Alternative Media Spotlight 2

Alternative Media Spotlight #2 Summer Edition

We live in the Golden Age of independent media. While the Corporate media has seemingly lost all shame in regards to lies, distortions, omissions becoming transparently imperialist propaganda, ordinary people are fighting back by attempting to provide accurate news and analysis. Last time in Alternative Media spotlight  I mentioned Global Research ( ,http://www.globalresearch.ca ) Pepe Escobar (Asia Times, RT Op Edge) Eric Draitser ( Stop imperialism.org )  and Andrew Gavin Marshall ( andrewgavinmarshall.com bolifingfrogspost.com) now here are some more great people and sites I rely on.

Libya 360 was founded during the Libyan counter revolution when NATO and it's Al Qaeda  proxy force destroyed the independent government of Libya replacing it with a failed state combining rule by traitors, technocrats, and various fanatical death squads with the real on the ground power. Since the war however the Site has become international in focus with great articles on the situation in Ukraine, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America. Alexandra Valiente who runs the site is great at selecting the best articles and she does a great job of providing local perspectives, what are Venezuelans saying about Venezuela? What do the Russians think about the Ukraine Crisis. Thus I highly recommend her sites for a more radical perspective on world events and I salute her tireless efforts to resist Imperialism and support Resistance.

  http://libya360.wordpress.com

And she also runs a great site focusing exclusively on Syria


http://syria360.wordpress.com

And one on Libya

http://vivalibya.wordpress.com

In truth every thing I know about geopolitics I learned from Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya. I first learned of his work when during the Libyan War he went to Libya to report on the war and might have died when he was stuck in the city after the fall of Tripoli to the rebel forces. Thankfully he survived because he is the best Geo-Strategic analysts in the Alternative Media. Recently with the Iraq civil war his work is finally getting the attention it deserves. Way back in 2006 he was explaining the plans to balkanize South Western Asia (the middle east) Africa, and Eastern Europe. He is not just brilliant on geostrategy but in the way Identity can be weaponized as we see in Iraq today and in Ukraine. The social construction of Identities aimed at creating division and war is vital to understanding our world today. He wrote a great book called the "The Globalization of NATO." It shows how the so called North Atlantic Treaty Organization has far exceeded it's original supposed mandate of protecting western Europe (Actually it was formed before the Warsaw pact so It's founding was an aggressive move not a defensive act) It is now expanding around the world forming various regional alliances around the Globe. All of it aimed at encircling Russia and China which has become rather obvious this year. Thus in my first blog post written well before the Ukraine Crisis had truly heated up I could prophetically declare that the cold war never ended thanks to Reading the Globalization of NATO by Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya. The book also acts as a sort of mini encyclopedia of recent history where he provides great accounts of say the War in Yugoslavia or the background to Events in Somalia or Sudan. Highly recommended. After reading the book I was inspired to go back and read all of his old articles using the archive of his Articles at Global Research. What an amazing education they provide. He combines first hand knowledge from his world travels, a brilliant sociological analysis with a brilliant insiders understanding of military affairs and geostrategic planning. He was in the Canadian military and it provided him with valuable insight into how the Empire thinks. He qoutes the plans made by men such as Halford J. Mackinder, Zbigniew Brzezinski, Oded Yinon and Richard Perle that are still shaping our world today. Thus when ISIS invaded Iraq suddenly everyone was qouting Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya who in 2006 before the Syrian war had Begun already was talking about the attempt to balkanize Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Turkey Iran and eventually no doubt all of eurasia. So if you want to get ahead of the curve you absolutely must do an in depth reading of Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya. Also watch his great interviews and lectures on Youtube. Here is a great recent interview that describes the process of the balkanization of the middle east.

http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-fragmentation-of-iraq-and-the-middle-east-muslim-civil-war/5389104

Mahdi's oldest articles

http://www.globalresearch.ca/author/mahdi-darius-nazemroaya/page/8

Mahdi's most recent articles

http://www.globalresearch.ca/author/mahdi-darius-nazemroaya

Check out this Forgotten gem an in depth interview he did for a podcast

http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-war-on-mali-an-illustration-of-the-fragmented-totality-that-characterizes-the-imperialist-system/5335680

And get an in depth introduction to geopolitics by watching this lecture he did

http://www.globalresearch.ca/redrawing-the-middle-east-syria-in-context-of-the-new-middle-east/5361806

And of course he has also started making documentaries here is a great one he did on Ukraine


http://www.globalresearch.ca/gtrv-full-length-documentarypropaganda-and-the-ukraine-crisis/5383677

Porkin's Policy review is a wonderful site I recently discovered. Pearse Redmond has done some great Podcast's and the show just get's better and better. For example he did one of the best Keith Harmon Snow interviews of all time providing a great in depth report on what really happened in Rwanda which far from being a simple tale of evil Hutus and their innocent tutsi victims involved a US backed covert invasion. It also went into the current war in the Congo where more people have died then in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and Syria combined so far 10 million have died. That's just one example he did a great Interview with Danny Benavides on the Surreal drug War in Mexico which is even stranger in reality than it has been portrayed fictionally on say Breaking Bad. Not only does he do great interviews but he is a great interview subject as well. In recent interviews on the Corbett report he laid out some of the Complex events in Africa and also provided some great background on the war in Afghanistan. He's done great research on the Westgate attacks in Kenya. At the time I knew I wasn't getting the full story even in the Alternative media but I would have to wait until finding his site many months later to get some answers or rather more questions. He is one of the few in the Alternative media who pay proper attention to Africa which is like Central Asia one of those vitally important places that few pay enough attention to. He also does some great reports exposing figures like Mathew VanDyke or Samantha Lewthwaite. Plus he has some more light hearted shows discussing films which provide a welcome recreation from studying the Evils of western Imperialism. He's got great taste thanks to him I discovered such obscure gems as "Wrong is Right" "Four Lions" and "Computer Chess." So for some great Interviews with People like Eric Draitser, Christoph Germann, and James Corbett check out Porkin'sPolicy Review.

http://porkinspolicyreview.wordpress.com

Stop NATO is the best site on the machinations of the Sinister US dominated NATO alliance. Rick Rozoff keeps track of the secret war of Intimidation the US and it's allies engage in around the world the endless war games and military exercises. He Also tracks the endless expansion of NATO. In fact he is one of Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya's only rivals when it comes to understating Geo-Politics. His sites also provides some great pieces of anti-war literature from throughout time. Search for interviews with him online as he does some great appearances where he explains what is going on in the World. His site is an invaluable resource for understanding the tensions between the West and Russia and China. You should also sign up for his email list.

http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com

Vineyard of the Saker is a great Blog providing a unique perspective currently concentrating on the Ukraine Crisis. He provides the best analysis of what is going on in the Ukraine Crisis. He is a paradoxical mix of cool analysis and  passionate Outrage over what is going on in the Ukraine. He provides great insight into things from both a Russian nationalist perspective and from a military perspective. He also has managed to attract a great community of people who help translate materials and provide guest essays. For example there are the reports by Strelkov who commands a unit of anti-fascist forces and provides daily updates on the fighting and the growing humanitarian crisis which volunteers translate into english. In fact the whole site has a french version run by volunteers. Plus there are great reports by Juan an anti-fascist resistance fighter and, Mindfriedo who does great daily updates summarizing the civil war in Iraq. He also has reports by Auslander who is attempting to help people escape the war zone. Plus daily video Anna news updates subtitled into english. Vineyard of the Saker is definitely required reading for those interested in the wars in Ukraine and Iraq.


http://vineyardsaker.blogspot.co.uk


The New Great Game Roundup is Essential weekly reading. Christoph Germann keeps track of what no one else is paying proper attention to the covert war in Central Asia. It has long been part of Strategic doctrine that whoever controls central Asia can control Eurasia whoever controls Eurasia can control the world. When Brzezinski speaks of his arc of crisis across Eurasia he never mentions that this arc of crisis is the deliberate creation of western intelligence. Every week Christoph Germann tracks the events of this covert war aimed at destabilizing central asian countries most people have never even heard of like Uzbekistan, or Tajikistan as well as the Covert war carried out within China and Russia itself. Thus Christoph Germann provides an absolutely Vital resource every week he sums up the most important events that no one is paying attention too. The endless series of terror attacks carried out with western sponsorship as well as the attempts to use NGO's to destabilize the region through future color revolutions. Make sure you check out the Great Game Roundup every sunday.

http://www.christophgermann.blogspot.com

And you should probably check out these interviews with FBI Whistleblower Sibel Edmonds who began the great game Roundup as she provides the vital background needed to understand the destabilization of Eurasia and indeed the farce of both the war on terror and the war on drugs.

http://porkinspolicyreview.wordpress.com/2013/02/22/sibel-edmonds-on-operation-gladio/


As I mentioned people don't pay nearly enough attention to Africa. Thus I'll recommend two people who focus almost entirely on Africa. For the Latest news on Africa check out Abiyome Azikwe's site Pan African News Wire. Abiyome writes some great Articles on the current situation in Africa where there has been more and more US and European military action of late. He also provides articles on Africa from the African and international press.  He also has a podcast Pan African Journal which has starts with some great music everything from classic jazz, reggae, r&b to latin american music and African Music. Then he has a news segment followed usually by a segment on Black history or culture everything from now mostly forgotten revolutionaries like Robert Williams, to speeches by the more famous Malcolm x or Kwame Nkrumah as well as biographies of great musicians. He also is active in battling the attempts in Michigan to rob people of their democratic rights in order to push through a pro-corporate agenda.

