Elbe Day 2024: The Dark, Deep Meaning

The United States and NATO endlessly fanned and prolonged bloodbath war in Ukraine continues without end. At least half a million young Ukrainian men and boys, two entire generations, have now been slaughtered in futile frontal attacks urged on them by useless US military “advisers” and their criminally incompetent civilian masters and mistresses in Washington.

And as I write, the US Congress has just passed arguably the most suicidal and catastrophic measure in its entire history. A combined $95 billion in aid for Taiwan, Israel and above all Ukraine – which is lined up to get more than two thirds of the money.

The measure certainly confirms the United States on a simultaneous war collision course with both Iran and China. But even worse, it signals to Russia that recourse to nuclear weapons and an annihilating first strike – now openly discussed in the most reputable newspapers, journals, online platforms and public-accessible discussion groups in Moscow – may be imminent.

The Doomsday Clock of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists remains at its closest ever setting to the start of thermonuclear war – 90 seconds to midnight. In truth 30 seconds or even 20 seconds would be a much more realistic setting to make for it.

For the US and NATO impingements upon Russia continue unabated. Ukrainian forces armed to the teeth with NATO ordinance roam the Black Sea, a historic Russian lake endlessly seeking to sink warships of the Russian Navy.

In the eight years up to the Russian invasion in February 2022, irregular forces operating with impunity from Ukraine killed 14,000 people, according to United Nations figures, in the two Russian-speaking secessionist provinces of Lugansk and Donetsk, with a combined population of 6 million. This was, in absolute and per capita numbers, 14 times the death toll that Israel suffered in the Second Palestinian Intifada from 2001 to 2006.

When Israel invaded Palestinian Authority territories in retaliation, more than four times as many Palestinians were killed., But the US flow of financial, diplomatic and military support to Israel continued unabated. When Russia invaded Ukraine after suffering 14 times as many casualties over the previous eight years, and after endless efforts to get promised Western cooperation to end the violence through the Minsk accords, the US and Western response instead was a harsher, more ferocious wave of sanctions against Russia that was even imposed on nazi Germany before World War II.

As a result, whatever was left of the spirit of the Elbe, the need for US and Russian mutual respect and cooperation to preserve the peace of the world, was killed stone dead. The infernal infected stake of neocon mad ambition and neoliberal holier than thou hypocrisy was driven straight through its heart.

The widespread Russian conviction that the leaders of the Biden administration, Congress and the US Deep State are determined to destroy their country is not without foundation. The mouthing of madmen and mad women and the plots of literally diabolical intriguers confirm this dark fear every day. Former Assistant Secretary of State for This, That and The Other (for in truth she runs everything she wants to) Victoria Nuland confirms it every time she opens her mouth.

The contemptible – and he would be laughable if he was not so catastrophic and sinister – US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan last year was so convinced the great Ukrainian Military Offensive would shatter the entire Russian state and topple President Vladimir Putin that he even convened ahead of time what was to be a victory summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: According to the reporting of the fabled Seymour Hersh, it was openly discussed in the White House as being as comprehensive as the Versailles Peace Conference treaties were after more than 100 years ago.

It is typical of the historical ignorance and imbecility of all those people that they did not even realize that Versailles was a historic catastrophe that only set the stage for the even worse World War II.

Has Jake Sullivan ever heard of Elbe Day? Has Secretary of State Antony Blinken? It is a safe bet that they have not. President Joe Biden could not even pronounce the name of the river Elbe, much less find it on a map. If asked he would probably hazard a guess it was somewhere in western Pennsylvania, an area he has long pretended to be familiar with.

Yet Elbe Day today and this year, defying all the ignorance, hatred and vicious contempt poured upon it shines brighter than ever. For it holds more than ever the key to the survival and peace of the world.

Elbe Day reminds us that the American and Russian people were allies and great friends through 175 years of great wars – from American Independence through the Civil War, World War I and World War II.

Elbe Day does not even require Americans to love or trust one another: It just teaches that mutual tolerance and respect – and sincere building of bridges of friendship and diplomatic communication are good places to start. From them grand and wonderful things will certainly flow.

But we are out of time. And this is our last fleeting chance to repent of our ignorance, crass stupidities and suicidal arrogance.

There will be no second chances.