Cuba and Vietnam, What’s the Difference?

Jacob G. Hornberger

During a visit to Mexico by Cuba’s president Miguel Díaz-Canel, Mexican President Andres Manuel López Obrador (AMLO), announced that he was willing to lead an international effort to pressure the U.S. government into lifting its six-decade-old economic embargo against the Cuban people. AMLO stated, “As a sign of goodwill and that all the countries of the Americas are willing to join forces, I consider and express with respect that the US government should lift, as soon as possible, the unjust and inhumane blockade of the Cuban people.”

AMLO raises a good point: Why does the U.S. government continue to wage economic war against the people of Cuba with its unjust and inhumane economic embargo? 

No, I’m not suggesting that U.S. officials have to embrace Díaz-Canel or any other Cuban communist official, as AMLO does. What I’m saying is that the U.S. government has no moral or legal justification for its economic war against the Cuban people.

After all, let’s not forget something important: Neither the Cuban people nor the Cuban government has ever attacked or invaded the United States. Never! In fact, in the long sordid relationship between the United States and Cuba, it has always been the United States that has been the aggressor. 

It was the CIA that invaded Cuba through the use of Cuban exiles. It was the CIA that repeatedly tried to murder Cuban president Fidel Castro. It was the Pentagon that constantly pressured President Kennedy into invading Cuba with the full force of the U.S. military, both before and during the Cuban Missile Crisis. It has been the U.S. government that has targeted the Cuban people with death and economic privation as a way to achieve regime change on the island. 

Why? Why is it so important to the Pentagon and the CIA to continue waging economic warfare against the people of Cuba?

After all, it can’t be an anti-communist thing, which is what they used to justify their embargo during the Cold War. Why do I say that? Well, just look at how the U.S. government treats Vietnam, which, like Cuba, has long been run by a communist regime. 

Consider this statement entitled “U.S. Relations With Vietnam” on the website of the U.S. State Department:

“U.S.-Vietnam relations have become increasingly cooperative and comprehensive, evolving into a flourishing partnership that spans political, economic, security, and people-to-people ties. The United States supports a strong, prosperous, and independent Vietnam that contributes to international security; engages in mutually beneficial trade relations; respects human rights and the rule of law; and is resilient in the face of climate and energy-related challenges…. U.S.-Vietnam people-to-people ties have flourished. Tens of thousands of Vietnamese study in the United States, contributing nearly $1 billion to the U.S. economy…. In an effort to build Vietnam’s self-reliance, the United States works to spur further growth and trade competitiveness, combat pandemic threats, promote renewable energy, address war legacy issues, and conserve Vietnam’s forests and biodiversity…. Since entry into force of the U.S.-Vietnam bilateral trade agreement in 2001, trade between the two countries and U.S. investment in Vietnam have grown dramatically.”

The website of the Center for Strategic & International Studies points out:

The current depth and breadth of the U.S.-Vietnam partnership was not a foregone conclusion. It is the result of decades of hard work and perseverance from both sides…. Since the two countries normalized relations in 1995, Vietnam has vaulted onto the shortlist of countries of greatest interest to U.S. investors. U.S. foreign direct investment into Vietnam has grown from under $1 billion in 2011 to over $2.6 billion in 2019.

Don’t forget something important: Unlike the Cuban Reds, the Vietnamese Reds killed more than 58,000 American soldiers!

Thus, the logical question arises: Why can’t the American people have a normal relationship with the people of Cuba? Why must the U.S. government continue waging a brutal economic war against Cubans when it has established a friendly relationship with the Vietnamese Reds?

In my opinion, it’s because the Pentagon and the CIA simply have been unable to get over the fact that the Cuban Reds defeated them and humiliated them. Yes, I fully realize that the Vietnamese Reds did the same thing, but there was one big difference between Cuba and Vietnam: The Pentagon and the CIA have always been dead-set on achieving regime change in Cuba. In Vietnam, they were trying to prevent the unification of the country under communist rule. After their defeat in Vietnam, they knew that they would never reverse the unification of Vietnam under communist rule. With Cuba, they have never given up hope of achieving their goal of regime change.

Almost from the very beginning of the Cuban Revolution, the Pentagon and the CIA were obsessed with achieving regime change in Cuba. Their aim has been to oust the communists from power and replace them with some pro-U.S. dictator, such as Fulgencio Batista, the Cuban dictator that the communists ousted from power, or as Gen. Augusto Pinochet, the brutal military tyrant who the Pentagon and the CIA helped install into power in Chile. 

For all their omnipotent power, the Pentagon and the CIA have never been able to achieve their regime-change goal in Cuba. The Third World Cuban communist regime has foiled them every step of the way and, in the process, deeply embarrassed and humiliated both the Pentagon and the CIA.

Moreover, for decades the Pentagon and the CIA resigned themselves to waiting for Fidel Castro to die, hoping that that would be the day that the Cuban people would rise up and install another pro-U.S. dictator. It didn’t happen, which only deepened the sense of embarrassment and humiliation within Pentagon and CIA officials. Díaz-Canel, who succeeded Fidel and Raul Castro as president of Cuba, is himself a self-avowed communist. 