Check out his news site

http://panafricannews.blogspot.com

Check out his podcast


http://www.blogtalkradio.com/panafricanjournal

Keith Harmon Snow is one of the best investigative journalists I've read. His sites are full of information on the Corporate genocide in Central Africa. He names the names and has been threatened with lawsuits on numerous occasions. He has documented which corporations, media, NGO's and intelligence agencies are involved in profiting from the 10 million that have been killed in the Congo and other parts of Africa. Even hollywood celebrities like Ben Affleck and Angelina Jolie are involved and no one is safe from the wrath of Keith Harmon Snow. He paints a terrifying picture Environmentalists involved in genocide, humanitarian agencies involved in genocide. Your iPad or playstation involved in genocide. Canadian prime ministers, US presidents, journalists all involved. His reports could call your whole world into Question so beware. He documents everything he says. His detailed articles provide brilliant in depth documentation of everything he says. He is also an electrifying public speaker look for his talks on youtube I've rewatched his epic 3 1/2 hr Profiteering from Genocide in Central Africa 3 times already but the interview Pearse Redmond did on Porkins Policy Review is probably the best Introduction to his work where he gives a great background on the topic going back to colonial days.

The interview is

http://porkinspolicyreview.wordpress.com/2014/04/20/porkins-policy-radio-ep-20-the-falsification-of-genocide-with-keith-harmon-snow/

Keith Harmon Snow has two sites collecting his work

His new site

http://www.consciousbeingalliance.com

And his old one

http://allthingspass.com

There are many more great sites I could mention but you will have to wait for a future edition of  alternative media spotlight.

Operation Gladio

      Operation GLADIO and the Illusion of "Western Democracy"


   There is a sickening spectacle unfolding in Ukraine so called "Western Democracies" are supporting a brutal regime made up of Billionaire Oligarchs and avowed Fascists while they wage war on their own people. In fact the IMF even made it's loans conditional on the successful prosecution of it's war. The CIA is advising the new regime on how to crush dissent by terrorizing the population. Of course it's an old story in the third world but what is seldom recognized is it is not such a rare occurrence in Europe itself. Whether they know it or not the citizens of NATO countries and even non-NATO countries have only the illusion of national sovereignty or democracy. As Daniele Ganser explains in his book "NATO's Secret Armies Operation GLADIO and Terrorism in Western Europe" after world war 2 western european counties signed secret bilateral agreements with the United States vowing that they would prevent any democratic movement that would threaten to either change the social order or adopt an independent foreign policy. As part of these secret agreements they agreed to found secret "stay behind armies" that would wage a secret war on the public to manipulate public opinion through so called psychological operations. Psychological operations can range from propaganda, to false flag terror attacks, up to official State terror against the populace. In many countries they recruited fascists and later they would found, train and fund new fascist groups. This is what they don't mention about the recent extreme right wing victories. For 70 years the CIA in cooperation with the intelligence agencies of every european country have kept fascism alive in Europe by funding and training them. Throughout the Cold War stay behind armies would be involved in all sorts of crimes and strange operations terrorism, assassinations, coups and operation Condor style state repression. The cover for these stay behind armies was that they existed to prepare for a Soviet Invasion. However they also had the dual role of keeping communists from coming to power peacefully. In Italy, France, and Greece stay behinds would be used from  the beginning to subvert democracy. In countries not in danger of voting against the wishes of the US and UK the Stay Behind Networks might remain largely dormant. However in places where the communists and socialists enjoyed broad popular support the stay behind networks were quite active. Not only communists were targeted however. Even general De Gaulle a strong anti-communist became a target when he wisely decided to grant Algeria independence. In other countries such as Spain and Portugal which were openly fascist dictatorships the secret armies literally became the government and were used to kidnap torture and kill any who dared to dissent or often merely anyone who aroused their paranoid suspicions. This article is yet another continuation of my earlier article "America, the CIA, and Fascism", and like "Nazis and the CIA" it is an expansion on a paragraph of that article. I have relied mostly on Daniele Ganser's "NATO's Secret Armies" in it he describes what is known about GLADIO operations in all the NATO members countries.
   Operation GLADIO is technically only the Italian branch of GADIO. Every country's secret army had their own name. However I'll call them  GLADIO simply because it is shorter and catchier then "Stay Behind Network" also the term stay behind network reinforces the cover story that they were meant to defend against an invasion that never occurred.. GlADIO became famous in 1990 when the Italian Prime minister Giulio Andreotti was forced to publicly admit their existence. However their existence was periodically revealed and forgotten from the start. Actually the first scandal involving GLADIO occurred before the cold war even began at least if you were Greek. In Greece the British cynically changed sides during the war and began supporting the fascists against the communist dominated resistance way back in 1943. Churchill personally ordered the policy change against the pleas of the British spies and special forces that had been fighting alongside the resistance on the ground. Instead the british began to support Fascist Death squads called X bands and Later the Hellenic Mountain Force. Because of Continuing resistance and the decline of british Power the Americans would take over continuing to support fascists and invading the country and using Napalm to terrorize the population into submission in the aptly Named project Torch. Yet this was only the beginning of Greece's tragedy. Gladio had it's origin in the british SOE founded in 1940 to set up resistance forces all across Europe.  The british would train secret armies to engage in espionage, sabotage, and Terrorism against the germans. Later the Germans as they were loosing would set up their own stay behind networks popularly called werewolves. However the most popular and effective resistance to fascism during the war was from the communist resistance movements. This is one reason why popular fronts composed of Socialists and Communists were on the verge of winning Elections in France and Italy postwar. The US decided to use it's old allies the british and it's new Fascist allies to establish secret armies all across Europe as mentioned in my article Nazis and the CIA they also established stay behind networks to attack eastern block countries where they engaged in a campaign of espionage, assassination, Terrorism and guerrilla war in which tens of thousands perished. Similar networks were established all over the world giving birth to death squads in latin america, operation phoenix in Vietnam, and support for drug financed guerrilla armies throughout  Asia, in Africa as well there were brutal proxy armies created leading to millions dead. Thus these european networks should be seen in a global context which is why events in Greece, Spain, Portugal and Turkey so closely resembled events in Latin America. Every European countries thus had within it the secret embryo of a Fascist Counter revolution. Actually as Daniele Ganser reveals the situation was much worse in Norway and Italy documents were leaked which showed that should any democratic movement attempted to force America to close it's military bases in a given country the US was prepared to use it's own Military to suppress any potential rebellions should the native government prove unable to keep it's people in check. In fact the US nearly decided to launch a military crackdown in Italy to prevent the communists from winning the elections. So beware people of Europe of ever endangering America's strategic interests lest you be crushed like the people of Ukraine are being crushed.
   GLADIO armies were all centrally controlled from NATO's SHAPE Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe. SHAPE is Nato's controlling body within SHAPE the ACC and CPC had direct control of GLADIO forces throughout Europe. In addition all heads of European Intelligence agencies met frequently to coordinate the Secret War. If ACC and CPC have not changed their name then researchers would do well to look into their coordination of networks of terrorists and drug and weapons dealers today. Sibel Edmonds has said that GLADIO B the islamist Gladio networks involved in the US NATO covert war for Eurasia were still coordinated from an office in NATO when she worked in the FBI around 2001.  ACC stood for Allied Clandestine Committee. CPC was the Clandestine Planning Committee. In addition the Pentagon and the CIA were involved in all details of GLADIO operations. I mention it to debunk the version of events where the GLADIO networks merely got out of control. In reality they were all centrally coordinated with direct US supervision although the UK was almost as influential in controlling the networks. Actually the two would sometimes compete for sponsorship of the GLADIO networks. The British Training was more prestigious although expensive while the American's offered free supplies the british charged. Italian Gladio decided it wanted british training but still accepted the free American weapons angering MI-6. Often the country would have to beg the two countries to co-operate leading in many countries to trilateral committees made up of the host country plus US and British intelligence. The GlADIO forces would secretly expand by having each member recruit 10 more. The US had refusal over all candidates. In many countries Fascist groups were recruited, trained, and in some cases even begun by GLADIO groups. In addition every secret army had stockpiles of weapons explosives, gold, and communications gear hidden around the country.
    Now onto the many crimes of Gladio secret armies in those countries where these networks did not remain dormant. The first major scandal occurred appropriately in Germany. Germany's secret army was initially the TD the armed wing of the BDJ both filled with notorious nazi's recruited by the US. In fact the Infamous Klaus Barbie himself was employed as Top recruiter, even though he was wanted by the french for a brutal massacre among many other crimes like torture and murder making him the perfect CIA agent. The TD with CIA knowledge was caught planning to assassinate around a hundred of Germany's top socialist and communist politicians and journalists. They assigned members to stalk their potential targets but fortunately one member came forward and a major scandal emerged followed by the inevitable coverup. Although Ganser does not discuss the topic given GlADIO tactics in Italy where they managed to infiltrate red Brigades and engineer attacks, it is likely that some of the German left wing terrorism may have been part of Germany's GLADIO. However we do know that the German stay behind network was involved in the Munich Bombing on Sept 26, 1980 which killed 13 and wounded 213. The explosive was supplied from a GLADIO stockpile. The GLADIO member who confessed to supplying explosives was found dead the next day.
