The propaganda flooding Western media about the situation on the ground in Ukraine surpasses anything I have seen in my 67 years of waddling around the world. Consider this whopper. Did you know that NATO is the big winner with respect to the war in Ukraine? (Before reading the following paragraph, please put on a neck brace to minimize your risk of whiplash.)
Without firing a shot, NATO is emerging as a winner from the Ukraine war as Russia’s invading force stumbles and nations clamor to join the Western alliance. . . .
Throughout the year’s fog of war, NATO leaders have walked that fine line, staying out of the business of lethal military aid for nonmember Ukraine, and playing to their strength as a forum for coordination instead. The alliance has, however, delivered communications and jamming equipment. . . .
Even with Ukraine doing the shooting, the benefits of a weakened Russia have not been lost on the alliance. According to one NATO official, who spoke on condition of anonymity while discussing internal deliberations, there is an acknowledgment in Brussels that members can choose to accept more risk when they reach deep into their arsenals to scrounge up equipment for Ukraine previously retained for self-defense. . . .
On the ground, a more concrete conundrum is beginning to present itself: Ukraine and its backers are running out of ammunition.
Several Western officials recently cited a rough statistic for artillery rounds, ascribed to Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, that goes something like this: Ukrainian guns are firing in one week what the West can produce in a month.
https://www.defensenews.com/outlook/2022/12/05/at-arms-length-nato-juggles-conflicts-from-ukraine-to-the-balkans/
Did you catch the contradictions? The authors initially insist that NATO is not providing lethal aid (NATO leaders have walked that fine line, staying out of the business of lethal military aid for nonmember Ukraine). But then, in the penultimate paragraph, we are told that, “Ukraine and its backers are running out of ammunition.” I wonder who those “BACKERS” are? Could it be NATO and the United States? Last I checked “ammunition” counts as lethal military aid.
Tom Kington and Sebastian Sprenger, the authors of this piece of fantasy, should be indicted for journalistic incompetence. Are they bereft of an editor? If NATO and the United States are “running out of ammunition” then how does that constitute a win for NATO? That sounds more like a Russian victory. If Kington and Sprenger had a functioning brain between them, they might have noted that Russia is firing in one day what the West can produce in a month.
I suppose there is another way to look at this article — perhaps it is an indicator that NATO is looking for an exit strategy from Ukraine and may be contemplating declaring victory and moving on. It is not just the shortage of logistics, including weapons and ammunition, that is hampering Ukrainian operations. Ukrainian troops are suffering catastrophic casualties.
Russia’s use of sustained artillery fires on entrenched Ukrainian troops in places like Bakhmut and Soledar is taking a toll that is being counted in the thousands. It appears that for every single Russian casualty there are 10 Ukrainians killed or wounded. Take a look at this letter notifying prospective patients who had planned elective surgery in Kiev to stay home:
Scheduled hospital admissions have been halted in Kiev since 2 December on the orders of the Kiev administration.
The reason is the huge number of wounded coming from Bakhmut.
According to an eyewitness, a journalist for the major Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, more than 100 seriously wounded Ukrainian soldiers are being admitted to one hospital evacuation point alone.
A further indicator that the United States has entered the desperation phase is the promise to send Patriot Missile batteries to Ukraine. The Patriot is useful for one thing — decommission it and stash it in a park or a town square as a past symbol of U.S. military prowess. The Patriot is completely useless as a defense system against cruise and hypersonic missiles. Just ask the Saudis. Their Patriot system could not stop attacks launched by the Houthis in Yemen. If you want more particulars go read Andrei Martyanov’s recent piece, About Patriots.
Here is Brian Berletic’s review of the Patriot Missile system.
We’re on the same wavelength, Larry. Here’s what I wrote early today to a friend who feels constantly compelled to disparage Russia and defend NATO as righteous and victorious. Apologies for the length. Thx for putting up with it/me – it’s really long 🙁
A little Ukraine sitrep……..
Angela Merkel recently publicly stated that the Minsk agreements, which were broken by Ukr and NATO, btw, were never intended to be honored. They were simply designed to buy time to build Ukr forces to attack the ethnic Russians in the Donbas and perhaps Russia itself. So much for the “unprovoked” invasion meme. Merkel confirmed exactly what Russia said was the reason for the invasion.
A US Marine colonel, a well paid mercenary for the US/Ukr alliance, heading up the training of Ukr “special” forces (known as the “Mozart Group”) who are engaged in combat in Kharkov, publicly admits that Ukr troops are poorly trained and not sufficiently armed and are suffering 70% casualties. Also, that the fighting resembles WW1 and is “hell on earth”. Clearly the Russians have not run out of ammo as the western BS media and talking heads have been predicting since last March. Areil photos show Ukr positions are within fields and city blocks where every square yard of the ground is pockmarked by craters from artillery rounds and structures are all flattened.
Ukr itself admits to suffering 500 casualties a day in the recent fighting. That jibes w/ The USMC Colonel’s statement. This is further supported by EU president Von der Leyen slipping up a couple weeks ago at a public speech stating that Ukr has lost 100,000 killed military personnel (we can assume, then, another 200,000 to 300,000 seriously wounded and evacuated). Additionally, Zelensky himself stated, months ago, again publicly and on the record, that Ukr was suffering something like 300 killed/day. The action was less intense then. So, no need to look to Russian MOD statements (which have been far more accurate than western press releases) to understand that the Ukr military is on its last legs.
Finally, the introduction of thousands of Polish fighters + some other eastern Euros and some Brits and Americans to the front lines indicates that Ukr cannot no longer handle the fight. Sources on both sides agree that Polish forces have suffered something like 1,200 killed to date with more expected based on military cemetery preparations in Poland.
Western retired military talking heads have recently conceded that the new Russian General in charge of all Ukr operations has done a good job organizing the combine arms and various troops and is a “dangerous” and “formidable” enemy and the US needs to ramp up support.
The US just announced it is sending patriot air defense systems to Ukr. This is an admission that Russian drone and missile attacks are successful and the AD systems currently deployed by Ukr are not up to the task. The Patriot system has a significant learning curve. One would presume that The US will be manning these. They are first order targets for the Russians. Americans will be killed. Do the Patriots really work as advertised? Mixed bag. IMO, they will not be entirely effective against the Russians’ nightly Christmas presents. AD is everything in modern war, second only to what can be guided through the air on attack. Amazing that people who consider Russia and backwards can still hold that belief after all of the precision guided missile and drone attacks. People are stupid and crazy. I digress. If the patriot systems are sent to Ukr to be destroyed sooner or later, what is protecting Europe? It would seem that Euro patriot systems will be the source of those destined for Ukr. They sure aren’t being pulled from our bestest, closest, most excellent friend, Israel – and we don’t have a bunch of these sitting in storage back in the states. Russia is slowly bleeding the US and NATO until they are bled vulnerable. Not bad for allegedly backwards crazy drunk people.
US and UK media and govt still like to crow about the Russian defeat at Kherson. This is a silly and obvious propaganda meme. The Ukrainians assaulted the Kherson region repeatedly and lost large numbers of men and equipment in the process. The Russian had few casualties. The Russians then effected a very organized withdrawal across the Dnieper. Ukr troops did not battle them out of there. There was no military victory. Ukr has been unable to occupy Kherson City b/c Russian artillery from across the river blasts them to shreds when they try. While a bad optic, the withdrawal across the river makes military sense. The river forms a natural defense. Defense against what if the Ukies are being decimated? It would appear a defense against what is coming.
