Cold War II

Cold War II  (Polarising perspective,  strategy of tension,  conflict)
A Mirror cover cited by the Harod Associates' Operation Iris report into the role of social media in influencing public perceptions about the Skripal Affair.
Interest of	• Simon Bracey-Lane • Giulietto Chiesa • Stephen Cohen • Joschka Fischer • Geopolitics & Empire • Fiona Hill • Integrity Initiative • Integrity Initiative/Cluster/Netherlands • NewColdWar.org • Chris Quick • Greg Rowett
A rebooting of the original Cold War, that was definitely tied to the UK deep state in late 2018.

The Cold War II (or Cold War 2.0) refers to a reprise of the first Cold War which ended in 1990. The reboot has gradually gathered pace and intensity since at least the early 2000s, and swung into high gear after the 2014 coup in the Ukraine. The basic narrative, like the original cold war, is of a "West versus East" conflict, cited as increased reason to increase military spending and increase control over one's own population.

Background

Encirclement of Russia

The encirclement of Russia is a tactic by the United States, utilizing NATO, to place military capability (not necessarily through many soldiers or equipment) close to the territory of Russia.

US exit from the ABM Treaty

The Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty (1972–2002) was an arms control treaty between the United States and the Soviet Union on the limitation of the anti-ballistic missile (ABM) systems used in defending areas against ballistic missile-delivered nuclear weapons. It was intended to reduce pressures to build more nuclear weapons to maintain deterrence. Under the terms of the treaty, each party was limited to two ABM complexes, each of which was to be limited to 100 anti-ballistic missiles. In 1997, five years after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, four former Soviet republics agreed with the United States to succeed the USSR's role in the treaty. In June 2002 the United States withdrew from the treaty, leading to its termination, citing risks of nuclear blackmail (ie threat from smaller nuclear armed states).

Russia took this unilateral decision as the reason the exit from the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START II would have come into effect at the time) and warned that this decision would trigger a new arms race.

2008 Russo-Georgian War

The 2008 Russo-Georgian War was a war between Georgia, on one side, and Russia and the Russian-backed self-proclaimed republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, on the other in the strategically important South Caucasus region. It took place in August following a period of worsening relations between Russia and Georgia. It is regarded as the first European war of the 21st century. Georgia was armed with all kinds of western weaponry and received training from external advisors. Shortly before the war, a deal about Israeli Merkava tanks was cancelled, or refused (depending on the account).

Recent Promotion

In recent years, increasing efforts appear to have been underway to promote Cold War 2.0 through Russophobic messages in commercially-controlled media.

2014

Time magazine on the 4th August 2014.

Full article: 2014 Ukraine coup

Full article: Malaysia Airlines Flight 17

2016

Russia restarted it's Soviet era civil defense exercises in 2016.

A 2016 film was entitled Cold War II.

2018

In March 2018, following the attack on Sergei Skripal, AP introduced a story "From Washington to Warsaw, Western nations banded together Monday to expel more than 100 Russian diplomats they accused of being spies." Dan Kaszeta published an article for the Integrity Initiative entitled Demolishing the Kremlin's absurd theories about Novichok and Porton Down in which he attacked theories that challenged the UK Deep state's official narrative.

China

Full article: US-China trade war

The encirclement of China has been called as an extended division of this trend. China (and in particular their Belt and Road Initiative) has been the target of several IfS, NATO and US Congress members their lectures, such as Sijbren de Jong and Tom Cotton.

“The United States remains the world’s leading power with global interests, and it cannot afford to choose between Europe and the Indo-Pacific. Instead, Washington and its allies should develop a defense strategy capable of deterring and, if necessary, defeating Russia and China at the same time.”
Matthew Kroenig,  Atlantic Council (February 18, 2022) 

Although the Cold War 2.0 concept was originally formulated with Russia in mind, China has emerged as a focus of the US Deep State. Controlled media focused on China's rapidly structural influence in technology, even being responsible with their state companies such as Huawei for securing European governments their vital ministerial departments.

As a result of the shutdown of many parts of the global supply chain, Taiwan came under scrutiny for being the de facto sole supplier of computer chips (or semiconductors specifically) for a wide variety of products.

Shortages for every product requiring computer chips, tariffs by the US & EU and increased tensions surrounding Taiwan and Hong Kong, caused prices for computer chips and similar components to skyrocket, making the world extremely dependent on a rapid recovery of the Chinese (or Asian) economy. During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine China aligned with Russia by increasing imports to counter an economical recession of the Russian economy and not voting for a military response in the UN Security Council.

Cold War Then and Now‎‎?

Full article: Cold War Then and Now‎‎?

Advertising for an event at the Institute for Statecraft.

