Russia Trade War. Chinese Naval Port Struck.
USANN Correspondent Gary Schneider
October 27th, 2004
Washington
With tensions continuing to mount with Russia;
Iran, Syria and Ukraine took bold steps in voicing
protest to the invasion of Finland and Cyprus by
severing all trade agreements with Russia.
According to World Bank officials, the purchase
of Russian ore, gold and energy were the hardest
hit.
“It’s in the tens of billions,” said one official.
“And that has to hurt Russia’s pocketbook.”
“Russia must not be allowed to return to its old
nationalist ways,” said Ukraine’s UN ambassador.
“And the only means we have to voice our protest
and to get their attention is by boycotting all
Russian goods until this crisis is over.”
Despite a virtual news blackout in the Kremlin, a
Russian government official made the following
statement on TASS Wednesday evening:
“The situation in Finland and Cyprus is an action
to protect the Russian homeland from the
increasing arrogance of the West. The United
States has made it clear that they will bully and
conquer to expand their reach. Iran, Syria, Iraq,
Argentina and now recently North Korea, vividly
shows that those who do not bow to US demands,
will face the sword. Russia will not follow this
path. And the boycott by Ukraine, Syria and Iran
only further illustrates the iron grip that the
United States has on these puppet regimes. These
countries should know that if and when the time
comes, they should not look to the United States
for protection. For the United States has many
enemies and has neither the will, nor the
resources to continue this colonial expansion.”
A White House spokesperson had a brief response
to Russia’s statement:
“Russia would do well to review history and see
how many times aggressors have underestimated
the United States and paid the price for it. Russia
has been a friend for many years now and it is
distressing to hear such inflammatory talk. They
should know that unprovoked aggression will not
go un-checked and Russia must remove their
troops from Finland and Cyprus.”
US Navy “Prepares for the Worst”
On Thursday, US Naval officials stated that US ships
are now consolidating in the Atlantic in the event that
the situation “escalates” in Europe.
In addition, it is reported that as of last week, US
forces have “sealed” the Pacific.
“We have essentially contained the Pacific region,”
said one Pentagon official. “No unauthorized ships
will be allowed into or out of the Pacific either
through the Indian Ocean, the Bering Sea or through
the Panama Canal, until China ceases hostilities in
international waters.”
The move was in response to China’s probing attacks
on US shipping off the coast of Florida and California
several weeks ago.
Shanghai Port is “Hard Hit”
On Friday, China
reported that the naval
port in Shanghai was
struck by “imperialist
forces”. According to
witnesses, at
approximately
2:30a.m. local time,
dozens of explosions
were reported. By
dawn, over 40 naval vessels could be seen burning or
sunk.
Immediately, China issued a response blaming the
United States for the port attack.
Neither the Pentagon, nor the White House has
responded to the accusation.
One Pentagon expert had this to add however:
“I have no idea if the Pentagon was behind it, but it
would make sense. If a war with Russia is looming,
the first thing I would do is hammer China’s navy so
that the US could free up fleets for operations
elsewhere. And the B-3, if it exists, would be ideal for
this type of operation.”