   In Belgium the GLADIO network was involved in mysterious mass shootings. In the 40's it is strongly suspected that they assassinated Julian Lahaut who had dared to shout long live the Republic while returning king Baudoin took his Oath. In the 70's The network smuggled in American special forces who engaged in a so called exercise in which they attacked a belgian army base and stole weapons, even shooting a guard. Eventually the stolen weapons were planted in a Left wing politicians home in an attempt to frame him. Next they launched an  attack on a gendarmerie (a paramilitary police force) station even though many belgian GLADIO members were also gendarmerie members. When a member came forward he was told "we already know shut up". Then in the 80's the stay behind army would carry out a series of mass shootings in supermarkets going out of their way to kill people and even killing police who arrived on the scene.
    The most famous GLADIO terror attacks occurred in Italy.  There were over 14,591 political acts of violence between January, 1st 1969 and dec 31 1987 according to a Parliamentary study. 491 were killed and 1181 injured or maimed. GLADIO was responsible for the major incidents. Plus some of it's members talked explicitly spelling out the strategy of Tension taught by the CIA and special forces around the world. In fact because of the GLADIO scandal in Italy and Turkey a top secret army training manual FM 30-31 emerged which advised trainees to carry out false flag terror attacks and blame them on their opponents as well as infiltrating left wing groups to carry out attacks. In Italy GLADIO would carry out many such attacks. In 1969 shortly before christmas 4 bombs exploded in Rome and Milan 16 killed 80 wounded. The worst bomb was the one in Piazza Fontana in Milan.  On May 31 1972 in Peteano 3 police were killed and one wounded in another false flag bomb attack. On May 28, 1974 in Brescia an antiFascist march was targeted in another bomb attack 8 dead 102 injured. Then on August 4 1974 the Rome to Munich Train known as Italicus was bombed 12 killed 48 wounded. The worst of all came August 2, 1980 in the  Bologna railway Station where 85 were killed and 200 wounded. GLADIO was responsible for all of these attacks. In addition the state framed innocent people for all of them. Most shocking of all perhaps was the assassination of Italian prime minister Aldo Moro who was personally threatened with Death by none other the Henry Kissinger. Moro dared to include communists in his cabinet reflecting the endlessly ignored wishes of Italian voters. His body guard's were murdered and he was kidnapped before being found shot dead in the trunk of a car. Of course GLADIO was only one element in America's Secret war on Italy. The mafia, the vatican, and the infamous P2 Masonic lodge were all involved with the CIA's covert policies in Italy but the topic is to complex to go into here. This is why Italy tends to Overshadow all the other Gladio networks. Fascism was obviously a major element. At the end of the war the infamous future  CIA counterintelligence chief James Jesus Angleton decided to save the life of fascist death squad lead Prince Junio Valerio Borghese aka The Black Prince from a partisan firing squad. During the war he had personally supervised the execution of thousands of partisans and their sympathizers. But where an ordinary person sees a monster the CIA see a valuable asset. Borghese would go on to stage an attempted coup in 1970 aborted last minute by a phone call from Richard Nixon himself. He was forced to flee to Franco's Spain where Fascists were always welcome and were quickly put to work torturing and killing the populace. Until then he was vital in recruiting fascists to subvert italian democracy on behalf of the CIA. Clearly Italy deserves it's own article as I am only able to discuss a few of the famous incidents in the US secret war there.
    The secret War in France became a downright low level civil war within what Peter Dale Scott calls the Deep State. When French President Charles De Gaulle decided to end France's dirty War to prevent Algerian independence elements of french special forces the 11th Du choc paratrooper division veterans of brutal counterinsurgency campaigns in Vietnam and Algeria, along with parts of French intelligence, and France's stay behind network formed OAS with CIA support and launched a campaign of terror. They even attempted to Assassinate De Gaulle more then once along with launching terror bombings in France and Algeria. In the worst incident the Crypto Fascist mayor of Paris had between 200-300 pro-independence Protestors killed   For years De Gaulle had to struggle to regain control of french intelligence and reign in the OAS. On one occasion he even launched a series of terror bombings against Cafes frequented by  OAS in retaliation for an attack. The CIA also backed an attempted coup against him. These incidents were partly behind his decision to expel NATO from France. They moved to Belgium and it wasn't long before the already mentioned attacks began to occur there. Meanwhile De Gaulle also used elements of the secret army still loyal to him to repress the communists in a secret campaign of violence. Like in  Italy a lot happened in France. I'll just mention that Jacques Foccart architect of France's Neo-Colonial African Empire also helped Found the Gaullist secret army SAC.
    Greece was to suffer some of the worst crimes of the gladio network. First the US and UK supported and even participated in the brutal counterinsurgency against the Greek resistance. Then once it became nominally democratic again it was to suffer first a CIA engineered "silent coup" against the prime minister then in 1967 The secret army would stage a loud coup and installed a  military juntas that waged a terror campaign of murder and torture. The GLADIO network was let loose to do what Fascists love to do, and what the CIA loves to have done on it's behalf. The whole populace feared that knock on the door that meant one would be taken away for months of torture and probable death. As observers noted at the time democracy had been destroyed in it's Ancient birthplace by the country that had hosted it's modern birthplace. Johnson had Early in his presidency  engaged in the this Priceless Monologue  Johnson thundered "Listen to me Mr Ambassador Fuck Your Parliament and Constitution. America is an Elephant. Cyprus is a flea. Greece is a flea. If those two fleas continue itching the elephant they may just get whacked by the elephants trunk, whacked good"
he continued "We pay a lot of good American dollars to the Greeks, Mr. ambassador If Your Prime Minister gives me talk about democracy, parliament and constitution, he his parliament and his constitution may not last long."   (Ganser p. 219) he then told the Ambassador "tell papa what's his name what i told you."
Then when the ambassador reported the conversation to Prime Minister George Papapandreou Johnson informed by the NSA immediately called the ambassador and said "Are you trying to get yourself into my bad books mr ambassador? Do you want me to get really angry with you? That was a private conversation me and you had, you had no call putting in all them words I used on you. Watch Your Step."
    This is what America truly thinks about it's so called European Allies. I included it because for once an American President is speaking the truth privately of course. Many fleas have been whacked by the american elephant with no end in sight. Greece yesterday Ukraine today.
     In Portugal and Spain there was not even the illusion of democracy after the war. Somehow nobody ever seems to mention that while the Americans and British were loudly trumpeting their victory over fascism and proclaiming their bold defense of liberty, they were allying themselves with Fascist dictatorships in Spain and Portugal. For nearly 30 years both would live under dictatorships and many would declare after the discovery of gladio that in Spain and Portugal GLADIO was the government. The secret armies proliferated along with various CIA partnered secret police agencies. Portugal was ruled by General Salazar a secret client of the British who had seized power back in 1926. Franco seized power after the bloody spanish civil war. It was the usual story one finds in western backed military dictatorships. They waged a war on their populations using murder and torture. In Portugal the GLADIO branch Aginter Press was international in scope. It was responsible for Murdering famous African revolutionaries like Amilcar Cabral and Eduardo Mondlane the leader of Frelimo. They were also involved in the Piazza Fontana bombing in Italy. Franco's secret army ran an international assassination campaign and employed such infamous figures as Stefano Delle Chiaie who committed terror attacks in Italy, then was involved in assassinating Franco's critics before working for the Pinochet regime in Chile. Also employed by Franco were Hitler's favorite commando Otto Skorzeny and Yves Guerin Serac a notorious French Paratrooper and Fascist Ideologue.
    Lastly there is GLADIO operations in Turkey. Turkey suffered two coups carried out by it's secret army and as in Greece, Spain, and Portugal the secret army was able to terrorize the populace with impunity. Even high ranking politicians were kidnapped and tortured. High ranking Gladio member Colonel Turks would found the Grey Wolves turkish Fascists intimately involved in false Flag terrorism, counterinsurgency, and the international drug trade. This confluence of forces was represented in an infamous "accident" on November 3 1996 at susurluk Husseyin Kocadaq A high ranking Police officer deeply involved in the  counter insurgency war in Turkey, was killed along with Abdullah Catli who directed the grey wolves and was a fugitive wanted for murder and drug trafficking. Also killed was Catli's Girlfriend Gonca Us a former beauty queen turned mafia hit woman. The only survivor was right wing politician and warlord Sedat Bucak. This strange incident what is known as a deep event is obsessed over in Turkey the way the JFK assassination is in the US. To learn more watch the excellent interviews James Corbett did with Sibel Edmonds as the incident is part of a web involving the international drug trade, corruption of congress, nuclear spying, so called Al Qaeda referred to back in 90's by the FBI as Gladio B and 9/11 . Thus Turkey is the connecting link between the false flag attacks of the cold war period and the state sponsored terror of today whether directed against Syria, Russia, Iran or China. As Sibel Edmonds Observed Turkey was the most important gladio country. They engaged in false flag attacks, massacres, brutal counterinsurgencies against the left and the kurds, also two coups and continues to be important in destabilizing Eurasia.
   Clearly Gladio remains an important part of european history the scope of which is rarely fully understood. Upon joining NATO countries signed secret agreements promising to keep their population in check. Secret armies were used to wage a false flag terror campaign in Italy and Belgium. In France and Italy they even launched failed coup attempts. In Greece and Turkey the coups proved successful and a Fascist regime of terror was instituted. In Portugal and Spain the secret armies were used to preserve fascist dictatorships and commit acts of assassination and terror on their behalf. Today in Ukraine we see a similar phenomena Fascists trained by NATO have overthrown the government now they are terrorizing the population using fascist paramilitaries. It is just the latest example of the Illusion of western Democracy. After conquering then loosing control of the world Europe has become little more then just another piece of the American Empire. It's proclamations about western democracy are revealed to be hollow lies by the secret agreements it has signed agreeing to wage secret wars on it's own people if necessary in order to maintain the status quo.

