PRESS RELEASE
Warnings of Obama-Clinton Drive for World War III
Oct. 27, 2016 (EIRNS)—A senior Russian official speaking at the Valdai Forum ripped a hole in the wide-spread media hype that Russian President Vladimir Putin is a provocateur who is itching for a confrontation with the United States. According to an Oct. 26 Bloomberg wire, a senior Russian official "who spoke on Valdai’s traditional condition of anonymity," spoke about a Cabinet meeting where Putin reported on a "high risk" incident a number of months ago in which Russian planes had buzzed U.S. ships in the Black Sea, and that some people at the table cheered with phrases such as "they deserve it." Putin, the senior official said, shut them down, saying, "Are you crazy?"
The Bloomberg article then cited Sergei Karaganov (a Columbia University political science professor) saying that "the current situation is just like that in the 1960s, when the world was on the brink of war," and that we are "sleepwalking" in that direction. Fyodor Lukyanov, of Russia’s Council on Foreign and Defense Policy, and also research director of the Valdai Club, said that the recent collapse of cease-fire attempts in Syria was a "watershed" for Russia, convincing them that nothing would come of that track.
The Guardian on Oct. 25 ran an article attacking Hillary Clinton’s call for a no-fly zone in Syria, saying it "could provoke U.S.-Russia conflict." It began by taking note that Trump had warned that the proposal would "lead to World War Three," and then quoted a number of U.S. intelligence and military officials attacking the idea. John Kuehn, a retired navy office who flew no-fly zone missions over Bosnia and Iraq, said of Hillary: "If she is not politically posturing, it’s going to be a disaster. I hope its political posturing." David Deptula, a retired air force Lt. Gen., said: "Until a strategy that defines the desired end-state is clearly laid out in a comprehensive way, it’s difficult to advocate for a no-fly zone. Right now, the way it’s being discussed, it’s a solution in search of a strategy ... a no-fly zone is a non-starter." Kuehn added that an escalation could occur by accident under a no-fly zone, and that "I see almost nothing positive that can come from implementing [a no-fly zone] at the current time over Syria. Conversely, the potential to make a bad situation worse is very, very high."
