Vladimir Putin’s charm tour of Germany and Austria last weekend is a significant sign of change to come.
To the U.S. and European press Putin is only a step or two away from Hitler reincarnated (thanks chiefly to Bill Browder). It serves the purpose of maintaining the post WWII institutional order.
But, Putin is always nothing but relentlessly patient in his diplomatic efforts, even when European leaders, like Merkel, treat him and Russia poorly. She is, after all, the leading mouthpiece and political ally of The Davos Crowd that believes they run the world.
The conduct of his Foreign Ministry under Sergei Lavrov always strikes the perfect balance between bluntness and diplo-speak.
So, color me surprised when I see the official photos of his meeting with Merkel carefully framed to paint him in a positive light.

Putin in light blues and grays, Merkel in green, the fountain in the background, leaning in looking directly at each other and a simple Sunday morning chat.
If I didn’t know better I’d be expecting them to share photos of their grandkids, well, Putin’s grandkids anyway.
Optics are important and this image captures what both parties wanted to convey. This meeting is the beginning of a shift in the relationship between Germany and Russia for the better.
And the question is why?
The obvious answer is necessity brought about by pressure being placed on both countries by Donald Trump through sanctions and tariffs and their shared interests represented by the Nordstream 2 pipeline.
But, this meeting went far deeper than that, especially since Merkel’s Foriegn Minister Heiko Maas boldly proclaimed that Europe needs an alternative to the SWIFT system of international electronic payments so as to keep global trade alive while the U.S. further weaponizes the U.S. dollar.
The U.S. just seized another $5 billion of Russian ‘oligarch’ money using Credit Suisse as its enforcement arm.
Again, the question is why?
Why would Merkel allow Maas to state this publicly and why was it picked up by that establishment stenographer The Financial Times?
Why is Merkel, their main mouthpiece, making googly eyes with Putin who, like Trump, represents an existential threat to their continued rule and is the leader of the pendulum swing away from globalism?
If Trump’s goal, as presented by much of the European press (as presented here by Gilbert Doctorow), is to regain complete subjugation of Europe to American dominance, then this seems counter-productive.
SWIFT Justice?
SWIFT is the main lever on which much of the U.S.’s sanctions power rests. Because it is through SWIFT that transactions can be tracked, payments halted and fines imposed. That none of this is strictly legal is irrelevant in the game of power-politics.
Banks like Credit Suisse can’t function without access to SWIFT.
So they will roll over to the pressure. That’s why the response from EU leadership to Trump’s abandoning the JCPOA has been far more bark than bite. Because the measures implemented to protect European businesses from U.S. retaliation against them hold no weight with the companies staring at billions in losses.
Case in point: France’s Total pulling out of a multi-billion exploration deal with Iran.
Merkel’s response? $18 million in aid to Tehran for their troubles. Hardly seems fair does it?
This undermines the EU’s credibility at a foundational level. It shows them to be the toothless and, in EU President Donald Tusk’s case, witless when faced with opposition to their rule that isn’t supported by The Davos Crowd, which Trump most definitely doesn’t represent.
So, again, the question is why?
All of this seems incredibly contradictory, at times even to a jaded and cynical observer like me. Until you step back for a second and think bigger picture and ask the most important question of all.
What are Trump’s real goals?
It’s Good to Have Goals
And I’ve talked about these in the past. His real goal is the destruction of that post WWII institutional order which in his mind bankrupts the U.S. treasury through massive trade deficits.
And in a word that means…. NATO.
Trump goal is the dissolution of NATO. He wants it dismantled because it is a massive drain on our capital base. Building weapons and maintaining bases in Europe is expensive and that money is needed here. He knows this.
Even the mere hint of this has The Davos Crowd in apoplexy. Hence, the post-Helsinki freak out. Hence, the drive to impeach him over Stormy Freaking Daniels. It’s pathetic.
I said back in June that Trump’s leaving the JCPOA was all part of his strategy to drive a wedge between the U.S. and Germany.
The Davos Crowd needs that deal to keep the dream of transferring the power of the world back to Europe from the U.S. via cheap, Iranian energy and keep the conflict between Israel/Saudi Arabia and Iran front and center to foment global chaos awhile keeping Russia from getting rich again.
It needs that to support the narrative we need NATO to protect us from the inevitable Russian attack after we provoke them into it. This keeps the money flowing through the banks and lobbyists while draining the U.S. dry through the military/industrial complex.
The problem is that that narrative is garbage. And despite relentless Russia bashing since before Trump was elected, the American people overwhelmingly want peace with Russia, not war.
