Have you ever played poker with a novice? I am talking about the person who does not understand the concept of a poker face. The rookie is dealt a hand of five card stud and breaks into a wide grin accompanied by a face flushed red as he or she gazes on at a full house. Only one teeny problem — the poker master on the other side of the table is holding four aces.
That is what happened today as Ukraine and the West reacted to news, confirmed by Russia’s own Ministry of Defense, that a U.S. Himars hit an improvised barracks of Russian soldiers and killed at least 63. Why the big deal? We have been told repeatedly over the last 8 months that Russia is suffering catastrophic casualties. What makes this so special and deserving of so much attention?
The answer is simple — this is the first time since the war started in February 2022 that Russia has suffered more than 50 casualties in one engagement in one day. How do I know? Because the Russian telegram channels lit up immediately when this happened. This is the first time I have seen that kind of reaction from the Russian side in the last 10 months.
The reaction to this missile attack highlights the stark contrast between Russia and Ukraine. The spokesman for the Russian MOD freely and frankly admitted to the “success” of the Ukrainian strike while the Ukrainian military — which is losing at least 200 men every day — covers up their losses and insists they are beating the hell out of Russia. The Ukrainians have told so many lies over the course of the last 10 months — e.g. the Ghost of Kiev, capturing a Russian border outpost, shooting down all Russian cruise missiles, driving the Russians out of Kherson, etc. — that this successful missile strike finally gave them something real they could celebrate.
But this attack is a lie. It was not carried out by highly trained Ukrainian troops sitting on an ample supply of Himars. This was done with Western supplied intelligence that identified the troop concentration and provided the coordinates for launching a precision strike. Moreover, it is highly likely that NATO troops were helping operate the Himar system. This attack actually is a sign of Ukrainian and Western desperation. It changes nothing in terms of the strategic picture.
The Saker beat me to it in making the correct observation that there is more to this Himars attack than the destruction of a company of Russian troops:
Still, NATO does not act just to show that it can act. There is a real, military, purpose behind these strikes. And it is not “just” to provoke Russia into some kind of response (not with tens and even hundreds of Russian missile strikes every day already taking place). . . .
Why would NATO want the Russian offensive sooner rather than later? In all its other actions, the AngloZionists have tried to draw out this war for as long as possible, so why would they want to make the Russians attack sooner rather than later?
Because the Russian General Staff is waiting for all the “ducks to be lined” up before attacking. Thus by trying to force the Russians into a premature attack date, NATO is, very logically, trying to prevent all the said “ducks” to be “lined up”. In other words, NATO is trying to force the hand of the Russian General Staff by increasing the pressure on the Kremlin to “finally take action”.
I make a point of watching how the media played this story today. I watched Sky News, Fox News and Al-Jazeera. All portrayed this as another major setback for the Russians and one more piece of evidence that the Ukrainian counter-offensive is achieving great success. It is mass delusion.
That said, it looks like the Brits are having a tougher time hanging on to that delusion. The top story on Sky News during the day was the escalating crisis of the U.K.’s National Health Service. Strikes by ambulance drivers and nurses are killing people and the grieving relatives are furious. Their focus is on the failure of the Tory Government to keep their loved ones alive. I did not see Brits clamoring to send more aid to Ukraine.
I think that January will be a turning point in the war in terms of Western support for Ukraine if there is harsh winter weather and worsening economic conditions, which will increase domestic political pressure on the NATO countries to take care of business at home. What do you think?
I hope Russia sticks to its plan, to its own timetable. I also hope they smite the shit out of Ukraine leadership and its puppeteer.
An eye for an eye, a bridge for a bridge.
An eye for an eye, a pipe line for a pipeline.
Britain has yet too feel the pain, the shame and the misery of a failed state. Because failed it shall be.The German sausage and talking Frog to remain on their knees.
With regard the American boots on the ground, Russian is waiting for their feet to be frozen solid. Then and only then will the reply be delivered.
Ukrainian losses are considerably more than 200 a day, depending on the day of course. And Russian missile strikes kill more than the 89 men lost in this one-off strike. The response of the Western media was predictable– especially the brain-wiped Brits. The response of the Russians was more interesting. As I think Mercouris or Berletic point out, it very “transparent” and open, provoking huge discussion in Russia. Quite different from Western Ukraine (let’s stop calling it “Ukraine” — it isn’t– just an ethnic rump state). No such discussion there. But then Russia is a democracy, unlike the Ukraine — and increasingly the US and the UK.
https://julianmacfarlane.substack.com/p/new-years-sitrep-the-end-of-the-tunnel
The Saker’s claim that the Americans hit the school (partly) because they want to force Russia’s hand is pure BS. Any warring party would have hit such a juicy target under any circumstance.
This is war, not a game.
Agree.
No anyone following this felt it is to provoke a response since afterwards the Ruskies
Blaster the launchers. They are using HARP to delay the freeze and want a premature launch of the Blitzkrieg. Obviously the Judeocons are
Infantile viz the flicks they put out in Judeowood but since the cause of destroying
The Euro-American political/legal system is the aim once Russis Ukraine then the boondoggle of 100’s of billions will stop and the ponzi scheme of Judeousury Banking must have a sink-hole of debt and otherwise they need to crash the system and impose their final world prison camp of digital currency. Obviously they have
Trillian in narcotic and clandestine weapons sale physical cash to launder so they’re not ready. Thus the comment is wrong there is motivation to bog the offensive down and prolong the mercenary proxy war. The Judeocons aren’t yet concerned about Russia they need to indemnify themselves from ridicule from stealing 20 odd trillion from the US Treasury under Obama and dissolve the Federal system.
They have tactical nukes surely hidden in every capital
So when time is right.
Agree. Any side which masses troops or equipment does so at their own peril, as both sides have the capabilities to surveil the battlespace, pinpoint those locations and target them.
I should clarify Ukraine doesn’t have the capabilities, but the US does and gives them the intel and the weapons and resources to destroy those targets.
I’m wondering if the Russians have any plans to take out western satellites that are being used to provide targeting information. Do western precision weapons rely on GPS? If so I guess that makes those satellites a legitimate target as well.
China is watching carefully.
Russia could start with Starlink… and just work their way up from there. Where do you think the US will draw a red line? Commercial satellites? GPS? Military?
Could the US/NATO stop them? Russia knows Starlink is being used by the Ukrainian military.
Elon might even thank them.
Starlink has 3000+ satellites. I’m sure Russians don’t even consider firing missiles at those.
Shooting down satellites would be a very big escalation, which is something Russians are trying hard to avoid, for now.
If they took out satellites kinetically the debris would probably cause the failure of many other satellites. Other targets could eventually be the AWACS and drones patrolling along the borders of Ukraine.
Peresvet laser is better and way cheaper than missiles, Starlink is composed of about 2000 satellites.
Peresvet can blind satellites in low Earth orbit. Starlink don’t have “eyes” looking down on Earth. Logical counter for them would be jamming the signal they receive from the ground.
It was reckless on the part of LDNR leaders to 1), allow a large concentration of troops to be public knowledge, and 2) so close to ammo and fuel storage.
They know that traitors and spies abound and are not being cautious enough.
Loose lips, sink ships.
Loose lips or cell phones? https://thegrayzone.com/2022/12/06/files-anomaly-6-firm-spyware/
It was more than reckless. Stalin would have already executed everyone responsible.
Stalin would always execute anybody about anything, he was a fucking psychopath.
Of course he was. All non-muricans are psychopaths.
I agree and disagree.
Agree – it is a war, this was a legitimate military target and the strike was successful. No one who is serious is denying that.
Disagree – this is ALSO a ‘game’, or strategic battle. The Ukrainians couldn’t have done this without US / NATO intel and expertise. The strike was just too well targeted.
There were specific objectives behind it. The Saker argues that it was designed to enrage Russian citizens (it has), to put pressure on the Kremlin to prematurely start the apparent winter offensive.
This makes perfect sense. It’s in DCs / NATOs interests to do this. Right now, Ukraine is getting absolutely hammered. If Russia moves, it provides NATO / US with the pretext to enter the war.
One problem. Yes, the Russians are enraged and many are angry at the Kremlin about this incident. However my sense is that the Russians are far more enraged at NATO, the West and Kiev. I think the West has miscalculated again – if anything, this incident will harden Russian resolve.
Second point. If the NATO strategy is to try and force a premature Russian offensive, I don’t think Surovikin or Putin will fall for it. These guys are just too experienced and are also gifted strategic thinkers, far ahead of any western leader right now. I have no doubt that they will continue to move according to their own timetable, and if an offensive is launched it will be on their terms, when the ducks are all lined up.
Wrong. The US has no real skin in the war, therefore to them – it’s a game.
