Sept. 23, 2024, “There’s Gov Josh Shapiro with Zelensky signing artillery shells at a weapons plant in Scranton, PA“
Above, Sept. 23, 2024, Max Blumenthal twitter
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Added: “Zelenskyy was flown to Pennsylvania on an U.S. Air Force C-17. The Biden-Harris admin is using military assets to fly a foreign leader into a battleground state in order to undermine their political opponents. x.com/greg_price11/s”…9/23/24, Dan Caldwell
(Image: “Governor Josh Shapiro welcomes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy before a visit to the Scranton Army Ammunition Plant in Lackawanna County. Office of the Governor)
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Added: “They’re implying their [Ukraine] war creates [Pennsylvania] jobs….Literally funding a foreign leader and using the [US] military to bring him to campaign with them in a battleground state.“...Joe Lonsdale, 9/23/24
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Added:
9/23/24, “Shapiro welcomes Ukrainian President Zelenskyy to Scranton ammunition plant,” NorthCentralPa.com, Scranton, Pa.
“On Sunday, Governor Josh Shapiro welcomed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a visit to Scranton munitions plant, where the embattled leader thanked workers.
Zelensky made the special trip to visit the Pennsylvania workers at the Scranton Army Ammunition Plant (SCAAP) in Lackawanna County — one of two major munitions plants in Northeastern Pennsylvania. The ammunition plays a vital role in Ukraine’s defense.
During the visit, President Zelenskyy spoke with workers at SCAAP — a U.S. Army Joint Munitions Command (JMC) facility that manufactures large-caliber metal projectiles and mortar projectiles for the U.S. Department of Defense —
and thanked them for their efforts.
SCAAP specifically builds 155-millimeter howitzer rounds, some of the most vital equipment for Ukraine’s defense against Russia.
“Pennsylvania is the birthplace of American freedom — and our Commonwealth proudly stands with the people of Ukraine as they fight for their freedom against naked aggression,” Shapiro said. “I’m proud to welcome President Zelenskyy and his delegation to Scranton — to visit with
the women and men who are fueling his country’s fight for freedom —
[Image: Pennsylvania values? May 2024, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Kensington area. USA!!! USA!!!]
and sign an agreement with Zaporizhzhia that will strengthen both states and foster collaboration for years to come. Pennsylvania looks forward to building a close relationship with Zaporizhzhia as we continue to stand on the side of freedom.”
During Zelenskyy’s visit, Shapiro also signed an agreement with the Zaporizhzhia Regional State (Military) Administration,
a province in Southeast Ukraine,
that aims to leverage the strengths of both regions and support the region’s efforts to rebuild after the war while providing Pennsylvania businesses an opportunity to participate in the reconstruction through its Department of Community & Economic Development (DCED). As part of the agreement, Pennsylvania will work with the economic leaders in Zaporizhzhia to share best practices across critical industries, including energy, agriculture, digital technologies, workforce development, and defense. The agreement encourages dialogue and cooperation through visits, workshops, and meetings, and allows for the expansion of the scope of cooperation as needed.
“Today is an exciting day for Zaporizhzhia and Pennsylvania,” said DCED Secretary Rick Siger. “This agreement will help support the future economic revitalization of Ukraine,
[Map: Zaporizhzhia is close to Russian territory as of Aug. 2024, BBC]
while boosting our economy and creating jobs for Pennsylvanians.
Five of the sectors included in the agreement mirror those in our Economic Development Strategy, and we look forward to building a strong partnership with Zaporizhzhia in industries such as energy, agriculture, life sciences, robotics, advanced manufacturing, and more.”
Defense cooperation for Ukraine remains essential. This month, more than 150 soldiers from the Pennsylvania National Guard’s (PANG) 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team
supporting the Joint Multinational Training Group-Ukraine.
The PANG’s Task Force Independence is currently training Ukrainian forces in combined arms and maneuver training for battalion-sized units.
The U.S. Department of Defense announced in December 2022 that it was expanding U.S.-led training for the Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF). The U.S. program will train up to one Ukrainian battalion per month and will help develop the skills of Ukrainian units in specialized equipment.
“Training is key to Ukraine’s continued success on the battlefield,” said Maj. Gen. Mark Schindler, Pennsylvania’s adjutant general and head of the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs (DMVA). “Our Pennsylvania National Guard
soldiers are in Germany,
away from their families and loved ones
in support of this mission. They, along with more than
a thousand other PANG members are currently serving overseas in
support of our nation and
its responsibility to operations
around the globe. We are proud of their commitment and thankful for their service.””