Sources
I relied Mainly on Daniele Ganser's excellent "NATO's Secret Armies Operation Gladio and terrorism in western Europe. It deals with all the NATO countries. It is packed with information and many chapters deserve their own book. Here is an article by him available online
 http://libya360.wordpress.com/2014/05/23/gladio-the-strategy-of-tension-in-the-cold-war-period/

I also found Christopher Simpson's "Blowback" a Great source on the topic. There is also an excellent documentary on Gladio available online. do a search for Gladio BBC Timewatch it was directed by Alan Francovich  and features interviews with many of the key players in the attacks plus infamous CIA figures.
Check out this interview with Tom Secker going over the basics
www.corbettreport.com/interview-582-tom-secker-on-operation-gladio/

Then delve into the world of Gladio B with James Corbett and Sibel Edmonds

http://porkinspolicyreview.wordpress.com/2013/02/22/sibel-edmonds-on-operation-gladio/

If you want more go to the Corbett report and so a search for Sibel Edmonds there were a whole string of mindblowing interviews in 2013.
Also if you want some great reporting on false flag terror go to Pearse Redmonds site Porkins Policy review. He has some great podcasts on the topic in Contemporary times. He was kind enough to mention my Site on a recent episode (episode 24 Who is Samantha Lewthwaite) so I'll return the favor, he has some great shows on Africa, the war on terror, the Drug war in Mexico as well as lighter topics like films.