The Russians have been integrating the reservists they called-up, the right way. These are not know-nothings from off the street as the scurrilous western media likes to say. Rather, they are men who have prior military service. This activation is akin to what we (the US) did with our National Guard and reserve troops to deploy them to Afghanistan and Iraq. They have been training with their units in Russia and in Belarus for a few months now. They should be good to go. There are now a few hundred thousand Russian troops ready to be introduced into the combat zone. The ground is frozen now, allowing tracks to attack without being bogged down in the mud. The Ukr military is reduced greatly; largely due to their near suicidal attacks in the PR effort disguised as a series of “offensives”, but also because of the intense and constant Russian artillery and drone barrages. Ukr electrical grids have been largely destroyed. The people are freezing now. Trains that run to the front are inoperable b/c they are electric. The Russians will attack en masse soon. The time is finally right. What is not known is if the attack(s) will be in the form of 1. limited to pushing the remaining Ukr troops out of the Donbas/new Russian territory (referenda) and consolidating and finalizing Russia’s hold there 2. Capture of new territory that is Historically Russian and populated by ethnic Russians (like Odessa) while putting pressure on Kiev itself and cutting off Polish rat lines into Ukr 3. Some combination of 1 and 2.
Circling back to the Kherson “retreat”, I think the Russians suspect (correctly) that with the coming major offensive, what is left of the Ukr military is going to quickly cease to exist. The UK and US are not going admit defeat. In fact, they will never surrender even after the last Ukrainian has been sacrificed. Likely the US (the UK has no military to speak of) will put combat boots on the ground in western Ukr up to and including Odessa and everything not quite under direct attack, west of the Dnieper. The Poles will contribute large scale to this effort with easter Euros and some others also sending in a contingency. This will amount to around 90,000 high quality/well, albeit relatively lightly armed, troops in total. The US will essentially dare the Russians to attack these troops. The Russians may have no choice if the troops are in opposition to Russian strategic goals. When the US, et al troops start getting hammered by Russian artillery, drones and air, the US, et al forces will respond in kind. Many will die – and we will be in WW3. The US will aim at staging areas within Russia and Russia will have to do the same in Poland, Germany and other Euro bases, perhaps even the UK. Doing so is a military necessary in an all-out war. The first salvos will not be nuclear; rather big precision guided missiles from land, sea and air. The risk of the next series of strikes being nuclear is very high. Again, neither side can – or will – back down. Negotiation – which is what Russia hoped for all along (see multiple statements from Putin and his cabinet members + the feint attack/pressure on Kiev in the opening days of the war) is not possible, especially after Merkel’s admission (like they didn’t already know what she admitted to based on behavior and slips from US official officials over the past 8 years). The US cannot lose its ability to employ hegemony/gunboat diplomacy – threat of and actual – which is how it has maintained empire from the end of WW2 to current. This is existential to both sides.
Very dangerous times. Escalation usually takes on a life of its own. Even normally cooler heads get caught up in the incremental spiral. Remember, according to most official accounts, during the Cuban missile crisis, Kennedy stood up to his Generals, who wanted to push the button. Joe Biden is not Kennedy. Putin has already warned, repeatedly, that a missile attack into Russia, nuclear or conventional, will results in a larger response in kind. We are now in extremely dangerous times.
My opinion – People living in cartoon clown land with respect to what this conflict is all about and how it is trending need to wake up and stop treating it like it’s a sporting event in some far away land. Russia is not on the ropes, is not incompetent and is not about to lose any day now – nor any time at all. Quite the opposite. And the death and destruction may not stay “far away”. Those are the facts and they are obvious if one uses one’s own brain, looks to primary sources and stops listening to politically motivated secondary sources that we know have lied consistently and deeply, for years, about every other topic of consequence. We should all be petitioning our government to stop this escalation spiral. A third world corrupt dictatorship, like Ukraine, isn’t worth the risk. Russia has been begging to be allowed into equitable cooperative relations with the west for many years and has been rebuffed each time (or virtually raped as in the chaotic days immediately following the collapse of the Soviet government). US policy has been to incorporate China since the 1970s as trade partners in good standing despite lack of human rights, etc. Saudi Arabia is a “friend”. Why not Russia? Probably too late now, but something that could be set as a 20 year goal in a peace agreement (which would require totally new US and UK leadership – new ideologically – as current has blown their reputation and trustworthiness).
Eric, fastest way to lose friends these days is to tell them the truth….
Yeah, well, with friends like that….
I know a woman who calls Trump voters nazis who is simultaneously an enthusiastic blueyellow ragwagging lover of literal swastika tattooed Ukrainian nazis.
Has anyone noticed that on Judge Andrew Napolitano’s “Judging Freedom” series of videos as shown on YouTube, each episode opens with an image which is nothing other than a tableau of the colors of the flag of Ukraine?
And Col MacGregor and Scott Ritter, who he repeatedly interviews, are “intelligence officers and commanders” who don’t notice how severely thereby they are being mocked and ridiculed?
It is well known since the days of antiquity that Yellow is the banner and color of the infernal demon known as the devil, satan, old nick etc etc — the seducer of our common mother, cuckholder of the first man, and father of all lies and misfortune.
And only I, poor and insignificant Pito, can notice these things? The world could do better.
https://youtu.be/_6Egd2ecpW0
I lost 1 Ukrainian friend I was friends with I USA for 10+ years, and almost lost another, but we decided to “never speak of war again.”
Every time I comment on MSM, I’m immediately targeted by either trolls or shills. And I’m an American from Ukraine and it would be laughable to read clearly ” borrowed”arguments of people who I doubt could locate Ukraine on the map, if it wouldn’t so sad how viscous propaganda took stronghold by permeating social consciousness . It’s like mass psychosis like it was in Germany in the 1930s, and I always wanted to understand how it happened then, well now we all know. And this horrible sense of helplessness of how little depends on us ..
It was always like that, only people were not aware of it because there was no Internet. Similar shitshow happened in Yugoslavia in 90’s (not to mention Syria, Libiya, Iraq, …).
Good analysis and summary, Eric.
Thanks Eric. Excellent comment.
Excellent Eric.
I don’t think the East is minded to be friends with the West anymore. US has lost all credibility and so has Europe. No trust.
I really hope that upward spiral does not happen but unless the Pentagon digs in its heels and screams it looks like this is going only one way.
Totally wrong about Nato troops in Ukraine. Will never happen. If they have had a chance to face Russia directly, they would have done it already. Hence all that “we are not part of that conflict” BS from Nato. Nato facing Russia will be not met conventionally. Then the stakes for Russia are more like it’s either them or us. Then Russia will blow Nato into oblivion in one simultaneous strike. After that US will be leveled to the ground as the power behind all of this. Russia has given the west many opportunities to settle in Ukraine. It is obvious that west wants this to go all the way.
So we disagree. Maybe you’re correct, but then you have to explain how you see the US and NATO coping with the impending collapse of the Ukrainian military. They just throw up their hands, slap on some more sanctions (if there’s anything left to sanction), impotently attempt to foment trouble around Russia’s borders and mostly concede that Ukraine is lost and Russia prevailed? Sorry, but I can’t even imagine that scenario.
Well, the US managed to pull out of Vietnam and Afghanistan in disgrace without getting their knickers in a twist. Why make a big fuss over a corrupt, third-world ex-USSR abyss like The Ukraine?
True. However, there was a lot of fallout from the loss of VN militarily and politically and it lasted for years. But to your point, it was done nonetheless. Regarding Afghanistan, the public was bred with it. Bin Laden was dead. Nothing to really win or lose there.