At one level, yes, it is a game – for those who go to Ukraine for an adventure. But at a higher level, it is far more than a game – it is a struggle for survival of the hegemonic West and 500 years of Western aggression. I think most informed analysts will agree with me.
And I really don’t think that NATO or the US wants to go up against Russia in its own backyard, so I don’t believe war is the object here – at least not the kind of war we presume when we think of ‘war’. They want to prolong the war and drain Russia’s war machine and its economy, cause domestic disruption and chaos, bring down the Russian regime and break up the country – all without stepping over the line that would put them directly against the Russian military. As for this attack, I don’t believe they intended to bring Russia into a premature attack at all. I think they saw an opportunity and took it, if for no other reason than for the PR it provides for the Ukrainian side.
If they really wanted war with Russia, they would give the Ukrainians long-range missiles and targetting info on the Moscow environs.
Which is protected by the S-500 air defense system, the best in the world, and the only one capable of defeating hypersonic missiles.
It’s an interlinked and multi layered network that includes different systems. This is about the First Special Purpose Army of Air and Missile Defense, which protects Moscow from any airborne strike. In Russian with sub titles. It is interesting how the system are set and operated remotely.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCRKpj7HE1I
The other Russian air defense systems have shown that “leakage” of missed incomings is not trivial. What system was in place to detect the HIMARS setup and launches, and available on line to intercept this set of what, 6 missiles? If the was one, it didn’t work. I expect the Russian command understands this problem and does not believe the hype about the S series.
Russia has that deeply layered set of kinetic defenses around Moscow and other main targets, but also apparently a layered command structure, backed up by “Perimeter” dead hand, to ensure that NATO goes up in smoke and horror too. Maybe it’s puffing, but I read that the US has attack subs, 2 or 3 each, trailing every Russian boomer. What’s the plan for ensuring that enough of those survive to destroy the other half of the northern hemisphere if the effing crazies in the Neocon sanitarium get their Edward Teller death wish?
What to do about successful NATO insinuation of these and other weapons into the battlespace is another one of those difficult decisions. Where are all those HIMARS entering the battlespace? Why are they not interdicted in transit? How do the launchers survive supposed counter battery fire? No human intelligence or surveillance adequate to pick these up and keep them from being available?
The thing we call the “US,” ruled by the interests that actually determine US policy, doctrine, strategy, logistics and tactic, seems to me to very definitively have skin in the game, beyond the relatively few Americans currently in any kind of jeopardy under the Russian rules of engagement. These folks understand that this action is for all the marbles, and if Russia and the Just World direction whups their butts in Ukraine and leverages its autarky and industrial capacity, the Great Reset moulders down into irrelevance.
What scares me most (not so much, I’m at Ground Zero for a lot of Russian intercontinental ordnance) is that the Fokkers and Idiots that rule the West will conclude that they are going to lose and summon Ragnarok down on all of us. They demonstrably DO NOT CARE.
The final test of survival of the fittest, yes?
JTMcPhee
” What’s the plan for ensuring that enough” … Russian boomers … “survive to destroy the other half of the northern hemisphere if the effing crazies in the Neocon sanitarium get their Edward Teller death wish?”
The mobile missile launchers in Siberia are the most difficult problem that faces US first strike planners, everything else on paper is doable, including sinking all Russian boomers seconds before the war commences.
The Poseidon torpedo, well, if it’s real and operable, and everything its cracked up to be, .there’s not much you can do about it. Pure genius really. On the cheap, the Russians have developed a credible deterrent, and have slipped the first strike noose the Americans were trying to slip over their heads.
“The final test of survival of the fittest, yes?”
Yes.
This conflict was the result of careful planning on the part of the US. The US military doesn’t enter into a conflict without first war gaming if their plans will work. In that regard everything is a game for the war planners in the US. The question is what did the war planner’s learn from those games? And are events playing out as predict based in those war games?
I believe your assumption that the US military doesn’t enter a conflict without first war gaming if their plans will work, is flawed. What if the war games are rigged to reach a preordained conclusion? Just search for Millennium Challenge 2002 and Marine Corps General Paul Van Riper. I’ll post two articles on these wargames for your benefit. They spent $250 millions on the Millennium Challenge 2002.
https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/a30392654/millennium-challenge-qassem-soleimani/
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/wartech/nature.html
We have highly intelligent people commenting and surely there are some who are knowledgeable about more of similar incidents.
The US most definitely has skin in the game. Russia might be fighting an existential threat, but so is the US. The US is fighting with all their might to retain their hegemonic status. They are on the verge of losing the $US as the world reserve currency, their economy is falling apart, their country is on the verge of bankruptcy unless they keep the printing presses going and 39 million people live in poverty. They need more natural resources, their infrastructure is crumbling. Russia first then China. I think people tend to forget this.
We’re very thankful to President Zelensky, the Churchill of our time, to be helping us improve our weapons with his cadavers.
I thank you.
Congress thanks you.
Congress’ bank accounts thank you.
The EU’s bank accounts not so much but really, who cares?
Thats my take on it too!
Its just a killing game. Like the IRA versus the Brits in the recent past! Never let a juicy target escape.. if you can help it.
You are both right and wrong at the same time. To get a reaction from Russia, would require a “juicy” target
I concur. It looks like the Russians got careless again. This will prove to be a strong incentive for them to shape up. The Russian army is known historically to get better with time in conflicts of this sort while their enemy gets worse out of arrogance; and that is the name of victory. If you’re not convinced, look at the Kherson withdrawal and Kharkiv withdrawals. Read on operation Barbarossa and how the Red Army was metamorphosed into an unstoppable force.
Concordo pienamente nel non dimenticare che si tratta di guerra e non di un (video)gioco. Tuttavia, credo che la stronzata l’abbia commessa chi ha “sprecato” diversi $k per: 1) farsi inquadrare ben benino (cheeease…); 2) spendersi per far fare bella figura a Zel, senza guadagnare un solo cm di suolo… Siccome di guerra si tratta sono sicuro che qualche generale passerà il tempo a mordicchiare le proprie stellette
I agree also. It’s a target, hit it. The bigger point here is, if this type of “Ukrainian success” was at all common they wouldn’t be so fired up to celebrate it.
I never thought I would feel this way but I hate the US and it’s western allies. The empire of lies is the empire of death and I hope some day soon it will face a reckoning for all the carnage it has sown across the world.
Two of the most dangerous countries on earth: USA and Israel.
Israel is a joke
Don’t know about anyone noticing a Ukraine change in the USA during January, NFL playoffs. I think Biden wins a March election against DeSantis-he would wack Trump badly US may not notice until American bodies come home in boxes. Sad state of affairs. I notice in California some black leadership sounds like Nazis and the media nods their head. Just saw a black district attorney say all arrests and convictions should factor race into arrest and outcome.
The NFL told the players last night that they were to take a five minute break after Damar Hamlin went down, and then go back to the game. They refused to play.
The NFL circus may have just had a wrench thrown into it.
I think it is all about to get much bloodier. I think a Russian large ground offensive is coming which will be the end of Ukraine. Then NATO will need to fight from Poland and the US and UK will resort to what they do best as state sponsors of terrorism (which we already see happening).
The way NATO is upping the ante, from whatever rump Ukraine is left, they’ll continue firing into Russia, maybe even Moscow or St. Pete, thinking it will spark that long-awaited Russian coup. Then what does Russia do to step up the game, yet stay short of nuclear, keep the eyes to the grindstone? Start targeting cities or NATO bases in the EU with hypersonics? Stay in Ukraine but bring out the heavy guns? No easy choices for them.
Like I’ve said – The US is pushing NATO into a dead end street straight to armaggeddon and too stupid or too full of itself to know otherwise.
Casual Observerm
There is a lot of undersea Western infrastructure and offshore platforms and oil pipelines. Russia has no equivalent weakness. Trillions and trillions and trillions of dollars and they are NOT replaceable by the Fed printing money.
Just sayin’ (invest in gold?).
well reasoned.what if something happened to the Alaska pipeline?The North slope oil would be lost forever.When the oil stops flowing in 2 days the pipe line will be full of molasses,unpumpable unflowable.
Think about it. The US championed Zelensky the way it championed Hashim Thaqi in Kosovo. Zelensky fights to keep Ukraine whole. Thaqi fought to deny Serbia of the same. Diametrically opposite situations. Yet myths were created for the public to ignore the blatant dissonance.