What the Pentagon and the CIA have never been able or willing to recognize is that the last thing the Cuban people want is to be ruled again by the U.S. government. Notwithstanding the horrors of living under socialism, given a choice between socialism and U.S. rule, most Cubans would pick socialism any day of the week. Given a choice between economic liberty and socialism, I think most Cubans would pick economic liberty, just so long as the U.S. government butted out of their lives.

It is painfully clear that the Pentagon and the CIA simply cannot let go of their obsession with controlling Cuba. The ultimate answer to this moral and economic travesty lies with the American people. After all, the Pentagon’s and the CIA’s economic embargo is also an attack on us and, specifically, our fundamental, natural, God-given rights of economic liberty, freedom of travel, freedom of trade, and freedom of association.

What we need in this country is a revival of conscience and a thirst for liberty within the American people. When that day comes, what AMLO correctly describes as the “unjust and inhumane” economic embargo against the people of Cuba (and against the people of the United States) will come to an end.

Awaiting China’s Ukraine Peace Plan

John V. Whitbeck

Photograph Source: kremlin.ru – CC BY 4.0

At the recently concluded Munich Security Conference, Wang Yi, China’s top diplomat, proved the skunk at the party, interrupting the Western cheerleading for more and more war “for as as long as it takes” by announcing that on February 24, the first anniversary of the Russian invasion, China will announce a peace plan for Ukraine which will underscore the need to uphold the principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity and the UN charter while also respecting Russia’s legitimate security interests.

A peace plan based on these announced principles might include all or most of the following elements:

1. An immediate ceasefire-in-place and freeze on the introduction of further weaponry into the war zone by either side.

2. Ukrainian acceptance of a status of permanent military neutrality.

3. A European Union commitment to an accelerated process leading to EU membership for Ukraine.

4. A prompt withdrawal of all Russian and Russian-allied forces from all Ukrainian territory outside the territory of the four eastern and southern oblasts/regions which, since the referendums and annexations of September 2022, have been considered to be Russian territory by Russia but which Ukraine still considers to be Ukrainian territory (the “Contested Regions”).

5. A formal renunciation by Russia of any territorial claims or ambitions regarding internationally recognized Ukrainian territory other than Crimea and the Contested Regions.

6. Ukrainian acceptance that Crimea will remain part of Russia.

7. New referendums, organized and supervised by the UN or another agreed international organization, to permit the people of the four Contested Regions to choose freely and with ample time for reflection whether they prefer to be part of Ukraine or part of Russia, such referendums to be held far enough in the future after the acceptance of negotiated peace terms to permit all those who have left the contested regions since February 24, 2022, and wish to return and vote in the new referendums to do so — a reality-based attempt to reconcile the difficult-to-reconcile international law principles of the territorial integrity of states and the self-determination of peoples.

8. Commitments by both Ukraine and Russia to accept the results of the new internationally-organized referendums.

A peace plan along such lines, if proposed by any potential peacemaker, would be warmly welcomed by the Global South, which has resolutely resisted the black-and-white narrative regarding the current war which the West has been seeking, unsuccessfully, to impose upon it.

Since China is unlikely to propose any peace plan which it knows would be dismissed by Russia, it is likely that whatever peace plan China proposes will be accepted by Russia subject to a few negotiable reservations and additions.

If Russia were to do so, would the USA/NATO and Ukraine refuse to engage in serious peace negotiations, as they refused to do when Russia proposed its two mutual security treaties in late 2021, and continue to insist on perpetuating “for as long as it takes” the deaths and destruction in Ukraine and the significant collateral damage being inflicted on the rest of the world and particularly on the peoples of the Global South?

To cite the ancient Chinese curse, we are living in interesting times. However, the promise of a serious peace plan proposed by a major power offers a welcome ray of hope.

Royal College of Nursing moves to end nurses strike in England

Robert Stevens

The Royal College of Nursing union (RCN) called off the national nurses strike in England Tuesday evening to begin intensive talks, aimed at a rotten sell-out.

The RCN leadership has spent months offering to call off any future strikes, with the only condition that the Conservative government agree to pay talks. Both parties have agreed to begin negotiations Wednesday.

The RCN immediately announced the cancellation of a 48-hour strike due to start March 1. Only days ago, the RCN was boasting that the March 1 action would be an “escalation” from previous sporadic 12-hour stoppages. For the first time the upcoming strike was set to include hundreds of thousands of workers at all 100 National Health Service (NHS) Trusts who passed a strike ballot threshold, and involve nurses from emergency departments, intensive care units, cancer care and other services exempted in previous stoppages.

