US businesses have immediately and not directly educated and empowered Nazis and ultra-nationalists at house and overseas to combat Russians in Ukraine. This program follows the blueprint established by Western intelligence businesses in Afghanistan and Syria.
From 1978 (not ’79 as many consider), the administration of Jimmy Carter determined to “draw the Russians into the Afghan lure,” within the phrases of the President’s Nationwide Safety Advisor, Zbigniew Brzezinski. US intelligence known as on its British counterparts to activate networks of Afghan fighters. New generations of extremists joined the combat. Help, arms, and coaching poured into Afghanistan. Assist elevated following the Soviet invasion in December 1979.
All through the Eighties, tens of hundreds of jihadis from dozens of Muslim-majority international locations have been flown into the US, Britain, and Pakistan to obtain coaching from the CIA, Inexperienced Berets, US Marines, and British SAS and MI6. The international extremists later rebranded themselves “al-Qaeda” and launched a sequence of spectacularly bloody assaults on strategically vital targets that offered justification for a worldwide “warfare on terror” that continues to function ideological cowl for modern US hegemony.
The multi-billion greenback CIA operation to arm and practice the so-called freedom fighters, or Afghan mujahedin, was often called Operation Cyclone. Successive administrations repeated the sample within the 2010s, initiating Operation Timber Sycamore in a failed effort to depose Bashar al-Assad in Syria and Operation Mermaid Daybreak earlier than it in a profitable effort to take away Muammar Gaddafi and destabilize Libya.
At the moment, the CIA, US Special Forces, and different branches of presidency are coaching common models in Ukraine. With US assist, far-right parts of these models go on to coach and recruit for Nazi paramilitary models and gangs. White nationalist People are allowed to journey to Ukraine and practice paramilitaries and/or obtain coaching, relying on the person or group. State-corporate media have confirmed the existence of a serious CIA coaching program involving “irregular” (i.e., terrorist) warfare, however we don’t but know the title of the operation.
As Alex Rubinstein reported for The Grayzone, company US media has promoted identified US white nationalists combating in Ukraine as heroes, whereas whitewashing their data of homicide and political violence. And whereas the Division of Homeland Safety expresses “concern” over potential blowback when these brazenly fascist fight veterans return to the US, the administration of Joseph Biden seems to be doing nothing to cease them from making their option to the battlefield.
The US program in Ukraine bears such putting similarities to Operation Cyclone it could possibly be dubbed “Cyclone 2.0”. The character of the proxy warfare has all however been admitted by former US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, and the endgame of regime change in nuclear-armed Russia has been acknowledged by President Joe Biden.
“Bear in mind, the Russians invaded Afghanistan again in 1980,” Hillary Clinton says. “It did not finish effectively for the Russians…however the reality is, {that a} very motivated, after which funded, and armed insurgency mainly drove the Russians out of Afghanistan.” pic.twitter.com/iirtXI4vz4
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) March 1, 2022
In pursuing these targets, US and British elites are taking a nuclear gamble. As even the DHS has warned, their empowerment of neo-Nazis may open a brand new chapter within the “warfare on terror” through which civilians will endure blowback from battle-hardened extremists – think about the Buffalo shooter with superior tactical coaching. Tens of millions can be thought-about by authorities to be potential white supremacists, ultranationalists, and Nazis. And underneath the pretext of combating white extremism, a brand new part of complete surveillance and international “intervention” would possibly start within the Caucasus and Baltic areas.
Operating the ratline to Ukraine behind volunteer non-profit cowl
Typical of the sort of operations happening, former US Marine Benjamin Busch, ex-Infantry Officer Adrian Bonenberger, and Iraq Struggle veteran Matt Gallagher, traveled to Lviv in Western Ukraine to coach dozens of what are described by US media as Ukrainian civilians. Gallagher revealed that US intelligence brokers have been facilitating journey. Border and justice businesses weren’t obstructing departures and returns.
