The GOP supporting Putin, is really the GOP supporting Xi, Iran, N. Korea and BRICS.

Here's how it works...

Happy Tuesday TAT readers,

Today is an article that brings into perspective, just how dangerous that the GOP’s support of Putin is. The BLUF (a military expression that means, bottom line up front) is that by supporting Putin, they are actually supporting a full-scale global war, against democracy and the west. Please settle in for this, as that it is as complicated, as it is critical to our national security. I’ll do all possible to make this succinct.

Here’s the premise; Back in the Bush 43 administration, then POTUS Bush, declared that Iran, Iraq, and North Korea, were the “axis of evil.” Ever since, different entities within the national security community have claimed a variety of others deserve the title. Today, I will add my own interpretation, in order to demonstrate just why, GOP support for Putin, is actually, support for the entire alignment of nations subservient to or largely dependent on Russia for weapons systems, fossil fuels and access to other regions. All of them also have at the top of the bad guy pyramid… China.

It is not the Cold War anymore but, the similarities are striking, albeit with different ideologies, objectives and soul-crushing cruelty. Let’s take a look at what I am talking about. Again, I will try to keep this as succinct as possible.

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Besides the high-profile wars dominating our headlines, the US and NATO security communities are primarily focused on what is called, GPC/ Great Power Competition. GPC simply means that we are in a race with nations like China, India and other large economies for influence and dominance. The west doesn’t do this for dominance alone, but to protect what is called, the RBIO/ or Rules Based International Order. China, Russia, Iran and to a large extent, most BRICS nations and now since last year, a significantly increased BRICS bloc, are competing with the long-standing RBIO to keep global stability, an equitable commercial playing field and yes, peace.

Here are a few short explanations of these terms:

"BRICS" is the acronym denoting the emerging national economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The term was originally coined in 2001 as "BRIC" by the Goldman Sachs economist Jim O'Neill in his report, Building Better Global Economic BRICs (Global Economics Paper No: 66). At that time, the economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China experienced significant growth, raising concerns regarding their impact on the global economy. Foreign ministers of these countries began meeting informally in 2006, which led to more formal annual summits beginning in 2009.

- BRICS explained
- Library of Congress

Strategic context: The rules-based international system

"The post-World War II, rules-based international system, led by likeminded allies and partners, has produced unprecedented levels of peace, prosperity, and freedom, but it is coming under increasing strain. A foremost challenge to the system is the return of great-power competition with revisionist, autocratic states—especially China."

- Atlantic Council: Strategy Paper Series
- By Jeffrey Cimmino and Matthew Kroenig
- The Atlantic Council
- December 16, 2020

"The return of Great Power competition (GPC) as the fully acknowledged, dominant paradigm of interstate relations in 2017 after a 25-year absence from mainstream thinking."

"The National Security Strategy of 2017 openly advanced the idea that America and fellow Great Powers, Russia and China, had transitioned formally from a more than 20-year period of collaboration and cooperation into one of competition.2 In Washington, DC, 2017 was the year of fully acknowledged Great Power rivalry.3 The National Security Strategy simultaneously identified three additional threats to U.S. security: North Korea, Iran, and transnational terrorist and criminal organizations, but it clearly focused American security and future prosperity on the ability to compete with the two emerging Great Powers headquartered in Moscow and Beijing.4"

- By Thomas F. Lynch III Strategic Assessment 2020
- National Defense University Press

A simple look at the following graphic should tell you all that you need to know regarding just why, BRICS expansion, under the guidance and tutelage of primarily China, is a very serious threat.

These nations, despite some being somewhat allied to the West like Turkey, India and the Saudis, owe much of their fortunes to and are dependent on Russia, China and India. As of today, only Argentina has declared that they will forgo BRICS expansion and remain free to operate in their own orbit, now under the guidance of their new populist president, Javier Milei.

China and India, have the second and third largest economies behind the US. India, also run by a far-right extremist named Modi, plays both sides. My professional opinion is that when dealing with India under Modi, it is strictly a Caveat Emptor situation or, “buyer beware.”

Strictly aligned with Putin and Xi on the Eurasian continent, are multiple nuclear armed nations. The bottom line is that BRICS includes at a minimum, 6 but perhaps 7, nuclear armed nations. Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States, Russia, Iran and other lesser nations, dominate the control of fossil fuels that drive the major economies of nations with far common interests aligned with BRICS, than with the West. This should, but to date has not been considered a major threat. I have no idea why. I have written on this often and in excruciating detail. Below are some links to this detail, mostly focused on China as ground zero for the threat. In many ways, every nation aligned with China and Russia, owes allegiance in some form, to Xi.