Government and Royal College of Nursing joint statement announcing the agreement to enter "a process of intensive talks. Strikes will be paused during these talks." [Photo: screenshot-gov.uk]

In their determination to enforce the lowering of wages among millions of workers the Sunak government sees the defeat of the NHS strikes as pivotal. The Guardian noted the “rare joint statement” put out by Department of Health and Social Care and the RCN announcing the talks. In wording setting the agenda for a rock bottom pay deal, in the “national interest”, the statement reads, “Both sides are committed to finding a fair and reasonable settlement that recognises the vital role that nurses and nursing play in the National Health Service and the wider economic pressures facing the United Kingdom and the Prime Minister’s priority to halve inflation. The talks will focus on pay, terms and conditions, and productivity enhancing reforms.”

The statement concluded, “The Royal College of Nursing will pause strike action during these talks.” The government knows that in the language of the union bureaucracy “pausing” the strike is the precursor to ending it entirely.

The framework for a sell-out by the union has already been set by repeated cave-in statements by RCN leader Pat Cullen, which began almost immediately after 300,000 nurses across the UK voted in November to reject the Conservative government’s imposition of a £1,400 fixed sum pay award. For newly qualified nurses, this represented a well below inflation 5.5 percent, and for most nurses around 4 percent.

Forced to recognise the mass sentiment of its members for a fight, last October the RCN launched what it described as the “biggest strike ballot in its 106-year history”. The RCN said it aimed to win a pay increase of 19 percent—the then RPI inflation rate plus 5 percent.

The RCN and other health unions have overseen a series of below inflation deals. In 2018, the RCN and 13 other health unions, including the largest public sector union, Unison, reached a pay deal with the Tory government, selling a miserly 6.5 percent pay “increase” as “the best deal in eight years” and bombarding members with misleading information to secure acceptance.

As soon as the real impact of the deal became clear, RCN members called for an Extraordinary General Meeting and overwhelmingly passed a motion of no confidence “in the current leadership of the Royal College of Nursing”, calling for them to “stand down”. The leadership Council was forced to step down in September that year.

In the current dispute, the union’s climbdown began immediately, with the RNC declaring it would call off the first nurses’ strike in December—stipulating only that the government agree to sit around a table and negotiate. The government’s rejection of the RCN entreaties saw Cullen declare her readiness to meet the government “halfway” on pay and settle for 10 percent. The humiliating climbdown was not taken up by the Tories. The RCN then responded that it would consider any pay offer made by the government.

Striking nurses at the Royal Bournemouth Hospital, January 18, 2023 [Photo: WSWS]

The RCN has already agreed a deal with the Scottish National Party/Greens government. On Monday, the RCN recommended its Scottish NHS members on Agenda for Change contracts accept the deal offering an average rise of just 6.5 percent and a miserable on-off payment (including just £387 for those in the lowest paid band). The ballot closes on March 20.

The RCN has also suspended strike action on February 6 and 7 by nurses in Wales and put a derisory 3 percent deal, (including a 1.5 percent lump sum) to a ballot closing February 27.

According to the BBC the deal set to be stitched up with the Tories in the NHS in England could be even worse! Successive Tory health secretaries have insisted for months that the NHS pay deal for 2022-23 would not be reopened. The BBC reported Tuesday, “The breakthrough [allowing talks to go ahead] was announced as the government unveiled its plans for the 2023-24 pay rise, which would come in to effect in April. It says it is willing to give a rise of 3.5%.

The broadcaster added that a source close to the negotiations “said this had opened the door for that pay award to be backdated into this year, so giving nurses and other staff, such as paramedics, cleaners and porters, an extra boost in pay.”

Any increase on these terms will be tiny and eaten up by rampant inflation. Moreover, as the talks announcement states, negotiations will centre on productivity measures imposed on an already burnt out workforce.

The calling off of the nurses strikes by the RCN follows just four days after the University and College Union (UCU) called off a national strike by 70,000 university lecturers and other higher education workers at all 150 UK universities, as they were set to hold a further seven days of strikes. UCU leader Jo Grady had not even received a concrete offer addressing members grievances over pay, conditions and pensions.

Top level Taiwanese ministers hold secret talks in Washington

Peter Symonds

The Financial Times reported on Saturday that Taiwan’s foreign minister Joseph Wu and national security adviser Wellington Koo will travel to the United States for secret talks this week with senior White House officials. Washington and Taipei have both refused to confirm the discussions. Asked directly, Wu said he was not able to comment on whether he would be in Washington this week.

Taiwan's Foreign Minister Joseph Wu, right, greets former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Admiral Mike Mullen as he arrives at Taipei Songshan Airport in Taipei, Taiwan, Tuesday, March 1, 2022. [AP Photo/Taiwan Ministry of Foreign Affairs]

The FT report was based on five unnamed officials said to be familiar with the talks. Jon Finer, the US deputy national security adviser and Wendy Sherman, deputy secretary of state, will reportedly take part in the discussions with the Taiwanese delegation. The talks will be held at the Virginia headquarters of the American Institute in Taiwan—a nominally private organisation set up to manage US relations with Taiwan.

The very fact that high level talks are taking place behind closed doors reveals again the close ties that the Biden administration is developing with Taiwan while claiming to still adhere to the “One China” policy. Since 1979, US-China relations have been premised on Washington’s de facto recognition of Beijing as the legitimate government of all China including Taiwan.

