Putin Targeted for Assassination-Will This Mean WW III or Russian Civil War?

With all due respect, anyone who thinks that Putin has been deposed by more moderate and peaceful forces in Russia are mistaken. Whether Putin has been deposed by war hawks or this coup will result in a bloody civil war, is irrelevant. Unless there is a dramatic diplomatic breakthrough, the world is on a clear path to World War III. 

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Many in the independent media are proclaiming that a massive coup, which includes security personnel, top military leaders and top Russian businessmen, led by Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu is intent on removing Putin and restoring relations with the West. I wish these reports were accurate, but the recent course of actions strongly suggest that the opposite is in fact true.

Will a Russian Coup Lead to a Russia Civil War?

According to ZN,UA, a Ukrainian publication, former Russian presidential adviser Andrey Illarionov has stated Vladimir Putin will be removed from power within the next few days and the forces of a “big blood” are poised to take over Russia. The forces of big blood are a group of hardliners who will undoubtedly push the world to the brink of World War III and beyond when they assume full power. As I write these words, there are reports that Russian government and key business figures are being taken to underground facilities. Does this mean that World War III is days away? It could, but not necessarily. This could be nothing more than blustering and posturing on the part of the Russians. However, blustering is not normally accompanied by a coup and that is what we are witnessing in Russia.

Removing the Popular Putin Is Not a Simple Task

There are complications in carrying out the coup. Putin is enormously popular among the Russian people. Subsequently, a bigger picture looms; Will the Russian people support such a coup? More importantly, many of those who are reporting on this issue are overlooking this fact as well as the popularity that Putin enjoys in some circles of the Russian intelligence community as well as in certain parts of the military. Putin’s removal from power is a prescription for civil war because of his popularity. And because of the role that Ukraine and some of the former outlying Soviet states play in the formation of the emerging Eurasian Union, a Russian civil war would spill over to Asia and Europe and ultimately lead to World War III. If a country was ever in need of a false flag, the Russian hardliners could use one right now. This would go a long way towards securing the popular support that this coup will ultimately require. One piece of speculation has Putin being assassinated and forces connected to Western interests are implicated. Thus, the world would have its Archduke Francis Ferdinand moment.

The Facts Don’t Support a Peaceful Resolution

Putin disappears for 10 days, he returns, appearing to have gained 20 pounds in water weight, NOT looking like himself and has done nothing but engage in a series of military drills designed to antagonize the West. In actuality, the military antagonism of the West was the byproduct of whoever was running Russia during the Putin disappearance.

The speculation that Russian Defense Minister, Sergey Shoygu, has rescued Russia from Putin’s warlike tendencies and plans to restore relations with the West when the coup is complete is not supported by the recent facts.

Since Putin Disappeared from March 5th-March 15th Russia Has Been In War Mode

Since when does a Defense Minister increase war preparedness drills in preparation for negotiating peace with his enemies? The notion that Russia is moving toward a position of negotiation, conciliation and peace is laughable given the following chain of events.

The following is a small sample size of the Russian war preparations which transpired during Putin’s disappearance.

The Russian Northern Fleet was brought to full combat alert at 8:00 a.m. Moscow time (05:00 GMT), on March 16, 2015. The alert included 38,000 military personnel, 3,360 pieces of equipment, 41 ships, 15 submarines, and a total of 110 airplanes and helicopters. The exercises, which will be run on land, sea and air and will subsequently conclude in five days. The mission is to provide support for existing Russian military forces in the Arctic.

Various units of Russia’s signals troops began a massive large-scale communications field exercises in nine regions of the Eastern Military District. Russian public relations representatives stated, “The drills envision the use of advanced relay broadcast stations, mobile video-conferencing systems, modern radio stations and satellite communications that were put in service with the Eastern Military District in 2014-2015.” The purpose of this drill would be to coordinate aircraft, mobile forces and troops movements.

On March 12, Eastern Military District press head Col. Alexander Gordeyev said that a military exercise involving anti-air defense troops started in the region. Why would Russia be simultaneously practicing offense and defensive maneuvers in the same region? Smart money says that Russia plans to attack Lithuania and it is clear from these Eastern Region drills, Russia expects NATO to retaliate by air. THESE ARE OMINOUS SIGNS THAT THE RUSSIANS BELIEVE THAT WW III IS INEVITABLE!

In alliance reminiscent of World War I, “Air Force officials from Russia and Serbia agreed at a planning conference in the Russian Defense Ministry on March 12 to carry out joint tactical drills in September this year,” stated spokesman Col. Igor Klimov. Klimov further added that both Serbian and Russian pilots will work to intercept air targets while Mi-8 military transport and combat helicopters will work on tactical landings, covering ground units from the air while firing missiles at ground targets at the site.

In the never-ending series of military exercises with live firing drills, this past Wednesday, March 11, in Russia’s southern and western regions and in the Far East, the Defense Ministry held a drill in which 30 sorties with live firing of missiles and rockets were held in the Stavropol territory.

Russian army artillery personnel in the Southern Military District began scheduled drills using new Hosta and Tornado-G systems. Over 8,000 Russian army artillery personnel began exercises in Crimea, South Ossetia, Abkhazia, Armenia as well as other areas on Thursday, March 12th.

“NATO jets scrambled out of Lithuania to intercept 11 Russian warplanes flying with their transponders veered off over the Baltic Sea”.

According to a powerful and influential member of the Russian Oligarchy, the owner of the ‘Alpha Bank’s‘ Oleg Sysoyev, has stated that pro-war elements are gaining power at the Kremlin.

A tweet, listed below, indicates that Shoigu launched a surprise inspection of key Russian troops and equipment with regard to the war readiness of nearly 80,000 Russian troops.

Gregor Peter‏@L0gg0l

SHOIGU: NORTHERN FLEET SURPRISE CHECK INVOLVES SOME 76,000 SERVICEMEN, OVER 10,000 TANKS AND ARMORED VEHICLES — IFX

6:39 AM – 18 Mar 2015

Ukraine@war‏@DajeyPetros

Russian “Alpha Bank’s” Oleg Sysoyev says war faction gains power in Kremlin http://m.tvrain.ru/articles/usilivaetsja_partija_vojny_i_eto_opasno_dlja_samoj_vlasti_pervyj_zampred_alfa_banka_oleg_sysuev_o_nemtsove_i_nastroenijah_elit-383874/?video …@RyskeldiSatke

On March 14th, Venezuela and tens of thousands of Russian troops staged a military exercise to counter an alleged U.S. threat, deploying soldiers and partisans across the country to march, man shoulder-fired missiles and defend an oil refinery from a simulated attack.

DO THE ABOVE RUSSIAN MILITARY ACTIONS LOOK LIKE RUSSIA PLANS TO NORMALIZE RELATIONS WITH THE WEST?

Conclusion

With all due respect, anyone who thinks that Putin has been deposed by more moderate and peaceful forces in Russia are mistaken. Whether Putin has been deposed by war hawks or this coup will result in a bloody civil war, is irrelevant. Unless there is a dramatic diplomatic breakthrough, the world is on a clear path to World War III.

Dave Hodges