Russian and South African Leaks reveal a world secretly at war

Given individuals like head of New York's Department of Financial Services Ben Lawsky are warning that a “cyber 9/11” could be a apocalyptic  threat to America’s economy and national security, attempts by Russian spy agencies to infiltrate America’s satellites and communication infrastructure would appear to be an example of the Russian government preparing for war with the West.

Furthermore, reporting by Russian investigative newspaper Novaya Gazeta on a leaked document believed to have been written by Russian billionaire Konstantin Malofeyevfrom appears to confirm Western allegations that the Putin government planned the Ukraine Crisis as part of a much broader campaign to reclaim Russia influence and ownership of Cold War-era Russian territories.

Recalling the “Rebuilding America’s Defenses” document produced by the defunct “neo-conservative” think-tank Project for the New American Century, this 2000 blueprint for preemptive war with Iraq as an opening move in a much larger campaign to take control of the Persian Gulf can easily be taken to support conspiracy theories that indicate the September 11th were planned by the George W. Bush Administration.  In that case, it is likely the terrorist attacks simply offered the Bush Administration a chance to implement their contingency plan. 

Although the same might also be true for the Ukraine Crisis, the motivation behind the Putin government’s decision to intervene in Ukraine would appear to be Putin’s unwillingness to accept pro-Western governance in Ukraine.  Based on the reading of the Malofeyevfrom document, it would appear Russia’s goal was to ensure Russia fully controlled the flow of natural gas into Europe and the economics of the region.  If it came to a Ukrainian takeover, the implicit goal appeared to be a rapid buildup of Russian military forces and industrial capacity to discourage the West from responding and to immunize Russia from Western economic isolation.

At any rate, it is clear that the Russian government’s goal is to obtain economic and military superiority over, at least, the West.  Considering Russia’s willingness to flex its might, including its abusive history of halting gas deliveries, in order to achieve its interests, the West cannot allow Russia to gain economic and military supremacy.  In the name of peace, however, the West also cannot allow the Ukraine Crisis to escalate, thus the lesson here is that the world needs to have honest peace built on nations recognizing the countries of the world are not as friendly and trustworthy as international leaders like to portray them to be.

The post Cold War-era was marked by a lack of armed conflict between major world powers; however, the niceties of this superficial peace has slowly melted away to reveal a world secretly at war.  While allies and friendly revivals are expected to disagree when their interests conflict, which has too often been suppressed in order to “keep the peace,” the actions of enemies push the world toward war.  

In many respects, the Ukraine Crisis brought to light the unaddressed grievances between Russians and Westerns from the Cold War as well as the views of Russian elites that their global partners are their enemies.  Where Wikileaks and the Edward Snowden NSA leaks helped reveal the massive misconduct of America’s national security apparatus, a major South African intelligence breach offers some new insights into the activities of Russia before the Ukraine Crisis.

Although the Chinese have been identified for their involvement in multiple break-ins at South Africa’s experimental nuclear reactor site, Russian intelligence organizations were apparently positioning themselves to control a $100 million US-South African satellite project.  The seriousness of South African-Russian “strategic cooperation” demonstrates the United States is right not to fully trust our allies as well as to believe Russian leadership looks at the US as an enemy, not an ally.