We noted nearly a year ago that the US was seeking permanent military bases in Bulgaria, a former Warsaw Pact member strategically located on the Black Sea—just north of the Bosphorus-Dardanelles choke-point, perfect for either policing a US-controlled pipeline for Caspian oil, or (in a military pinch) for cutting off a Russian-controlled one. The restive Caucasus, through which any Caspian route to the West must pass, lies just across the sea to the east; the none-too-stable ex-Yugoslavia lies just to the west. Bulgaria's national elite likely view their country's colonization by the Pentagon as a symbolic entry to Europe and the West, whereas Washington views it is a part of the Great Game for Central Asia. The bases may also build on the secret torture archipelago the CIA is said to maintain in post-communist Europe. Bulgaria's parliament must still approve the deal. But sadly, as throughout the Balkans (and nearly all the post-communist world), any leftist analysis is tainted by association with the old oppressive regime—and therefore the only significant opposition to US military designs is coming from the neo-fascist right. From Reuters, April 28:

The Greek anarchists and globophobes have been pretty busy lately. From Reuters May 6:

ATHENS — Thousands of antiglobalization demonstrators marched Saturday through central Athens and to the United States Embassy to protest Washington's policies in Iraq and Iran.

From UPI, April 3:

HANIA, Greece — The director of the Mediterranean Architecture Center in Hania on the Greek island of Crete is incensed that all the center's security cameras have been stolen.

From AFP, April 6:

TWO British grandmothers are facing up to a year in prison after being arrested under new anti-terrorism legislation that outlaws protests at military bases, The Independent newspaper said today.

LONDON, April 5 (Reuters) - Anti-terrorism detectives escorted a man from a plane after a taxi driver had earlier become suspicious when he started singing along to a track by punk band The Clash, police said on Wednesday.

The countdown continues: how long before the idiot left in the West starts rallying around Lukashenko? From AP, March 24:

MINSK, Belarus - Police stormed the opposition tent camp in the Belarusian capital early Friday and rounded up hundreds of demonstrators who spent a fourth night protesting President Alexander Lukashenko's victory in a disputed election. A Canadian freelance journalist was among those in custody.

From AP, March 22:

ROME — Italian police said Tuesday they have arrested five people suspected in the killing of a local politician who was shot last year at a polling station in southern Italy where he was voting in a nationwide primary.

Lukashenko is doubtless correct that the protesters are backed by the West—or are about to be. Can we—meaning progressives in the West—possibly think of a more creative response to this dilemma than rallying around Lukashenko? From the BBC, March 21:

Hundreds of demonstrators have spent the night camped out in the Belarussian capital, Minsk, as they continue a protest over the presidential election.