Something feels different about the Ukr conflict and I can’t quite put my finger on it. Maybe it’s just a personal hang-up. It has something to do with the US/UK decade(s) long plot to do regime change in Russia and to break the country apart. This seems like less of a proxy war than VN and more like a critical (to neocons/empire) foreign policy strategy culminating in a direct war against Russia behind the thinnest of veils. The world’s take-away from the loss would be that the US is no longer a hegemon and it can be defied. That’s a big fundamental loss to the empire; bigger than what was lost in VN. I don’t think the US wants the fallout that was experienced post-VN, especially on a more grand domestic and geopolitically costly scale. There’s more at stake economically now too. We are not the manufacturing nation we still were during VN. Our economy is more dependent on being able to cause other nations to bend to our will; something they will be less likely to do if they see strong alternatives (like BRICS). This war is more materially critical to the US than VN was. VN was more ideological. That’s what I’m seeing anyhow.
Also, the lies/propaganda are much deeper now than VN. The VN narrative of “we’re winning….light at the end of the tunnel….stay the course…blah blah blah” had obvious holes in it that many citizens saw through by 1967- and even larger numbers by 1969. The US didn’t hide the number of casualties it was suffering. The Tet Offense wasn’t concealed. Mai Lai wasn’t buried forever. The US public had some idea that maybe the govt wasn’t being forthcoming and that the US mission in VN was in a precarious status. Johnson declined to run for office for a second term over the conflict. The withdrawal and peace negotiations took place over the years of the Nixon administration. There was ample time to adjust to the idea of losing. The US military blamed the loss on a lack of will among the public and politicians. They don’t have that excuse this time.
When we pulled out of VN we had the fig leaf/buck passing of turning the war over to the South Vietnamese. It became their war to lose. In Ukr, there will be no Kiev regime fighters left to take over the fight by the time the US would be washing its hands of the mission, even if only by way of face-saving fig leaf.
The propaganda and lies have been so thick and constant – with little to counter them other than a few individuals on more obscure sites like this – that I believe the US populace would be utterly shocked by a loss and would definitely turn on the democrats, especially Biden. Even with control of the cheat machines, pretty sure the democrats would be out in 2024. The democrats won’t allow that. Never discount the extent to which political power plays can be callous to the deaths of young men (and women). I further believe that the propagandized populations of the US and UK (and Euros) would even demand that something be done to prevent an evil Russian victory. So what would that be? It has to be an escalation of US troops into Ukr + bombing runs, no fly zones, the usual. All ears for other possibilities.
I’m wondering if Russia may be intending to leave Odessa (and with it access to the Black Sea) as its main “concession” in a putative negotiated settlement. That assumes that what we’re reading about the inevitable collapse of the Ukrainian front is true.
Of course I’d prefer if Russia freed it from the Kiev regime.
IMO, yes, probably Russia would concede Odessa as long as it keeps Crimea and everything east of the Dnieper.
But who/what will fill the vacuum in Kiev in the next 4 or 5 years? Another puppet of the US, no doubt. Russia can’t allow that. The puppet would merely rebuild a military and begin to threaten everything the Russians incorporated. There must be a more robust settlement and I don’t think that can happen until the Kiev regime and the US have been utterly crushed and are on their knees begging for mercy. That means direct conflict, IMO.
I don’t think Russia gives up any Black Sea coast, including Odesa. Why? Shale gas. Lots of offshore shale gas in the region, and Russia wants control of resources. Leaving Odesa leaves access to gas revenues for Ukraine, not something Russia wants.
My concern is precisely what Eric mentioned. That the US would insert American forces into western Ukraine, including Odessa, when they see Russia is breaking through in the Donbas.
When we in the US have to rely on the faint realistic streak exhibited by White-Rage-Curious Milley,to defeat the distilled psychopathy of the Nulands and Applebaums..we’re effectively screwed.
Just read/listen to Mr. Putins speeches about the west and how Russia and their friends/allies see the world future changing to be free from the western control and manipulation.
For US/Nato/west this is the last possibility to slow down or even crack down on Russia to prevent that future to become true. That is why they all pour weapons and money into Ukraine with no questions asked. Russia very well knows what is going on. They said it from the beginning, that this is an existential threat and Russia will defend itself, even when they will be forced to wipe out the other side with WMDs.
That is also why no-one has sided with the west and Russia did not end up isolated. The world knows what the west is trying to do here. They know, if they won’t be able to stop the west, they will be next. This whole “thing” is not just some conflict. It is the last conflict you and I will see in our life.
The west is clueless right now. They thought this will go well in their favor. They planned it for years and they miscalculated every aspect of this conflict. Russia’s financial status was not weakened, it has even strengthen after Russia adapted to the situation.
Russia’s military capabilities made it possible to wipe out Ukie military and their equipment within the first 4 to 8 weeks (Russia even captured vast amounts of western weapons and used that against the Ukies).
Almost all so called “sanctions” backfired on the west, creating a lot of pain to the west and only small pain to Russia, if at all.
Condemning Russia, labeling them as a terrorist state, accusing of crimes they never committed shows you the real cope the west is experiencing, because they cannot change anything on the ground and in views about Russia inside the international community. Just look how the US is pressuring Africa to side with them. But Africa is not going to. Look how they tried to persuade their oil-buddies to help them out with the high oil price and were shot down. Everyone know who the real terrorist state is. US is in big trouble now. They might get wiped out if they stay on that course. The word is waiting for them to slip like that. There are a lot of scores to be settled. US had abused it’s power for decades.
The US never bothered backing out of a failed conflict. They will simply make sure the history books are written in their favor. They always done this. The US still thinks they have the world greatest military. They are just confused, they mean they have the most expensive military, but surly not the greatest. But that is how they see it (by their own false logic). They simply justify everything by twisting the facts and make things look better in their own case.
The US has reached its culmination point as an empire (homage to Clausewitz fans). It will no longer be writing history.
Therefore, I do not believe that the US can deploy SOP CYA and move on this time. It will not go quietly into that good night (Dylan Thomas). Rather it will roar and thrash like the large and still dangerous, albeit wounded, beast that it is. IMO, the people running the show would prefer to risk it all in a deadly game than opt for the certainty of living in a world where they are not the King of the Mountain.
Your third-from-last paragraph is very tempting, and I’m inclined to agree. But it is a prediction of events, rather than a forecast of conditions, so I must decline!
The length isn’t an important consideration if the quality can support it; your essay does that in spades. It’s an excellent summary of exactly what is afoot. Will it convince your friend? Probably not, because the widespread current fanaticism blocks facts and rational argument. Driving through my town yesterday, I spied a large Ukie flag affixed to the doorpost of –are you ready for this? — the local Society of Friends meeting house! I guess “Hell, no, we won’t go?” has been replaced with “Hell, no, we don’t know ( much of anything)!”
Thx – my friend says I’m a Putin stooge and, I quote, “Literally insane”. Something tells me we won’t be getting together for a drink again when he comes to town for the Winter this year.
He is an establishment conservative and reads closely several associated media sites. IMO, he’s a smart, but scared, ostrich sticking his head deeply into the sands of no-longer relevant myths about American exceptionalism and greatness.
…”The US will essentially dare the Russians to attack these troops. ”
The Russians should specifically seek them out for destruction. What would the American public’s response be when it becomes known that hundreds of GIs are killed/wounded in a war in which the USA says it is not involved?
Great reply. 2 nits:
. I read weeks ago that Biden was negotiating for the Patriots from SA & the ME.
. Ukr is not yet frozen. The forecast for Kiev from the 10th-19th is hovering around freezing. Points south above freezing.
. The forecast for Kiev truly freezes on the night of the 19th, down to 11F. Down to 3F on the 20th. Ime, in Maine, that is when you get a good, deep freeze. Upper teens to low 20s after that, & staying below freezing during the day.
P oints south during that time frame will hover around freezing.
Biden’s negotiations w/ SA for oil production and price didn’t go so well. The Saudis are barbarians, but they are shrewd and see the writing on the wall.
Very true Mary. Takes time to get a deep freeze, unless you get days of subzero temps. I’m in southern Maine and the ground is still soft – rain is definitely a factor. Southern and eastern Ukraine have been wet lately – nothing solid yet.
