and NATO Foreign Ministers Summit in mid-June 2021. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, in a statement issued on June 28, described these summits as an attempt to "send a clear message," that the Trans-Atlantic powers are "united like never before," and are committed to "forcing others, primarily Russia and China, to follow its lead." He said these meetings "cemented the rules-based world order concept as a counterweight to the universal principles of international law with the U.N. Charter as its primary source."

The Fabrications of the War Hawks

This theme was again at the center of speeches delivered at the NATO Foreign Ministers meeting this week in Riga, Latvia, to mobilize against an alleged Russian threat to invade Ukraine. Even as there is ongoing discussion of an upcoming video summit between Biden and Putin, Blinken and other U.S. officials are touring Europe proclaiming they possess evidence that Russia may invade Ukraine as early as January or February of next year. Blinken stated in Riga, "We don't know whether President Putin has made the decision to invade. We do know that he is putting in place the capacity to do so...should he so decide."

This allegation was supported by "evidence" produced by the same British and U.S. intelligence agencies which had "slam dunk" evidence of Saddam Hussein's possession of weapons of mass destruction, and claimed to have evidence of Russian hacking of the 2016 U.S. presidential election, and collusion between Donald Trump and Russia to assure his victory. In both cases, the "evidence" has proven to be fabricated by the intelligence agencies; and, in both cases, immense damage resulted from these lies, spread by intel officials, elected officials and the mainstream media, leading to the "endless wars" in southeast Asia and undermining the potential for cooperation between the U.S. President with Russia and China.

This tradition of false intelligence being manufactured to further the geopolitical divide between the Trans-Atlantic nations and Eurasia continues, with a "leak" from the intelligence community on alleged Russian preparation for an invasion of Ukraine, which was published in the Washington Post on December 3, and circulated widely in the mainstream media.

In response to this alleged threat, there have been repeated NATO provocations against Russia, including military exercises at or near the Russian border, with nuclear bomb-capable aircraft flying within 15 kilometers of the Russia; naval maneuvers in the Black Sea; delivery of new advanced weapons to Ukraine; pledges to provide military support if Russia should invade; and calls for harsh, punitive measures if Russia crosses into Ukraine. NATO General Secretary Stoltenberg threatened, "Any future Russian aggression against Ukraine would come at a high price and have serious economic and political consequences...." Such threats, he said, are designed to insure that Russia "does not underestimate NATO's resolve."

Each of these threats, as well as the possibility that Ukraine will be given NATO membership, has been identified by Putin as crossing a "red line." Further, giving such unconditional backing to Ukraine heightens the danger that trigger-happy war hawks in Ukraine's defense and security forces -- especially those involved in the 2014 Maidan coup and connected to neo-Nazi militia such as the Azov Brigade -- may act unilaterally, to move aggressively into eastern Ukraine or Crimea, to provoke a response by Russia, to force NATO into a military conflict.

It is in light of such provocative actions and inflammatory rhetoric from the west, against Russia and China, that the actual nature of the Summit for Democracy can be seen. This has nothing to do with respect for human rights, or assuring democratic rights for all nations. Instead, it comes from the Hobbesian "war of each against all", which is the "philosophic" origin of the concept underlying British geopolitics. It is the latest version of the blueprint to sustain the division of the world between the rich and the poor, between the imperial forces defending the financial interests of the western powers, through propaganda and psychological warfare, backed by military force, against the sovereign rights of all nations to choose their own model of development.

It is clear that President Putin understands that this is the dynamic behind the present false and dangerous allegations regarding Russian intent, and the attempt to draw a sharp line between the "democracies" and the "authoritarian" regimes. The question of war and peace now depends on whether President Biden understands this, as he negotiates with Putin on the eve of his Summit of Hypocrisy.

Statement from U.S. Senate Candidate Diane Sare on the Fraud Underlying the "Summit for Democracy"