Look at those the US supports. Thaqi is a war criminal, acknowledged by a Brussels court. If Clinton’s utterance “a leader is responsible for all actions under him’, with respect to Milosevic. (how absolutely self-serving is such a statement), then who are Poroshenko? Zelensky?, if not war criminals par excellence? (I won’t even speak of others)
Meanwhile, look at Zakharchenko, leader of the DNR, assassinated by the SBU, maybe even with CIA help. A decent leader loved by his people. Compassionate, dedicated to the cause of self-determination in the wake of a bloody coup that stripped half the country of its democratic choice. A Ukrainian Lech Walesa – same mining electrician’s profession, same integrity, same leadership skills. No doubt why he was targeted.
Look to who one invites to bed if you want to really know who they are.
As in Kosovo, there is a trade in body parts. Zelensky facilitated the legality for what is likely already occurring a few days ago.
While I have thought, said this would be over sooner, Putin has no reason to hurry and continues his grand chess strategy and why waste resources when the enemy continues to machine gun its feet: “unleash further migrant flows to the EU,”….”Regardless of which scenario Moscow chooses to pursue, it would continue targeting Ukraine’s power grid and critical infrastructure in a bid to “wear out the Ukrainian people’s will to resist” and to “unleash further migrant flows to the EU,” the paper reported, citing the German military’s alleged prognosis. ” (from https://www.rt.com/news/568904-swiss-paper-russia-ukraine-offensive-2023/)
It is very true that most institutions are declining in the west. That is good for Russia and the US and west look more decadent the longer this goes on. If Putin has Russia’s support there would be a great deal of deterioration
in the west though the election of a new US President. Heck that president could be Michelle Obama or Pete Buttegeig. How many Russian and Ukrainian lives meet their maker?
If a Michelle Obama said to withdraw support from Ukraine, she would have support and then paradise is around the bend.
I am a proud American. I also have served with medals from the Gulf War and the War on Terror. I have friends and old friends with scars physical and mental with all those wars. I was born in the middle of the Vietnam war. I have trace memories of our exit from Vietnam. I have better memories of our Bicentennial.
In no way, as oft expressed here, am I looking for or gleefully hoping for America’s demise.
Period. If push comes to prod, I will fight for the Constitution and the flag.
All that said, we, the United States has done bad things, supporting bad regimes, and have all my entire life on this world waged war no matter how we describe it as.
What’s ironic is that every other swingin dick regional or global power has done the same.
I am tired of our unconstitutional declared wars. I am tired of having my friends die, be maimed, or have PTSD, from this.
I fully agree we, the United States, should accept a multipolar world with all it’s worts.
Let me put it this way, a long time ago in boot camp, I was guidon bearer, I carried the flags that represented my company and my country in marching and formation runs. I will do it again, without much running though, because I am much older.
While I have much misgivings and mistrust of my own government, when it’s us or them, do not make me have that choice because hands down it’s us.
Said like a soldier, it makes sense at a level. The thing is in every war we fight we are either on right side (of history) or wrong, we win or we lose, we live or we die. Does it finally makes a difference? Maybe not for the historians but for us yes.
I empathise with what you say, though it is in essence the old cry, “my country right or wrong”. And in my humble opinion, the US has been the most destructive country in the history of the world.
As for “every other swingin dick regional or global power has done the same,” the facts are different. No country has ever been as war-like, coercive and exploitive. Period. To say otherwise is making excuses for the inexcusable. You can go marching again and flag bearing again, but remember who and what dark force you are marching for.
“‘My country, right or wrong,’ is a thing that no patriot would think of saying. It is like saying, ‘My mother, drunk or sober.’” — G.K. Chesterton
Full quote is:
My country right or wrong; when right, to keep her right; when wrong, to put her right.
Well, in terms of deaths and economics, I would respectfully differ.
It’s not saying the US has not been bad, imperialist, etc.
It’s saying, taken in totality, yeah, the United States with all it’s worts and excesses has resulted in much better conditions for Americans explicitly. For others? That depends.
I guess I am supposed to hate my country for this, but I don’t.
Disparage me if you want.
That sad truth is that we’ve had a lot of brave patriots, like you, willing to shed your blood while being led by corrupt politicians who could care less whether you live, die or are horribly wounded. My boss and mentor, Col. Dick Gannon USMC, was at State serving his final tour as the Marine rep to the Bureau of Political Military Affairs. During the Grenada operation, State insisted on a squad of SEALs being dropped into the ocean. They drowned. When Dick reported this news to the Task Force in the State Ops Center and the SEALs were going to make another attempt the response was, never mind, the mission was not critical. He was furious. He rightly lived by the code that you don’t ask military personnel to risk their lives unless there is something critical at stake.
In Britain we described soldiers in WW1 as ‘Lions led by Donkeys’. Plus ca change …
Ironically, that phrase was used by a Russian officer to describe the British troops in the Crimean war (1853-56) after such great brainfarts as the Charge of the Light Brigade of which Bosquet, the French general (who eventually pulled the Brits’ nuts [marrons] from the fire) who muttered “C’est magnifique, mais ce n’est pas la guerre: c’est de la folie” (It is magnificent but it is not war; it is madness!)
However it is as old as Plutarch – “an army of deer commanded by a lion is more to be feared than an army of lions commanded by a deer”.
On a more technical note, reports are that the precision of the strike was due to Russian soldiers using their cells phones to call home.
Who knew that the Ukrainian military had such technical capability as to scarf up those signal from their very highly advanced satellites….?
Ukraine has no satellites. The US does.
Target was a school, or some building of similar type that anyone can find on a map. You don’t need much technical capability in order to type coordinates into GPS guided weapon. They just needed one spy to tell them that soldiers are in the building.
Russian Federation soldiers do not take mobile (cell) phones with them when deployed, they are searched and such banned paraphernalia is confiscated. This is SOP because they give your position away.
I have no idea if this SOP has been fully extended to Luhansk and Donetsk militias since the referenda or to the Chechens as these three were the only Allied forces using mobile phones in this war zone.
To those below re my final sentence – it was sarcasm.
It’s well known that most amerikans lack the gene for irony.
Larry, the politicos will burn our people if it suits them. Happened in Libya, happened on the Liberty. No? Yes?
Just remember, America is so much more than her institutions. The institutions WILL collapse but We The People will remain.
Taking a hard look at the state of the American people today, that may not be as heartening a sentiment as you hope it is.
I’m not sure that it is even desirable.
Have a look at street photographs from as recently as the 60s and try to find someone over 200lbs.
Or even dressed as an adult.
You may think America is beyond redemption. I don’t.
America is a continent. USA is just a state, i.e. not much more that institutions. People mix up those two a lot, because they are brainwashed by the state.
Did you feel smart after writing that comment? Everyone knows what I meant when I said that.
In order to be feel smart I have to become murican first.
The institutions WILL collapse but We The People will remain.
OMG
What a frightening though
The character of of a nation is defined by its people.
Take another hard look at the American nation in terms of its inhabitants it could not be more pathetic.
What? The pregnant men and transgender “female” athletes?
What if you wanted to work , would that be okay?
Why do I need the govt to get me days off .
Y’all seem so proud that your govt is looking after you.
Does that include free mrna shorts too?
It’s good to read history and understand what this country stands for and where we are going. Having said you would fight for your country and when it’s us or them you would choose us. I would ask when the last time there was a “them.”
I am a little older than most people who post here and I have learned a lot about our country, constitution and wars we have entered but not approved by congress.
I served in Viet Nam and being a draftee, I didn’t want to go because I already knew it was a lie that was being presented about the domino effect.
When you find information and historical facts that is not the MSM lies and distortions then you realize that what this country was founded upon is not what it is now. It was hard for me to realize that this country to slowly becoming the enemy to me and any other citizen that read our history and believed the promise of liberty and justice for all.
I come to this site, A Son Of The American Revolution because what Larry is reporting is solid facts and he has the background that supports his argument.
I don’t know what will happen in the future, but the mass man needs to start reading and understand our future. The country can only change for the better when citizens understand what we are involved in.
If you understood then that the domino effect theory was built on shaky ground, by virtue of Vietnam’s long history of friction with China, then you were an A student of that era.
The same fallacious domino theory is back in play today, substituting communism with authoritarianism. A public choosing to remain ignorant and receptive to jingoistic jingles is a public destined to be ruled and never to rule itself.
Baa baa. Baa baa.
Don’t worry, if it ever comes to a stage of the US actually being directly threatened on home turf, the threat will be over in a flash.
I have good news and bad news about your over in a flash.
The good news is that there will be no participation by soldiers.
The bad news is there will be little left in the world and civilization will be a thing of the past.
So, there will be no home turf.
Joe,
We’re about the same age. I also served in Vietnam…but wouldn’t have if I had then known more world history. I fear our nation is in deep trouble because of the censorship and equally because of the historical ignorance of most of us. We apparently never took seriously that a nation of free people requires “eternal vigilance” … as well as the knowledge of relevant history.
Thanks for your comments…and also thanks Larry for this site!
