There are operations that the State security forces and bodies consider necessary to carry out for geostrategic interests but that remain outside the law. Even outside of ethics. Some may occasionally fall into the hands of special forces, but others are too risky and end up being subcontracted to mercenaries. This way the Government is not left with its ass in the air if dirty laundry comes to light.
Although Wagner's has become the private army – a euphemism used to refer to mercenary groups – most famous for the operations it has carried out in Ukraine and the bizarre death in an aviation 'accident' of its leader – Yevgeny Prigozhin -, There are many more. And not only at the service of dictatorships. There are also those who do the dirty work of Western powers and their allies. Not in vain, in Iraq Blackwater gained notoriety for the brutality with which it worked, at the service of the American invaders.
Now, a magnificent BBC mini-documentary recounts how other Spear Operations Group mercenaries were hired by the United Arab Emirates to carry out theoretically targeted assassinations in Yemen. Journalists discover that, on some occasions, the targets are clearly undemocratic – people who are annoying, but who have not done anything illegal – and that on other occasions tragic mistakes are made. But while governments unequivocally demonize Russia's use of Wagner, they look the other way in these situations.
The reason is simple: we are the good ones, and they are the bad ones. The end justifies the means, although hypocrisy prevents us from saying it so clearly. And that is why both investigative journalism and the work of leakers and those who publish that information, like Julian Assange, are important.
These are the three topics we will address today.
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Removing the leaves of the sanctions daisy.
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Biden and Trump, reflection of American decadence.
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A balloon of oxygen to continue dying.
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Iran yes; Israel does not
Removing the leaves of the sanctions daisy
One of the questions most asked by those interested in geopolitics is why sanctions and embargoes have been imposed on countries like Cuba or Iran for a long time and why others like Israel can commit all kinds of atrocities without the West lifting a finger. It is a more than reasonable doubt. North Korea, for example, has never invaded a country and has only developed the atomic bomb as a deterrent to prevent an invasion, but has been ostracized and starved by the developed world; Iran or Cuba do not even have weapons of mass destruction, but they fight not to return to the caves because they can barely trade with anyone; Israel, however, is a nuclear power that invades Gaza, attacks diplomatic legations in third countries and carries out 'dirty' operations wherever it can, but it has access to the most advanced weapons and can even participate in Eurovision; and other allies, such as Saudi Arabia or the United Arab Emirates, are strict misogynistic dictatorships and that does not prevent them from also being relevant actors in a global world that enriches its satraps.
The short answer to that question is simple: some are ours, and the others are not. We no longer even talk about good and bad, because there is no way to whitewash some of them. The long answer requires delving into the economic and political reasons why some are on our side. For example, Saudi Arabia. Remember the murder and dismemberment of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and how he had no consequences, to mention an example of the despotism of his sheikhdom. With Riyadh, no fight for democracy and human rights can be argued, because it represents the complete opposite.
Everything responds to the search for a balance of power in which the balance never tips excessively to the side contrary to our interests. Hence, we have naturally assumed that regimes – for example, that of Saddam Hussein – are overthrown to preserve access to raw materials or resources that interest us while others that are equally bloodthirsty, or more so, do not receive our attention because we do not care about the territory in which they govern, as happens in Myanmar.
There is one exception to this rule: China. The Asian giant has acquired such preponderance in the construction of globalization that it is not possible to impose more punishment than tariffs on specific products that threaten the competitiveness of ours. The opposite would be to send a dangerous boomerang. It is the great difference that exists in today's increasingly bipolar world when compared to that of the Cold War, in which there was hardly any interaction between the Western bloc and the Soviet Union. The problem is that China, which always claims that it does not seek hegemony, is beginning to behave more and more similar to the United States, so everything indicates that geopolitical tension will continue to grow.
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The gerontocracy advances
Biden and Trump, reflection of American decadence
And in China many ask another question that is also very logical. Don't the Democratic Party and the Republican Party really have better candidates for president than Joe Biden and Donald Trump? Seriously, among 330 million people, there isn't someone more removed from senility capable of leading the United States? Because if Biden is re-elected and survives, he will finish his term at 85 years old; If Trump wins, he will do so with 81.
The Democrat shows clear signs of needing retirement, no matter how hard he tries to stay on his feet and remember who his son is. The Republican seems in better shape, but never before has a candidate (and former president) faced so many trials and for so many different reasons: they accuse him of everything from perpetrating “criminal conspiracy” to illegally possessing secret documents. It doesn't matter, because it doesn't seem like the courts are going to prevent the fight from four years ago from being repeated.
In 2020, I had to cover it from the United States. And even then, many even within the country were holding their heads in disbelief over the advanced age of both candidates. Now, it will be enough to add four years to the banners with which each family showed their support for one or the other. Disenchanted, many will prefer not to participate in the North American political duopoly, convinced that everything does not matter.
However, to confirm that this is not the case, one fact is enough: the anti-Western axis, with China, Russia and Iran among its most prominent members, prefers Trump. Because the former businessman is moved by pure and simple business logic. There are those who believe that he does so without the hypocrisy of his adversary, and they may be right, but the withdrawal of the United States could leave countries like Ukraine or Taiwan, which need our support to avoid being swallowed up by Russia and China, without protection. That's why they hope Biden wins there. But wouldn't it be much better if Kamala Harris, for example, tried it? Perhaps the country is not yet ready for that.
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Russian invasion
An oxygen balloon to continue dying
The possibility that Trump will once again take the helm of the – still – first world power explains, in part, the urgency that both Ukraine and Joe Biden had to get Congress to approve the package of 61 billion dollars in military and economic aid to fight Russia. Ukraine's independence hangs by a thread that can be broken as soon as Western weapons arrive.
However, there are more and more people, even in Ukraine, who see this aid as a breath of fresh air to continue fighting without the possibility of winning and who demand a negotiated solution to the invasion. Of course that means ceding territory to Russia. But does it make sense to continue bleeding an entire generation dry only to end up at the same point years later? If the West is not going to provide strong enough means to win, is it worth continuing to destroy the country to end up capitulating? Without a doubt, these are questions that not only Volodymyr Zelensky must answer.
And the most curious thing in this situation, if anything, is that along with the aid package for Ukraine, another of 26 billion dollars has been approved to strengthen the Israeli army. It is the best example that aid is not sent based on who is the victim or executioner, but rather on whether its recipient responds to our interests or not.
Is all for today. I hope I have explained well some of what is happening out there. If you are signed up, you will receive this newsletter every Wednesday in your email. And, if you like it, it will be very helpful if you share it and recommend it to your friends.
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