Following on from Trump, Biden has torn up longstanding diplomatic protocols limiting contact with Taiwan, boosted arms sales to Taipei and increased US military activity in the immediate area, including through the narrow Taiwan Strait separating the island from the Chinese mainland. Washington is deliberately goading Beijing which has repeatedly declared that it will use force if necessary to prevent Taipei from declaring formal independence.

Biden has also explicitly declared on four separate occasions that the US would defend Taiwan militarily, effectively tearing up Washington’s longstanding policy of “strategic ambiguity”—that is, refusing to confirm that the US would come to the aid of Taiwan in a war with China in all circumstances. The policy was aimed at reining in deliberately provocative acts by Taipei as well as warding off military action by Beijing.

The US-Taiwan talks this week take place as the Biden administration has ramped up tensions with China through its belligerent response to a Chinese balloon that drifted into US airspace. Washington inflated the incident into a major security threat insisting, without any substantiation, that China had deliberately sent a spy balloon over US military installations. A US Air Force fighter shot the balloon down on February 4.

The Financial Times reported that the talks are known as the “special channel”—keeping them hidden not only from China but also the American public. The newspaper revealed the existence of the diplomatic channel two years ago when Taiwan’s foreign minister Wu met with US officials in Annapolis.

No details of the nature of this week’s US-Taiwan discussions have been revealed. However, US planning and preparations for war with China will undoubtedly be at the top of the agenda. The meeting takes place only days after Michael Chase, the top Pentagon official for China, travelled to Taipei—a trip also shrouded in secrecy.

According to the Taiwan-based United Daily News, Chase visited the country’s Ministry of National Defence and associated think tank, as well as meeting with members of the opposition Kuomintang. He is only the second high-level US defence official to visit Taiwan since 1979, following a trip in 2019 by Heino Klinck, then-deputy assistant secretary for East Asia.

Speaking to a delegation of US lawmakers in Taipei yesterday, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen said that “Taiwan and the United States continue to bolster military exchanges.” She added that Taiwan would cooperate even more actively in the future with the US and other partners to confront global challenges such as “authoritarian expansionism”—a thinly veiled reference to China.

The latest US delegation led by Ro Khanna, a member of the US House China Select Committee, is focused on strengthening economic and technological ties, particularly with the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company which dominates the global production of computer chips. In comments to Tsai, Khanna, who represents Silicon Valley, emphasised the need “to continue to build the economic partnership on technology and also of course the partnership on military and defence.”

The increasingly frantic character of the US military build-up in the Indo-Pacific was revealed in a leaked memo by Air Force General Michael Minihan last month to his commanders, telling them that his gut feeling was that the US would be at war with China by 2025. The memo contained detailed orders to step up training and ensure as a matter of urgency that all personnel have their affairs in order—that is, be ready for immediate deployment to a war zone.

The US is also strengthening the Taiwanese military based on the strategy it has pursued in Ukraine—to provoke Russia into a war in Ukraine that will weaken and destabilise the Russian regime and the country as a whole. The New York Times reported last October on high-level discussions in the White House and Pentagon to intensify “efforts to build a giant stockpile of weapons in Taiwan.”

The Biden administration has continued large sales of arms to Taiwan. The huge US military budget passed by Congress last December included, for the first time, direct military aid to Taiwan. It authorised up to $10 billion in security assistance and fast-tracked weapons procurement.

Details of the talks underway between top Taiwanese and US officials this week are unlikely to surface publicly, especially as neither side is even acknowledging their existence. But they are a further ominous sign of the advanced preparations for a US-led conflict with China even as Washington and its NATO allies are escalating the war in Ukraine against Russia.

NATO powers intensify offensive against Russia after Munich Security Conference

Johannes Stern

One year after the reactionary invasion of Ukraine by the Putin regime, the imperialist powers are organizing a massive escalation of the war, which increasingly raises the threat of a nuclear world war. 

On Monday, US President Joe Biden paid a “surprise visit” to Kiev and announced further arms deliveries, including missiles designed to enable Ukraine to attack targets in Crimea and the Russian heartland. The other far-reaching decisions taken behind the scenes are not known, but demands in the US media range from the delivery of F-16 fighter jets to NATO ground troops. 

The visit showed how far the escalation spiral has progressed. According to US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, the White House informed the Kremlin of the planned visit a few hours before Biden’s departure. “A situation in which there could have been a conflict between the two nuclear powers ought to be avoided,” wrote Der Spiegel. 

On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in his state of the nation address that Russia was restricting its participation in the “New Start” agreement. The treaty limits the nuclear arsenals of Russia and the United States to 800 delivery systems and 1,550 operational nuclear warheads. “We are not withdrawing from it, but we are suspending our participation,” Putin said.