I agree with everything except about Nato/US putting troops into Ukraine. They don’t have the capability to do this anytime soon. And the Russians will stop them long before they can build up enough lethal force to achieve anything. I agree that this is existential for the US, but they will find other means to keep this going.
You have accomplished something. You left me nothing to say. Nicely said. And as always kudos to Mr. Johnson.
Excellent write up Eric.
As for U.S. or NATO boots in Odessa the more likely way I see it not happening is for Biden to have Article 25 tossed at him. This would offer a convenient way out of Ukraine and at the same time remove him from power during what is likely to be upcoming legal actions over laptops and more. This would not happen any sooner than February 2023 I would think.
Past that, I have no doubt that the TPTB behind Belgium and London want a world conflict between Russia and the West. That means boots on the ground. We will have to wait and see what the U.S. Pols decide.
Thx.
Maybe re; art. 25, but I don’t think it matters. Neither Biden nor Harris cooked up this hair brained scheme to destroy Russia. That is coming from deep state power centers, domestic and foreign. The scheme will survive whoever is reading the teleprompter. If we somehow got a Trump type in office who sought to turn the situation around, the deep state would merely stymie and destroy him/her, just as they did Trump.
Who is going to man the Patriot systems? Pretty sure that will have to be US personnel. Those Patriots will be targeted, by Russia, immediately and destroyed along with the crews KIA. We’re not talking about a dozen guys, the crews of each battery consist of something like a hundred. What is going to happen when a few hundred US flag draped coffins arrive back in the states? The brainwashed populace will want revenge. Politicians can’t deny it. Escalation takes on a life of its own.
Agree that Deep State is behind this. Also agree that, as you mentioned in another comment, “this feels different”, or words to that effect.
What’s different about this is that the people behind it are also overtly destroying the America we know. Open borders/3rd world invasion, the gay/tranny/pedo push, the whole cultural marxist agenda, is near culmination, and can only destroy America as we know (knew) it. This is a different country, and probably beyond redemption at this stage. This war is tied very tightly into that…it’s very easy for me to see it as a final White vs White wholesale slaughter designed to take White out of the equation. By “final”, I refer to WWI and WWI as the initial stages.
This isn’t going to end well, no matter what. My preferred ending is the total collapse of the US as a political entity, and I think it is quite possible. Maybe even probable.
Good point about this feels different. Those involved in the imperial aggression actually hate the constitutional republic and are simultaneously engaged in destroying it as they take on Russia. They are radical ideologues, not merely somewhat misguided, but patriotic, America firsters like we had during VN/cold war.
I do not want my country to collapse, but I agree that it might and that may be what it takes to reset it back to what it is supposed. There would be pain and suffering of a scope and scale equivalent to – probably greater than – the Great Depression. Collapse should be avoided if possible.
I serious doubt the US will put troops in Ukraine. The American people will turn against the war in a heartbeat when they see their sons and daughters die in Ukraine. If the war escalates, the damage will not be confined to Europe. America will be attacked at home. We cannot fight a war with Russia and attack the Russian homeland thinking we can hide out back home safe and sound. Those days are over.
Bad ideas that are obviously likely to end in disaster have been historically transformed into official policy commonly enough and are produced and implemented at an increasing rate lately. Most Americans have no perceived skin in the game. Only 1% of Americans serve in the military at any given time. Of those, the majority are rear echelon. A propaganda storm complete with a false flag could provide the motivation. Look at all of the dumb-ass English speaking veterans going to Ukraine seeking adventure and glory in combat against the Russians. Those that survive tend to run home tail between legs, but the point is that, even as veterans, they are clueless as to what real war is all about.
The typical civilian American – and I assume Brit or Euro – totally lack the information, intelligence, focus, moral courage and imagination to truly comprehend the impending possibility of Russian ordnance terminating on their cities. Besides, they have been convinced that the Russians, while evil, crazy, drunk and aggressive, are totally incompetent. Even people that should know better, like the Pat Lang/Turcopolier crew, have questioned if the Russian nuclear arsenal even works. The antiwar liberals are an extinct breed. Modern liberals are mere big government loving drones. Look how they lapped up covid lockdowns and every other official kooky and destructive edict to come out of Washington DC.
Nope, the people will do as they are told to do by the governments of the west.
“Modern liberals are mere big government loving drones.”
God, this has become so true. And one of the major reasons why I left the Democratic Party. All my previous lefty friends…it’s as if they’re Zombies just regurgitating what they hear on NPR or MSNBC. Unquestioning. It’s 1984 all over.
I only see hope coming from the relatively small populist wing of the Republican Party.
I was a moderate democrat once upon a time too. I thought the working class needed a little more representation I have always been against imperial wars, which the republicans have always supported. I even voted for Obama. I saw McCain as a dangerous lunatic. Turns out there really wasn’t a reasonable choice – and Obama was a cypto-leftist revolutionary/America hater to boot. The democrats have become such radical fascist zombies that I now just go vote republican across the board; every office from dog catcher up to POTUS.
Very good summary. Much appreciated.
@Eric Newhill — that’s assuming Russia / BRICS /whatever does not get “attrited” first just by the Ukraine operation alone. As things stand, whatever $60 billion annually or so the US is sending in aid to Ukraine is nothing but chump change for NATO anyway. The whole “War on Terror” (from before) cost a total of around $8 trillion USD, so still way more “per year” than the paltry 60 billion “per year” the US is currently spending on militarizing Ukraine while successfully backing the Russians into some corner / war of “attrition” or whatever.
So, by the looks of things, it’s Russia that seems to be slated to be attrited “first” (at least by the so-called “conventional means”, and such!)
The West oplenly admitting that they **already** depleted their stocks and are not able to cover that with a sound production any time soon. Russia is still firing at a high rate without any signs of slowdown and/or attrition in any kind.
Don’t know where you get your info from but so far every prediction made by some bubble-head in the west was nothing but wishful thinking and basically their own projection of agony/cope.
Russia seems not even close to any attrition while the whole “collective” west has run out of almost everything while giving only so little.
Right. Metrics that are limited to raw spent dollars mean nothing. What is the ROI? What is being obtained for the expenditures? The US spends a lot of money where the marginal cost exceeds the marginal benefit; that’s not just in the military. It’s in healthcare, automobiles, you name it. A US dollar spent is not the same as a Russian dollar spent in terms of purchase power and value.
One of the less tangible benefits for Russia is that they are learning a lot from this experience and are adjusting their doctrines accordingly. This will make them stronger in the long run. Is the US learning?
@Eric — metrics regarding raw dollars are only “useless” when comparing spending *outside* of US/NATO. But when you are using them just for spending just for US/NATO alone, as in comparisons just for US/NATO across different years, they are still quite relevant.
@Top Gum — so it sounds like your whole argument is “Sure ok fine the US is just ‘right now’ successfully militarizing Ukraine and successfully backing Russia into a corner / “war of attrition” or whatever at the moment, but but …. it’s not going to ‘last’ this way!! In the future, things could be…… different!!!” So then, is that what you’re claiming?
If so, did you also take into account that the manufacturing capacity for US/NATO is not *limited* to just only the United States? Did you also further account for the manufacturing capacity of *all* NATO nations besides the US, plus the EU, plus every even non-NATO nation still “allied” with US/NATO (such as Australia, South Korea, Israel, etc), and finally plus all remaining countries that the US can simply just “buy” additional/future manufacturing capacity and labor from?
Also you also mentioned that the “West” is depleting their stocks and might not be able to ramp up sufficient manufacturing capacity “anytime soon”. Well, exactly how “soon” is that? How “long of a wait” are you claiming until such a ramp-up occurs? And are you also claiming that Russia is going to claim a significant amount of territory while this “temporary lull” in the West’s production occurs? If Russia is still “staying in a corner / playing a ‘war of attrition'” in Ukraine once the West does regain whatever its “desired” manufacturing capacity is, then would you agree that Russia is the one that will end up getting attrited first (over the Ukraine operation) and so the whole SMO operation is then finally lost for Russia?