“(I reached out to) some buddies who work in varied authorities jobs, not a lot asking them for permission in any sort of official capability,” Gallagher acknowledged, “however simply eager to know if there have been any potential penalties. The virtually common response to that was, so long as they (the individuals he was coaching) are precise residents, so long as that is centered on self-defense, so long as this isn’t some covert army, paramilitary operation, you’ll be nice. Some fellow Wake Forest [University] graduates [in North Carolina], who I received’t title as a result of they do work for Uncle Sam, have been very useful in amassing data.”
Operations of this type laid the groundwork for a mass “volunteer” scheme. The creation of a world volunteer drive displays the pursuits of the Azov Battalion — the Nazi-linked paramilitary unit that has undergone by a number of title modifications (e.g., Azov Motion, Azov Regiment), reportedly de-Nazified, and has supposedly built-in into common Ukrainian armed models. In actuality, the Azov’s political wing, the Nationwide Corps (previously the Patriots of Ukraine), is described as neo-Nazi by modern Western consultants and even the US Division of Justice.
In February 2018, Azov acknowledged on Discord: “[We] may have the international legion arrange inside the subsequent 18 months or so.” Chiding the Ukrainian authorities for blocking their efforts, the Nationwide Corps’ younger chief, Olena Semenyaka, stated: “we hope to create a international legion. There we may announce loud and clear once we search volunteers.” If the far-right Ukrainian puppet authorities was too gentle, Azov management didn’t want to fret as a result of Uncle Sam was there to facilitate the creation of a world volunteer league.
Describing itself as a 501(C)3 non-profit pending (therefore no information reveals up on the IRS web site on the time of writing), Volunteers for Ukraine (VFU) has no overt connections to Azov. It was based in February 2022 as “United Peacekeepers for Ukraine.” The unique web site was an extension of the Ukrainian Ministry of International Affairs’ Worldwide Legion of Ukraine web site.
The general public relations-minded operatives behind the positioning evidently determined that the dovish title of the group (“Peacekeepers”) was not more likely to encourage anti-Russian fighters to volunteer, in order that they modified it to Volunteers for Ukraine. On the time of writing, the VFU web site options photographs of protestors holding indicators that embody “Kill Putin…” and “Putin = Hitler”—a somewhat stark departure from peacekeeping. The brand new website places names and faces to the group, together with the professed founder, David Ribardo; a former US Infantry Officer and Afghanistan Struggle veteran. Regardless of the imagery and up to date references to fight, Ribardo claims that VFU is a “humanitarian help group.”
VFU’s Chief Operations Officer is fight veteran Phillip Chatham, a former Diplomatic Safety Missions chief for quite a few US lawmakers. “As an In-Nation Operations Supervisor he maintained facility clearances with a number of intelligence businesses,” says the positioning. The group can be run by quite a few veterans and PR specialists. Selling VFU on CNN, one other veteran, “Seth,” described working with refugees in Poland due to “some very gracious donations from some sponsors.”
This provides perception into how such operations are run: nameless main donors function veteran pipelines to Ukraine in neighboring international locations. Ribardo says that his job consists of vetting volunteers to weed out fantasists, “fight vacationers,” and extremists, making certain that solely well-trained US veterans enlist.
The variety of veterans who’ve volunteered shouldn’t be disclosed, however Ribardo says that the figures are in contrast to something seen “since World Struggle Two.”
Extremists and accelerationists: “We’re gonna ship house plenty of bodybags”
Different People combating in Ukraine’s common models included: Dalton Kennedy, a member of North Carolina’s department of the white supremacist Patriot Entrance; David Kleman of Georgia who has been photographed sporting Nazi imagery; and Army veteran David Plaster of Missouri. In line with British press experiences, Plaster has educated “hundreds of Ukrainians in tactical medication,” and headed a crew that included even aged veterans, like former Marine Dave Eggen, who stated of Russians: “We’re going to ship house plenty of bodybags.”
One such determine instructed Buzzfeed that they have been questioned by federal businesses however nonetheless allowed to journey. “I inform them I don’t have something to cover. Then they let me go. Each time.” Along with the above fighters, identified fascists are signing as much as combat.
