New neocon bill: designed to protect Ukraine or to promote business interests of US fracking firms?

A group of neocon senators proposes to spend hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars on a new round of Cold War with Russia, introducing the so-called "Russian Aggression Prevention Act of 2014". The bill S.2277 focuses on further NATO expansion in Central and Eastern Europe as well as strengthening the US propaganda in ex-Soviet countries. If enacted, the law would impose the same level of draconian sanctions on Russia currently levied against Iran, Syria, and Sudan.

The new bill, introduced in May 2014, was developed by Republican lawmakers including Tennessee’s Senator and ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Bob Corker, Florida Republican Senator Marco Rubio, and Arizona Republican Senator John McCain. Aimed to "prevent further Russian aggression toward Ukraine and other sovereign states in Europe and Eurasia," the legislation is resurrecting the old specter of the Communist Russia to justify the next stage of the US expansionary policy in Eurasia.

Although the US leadership has failed to prove Russia's involvement in the Ukrainian turmoil, it seems like a good excuse for the warmongering neocons and Republicans like McCain, to convince the US government of the necessity to increase military sector spending. Patrick Buchanan has brilliantly characterized John McCain and like-minded politicians in his article "Is Obama blundering into a Syrian quagmire?" If Americans voted for McCain, deems the columnist, he would put the US into numerous wars on Eurasian continent, including military confrontations in Syria, Iran, South Ossetia, Ukraine. "He would be pushing for membership in NATO for Ukraine and Georgia, so the next time there was a dust-up with Putin’s Russia, we could be right in the thick of it," wrote Patrick Buchanan. If you look at the bill S.2277, you will see that Mr. Buchanan was absolutely right.

Reinvigorating the NATO alliance in Europe

The first section of the bill urges to strengthen forward-based NATO forces Europe and Eurasia, particularly, in Poland, Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia, and "other NATO member-states as determined by the President," and to accelerate implementation of European and NATO Missile Defense efforts. According to the document, the US senators propose to spend $50 mn for each of fiscal years 2014 through 2017 for accomplishing the task. With regard to the controversial Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) project in Europe the authors of the bill are no longer masking the fact that the BMD NATO installations could be potentially used against Russia's military forces. According to the law, a concept of the US "defense umbrella" acquires special relevance today.

Draconian sanctions against Russia

The second section of the bill S.2277 urges the US President to impose draconian sanctions on Russian officials and legal entities. According to the bill, the wide range of sanctions will be employed in the following cases: 1) "if the armed forces of the Russian Federation have not withdrawn from Crimea"; 2) "if the Government of the Russian Federation has not withdrawn substantially all of the armed forces of the Russian Federation from the immediate vicinity of the eastern border of Ukraine"; 3) "if the armed forces of the Russian Federation expand further into, or the Government of the Russian Federation annexes, the sovereign territory of Ukraine or any other country in Europe or Eurasia."

It would be relevant here to recall Russia's President Putin latest interview with the French journalists. "It's a delusion that Russian troops annexed Crimea," said Vladimir Putin, "In accordance with the expression of the will of people who live there, Crimea is part of the Russian Federation and its constituent entity. No one can prevent these people from exercising a right that is stipulated in Article 1 of the UN Charter, the right of nations to self-determination." There are neither Russian troops nor Russian military "instructors" in southeastern Ukraine, stated the President. Thus, the idea of Russia's military expansion is totally groundless.

However, the delusion that Russia is going to "annex the sovereign territory of Ukraine or any other country in Europe or Eurasia" is " economically advantageous" for the neocons and US financial elite as it helps to undermine Russia's economic interests on the continent and promote US businesses in the region.

The sanctions proposed in the bill include travel bans and assets freezes on Russian government and corporation officials. The legislation targets Russian business, particularly, "(A)Sberbank, (B)VTB Bank, (C)Vnesheconombank, (D)Gazprombank, (E)Gazprom, (F)Novatek, (G)Rosneft, and (H)Rosoboronexport" as well as "any entity owned or controlled by an entity specified in any of subparagraphs (A) through (H) that is owned or controlled by a citizen of the Russian Federation." The bill is also imposing sanctions on entities "that operates in the arms, defense, energy, financial services, metals, or mining sectors of the Russian Federation."