You have said It all. If we continue like this, the end is drawing near at velocity of a bullet train. Great analysis/summary!
Eric, hi from Polska… your comment is great, appreciated ! ( BTW i am neither pro Ukie nor russia fan : i see it, on a higher level, as sick nwo game, theater for tv watchers etc; and both countries bloody participation is staged…have no hope that is other way around ! ).
Very interesting and concerning but WHERE you got info about Polish army involvement in UA : links ?!?
NOT just writing that “Sources on both sides agree that Polish forces have suffered something like 1,200 killed to date ” : polish govt never officially confirmed this and denies it this ! So what are you claiming ?!?
So far i’ve only heard colonel mc douglas spoke about it in recent YT interview.
I do not watch news on regular basis, not that much involved in the matrix…
( But very curious, my grandfather was Polish army officer. )
So can you explain isn’t this only russian fake…?
German and Japanese media reported daily victories and the incompetence and suffering of the allied armies right up to the day of there surrendering.
Who knew that red pill/blue pill would be a real thing in the west and not just a successful Keanu Reeves sci-fi movie? The west – the self-proclaimed birthplace of professionalism, objectivity, science and technology, democracy and freedom, data driven and full of impartial analysts who stake their reputations just to provide us with the truth that is always verifiable….
Many of us living in “lesser places” used to be ashamed of our countries – the usual conversation was “hey, in our country this sucks but in America, they do it right, they have a system and impartial professionals, they are a real country, not ours that is a joke”…
Well, who is the joke on now? 😉
Wow, exit strategy. Declare victory, deny lethal support, disavow Ukraine, and hand out the Noble peace prizes to the NATO neocon leadership. No wonder they never allowed Ukraine into NATO, they needed plausible deniability…downto the last Ukrainian.
It seems to be a continuation of the policy; “We don’t like what is actually happening so we will tell everyone that Ukraine is winning” when it is the Russians who control everything. “We need time people. We need the dollar to collapse so we can try all those other great ideas our friends have had to rule the earth and blame terrorism or regime change or gender bending, whatever is necessary”.
And we are stuck with people signing up to ride the bomb with Major Kong over the rainbow and far from here in a Disney adventure. Bombay doors swinging and open baby, please check and see if your seatbelt is tight around your neck.
The people making money from this scheme have been riding the gravy train for almost a year. The money has been laundered back to the people that distribute it among the owners. Nothing has changed except this time it is the end. You can tell when everyone is acting like a sociopath without apology. No war products have been made to replace the old and that just costs too much money.
What is a Bombay door?
Your choice of (1) Typo, (2) Alliteration of bomb bay doors, (3) Both.
I ate one last night. Very hot and spicy.
Looks like the USA/EU/NATO are starting a second front in Serbia/Kosovo, the Empire of Lies is looking for more souls to devour.
Huh? Forget cruise and hypersonic missiles. The Patriot is completely useless against homemade Houthi drones and 1980s vintage Yemeni SCUDs.
A couple of links that seem nearly direct:
1.)
Col. Douglas Macgregor, USA, (Ret.), Ph.D.
— Dr. Michael Vlahos, Ph.D.
Russia Ukraine Conflict, and United States and Worldwide Geopolitics Analysis.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIIM043x_FI&ab_channel=60Minutes, and
2.)
This citation comes through Dr. Robert Malone, but apparently is from Robert Corbett of the Corbett Report.
The audio takes about a half hour.
https://rwmalonemd.substack.com/p/welcome-to-fifth-gen-information?r=ta0o1&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Agree with Larry that the level of propaganda ( lies ) are at historic highs. It’s mind boggling.
What happens in a couple of months ? When all the lies and incompetence can’t be hidden ? No Democrat is going to admit they were wrong or anything like it. Doubling down is the progressives move now. Doubling down to what?
The photo of that Ukrainian soldiers leg : thanks for continuing to show the true cost of war.
Thanks to Larry & Andrei; I have been digging into Russian history. It is interesting to reflect on current events to Charles XII of Sweden and Peter the Great of Russia in their little set to in 1709 at Poltava (not too far away from present day Bakhmut). It’s almost like a replay.
Yeah, well there’s still the NYT story about how Russia nuked themselves.
And don’t forget the Pulitzer Prize Winning “Wall Street Journal” piece about how the United States doesn’t even need Washington, DC anymore to still be a world hegemon. Don’t forget that one.
Where have we heard this story before?
Doesn’t Coruscant practically disappear; gets completely abandoned by the republic, after Emperor Palpatine declares “the Birth of the First Galactic Empire?”
Boy, now there’s a victory. Brandon roaming the planet in a 1966 Thunderbird, taking out enemies one at a time. Just picking them off.
Anybody see why we absolutely positively need the nukes, yet?
Coruscant was renamed to ‘Imperial Center’.
Even the senate remained, after nearly 18 years it was disolved by the emporer.
After the New Republic had won and the emporer was supposedly dead the Imprerial Center (after being conquered by New Republic forces) was renamed to be Coruscant again.
Stefan. Dear Padawan Learner.
I never tire, when things get slow, of tossing out something Star Wars in a comments section and then waiting to see what happens. It’s like fishing in certain waters.
I am no expert on Star Wars. Didn’t mean to offend. I am thinking about Coruscant shortly after the Sith moved in and took over. My reference is “Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith.” But I think you know that.
The effect provided in the movie was that everybody seemed to have gotten out of town. Except in the movie, they abandoned a whole planet. In histories, there are stories about how even Rome was considered practically abandoned at various times. Things just get too hot sometimes.
I divide Star Wars into three periods. Master Jedi George Lucas. Evil Empress Kathleen Kennedy. And Disney (Star Wars Earth Bound). As with real life, there is always a good deal of overlap, and room for interpretation.
I have watched all two (2) seasons of Disney’s “The Mandalorian.” Not bad. No real epic themes. Just more drawing upon the source material. No real story telling. Just “descent” [sic on purpose] entertainment with a lot of minor B-rated and de-listed characters. Because that’s all Disney will pay for. And you get what you pay for. Always. That’s the difference between using unknowns and knowns who are all used up.
I wonder if any of the digitized original cast members get paid for their use, like you-know-who’s cameo. There are contracts, but Disney if infamous for not honoring contracts. The difference here is how, when Carrie Fisher said she had to pay George Lucas a buck every time she looked in the mirror it was such a great joke. Carrie was still getting paid. George looked after his actors.
Like the 1960s, people like my nephew, believe they will never get to the other side of Star Wars until all “The Boomers” who were actually there (first), have all died off.
I will never give up on making references to Star Wars. It’s like throwing out a 30 LB test line to “the faithful.” Besides, it’s just too much fun torturing my nephew.
Fanatics don’t have a reverse gear… that’s true in Kiev & Washington.
I had some hope the meat grinder @ Bakhmut would be enough.
But given these statements from media and comments I have seen, it seems they will lie about anything that can be lied about.
You can’t lie about territorial loses & the loss of cities.
But the territory & cities should be in contact or close by the present battlefield.
Expanding the battlefield… risks the U. S. doing something stupid & dangerous.
They are desperate… and dangerous.
My opinion, no offensive West of Kiev… that risks a coalition of the willing coming in from Poland.
Keep an offensive, if necessary, East of the Dnieper river.
I think it is important for the Russians to contain the battlefield to the greatest extent possible… that limits the avenues for the U. S. to intervene with boots on the ground… or have the Polish go off half cocked into Western Ukraine… on their own… who knows.