By March this 12 months, a minimum of 3000 US residents have been allegedly on the Ukrainian battlefield. In April, John T. Godfrey, the State Division’s Appearing Coordinator for Counterterrorism, stated of American extremists going to combat: “after they return, they’ve talent – they usually come again extra radicalized than after they left … [T]hey do have laborious abilities that they’re able to, in some circumstances, use in attacking targets domestically.” In intelligence circles, that is known as “blowback.”
In April, I filed a freedom of data request with the Division of Homeland Safety (DHS) to acquire paperwork on vacationers to Ukraine and its neighbors, together with Georgia and Poland, from 2014 to the current. The goal was to measure the scale of “Cyclone 2.” From logs and incident experiences that had come to the eye of the DHS, I needed to understand how many individuals had been stopped and questioned about their journeys by federal or native authorities. The DHS unlawfully ignored my request, as they’ve a behavior of doing: no acknowledgement, no delayed response, nothing.
Had the division answered, it may need confirmed the story of individuals like “Alex”: a US armed forces veteran who was linked to Ukraine by an nameless on-line account. “Alex” ended up within the extremist-heavy Shyrokyne (close to Mariupol), fought with Ukraine’s brazenly fascist get together the Proper Sector, and ended up recruiting different People for the Azov Battalion. (The supply is the US and British intelligence cut-out, Bellingcat.)
Newsweek encountered related obstructions. It famous that Azov’s political wing, the Nationwide Corps, has been linked to the US white supremacist Rise Above Motion, Germany’s Third Path, Italy’s Casa Pound, and different extremist teams. Of their efforts to evaluate the size of such connections within the US, Newsweek reporters approached the Division of Justice, FBI, and DHS for remark. Silence was the reply.
Newsweek pointed to Cossack Home in Kiev as the primary Azov recruiting heart. Loaned to the Azov Battalion by the Ukrainian Ministry of Protection, the middle’s library consists of Nazi literature and is described by the Azov Nationwide Corps chief Semenyaka as “a small state inside a state.” The variety of People at present there may be not identified.
Along with white supremacists, accelerationist teams — people who wish to hasten society’s collapse with a view to remold it of their picture — are additionally current. The Boogaloo Bois are an eclectic mixture of libertarians, group defenders, and self-styled “anarcho-capitalists.” The group’s title derives from a desired coming civil warfare (the Electrical Boogaloo). Whereas some Boogaloos have adopted a robust antiwar posture, a standard options amongst members is a perception in the appropriate to bear arms and familiarity with munitions coaching.
Former Marine Mike Dunn from Virginia is an informant and once-influential determine within the Boogaloo Bois, having commanded its Final Sons of Liberty Faction. “There hasn’t been a lot exercise within the Boogaloo motion since I walked away,” he says. After being uncovered as an informant, Dunn disappeared from the scene solely to reappear in February this 12 months asserting his intention to combat in Ukraine by way of Poland by signing as much as an undisclosed recruiting station.
“I wouldn’t say that I’m essentially attempting to advance the reason for the Boogaloo motion … However I’ll say that the Boogaloo motion goes to be represented over there.” However this makes little sense. Who would observe a fink to Ukraine, aside from mercenaries and fellow feds? Additionally, didn’t Dunn go away the motion, so how may he characterize it in Ukraine? “I’ve a number of which are following me there, I’ve one going with me there,” he says.
Henry Hoeft, a former US Army Infantryman and Boogaloo Boy from Ohio, was cautioned by the FBI towards combating in Ukraine, however was concurrently suggested by the Bureau to name the US Embassy if he bought into hassle. Hoeft says: “I get it. They don’t wish to be implicated if Russia harms any of us, and so they don’t wish to escalate the battle by saying that they’re sending American troopers over.” (See additionally Hoeft’s Grayzone interview.)
