{"id":301112,"date":"2025-08-18T12:00:56","date_gmt":"2025-08-18T11:00:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=301112"},"modified":"2025-08-14T09:59:43","modified_gmt":"2025-08-14T08:59:43","slug":"bear-dragon-elephant-toucan-nightingale-stare-down-goldfinger","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2025\/08\/bear-dragon-elephant-toucan-nightingale-stare-down-goldfinger\/","title":{"rendered":"Bear, Dragon, Elephant, Toucan, Nightingale Stare Down Goldfinger"},"content":{"rendered":"

Of course it\u2019s all about Alaska. Here\u2019s what\u2019s in play. But it\u2019s the shadowplay that\u2019s even more exciting.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

13 Aug 2025\u00a0<\/em>–\u00a0Across the world, for those who grew up in the Cold War Swingin\u2019 Sixties, the temptation is irresistible to cast Donald Trump as Goldfinger <\/a>\u00a0(but who would play Oddjob? Hegseth?)<\/p>\n

Goldfinger, after all, is a powerful, ruthless gambler. His 21st<\/sup> century motto would be \u201cObliterate & Plunder\u201d. In fact, sequentially, an orgy of obliteratin\u2019 and plunderin\u2019 if the occasions present themselves. Everything subjected to the search for the Golden Deal. My way. The only way.<\/p>\n

Yet now it\u2019s possible that Goldfinger may have met its appropriate \u2013 collective \u2013 match.<\/p>\n

This <\/a>is what happened the last time a summit took place in Alaska, in this particular case US-China in a shabby hotel in Anchorage. That shook the geopolitical chessboard to the core. Trump-Putin might \u2013 but only under quite specific conditions.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s only one realistic, optimal endgame for Alaska: a joint declaration of intent, pointing to a follow-up, as in the next meeting to be held in Russian territory. A sort of starter for the long and winding road towards a real reset of US-Russia relations, including a possible settlement in the proxy war in Ukraine.<\/p>\n

Essentially, they may agree to keep talking. Yet what really matters is what may be implied by the promise: Goldfinger refrains from imposing secondary sanctions on Russia\u2019s partners.<\/p>\n

That will constitute a tremendous BRICS victory (Iran excluded. Actually, two strategic allies of Russia would be excluded: Iran and the DPRK).<\/p>\n

BRICS are actively building a coalition to stare down Goldfinger. The key players are Bear, Dragon, Toucan and Elephant \u2013 all four original founders of BRIC. Nightingale should be added later, as it is linked via geopolitical\/geoeconomic strategic partnerships with Bear, Dragon and Elephant.<\/p>\n

When it comes to the Alaska nitty gritty, the top Bear needs to consider all the ramifications of what is an imperative for the Russian General Staff and the vast intel apparatus in Moscow: unless Goldfinger minions stop weaponizing and providing precious intel to Ukraine is all its forms, the mythic \u201cceasefire\u201d that Goldfinger and the pack of toothless chihuahuas in Europe desperately want will be just an intermission to allow Ukraine to rearm to the hilt.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a tough call for the top Bear: he has to placate his domestic, radical critics who blast him for sitting down with the enemy, and at the same time he must deliver the goods to his under-siege BRICS allies.<\/p>\n

BRICS counteract Goldfinger\u2019s Plunder tactics<\/strong><\/p>\n

Bear, Dragon, Toucan and Elephant are involved in breathless telephone diplomacy to articulate their collective response to Goldfinger\u2019s Tariff\/Plunder drive.<\/p>\n

Examples. Modi on Brazil: \u201cA strong, people-centric partnership between Global South nations benefits everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lula on India: \u201cBrazil and India are, so far, the two most affected countries. We reaffirmed the importance of defending multilateralism and the need to address the challenges of the current situation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Xi to Lula: China backs Brazil to defend its national sovereignty; BRICS is \u201ca key platform for building consensus in the Global South.\u201d<\/p>\n

Goldfinger\u2019s Tariff Plunder works in several ways.<\/p>\n

On India: because New Delhi refuses to open its vast agricultural market to tariff-free Made in USA imports (45% of India\u2019s population directly depends on agriculture); and because India buys Russian oil at much-needed discount prices.<\/p>\n

On Brazil: because the ultimate target is regime change and free reign to plunder Brazil\u2019s natural wealth.<\/p>\n

So far, Goldfinger\u2019s Plunder antics have been stellar when it comes to engineering their own blowback: from allienating even allies \u2013 see abject European submission \u2013 to de facto burying multilateral trade, not to mention international law.<\/p>\n

Example: just a few hours before the tariff \u201cpause\u201d on Made in China products was about to expire, Goldfinger signed an executive order extending the deadline for another 90 days. Translation: TACO, all over again. If the tariff \u201cpause\u201d went through, the economy of the $37 trillion-indebted \u201cindispensable nation\u201d would be in even more dire straits.<\/p>\n

Then there\u2019s Goldfinger\u2019s possible Arctic gameplay, already examined here.<\/a> There\u2019s virtually no evidence Russia would allow the US to participate in the development of the Arctic-wide Northern Sea Route (NSR), or Arctic Silk Road in Chinese terminology.<\/p>\n

