A word about the United Nations
We need to talk about the UN resolution last night Back way back when, when I was at school we had a CSE course called European Studies. One thing sticks out about it. We had a teacher called Mr Anderson, someone who was quite intelligent but was clearly more interested in the salary than expanding the minds of his students, who with a very few exceptions, had no interest in the course either. This was in the middle of the cold war. It was just after Russia had invaded Afghanistan and Iran had had a revolution. It looked as if Russia was attempting to use Afghanistan as a platform to seize the Persian Gulf. Something Brian Walden had gamed out on Weekend World many times on a Sunday morning that would inevitably lead to World War III. Of course, it never materialised and the cold war ended with the fall of the Soviet Union. It was all going to be shits and giggles from now on. Then a former KGB Officer, Vladimir Putin took Office. The former Eastern block and the Baltic States couldn’t get out of Russian sphere of influence soon enough and one by one they joined NATO and the EU. With the exceptions of Ukraine, Serbia and Moldova. Mr Anderson said one thing I’ll never forget. We were talking about post WW1 and he was discussing the League of Nations. He said that the League of Nations failed in the same way the UN is failing now. It’s funny what you remember. He had a wonky eye, he could look at the register and look around the class at the same time. And he was a deadly shot with the blackboard rubber.
So last night, we witnessed something at the United Nations that reminded my of Mr Anderson’s prophetic quote. Put plainly, they had a vote on what to do about Russia’s war in Ukraine. That’s not out of the ordinary. They do this a lot when there is conflict and in the past the UN has sent troops to peace-keep in places like Korea, the Balkans and Africa as a result. But this was different. This was messy and it was a bit of a game-changer. This was one of the nights that in the future students who are not interested in history and politics will be taught about by teachers who have no interest being there. If we have a future that is – because last night all but guaranteed there will be a major European war soon. And this is all down to the Americans.
I’ve always had a keen interest in politics because it sure as fuck as a keen interest in us. I even studied it at Uni. All my life – up until last night there has been two blocks of influence. Those who are with the US and those who aren’t. Britain has firmly been sat in the former. With the exception of Vietnam, we followed them blindly into all their wars, we shared intelligence, we even gave them the building blocks for the Manhattan project. We were Washington’s man in Europe. On the other side were the Russians. This was the swings and roundabouts of Geo-Politics. Even if Vietnam while we weren’t officially there, we had special forces working with the US in Laos.
Last night changed everything.
On the third anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, The US drafted a measure calling for the swift end to the war in Ukraine. On the face of it an honourable act. However, it is telling about how it was quite the opposite by the voting patterns. The resolution was cooked up by Trump and Putin to gaslight the UN into seeing Ukraine as the aggressor. As a reminder 150,000 troops invaded Ukraine in February 2022, they have committed atrocities, murdered civilians and transported children from land they have taken and there is an ICC warrant out for Putin for war crimes.
That Russia and the US stood together against Europe on this is the death knell for NATO. It also means, that with the US’s blessing – when the war is over with Ukraine, Russia will target other former Soviet states and Eastern block countries. In short, those that said the invasion of Georgia in 2004 was the start of World War III have been vindicated. I’m sure they take no pleasure in being right.
UN resolution Janet and John book 1: Think of a UN resolution like a big official “to-do list” for world governments. It's a plan for action, like saying, “Let’s put pressure on Russia” or “Let’s help Ukraine defend itself.” It could be sanctions, peacekeepers, or some other action. The idea is to try and solve the problem, but it has to get everyone’s support first.
Since both the US and Russia are part of the Security Council and have veto power (which basically means "no" means “no”), they can shut down anything they don’t like.
This is bad news for Ukraine. It means they got no help from the UN this time. Even though the US has been helping Ukraine with weapons, the vote shows that when it comes to UN decisions, the US can’t always be counted on to take Ukraine’s side. It’s a weird situation where the US might be helping in the war, but then blocking moves that could hurt Russia more at the UN. And Russia This is a mess for Ukraine.
America has thrown Ukraine under a bus and in the process torn apart NATO and sowed the seeds for a European war that it will have no part of. Like Mr Anderson said all those years ago, the League of Nations failed and the United Nations is currently failing. Whether we like it or not, Europe now has to rearm and fast. In August 1914, on the eve of World War I, Sir Edward Grey was quoted as saying "The lamps are going out all over Europe, we shall not see them lit again in our lifetime." Grey reportedly made this remark while watching gas lamps being lit in London, Gaslighting is alive and well and living in the Oval Office. This is what happens when you put a Russian asset in the Whitehouse.