Dunn, the Boogaloo former chief and informant, confirmed his presence in Washington DC through the January 6 “Cease the Steal” rally, however claims that he arrived late and didn’t take part in storming the Capitol. The Ukrainian Proper Sector’s Serhiy Dubynin, an influential media determine working for the main Ukrainian channel, Inter, was additionally on the Capitol that day, signifying that the DHS-FBI “open-door” coverage included Ukrainian extremists who would community within the US and vice versa. Dubynin was photographed with Jake Chansley; the highly-decorated US Navy veteran and self-styled “QAnon Shaman.” Dubynin was heard urging the Cease the Steal demonstrators to escalate from peaceable protest to violence: “Come on! … Do it!”
Among the many tales of intrigue from Jan 6 is what was Ukrainian Serhiy Dubynin (Russian sp: Sergei Dybynyn), a member of the neo-Nazi Ukranian paramilitary ‘The Proper Sector’, doing on the #CapitolRiots seen in a Completely happy Snap w/ Jake ‘The Shaman’ Angeli? #CapitolHunters See beneath 1/ pic.twitter.com/eE1RXBgXvK
— Nate Thayer (@nate_thayer) April 21, 2021
Fascists and Satanists carry their “fetish for loss of life” to Ukraine
Between 2015 and ‘16, a number of American extremists went to Ukraine to enlist in common models. Others shaped a Proper Sector paramilitary spinoff which in accordance to colleagues “had a fetish for loss of life and torture.” Pluto being the Roman god of hell. Their unit was known as Process Power Pluto (TFP), named for the Roman god of loss of life, and was led by a US Army deserter-turned-mercenary, Craig Lang, who had additionally labored as a contractor for the Ukrainian army. Lang operated alongside Brian Boyenger, an Iraq Struggle veteran who served as a sniper in Ukraine. Lang recruited People for Ukraine and Boyenger vetted them.
Different TFP members included former Marines Quinn Rickert and Santi Pirtle. The 2 compiled video proof of Lang torturing and murdering an area man in addition to beating and drowning a younger feminine (age unknown), as an Austrian known as Benjamin Fischer — nicknamed “Bin Laden” — allegedly administered adrenaline injections to maintain her aware through the torture. The Division of Justice requested the proof from their Ukrainian counterparts.
By 2017, a US army deserter, Alex Zwiefelhofer, had joined Lang by way of the Proper Sector in Ukraine. The pair had deliberate to combat al-Shabaab in Sudan and the Venezuelan army. Upon questioning Zwiefelhofer, North Carolinian authorities found little one porn on his cellphone. (The UK-based satanic group, the Order of 9 Angles and its Tempel ov Blood (sic, ToB) offshoot within the US infiltrate secular far-right teams and encourage little one rape, probably as a honeytrap on behalf of the safety companies).
Influenced by the SIEGE philosophies of the aged Nazi pedophile James Mason (to not be confused with the late actor), the Atomwaffen Division (AWD, now known as the Nationwide Socialist Order) was an apocalyptic-accelerationist group based in 2015 and disbanded 5 years later. Mason bragged of there being “plenty of motion in Ukraine … That’s fairly spectacular.”
Non-public First Class Jarrett Smith, stationed at Fort Riley, Kansas, was a fan of Atomwaffen and a member of the Feuerkrieg Division, based within the Baltics in late-2018. Smith was additionally a self-proclaimed satanist, possible linked to the ToB. That group’s chief, Joshua Caleb Sutter, was an FBI informant whose appeared decided to infiltrate and “satanize” Nazi teams with the goal of destroying them from inside.
Earlier than becoming a member of the Army, Smith was planning to go to Ukraine to combat with the Azov Battalion by way of his connections to Craig Lang. Earlier than he may go, Smith was arrange by an undercover FBI agent and a 3rd get together (both an informant or one other agent) who put them in contact. The spy contacted Smith by chat boards to ask the way to make bombs. In an illustration of how the feds arrange fanatical dupes, the agent additionally stated: “Obtained a liberal texas mayor in my sights (sic)! Growth with that IED [improvised explosive device] and that dude’s lifeless.”
By way of a far-right entity known as the Army Order of Centuria, the newly rebranded Azov Motion has been educated by the militaries of America, Britain, Canada, and France.
US and Canadian army officers meet uniformed members of the neo-Nazi Azov Battalion throughout a November 2017 multinational coaching session in Ukraine.