Another tin soldier war criminal blaming his government, instead of looking inward and realising the blame is on him for not having the intelligence or courage to say no to participation.
For every brain dead Rambo wannabe that signed up (for a pittance) there are hundreds that did not. They are the heroes, not the ones that march with their silly ribbons and medals in their costumes whining about their PTSD and lack of limbs.
Lt. Ehren Watada is a true hero. He refused to mobilize for the illegal 2003 Iraq war.
https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/6055734/court-martial-of-lt-ehren-watada-ends-with-a-surprise-conclusion/
Well, I mean, it takes a fair amount of courage to go to war – at least more than for these “euphonious slogans”.
The liberals are always masters at shifting assigned responsibilities underhandedly….
And the biggest chatterers have then also voted – namely those responsible, towards whom they now expect resistance from others …
And in every “glass house”, whether “castle” or “hut”, live predominantly psychopaths …
One calls such a thing probably “Depravation” …
Couldn’t say it better. Heroes indeed.
Let me explain how the draft operated up until it was abolished in 12/7/1972.
“For every brain-dead Rambo wannabe that signed up (for a pittance) there are hundreds that did not”.
So will try to make sense of what you said.
When you use “signed up” It would be a person who voluntarily signed up. Their Service Number would be started with the letters RA and then followed by an 8-digit service number. RA stands for Regular Army, Volunteer enlisted.
The comment “there are hundreds that did not.”
There is the possibility of several categories that fall under this category.
The first category is the government drafted you into the military. And you were forced to participate. If you did not, then you could be sent to prison. So, in essence the government made you a slave. The Service Number for a draftee would start with a US, an enlisted draftee followed by an eight-digit service number.
Another category of “there are hundreds that did not” is the people who left the US and most went to Canada and other places around the world.
Another category is the people who went to college and got a deferment.
Me being a DRAFTEE I did not sign up or go to Canada. I went to Viet Nam as a choice of leaving the country or take a shot I would live. I also didn’t want to go to jail.
Life has choices and I blame the people of the US to allow a draft that would basically enslave people for two years.
So, I blame the voting citizens that allowed the government to create a draft and didn’t do anything about it. Were you one of them? Also, the wars fought by the US
need money to subsist. Did you subsidize the war(s).
So, you probably were brain dead in monetarily supporting the war. So, where was your non-participation?
I know someone who did 18 months n Lompoc prison rather that kill for the GloboHomoShlomo. Proud of him
BTW- I love my country (and some of the people) but no one has been fighting for freedom or righteousness since the War between the States AKA the War of Northern Aggression.
You had a choice – so did Muhammad Ali and he chose to lose so much rather than his integrity & honour.
What’s killing a few gooks compared to living in Canada.
In the 60s I met many draft dodgers in Europe who swore blind that they would never go back but almost all did return to ‘The World‘ despite having experienced life in civilised countries.
“Sad”, as an especially repellent creature is wont to say.
There are people in Chevy Chase, Arlington, Georgetown, … who are very thrilled there are guys willing to fight and die for the glory of gay marriage, drag queen story hour, BLM, and everything else which makes a mockery of Christian civilization. Especially after they all but spit in your face and openly denigrated your people, your culture, and your values.
Onward GloboHomoShlomo soldiers!
The current situation on the global level isn’t about patriotism or how people differ in the views about the universe. It’s mainly about taking the petrodollar privilege status away from the US financial capitalism mafia network with HQ in the City of London. This transformation is well on track and will become more perceptible as time go by. The time when the US could send aircraft carriers to scare people living on the other side of the world is long past. To compare the ongoing developments with what happened in WWI, WWII, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan … is also a big mistake. As some real analysts have already noticed the days of the American free launch is over.
Corrected…the days of the American free lunch is over.
– the typo is probably as accurate …
If you are going to fight for our constitution you had better start a revolution, as it appears to exist in name only. We have never been invaded. If that should happen I would fight too. But fighting for neocon fantasies of world domination–No.
What’s to be proud of these days, ya figure? The country’s being disassembled and reinvented while you sleep. The worst of it is rising like dregs and the best sinking to the bottom, out of sight and mind and maybe someday to be rediscovered by an enterprising young political sedimentologist.
“I also have served with medals from the Gulf War”
That makes you a war criminal in my book. “I was just following orders” does not count as a valid excuse, because it never did.
Spoken like a REAL patriot.But,which us are you refering to,there are Sooooo many.
Our country is in the hands of the spirit of anti-christ. It’s been in progress for several decades. No country is perfectly righteous and America has never been without fault. But the spirit that rules in America today mocks God and denies Christ.
Even in times when America has been in error and committed injustice, it at least acknowledged God and gave lip service to his name as the source of blessing.
But today, as a society, we have embraced doctrines (secular humanism and scientific materialism) that deny God in every way. I cannot/should not defend such an entity. My first desire is to be a citizen of God’s kingdom. Sadly we have to recognize when our nation becomes an idol and turn away from that.
Your comments are right on point. I was a Marine Captain in early ’70s and a former neocon. I and many others are side by side with you.
Semper Fi.
Texan Dude,
I can already see that if you read your precious Constitution, then you never understood it. Or, if you understood it, then you are like the knaves whom you pretend to distrust.
https://sonar21.com/british-propaganda-takes-a-swing-at-general-surovikin/#comment-105815
I’m leaning in favor of the former judgement, however. You’re a dupe, like the people mentioned by Lysander Spooner in his series of essays about “No Treason”.
What do you get when you’ve kicked butt? Back to good old american way or more woke beat down via nwo and wef to be eventually hunted down and caged and put down?
The Russians did suffer a major mass casualty event when a Chechen camp was struck by Himars.
That was my thougt too, but the number was in the fourties. I guess that’s the reason Larry wrote “more than 50 casualties”.
The fact that it was mentioned at all was a “tell” (as the poker term goes.) I don’t pay much attention to the mainstream media for news. Your blog and others in the Russosphere keep me up to date on what’s REALLY happening in Ukraine, and econoblogs (especially Naked Capitalism) give a glimpse of the Big-T Truth of the financial world. But I do dip my attention into the MSM in a “meta” sense, to find out what TPTB want the mooks to see. This mass-casualty attack was mentioned on the government-run ABC (as in “Australian”) radio news bulletin this morning. They don’t usually have specifics about events in Ukraine these days (although there are sometimes blorts about how “Russia shot 43 missiles at Ukrainian targets last night and Kyiv says it shot down 68 of them.”) This got some play. More propaganda to try and convince low-info Aussies about how Russia is losing the war. The .gov still thinks it’s important to herd the calves into the veal pen. I wonder whether the presstitutes who write the scripts and read the words are morally bothered about giving only parts of the story. Probably not, because their paycheques depend on them following the Party Line, and I bet they’re not curious enough to look into alternative angles about the war anyway.
I think that whoever gathered so many soldiers in one targetable location needs to be sent to prison for life.
That is what I think.
The Russian General Staff doesn’t care what you think. Stop trying to play armchair general. It’s a bad look (and you do it on several websites, embarrassing yourself repeatedly).
1. NATOstani HIMARS have been used for months to bombard Russian territory.
2. NATO satellites have been used to give Ukranazistan targeting locations since February.
3. NATO forces are almost certainly crewing the HIMARS.
4. Ukranazistan has been desperately looking for a “win”.
5. A successful attack on a Russian position would be a “win”.
6. None of this is unknown to anyone including one presumes the Russian general staff.
7. And yet enough soldiers were billeted in a location able to be observed by NATO satellites and targeted by HIMARS.
8. So take your
and shove it right up where the sun don’t shine.
agree with 1-6. on 7 it seems to me that most things are obeservable and have been so for weeks/months (see your 2.)
the goal of rushing the russians (getting into decision process) has been live for weeks/months as well.
so i dont think larry’s/saker’s theory holds up – it doesnt answer why now?
another possibility is simply short sighted revenge – i think that the long numerous strike a few days ago hit a kiev hotel where nato trainers were housed?
I agree with Douglas W on this one. I don’t mean to offend. Your comeback unfortunately only reinforces his point. Using words like Natostan may seem clever to you, but they really contribute very little to the dialogue IMO.
These things happen BP, when your strategy is to lure your enemy, and his various deadly weapon systems, deep within the borders of your own country (the site of the strike, Makiivka, sits 100 miles inside the sovereign territory of the Russian Federation ), so that you can then, “annihilate” them.
Precisely because of tragic mishaps like this Makiivka business, and too, because civilians in my cities continue to be indiscrimately shelled and rocketed, is the reason I would prefer to, ALWAYS, fight my existential enemy on his territory, and not on mine. But that’s just me.