Meddling in Russia's domestic affairs

Act 2277 involves measures aimed at supporting "democratic institutions and political and civil society organizations" in Russia, directly or through "nongovernmental organizations." These measures include: improving democratic governance, strengthening democratic institutions and political and civil society organizations, "expanding uncensored Internet access in Russia, " expanding free and unfettered access to independent media of all kinds in Russia, including through increasing United States Government-supported broadcasting activities," and assisting with the "protection of journalists and civil society activists who have been targeted for free speech activities," as the bill reads. The authors of the bill offer to spend $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2015 through 2017 to carry out the activities.

In fact, this passage means the further US meddling into the domestic affairs of the Russian Federation in order to carry out the scenario that has been already conducted in Ukraine. The investigation of "the Bolotnaya case," mass riots in Moscow in 2011-2012, has proved the connection between some Russian opposition leaders and their foreign sponsors, financing the protest movement through numerous western NGOs on the Russia's territory. The events in Kiev in 2004 and 2013-2014, and Moscow riots of 2011-2012 have a number of strikingly similar traits. This suggests it might be convenient to suspect that one and the same "mastermind" was behind the movements.

Hardening Ukraine and other European and Eurasian states against Russia

The third section of the bill is devoted to military assistance to Ukraine and other European and Eurasian states. The "Russian Aggression Prevention Act of 2014" would authorize the US President to provide $100 mnin lethal military equipment, defense articles, services, and training, including anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons and ammunition, mine resistant ambush protected vehicles, High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (Humvees), inflatable boats and other equipment deemed appropriate.

The senators are obviously turning a blind eye to the ongoing massacre of the civil population in eastern Ukraine, while proposing to provide Ukrainian army with lethal weapons as well as training and intelligence. But that is not all: the authors of the bill propose to grant Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova, a status of "major non-NATO ally" of the United States. Only 15 nations, including some of the closest US allies, such as Israel, Australia, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Philippines are enjoying this status according to the Global Research. A "major non-NATO ally" typically hosts US military bases and receive military suppliers from the US. De jure, Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova would not become the NATO members, but de facto, they would be, turning Russia's worst expectations into reality. Such a move would be qualified as an open provocation against Russia, as Patrick Buchanan noted.

Boosting of US fracking business in Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia

Surprisingly, the bill against "Russia's aggression" contains a plan of the US fracking business development in the countries of the Soviet Union. Declaring the idea of independence on Russian natural gas supplies for Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia, the bill is authorizing the US business for the "direct assistance" to "exploit existing natural gas reserves" in these countries. The fact that Hunter Biden, the younger son of Vice President Joe Biden, has joined the board of Burisma Holdings Ltd., the largest gas company operating in Ukraine, demonstrated once again that the US officials have certain business interests in the region and their involvement in Ukrainian affairs is caused not only by their commitment to the ideals of democracy. As Wayne Madsen notes in his article, "Russian Aggression Prevention Act of 2014": Another U.S. Style Violent Regime Change?" the law supported by McCain, Corker and their party fellows appears to be as much a Corker-McCain "personal enrichment law" as it is a "Russian aggression prevention act."

Information warfare

The last passages of the bill describe the activities aimed at supporting "democracy and civil society organizations" in countries of the former Soviet Union through strengthening "democratic institutions and political and civil society organizations," expanding "uncensored Internet access," and "free and unfettered access to independent media of all kinds" ($25 mnfor each of fiscal years 2015 through 2017). The senators pay an exceptional attention to the information warfare concept.

The legislation offers to expand broadcasting into former Soviet Republics ($7.5 mn for each of fiscal years 2014 through 2017), prioritizing Russian-language broadcasting into Ukraine, Georgia, and Moldova as well as in Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia. It should be noted, that Ukraine and the Baltic states placed a ban on Russian state television broadcasts this year. Thus, the US media, according to the senators, would replace it and distribute the American point of view regarding the international affairs for the Russian-speaking minority in these states.

It is hard to predict whether the "Russian Aggression Prevention Act of 2014" will be ever adopted by the US government. The law, however, reflects the stance of a substantial fraction of the US political elite. Inspired by the ghosts of the Cold War, it may be considered as a challenge and a provocation against Russia. Alarmingly enough, the authors of the law call to stop further nuclear arms reductions stated in the 2010 New START treaty between the United States of America and the Russian Federation on "Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms." Such an initiative would evidently return the globe to the Cold War nuclear politics.

The bill's eloquent statements about the freedom and independence, however, can’t cover up business ambitions of the neocon politicians and American financial elite in the East European region and Eurasia in general. But does the US have enough political and economical strength to achieve the proclaimed goals? This question remains open.