The geopolitical situation we find ourselves in today is not as complex as it may seem. As has been suggested many times, the Western elites are playing a chess game that cannot be won. Western leadership plays checkers or horseshoes in a grand chess match with leaders like Vladimir Putin and his advisors. It’s time we elected leaders with a clear view of the long game and not the sacrifice of pawns.
Let’s examine the events of the last few weeks as a window into how this geopolitical game is being played. A good starting point is the much-advertised Ukraine incursion into the Kursk region of Russia. Western “experts” have heralded the desperate military action as everything from a Napoleonic charge at Moscow to a brilliant move to force a better peace accord with Russia. If we look beyond Western mainstream media and press releases by various NATO states, we find a reality that is light years distant from the one in which Americans, Canadians, and Europeans are being fed. Take the stories that suggest the Kursk incursion will force Vladimir Putin to relinquish territorial gains in Southeastern Ukraine and toward Karkov. President Putin says no negotiations can take place with Ukraine forces inside Russia.
Zelensky’s Losing Hand
So much for the bargaining chip plan; as for weakening the Russians on other fronts, Putin’s forces have continued to make significant gains in eastern Ukraine, where the bulk of Ukraine’s forces are pinned down. However, the Kursk checkerboard play by Washington and allies is a short-term, desperate, simplistic strategic hop in a worldwide policy/alliance game where Putin and his colleagues in the East may soon announce “check and mate.” For those stunned by my assertion, consider the following.
For some years now, the influence and cohesion of the so-called BRICS nations have increased and expanded the international organisation to include Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates. And while some Western analysts have made negative mention of Mr. Putin visiting Azerbaijan when his troops are forced to retreat in Kursk, the “long game” I spoke of is being done masterfully by Putin. Why? Immediately after Mr. Putin visited Baku, the Azerbaijanis asked to join the BRICS. Don’t believe me. Read the Western elite bullhorn POLITICO and grasp the enormity. For the geographers, spin your library globe to understand what the Russian president is up to.
The Larger Frame
While the White House hides the current president in a cellar somewhere, Vladimir Putin and his contemporaries from Brazil to China see the larger goal and play a more intricate game. Imagine the look on EU President Ursula von der Leyen’s face when she read Baku wants to be a BRICS nation, too! In July, the EU boss was just in Baku and announced a Memorandum of Understanding concerning a gas corridor and other energy security moves away from Russia. Oops! Azerbaijani President Aliyev will soon have a noose around von der Leyen’s and her handlers’ necks. Again, geographers and geologists spin the globe to highlight where all the energy in the world sits.
The United States consumes almost 8 billion barrels of oil daily (2022), while Europe uses about 7 billion (2023). On the supply side, the current BRICS countries control about 28% of the remaining oil on Earth. And if Saudi Arabia and Venezuela join, as each has expressed interest in, the combined oil wealth of the BRICS countries will exceed 60% of the remaining supply. Look at the situation from another angle. The United States only has about 35 billion barrels left, most fracked as I type this. That’s about 4.5 years of remaining oil at current consumption levels. Yeah! Holy Cow! Add to this Canada’s substantial 171 billion barrels, and Americans will be able to speed about for almost 20 more years.
Canada to the Rescue?
Of course, Justin Trudeau will probably be elected as the dictator of North America once this schema comes into effect. All levity aside, the multipolar world, even if based solely on natural resources, is an eventuality no army on Earth can prevent. I won’t delve into natural gas, lithium for Elon Musk’s batteries, or drinkable water here. I am sure my point has been made. Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy and the people who run him (Blackrock) will soon be in some puppet enclave with Lviv, on the Polish border, as a last refuge of Ukraine idiots, NATO-trained Nazis, and the poor refugees still convinced America is going to save them. Ukrainians and many Europeans will soon come to realize they are only chess pawns or Monopoly pieces on a board game the liberal elites are losing.
Meanwhile, my country is all set to vote for the great big uniparty represented by either a talking head or a buffoon billionaire puppet. For those out there unaware, the label uniparty is used to show that Democrats and Republicans are working together and against the interests of the American people. The dictionary definition is: “Multiple political parties with a shared vision which tends to uphold the same powerful elite regardless of party affiliation.” Tell me I am all wrong.
Phil Butler, is a policy investigator and analyst, a political scientist and expert on Eastern Europe, he’s an author of the recent bestseller “Putin’s Praetorians” and other books. He writes exclusively for the online magazine “New Eastern Outlook”