As for The Saker, although I like him very much, he shouldn’t be putting word into people’s mouths, especially the good Colonel Douglas Macgregor.
“I fully concur with those who, like Macgregor, have been announcing a major combined arms offensive this Spring … ”
Macgregor “announced” no such thing. He has stated repeatedly, that the Russian General Staff will launch an offensive (or three) once the ground freezes, with the sole purpose of eliminating this Ukraine state as we know it, and he thinks anyone believes otherwise is, and I quote, “delusional.”
If the Russians were to wait until Spring to launch an offensive (or three), they would be attacking just as the ground is unfreezing and rapidly turning to mud, which would defeat the purpose of waiting for it to freeze in first place.
Would it not!?
Now the good Colonel could be wrong, they may be no Russian winter offensives in the offing. He has been wrong before. In the beginning, he thought the Russians would go in hard, they went in soft. He thought the Russians were fighting to win, when they were actually fighting for a status quo peace deal, so they could get in and out of Ukraine as quickly as possible.
He also believed back in August, that the Russian General Staff had finally had enough of the bullshit, and would use last of the good campaining weather to launch the killer blow in Ukraine before the Autumn Rasputitsa set in.
I think the reason the Colonel has had such hard time divining exactly what the aims of the Russian Federation are, especially as it pertains to this SMO, is the same as mine, he is thinking like a military man, who believes the aim of war, even a full spectrum geo-politcal war to the multi-polar death, is to win.
When the reality could be, that this not what this about at all. I mean, if you look at this from afar, from deep space let’s say, everything that has happened since Feb 24 of last year, sure looks like Kabuki Theater, put on by the neo-liberal globalists for our viewing pleasure.
This is not what you think. It’s not Battlefield or some other game. All the soldiers fighting on the ground are open to any suddenly attack. Air defense shot 2 out of 6 incoming projectiles. The rest is now history. Russian military leadership will conclude from this.
This was mot some luck by the Ukrainian military. This was entirely done by Nato. It’s a clear sign that they are still on course to fight Russia directly and indirectly through their proxy. This was clearly an escalation. The Russian retaliation should be against Nato structures inside Ukraine.
It is criminal negligence, or maybe even a treason. Anyway, Stalin would have already executed everyone responsible.
From 45,000 to 150,000 were sent to Donbass (according to various sources). How do you imagine their placement? 3 people per trench? Or was it necessary to expel peaceful people from their apartments in order to accommodate military personnel, as Ukrainians do?
Everything would be like this – to arrest, imprison, shoot…Then there will be no one to command, if generals are shot for every dead company of soldiers.
I am not inclined to exaggerate the capabilities of NATO satellite intelligence.
I am inclined to the version that it was an act of betrayal of local residents, some of whom have relatives fighting on the side of Ukraine. They are identified, but it is impossible to calculate all of them.
Few people say what the losses of the Ukrainian side were in manpower and equipment these days. According to the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation: 31.12.22 – 320 Ukrainians; 01.01.23 – 350 Ukrainians.
And no one knows how many targets Ukraine planned to defeat on New Year’s Eve and how many failed attempts. According to some reports, only 20% of those targeted were hit.
If so, how many Russian generals should be presented with a reward instead of being shot?
“At first arrests were planned, then celebrations, then we decided to combine”-))
I am from Yugoslavia, and don’t need to imagine war related stuff. A large group of soldiers/equipment near the fronlines is a missile magnet. Ever since Ukros got HIMARS, Russians started spreading out stuff. This thing should not have happened.
This has nothing to do with generals, and everything to do with “middle management”. All the militaries are filled with corruption and incomptence. Russia is improving things over time, but there is still lot of work left to be done. I am waiting for Dejan Beric to make a video about this, and I’m sure he will be pissed too, and talk about long term prison sentences for those responsible (he is a Donbass/Russian sniper/officer that comments about current events).
Speaking of generals, Surovikin was explicit about minimizing casualties. I’m sure he won’t be pleased by this unnecessary loss of lives.
Speaking of unnecessary loss of lives, Dmitry Rogozin (ex head of Roscosmos) decided to celebrate his birthday in Donetsk on 21 December 2022. The restaurant got shelled. He got a shrapnell up his spine, and a couple of dead friends, and a few wounded ones.
I hope that Deyan Bayrich will find out the truth about this tragedy, that there were no mobilized from Russia in the destroyed building, but there were resevists of the People’s militia of the DPR. Consequently, officers from the military structure of the DPR were responsible for their placement and security. Donetsk bloggers, who are spreading panic through telegram channels, really don’t want to pay attention to this fact.
Only very recently, the DPR army was incorporated into the structure of the Russian army by order of the Commander-in-chief. We must pay tribute to the Russian Ministry of Defense that they took responsibility for the decision of Donetsk mid-level officers and have already sent a commission to investigate the incident.
The weather in Ukraine is reportedly taking a turn for the worse, temps well below freezing predicted for the next weeks. Russian military men, unlike our own, have a firm grasp of history. They know full well what freezing weather did to La Grande Armee and later to the Teutonic goosesteppers. Ukraine’s power grids are already near collapse before the extreme cold that’s now approaching rapidly; its army has been bled dry; its stock of weapons is low by admission of its own military authorities; and Russian hypersonic missiles can take out bridges and tunnels through which NATO military junk passes east from Europe. In such circumstances, only an American military nitwit yahoo like Patreus could be enticed into precipitous action by pinprick provocations of the kind Ukraine is now practicing. Better to wait patiently for the Ukrainazis and their NATO cheerleaders to die a slow, cold death over the coming months.
The “Grande Armee and later… the Teutonic goosesteppers” invaded Russia to meet their fate. Here we have a case in which Russia is playing the role of “La Grande Armee and” acting like “the Teutonic goosesteppers”. So it’s a little different although Russia is nearer its victim and has more human and other resources relative to those of Ukraine.
While Obama and Victoria Nuland may have been responsible for setting this conflict in motion that led to about 160, 000 – 200,000 deaths about equally divided with a higher civilian component on the Ukrainian side. The exponentially larger issue of deaths has eclipsed the bad policies of Nuland and Obama. Putin has shown his hand as Hitler once did. Yet, I don’t see much in the way of ideas to end this war in this comment sections except Neville Chamberlain like capitulations.
While this would have zero impact on whatever RF military may implement . . . one devastating possibility for US politicians would be if RF decided on a theme and variation on what our spooks made up out of whole cloth prior to our so-called Afghanistan exit: accusation RF was paying ”:bounties:” to murder US forces there.
Theme and variation consist of: going out of its way to capture alive as many US servicemen in boots, and on the ground, in Ukraine war zone.
What would happen if a hundred, or a thousand or more were captured, US servicemen, taken prisoner by RF? [Ditto Poles, and so on and so forth.]
Whatever one may think of how the Griner matter was handled, it is a fact that her family along with media reports was making mincemeat out of Biden and his entourage, prior to her repatriation.
Imagine thousands of US families becoming aware their loved ones are sitting in prisons somewhere between Vladivostok and Kaliningrad. . . . and to their great surprise, they find this out from Russian media, no less. . . .and what if some of the prisoners said they did not want to go home?
While above may seem outrageous and all. . . —-I have kept letters written by my elders during World War II, when the attitude of people here, that is to say, Zeitgeist, lacked any, let us say braggadocio that I could detect from letters.
One Russia expert whom I know personally and speaks the language fluently, from our country, has actually argued this year — with intent to demean Putin — to the effect that he is creating World War II imagery so as to manipulate his people.
This scholar it seems to me entirely misses the point. This attitude is premised on US hegemony — it being: The Superpower, just for starters. This hubris, this sickness, the intellectual rot from our academies is ripe with actually poisoned minds.
“we’re off to see the wizard, the wonderful wizard oz. . . .if ever oh ever a wiz there was, the wizard of oz is one because because because because because because!. . . .”
-30-
When you begin to see the MSM returning to articles discussing Ukrainian corruption, war crimes and neonazi penetration of the army, police and security services, you’ll know that capitulation disguised as negotiations is mere months away.
That’s the canary in the coal mine. Keep your ears primed for its song.
It’s shocking but not unexpected. I recall in the Gulf War an Iraqi missile struck U.S. troops in the rear, killing some. Sad, but the fortunes of war. Note some sources say hundreds of Russian troops killed. Clarification?
I think at this point it’s time to wrap things up, but I understand the need to put everything in place. Noted on Unz report post after post cheered this attack and Russia’s imminent defeat, but other posts were furious at what they considered an obvious emailing by bots.
I really hope something will happen re Russian offensive on finally ending Ukraine resistance, and that a thorough offensive will do this, knowing comments here and there doubt Russia has the means to do this.
Re “Strikes by ambulance drivers and nurses are killing people and grieving relatives are furious.”