Cold War Then and Now‎‎? was a conference on 13 October 2018 that was booked by Simon Bracey-Lane of the Institute for Statecraft, later to be exposed as a Russophobic disinformation outfit controlled by the UK Deep state, funded by the UK/FCO and the UK/MoD.

Groups

Institute for Statecraft

Full article: Institute for Statecraft

Edward Lucas of the Economist underlined the importance of these links in his books Deception and The New Cold War. Speaking at the Frontline Club in London in 2014, he said that no significant Russian company can operate without a licence from the state in the form of bribes in one form or another; that comment should be extended to the major criminal groups.

Integrity Initiative

Full article: Integrity Initiative

On 5 November 2018, 'Anonymous' leaked documents about the Integrity Initiative which used funds from the UK/FCO and the UK/MoD to promote anti-Russian disinformation by coordinating "clusters" of apparently independent journalists.

 

Examples

Page name	Description
2014 Ukraine coup	Regime change war in Ukraine.
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine	In a new episode of Cold War 2.0 Russia forcefully halted NATO expansion by invading Ukraine, with financial support of China. Although the EU and US denounced the "war crimes" as multiple cities were bombed, several countries opted less severe sanctions to keep importing diamonds and luxury goods and gas (and their loaned money) from Russia, seemingly creating a new iron curtain in Eastern Europe.
Malaysia Airlines Flight 17	A Boeing 777-200 plane, of Malaysian Airlines, which crashed in Ukraine, east of Donetsk on 17 July 2014, killing all 298 on board. President of Malaysia Mahathir Mohamad was very suspicious of the immediate sole blaming of Russia.
Russiagate
Skripal Affair	A purported chemical weapons attack. The Integrity Initiative carried out extensive research into how to control the narrative of the event.

 

Related Quotations

Page	Quote	Author	Date
2014 Ukraine coup	“I suspect this entire Ukraine Crisis had been war-gamed and war planned quite some time ago at the highest levels of US/NATO. Notice DOD slipped 2 US warships into the Black Sea just before the Olympics under a patently absurd pretext. In other words, what we are seeing unfold here is a US/NATO War Plan. They instigated the fascist coup against Yanukovich. They anticipated that Putin would then respond by taking over Crimea. I suspect the US/NATO/EU response will be to introduce military forces into Western Ukraine and Kiev and thus make Ukraine a de facto member of NATO, which has been their objective all along. They have already anticipated what Putin’s next move after that will be. Notice also the massive anti-Russian campaign by the Western News Media working in lock-step with each other. Another sign that all this has been planned well in advance. I suspect that US/NATO/EU figure that Putin knows they have this offensive, first-strike strategic nuclear capability with a rudimentary ABM/BMD capability so that at the end of the day he will be forced to stand down—or else. Compellence as opposed to Deterrence. Just like during the Cuban Missile Crisis. That is where this US/NATO/EU War Plan is heading on the assumptions that they can keep their deliberate Escalation Dominance under their control and that at the end of the day Putin will be forced to stand down just like Khrushchev did and for the same reasons. That would leave US/NATO/EU in control of at least half of Ukraine as a de facto NATO member state.”	Francis Boyle	February 2014
2021	“In a blunt opening statement before the talks in private, Mr Anthony Blinken said the US would "discuss our deep concerns with actions by China, including in Xinjiang, Hong Kong, Taiwan, cyber attacks on the United States, economic coercion of our allies". "Each of these actions threaten the rules-based order that maintains global stability," he said. In response, Mr Yang Jiechi accused Washington of using its military might and financial supremacy to suppress other countries. "It abuses so-called notions of national security to obstruct normal trade exchanges, and incite some countries to attack China," he added. Mr Yang said human rights in the US were at a low point, with black Americans being "slaughtered".”	China US	March 2021
Klaus von Dohnányi	“Today, Germany and Europe are not sovereign when it comes to security and foreign policy. It's the US that is leading the way here in Europe. Do they also pursue our interests? Are they leading Europe into a peaceful future in terms of foreign and security policy? I have doubts"”	Klaus von Dohnányi	August 2022
Nigel Gould-Davies	“For Azerbaijan, [the reconquest of Nagorno-Karabakh] is a total victory won by the cruel, hard methods of military force and economic blockade, together with training and equipment from Turkey....But the key question is how relations between the west and Azerbaijan will develop. The west's energy ties with the oil and gas-rich country are more important than ever as it weans itself off Russian supplies. Now there are new security possibilities, especially in light of the war in Ukraine. Azerbaijan is the only country that borders both Russia and Iran, two western adversaries whose ever-closer relations evoke growing alarm. Azerbaijan’s ties with Turkey, a Nato member that also provides weapons support to Ukraine, means that it is receiving military training according to the alliance's standards. All this offers the potential for a deeper relationship, if the west has the strategic imagination to grasp it.”	Nigel Gould-Davies	5 October 2023
Wolfgang Ischinger	“"The need for equipment and ammunition for the Bundeswehr and Ukraine is urgent and huge...Therefore, appropriate priorities must be set." Ischinger also sees a political reason to speak of a "war economy": "Apparently too many have not yet understood that we are only at the beginning of a turning point and that there is actually a real war in the middle of Europe, the end of which unfortunately is not foreseeable.”	Wolfgang Ischinger	21 November 2022
Mélanie Joly	“We’re able to see how much we’re isolating the Russian regime right now — because we need to do so economically, politically and diplomatically — and what are the impacts also on society, and how much we’re seeing potential regime change in Russia..The goal is definitely to do that, is to weaken Russia’s ability to launch very difficult attacks against Ukraine. We want also to make sure that Putin and his enablers are held to account.”	Mélanie Joly	10 March 2023
Paul Keating	“The Albanese Government’s complicity in joining with Britain and the United States in a tripartite build of a nuclear submarine for Australia under the AUKUS arrangements represents the worst international decision by an Australian Labor government since...World War One...And that approach was to have the United States supply nuclear submarines for deep and joint operations against China... And how did this come to be? The answer lies in Anthony Albanese’s reliance on two seriously unwise ministers. Penny Wong and Richard Marles....Labor’s valiant three fell immediately into line – they would join the neo-cons in the Office of National Intelligence, ASPI, the country’s principal US apologist, the security agencies and the hapless Defence department.... Indeed, two of our major dailies, the Sydney Morning Herald and the Age, have for five years now, argued the notion of war against China. Or readiness for war.”	Paul Keating	15 March 2023
Skripal Affair	“This is a carefully constructed drama as part of the propaganda campaign that has been building now for several years in order to justify the actions of NATO, Britain the United States, towards Russia. That’s a fact. The whole role of Porton Down has been integral to the Cold War apparatus of this. And this is so dangerous, with Russia being effectively pushed into a corner with these accusations, it’s part of a propaganda campaign. I can tell you that, I’m a journalist who has spent almost all my career working in the mainstream media in Britain. This is a propaganda campaign promoted specifically in the media and in the Government.”	John Pilger	March 2018
The Hague Centre for Strategic Studies	“In the last strategic monitor of Clingendael and HCSS it's concluded that we're living in an Interregnum where one power is about to be replaced by another.”	Clingendael Institute The Hague Centre for Strategic Studies	4 December 2019
Matthijs Veenendaal	“Trust is a key foundation of a well-functioning society. Without reliable communication, organizations cannot operate effciently, be they corporations or government institutions. Malicious actors are aiming to exploit vulnerabilities in communication flows. With the advent of new technology, it is possible for adversaries to impersonate leaders and create false impressions among population. The Tallinn based NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence will organize a session focusing on questions including: What is at stake? What can nations do to enhance and protect trust in democratic institutions? Or is it already too late?”	Matthijs Veenendaal