http://porkinspolicyreview.wordpress.com

Empire of Chaos

   Empire of Chaos: Ukraine Civil War and the Division of Iraq


    The Imperial Powers often behave like a Juvenile Delinquent if their scheme to cause trouble in one location hits a stalemate they merely focus their attentions somewhere else. Or they seek to act when their opponent is preoccupied. Either way as the Ukrainian civil War continues we saw a spectacular shift on the grand chessboard in Southwest Asia as Isis militants launched an offensive in Iraq that threatens to engulf Baghdad. Some foolishly saw this as a major setback for American goals in the region. Yet another chapter in the failure of Bush's dream of a stable democratic Iraq arising like a Phoenix out of the destruction of Saddam Hussein's regime. Clearly they mistake propaganda for actual policies and operate under the illusion that our half wit former Commander in chief was actually involved in formulating American foreign policy. American foreign policy has nothing to do with bringing stability to the world. Instead as should be Obvious after Iraq, Libya, and Syria to name some blatant examples the goal is to destabilize the world. Far from an accident what is happening in Iraq represents another move in the great game for control of Eurasia and ultimately the world. Nor should we be surprised by the spiraling horror in Ukraine from a political standpoint it's win win for the west either Putin further damages his image internationally by intervening or he eventually  damages his image domestically by not intervening. In the meantime the US is solidifying it's hold on Europe pressuring it as with Iran to ignore it's economic and political interests and to obey. Cutting off it's own energy supply in the midst of economic crisis. Creating a constant state of crisis in which it can push forward it's insane objectives is standard operating procedure in the Empire of Chaos. First there was the non-existent Iranian nuclear weapons program. Now there is Putin's imaginary scheme to re-establish the Soviet Union and reoccupy the Warsaw pact. Either way Europe must ignore all common sense and act based on the fanciful lies of the US state department. Even if the International Atomic Energy Agency and even the CIA say it's all nonsense reality is ignored. For the accusations against Putin they don't even bother to try to manufacture evidence other then some occasionally passing out some phony satellite Photos showing Russia is about to invade at any moment of course as the months pass the fakes are exposed and no invasion materializes. Instead we have the blood and horror of a very uneven civil war. We have what was from the start a dirty war ie a war of terror upon civilians aimed at ending their support for the Anti-Fascist resistance.
    Some hoped that Poroshenko would be less bloodthirsty then Yulia "Nuke the Russian" Timoshenko of course as I noted at the time there is only the illusion of choice in Western style "representative democracy." Despite apparently making some phony promises behind close doors to Putin about de- escalation his inauguration address was a mix of open declaration of war on the people of Novorossiya as they now call it along with Orwellian double speak about Independence and freedom signaling his slavish obedience to his US masters as well as his intent to brutalize his own citizens. Yet considering all the tanks, artillery, planes, and helicopters that the government has brought to bear on it's populace it has been slow to actually accomplish much besides generating an exponentially growing number of civilian casualties. Twitter is awash in pictures of dead women and children. The fact that they believe in the internet age that they can get away with supporting a regime that commits bloody war crimes in the heart of supposedly civilized Europe speaks to their overweening arrogance. Unfortunately some people in the west seem unable to sympathize with an Iraqi or an African victim; but you can expect the Ukraine situation to become an imperial PR disaster once the general public starts to see images of dead European civilians. The empire has created many new enemies and the Ukraine crisis has opened many new peoples eyes to the lies of the media and the barbarity of US foreign policy.
    At the time of the Ukrainian election I predicted soon we'd loose track of all the terrible incidents and it would become a question of vague numbers. In the Ukraine civil war the question is already have hundreds died or have thousands. One particularly terrible incident at the start of june shows in gruesome detail the effect on civilians of a random airstrike on an apartment building by Ukrainian air force. The results are of course predictable blood flows
people are horribly wounded many die. Unfortunately we must look occasionally Directly at the horrors of war lest we come to accept the hollywood image of war as noble and exciting. No, war is terrible nothing more. There is zero difference between a so called anti-terror operation and an act of terrorism. There is nothing heroic about killing middle aged women in an air strike. See for yourself here. This is what America did to Iraq for nearly a decade, and is still doing in Afghanistan and Pakistan and Yemen and....

http://libya360.wordpress.com/2014/06/16/slavyansk-before-and-after-kiev-military-assault/

   Besides a trail of Horrors we have also seen increasing sophistication in attacks by the self defense forces. Recently they brought down a transport plane killing 47 which sounds like something out of Afghanistan. Obviously it's a pretty troubling sign for the Ukrainian government that the rebels have been very effective in bringing down aircraft. More experienced people have joined the self defense forces both from Ukraine as well as volunteers from Russia who are reported to have entered the country while the border was in a state of complete collapse. According to Christoph German Chechen forces from restabilized Chechnya are operating in Ukraine and obviously if the Russian's are willing to turn a blind eye to volunteers they are probably providing increased covert support. After all assorted intelligence agencies, Mercenary firms, and an international brigade of fascists and terrorists have been operating in Ukraine for months now. Since Russia is being falsely accused in defiance of the copious evidence to the contrary of destabilizing Ukraine they probably sent a few advisors while the Border was unguarded (see my Chaos and Capitalism in Ukraine and Leaks, False Flags, destabilization in Ukraine and Turkey for the more on the destabilization of Ukraine)    At least that is what is implied in the recent analysis of the situation at Vineyard of the Saker. I highly recommend his blog as he provides some excellent analysis from a military perspective Also he has frequent contributions from a Russian Veteran Juan that are equally valuable. here is a recent post on the Civil War in Ukraine
http://vineyardsaker.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/a-scorecard-for-us-lukewarm-war-on.html

    It is becoming a terrible pattern last time I wrote about the Ukraine crisis I went to go check the names of two Journalists being held on false charges online and discovered a fresh outrage when one journalist was killed and his assistant wounded. now when I went to copy the link above I discovered this report from Ukraine by Juan

Kramatorsk as I write is being flattened, the entire city is under intense bombardment including Grad and Hurricane MLRS. Everything, industrial areas, shopping areas, infrastructure areas, living areas, is being flattened. We're going to have I think hundreds if not a thousand dead civilians. Is this the atrocity needed to bring in Russia? I don't know. Yet.

Clearly the Horror in Ukraine is escalating even further as I write. Doubtless this whole city is receiving collective punishment for recent losses by the murderous Kiev regime. Meanwhile there will be of course no punishment for the Mob that attacked the Russian Embassy instead they sent their foreign minister Andriy Deschytsia to join the crow and shout Putin Fucker a popular chant among Ukraine's ultranationalist soccer hooligans. Ukraine's orwellian democracy has no intention of bringing the fascist mobs that brought it to power under control. Russian diplomats say they feared that if the well armed and well organized fascist paramilitaries had broken in they wouldn't have been satisfied unless they had killed a few random diplomatic staff. Thus while the Kiev authorities wink at the crimes of the fascists they are determined to punish millions of civilians for the actions of a couple thousand self defense forces which unlike the fascist national guard do not terrorize the local populace or butcher policemen for refusing to fire on civilians. Here is a local account of the recent siege of Mauripol I came across on Vineyard of the Saker.

    This, how the enemy is acting, we have observed in Mariupol. They surrounded the city, blocked it with checkpoints, using their equipment, and cut it off from any possibility of help. After that, their punitive units entered. These special units, composed of the so-called volunteers, who, in reality, are mercenaries, the Azov, Donbass and other [such battalions]. Once done, they clean-up the city of the few militia there and move on to the next city. And, meanwhile, a garrison is moved into this city, which takes up key positions, routes all the “malcontents,” and places them in filtration camps. … That is what awaits us.

