Growing Desperation in the Empire of Lies

by Stephen Lendman

The empire of lies and forever wars is being licked and embarrassed by Russia's liberating SMO against Nazi-infested Ukraine.

Its unparalleled sanctions war on Russia backfired against a largely self-sufficient country.

Its anti-Russia actions caused growing public anger in European countries over soaring inflation, supply chain disruptions, and economic decline — what may be severe and protracted.

While holding up better than other 

Western states, US economic conditions are weak.

Hard times getting harder are taking its toll on most households, the housing market and growing numbers of enterprises, especially small to medium-sized ones.

Unparalleled US sanctions war on Russia, notably on its energy sector when the Wall Street owned and controlled Fed is raising interest rates, is responsible for US economic decline at a time of reduced consumer spending because incomes aren't keep pace with the high cost of living.

Economic growth depends on readily available, affordable energy.

Russia is a major oil producer, the world's leading source of natural gas.

It's the world's most resource-rich nation.

Besides oil and gas, they include  coal, iron ore, timber, gold, silver,  diamonds, titanium, copper, rare earths, aluminum, uranium, copper, palladium, platinum, nickel, and many others — worth an estimated $75 trillion.

European and many other nations rely on access to Russian commodities.

Blocking their imports is self-destructive, especially its energy.

If constrained by energy shortages or high cost, GDP growth is curbed.

European nations are self-inflicting harm on their economies and people by greatly curtailing or halting imports of Russian oil and gas.

The empire of lies and forever wars seeks Venezuelan oil to help alleviate the shortfall caused by its sanctions war on Russia.

Since Bolivarian social democracy replaced fascist tyranny in Feb. 1999 with the election of Hugo Chavez as Venezuelan president, hegemon USA sought regime change.

With over 300 billion barrels of reserves, Venezuela is the world's most oil-rich nation.

Yet US sanctions war on the country is all about wanting its Bolivarian democracy undermined — about wanting the threat of its good example eliminated, about its freedom from hegemonic control, wanting the nation transformed back into a US vassal state under subservient puppet rule.

Sanctions by one country on another have no legal validity.

Under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, the Security Council alone may authorize intervention against member states to restore peace, stability and security.

Hegemon USA operates exclusively by its own rules — time and again in flagrant breach of international law.

Its sanctions war on targeted nations are unjustifiably justified by bald-faced Big Lies.

Against Venezuela, they're based on nonexistent terrorism, drugs trafficking, anti-democratic actions, human rights violations, corruption, and human trafficking.

All of the above — and forever wars on invented enemies — are US specialties, the Bolivarian Republic involved in none of them by its ruling authorities.

From Bush/Cheney to Obama/Biden to Trump to the current illegitimate US regime under a White House imposter, US dirty hands have gone all-out to undermine Venezuela's economy by sanctions war and other dirty tricks.

In 2019, the Trump regime escalated sanctions war on Venezuela in support US imperial tool, Juan Guaido, a convenient imperial stooge, an unelected nobody.

At this time under a so-called agreement between Caracas and the Biden regime — what's vulnerable to be breached at the latter's discretion — around $3 billion of illegally blocked Venezuelan funds will be dispersed by the imperial tool UN to address social needs of the nation's people.

The agreement also includes approval by the Biden regime's Treasury Department for Chevron "to resume limited natural resource extraction operations in Venezuela."

What's agreed on is unrelated to providing "concrete steps that alleviate suffering of the Venezuelan people (sic)."

It has nothing to do with "support(ing) the restoration of democracy" — what already exists, what hegemon USA tolerates nowhere, especially not domestically.

The agreement excludes the ability of state oil company PDVSA to operate free from illegal US sanctions.

Other illegally imposed US sanctions remain in place.

Since last year, Chevron called on the Biden regime to permit resumption of its oil operations in Venezuela.

In May, Italy's Eni and Spain's Repsol got Treasury licenses to pump oil in Venezuela — to partly make up for what European regimes abandoned from Russia. 

For over two decades, hegemon USA — under both wings of the one-party state — has been waging undeclared war by other means on Venezuela's Bolivarian social democracy.

Much the same goes on by the empire of lies against all nations free from its control — by hot and/or other means.

It goes on against ordinary Americans and their counterparts worldwide.

Hegemon USA can never be trusted.

Time and again throughout its history from inception, its ruling regimes breached virtually everything agreed to in pursuit of their diabolical aims.

The Biden regime's agreement with Venezuela hangs by a thread — to be breached whenever the former's dark forces, or their successors, go another way.

It's just a matter of time.

As long as nations remain free from US control, they're considered enemies of the state — targeted for regime change by whatever it takes for the empire of lies to achieve its diabolical aims.

The nation I grew up in long ago is an unparalleled threat to peace, the rule of law and everyone everywhere yearning to breathe free from its scourge.

A Final Comment

Since 1995, Mary Anastasia O'Grady has been a WSJ propagandist — since 2005, a member of its editorial board.

In support of US imperial rampaging and corporate predation, everything she reports is suspect.

Nothing can be taken at face value.

In her latest propaganda piece, she slammed the Biden regime's oil deal with Venezuela — for the wrong reasons, ignoring legitimate ones.

She lied calling Venezuelan social democracy "a dictatorship" — what applies to the empire of lies, not Bolivarian social democracy, the real thing in stark contrast to fantasy versions throughout the US/West and elsewhere.

O'Grady and likeminded extremists abhor peace, governance of, by and for everyone equitably and the rule of law.

They favor imperial control by brute force and other hostile actions.

They love how the empire of lies tramples on the rights and well-being of ordinary people everywhere in pursuit of its drive for unchallenged hegemony — no matter the human cost.