Photographs from a deleted web page on Azov’s web site: https://t.co/08C1FLQ6Ee pic.twitter.com/5RAIif6OFf
— Max Blumenthal (@MaxBlumenthal) March 20, 2022
DHS incident logs be aware that in December 2018, AWD member Kaleb Cole returned from London with fellow neo-Nazis, Aidan Bruce Umbaugh and Edie Allison Moore. That they had visited, amongst different international locations, Ukraine. The DHS log is closely redacted. Andrew Dymock (alias Blitz), the chief of Britain’s Sonnenkrieg Division (a unit of the AWD), was a member of the occultist Order of 9 Angles and has been pictured carrying an Azov Battalion t-shirt.
The Rise Above Motion (RAM) is a community of American fascists, a few of whom have been convicted of utilizing violence towards leftist demonstrators. In 2018, a number one Azov fascist and killer, Sergey Korotkikh, hosted RAM members in Kyiv. Nationwide Corps chief Semenyaka additionally hosted RAM members Michael Miselis of Lawndale, Benjamin Drake Daley of Redondo Seashore, and Robert Rundo of Huntington (Calif.). Later that 12 months as RAM members have been charged with violence within the US. FBI Particular Agent Scott J. Bierwirth stated: “the Azov Battalion … is believed to have participated in coaching and radicalizing United States-based white supremacy organizations.”
In accordance to Time journal, after the white supremacist Brenton Tarrant murdered 51 individuals in Christchurch, NZ in 2019, “an arm of the Azov motion helped distribute the terrorist’s raving manifesto.” Among the many many international locations he reportedly visited was Ukraine.
At the moment, the neo-Nazi Wotanjugend (Wotan Youth) praises Tarrant as a hero and has distributed his manifesto. Indicative of their sympathies, in April 2020 the Azov Nationwide Militia chief Cherkas Mykhailenko performed an interview with Wotanjugend’s Alexei Levkin. The Azov’s Nazi recruiting station, Cossack Home, has additionally offered Wotanjugend merchandise.
Dire predictions of Ukraine blowback
US intelligence businesses have allowed an open-door coverage for veterans, militia, and fascists to journey to Ukraine and its neighbors to kill as many Russian troopers as doable. The FBI screens a few of the combatants, intervenes in some circumstances, however usually does nothing. The DHS permits the international fighters to journey and return with minimal obstruction. The US charity, Volunteers for Ukraine, is without doubt one of the organizations that gives a veneer of legitimacy for the operations that in any other case embody extremists.
In Ukraine, in the meantime, US Special Forces are coaching the Nationwide Guard and different common models, thereby offering an additional layer {of professional} cowl. Nonetheless, with US coaching, a few of these regulars go on to coach far-right and Nazi paramilitaries; some Ukrainian, some American. The American fascists return house with the potential to make use of that coaching towards home targets.
Former FBI agent turned guide, Ali Soufan, notes that within the Nineteen Nineties, the Afghan Taliban took benefit of fixed battle within the Central Asian nation. “Fairly quickly the extremists took over. The Taliban was in cost. And we didn’t get up till 9/11. That is the parallel now with Ukraine,” Soufan stated.
A 2021 report by the Army Academy West Level’s Combating Terrorism Middle strengthened his level, stating that the Ukraine battle “served as a robust accelerator” for world white supremacy.
Additionally that 12 months, Elissa Slotkin, chair of the Subcommittee on Intelligence and Counterterrorism declared: “As a former CIA officer who has checked out international terrorist organizations within the Center East most of my profession, I used to be struck by the menace these white supremacist teams pose, the quantity of contact they’ve with extremists within the U.S., the minimal intelligence and diplomatic reporting now we have on these teams, and the relative lack of evaluation taken by the U.S. Authorities.”
Slotkin advisable 13 white supremacist-extremist organizations together with the Azov Battalion be banned. At the moment, Azov earns gushing reward in Western media and Slotkin is an ardent proponent of large arms shipments to the Ukrainian army that hosts it.