Now, maybe the fanatics in Washington don’t have the stomach for boots on the ground… that’s what I’m hoping for… but I’d also hope Russia doesn’t give any excuses to Washington, either.
These people are dangerous… and Kiev is the fanatical cat’s paw… to do their bidding.
“You can’t lie about territorial loses & the loss of cities.”
Sure you can. With the degree of propaganda being used today, the Russians could have already nuked Washington, DC several times. How would you know? If you lived there, maybe. But you would be dead. Dead pronouns tell no tales.
Read about it in the newspaper? After Greta, the Greens, the Dutch government, and Brussels banned the cutting down of trees to “save the planet?”
Why do some people believe Russia is tiptoeing around Nato? It is the other way around. Nato is avoiding to be part of that conflict (which the already are). Russia has shown no fear of killing Nato-staff and Nato-mercenaries operating in Ukraine. What is Nato doing? All they do is spread BS propaganda to invade too or lately to provoke hostilities on the issue of Kosovo. Nato is done. US is done. Sending money and weapons haven’t helped to achieve anything to stop Russia to obtain their declared goals. Russia is grinding and slaughtering Uki/Nato-troops with even more pace than ever. Prepare fore more butt-hurt BS statements about Nato gonna do / consider this or that. Prue desperation and bad coping.
Good comment. Well written.
The US is still poking at the bear. The US will never stop. These drone attacks inside Russia? And now Patriot missiles being moved into the Ukraine? How much you want to bet that the US tries a “No Fly Zone” next?
Consequences? I don’t know. It’s all gotten so Colonel Klink-ish by this point. I expect, at any moment, to see General Betrayus and Paula Broadhead emerge from beneath Colonel Klink’s desk. Broadhead wiping her lips clean.
I also seem to be leaning with those who expect the United States to declare victory and go home, like they did in Afghanistan, stranding all those American mercenaries in the Ukraine, just like the US stranded all those Americans in Afghanistan. Don’t hear much about them anymore.
If you are the United States, do you really want all those highly trained mercenaries, and witnesses to what really went on in the Ukraine, coming home and pissing into the pot of propaganda? Of course, maybe that’s what the recipe calls for.
Yes, the U. S. has been poking the bear.
And then poking the bear, again.
Do I dare say they are insane?
This can lead to full-on nuclear war… civilization ends as we know it.
My comment is designed to steer the U. S. and, indeed, the world away from nuclear war… keep this war conventional & keep it in Ukraine.
And, yes, I want to de-militarize & de-nazify Ukraine.
It’s an insult to my father’s generation that U. S. policy is supporting neo-nazi.
(My father fought in WWII to rid the European Continent of Nazi… it a betrayal to their memory & to sound policy, today.)
But again, is it worth nuclear war… NO.
Contain the battlefield… holds true.
There’s a thrill to risk other men’s lives.
That’s what we’re fighting against.
When UK was helping the Confederates with arms, food and even men, he got a lot of flak, and Lincoln Said “one war at a time” – think that’s a good policy not to open multi fronts and focus on task at hand. Grinding the Ukrainians to mince meat. Then if NATO wants a piece – they are facing the most experienced army in the world and are disarmed.
As an added bonus mask is off West. Rest of the world can clearly see this was not an “unprovoked invasion”
The best policy for Russia is to let the West feed Ukrainian soldiers into the meat grinder @ the front.
Although, could Russia encircle 30,000 @ Bakhmut?
Some people think it’s possible.
That could end the war… what is the West going to do with 30,000 POW’s in Russia’s hands?
That could be achieved by a small footprint operation… closer to Russia than Western Ukraine… Russia’s fully supplied going into it.
Ukraine’s front is rickety… steady push might be enough.
It’s that kind of calculation.
Moon of Alabama had an interesting article a few days back about how the Russians might not even bother with an actual offensive. They base this on the fact that Putin has said only half of the recently called-up reserves are going to Ukraine. Maybe they will just carry on with the current meat grinder if it is working so well. However, this might also just be Putin putting out some maskirovka. As you say, if he does go on the attack, it seems a bit pointless to go west of Kiev. I hope though, that the Russians take Odessa. That will further reduce Ukraine’s ability to be a launch pad for further naughtiness.
Somebody pointed out that there are only ten (10) original stories. Everything else is just a derivative from those ten (10) stories.
No wonder history isn’t the truth. To say that history doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes is being polite. You’d spoil the ending otherwise.
Christopher Booker. A great English journalist and writer.
The Patriot won’t do Ukraine any favors. Almost all of the aircraft it’s ever shot-down were friendly, and hundreds launched in the Gulf War failed to score even a single confirmed kill on any Scud missiles. The US Army claims it was a huge success in the 2003 Invasion of Iraq, but naturally, they refused to provide any evidence.
Also, unlike the 360-degree firing arc that the S-300/350/400/500 families of missiles and Israel’s Arrow 3 have, as their launchers are set in a 90-degree position when ready to fire (allowing the missile to fly anywhere), the Patriot’s launcher only elevates to about 45 degrees, so it only fires in one direction once the launcher is set-up, in an extremely narrow conical area. Why Ukraine would want Patriots when they already have S-300s is baffling.
I don’t think that they have many S-300s left. Whether having Patriots is better than having nothing is open for debate. 🙂
“The propaganda flooding Western media about the situation on the ground in Ukraine surpasses anything I have seen in my 67 years of waddling around the world.”
As I’m tired of writing here, it’s really the great phenomenon of this war and it’s not even worth writing parallel because it’s part of the war and it’s really one of the most lethal weapons of this war! Unlike most Wunderwaffe! Because without the disinformation campaign, the likes of which had never been seen in the so-called “free world”, it would never have been possible to maintain this war until today. Which had also saved tens of thousands of human lives! And starting with who provoked this war, which all MSM hides!
In the summer there were rumors that there are 250 most reputable media agencies coordinating all propaganda in the wider West! They seem few to me but they may have many subsidiaries to authorize content in the most varied media. Probably with guide lines. But it’s just one more proof of how the West prepared this conflict well in advance. Contrary to what Biden said when, on the eve of the entry of Russian forces into Ukraine, he was still trying to get it right on the day of the invasion while hypocritically ordering Ukrainian troops to advance to the line of contact in Donbass. After not even wasting time in December with the letter with the more than legitimate Russian ultimatum asking for negotiations in the face of the existential threat of the Donbass and the European security architecture with the missile ramps aimed at Moscow along the Black Sea. According to the Wolfwitz doctrine. As the US would never accept in the Caribbean Sea!
In Europe, the Russophobic campaign also started in 2019 when Brussels passed the infamous resolution blaming Moscow for WWII. The Holodomor followed to paint neo-Nazi nationalists as normal people and Ukraine as a democracy. The most corrupt in Europe! When corruption also begins to wreak havoc in Brussels. To get to the present day and even the English tabloids usual most concerned about Putin’s cancers, start to report the meat grinders that are draining the tired army of Ukraine?! And if we think that just after the summer Ukraine started to mobilize citizens over 50 years old, how deep does the Ukrainian army go. They don’t even put flags over the coffins anymore! Perhaps due to the very bright colors of Ukraine.
Hope never dies for the West, now Poland its getting armed to the teeth, and we know how much poles love their russian brothers.
Poland + Arms = Ukraine II.
They might have run out of ammo but not of cannon fodder.
President Putin summed it up so nicely: “The Empire of lies”. It has reached such an extreme degree that leaves one to wonder whether they actually believe their own BS. If true, that would put them in the category of psychotic psychopaths.