This reminds me of 1985, a book Anthony Burgess (Clockwork Orange) wrote in that year discussing Orwell. He offered a novella of Britain in the future, poor, caught in a vise of P.C. leadership, Islam infesting the country (Muslims buy the breweries, slowly watering the stock), and a strike by firemen that caused a fire in a hospital not to be put out and a man’s wife was among many patients who died, causing him to take on the system…a system pretty much like present day Britain, even having a cheerful King Charles III urging protestors to put on a good face; they’re showing Gone With the Wind on the telly, and we should all have a good look and let things settle, hm?
The UK, if not the West in general, is indeed slowly descending into a Clockwork Orange of sorts. It’ll be a cathartic experience.
SUN TSU said”Strike your enemy where he is weak,Avoid him where he is strong”
The Scud killed 28 and wounded 100.
I had just left the “shelter” (because the “shelter” was BS– only in name), lit up a smoke, and was walking back towards my aircraft through the panic when the Patriots whooshed up: a few flashes and deep booms, some sparks in the sky– Dhahran was in chaos, so loud it that was quiet on the tarmac.
More than a few forefitted their birthdays that night.
Edit: left not the shelter/barracks that got hit– ours was a hanger a few hundred yards away.
Those Patriot missiles were probably more trouble than they were worth.
TexasDude,
I live in a Democrats-run state and in mid-terms, a young republican woman challenged and lost to an old Dem Senator, who was in D.C. for almost 30 years. I voted for this Republican, but only out of desperation since I knew she’d lose because she could not face/tell the truth. In the debate, she talked about her husband “fighting for democracy in Iraq,” where he lost his eyesight and she had to fight for him to stay in the army, to have a meaningful life.
I wonder if she would have won if she just told the truth – her husband was sent to Iraq on false pretenses (there were no nuclear weapons), but still, the USA destroyed this country and killed 1 million Iraqis (including 1/2 million children, which per Albright “was worth it), and when some desperate Iraqi suicide- bomber, he was negotiating with, detonated his bomb, and he lost his eyesight, the US army tried to get rid of him, just like many other veterans, dooming them to the life of barely making the ends meet, and losing life purpose.
Unless Americans educate themselves (the US gov certainly has no intention of) and stop waging fake wars “to spread democracy” (we barely got democracy here), the USA will face a decline like ancient Athens or Rome.
Patriotism is a good thing, but claims of exceptionalism don’t work and they don’t sit well with other countries and create problems for Americans traveling abroad who hide their American origin by putting a Canadian flag, or Australian on their backpacks to avoid being targeted for the USA’s foreign policies.
Obviously, if someone attacks us, we’d be fighting back, but that’s the point – nobody attacks the US. And do you really want to fight for Brandon Pelosi, McCallum, or Graham & Politburo, who drag the USA into every war on false pretenses to make a buck, vs. to treat Americans well and put them first by deed, not rhetorics? For the money we spend on wars, we could afford US women to have 1 year of paid maternity leave (like in Canada and the EU), education, health care, and cheaper housing, etc. Do you know that citizens in EU countries got 2-3 months paid vacation per year and that unpaid 8-week maternity leave like now in the US was only in Ceaușescu’s Romania in Europe?
,
Lika, I agree with all what you say wholeheartedly.
Exactly, nobody is attacking USA.
But brainwashed texasdudes in your country go on feeding the war machine …
I wish there were more people like you in your country, and less “heroes”.
I wanted to tell you also something.
In EU we have these paid holidays:
Germany: 30 paid days off + 10 bank holidays (less than 6 weeks)
Spain: 24 paid days off + 14 bank holidays
(I know these two countries quite well, I think the rest is more or less like that).
While in Germany, learning German, I had a flatmate from Texas. She told me that when she discovered how things were in Europe, she decided not to come back to USA .. (This is only and anecdote. The above about holidays, what you said about public health care … are true facts).
Best regards from Spain.
Norway when I worked there had something like 73 public holidays each year.
And the rest of the time motivating them to do anything, including including take a shiq was a challenge and a half.
Could not agree with you more. Chuck the “USA’s numero uno crap. I just want to live in a decent, average nation that actually respects its own citizens and those of other lands for a change.
Lika, Republicans have no chance in WA, US. They will always elect a brain dead democrat over any smart well meaning republican. It’s as simple as that.
Thank you Larry, really appreciate your analyses!
Larry; The direct inversion of the ongoing propaganda tells us everything good happening to Ukraine involves writing Ukraine where it should say Russia. They have been doing nothing else for a few months now and may be the only thing the propaganda folks can think of to make it look were aren’t losing.
Our press has lied about everything, but we are Americans. We expect that 24/7. The social media provides all the necessary censorship to prevent us finding or sharing stories that contradict their claims. The fed law enforcement agencies dictate to every platform everywhere to take down anything that links to the real news what is double plus good and make sure that the narrative be followed. No thoughtcrime will be tolerated or repeated. Money changed hands.
Would any one believe we could do this to our nation in just 21 years? I remember not hearing anything that was true beginning about 68. Nothing was ever true again, but there were still believers. Could the public anyone still hold the on to the delusions we were told to accept without question?. Oh, sorry, some still believe the story about 911 that couldn’t hold water if it were poured in a perfect silver cup made by Paul Revere.
I doubt that anything like this strike would get the Russians to move a time table which is more predicated on air temperature as far as I can tell.
It’s a justifiable military target and the only other thing would be a morale boost to the poor Ukrainians dying by the hundreds daily in the trenches. Sucks to be them.
I don’t pretend to know warfare. I suspect there may be one or two things strategically (I do have expertise in strategy). It looks like serendipity of opportunity and need. The chance was there to make a notable strike, and Ukraine desperately needs some kind of good news from the front as they’re getting their asses kicked. I have no idea if the idea is to provoke a rushed attack by Russia. I do believe that shortly we’ll see Ukraine lit up with “the rockets red glare” over the coming days. Russia has a lot of retaliatory options other than speeding up their planned assault. Maybe a hypersonic right at the Kiev Parliament as a wake-up call? Maybe go right to cutting the head off the snake? I give Ukraine/NATO no credit for any sensible strategy, as none has been displayed so far. I think it was just an opening for a small win, and they took it. I don’t see any reason to look further. Just my opinion, and I’m no expert.
This was not a Ukrainian strike.
Russia shoud consider that should they retaliate. In the end no one should expect no losses on the Russian side. Russian military eliminates many more Ukrainian servicemen and foreign mercenaries per day.
In my opinion they will increase awareness of such strikes and harden AD or focus more on taking out those long range weapons, including attacks while they are being transported by civilian infrastructure.
63 men is relatively huge number. I have no doubt Russians are playing anything down here. Assuming there were hundreds is pure propaganda. Without the MoDs statement there weren’t even be a story to spin. Russia is not ashamed to tell what is happening, even if it looks not good for them.
Those, who have died in the service of their country, have a moral right to expect that their sacrifice will be avenged by the armed forces of their country. Revenge can be satisfied by either an exponentially greater infliction of losses against the adversary who killed them; or by achieving ultimate destruction of the adversary’s ability to wage war.
The world will give no credit to Russians for restraining themselves in this war against Ukraine. Sparing the lives of Ukrainian civilians -and thereby affording the armed forces of Ukraine what are effectively “safe corridors” for transportation and communication- will cost more lives of Russian soldiers. Leaving bridges across the Dnepr intact, leaving dams, reservoirs, or power plants intact will cost the lives of Russian soldiers. Leaving communication satellites intact will cost the lives of more Russian soldiers.
I can understand why Putin and his Kremlin were led into wishful thinking that the Ukrainian people would welcome the Russians. even though I knew that they were fools to think so. The truth is that the people who run Ukraine since 2014 are not Ukrainian and do not care about the Ukrainian people.
I invite the Russian Ministry of Defense to study Operation Linebacker (1972) against North Vietnam and the air campaign against Iraq in 1990-1991. If the Russians adapted the tactics of those two air campaigns to their current situation, there would no longer be artillery or rocket systems, and no GPS-directed attacks on the Donbass, on Orel-Bryansk, or Kursk-Belgorod.
How can the Russian high command justify to victims and their survivors that bombings and sabotage against their homeland and their soldiers must be tolerated until the weather changes?
But maybe God or the devil will grant Graham his wish and the Russians will really kill Putin. Only then will we see something like Hitler’s Dresden. The whole of Ukraine could then become like Nazi Dresden. Or Russia will repeat Arnaud Amalric “Kill them all and let God sort them out.”
“Those, who have died in the service of their country, have…”
Let me stop you there. Those who are dead are gone, they don’t “have” anything.
You have never been “called to duty” by the spirits of men you knew. Some have.