In Ukraine's Orwellian democracy whole cities are held for questioning, after being starved into submission. The Ukrainian army intentionally destroy the water systems. They have been driving out civilians en masse by terrorizing them with artillery, airstrikes, and fascist death squads. Unfortunately it all sounds like Iraq during the American Occupation merely replace the fascist part with various ethnic and sectarian death squads. It was all part of an old plan to split Iraq into three separate countries. A Kurdish state, a sunni state and a shiite state. Sectarian war was deliberately stoked with the special help of that American tool of destabilization and psychological operations al Qaeda in Iraq. It was part of an Israeli strategy that had been adopted by the united states the lines of the middle east would be redrawn diverse countries would be split into homogenous little cantons. Lebanon was the first major test case, the divisions of beruit became legendary before the Israeli occupation's ruthlessness reunited the populace against them. Iraq was a major test case and somewhat more successful. Despite the best intentions of many Iraqis who wanted to unite against the Occupation of the US And it's allies the US covert war was able to intensify the divisions and play the different sides against each other. In Syria it was all the more blatant as the US did not even pretend to be doing anything other then trying to start a sectarian war in Syria by supporting Sunni Wahabi death squads. In fact as documented by Seymour Hersh back in 2007 the Syria war has it's roots in the so called surge when the US bought the support of the Sunni resistance in Anbar with Weapons and suitcases of cash.
   In Syria as in Lebanon their attempts to instigate sectarian war have failed. The barbarous tactics and Idiotic fanaticism of the so called rebels have served to unite the Syrian populace against the various branches of Al Qaeda, and behind the cosmopolitan Syrian regime. After almost 3 years of defats which while causing untold suffering to Syria's people have come no closer to toppling Assad, the US has decided to up the Ante. Like events in Ukraine I see the Neo-Conservative faction as behind this as it fits perfectly into their plan's for a partition of Iraq. In fact within days an editorial had appeared in  Foreign Affairs predicting the partition of Iraq. At the same time the realist faction is probably hoping that this will strengthen ties between the US and Iran. The neo-con faction on the other hand hope to use this new Isis controlled region to wage covert war on Iran and even if the realists have their way to bog the Iranian's down in fighting within Iraq in support of the Maliki government. Not only that but it sends a clear message to Afghanistan this is what will happen to You if you don't give us permission to stay indefinitely. Thus it offers something to both sides Zbigniew Brzezinski the "realist" foreign policy mastermind has long talked about the need to bring Iran into alliance with the US against Russia. Iran forms a vital economic and geo-strategic element in Russia and China's plan's for Eurasian integration. Brzezinski has even commented in that sly way of technocrats that perhaps instability in the region might lead Iran into closer ties with the US. Decoded this means that perhaps US can use it's pet terrorists to force Iran into an alliance. It was after all Brzezinski who masterminded the origins of the plan to create the afghan Mujahadeen that would give birth to Al Qaeda America's frenemy. In Pakistan a supposed enemy but in Chechnya a Friend. In Libya a friend but when it crossed over into Mali it became a supposed enemy. In Syria Isis is our Friend and Ally now it crosses into Iraq and it is an enemy. It is hard to imagine how our politicians and so called journalists keep a straight face while repeating this nonsense. Thus it takes a monumental amount of intentional blindness, stupidity, and amnesia to suddenly forget that ISIS is a pawn of the GCC monarchies Saudi Arabia and Qatar and that they in turn are pawns of the US NATO and Israel. Those treacherous, backwards monarchs who sold out from the start, first to the British, then the US, then the Israelis. They hope a shiite sunni war will make their peoples forget about the decades of treachery, decadence and brutality that their rule entailed. To believe that these spineless hedonists would act without the approval of the US, NATO, and Israel isn't credible. Instead I'd like to bring up a detail from history. In the 80's the US made an enormous weapons sale to the Saudi's as documented by Peter Dale Scott in the classic  "Road to 9/11" money from this sale would be used to finance all sorts of covert operations related to the Afghan war and the Iran Contra affair. Recently the US Made the largest ever arms sale to Saudi Arabia we can guess that in similar fashion money was diverted from the sale in part to finance the creation of this massive ISIS enclave from which to wage war on Syria, and Iran and split Iraq into 3.
    Of course more then simple common sense shows that this is was all a plan and not some accidental product of the Wars in Iraq and Syria. Just as before the 2003 invasion the US bought off the Iraqi commanders who agreed not to fight in Iraq clear evidence has emerged that the commanders gave orders not to resist. Not only that but the Kurds close allies of the US and Israel refused to help repel them. Some ask how could the American trained army collapse so quickly in reality it collapsed because it was American trained. The CIA always tries to subvert the army, police and intelligence of any country whether it is an ally or an enemy.  (See Philip Agees "CIA diary") Clearly the US and other intelligence agencies were quite successful in secretly buying the allegiance of Important elements of Iraq's army. That is why a city with 50,000 soldiers based in it was over run by 1,500 ISIS members. Tragically they betrayed not just their country but their men 1,500 of whom were slaughtered by insurgents who took pictures of the carnage. Their time in Syria has taught them that every war crime is a glorious victory to be celebrated. As in Ukraine thousands of refugees flee in terror before death squads that have one thing in common an ideology of hate that allows them to kill people for the flimsiest of reasons. However in Iraq floods of refugees and people fleeing in terror are nothing new. Iraq has already gone through the policy of ethnic cleansing that Ukraine is about to experience millions became refugees millions became orphans a million people died. We can only hope that we do not see a repetition on that terrible scale in Ukraine.
   Nationalist and religious resentments can be abstract until they are result in actual crimes. Then they take on a life of their own. By revitalizing old hatreds resulting from the crimes of the first two world wars the US and It's allies are setting in motion terrible forces in Ukraine. But this chaos being created is no accident. Instead it is the standard operating of the American Empire just as it was of our mentors the British. I recently read Zbigniew Brzezinski's "Out of Control" written over 20 years ago he had already noted cleavages that could be exploited in the future of Ukraine. He knew way back then how easy it would be to create a Civil War in Ukraine. He also hoped for an eventual breakup of Russia. Contrary to what the media portrays American foreign policy is not something presidents dream up on the spot. Instead as far back as the 19th century countries have engaged in long term strategic planning. The chaos in the world today is not caused by our rulers unthinking incompetence, instead it is a product of the goal of creating endless destabilization and War in an endless bid for world domination. The long war as they call it is merely one element in their strategy in what is called "the great Game," America's quest to conquer Eurasia, then the world. Russia and China are not their greatest fear however. Instead Brzezinski's primary concern is what he calls the great global awakening, he fears ordinary people like you and I learning the truth about Capitalism and Imperialism and rising up in United resistance against the Oligarchs and their Technocrats who control the World. We must all resist this Empire of Chaos that rules most of the world. It creates only Poverty, Hatred and War.

Sources
Besides the excellent Vineyard of the Saker Blog dealing with Ukraine I recommend these articles on Iraq.
Vineyard of the Saker

http://vineyardsaker.blogspot.co.uk

First this classic Article by Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya is even more important and relevant now then ever

http://www.globalresearch.ca/plans-for-redrawing-the-middle-east-the-project-for-a-new-middle-east/3882

Watch his great documentary on Ukraine "Propaganda and the Ukraine crisis" and try to spread it around

http://www.globalresearch.ca/gtrv-full-length-documentarypropaganda-and-the-ukraine-crisis/5383677

Tony Cartalucci did an excellent article on ISIS and the recent events in Iraq

http://libya360.wordpress.com/2014/06/13/americas-covert-re-invasion-of-iraq/

Professor Michel Chossudovsky did an excellent article on events in Iraq

 http://libya360.wordpress.com/2014/06/14/the-destruction-and-political-fragmentation-of-iraq/

Read the insane Yinon plan for yourself with commentary by an Israeli dissident

http://www.globalresearch.ca/greater-israel-the-zionist-plan-for-the-middle-east/5324815

Finally Diana Johnstone Author of the definitive account of the Yugoslavia War "Fool's Crusade" wrote a great article on how the US is using the Ukraine crisis to increase it's hold on Europe.

http://www.globalresearch.ca/tightening-the-u-s-grip-on-western-europe-washingtons-iron-curtain-in-ukraine/5386090

Nazis and the CIA

      Nazis, the Birth of the CIA, And the Secret Origins of Cold War Hysteria


   The recent civil war in Ukraine has brought to world attention the willingness of the United States and it's NATO allies to employ Nazi's if it serves their interests.  What a terrible century we seem to be living in where outrage after outrage has become normalized. Torture, assassination, mass surveillance, now Nazism have all apparently become acceptable tools of statecraft. Fascism is on the rise in Europe the oligarchs who are looting Europe hope that as standards of living plummet discontent can be channeled towards immigrant's and away from the ruling classes. Those who are poorest and hence most powerless to exercise any economic control are blamed for the state of the economy. In Ukraine we have the bloody conclusion to this type of thinking the corrupt Poreshenko regime doubtless hopes that by directing his supporters in Western Ukraine against the East and South of the Country and Russia they will forget the real reason for Ukraine's economic problems which is the 20 plus years of rule by thieving Billionaires. Perhaps they will not pay attention when the effects of the IMF structural adjustments destroy Ukraine's already ailing economy. Of course the slaughter also serves US strategic interests as they hope it will weaken Putin politically at home or tempt him to interfere  which will help the US in it's quest to reduce the already servile European rulers into abject slavery. However just as this second cold war has begun with the west allying itself with Nazi Paramilitaries so too did the first Cold War. America's alliance with Nazis was vital in shaping both the CIA and the Cold War itself.
   