President Joe Biden delivers a speech marking the one-year anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023, at the Royal Castle Gardens in Warsaw. [AP Photo/Evan Vucci]

On Tuesday evening, Biden gave another speech at the historic Royal Palace in Warsaw. There will continue to be “hard and very bitter days, victories and tragedies” in a long war with heavy losses, he informed his hand-picked audience. Then he declared threateningly: “Ukraine will never be a victory for Russia – never. We will work together to ensure that Ukraine can continue to defend itself. ”

Already at the Munich Security Conference over the weekend, the far-reaching war goals of the imperialist powers were formulated openly: the complete military defeat of Russia in Ukraine and the weakening and ultimate subjugation of the geostrategically important and resource-rich country.

“We must defeat Goliath, who wants to destroy us,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said. He continued by stating that being David means having to win. And in order to win, it would take a “slingshot” – to defeat the “aggressor Russia,” just as David defeated Goliath. And Ukraine has not yet received this sling, Zelensky added.

Zelensky’s speech via video on the first day of the conference set the tone. In their official speeches and statements, the heads of government from the European Union (EU) and NATO powers then outbid each  other with calls for more and faster arms deliveries to Kiev and a constant military escalation.

French President Emmanuel Macron called for more military aid to force Russia to the negotiating table, that is, to impose a peace of victory on the country. “It is imperative that we intensify our support and efforts” to enable Ukrainians to engage in a “counteroffensive,” he said. “The coming weeks and months are crucial. France is ready for an even longer conflict. Now is not the time for dialogue.”

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said that Poland was ready to deliver fighter jets to Ukraine together with other countries. A prerequisite for such a move is a “NATO decision,” he added.

The German government in particular, which has long been officially portrayed as restrained, is now at the forefront of the war offensive against Russia. In their speeches, Defence Minister Boris Pistorius and Chancellor Olaf Scholz boasted of German military support for Ukraine and demanded more support from the “partners” for the formation of a tank army against Russia. 

“Germany’s aid to Ukraine amounted to more than €12 billion last year,” Scholz said. “We deliver state-of-the-art weapons, ammunition and other military goods, more than any other country in continental Europe.” This is not only in line with the “legitimate expectations of our partners and allies,” but also shows that “we are taking on the responsibility that a country of the size, location and economic strength of Germany has to shoulder in times like these.”

Scholz also made it clear that the arms deliveries are aimed at a long and intensive war. “And it is important to put our support in place from the beginning so that we can maintain it for a long time,” he said. “This has been our benchmark in the delivery of new weapon systems: self-propelled howitzers and multiple rocket launchers, anti-aircraft weapons, armored vehicles, Patriot missile batteries and, most recently, Western battle tanks.” This is how it will remain “in the future”.

This means “that all those who can deliver such battle tanks actually do so now,” Scholz continued. Together with Defence Minister Pistorius and Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, Scholz promoted this point energetically in Munich. “Germany will help to facilitate this decision for our partners, for example by training Ukrainian soldiers here in Germany or by supporting them with supplies and logistics,” he commented.

A German officer, left, talks to Ukrainian soldiers at the German forces Bundeswehr training area in Munster, Germany, Monday, Feb. 20, 2023. German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius visits the training of Ukrainian soldiers on the Leopard main battle tank and the Marder infantry fighting vehicle at the training area. [AP Photo/Gregor Fischer]

In the same breath, Scholz asserted that he would “ensure that there is no war between NATO and Russia.” This claim is preposterous on its face. In fact, the military alliance has long been at war with Russia and is escalating the conflict. Baerbock said this quite openly recently. “We are fighting a war against Russia and not against each other,” she told the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in late January.

Germany’s ruling class is pursuing even more comprehensive war goals. It is using the NATO war against Russia to implement its great power ambitions announced nine years ago at the Munich Security Conference in 2014, and to make Germany the leading military and war power again after two lost world wars in the 20th century.

“From this podium, there has often been talk in recent years of Germany having to live up to its security policy responsibility,” Scholz said. He stated, “Not only do we share this claim, we are fulfilling it.” The Chancellor boasted that Germany, among other things, sent an “additional brigade” to Lithuania under his leadership, supported Poland and Slovakia with air defense, and currently leads the NATO spearhead rapid deployment force “for which we keep 17,000 soldiers at the ready”. 

“In order to be able to achieve this and even more in the future, we are putting an end to the neglect of the Bundeswehr (armed forces),” Scholz continued. The €100 billion Bundeswehr special fund “laid the foundation” for this and made possible “a permanent lane change in the development of the capabilities” of the Bundeswehr. But military spending should continue to grow, he added.

“Of course, with new fighter jets, helicopters, ships and tanks, the costs for ammunition and equipment, maintenance, exercises, training and personnel are also rising,” he said. He therefore reaffirmed that Germany will permanently increase its defense spending to two percent of gross domestic product. Pistorius warned that the defense budget would be increased by another €10 billion next year. 

The ruling class not only envisages the comprehensive militarization of Germany, but of the whole of Europe. “In order to invest these funds sensibly and sustainably, we need a high-performance and competitive arms industry in Germany and throughout Europe,” Scholz said. Gigantic armaments projects such as the Future Combat Air System, the Main Ground Combat System and the “European Sky Shield, initiated by Germany, are “steps towards a Europe of defence and armaments” and “towards a more geopolitically capable Europe.”

