The members of the security alliance ‘Shanghai Cooperation Organization’ (S.C.O.) have recently been hosting their largest joint military exercises in Russia and China. All six permanent members of the organization have participated from August 9-16. The joint military exercises, dubbed “Peace Mission 2007”, demonstrate the growing importance of the S.C.O. in Central Asian geopolitical calculations.
Peace Mission 2007
Now, the S.C.O. knows it has to copy the ‘Terrorism’ rhetoric launched by the Bush administration. So, one of the main scenarios of the exercises was the retaking of a town that has been overrun by militants. Combat vehicles and troops from Russia, China and Kyrgyzstan, paratroopers from Tajikistan and Kazakhstan, and officers from Uzbekistan have all participated. Russia and China also participated with aircraft. These are serious exercises.
The mission is being billed as a counter-terrorism exercise, but it is also an opportunity for Russian and Chinese troops to practice together in a live-fire environment. The S.C.O. members also participated in a number of operational headquarters drills, providing an opportunity to develop joint decision making practices. It was all aimed to send a clear message to N.A.T.O. that a counter-N.A.T.O. is in the works.
The S.C.O. Summit
The S.C.O. leaders also met for a summit. On the agenda was the release of a commonly agreed list of banned organizations and radical groups. Here we see the ‘Terrorism’-rhetoric again, which provides a perfect excuse to wage war and dominate by brute force. Again, we see karma at work. Lies return and blow up in your face. George Bush has provided every despot in the world with a legitimate argument to suppress freedom. We reap as we sow.
Russia wants cooperation between the S.C.O. and the ‘Collective Security Treaty Organization’ (C.S.T.O.), to which all of the S.C.O.-members except China belong. This is a kind of Regional Counter-NATO organization comparable to the Warsaw Pact. We’re back to the Cold War ‘spheres of interest’ again. Russia has been building up the C.S.T.O. with the hope of carving out distinct spheres of influence for this organization and for N.A.T.O. Securing an agreement between the S.C.O. and the C.S.T.O. (and thus with China), would be a major step in this direction.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad attended the summit as an observer. Iran has been cozying up to the organization since 2002 as an attempt to contain the U.S. presence in the region. The 2005 S.C.O. summit ended with a declaration that rejected attempts at “monopolizing or dominating international affairs” and insisted on “non-interference in the internal affairs of sovereign states”. It is clear why Iran wants to join the S.C.O.
Conclusion
We’re heading back in the direction of a bi-polar world. George Orwell foresaw a tripolar world with the three superpowers constantly at war which each other. The only good thing of this situation was that all three powers understood that all three needed a perpetual war. So there never was a winner and the wars were less bloody than they otherwise would have been.
We are optimists. We believe these stupidities will in the end lead to the understanding that there is only one world and that there are no enemies, only people. These scare-mongering war-games and the lies and scheming behind them are there only as a reminder of what is unreal. Freedom is the bridge toward the wisdom of the Universe. Fortunately, people can only break the bridge, not the principle behind it.
Our daily video is a report from an unknown source, worth listening to and contemplating on. We don’t add it for scare-mongering. We have to wake up and become conscious of the fact that we are all in this boat together. And that George Bush has rocked the boat, for better or for worse. And that the only thing we can do is contribute actively to make sure it will be for better …