Above, Ukraine map
Above: Zaporizhzhia oblast in Southeast Ukraine
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Added: Pennsylvania’s new business partner, Zaporizhzhia Regional State (Military) Administration is in Southeast Ukraine province of Zaporizhzhia:
“Zaporizhiain Ukraine,” Wikimedia Commons
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2nd map: Great idea! Below, Pennsylvania’s new “business partner” is close to area largely controlled by Russia as of August, 2022. Yellow=Ukr, pink=Russia.
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Added: Number of Russia foreign military bases: approx. 21
Number of US foreign military bases: approx. 900
“Today, [2018] Russia operates at least 21 significant military facilities overseas, according to the Izvestiya daily newspaper citing Moscow’s Ministry of Defense and U.N. data.”…
Russia: 21 bases. US: More than 900 bases in more than 90 countries and territories. US is obsessively expansionist–exactly what it accuses Russia of being or wishing it could be. proudly says it’s “Their blood, our bullets,” (@ :53-:60). US is a genocide squad, a military dictatorship enabled by enslaved US taxpayers….Even neocon US spokesperson Farkas says
Russia can “compete with us with regard to their qualitative presence.”
[Meaning Russia respects its taxpayers, is willing to do the extra work required to have a “qualitative” presence.]
Newsweek, 2018: “”The U.S. is still the preeminent military power globally,” she [Ellen Farkas, “former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia”] says.
“However that doesn’t mean that the Russians can’t exert undue levels of influence in some part of the world.”
“The Russians can’t afford to have that kind of base infrastructure that we have globally, that is true.“…
[The US “can’t afford” this either, is trillions in debt, but US isn’t a country].
(continuing): “They aren’t the Soviet Union anymore,” she says, noting that financially and logistically, Russia’s military does not match the U.S….
That doesn’t mean they can’t compete with us
with regard to their qualitative presence.”…
“The Kremlin under Putin has generally been very good at the economy of force and generally using as little recourse to achieve their objectives as possible,” Farkas argues. “What they put into Syria, for example, was what they determined they needed to do at the lowest amount of cost. They don’t have to have large installations and notional control (of bases) so long as they can exert control….
“If they had their way and they had the resources, I think they
would still love to have the conventional reach we have and the opportunity that more conventional bases provides,“ Farkas says.
[What “opportunity?” Why would anyone “love to have” that kind of bloat and enormous cost of upkeep unless your #1 goal was to bleed taxpayers to death? Offices/buildings require energy, must be heated, cooled, maintained, plumbing attended to (assuming there’s plumbing at all), clean water, nutritious food, medical services. “Training” equipment eventually gets rusty, breaks down, etc., new weapons needed.]
(continuing): “But at present they are doing what they can with what they have.””…“Russia’s Military Compared to the U.S.: Which Country Has More Military Bases Across the World?” Newsweek, 6/3/2018…“The Biggest Military Base Empire on Earth,” 9/2/24
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Added:
9/2/24, “The Biggest Military Base Empire on Earth,” Greta Zarro, Reprinted from World Beyond War, antiwar.com
“The United States of America,
unlike any other nation on Earth,
maintains a massive network of foreign military bases around the world, more than 900 bases in more than 90 countries and territories. If the peace movement is serious about ending the United States’ and its allies’ warmaking, then
this global constellation of bases must be curtailed.
The permanent stationing of more than 220,000 U.S. troops,
weapons arsenals,
and thousands of aircraft, tanks, and ships
in every corner of the globe makes the logistics for U.S. aggression,
and that of its allies, quicker and more efficient. Bases also
facilitate the proliferation of nuclear weapons,
with the United States keeping nuclear bombs
in five NATO member countries,
and nuclear-capable planes, ships, and missile launchers in many others. Because the
U.S. is continually creating plans for military actions around the world,
and because the U.S. military always has some troops “on the ready,” the
initiation of combat operations is simpler.
Not to mention the fact that
these bases act as a provocation to surrounding countries.
Their presence is a permanent reminder of the military capacity of the U.S.
Rather than deterring potential adversaries,
U.S. bases antagonize other countries into
greater military spending and aggression.
Russia, for example, justifies its interventions in Georgia and Ukraine by pointing to encroaching U.S. bases in Eastern Europe.
China feels encircled by the more than 200 U.S. bases in the Pacific region,
leading to a more assertive policy in the South China Sea. With vastly more foreign military bases than any other country on Earth, the U.S. logically must lead the way in a reverse arms race.
Furthermore, the U.S.’s network of foreign military bases
perpetuates empire —
an ongoing form of colonialism
that robs Indigenous people of their lands. From Guam to Puerto Rico to Okinawa to
dozens of other locations across the world, the
[US] military has taken valuable land from local populations, often pushing out Indigenous people in the process,
without their consent and without reparations.