    This article is a sequel to an article I wrote in March called America the CIA and Fascism. It is an expansion on a paragraph that discussed Operation Paperclip. Since then I've learned a great deal more thanks to Christopher Simpson's classic "Blowback" so if you're interested in the topic I'd highly recommend this book combining scholarly caution with relentless curiosity. It's difficult to say when exactly our story truly begins American corporations and elements of the government had relations with Nazi's before during and after the war. Instead I'll begin before the end of the war as german armies and their collaborators retreat before the relentless advance of the Red Army. These collaborators included regiments of the Waffen SS. The german's had hoped to use nationalism against the Soviet Union. They encouraged the rise of fascist movements in all the eastern countries which they controlled.  This policy of encouraging nationalism to destabilize eastern Europe predated the Nazi's and was part of Long term German Strategic planning. In fact it was not abandoned after the war as Diana Johnstone documents in her "Fools Crusade" Germany played a key role in the early stages of the breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990's. After the World War II as we will see America hired many of the planners behind this policy to plan American foreign policy in Eastern Europe.
     Today in Ukraine we see an egregious example of this "nationals Policy". So let's use Ukraine during World War II as a sample of the types of people who were fleeing the Soviet Red Army. During the war Ukrainian Fascists were trained by what Simpson call's Germanys special forces the SS just like the American special forces today they trained death squads. Some Ukrainians  served directly in the Waffen SS. Others joined the Ukrainian nationalist Guerrilla army OUN. They engaged in massacring leftists, Poles, Jews, and Russians. In every country in Eastern Europe locals were incorporated into the waffen ss while others formed their own fascist movements. The German's also managed to recruit an army of Russian's from their many Russian prisoners captured in the initial year of the invasion of the USSR. Prisoner's could either join or starve. The invasion of the Soviet Union was one of the most brutal attempted conquests in history Professor Daniel Ganser Quotes  historian Andrew Wilson's figures: 7 million Soviet troops died  15 million Civilians died 14 million people wounded. America to give a comparison lost 300,000 troops with 600,000 wounded no civilians were killed. Despite their tremendous losses the Soviet's managed to turn the tide and it was only once the German forced were being steadily pushed back that the western powers launched the Normandy landing finally opening a Western Front. Members of German intelligence made plans to insure their future usefulness to the western Powers most famously Gehlen buried an enormous Cache of intelligence files that he used as a bargaining chip. Meanwhile those who had committed brutal war crimes on the Eastern Front all sought to be captured by the British, French, or Americans, so they could avoid punishment at the hands of the at  ruthless Soviet intelligence agency the NKVD. Most likely they faced a bullet in the back of the head.
    Meanwhile as soon as the war neared it's end all the victorious powers began a competition to capture as many German scientists as possible for future recruitment. The Nazi regime had pinned it's hopes on what it called wonder weapons but despite successfully developing an offensive long range rocket program and jet aircraft it was to late to change the course of the war. At Nordhausen where the V2 Rockets were constructed thousands of unfed salve laborers died. Despite this fact America recruited top Scientist's from this facility as well as many others. Most Famous were Werner Von Braun and General Walter Dornberger. Both were top Scientists at Nordhausen and since officially the US was not supposed to recruit scientists that had been involved in war crimes their records were simply whitewashed and they were brought to the United States where both had long and successful careers.  Werner von Braun became a key NASA scientist while Dornberger fittingly had a long career in the US military industrial complex including a long stint at Bell. This pattern would be repeated again and again any attempt to screen potential recruits to exclude active Nazis or known war criminals would be sabotaged by those supposedly doing the vetting merely whitewashing the potential recruits record. Thus even scientists that had tested biological and chemical weapons on human subjects were recruited.
    But the US did not just recruit scientists. Even before wars end Alan Dulles and other members of the OSS the wartime  precursor to the CIA were making deals with high ranking SS members. The early CIA was made up of wall street lawyers of which Dulles was a prime example. Dulles managed to the defection of a High ranking SS member that led him to the capture of a massive amount of Wealth looted by the germans. The money would be used to finance off the books CIA operations for decades. For example the CIA used some of these funds it to subvert the Italian elections keeping the Popular Front made up of the Italian Communist party and the Italian Socialist party from winning the postwar elections. The most important recruitment the US made was Reinhard Gehlen he had been in charge of German intelligence on the Eastern Front. He still had thousands of contacts in Soviet occupied Eastern Europe and had buried a treasure trove of intelligence. He was recruited secretly at first by an Army intelligence officer who didn't want to risk being turned down by his superior by asking permission. He had Gehlen secretly retrieve the files. Soon however Gehlen had met with the head of Army intelligence General Edwin Siberd. Not only was he Recruited but he was immediately put in charge of reconstituting his network of spies. Prisoner of war camps became massive recruitment centers. Gehlen would go on to become the head of Western German Intelligence the BND. Historians estimated he provided 70% of the CIA's intelligence on the Eastern Bloc and the soviet Union. Back in Washington he was greatly trusted with dangerous consequences. Gehlen provided a completely alarmist and false picture to his American patrons. Most famously in 1948 he played a major role in increasing cold war tensions when he falsely predicted an imminent soviet Invasion. His intelligence proved to be the exact opposite of what was actually going on in Eastern Europe where the Red Army was demobilizing instead he claimed that they were massing for an invasion. He adopted the paranoid mentality of Nazi propaganda in which everywhere there was a disciplined communist conspiracy behind everything. Thus he would continuously feed the Cold War Paranoia of the west reinforcing cold war myths of a Soviet Union bent on world conquest and an international communist conspiracy behind every type of dissent or demand for progress or peace. Not only did he become the CIA's major source of intel he also supplied a little remembered man named Colonel John V. Grombach. As the cold war dawned Grombach who was head of the pentagon's Military Intelligence Service was locked in a bureaucratic turf war with the OSS RA division headed by Alfred Mcormack the OSS team was made up of respectable academics the experts in their field. Grombach on the other hand promoted the most paranoid theories as intelligence. Using dirt some from fascists he smeared the OSS RA division as being dominated by communists. They were dismissed and cold war hysteria became rampant. Grombach would go on to form his own private intelligence agency supplied mostly by Gehlen. He would go on to be the source for much of Joseph McCarthy's false accusations that would create hysterical witch hunts for communists in all areas of American life. Of course there were real soviet spies. One of them Heinze Felfe rose to be head of the  Gehlen Org's (their nickname was the Org) Counter Intelligence where for decades he gave the Soviets everything he knew helping them to capture more and more of Gehlen's spy network, while at the same time sowing mistrust by falsely implicating loyal nazis as communists. Meanwhile british spy Kim Philby secretly working for the soviets had weekly lunches with the anglophile James Jesus Angleton head of the CIA counterintelligence division who accidentally gave away most of America's secrets. Western intelligence agencies are much better at organizing death squads and arranging coups then actually catching spies.
    More insidiously the US recruited Nazi's who would come to be dominant in Academia secretly they would also work as top CIA analysts.  This was known as Operation bloodstone and intellectuals including top SS researchers would be brought to the United States, along with experts in propaganda, and fascist politicians that would be rebranded in America as Freedom Fighters. For example Nicholas N. Poppe a german ethnographer and SS member became America's leading expert on central Asia. Midhat Frasheri a high level Albanian war Criminal became active in US politics. Many former Fascists would come to participate in what was called the captured nations movement. In the 50's the captive Nations Movement were part of a massive CIA PR campaign aimed (in blatant violation of it's charter) at the American Public. War criminals could be met with cheering crowds of ignorant americans. Largely forgotten now the CIA's campaign had a major effect on public opinion at the time and the CIA was able to promote the idea that containment was not enough all of Eastern Europe must be "liberated" in reality a cynical attempt to get more funding for their covert war on the Eastern Bloc and the USSSR. The press remained silent about the fascist background of these Freedom Fighters and as late as the 80's (Perhaps later my source was published in the late 80's) former fascists were active in the republican party. For example the GOP's Nationalities council was run by Hungarian fascist Laszlo Pasztor. The captives Nations Movement became an important pressure group opposing any easing of Cold War tensions.
    Undoubtedly the most dramatic use the CIA made of former fascists was the recruitment of Guerrilla armies made up of former fascists who waged a now forgotten war on the communist east. The remnants of the former fascist proxy armies and Waffen SS divisions that had managed to escape west were secretly reorganized and trained to serve as  guerrilla armies. They were organized under the cover of so called labor service companies. Thanks to television the image we have of the end of the war is cheering crowds on Paris streets welcoming american troops or perhaps a sailor kissing a beautiful woman amidst cheering crowds in times square New York. Thus it is easy to forget that Much of Europe lay in complete ruins starvation and disease were rampant. Prisoners of war were let loose merely to start cleaning up some of the rubble. Others were recruited to act as a temporary police force. All of the victorious allies used them. They provided the cover for the US to train and assemble armies of exiles. Some went on to form part of the first batch of recruits for US special forces, Some were maintained for future use, while others were sent back to their home countries to spy or wage a covert war. Back in Washington a national security council resolution 10/2 had been passed which authorized the beginning of a covert war on the soviet union and anything they branded communist (which could be anything they didn't like) anywhere in the world. According to the CIA this resolution is what puts them above all foreign and domestic laws. It was the brainchild of the architect of containment George Kennan who was a smart but also strange and sinister man. His writings are full of fascist sympathies, an obsession with Eugenics, and a hatred of democracy of  which he once said should be compared to "One of those prehistoric monsters the size of this room with the brain the size of a pin." He was the architect of both the official policy of containment and the secret policy of covert war that led to the creation of the CIA and it's endless covert war on the planet. Ironically he would later be forced out of direct power by the domestic  influence of the captive nations movement for whom containment was not enough. Under his Supervision Frank Wisner formed the OPC to carry out covert war.  After being trained Guerrilla armies were sent back to their home countries to conduct a campaign of assassination and terrorism. Ukraine would prove the bloodiest example a CIA officer would brag that Ukrainian guerrillas killed over 35,000 people. They also made a failed attempt at a coup in Romania and waged a failed rebellion in Albania and a terror Campaign in Poland to name just some of their activities.  They had even more sinister uses in mind for the Guerrillas a 1949 plan declassified in the 80's revealed that the American's planned to Air Drop these guerrilla forces into the Soviet Union after a month long nuclear attack that involved dropping 70 atomic bombs. The planners with typical understatement observed that this would lead to "resentment" among the populace who would fight back. Thus they planned to drop these Guerrilla armies in by plane in order to take control before the people could organize a resistance since the government would have been wiped out. Thus it is a myth that stay behind networks like Gladio were created for defensive purposes.
   In addition to launching covert war the US also recruited fascists for their information war. Radio Free Europe and Radio liberty were filled with former fascist propagandists now working for the CIA. This often had counterproductive results as with good reason the American propaganda sounded a lot like the war time propaganda of Nazi Germany since it was produced by the same people. This actually served to increase peoples support for their socialist governments. The Eastern Bloc was also able to expose the fascist nature of the terror campaign the west was waging, further legitimizing them in the eyes of their citizens.
   I'll conclude with an account of 3 famous Nazis the US employed. First there is Former SS Sturmbannfuhrer Alois Brunner he was put in charge of deporting jews to ghettoes and then concentration camps. He was an expert in psychological warfare brought in to terrify the target population into submission so that it would meekly obey orders to relocate. He even murdered children telling a german lawyer pleading on behalf of a group of french orphans that they were future terrorists. However instead of being tried at Nuremberg after the war he instead became head of the Gehlen org in the Middle East. With CIA Knowledge and encouragement Gehlen  would also recruit Otto Skorzeny known to history as "Hitler's favorite commando".   Most famously he once rescued Mussolini in a daring Commando raid. After the war Skorzeny led a band of mercenary commandos made up of fellow Nazis with experience in special operations. He was involved in a network to help nazis escape justice. He would perform all sorts of missions for the CIA and it's western allies he trained security services in Egypt, was involved in the uranium industry, would aid the biaffran rebels, perform assassinations, and deal arms. In the 70's Skorzeny would be a consultant to spanish dictator Francisco Franco on his own version of Operation condor where his opponents were attacked and killed all over the world. Truth really is stranger then fiction some times. It sounds like something out of a bad movie. Lastly there is Otto von Bolschwing, stationed in jerusalem he managed to cut a deal with a haganah (the militia that would form the core of the future israeli army) commander Fieval Polkes that in exchange for allowing jewish youth to train in Germany before moving to Israel, Polkes forces would spy on the british and give the information to the Germans. Pre-State Israel had a shifting attitude to Nazi Germany embarrassingly enough, depending on their relations with the british and the balance of power during the war I'll leave it at that. (see David Hirst's "Gun and the Olive Branch") Next Von Bolschwing would design a plan to strip jews of their assets which was implemented robbing untold numbers. Because of his experience as a spy stationed in Jerusalem he would go on to serve as the Notorious Adolf Eichman's adviser on jewish affairs. Then he would help organize a fascist coup in Romania and after which  Local Fascists killed hundreds and engaged in the literal butchery of 70 local jews at a meat packing plant, who were skinned and hung up on meat hooks. He would be stationed in Romania but in the spring of 1945 he defected to the americans first giving them intel on German troop movements and the location of their rocket scientists. After the war he was put in charge of infiltrating agents into Hungary and Rumania for espionage and Covert war. The American's rewarded him for his service by whitewashing his record and allowing him into the US where he lived out his days. Thus thanks to the CIA major war criminals managed to escape justice, and "Hitler's commando" with his band of Nazi's were used in all sorts of shadowy operations many still unknown.
    Clearly the US alliance with Nazis is nothing new nor is a simple oddity of history. The recruitment of Nazis had an impact on the formation of the CIA and special forces. Managing fascists was also extremely good for your Career in the CIA. A number of future CIA directors were involved with recruiting nazis or managing the covert armies made up of former fascists. Allen Dulles, Richard Helms and Bill Colby were all involved, and all rose to become future CIA directors and war criminals in their own right. Not only that but with a few adjustments fascist propaganda was used to instill cold war paranoia in the American public. The Gehlen organization would both feed the paranoia of the establishment and the McCarthyism of more extreme elements in America. Most dangerously the US would adopt Nazi foreign policy experts to help it design it's cold war strategies. In a word the recruitment of the Nazis contributed to the cold war hysteria that could have ended in nuclear war. Today in Ukraine the results could be equally disastrous. Already the fascist butchery is well under way with hundreds already dead. Only now we may be asked to fight a world war on behalf of Nazis instead of against them. At the very least the US rulers demand a new cold war on the behalf of Ukraine's fascist infested government. Fortunately in the internet age we are able to expose these attempts to disguise fascists as freedom fighters.

