On debt, Kenya should be led strategic national interests
The war in Ukraine is still sizzling. Russian Missiles continue hammering the hapless armed forces of Ukraine whom it appears will fight to the last Ukrainian in pursuit of American foreign policy.
The war in Ukraine has exposed the underbelly of US foreign policy in as the country, led by a former comedian, President Vladimir Zelensky remains aloof, egotistical and demanding even as the country continues to suffer huge casualties and a decimation of its economy and infrastructure.
The tragedy at Bakhmut continues to unravel at the expense of the lives of his people who are being sent to the guillotine on a daily basis. Despite the billions of dollars, the West continues to pump in form of cash, Himars rocket launchers, Leopard tanks, fighter jets and resource persons, Vladimir Putin and Russia is reportedly on the verge of claiming the strategic town of Bakhmut.
The war has also revealed the hypocrisy of the free western media which have been co-opted to the war propaganda machine. Mainstream media like CNN and BBC would want you to believe Ukraine is winning this war and that Americans had no part in provoking Russia or blowing up the Nordstream.
What we are witnessing in Ukraine is an effort of the rotten American empire using proxies unapologetically to fight its unwarranted forever wars.
For starters, the Russian/Ukraine war is an opportunity for the declining USA empire to weaken perceived rising global powers and maintain the status quo of a unipolar world. It is a proxy war where Ukraine and NATO are being sacrificed for the sake of their masters in Washington who by the way are reaping huge profits from the supply of weapons and energy.
They keep funding and supplying Ukraine with weapons without ever giving room for negotiations which Russia is open to and has been calling for even before the war began.
A similar strategy is now targeting China with Taiwan being the playground. Were it not for China’s restraint we would by now be on the brink of world war three. In its zero-sum mentality, the USA and its vassal states in Europe repeatedly fail to acknowledge China’s role as an emergent world’s factor. Any war targeting China would possibly send the world into the most catastrophic economic recession ever seen in human history.
It is the mere ego of westerners failing to adhere to agreements from previous negotiations in the 1990s and the Minsk agreements in 2014 that left Russia without a choice but to send soldiers to Ukraine. Looking at history any Russian leader will do what Putin is doing to protect Russia’s interests. It is in Washington’s interest for a prolonged war involving Russia in what the Western mainstream media propaganda has labelled extending Russia.
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Extending Russia is a campaign designed to have Russia “competing in domains or regions where the United States has a competitive advantage, and causing Russia to overextend itself militarily or economically or causing the regime to lose domestic and/or international prestige and influence.”
The West is led by the maxim that “Russia is never so strong nor weak as it appears.” It’s not rocket science to figure out that this is what is happening in Ukraine under the pretext of instilling the rules-based international order that applies to everyone else but them.
As such the United States has no moral authority masquerading as the good guys yet they are the sponsors of much of the suffering and instability bedevilling the world today. They need to remove the logs in their own eyes before being able to see clearly in removing the speck of dust in Russia’s or even China’s eyes.
President Putin has no equals regardless of the demonization he receives from the West. He puts issues into context and his mastery of history as a leader puts him above his peers when it comes to making critical decisions including the Special Military Operation in Ukraine.
Russia has been at the forefront of calling for a multipolar world, an initiative that should be embraced in Africa by both hands as it provides alternatives that are open and mutually beneficial to both parties instead of being held ransom and exploited by the west, if what is happening in the former French colonies in West Africa is to go by.
I don’t like sitting on the fence, call me a Russian apologist if you like. But what is happening in Ukraine has exposed the double standards the so called ‘International Community’ adheres to.
Succinctly put their standard operating procedures (SOPs). They are the big boys in junior high getting the best of everything before the rest who can be sanctioned at will.
If Russia was Libya, Iraq or Yugoslavia thousands of bombs would have already destroyed its cities and millions left dead and survivors hungry and refugees in their own countries. Saint Petersburg would be full of Western ‘saints’ helping the victims of war.
China and its leader Xi Jinping just like Russia can see through the double standards the West conducts itself with, and know that with Taiwan they would be the next ‘turkey’ on the table during the next ‘thanksgiving holiday’ read America war.
In Africa we have a saying that when a friend’s head is being shaved, pour water on yours as it could be next. That’s why China has to be a close friend of Russia to learn the lessons, strategies and ways of choking their common enemy.
It is inspiring to see that several other major players especially from the global south are also awakening to this reality. Thanks to the war, we are entering a new face of cold war where it would no longer be Communism or Capitalism but Unipolarity or Multi-polarity as spearheaded by Russia and by extend China.
De-dollarization is the talk of town from the Caribbean to South Africa to West Asia. Russia and China are conducting their bilateral businesses in their own currencies having dropped the dollar.
Many other economies such as India, Brazil, Mexico are working on frameworks to trade in their own currencies with other nations. The BRICS is currently mooting the idea of creating a single currency to facilitating multilateral trading within the bloc.
Sanctions against Russia have failed to grind its economy to a halt after Russia shifted its policy and demanded to be paid in roubles for those interested in its goods especially its energy and mineral resources. Its currency the rouble has been one of the best-performing currencies in the world.
The sanctions have failed miserably until there is nothing to sanction anymore. While Russia continues to thrive, its enemies specifically Europe continues to struggle with inflation and reduced economic activity owing to the increasing cost of production brought about by high energy prices. America on the other hand has seen two banks go bust while its citizens grapple with high energy costs.
Talking of culture in one of his speeches, President Putin questioned the ‘wokeness’ exhibited in western societies including LGBTQ’s issues and proposals of replacing the traditional family unit with parent 1 and parent 2 instead of mum and dad. Russia stands for traditional values that have guided several generations before us, something that Africa should emulate instead of adopting western values blindly.
Russia defeated Ukraine a long time ago and is now fighting against NATO and by extension the United States using legions of foreign mercenaries staging opportunistic attacks like the terrorist attack on the Crimea bridge and explosion of the Nord stream gas pipeline. Recently, the United Nations made a mockery of its Charter when it failed to vote for the Russian resolution on Nord Stream sabotage.
One would expect the UN to be at the forefront to call for a speedy investigation into the world’s most savage economic sabotage. But the recent vote confirms that the UN is just but a bulwark of Washington’s zero sum ‘thinkers’.
Multipolar world spearheaded by Russia and the BRICS coalition is here to stay. Kenya and Africa at large should be colourless and only be led by national strategic interests rather than toeing a particular line just because America has said so.
Let’s look at history, learn from it, understand the motives of others, and be strategic in our foreign policy. Let’s diversify, we could be buying cheap oil using the shilling and the rouble instead of bemoaning shortage of dollars for heaven’s sake.
As Rwanda’s president Kagame puts it, “What Africa wants to see is peace. We are confident that we cannot be accused of taking sides, simply by asking for peace. Africa is here for Africa and our productive relationship with the rest of the world.”