All the phrases about freedom, democracy and human rights repeated by Scholz, Biden and Co. cannot hide the fact that the leading NATO powers and their proxies are waging a dirty imperialist war in Ukraine. In Munich, Ukrainian deputy head of government Olexandr Kubrakov called for the delivery of cluster munitions and phosphorus bombs to Kiev. “Why can’t we use them?” he asked provocatively. “It is our territory” and the weapons could help to withstand the Russian army.

The use of cluster munitions and phosphorus bombs is illegal under international law. The effects of these weapons are devastating. Cluster munitions are rockets and bombs that break apart in the air and release countless small explosive devices. Phosphorus is an extremely flammable chemical that is difficult to extinguish. It burns flesh to the bone and its toxic fumes lead to severe burns of the respiratory tract. Both weapons are used extensively and are designed to kill and mutilate people indiscriminately. 

Even though the NATO leaders publicly rejected Kubrakov’s request, he knew whom he was addressing. The imperialist powers are “experts” when it comes to the use of these devastating weapons. According to a report by Human Rights Watch, nearly 13,000 cluster bombs with an estimated 1.8 to 2 million submunitions were dropped by the United States and the United Kingdom in the course of the invasion of Iraq in violation of international law. Missiles and shells containing white phosphorus were also used against the civilian population during the destruction of Fallujah.

Russia suspends participation in New START nuclear arms control treaty as US prepares expansion of Ukraine war

Clara Weiss

In an address to the Federal Assembly on February 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia would suspend its participation in the 2011 New START nuclear arms controls treaty. The treaty, which provided for a 50 percent reduction of the number of strategic nuclear missile launchers and a bilateral inspections regime, was the last remaining arms control treaty that was active between Russia and the US, the world’s two largest nuclear powers. 

Defending his decision, Putin pointed out that NATO had de facto posed an ultimatum to Moscow earlier in February, demanding that Russia allow the US to resume nuclear arms inspections as part of the Treaty. Putin said, “We know that the West is directly implicated in attempts by the Kiev regime to strike our strategic aviation bases. The drones that are used for these attacks were equipped and upgraded with the help of NATO experts. And now they want to also inspect our defense objects? Under the current conditions of today’s conflict, this simply sounds like nonsense.” 

Putin also stated that the Russian Ministry of Defense and Rosatom “should ensure their readiness for the testing of Russia’s nuclear weapons. We will of course not be the first ones to do so, but if the US will conduct tests, then we will conduct them too. No one should have the dangerous illusion that the global strategic parity [in nuclear arsenal] can be destroyed.” 

Putin’s speech, while scheduled weeks in advance, came just hours after President Joe Biden completed a highly provocative tour of Kiev, where he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and pledged that the US, which has spent tens of billions of dollars on the Ukrainian army over the past year alone, was committed to the war “as long as it takes.”

Coming just a few days before the first-year anniversary of the beginning of the war, Biden’s visit left no doubt about the character of this war: it is a war waged by NATO against Russia, in which the NATO-directed and armed Ukrainian armed forces are but a proxy. With widespread concerns about the crisis-ridden state of the Ukrainian army, one year into the war, Washington signaled with Biden’s visit that it is prepared to fund and continue the war against Russia, come what may. 

Given the extraordinarily provocative character of Biden’s visit, Putin’s speech underscored, above all, the utterly bankrupt basis upon which the Russian oligarchy has conducted this war. Putin spent much of the speech lamenting the fact that NATO and the US, which he again called “our partners”, had continued to expand to Russia’s borders and prepared for war despite the constant efforts by the Russian oligarchs to find a compromise and basis for collaboration.

Having emerged out of the Soviet bureaucracy’s nationalist betrayal of the October revolution, which culminated in the 1991 destruction of the Soviet Union, the Putin regime invaded Ukraine last year, basing itself on the bankrupt conception that the war would force the imperialist powers to negotiate with the Russian oligarchs. But instead, the invasion was seen as a gift by the imperialist powers, which have long sought to provoke this war, and have since used every opportunity to escalate and expand it, determined to bring about the complete defeat of Russia and thus facilitate a regime change operation in Moscow and the break-up of the country.

The Kremlin, which was not prepared for a protracted war, has since scrambled to hold on even to the territories occupied in the first weeks of the war. With a new offensive now underway, involving tens of thousands of newly mobilized soldiers, territorial gains by Russia have remained minimal. Meanwhile, casualties on both sides are horrifyingly high, with estimates putting the number of dead and wounded among both the Russian and Ukrainian army in the hundreds of thousands. 

In an indication that the years-long economic war by the imperialist powers against Russia, which was dramatically escalated over the past year, is taking a severe toll on the population, for about half of his speech Putin engaged in social and nationalist demagogy. As a result of the sanctions war, entire branches of industry that were closely integrated into the world economy, most notably auto, have been left in shambles, and Russia has been cut off almost entirely from the semiconductor industry, which is critical to the functioning of any modern economy (and army). Yet Putin painted a picture of an economy that had successfully weathered a supposedly only minor crisis and was now preparing to come back stronger than ever. He also tried, yet again, to present himself as an enemy of the oligarchs, despite the fact that his entire regime is dedicated to the defense of this criminal ruling class. 

