Is the U.S. Training Neo-Nazis in Ukraine?

[Judi Lynn]

Jackboot Camp

07.04.1512:01 AM ET

Is the U.S. Training Neo-Nazis in Ukraine?

Written byWill Cathcart Joseph Epstein

Officially no, but no one in the U.S. government seem to know for sure.

There are no doubts about the neo-Nazi and white supremacist background of the Azov Battalion, a militia that has positioned itself at the forefront of the fight against Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine. As the founder and head of the battalion Andriy Biletsky once put it, “The historic mission of our nation in this critical moment is to lead the White Races of the world in a final crusade for their survival.”

That Russian President Vladimir Putin and his propagandists exploit this fact, using it to build support for their aggression and to undermine the international effort to help Ukraine defend its independence, is undeniable. But knowing that, and wanting to resist that, does not resolve some very important questions about the basic facts.

What is the relationship of the U.S. government to these people? Is it training them? Might it arm them? Is this, like the Afghan war of the 1980s, one of those cases where we aid and abet the kind of monsters who eventually become our enemies? Concerns about that possibility have been growing on Capitol Hill.

Because of uncertainties surrounding the Azov Battalion’s role in the U.S. training initiative and worries about the possible supply of shoulder-held anti-aircraft missiles to such characters, the House unanimously adopted bipartisan amendments to H.R. 2685, the “Department of Defense Appropriations Act of 2015.” And one of them specifically blocks training of the “Ukrainian neo-Nazi paramilitary militia ‘Azov Battalion.’” Representatives John Conyers and Ted Yoho sponsored the amendment to the bill, which was passed unanimously by Congress.

More:
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/07/04/is-the-u-s-training-neo-nazis-in-ukraine.html

[DashOneBravo]

1. Hopefully they are not

What do you think about the School of the Americas?

[geek tragedy]

2. The US is training Neo-Nazis in the US-they've

infiltrated the military and law enforcement.

[DashOneBravo]

4. They certainly have

They are like every other off the wall organization. The Klan, ms 13, Crips, Black panther. That shit has been around for a long time. It's good those losers get shut down pretty quick

[Mike_SMO]

3. Magic Word Propaganda

The Russian rant about "white supremacists" and "neo-Nazis" is chum for Western political types.

Russia (either solo or as part of the CCCP) detests and fears ethnic nationalists as much as the Sunni Salafis. The Muslims call them (like the Kurds or Shiite Iran) "takfir" (unbelievers) since they do not identify with universal & radical Islam. Russian calls them "neo-Nazis" since their identity and religion is not that of Mother Russia and the Orthodox Church. Totalitarian Nazis are the horror of totalitarian Communists (or reformed Communists) since they almost "liquidated" the Bolsheviks during the "Great Patriotic War". It don`t mean nothin` today except noise.

"White supremacists" in Eastern Europe!?!? Give me a break. Unless you understand the Russian fear of "Whites" as opposed to the American and European obsession with skin color. In Russia, the "Whites" were the nationalists and royalists who attempted to destroy the Bolshevik coup that eventually took control of Russia. You might consider a Russian`s whines about "white supremacy" to be nothing more than the terror evoked by the Ukrainian nationalists who have the arrogance to be fighting against the will of Rodina (Mother Russia).

The Ukrainians are "corrupt"! (Lordy!) The Russians have a well developed appreciation for "corruption" and it is probably projection for them to complain about some minor league "corruption" when the Russian state is based on the same form of "government".

Don`t let the Russian propaganda ensnare you in your own unrelated political concerns.

You have to admit that this propaganda ploy has some effect among those easily excitable types in the West. Ruskies have been working this propaganda line for almost a hundred years. Their posters are pretty good too (for library or party room decorations).

[imthevicar]

5. Opp too late, it's started already!

http://firedoglake.com/2015/03/31/us-military-will-train-neo-nazis-in-ukraine/

[bemildred]

6. Thousands March in Kiev, Urge Government to Declare War on Pro-Russian Rebels

LONDON: Thousands of pro-government fighters in Ukraine and far-right supporters have marched through Kiev, urging the government to declare war on pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine.

According to BBC, the protesters urged the government to end the Minsk ceasefire accord.

Many people wore balaclavas, burned tyres and some carried white supremacist flags.

The demonstrators have claimed that the Russian government is bringing troops and equipment into Ukraine.

http://www.newindianexpress.com/world/Thousands-March-in-Kiev-Urge-Government-to-Declare-War-on-Pro-Russian-Rebels/2015/07/04/article2902041.ece

[bemildred]

7. Ukraine rebels withdraw from key frontline village

SHYROKYNE: Pro-Russian fighters have withdrawn from a strategic frontline village, Ukraine's military reported on Friday (Jul 3), although some troops doubted whether the surprise retreat and lull in fighting would last.

Lying just 10 kilometres (six miles) east of the Sea of Azov industrial port of Mariupol - the target of repeated rebel attacks - Shyrokyne has been one of the deadliest hotspots of the 15-month separatist conflict in the ex-Soviet state's industrial east.

"The rebels withdrew to the east, leaving the settlement of Shyrokyne completely destroyed," military spokesman Oleksandr Motuzyanyk told reporters in Kiev.

But separatists warned that "unilateral demilitarisation" by their side may not be enough to establish a lasting peace.

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/world/ukraine-rebels-withdraw/1960066.html

[BlueMTexpat]

8. Well - we trained ultra-fanatic religious zealots

in Afghanistan to fight against the USSR, so I wouldn't be at all surprised. In fact, no one outside the US "bubble" of American "exceptionalism" and propaganda would be, no matter how some may choose to pooh-pooh such suggestions.

I would also not be at all surprised if - sometime in the future - any such training comes right back to bite us in the US itself, just as the 1980s training of religious zealots in Afghanistan did with 9-11.

Also, as some have already pointed out, we're doing a great job of closing our eyes to neo-fascism in our own military, as well as in our police forces, and among the general citizenry - who are still, IMO, much greater threats to USA security than ISIS or Putin.

We do not deserve this and certainly, the majority of citizens in the world - who play no part in these geopolitical ideological games but end up being their worst casualties - do not deserve it either.

[KoKo]

17. ...!

[MisterP]

9. naw, just the Free Ukrainian Army! no idea what ties they have to any Azov!

and there's no WAY the equipment we leave behind after joint exercises with the Honduran Army could end up in Contra hands! next you'll be telling me Ollie North has something to do with this

[burrowowl]

12. Like your sarcasm

[MisterP]

13. ... don't like the results

honestly, the folk at Langley and Foggy Bottom don't think more than 3 months in advance (nor do their bosses--Mexico to Iraq, Libya to Cuba, Honduras to Syria)

[burrowowl]

14. 250,000 Guatemalean Indians

kill during the Iran-Contra, the coup by Obama in Honduras, etc., etc.
No I don't like the results of Corpro-USA imperialism either.

[Blue_Tires]

10. Meanwhile, a Neo-Nazi/communist coalition is one of the leading voices in favor of a Grexit

And nobody bats an eyebrow...

[bemildred]

11. The labels attached to them are not what matters about politicians.

That's all bullshit. What matters is what they will do.

[delrem]

15. Hell, the USA funded armed and trained Osama bin Laden and co.

to foil Russia.

Of course you know history, esp. in SA.

Really now, there isn't anything so despicable that the US wouldn't do it.
Saying that it's for "freedom and democracy, and western values".

[Judi Lynn]

16. How they pull off that pompous, self-righteous posture without gagging is a mystery. n/t