England vs Russia on Russian soil in the football World Cup this summer would have been more entertaining than the dreary, farcical charade the two countries have been playing out since March.
The Skripal Saga - The Salisbury Poisonings - Putin's personal chemical warfare attack on the UK... The only thing really worth saying about it is that it's just more sound and fury, signifying nothing. Be that as it may, the mainstream anglophone media has capitalized on this mendacity because it's a useful distraction from the major geopolitical changes underway, as well as the socio-economic and planetary upheaval resulting from, or mirroring, the chaotic world system transition we're undergoing.
Flush with
paranoid conspiracy theories and
lewd speculation, what the media's narratives about this nonsense lack - as usual - is all-important context. In 2003, the US and UK launched a reckless invasion and occupation of Iraq
under the pretext that Saddam Hussein had Weapons of Mass Destruction (which, specifically, included chemical weapons) aimed at London. Russia demanded evidence of such before that war, warning that chaos would result from such a flagrant breach of international law, and was ignored.
The US and UK later launched a proxy war against neighbouring Syria by funding, arming and training an 'internationalist brigade' of 'Muslim liberators', and, once that 'softened up' the country, the anglo-American establishment were 'weapons-hot' to swoop in and 'decapitate the regime' in August 2013
under the pretext that Bashar Al-Assad had 'used chemical weapons against his own people'. Russia again intervened, but this time was listened to (likely because Russia already had a military foothold in the country via its long-term air defence contracts, not because the US Congress and UK Parliament suddenly 'saw the light' and agreed to adhere to international law). The OPCW (Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons) certified that the Syrian state was chemical weapon-free, and the matter was apparently dropped.
Comment: Every now and then the mainstream news will get it right, or at least report in a more balanced way. However, one thing that is clear from the conflict in Syria is that Western governments bear FULL responsibility for the carnage, as the attempt to overthrow the Syrian government was planned by them years ago with the intention to further their control of the region. Thanks to Russia's intervention in the conflict however, Syria has escaped the disastrous fate of Libya and Iraq.