However, Putin’s main strategy, to diffuse and disorient popular discontent, consists in the promotion of the worst traditions of Great Russian chauvinism. As in previous speeches, he quoted the Tsarist official Pyotr Stolypin, who said, “In the defense of Russia, we must all join together, coordinate our efforts, our duties, and our rights to uphold one supreme historical right — the right of Russia to be strong.” 

Whatever the reactionary combination of complaints about and appeals to the imperialist powers, and efforts to whip up nationalism on the part of the oligarchic Putin regime, NATO and the US continue to work to rapidly escalate and expand the war. 

In a 20-minute speech also on Tuesday in Poland’s capital Warsaw, Biden largely repeated the same war propaganda that has been coming out of the White House and its affiliated news media for the past year: he denounced “Putin’s war,” praised the “patriots” and “heroes” that are “defending Ukraine” — a substantial layer of which are outright neo-Nazis — and insisted that “democracies” would stand united in the fight against “autocracy”. 

The nauseating hypocrisy of Biden’s speech was underscored by the very setting in which it was given: Biden spoke at the invitation of Poland’s ruling far-right Law and Justice party (PiS), which has played a central role in the NATO offensive against Russia, and is infested with fascist and anti-Semitic elements. In its almost eight years of rule, PiS has banned free speech on and research about the role of Polish anti-Semitism in the Nazi-led Holocaust, effectively abolished the right to abortion and an independent judiciary, and has clamped down on the rights of LGBTQ+ people. 

Perhaps the most significant aspect of Biden’s speech was his open appeal to the Polish nationalist and anti-Communist right, the pro-NATO opposition in Belarus, and the pro-NATO government in Moldova. Biden praised the “brave leaders of the opposition and the people of Belarus”, meaning the NATO-backed opposition around Svetlana Tikhonovskaya. As in Russia and other former Soviet countries, the US has been working to bring about a regime change in Belarus. Ruled by the authoritarian dictator Alexander Lukashenko, Belarus is now the only remaining ally of Russia in Eastern Europe and on the verge of being fully dragged into the war in Ukraine.

Biden also stressed the role of Moldova, a tiny country of 3.6 million, sandwiched between NATO-member Romania and Ukraine. A portion of Moldova that borders Ukraine, Transnistria, is ruled by Russian-backed separatists and hosts 1,500 Russian troops. The country has long claimed a constitutionally enshrined neutral status. However, under its current President Maia Sandu, Moldova has sided with NATO in the war against Russia. The Sandu government is now openly discussing membership in NATO, despite warnings by the Kremlin that Russia would respond militarily to such an alignment. Sandu was present during Biden’s speech in Warsaw and the US President praised her, “I’m proud to stand with you and the freedom-loving people of Moldova. Give her a round of applause.”

Behind the smokescreen of rhetoric about “democracy” and “liberty”, the imperialist powers, basing themselves largely on fascist and ultra-nationalist forces, are preparing an escalation and geographic expansion of the war in Ukraine, which threatens to soon engulf all of Eastern Europe and could result in a nuclear catastrophe.

Government of Italy Invest Your Talent Scholarship + Internship Program 2023/2024

Application Deadline: 3rd March 2023

Eligible Countries: Azerbaijan, Brazil, Colombia, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Ghana, Kazakhstan, Mexico, People’s Republic of China, Tunisia, Turkey, Vietnam.

To Be Taken At (Country): Italy

About the Award: Scholarships are awarded for courses of Master’s degree (Laurea magistrale or Master universitario) at Italian Higher Education Institutes (state-owned institutions or institutions legally recognized by the relevant state authorities) partners of the Invest Your Talent in Italy Program. The program includes the attendance of a mandatory internship at selected Italian companies partners of the initiative.

The aim of the Program is to foster cooperation among Italian Universities and Italian companies in order to promote their internationalization by sustaining higher education courses tailored to the needs of the labor market. Thanks to this Program, young foreigners, educated in Italy and properly trained in their specific fields of expertise, will have the opportunity to make a working experience at selected Italian companies, partners of Invest Your Talent in Italy.

Type: Masters, Internship

Eligibility: Applications may be submitted only by those who meet the following requirements by the deadline of this call.

Academic qualifications: Applications may only be submitted by those candidates referred to in Article 2 who hold the required academic qualifications (Bachelor’s Degree) to enroll in the chosen Master’s degree Program (Laurea Magistrale or Master Universitario).

Age requirements: Candidates may apply if they are no more than 28 years old on the deadline of this call, except for the only renewals.

Language skills:

• Candidates should submit an English language certificate as proof of their proficiency in English .
• Candidates should hold at least a B2 level certificate within the Common European Framework of
  Reference for Languages (CEFR).
  Proof of proficiency in Italian is not mandatory but will be taken in consideration in the selection process.

