US Broadsheet Calls for Blowing up Russia’s Crimea Bridge
by Stephen Lendman
On Tuesday, Vladimir Putin ceremonially opened the Crimea Bridge by driving a Kamaz truck across its span. Thousands of vehicles followed throughout the day.
The bridge spans the Strait of Kerch, linking the Crimean peninsula with Russia’s mainland.
Spanning nearly 12 miles, Europe’s longest bridge, it was constructed to handle vehicular and rail traffic - the road bridge opened on May 16 (months ahead of schedule), rail link completion expected in early 2019.
On Tuesday, Russophobic Washington Examiner columnist Tom Rogan disgracefully urged “Ukraine (to) blow up Putin’s Crimea bridge” - turning truth on its head calling the structure “an outrageous affront to Ukraine’s very credibility as a nation.”
Governments have or lack “credibility,” not nations. Ukraine lacks a legitimate one. US-installed Nazi-infested putschists rule by coup d’etat, not rule of law, its officials breached by illegally usurping control over a sovereign state.
Rogan: “…Ukraine has the means to launch air strikes against the bridge in a manner that would render it at least temporarily unusable,” adding:
Putin would “(p)robably (respond by) escalati(ing) (trouble against) Ukrainian interests…very likely coming in the next few months anyway, and Putin wants to slowly absorb Ukraine rather than conquer it outright…”
No respectable editor would have touched this disgraceful rubbish. The Washington Examiner featured it, including hateful Big Lies, promoting conflict between two countries.
On Wednesday, Russia’s Investigative Committee (IC) opened a criminal case against Rogan, IC spokeswoman Svetlana Petrenko, saying:
“Russian investigators believe that Tom Rogan’s article, openly accessible in the world web, has certain features of public calls for terrorist activity in the territory of Russia aiming to destabilize bodies of state power and influence their decisions (Article 205 of the Criminal Code),” adding:
“The investigation has ordered a comprehensive psychological and linguistic examination. Pre-investigation checks are being made on the editor of the weekly online magazine Washington Examiner over the publication of Tom Rogan’s article.”
Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov blasted him, saying his commentary “can be regarded only as madness, as (a) manifestation of low quality ugly journalism,” notably in America, its major media a national disgrace.
On Tuesday, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert issued a disgraceful statement, full of Big Lies, reflecting imperial arrogance, saying:
“The United States condemns Russia’s construction and partial opening of the Kerch Strait Bridge between Russia and occupied Crimea, which was done without the permission of the government of Ukraine.” Crimea is part of Ukraine.
“Russia’s construction of the bridge serves as a reminder of Russia’s ongoing willingness to flout international law.”
Moscow’s embassy in Washington responded, saying “(a)s one could predict,” the US “is not happy with” Moscow’s bridge, adding:
“…Crimea is (legally) Russia.” Nothing will change that. “We shall not ask for anybody’s permission to build transport infrastructure for the sake of the population of Russian regions.”
Crimea is legitimately part of Russia, not Ukraine. The self-determination of its people, recognized under international law, chose by referendum to correct a historic mistake, rejoining Russia, a process judged open, free and fair by impartial monitors.
US-installed putschist Ukrainian president Poroshenko disgracefully said “the illegal (sic) construction of the Kerch bridge is the latest evidence of the Kremlin’s disregard (sic) for international law” - a Kiev specialty, not Moscow’s.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova blasted his remark, saying it aimed to distract from deplorable domestic conditions.
Ukrainians suffering hugely under a US-installed fascist dictatorship, committing horrendous human rights abuses, at war with its own people in Donbass.
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