 

Related Documents

Title	Type	Publication date	Author(s)	Description
Document:A new Cold War has begun	article	2 April 2014	'The Saker'	A new cold war will follow the 2013-14 events in Ukraine and the secession of Crimea to Russia - This article argues that, from a Russian perspective and although not sought, this may prove positive for Russia's future.
Document:Britain’s delusions that it could take on the Taliban alone are ludicrous - what are our empire-nostalgic MPs smoking?	Article	19 August 2021	Tom Fowdy	The UK Parliament was recalled for an emergency debate over the Afghanistan/2021 withdraw. While the BBC focused on the divide between the sides of the house with their face mask wearing, Parliament was united against the withdrawal of NATO troops from Afghanistan. Most MPs are urging Boris Johnson to go back to Afghanistan, and take on the Taliban, alone if necessary.
Document:Cold War II: Interview with Nikolay Patrushev, Secretary of the Russian Security Council	interview transcript	15 October 2014	Nikolai Patrushev	Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, Nikolay Patrushev, interviewed by Rossiyskaya Gazeta on 15 October 2014. The interview makes it crystal clear that a de-facto state of undeclared war exists between Anglo-US-Nato and Russia.
Document:Establishing a modern perspective - Nation-State vs Network State	article	26 February 2016	Chris Donnelly	"The...requirement is for the organisation to be able to get its message across, to ensure that the Government and the people understand that they are actually engaged in one (or more) instability, like it or not." Chris Donnelly believes “we are at war, but with peacetime attitudes."
Document:Would-be German chancellor Scholz jumps the gun on EU expansion eastward, which may provoke more states to follow the UK and exit	Article	15 August 2021	Paul Nuttall	Olaf Scholz is a possible candidate for Chancellor of Germany at the September 2021 German parliamentary election. He has warned Russia to expect further European integration and expansion into Eastern Europe. Will this encourage more countries to follow the UK and leave the European Union?

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