Number of Awards: Not specified

Value of Award: 

• Candidates who have been granted scholarships under the Invest Your Talent in Italy Program are exempted from the payment of tuition fees except for the regional tax for “Diritto allo Studio”.
• Grantees must subscribe a health insurance policy to bear any expenses due to illnesses or accidents.
• Grantees will receive 888 euros monthly allowance every three months on their Italian bank account. The first installment of the scholarship can only be received after the University enrollment according to the necessary administrative procedures

Duration of Program: The scholarship will cover a period of study of 9 (nine) months. Students will receive the installment every three months.

How to Apply: Only those students who have submitted their application for one of the postgraduate courses (laurea Magistrale or Master) included in the Program can apply for a IYT scholarship:

Visit the section DOCUMENTS to find: Call for application/FAQ/Regulations of the IYT Scholarship.

REGISTRATION

Visit the Program Webpage for Details

Government of China MOFCOM Scholarship 2023

Application Deadline: 31st May 2023

Offered annually? Yes

Eligible Field of Study: Each applicant can choose one same major in three universities out of the 26 designated universities as their desired option.

About Scholarship: MOFCOM Scholarship is set up by Ministry of Commerce of People’s Republic of China to further strengthen the communication and cooperation between China and other countries as well as to develop talents for developing countries. Starting from 2015, MOFCOM Scholarship mainly sponsors the young and the middle-aged talents from recipient countries to pursue their postgraduate degree education in China and entrusts China Scholarship Council to administer the Scholarship.

Offered Since: 2015

Type: Masters and PhD Scholarships

Selection Criteria and Eligibility: To be eligible, applicants must:

• -be a citizen of a developing country other than the People’s Republic of China, and under the age of 45 (born after September 1, 1974);
• -be healthy physically and mentally with a physical examination report issued by a local public hospital, and not having any disease or situation listed below:
  • a) Diseases prohibited by Chinese Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Laws and Regulations
  • b) Other severe chronic diseases like high blood pressure, cardio-cerebrovascular disease, diabetes; psychological diseases; or other infectious diseases which may harm public health
  • c) In recovery period after major surgery or acute disease attacks
  • d) Severe physically challenged
  • e) Pregnancy
• -with at least three years’  working experience;
• -be a bachelor’s degree holder when applying for master’s program & be a master’s degree holder when applying for doctoral program;
• -be incumbents with a relevant educational background or working experience to the applied program are preferred;
• -be public officials of division level and above (or corresponding level) in government sectors, or senior management staff of organizations and enterprises, or academic backbones of universities and research institutions;
• -be sufficient in English which meets the academic requirements of the program, be equivalent to IELTS 6.0 or TOEFL 80 and above level;
• -be with the potential of professional development, and is committed to promoting the friendly exchanges and cooperation between the host country and China;
• -be neither studying in China nor being admitted to other scholarship programs provided by Chinese government.

Number of Scholarships: several

Value of Scholarship:

• Students are exempt from tuition fee, teaching material fee, research and survey fee, allowance of English-taught program, dissertation guidance fee;
• Free on-campus accommodation;
• Monthly stipend:
  • 36000RMB per year per master student,
  • 42000RMB per year per PhD student;
• One-off resettlement fee: 3000RMB per person;
• Free medical insurance for international students;
• One-time round-trip international airfare for all the students (First time fly to China after enrollment, and Fly back to home country while graduation), and a maximum of “n-1” (“n” is for the length of schooling year which is set while the student was enrolled by the program, “n” is less than or equal to three) round-trip international airfares for home visits (one time per year set at the end of an academic year);
• The annual review is compulsory for all students. Those who pass the review may continue to enjoy full scholarships in the next year.
• Other expenses shall be managed and used by the Ministry of Commerce or the universities as a whole, and shall not be distributed to students. The Ministry of Commerce only provides students with financial assistance within their enrolled academic duration. Students who postpone their graduation will not receive the continuing sponsorship.

Duration of Scholarship: MOFCOM Scholarship supports Master’s program for 2-3 years or PhD program for 3 years. Scholarship winners must register for English-taught program.

Eligible Countries: developing countries

To be taken at (country): Each applicant can choose one same major in three universities out of the 26 designated universities as their desired option. CSC will place each applicant in one university only based on their desired option and universities’ requirements.

Application Requirement (in Chinese or English)

1. Application Form for MOFCOM Scholarship;
2. Photocopy of highest diploma;
3. Photocopy of academic transcripts;
4. A Study Plan or Research Proposal with a minimum of 400 words;

5. Two recommendation letters, including one from current employer and one from academic perspective;

6. Photocopy of Foreigner Physical Examination Form;

7. Photocopy of the English proficiency certificate;

8. Photocopy of a valid passport.

How to Apply:

• Application Form for MOFCOM Scholarship
• Ensure you have both submitted it online and printed the hard copy via www.csc.edu.cn/studyinchina or  www.campuschina.org

• It is important to go through all application requirements on the Programme Webpage (see link below) before applying

Visit Scholarship Webpage for details to apply