Source
I definitely recommend Christopher Simpson's information packed "Blowback" I was barely able to scratch the surface of the pervasive recruitment of Nazis and it's affects in America.  He also provides great insights into the origins of the cold war.

Russia From Gorbachev to Putin

           Russia After the Fall of the Soviet Union

   The most important and least understood event of recent times was the fall of the Soviet Union. Seemingly no one bothers to look into it because they believe they already know the answers. Most commonly cited is the failure of communism which cannot work we are told. Others believe it was a simple triumph of freedom of democracy. While there is some truth to both in that the Soviet system produced strange economic problems of it's own, and people were tired of state censorship and longed for the forbidden glamorous media and products of the west. Still as we shall see if life in the soviet union could be stagnant the introduction of free market reforms would prove absolutely catastrophic. As for freedom Yeltsin actually reversed many of the democratic reforms of Gorbachev so he could ram through his western dictated and Oligarch favored  Free Market reforms. I can't claim to have discovered the why. I can only comment in passing that the role of western intelligence in subverting and destabilizing Russian society has been vastly underestimated. One need only look at Chechnya which was the site of a US, Israel, GCC, and NATO etc, backed destabilization attempt reminiscent of Syria a continuation of the covert GLADIO B war on central Asia that began in the mid 70's.  Chechnya was also the source of the dominant faction in the mafia wars that raged in the early 90's. More prosaically US soft power gave it's usual disastrous economic advice. The fall began actually in the Gorbachev era with his westward looking advisers, sometimes creating intentional disasters. It was Gorbachev's ill conceived war on Alcohol to name just one example that caused an explosion of Organized crime and state corruption. These tendencies would be carried to explosive extremes in the Yeltsin Era.
   The real cause strictly speaking of the collapse of the Soviet Union is known if seldom mentioned  it was a power grab by Yeltsin. A brief note on Yeltsin I'll say Yeltsin did this or Yeltsin did that it is purely for the sake of brevity. Most so called world "Leaders" don't actually make policy their advisers do. In Yeltsin's case this is even more true. He was more like some hapless  medieval monarch then a modern leader he was constantly drunk and completely out of touch with reality. Whichever faction could gain the favor of his fickle daughter would make the policies. But back to the immediate cause for the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Gorbachev was in charge of the Soviet Union his vision of the future was that the Soviet Union would become a Scandinavian style socialist democracy. Yeltsin had come to power in Russia he was popular for his role in resisting a half hearted attempt by certain elements of the KGB to prevent the coming collapse of the USSR. In order to seize power from Gorbachev he met with the heads of Ukraine and Belarus and they agreed to dissolve the Soviet Union they would each rule their own domains. It was totally Illegal but of course the west was overjoyed and the matter was quickly forgotten. Next in order to push through his "reforms"; which actually meant selling out the entire country to a small number of his supporters; he waged a literal war on his own Parliament shelling it with Tanks and artillery. Over 1000 people were killed according to some reports although the official number is only 100. Again he was lionized sometimes in order to save Democracy you must destroy it. The people he was firing upon were called hardliners and gullible western readers believed them to be Crypto-Stalinists. In reality they merely objected to slashing benefits and favored a slower approach to privatization. Still the Orwellian western Media managed to portray the most blatantly undemocratic thing you can do the armed suppression of the Parliament, as a triumph of democracy. It was in the Yeltsin years that the President assumed the imperial powers that Putin is so harshly criticized for possessing. After destroying his opposition Yeltsin pushed forward a new constitution that Gave himself vast powers. As for a so called free press this was nothing more then a Corporate press. The press became a tool of the oligarchs and during the 1996 election they used it to keep the Communists from winning the election. With the help of amphetamine injections for Yeltsin to help him function despite his alcoholism Yeltsin became the center of a massive propaganda campaign dwarfing anything since the Stalin years.  On the other hand the media could produce quite interesting dirt when the oligarchs were squabbling. The strategy of leaked tapes we see today in the Ukraine Media war definitely had it's origins in 90's Russia's media wars between dueling oligarchs. They all had their own privatized spy agencies.
   The economic "reforms" were a disaster. The very word reform is of course a triumph for money power. Reform used to be meant to curb the abuses of capitalism, Now reform is a codeword for enabling the abuses of Corporate power. When Clinton reformed Wall street he empowered the kleptocrats. When he reformed welfare he destroyed it. I mention him simply cause he and Yeltsin pretended friendship but whenever Yeltsin asked for anything it was refused. Russia's economic reforms were clearly part of western Geo-Strategy the Chaos and suffering they produced were not accidental byproducts but part of an ongoing plan for the complete dismemberment of Russia. To give some Idea of the suffering of the Ordianry People in the City of Moscow alone 300,000 people became homeless. Paul Klebnikov a free market Idealist points out that statistical analysis shows that over 3 million people died as a result of the so called free market reforms. While communism may have failed to provide store shelves full of the latest fashions it is an objective fact that under capitalism there was a massive increase in poverty disease, ignorance and  crime. A joke circulating Russia in 1992 went Question: "What did capitalism accomplish in one year that Communism couldn't accomplish in 70." Answer: "Make communism look good."
   Meanwhile for those with the right connections they made fortunes, although they lived in constant fear of their own life. Over 800,000 former soldiers and athletes became hired muscle. To be a Businessman first you needed the backing and protection of an organized crime group this was called "having a roof". Of course the big money was in having the right government connections to get in on looting the country. One man came to epitomize the era Boris Berezovsky. You'd think upon receiving some massive state enterprise and becoming an instant corporate mogul you might try to make it into a success. This is the naive belief of free market economists. In todays world that sort of thinking is for suckers. Instead the goal is to gain control of a company without actually owning it then you start up some more companies that you can use to swindle the first company. You set up financial holding companies that charge exorbitant fees. You sell off the companies products to one of your companies for less then they cost to make then resell them for way more. Berezovsky for instance used his influence with the car company Autovaz to sell him cars for less then they cost to make and then he resold them at huge profit. Then he'd pay off the board of directors by making them partners in the looting process. The more companies he destroyed the more money he made. He had close connections to Chechen mafia from the start and survived an assassination attempt by the Russian mafia. He was a citizen of Russia, Israel, and the US. From car dealer he rose to be a major player in the Media, the Oil industry, metals, and cars. He also left quite a trail of bodies on his way to the top. Being an Obstacle to his plans usually meant ending up mysteriously dead. Unless of course you were powerful enough to resist him. The Oligarchs engaged in bitter rivalries and would try to bring one another down in disgrace. A fall from grace could mean imprisonment or death. As for the normal people in this new democracy they were regarded as beneath contempt. It was the Custom of the Oligarchs in the Early days to drive on the sidewalks with absolutely no regard for the lives of the Pedestrians. Later they had their own special roads reserved for the political and economic elite. Since the Oligarchs lived life in constant danger they were into extravagant spending and luxury. While millions starved they spent fortunes on mansions flashy clothes foreign cars and trophy wives. Like their western counterparts they liked to party hard. Mostly though they were concerned with their machiavellian life and death struggles with one another as well as stealing as much money as possible and shipping it overseas. Increasingly they didn't want to even be in Russia and spent their times on the beaches in the south of France or their London homes.
    Meanwhile while most of the populace struggled merely to survive, and the Oligarchs engaged in their power struggles the US and NATO were not idle. Secretly the cold war had always been a one sided thing. Far from struggling to take over the world the USSR was trying to be accepted by the west. Gorbachev thought that if he showed his willingness to cooperate Russia could become a partner with the west. Famously he offered no resistance to the reunification of Germany on the condition that their would be no eastward NATO expansion. Gorbachev was a fool. Far from seeing the end of the cold war as an opportunity for cooperation with Russia, US Strategic planners instantly realized that the balance of power had changed and they set out to take full advantage. The most horrendous example of this was in Europe was Yugoslavia where the US and NATO intentionally started a civil war.(read Fools Crusade   By Diana Johnstone) The country was dismembered. In the newly created Kosovo the US Built a Massive military base camp Bondsteel. Mores subtly they merely expanded NATO all over Eastern Europe. In fact as documented by analysts Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya and also by Rick Rozoff on his Stop NATO Website NATO is expanding globally. As early as Bush I the doctrine had arisen that America was now the sole superpower and must ensure no new rivals. However when the Wolfowitz plan was revealed it sounded so sinister that it was disavowed. Then during Bush II it was unveiled again and has become known as the Bush doctrine. It was Clinton who probably did most to put it in practice. During his administration NATO signed preliminary agreements with most of the former Warsaw pact countries. This included Estonia and Latvia where people were denied the right to vote based on their ethnicity Russians, Ukrainians, Jews, and Belarusians were all openly denied their civil rights. They were also right on Russia's border which is more important from a Geo-Strategic standpoint. While Yeltsin drank his way through the 90's Russia was surrounded by enemies. Quite strange things were happening in the former soviet satelites. In Lithuania and the Czech republic returning to capitalism wasn't enough for the new elites they decided to restore feudalism by turning back the clock to pre World War One conditions when the nobility owned the land, millions were thrown off their land so it could be returned to the descendants of the aristocracy. Nor is Ukraine the only country that has seen fascist resurgence in Estonia and other places they hold rallies celebrating the SS Veterans of their land.
    Thus Russia around the year 2000 was in a state of chaos. The standard of living kept dropping, poverty, crime chaos disease, starvation. The government was the plaything of corrupt Oligarchs. It was increasingly surrounded by NATO. It's allies were under attack. Actually no matter what things were about to change. The Oligarchs did not know this however. They were afraid that foreign policy mastermind Yvgeny Primakov would become president they threw their backing behind Vladimir Putin believing he would be the perfect puppet. Vladimir Putin had been a KGB agent stationed in Eastern Germany when the berlin wall fell. After the failed KGB coup (he wasn't involved)  he resigned and became an aide to a St. Petersburg politician. He was hard working and reliable and he eventually began to work for the Yeltsin Government. He helped destroy some Yeltsin Rivals and Berezovsky decided that he should be the next President. The Oligarchs launched another public relations campaign glorifying Putin. When Chechnya attacked Dagestan possibly at Berezovsky's urging, who did not just have connections with the Chechen Mafia but with the separatist government and the terrorists there backed by the usual suspects. Putin who clearly understood that Chechnya was an attempt to begin dismembering Russia and who hated the fact that Yeltsin had granted them Autonomy after a failed war brutally cracked down.  Thus from becoming a virtual unknown he became popular overnight. This was because the Chechens launched over the top terrorist attacks targeting Huge numbers of civilians at a time and were wildly unpopular. Many accusations blaming these attacks on Putin were generated by Berezovsky by the way who had far more connection to the Chechens.
   Thus the Oligarchs thought they were installing an obedient puppet. They vastly underestimated the resentment the patriotic Putin felt about what had happened to Russia during the Yeltsin and the Gorbachev years. When some Oligarch would challenge him he would make clear on a number of Occasions that he regarded all of them as thieves. The age of impunity was over and oligarchs began to end up in jail. Even Berezovsky did not escape punishment. He made it clear to the rest that they would be able to maintain their fortunes only if they did not interfere in Russian politics.
   He attempted to rebuild Russia's international prestige. He adopted the so called Primakov doctrine named after his created by his opponent in the Presidential race. Primakov docrine meant that Russia should seek Eurasian integration and Build strong alliances with China, india and Iran. India prefers to align itself with the west but created closer ties with Iran and China. He also centralized control by personally appointing the governors. While Putin's government is less democratic Russia is far less Chaotic then during the Yeltsin years. Also unlike Yeltsin who the west praised as a paragon of democracy he has yet to open fire on the parliament. Many of his powers come from the Yeltsin Constitution which was praised by the west at the time. He regained control of the Russian energy sector which like the US he regards as a strategic asset. Standards of living began to rise again although the damage has yet to be repaired. Thus Putin is extremely Popular in Russia and is supported by the majority of the Population despite the Insinuations of the western Media. Actually after the Yeltsin Years the Russian word for democracy became a slang term for shitty. A democratic restaurant or club meant a run down place that let in anybody. Meanwhile they began to refer to proper democracy as Shitocracy. Apparently the two words sounds similar in Russian. The attempted Color Revolution to prevent Putin from returning to the presidency in 2012 was a dismal failure. All those wonderful sounding concepts that they dreamed of before the fall of the Soviet Union had turned out to be dangerous illusions. Western style representative democracy is a joke far from rule of the People it really means rule of the oligarchs the few. The Russians found that out the hard way.
    As for the west it is unclear if people will ever wake up to this fact. What happened in Russia is happening in the west only slower. Poverty is on the rise all over the world. Our stock exchange  Oligarchs may have to be more subtle then Berezovsky in their thefts but they are destroying companies and looting  countries all the same.  Capitalism is Eating itself all in the name of a purely abstract form of wealth numbers on a computer screen. Meanwhile Putin is demonized for three main reasons. First the crackdown on Oligarchs. People actually have the nerve to turn the fact that these thieves who caused untold human suffering remember three million people died before their time(see godfather pages 105-109) , into a human rights case. Thus cracking down on traitorous billionaires who subvert the political sytem is considered undemocratic. Second Putin has banned foreign funding for NGO's ruining Washington's "double track policy." It's an innocuous name but what it literally boils down to is we'll negotiate with you when it serves our interests while secretly working to overthrow you. This is not an exaggeration but in Diplomatese it is called "working with Democratic Forces" these are just the sort of democratic forces that Victoria Nuland Bragged the US had given 5 billion to over the past 20 years. In other words democratic forces means  NGO's created by the NED and often secretly infiltrated by the CIA that try to lay the groundwork for a color revolution. Third Putin is demonized for standing in the way of US plans for Global Hegemony. Putin opposed the Iraq War along with France thus the lack of Security Council Authorization and the  "illegal" nature of the war harped on by liberals as if as long as the security council says it's OK it's fine to kill a million people in an aggressive war. When the US wanted to invade Iran in 2008 Russia threatened War. Then again in 2013 Russia threatened to defend Syria plus it provided a Face saving diplomatic solution. Two countries escaped untold destruction because of Putin's actions, this is the real reason why the US is starting Cold War 2.0.
    Thus while Putin is no angel, at least he makes some effort to rule in the interests of the Russian people. That the US wants to Destroy Russia isn't just some theory but has been written about time and again by Zbiegniew Brzezinski and other top technocrats. Since the fall of the Soviet Union the US has been on an Imperial rampage. They want to create a huge war zone across the Eurasian Landmass they call it the arc of crisis. Read and read between the lines of Brzezinski's Grand Chessboard. Russia and China on the other hand would like to see a stable and peaceful Eurasia. Whatever the failings of the two countries it is the US and it's many client States that are trying to take over the world. It's official policy. To see Russia and China as the aggressors and to buy into the absurd Orwellian propaganda being spewed in the press is to turn truth on it's head.  It was not Russia and China that have recently invaded countries all over the world it was the US. We should also given what happened in Russia's economy begin to Question the free market orthodoxy. It's time to set the historical record straight free market capitalism produces a few billionaires while impoverishing the population. Everyone says Communism was a failure but Capitalism proved an even greater failure. The  US and it's NATO allies with their "Western" consensus are spreading Poverty and War all over the planet.

Sources
   First I highly recommend Paul Klebnikov's "Godfather of the Kremlin" a biography of Berezovsky. A true believer in the free market he went to Russia to witness what he believed would be a brilliant success. Instead he ended up chronicling a disaster. It does a great Job of explaining the complex process of looting a nation. It also manages to expose the Byzantine world of Russian Politics. I also read Angus Roxburgh's "The Strongman Vladimir Putin and the struggle for Russia" I don't really recommend it the author is a TV reporter which explains his willful ignorance and naivety.  It is interesting for some of the interviews and gossip it provides. The Russians make it clear they know what the US is up to but are dismissed by the author as paranoid. Nor do the American officials bother to disguise their Arrogance and sinister intentions. He condemns Putin but says not one word condemning Bush for torture, mass surveillance, and aggressive war. Typical. Then there is "Blackshirts & Reds Rational Fascism and the Overthrow of Communism." By Michael Parenti. He discusses the differences between Fascism and Communism then provides a concise account of the fall of the USSR. I definitely recommend it. You can listen to his speech based on his book here http://www.greanvillepost.com/audio/AudioPageParenti/Michael%20Parenti%20-%20Reflections%20On%20The%20Overthrow%20Of%20Communism/
I also read/watched one of Adam Curtis' multimedia blogposts.  Here http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/adamcurtis/posts/the_years_of_stagnation_and_th it's definitely original at least. It's about punk Rock, the collapse of Communism  and Putin's avant garde former media adviser Vladislav Surkov. Basically I'm conflicted on Adam Curtis he makes interesting work but he can also be superficial and cowardly. I guess you have to walk a tightrope when you work at the BBC. But at least he often says something completely new and unearths events no one else is interested in. I also watched his documentary The Engineers Plot it's on Youtube and deals with the failure of central planning in the Soviet Union. You can watch it as a standalone episode. It's the first of a series Pandoras Box but if you haven't seen his later documentary series like "Century of the Self" , "Age of Nightmares" or "the trap" watch those instead first as they are brilliant. You should be able to find them all free online. If your looking for Independent courageous Documentaries go check out metanoia-films.org  Scott Noble's movies are Amazing and he doesn't pull punches. He has great series like The Power Principle and Counter Intelligence, plus single movies like Human Resources or Rise Like Lions.