They got high on their own supply.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJM8yJTn_I0
Just a curiosity still fruit of the disinformation campaign that becomes increasingly difficult to maintain in the face of the evidence, which brings many European governments without knowing what to do. Or rather, just trying to predict the popular uprising. As is the case of some central European governments most affected by energy shortages. In Germany after consecutive months encouraging energy saving, Sholz has just announced that his Government will pay the Germans’ electricity bills in December!! Maybe saw the Christmas lights in Moscow. And to be honest, I still haven’t read the diploma to find out in what way Scholz decided to offer an electricity bill to his people. If the entire invoice or only partially.
But that left the radical Habeck of the Ministry of Economy on the verge of a nervous breakdown. The second, after Sholz also announced that he intends to restore relations and business with Russia after the conflict. But this time with some reason on Habeck’s side who says that Govt can’t encourage people to save energy for months and then offer them a bill!!! Where, of course, no one is going to save any electricity! Nervous breakdowns and rifts within the German Government which could also very well reveal that gas reserves already for this winter could be much lower than guaranteed many times over. The German Civil Protection itself in November warned of power cuts in German homes as of January. And so goes Europe and Europe’s leading economy with the biggest disinformation campaign ever seen in the West. Probably not even North Korea.
Wait until they hear about the recent breakthrough in nuclear fusion research. That word “nuclear” drives us Euroweenies crazy. We’re fine with our solar panels and wind turbines. Really we are! 🙂
Does the Patriot missile system have a land attack capability?
Does the Patriot missile have an attack capability? Or is it more of a military Ponzi scheme?
Well, it comes back to the ground eventually.
In hands of Ukro air defenses everything has land attack capability. They have taken down more houses than airplanes.
In circa 2005 the Imperialist States was trying to get the then Manmohan Singh regime in India (Singh, a nonentity who never won even a municipal election in his whole miserable life, was basically a rubber stamp for the Gandhi dynasty) to buy the Patriot. Paid shills in the Indian media – who in 2003 had been jumping up and down hooting like rabid hoolock gibbons in favour of India joining in the Iraq invasion – began extolling the virtues of the Patriot. One of these that I recall was in the tabloid The Times Of India and claimed
As I wrote an email to the editor in reply, if the Iraqis had any SCUDs in 2003, the Bushist invasion of Iraq would have been justified under the WMD sanctions, but the Iraqis had none (which Bush by them had admitted) and so the Imperialist States forces had been hit with none. Naturally, they did not publish my letter.
[*Actually they failed to shoot down any. ]
In the end India chose the Russian S 400. Attempts to sell India Abrams tracks and F 16s/F A 18s have also failed to this day.
another good article- will just post a funny clownworld about the west`s delusions about how well the war is going
Animal House – All Is Well!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDAmPIq29ro
i guess sam bankman fried better call saul lol
https://assets.zerohedge.com/s3fs-public/styles/inline_image_mobile/public/inline-images/2022-12-12_15-49-09.jpg?itok=uzzDZrFu
mr. Johnson- if i recall i think the patriot had a hard time shooting the skuds during the 1st gulf war less what is out there know.
this is the charles jaco vid from cnn that the poster of the video claims that they faked a skud attack and put it on the air as real
CNN Fake Iraq War Newscast Footage
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isMtxbPdvzg
The Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, once bemoaned the mass psychosis that seems to be plaguing the Western elites. I think the disease has finally caught up with the whole Western society. It’s scary.
Interesting about Patriots.
2 Months ago, Germany delivered the first IRIS air defense system to Ukraine.
Everybody was saying. oh. very good, very good.
2 Weeks ago Kuleba was urging Germany to deliiver Patriots, saying : IRis is useless,
we need patriots, they are much more powerful.
Germany used to have about 100 patriot systems. Now only 11 left
Wherever I go in Madrid, people repeat that Putin is worse than Franco!!!, that it is his fault that gasoline is through the roof because Russia has cut off our supply. They tell you this from right to left and from all ages; and the useless government that we are delighted to hear.
Yeah, the only thing the west was ever good at, twisting the facts, openly lying and spreading utter propaganda.
That’s what happens when news is replaced with narrative. Instead of informing the public, the job now is to convince the public. Sad, but true.
Who is going to man the patriot missles? Probably americans.
We are operating the HIMARS apparently.
See this LockheedMartin job post.
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Field Engineer (M270A1/HIMARS)
Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina; Carlsbad, California; Fort Bragg, North Carolina; Joint Base Lewis McChord, Washington; Lawton, Oklahoma
JOB ID: 619255BR
Date posted: Oct. 31, 2022
Locations: Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina; Carlsbad, California; Fort Bragg, North Carolina; Joint Base Lewis McChord, Washington; Lawton, Oklahoma
Program: HIMARS LCLS
Description:This position is located in one of the following locations: Ft. Lewis Washington, Ft Sill Oklahoma, Ft Bragg North Carolina or Camp LeJeune North Carolina in support of the US Army FA or Marines HIMARS program. The FSR must possess a detailed understanding of the HIMARS system and associated equipment to include fault isolation, diagnostics and repair of the electrical/hydraulic/mechanical systems. The candidate will represent Lockheed Martin and will require a positive, professional work attitude. Candidate must be able to maintain a good working relationship with the customer. Candidate will be required to deploy to OCONUS locations and to war zone locations.
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A famous gunslinger once said, ” You gonna pull those pistols or just whistle dixie”. You don’t move a half a million men into the battlefield just to sit there. Expect big things are coming very soon. Then we will see what NATO and the west has to say.
Slightly less famous gunslinger said: “When you have to shoot, shoot. Don’t talk”. 🙂
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0aWrDcM988
This video made the rounds on reddit a few months ago, purporting to be a Russian air defense system malfunctioning: https://reddit.com/r/CombatFootage/comments/vjhmyi/better_video_of_russian_air_defense_system_in/
Well it turns out this is actually footage of the Saudi’s Patriot missile system malfunctioning: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YS4i2InVB-Y
Note the date. Also note the cavalcade of idiotic comments in the first link dunking on the Russians. Not a single correction as far as I could see.
All journalist are not living in a fantasy , but they won’t be published and/or ostracized if they dare to tell something that don’t support 110% the current narrative.
It become stupidly obvious during the pandemic and now the twitter files are adding to the information control scam we are experiencing in the West.
We didn’t have a free press , we have paid entertainers supporting narratives. Non-comical clowns.
“We didn’t have a free press , we have paid entertainers supporting narratives. Non-comical clowns.”
facilitating self-destruction and other forms of increased blowback, and hence should be thanked for their service?
They are NOT stupid.
Operation mockingbird was probably real. MSM are now all CIA agent and MSM is funded by CIA black budget. How else you think they can survive with 20-30K viewers? Western MSM have lost relevance, CIA, MI6 and ilk know this that’s why they have started recruiting podcasters now. A podcaster famed for objectivity builds a formidable platform, then comes Russia-China issues and all objectivity is conveniently discarded.
The other alternative is what classic leftists like Chris Hedges believe who was shit canned by NYT after Pulitzer for opposing Iraq war. Basically – 1% who own and operate the corporate media, aka MSM. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect and enrich the wealthy and the powerful.
Either way – we the 99%, are screwed.
In the USSR everybody knew the media was controlled. The authorities made no secret of it. The CPSU was the leading and guiding force; the constitution said so. Everybody knew GlavLit existed. As a result the citizens learned to read between the lines. Our people, in “the free world” have not.
Today’s meme on my refrigerator “imagine living through the last 3 years and still not being the slightest bit suspicious.” (6 years I’d say – all that Trumputin stuff.)
Swallowing it whole with the memory wipe function set full on instead of reading between the lines here.