“I think that January will be a turning point in the war in terms of Western support for Ukraine if there is harsh winter weather and worsening economic conditions, which will increase domestic political pressure on the NATO countries to take care of business at home.”
I have noticed, cause I am German, that the German government had prosponed the decision to send, I believe it was 300 battle tanks, last year. As bad as the situation is for Ukraine, the decision is not back on the timetable. Rheinmetall is building a munitions factory somewhere in Germany, production will start in may and first delivery to Ukraine would be in june or rather july. So it will surely be too late.
Further, Christiane Lambrecht, minister of defence, is under media fire, On top of her ‘missfortunes’ she gave a new years speech for her online community that backfired. She talk about being very gratefull because she was able to go to Ukraine, because of the war of course, and to meet so many stunning and good people. So, her critics are arguing, she is thankfull for the war, which has made all this possible. Rumours are that there may be a cabinet overhaul. I think it to be too early for that, but it will surely come within the next two or three months.
For what will happen in Ukraine, I think, that as soon as the Russian Army is finished its preperation it will attack, not one day sooner.
They are preparing defensive positions in Luhansk, which they may use as an Anvil. When the RF then attack from the north and south, they will have two powerfull hammers. further I believe, that Russia will use their air force, so they will go to destroy as many anti air defences as possible, till they are satisfied with the risk factor. If Russia does not use their air force they will have another ace up their sleves. Who knows?
One may think what one wants, but I do not believe that the German government is not aware of the real situation in Ukraine. They play their role in the media, yes. But behind closed doors they are thinking about what will happen, when the conflict is over. I guess the green party is not involved in the discussion. Annalena Baerbock, minister of foreign affairs said openly that she does not coincide with the views of chanceler Scholz in his views on China and Russia.
Also Interesting is that I read in the media, that the green party, which was once a pacifist party, is the one that is loudly demanding to send more weapons. Contradicting that they allways said that sending weapons into warzones only prolongs a conflict, but seldom changes the outcome. They may have overplayed their cards and are now on the slope downwards in the publics opinion. But I probably have to much imaginary power.
So, I think you to be correct.
Something is afoot.
Funny I just read The Saker’s post just before yours. Douglas MacGregor put a nice piece together on 20 Dec, in which he states (paraphrasing): Russia’s upcoming offensive will lead to a NATO “peacekeeping,” force of the willing in Western 404. He likens it to the events in Viet Nam under LBJ. It wouldn’t surprise me, as the MIC does not want to lose and there is a lot to lose on the global stage for the monied interests in the US (probably too late anyway). AWACs and satellites will be fair game once NATO officially rolls into 404. They’ll be blind and then targeted by Kinzhals.
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/washington-is-prolonging-ukraines-suffering/
Let’s put this in a bit of perspective. Yesterday Russia lost 63 men in one hit, and the West is beside itself with glee. Ok, it was a big hit, possibly the largest single loss in one day for Russia since this war began ten months ago.
But, on how many days over the last ten months has Ukraine not lost 63 men?
Going forward, the air defences of Ukraine are being steadily degraded. Why do that unless the cleared air space was not about to be used? We hear a lot about rockets, missiles and drones going here, there and everywhere, but we have yet to hear of bombs. Remember them? As Brian Berletic from The New Atlas has shown, bombs would be a very, and possibly the only, effective way to neutralise the extensive bunker system in Donetsk. And then the troops can move.
I think everyone is waiting for whatever is coming next. I also think everyone knows it’s Russia’s call. From Patrick Lawrence quoting someone else, “Either Russia prevails on its terms, or there is a nuclear exchange.”
I hope the Pentagon has not been taken over by “the crazies in the basement” the way the rest of DC seems to have been. Those crazies have to be shown the door, and while I never thought I’d be saying this, perhaps a military takeover is the only way forward.
Just call me ill-informed but I’m still at a loss about what air power can do that land-based missile barrages cannot. Greater saturation? Accurate aerial targeting using cheaper dumb bombs?
Maybe I answered my own question.
The four HIMARS rockets landed exactly at midnight…..this was a psychological operation with propaganda channels going into overdrive immediately with Western outlets claiming several hundred dead….. gleefully. Western intelligence picked this target…. provided GPS coordinates and most probably jarheads fired the salvo…..these last few precision strikes have had a method to madness….with key persons being targeted…..I suspect this unit was targeted for multiple reasons….we will have to wait till smoke clears. The devastation to the building was apperent and I suspect the troops where actually dispersed according to standing orders….if there had been a battalion in that building there would have been hundreds of KIA in my opinion. There was a mass casualty NATO instigated incident involving a Transport loaded with paratroopers early on in the operation if I remember correctly. They just keep poking the bear but the bear is smarter than the average bear
Well, despite this minor loss, by waiting, Russia is still winning. The European tolerance of no fuel (German PM just begged Putin to take the turbine back and install it so Germany could have gas that it desperately needs) and the refugee flood work just as well as missiles in destroying European support for this madness.
The refugee exodus is a master stroke which doesn’t get enough consideration.
Let the blue-and-yellow flag wavers take them all in, and keep them all comfortable and warm.
Opinions are like assholes-everyone thinks theirs don’t stink
An overt reaction by the western media will only matter for the media and politicians. For Ukrainians fighting in the ´meat grinders ´ all over Ukraine it will mean nothing. For the Russian military and civilian leadership, they expected this stuff. They are steeled. For NATO, one more payback coming for you fellas, amongst a long list being slowly dished out each day.
For Grenada, I was with the backup CH-53´s out of Willow Grove. We heard about what befell to the Seals right after it happened. Other things occurred but, nobody mentions it. People died there. It wasn´t for free.
One thing that is different now, compared to today, is we were post Nam Marines and we knew nobody gave a rat’s ass about us. I got the baby killer crap in a bar not far from my home one night. I never served in Nam, was 15 when it ended. My reaction to the people who said that frightened them into silence and I hardly said a word. The final farewell upon leaving active service in that time was … A M F. You got nothing on the way out of the door. Our common understanding of the situation was ´mind over matter´ ……. they don´t mind and we don´t matter. Truth is, we were just monsters, well trained ones.
The Russians care about the strike but, it doesn´t mean squat. They will just tighten up their act and keep pushing forward, looking for the day when this whole bloody mess is over. The dead will only be remembered by those who knew them and/or their families, or those that had a sense of what it means to love. I don´t wave a flag anymore but, I know what it means and the sacrifices merit reverence. My take.
You come at Russia with fists…they come back with a knife… more guys. You bring a knife..they bring a gun…and even more guys. You break the line… they will nuke NY, DC, Langley/Quanitco… the sats will go down..the banking… LA , WA state Bremerton…. Louisiana delta refining infrastructure…. Why the madmen will not negotiate for the common good is a great painting of the evil men will do to control the world. The arrogance of the USA control structure…and they are not the elected… is astounding.
With no Russia..there isn’t anybody else. The nukes fly… we all die together. They are not an unreasonable nation. Just want their culture..and a fair economic shake.
RU will grind them down. If Poland makes the mistake…they will all die also. The entire country will be glassed burning earth.
Sue for Dombass partition and peace. This is the same with the Kurds in Syria. Sue for partition and peace. The US military is in the middle of that one too… “stealing” oil and attempting to destabilize the region. Well…for oil…what else?
Russian politicos are a bit less media and poll driven than their Western counterparts. They can afford to add this insult to the laundry list of complaints while they continue to get their ducks in a row.
You don’t actually have to control The Hague to conduct war crimes trials.
Lessons will be repeated . Until they are learned. Don’t make juicy obvious targets. Both sides have been nailed loosing expensive trained troops ammo and equipment .
Agree with Larry – The reactions was beyond belief, almost as if the ukronazis have won the war – Although tragic, Russians lost a company of troops while the ukronazis are loosing close to a batallion every day , so simple maths dictates that NATO is losing and big time – So once all conditions are matched up , we will see the first industrial strength combined arms operation in the last several decades – We are kind of lucky to see the physical destruction of Nazism , Fascism and Imperialism in one single move
Yes all agree the big one is coming, the big arrow push, all powerful Country splitting juggernaut. I bet CNN and the BBC have the graphics ready to roll along with the shoot down and casualty numbers as provided.
Some have correctly mentioned the importance of timing (Mr J. Walter above) and the wait for ducks to be arranged.
It would be devastating for Ukraine.
So what if there is no massive offensive?
What if they just keep on doing what they are doing?
That could be devastating for Europe/NATO.
I maybe wrong but I feel we are too often watching the wrong conflict.
You don’t put a million man army in the field to just sit there playing Dixie. Or as Jose Wells said, you gonna pull those pistols or just whistle dixie.
