by
Phillip
Todd
This
past week the President pulled our troops, all twenty-eight of them,
out of Syria. A move long overdue. These were the remnants of the US
force that was working with and supplying Al-Qaeda and other
terrorist groups used as proxies against Russia. It was another Deep
State operation against Syria using the guise of defeating ISIS as
it’s justification. The President, knowing Turkey was about to
invade the area, pulled our troops out of harms way to avoid possible
US casualties. The reaction by politicians who have been bought and
paid for by the ‘war for profit” complex was exactly as expected
– outrage.
The
middle-east has been a battleground for control of the resources for
over one hundred years. The powers that be in different factions
fight each other for this control with no clear cut winner. This area
of the world has been identified as the probable beginnings of a WW
III. There seems to be nothing from the Western powers except to
continue with the status quo – until recently. Russia has come up
with a plan that makes so much sense it can’t possibly be accepted.
The selfish interests of the world’s elite means that it will, in
all likelihood, be ignored. Here are a few of their points in the
proposal.
"Over
decades, tension in the Gulf area has persisted. This negatively
impacts security, political and economic stability in the region and
in the world. New hotbeds of tension are being added to the existing
ones. A major
center of the transnational terrorist network has sprung up near the
Gulf area."
"Under
the current circumstances, active and efficient steps at the
international and regional levels are needed to normalize and further
improve the situation in the Gulf area, overcome the protracted
crisis phase and turn this sub-region towards peace,
good-neighborliness, and sustainable development."
"Russia
believes that the idea of establishing a security system in the Gulf
area might be essential for consolidating political and diplomatic
efforts in this region. It implies a long-term program of action
aimed at normalizing the situation, improving stability and security,
resolving conflicts. Extremely
alarming trends are taking shape in the Persian Gulf, a strategically
important region for the entire world. These include the sharp
aggravation of disputes between individual countries, their
unwillingness to accommodate each other’s interests and concerns
and, as a result, a significant increase in conflict potential. It
must be acknowledged that there is real threat of further escalation
that may lead to large-scale hostilities."
"We
believe such an outcome to be unacceptable. And so, we see the need
for collective efforts to find consensus-based compromise solutions
designed to reduce tensions and resolve all existing acute crises by
political and diplomatic means based on international law."
Russia's
concept of ensuring security in the Gulf area is based on the
following principles:
–
Consolidating,
in a single counter-terrorism coalition, all stakeholders interested
in eliminating the hotbed of extremism and terrorism in the Middle
East and ensuring sustainable political settlement in Syria, Yemen,
other countries of the region, is a priority. Counter-terrorism
activities should be carried out under the UN aegis on the solid
basis of international law. This should provide a foundation for the
settlement of conflict situations and other disputes. It is exactly
this way that the main objectives of eliminating chemical weapons in
Syria were achieved.
– There
is a need for mobilizing public opinion across Islamic and other
countries with a view to jointly countering the threat of terrorism,
including through integrated efforts in media space.
– All
parties should adhere to international law, to the UN Charter and UN
Security Council resolutions in the first place. We all aim for a
democratic and prosperous Middle East that would encourage
inter-faith peace and coexistence.
– Peace-making
operations can only be conducted on the basis of relevant resolutions
of the UN Security Council or upon request of the legitimate
authorities of the attacked state. Double standards are unacceptable
here.
– The
security system in the Gulf area should be universal and
comprehensive; it should be based on respect for the interests of all
regional and other parties involved, in all spheres of security,
including its military, economic and energy dimensions. It should
take full account of the necessity to provide humanitarian assistance
to countries and peoples of the region that are in need, with a view
to addressing conflict situations and stabilizing societies.
– Multilateralism
is considered to be a mechanism of participation of stakeholders in
the joint assessment of the situation, decision-making process and
implementation of decisions. Exclusion of any stakeholder for any
reason is inadmissible.
– Progress
toward the establishment of a security system should be achieved on a
step-by-step basis starting with most relevant and urgent problems.
This concerns, first and foremost, combat against international
terrorism, the settlement of the Iraqi, Yemeni and Syrian crises, and
the implementation of all agreements reached on the Iranian nuclear
program.
– This
step-by-step approach is also applicable to the adoption by the Gulf
states and international community of confidence-building measures
and provision of mutual security guarantees in the region.
– Taking
into account the close interrelation of regional problems, the
establishment of a security system in the Gulf area is considered as
part of the solution aimed at ensuring security in the Middle East as
a whole. In this context, the principles of respect for sovereignty
and territorial integrity, settlement of issues of domestic politics
through national dialogue, within the constitutional framework and
without external interference, are crucial.
With
regard to the situation in the Gulf area, states within the region
and extra-regional stakeholders shall:
– reaffirm
the whole set of their international legal commitments:
in particular, the non-use or threat of force in dispute
settlement, respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity of
states of the subregion, commitment to the settlement of territorial
and border disputes solely through negotiations or by other peaceful
means, fulfillment in good faith of their international commitments;
– assume
mutual obligations of military transparency (dialogue on military
doctrines, defense ministers’ subregional meetings, establishment
of hotlines, exchange of preliminary notifications of military
exercises and military flights, exchange of observers, renouncement
of permanent deployment of troops of extra-regional states in the
territories of states of the Gulf, exchange of information concerning
arms procurement and armed forces);
– sign
agreements on arms control which could include, for example,
establishment of demilitarized zones, prohibition of destabilizing
accumulation of conventional weapons, including missile defense
weapons, balanced reduction of armed forces by all parties;
– given
the objectives of strengthening the NPT-based non-proliferation
regime in the Middle East, take steps to transform the region into a
zone free of weapons of mass destruction;
– conclude
agreements on combat against transnational terrorism, illicit
trafficking in arms and illegal migration, drug trafficking, and
organized crime.
As
more progress in building the security system is achieved, the
discussion on downsizing the international military presence in the
region and developing common confidence-building measures for
regional and other states should be initiated.
"The
central long-term objective is the creation of a security and
cooperation organization in the Persian Gulf (PGSCO) that would
include, in addition to the Gulf countries, Russia, China, the USA,
the EU, India and other stakeholders as observers or associated
members. Efforts
to resolve chronic conflicts, first of all the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict, which remains one of the major destabilizing factors in the
whole Middle East region enabling extremists to recruit new fighters,
should be pursued. In future, in the context of the Arab-Israeli
settlement, the PGSCO could become an element of the regional
security system for the Middle East and North Africa."
"Russia’s
proposals are in no way final and represent a kind of invitation to
start a constructive dialogue on ways to achieve long-term
stabilization in the Gulf region. We are ready to work closely with
all stakeholders both in official settings and in sociopolitical and
expert circles. to ensuring durable security in the Gulf."
These
are a few, fair to all sides, ideas from Russia that make too much
sense to be implemented. The ‘war for profit” crowd see there is
no profit in peace and stability. That is why this report, worked up
for years and written months ago, has and will be ignored!
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