The role of Russia\u2019s Atomflot \u2013 11 nuclear icebreakers, 9 of them in action, 2 being built, including Project 10510 Rossiya, a behemoth capable of navigating anywhere in the Arctic anytime \u2013 in parallel with Russia\u2019s astonishing arsenal of new weapons systems, these are absolutely key variables on any serious discussion on any possible US-Russia partnership post-Alaska.<\/p>\n

Goldfinger\u2019s obsession to cage Nightingale<\/strong><\/p>\n

Now let\u2019s look at Nightingale \u2013 an immensely complex case. Goldfinger has totally embarked on a multi-track maximum pressure\/tension remix against Iran: forcing Hezbollah to disarm; forcing the collapse of Lebanon into factional war; legitimizing the \u201cal-Qaeda R Us\u201d dismemberment of Syria; forcing snapback UN-backed sanctions on Tehran.<\/p>\n

Then came the Goldfinger-hailed \u201chistoric peace summit\u201d with Azerbaijan\u2019s Aliyev and Armenia\u2019s Pashinyan.<\/p>\n

Well, what Baku and Yerevan really signed under Goldfinger\u2019s watchful eye is not a peace deal: it\u2019s a mere memorandum of understanding (MOU).<\/p>\n

Their Joint Declaration is extremely vague \u2013 and non-binding. What is promised is a \u201clet\u2019s keep talking\u201d set up: \u201cWe acknowledged the need to continue further actions to achieve the signing and ultimate ratification of the [Peace] Agreement.\u201d<\/p>\n

It remains to be seen what happens with the much-ballyhooed 99-year American grip on the Zangezur corridor \u2013 trimphally named Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP) \u2013 complete with grabbing 40% of its revenues (Armenia would get only 30%) and placing 1,000 American mercenaries to patrol Armenian territory, right south of Nightingale\u2019s borders.<\/p>\n

The big story is of course Goldfinger eager to snatch at least one connectivity corridor in southern Eurasia \u2013 in the strategic south Caucasus, using a gangster-minded MI6 asset (Aliyev) and a national traitor (meek Pashinyan), which will be discarded and\/or sweetened in due time. Crucially, NATO membership was offered to both Armenia and Azerbaijan.<\/p>\n

The Deep State\u2019s game plan is total control: what really matters is the opening to establish a NATO corridor all the way to the Caspian.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no way Nightingale will let that happen, not to mention Bear and Dragon: it would mean a direct NATO threat not only to the International North South Transportation Corridor (INSTC), which unites three BRICS (Russia, Iran, India) and crosses the Caspian, but also the Chinese Silk Roads, whose corridors traverse Iran with possible branch outs to the Caucasus.<\/p>\n

Nightingale has already made it quite clear it will not allow any kind of change of status for the Zangezur corridor. And it has the necessary missile arsenal to back it up. IRGC Deputy Commander Yadollah Javani: Iran \u201cwill not allow an American corridor on its border.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wherever it comes from, Goldinger or the Deep State, the pressure by the Empire of Chaos is relentless. There will be no respite in the Hybrid \u2013 and otherwise \u2013 Wars on BRICS, especially on the new Primakov triangle (\u201cRIC\u201d as in Russia, Iran, China).<\/p>\n

Alaska in principle should be about a reset of all US-Russia security matters \u2013 geopolitical, commercial, military, with Ukraine being just a subset.\u00a0That will be a major stretch. It\u2019s hard to imagine Putin being able to impress on Trump, on the same table, the finer points of NATO\/US ceaseless plots to undermine, harass and destabilize Russia.<\/p>\n

The most probable outcome is that the proxy war \u2013 and the SMO \u2013 will keep rollin\u2019 on, but with the Deep State making extra bundles of euros by selling tons of weapons for NATO to dispatch to Kiev. But even without the promise of a new, serious, US-Russia security architecture, BRICS may still stand a chance to snatch a victory out of Goldfinger\u2019s latest photo op.<\/p>\n

_______________________________________________<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> Pepe Escobar, born in Brazil, is a correspondent and editor-at-large at <\/em>Asia Times and<\/em> columnist for<\/em> Consortium News and<\/em> Strategic Culture in Moscow. Since the mid-1980s he\u2019s lived and worked as a foreign correspondent in London, Paris, Milan, Los Angeles, Singapore, and Bangkok. He has extensively covered Pakistan, Afghanistan and Central Asia to China, Iran, Iraq and the wider Middle East. He is the author of <\/em>Globalistan<\/a> (2007),<\/em> Red Zone Blues<\/a> (2007), <\/em>Obama Does Globalistan<\/a> (2009), <\/em>Empire of Chaos<\/a> (2014) and <\/em>2030<\/a> (2015), all by Nimble Books. Pepe was contributing editor to <\/em>The Empire and The Crescent and<\/em> Tutto in Vendita in Italy and is also associated with the Paris-based European Academy of Geopolitics. When not on the road he lives between Paris and Bangkok. <\/em><\/p>\n

Go to Original \u2013 strategic-culture.su<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

13 Aug 2025\u00a0–\u00a0Of course it\u2019s all about Alaska. Here\u2019s what\u2019s in play. But it\u2019s the shadowplay that\u2019s even more exciting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":193880,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[2944,249,70],"class_list":["post-301112","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-anglo-america","tag-alaska","tag-trump","tag-usa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/301112","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=301112"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/301112\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":301113,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/301112\/revisions\/301113"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/193880"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=301112"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=301112"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=301112"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}