Don’t talk to my neighbours much because they watch “the news”. But, could be worse – only one Pukrainian flag up
“In the USSR everybody knew the media was controlled. The authorities made no secret of it. ” akin to “The United States of America” making limited “secrets” in respect of surveillance to sustain the illusion that they are “hegemonic”, less successfully in “The Union of Soviet Social Republics”; more successfully in “The United States of America” facilitating “Don’t talk to my neighbours much because they watch “the news”.” , which is not an unalloyed disadvantage for present and former living populations of the former “Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.”
Ummm. What?
So many are confused about why the the west (WEF psychos) want war. As always follow the money. Martin Armstrong has been warning about this for many years. Here is a link to a post from his public blog from today.
https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/world-news/war/poland-to-be-next-country-to-be-sacrificed/
The last paragraph is a brief explanation.
“This is all needed because the monetary system is collapsing and we have reached the end of the road of fiscal mismanagement of borrowing every year, running deficits under socialism to bribe voters. Politicians no longer even know how to run for office without such promises. But they are reaching the capacity to sell their debt. As interest rates rise, nobody wants long-term debt. The only way to escape this debt crisis is to create war. That will be the excuse to default on all the debt and start all over again, hopefully with a reduced population. So the Polish are to be the next culture to be sacrificed at the altar of sovereign debt.”
“Did you catch the contradictions?”
I wouldn’t exactly say catch them. It was more like this encounter between a paddle boarder and a distracted dolphin:
https://youtu.be/LoL8_bQ77gY
The dolphin stands for the contradictions in the mentioned piece.
The Patriot was designed to deal with strike aircraft like the Su-24. The ABM capability was added on, as an afterthought. Needless to say, this mod didn’t really work out too well.
The U S. Military Is mostly still the same force that it was in the 1980’s. The army that it was designed to defeat, no longer exists. The aircraft that its aircraft were designed to defeat, along with the air defense radars, are now in museums.
The U S. Military Is little more than a living history reenactment group, that specialises in recreating the Cold War.
Has Ukraine turned into a test range for Iranian weapons?
Still better than test range for US bioweapons. 🙂
Is not the propaganda really directed at the politicians of all stripes who actually believe the tripe but the key thing is that it keeps them onboard and stops them realizing that by supporting the sanctions they are leading Europe over a cliff.
My bullsh1t award goes to a Sky News piece which stated that;
‘The USA is going to give Ukraine Patriot air defence systems; the best in the World, in order to counter the missiles that Russia is going to buy from Iran, because Russia has run out of its own.
The US will counter every escalation from Russia and Iran, so there.!”
There appears to be some kind of competition going on among the “News” scriptwriters as to who can fit the most lies into each paragraph.
I see you and raise with this
“Perhaps the most important and the most unacknowledged debt is security. Ukrainian resistance to Russia has vastly reduced the chances of major armed conflict elsewhere, and thus significantly reduced the chances of a nuclear war.”
https://snyder.substack.com/p/gratitude-to-ukraine?r=xvm
Yes, they can pile it higher and deeper
I’ve just seen the Youtube video where Sky News “guest expert” says that the Patriot
is the best in the World, and somehow that’s not the dumbest thing in it. He also said that the numbers of Russians troops are dwindling, and that Ukros are shaping the battlefield in Zaporozhie region for the attack.
Few days ago another expert showed satellite photo of new Mariupol hospital, and said that it’s poorly designed military base in the middle of residential area.
Mr. Johnson this is another example of western fantasies in my opinion
The commentary i am pointing out is between the 9 and 19.5 minute mark. remarks were made by the guest mr. nyquist who in my opinion is your typical neocon. the rest of the program after the commercial at the 24 minute mark is more of the same. The guest says that china is resisting going to a full war economy.
a) Ukrainians are using many weapons captured from the russians
b) Russians are suffering heavy losses at bakmut
c) 10 percent of the strategic ussr bomber force has been damaged by the ukrainian cruise missles
d) Russian military is inept at combined armed operations.
https://www.republicbroadcastingarchives.org/the-john-moore-show-12-14-22-hour-3/
https://media.blubrry.com/rbn/ins.blubrry.com/rbn/stream_2022-12-14_085959.mp3
regards,
ralph
Back in American history class, in high school, I read Americans in the 1920’s created make believe. About everything. Press, their professions, it was a time of “we make our own reality” – Guess history is repeating itself 100 years later. We all know what came next. Reality.
i listened to this podcast from canada. the last 10 minutes of the podcast were about ukaine and china which is relevent to the article above . according to the guest back in 2009 china and russia delayed the great planned reset by not going along with the whole carbon climate change bs. Also how we have been manipulated to think russia are the bad guys.
the link below is to the last 10 minutes of the program.
Venice, Khazaria and The Migration of an Imperial Parasite
In this episode of Tish Talk, CPP candidate Patricia Conlin talks with Matt about the structures of global power and the role of Venice within today’s globally extended Anglo-American empire. We also discuss the rise of a new anti-semitism which is paralleling a new anti-China hysteria and how all of this relates to something that happened during the 8-10 century Tang Dynasty and the foundation of a Jewish kingdom called Khazaria.
https://youtu.be/6H73-n0bxQc?t=3230
the gentleman in the interview above i just posted was just interviewed by the boys of the duran. it is not on youtube but is on rumble. i cannot comment on the vid since i have not listened to it yet.
https://rumble.com/v20s1ao-multipolar-future-for-africa-and-the-middle-east-wmatthew-ehret-live.html
right click to save
https://sp.rmbl.ws/s8/2/q/2/t/s/q2tsh.oaa.rec.mp4
regards,
ralph
Larry, as you’ve mentioned the Houthis (a pejorative term as I understand, but one regularly used), here’s an oldie but goodie on the topic (and all those involved, including the ones you linked to):
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=n_eBVhWTzyw
Before WW2 the question was “Who wants to die for Danzig” and it took nearly 9 months
-the so called “phoney war”- than it started in The West.
Now ist the question “who wants to die for Ukraine”… how long will it need to start this time.. the only difference ist the end will come faster.
Seems to me what is different here is that us elites grew up hating Russia, we’re taught to hide under desks if nukes come, we’re all euphoric when ussr collapsed and the looting of Russia began. And now msm has been teaching everybody to hate Russia. And maybe worse is dems still have pres and run the military, and have become more warmonger than reps.
Times aren’t just interesting. Imo they’re as dangerous as the Cuban crisis. My fond hope is when the loss can’t be refuted they pivot to China, which is the real competitor… quite a few elites are advocating that. Just blame it all in ukr incompetence, throw up hands, and pivot… which is what we did do with afghan, granted the ukr war began a decade ago.
No problem. After the next massive barrage, Russia will run out of missiles for the 20th time. The Ghost of Kyiv will take out the untrained Russian consripts with rusty rifles and dwindling stocks of Soviet equipment. But Russian troops will probably desert in droves so that won’t be necessary. Ukraine is a democratic shining city on a hill which only uses Hindu swastikas…
But seriously, while war reporting is always going to contain propaganda, it seems to have become utterly absurd.
It became absurd on day one with Snake Island defenders, that all died fighting off warships with harsh words. They all got posthumous awards for bravery, that they later recieved in person from Zelensky himself. Someone recieving posthumous award in person is Theatre of the Absurd par excellence. Everything after that is one big IQ test that most of the World passed (i.e. non USA+EU).
I’m convinced the world is about to experience annihilation, not from a nuclear war but from the collision of truth and anti-truth, much as matter and anti-matter annihilate each other.
That the US would insert American forces into western Ukraine, including Odessa, when they see Russia is breaking through in the Donbas.
I would expect RF to respond to such an incursion with tactical nukes.
To date the RF has been very patient with regard to NATO nation support of 404. The introduction of “boots on the ground” and clear evidence of direct NATO involvement will result in an immediate RF response. RF has clearly stated its objections on multiple occasions; the West has been deaf and brain dead.
This conflict is existential for RF. A few roentgens will make that clear to the West.