For example, between 1967 and 1973, the entire population of the Chagos Islands
was forcibly removed
from the island of Diego Garcia
by the UK
so that it could be leased to the U.S. for an airbase.
The Chagossian people were taken off their island by force and transported in conditions compared to those of slave ships. Despite an overwhelming vote of the UN General Assembly, and an advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice in the Hague that the island should be returned to the Chagossians,
the UK has refused and the U.S. continues operations from Diego Garcia today.
Each base has its own story of injustice and destruction,
impacting the local economy, community, and environment. The U.S. military has a notorious legacy of sexual violence, including kidnapping, rape, and murders of women and girls. Yet U.S. troops abroad are often afforded impunity for their crimes due to Status of Forces Agreements (SOFAs) with the so-called “host” country. The lack of respect for the lives and bodies of Indigenous people is another product of unequal power relationships between the U.S. military and the people whose land they occupy.
In essence, the presence of U.S. foreign bases
creates apartheid zones, in which the occupied population, with second-class status,
comes into the base to perform the labor of cooking, cleaning, and landscaping.
Furthermore, the rise in property taxes and inflation in areas surrounding U.S. bases has been known to push locals out.
Status of Forces Agreements (SOFAs) also often exempt U.S. foreign military bases from adhering to local environmental regulations. The construction of bases has caused irreparable ecological damage, such as the destruction of coral reefs and the environment for endangered species in Henoko, Okinawa. Furthermore, it is well documented at hundreds of sites around the world that military bases leach toxic so-called “forever chemicals” into local water supplies, which has had devastating health consequences for nearby communities.
Closing bases is a necessary step to right the wrongs of colonialism, to curb the environmental destruction wrought by militarism, and
shift the global security paradigm towards a demilitarized approach that centers common security — no one is safe until all are safe.
This September 20-22 [2024], in honor of the International Day of Peace, World BEYOND War is organizing its annual global #NoWar2024 Conference focused on the theme of the U.S. military base empire — its impacts and the solutions. Throughout three days of sessions held in four locations around the world (Sydney, Australia; Wanfried, Germany; Bogotá, Colombia; and Washington, DC), and streamed on Zoom, speakers will address the social, ecological, economic, and geopolitical impacts of U.S. military bases in their regions, plus the powerful stories of nonviolent resistance to prevent, close, and
convert bases to peacetime uses.
Karina Lester, a Yankunytjatjara Anangu woman from the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands (APY Lands) in the far North West of South Australia, will speak about the impacts of nuclear testing felt by her people. Alejandra Rodríguez Peña, member of the Olga Castillo Collective in Colombia, will discuss the collective’s work for justice and reparations for victims of sexual violence by U.S. military personnel. Laura Benítez, a marine biologist, will detail the campaign opposing the construction of a U.S. base on Colombia’s Gorgona Island, which is home to unique ecosystems and rich wildlife. Ricardo Armando Patiño Aroca, former Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Defense of Ecuador during the government of Rafael Correa, will share how the U.S. base in Manta, Ecuador was effectively shut down. Dr. Cynthia Enloe, renowned for her work on gender and militarism and the author of Bananas, Beaches and Bases, will explain how the presence of U.S. military bases impacts the local economy, shapes race relations within the community, and re-configures the sexual politics of a society.
On September 20-22, [2024] join us virtually — or in-person in Australia, Germany, Colombia, and the U.S. — for the #NoWar2024 Conference to hear from these and many other speakers about the
impacts of the USA’s military base empire
and how to work towards demilitarization and decolonization.”
“Greta Zarro is the Organizing Director at World BEYOND War.”
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Added: Until 1947, the Dept. of Defense was correctly titled the Dept of War:
Image: “Seal of the United States Department of War,” Wikipedia commons
2/20/2019, “The US Military Is Everywhere,“ William Astore, Antiwar.com
“Most Americans would say we have a military for national defense and security. But our military is not a defensive force. Defense is not its ethos, nor is it how our military is structured. Our military is a power-projection force. It is an offensive force. It is designed to take the fight to the [alleged] enemy. To strike first, usually justified as “preemptive” or “preventive” action. It’s a military that believes “the best defense is a good offense,” with leaders who believe in “full-spectrum dominance,” i.e. quick and overwhelming victories, enabled by superior technology and firepower, whether on the ground, on the seas, in the air, or even in space or cyberspace….
We’ve become a one-dimensional country. All military all the time.
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Comment: Who’s “responsible” for operations at US border?…Who’s leaving “their families and loved ones” to protect this border? Answer: No one. Why is Pennsylvania National Guard currently in Germany “training Ukrainian forces” for battalion-sized units?” When is someone going to be “trained” to create and defend a US southern border? Answer: Never. US needs to be split up into at least 3 separate countries. For example, southwest states could merge with Mexico.
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