Poland and the Baltics sound like Democrats unhinged hysterical children over the ‘threat of Russian aggression.’
This is why Trump is also pressuring Turkey at the same time. He knows Europe is vulnerable to Turkey’s implosion. Turkey and Germany are major trading partners and the vast bulk of Turkey’s foreign currency exposure is owned by European banks, making them, as I’ve said previously, Ground Zero for the debt bomb.
So the final question then is this.
Has this been Trump’s goal the entire time? Is this what Trump and Putin discussed behind closed doors in Helsinki?
The NATO Wedge
By driving a wedge between Germany and the U.S. over NATO and attacking the foundations of the German economy Trump is ensuring the current rapprochement between Germany and Russia?
Merkel, for her part, has been so terminally weakened by her immigration policy and strong-armed approach to dissent that this whirlwind weekender by Putin was as much for her benefit, politically, as his.
The implication being that if Merkel wants to stay in power with her weakening coalition and poll numbers it’s time for her to reverse course. And if that means cozying up to Russia then so be it.
Merkel will continue to talk a good game about Crimea and Ukraine while Putin will speak directly to the German people about ending the humanitarian crisis in Syria as a proxy for ending the threat of further immigration.
This outflanks Merkel’s position and undermines George Soros’ goals of the cultural destruction of Europe. At this point, politically, how can Merkel even argue against that without betraying her true loyalties?
And that’s what makes the implications of this Summit-That-Wasn’t so interesting.
If this is indeed the case then the future of the world rests on the mid-term elections and whether Trump is not indicted for having sex with a couple of porn stars.
I almost feel dirty writing that.
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Great work as always Tom. Imagine that. European version of SWIFT, Russian EAEU MIR system and the world can actually be free from US dictatorship. Even American people will be set free by this. Can you imagine how much economic growth this will bring when rest of the world do not depend on which side US has woke up this day?
Isn’t Credit Suisse the successor bank to Credit Ansteldt which of course was the banksters bank and the bank default which made the great depression worldwide in scope. As if they would be reacting in fear to US dictates.
As Stratfor’s George Friedman said : since 1871 (the birth of Germany), the Anglosaxon elites try to avoid at all costs an alliance between German technology and capital & Russian workforce and natural resources, for that would bring about a new superpower on the European continent threatening the Anglosaxon hegemony. Nothing has changed if you look at what happened in recent years. Why would Trump want to change this good old strategy?
He may not want to but that’s what he’s doing. He wants NATO busted, that doesn’t mean he wants Germany and Russia in cahoots. It’ll happen anyway.
Breaking up NATO, the military arm of the western elites? They will never allow that. Trump might as well put a bullet through his head. A break-up would be so pivotal, I just can’t imagine it. The American and European elites are still strongly intertwined. They represent the real power in the West. Trump is just a bump in the road. The road won’t disappear. Actually, Trump is making NATO stronger by forcing his allies to spend more on defence.
I mostly agree, but the trend is definitely against NATO in the long run. With each day, the idea of a Russian invasion, the reason for NATO dies a little more and every day these insane baby boomers like Bolton and Kristol plot to keep that narrative alive is another day people wake up and say, “WHAT? No. way.”
It’s coming… it’ll be ugly and vicious, but I think it’s coming.
I think he just let Merkel off the hook to do what Germany’s movers and shakers have been screaming for a long time now. Also, it has been obvious for a long time that Merkel and Putin like and respect each other and work well together in the matter of peace negotiations and helping restore war torn areas to normal. After all, the biggest part of Nationalism vs. Globalism is to disengage the globalist control mechanisms as one can. I don’t think it has been unwitting. I think Trump’s okay with playing the blundering buffoon who drives allies away, so we have a chance of repairing what’s desperately wrong at home.
More and more people in Europe do not want Europe. They want their sovereignty and ability to stem the tide of immigrants and their ability to do business with whomever they want back. So it’s not really even so much that Merkel will have to play European Union much longer… IMO. I think this is the process of freeing states from rule by unelected oligarchs, or another faction of oligarchs who wish to keep the old world order and industrialize again, maybe even play along with the SCO’s and the BRICS’ stated goals of having a world where everyone trades peacefully with each other, and stops trying to take by force what is better handled with diplomacy and good business relations.
It’s already ugly and vicious, liable to worsen, but they’re already on their way down. We can only hope they’ve been weakened too much to successfully cause much more damage. They will never be gone, but they can be forced back into their holes, and I think that is already going on.
I’m saying this on the day where the political idiocy has maybe become SO psychedelic I might have to stop looking, but I still believe we have a fighting chance because Hillary is not president.