• A look at Xi's Narrative of Ascencion, via narrative analysis (truthaboutthreats.com)

• Part I: The roadmap to mitigating Xi’s aggression is called: “Using the BRI as a non-kinetic, Targeting Diagram. (truthaboutthreats.com)

• Part II, Denying Xi, his worst instincts - by Paul Cobaugh (truthaboutthreats.com)

• Declawing Pooh or... stopping the threat from Xi's global aggression (truthaboutthreats.com)

• When it comes to Modi’s India… Caveat Emptor (truthaboutthreats.com)

The simplest way to explain the hierarchy of the threat is that at the moment, Xi is the head of the crime family of BRICS adversaries and competitors. Like all organized crime, there are unstated rules, policies and norms. Russia and earlier the Soviet Union was the “Don” of the crime family. Now, Russia is a mere shadow of their former prominence. Now, Xi has come to the rescue Putin’s abysmal military in Ukraine. The Xi/ Putin bromance now has China as the “Don,” not Putin. Like all organized crime organizations, when someone does you a favor, you owe them. In 1970’s Godfather terminology, Xi, “made Putin, an offer he couldn’t refuse.” Every national leader that depends on China or Russia, somehow “owes” the leader above them in the hierarchy. The bottom line is that every nation, in some way works for Xi.

Of course, there are plenty of variables to the chart above, however, it is easy to see the potential of the threat from a globe aligned with China. When someone supports these nations, partially they are supporting China, our single biggest threat in Great Power Competition.

Add to this that the primary threats are all nuclear armed and include some of the world’s largest economies and control of critical resources, then the picture becomes even more frightening. Another aspect of this now worsening imbalance in global influence, is exacerbated by greedy and selfish US and Western based corporate interests, whose bottom-line has replaced their foresight in managing the threats against theirs and our very existence as a democracy. Details in the links below:

• When we blame countries and terrorist groups for war, don’t forget to blame corporations and Wall Street too! (truthaboutthreats.com)

• Greed, hubris & ignorance and "fake news" are killing our grandchildren's future. (truthaboutthreats.com)

Now, let’s wrap up today’s lesson with some clear, starkly concerning thoughts in the summary below.

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The point of this article is that the MAGA controlled Republican Party, supports Putin and by what we’ve learned today, that threat is far larger and more dangerous than what most media can or will convey, due to the hyper-partisan nature of modern US news. This is another threat of significant concern as well. Today’s media still calls the GOP, “conservative” when their actions and inactions, like, pursuit of theocracy called, WCN/ White Christian Nationalism instead of democracy, dedication to oligarchical control over US politics, defunding Ukraine are definitively extremist.

They support Putin’s objectives but ignore our allies. Some of those allies like Ukraine, are experiencing genocide. Daily, Xi commits genocide against all non-Han Chinese, Iran directly supports genocide against Israel, KJU in N. Korea is even more brutal to his own people and were it up to Modi, India would be free of all Muslim and Sikh citizens. Modi and his political party, the BJP, wields Hindutva a far-right, violent extremist Hindu movement that is no different from the GOP’s WCN. None tolerate dissent and impose inhumane and often deadly punishment on those, “out of favor.” Yes, today’s GOP supports all of this, simply by supporting Putin.

If we are to ever recover from this humiliating phase of US history, it must be done at the ballot box. Even those who consider themselves that, elusive as a snipe, “principled conservatism” have no say. The party leadership is fully dedicated to conspiracy theories and pro-right wing extremist ideology. Like today’s shameful defunding of Ukraine by the House of Representatives, led by Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, there is no say for anyone but a former POTUS that literally sold-out US and allied national security.

None of this goes away on its own. We must all stand up for real patriotic US values, not the traitorous fake patriotism imposed by media like FOX, NewsMax, Breitbart etc. We along with our allies, must project the western values of the RBIO by words and deeds, just as we did throughout the last Cold War. This has been a US and allied failure ever since the dissolution of the old Soviet Union. We can no longer afford, even a year more of failure.

This is explained in the following handful of links.

• Combat ineffective, the rusted, broken hulk of US Influence Operations (truthaboutthreats.com)

• DoD must modernize their approach to conflict... and Great Power Competition (truthaboutthreats.com)

Finally, I hope that readers have pursued these thoughts to the end, and that this deeply complicated topic, is at least a bit clearer, regarding the seriousness of the threats discussed. Democracy is a sport in which everyone must participate and do so based on the moral values, of our democratic republic. Putin, Xi, Modi, Iran, N. Korea etc. will all applaud if you vote to sustain the current version of the GOP. Their countless victims will not.

Back on Thursday and my warmest wishes for your week ahead,

Paul