Mask-off outbursts by Maga insiders and most strikingly, the destruction and reconstruction of the presidential seat, with a huge new $300m ballroom, means Trump isn’t planning to leave the White House when his term ends, writes LINDA PENTZ GUNTER
 
			A DEFEAT, or at least weakening, of Russia is viewed by US military and big business circles as a necessary step in the attempt to isolate and encircle China.
The US is using Ukraine as its proxy, as it can’t just invade Russia as it has done in Iraq, Aghanistan and Syria, so an economic war in the form of draconian sanctions is seen as the solution.
It is the US that is the leading force behind the sanctions movement and its determination to arm Ukraine to the hilt. But why are the European countries following like sheep on this?
 
               In the first half of a two-part article, PETER MERTENS looks at how Nato’s €800 billion ‘Readiness 2030’ plan serves Washington’s pivot to the Pacific, forcing Europeans to dismantle social security and slash pensions to fund it
 
                
                
               
 
               