This army is not Jose’s pistol, but Chekhov’s gun. We all know that it’s going to fire, and still it’s dramatic. 🙂
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chekhov%27s_gun
Raven, I’m not saying they will not be used, they are there for good reason.
Things will end in Ukraine one day.
Some say that the West used Ukraine to get at Russia, now I hear Russia will use Ukraine to get at the West.
We need to realise that Russia is putting a million plus in the field and it intends to play Dixie loud and clear. That is who they are facing, the US knows this just as the Russians do. It seems the big boys are both content to use the people of Ukraine and of Europe to their advantage, everyone else has little say in this matter.
I hope I am wrong but my gut feeling is if this drags on it will end with Ukrainians fighting Ukrainians in their own cities.
As for the real conflict, we will have to wait and see.
Ukranians have been fighting Ukranians in their own cities since at least 2014
I understand your confusion, many others thought that too, including Putin.
It took until 2022 to prove them wrong.
The Saker spells out the categories well at the piece Larry points to.
Civilians who don’t understand warfare
Infantiles who get outraged every time NATO successfully strikes Russian targets
Western (fake) “friends of Russia” who mantrically repeat that “Putin is weak/indicisive/naive/fill_the_blank“
Western PSYOPS who want to spread FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubts) in the Russian general public
? to quite a few too many commentators on this thread, what one do you belong too?
I came to the same conclusion as Larry. Acknowledging the victims shows the difference between the two sides in the war and their credibility. The West’s hysteria is justified, every Ukrainian victory, even the smallest, gives them false hope that sending billions of dollars to Ukraine is not in vain.
Even among my own household, I have met characters who say that the Russian victims of the attack are measured in the “thousands”. My answer was that they refer to the party whose president, a few hours before the attack, in his New Year’s message, called on Ukrainians to be inspired, among other things, by the Ukrainian woman who shot down a Russian drone with a jar of tomatoes.
If I hadn’t seen the video of that clown, I wouldn’t have believed that a normal person could say that
https://t.me/ZoranStevanovic/264
the date jan 12th sticks in my mind. if the russians launched a large offensive on that day it would send a real message that they plan to end it by spring.
https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/article/the-soviet-winter-offensive-from-the-vistula-to-the-oder/
regards,
ralph
From Britain I can confirm Larry’s observations about the MSM coverage here.
During the 8 am news headline bulletin from the BBC’s Radio 5Live news and current affairs speech-based station, the attack on the Russian barracks was the 5th or 6th item, behind reports about industrial unrest on the railways, among health sector staff, and highway patrol officers, more general difficulties within the NHS, and the tragic deaths of two British nationals in a helicopter crash in Australia.
In the 9 am bulletin the attack wasn’t even mentioned!
Some outlandish conjecture on my part: the government here is desperate to avoid too many people making comparisons between the dire state of our national infrastructure and services with the generosity lavished upon Ukraine.
I would like to draw attention to this article.
“О проблеме сотовой связи в зоне СВО, и не только”
https://www.worldandwe.com/ru/page/o_probleme_sotovoy_svyazi_v_zone_svo_i_ne_tolko.html
I stopped visiting the Saker blog months ago, frankly because that guy is BSC in some respects.
Any time someone uses the term “Anglo-Zionist” it reminds me of some of the nut jobs on the zero hedge comment board.
I am fully on board with Russia deconstructing NATO/Western hegemony just because I believe in sovereignty of nations and self determination.
But the Saker blog reeks a little too much of, “The Joo’s did it” for me.
I understand. I’m not comfortable with that either.
I gravitate to sites like yours and Alexander Mercouris because I feel like I get objective information and opinion.
The Saker and a lot of his commentariat are astoundingly anti-Semite but I get the impression that a lot of his analyses are worthwhile.
I just do not bother reading the ravings in the comments. To be honest, I had not realized that many gibbering, racist, idiots still existed, even in the USA.
That’s what repulses me about “Unz Review.” But with the “Saker” I don’t see this emphasis on an ominous “Jewish world conspiracy”. At the Saker, a priest also writes as a guest author. It deals with religious explanations. I can’t do anything with it. But hey, there should be freedom of expression in the alternative media.
“I can’t do anything with it. ”
Methodologically he has always been a clown prone to over-extension including into “strategy” and “emotionalism” like his “associates/sources”, and “suceeded” in maintaining this by “peer review” of those who were in large measure also clowns in the wonderland of “useful foolery” whom also resort to it was not me it was my sisterness when faced by “unexpected outcomes”.
If/when you can access an original electronic version of his blog including comments from February 2014 until June 2014 (the contents often being finessed in the printed version) you will note the almost constant Russia must invade Ukraine mantra/useful foolery, which aided “old guys” and “green men” in achieving a “highly likely” possible result with a clean sheet, to facilitate what is for afters by facilitating the restriction of what is for now.
So “freedom of expression” is always useful even if restricted to raising the noise/signal ratio, and also amusing when such as “The Saker” are annointed with authority/personality/cult status for his services in facilitating the sustaining of “we the people hold these truths to be self-evident with god on our side”.
The Internet is filled with a tsunami of input. It is tremendously complicated to distinguish information from disinformation and facts from illusions. Add to that the garbage of the mainstream and the PSYOP’s. This is just the reality we all have to live with. It’s like a jigsaw puzzle where you are constantly trying to find the thousands of pieces to each other only to find that you were on the wrong path. But that sounds more dramatic than it is. The primary thing is never to cast a truth in concrete. Always be willing to correct yourself. When I have to deal with people who carry their truth in front of them like dogmas, then a door closes on me.
I have already read convincing analyses from the “Saker” himself. Andrei Martyanov is a firm address with me. But with him, I sometimes feel like he’s throwing a glass of whiskey in my face when I say “but”. I’m glad to have found this blog here. Add a little Scott Ritter to it and “Moon of Alabama” is still worth reading. Also “Global Research” and “New Eastern Outlook.” Otherwise, I’ll have to fish for useful stuff in the European and Russian sources.
But the own thinking is the most difficult of all.
It is tremendously complicated to distinguish information from disinformation and facts from illusions.
Omniscience is never an option but some through many years of experience of testing hypotheses through implementation and subsequent rigourous truthfull analysis, tend to find that it becomes less complicated as is the case in many activities – this is normally defined as expertise based and evaluated not on the previous project, but on the next project. since time in its various descriptions context
“The primary thing is never to cast a truth in concrete.”
No there is no absolute truth to cast in concrete; belief in the existence of whole truth is the concrete in which people are cast.
Given that omniscience is never an option and hence whole “truth” is never an option which conditions truthful analyses, this conditioning requires acknowledgement in scientific papers as preface and a full delineation of components and relationships/interactions which form the bases of the attempt to explore the hypothesis.
Consequently the judicial oath to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth renders the person who intones the oath in contempt of court at the commencement of intoning the oath.
” It’s like a jigsaw puzzle where you are constantly trying to find the thousands of pieces to each other only to find that you were on the wrong path. ”
That is the case throughout scientific research including the processes of “strategic development” and why some charlatans like “The Saker” invent rather than accept and admit conditionality and attempt to evangelise this “certainty”, to which some laugh, as was the case with “Americans” coming to save “The Russians” in 1991 and subsequent since, the Russians had wasted their lives until they met the “Americans” and by the grace of god were afforded the opportunities of being resurrected by daring to be a Daniel, dare to walk alone, particularly in matters of “strategic development”, since very little scientific research on these matters are released into the public domain, and even if they were, in present contexts they would likely only be understood by a relatively small audience, given the misguided belief shared by many that science requires and is predicated upon “certainty” instead of doubt, and/or it’s all belief/opinion and hence my opinion is as valid as the next person which facilitates their over-extension into areas of which they have little if any understanding whilst their socialisation conditions them to expect to understand almost everything given “we the people hold these truths are self-evident” and hence they should also know, whilst simultaneously they live in coercive social relations which shames them for not “knowing” thereby using the anti-intellectualism variant to sustain divide and rule.
In illustration perhaps some as a function of shame will say the above is nonsense, word salad, instead of admitting a cardinal “sin” of not knowing.
“I have already read convincing analyses from the “Saker” himself.”
Did you test the analyses as part of the “convincing” process?
If so what methodological tools applied to which datastreams including the outcomes did you apply to the “analyses” to lead you to the notion that they were convincing?
Did you ponder
“Methodologically he has always been a clown prone to over-extension including into “strategy” and “emotionalism” like his “associates/sources”, and “suceeded” in maintaining this by “peer review” of those who were in large measure also clowns in the wonderland of “useful foolery” whom also resort to it was not me it was my sisterness when faced by “unexpected outcomes”.
any why a datastream from February 2014 until June 2014 is deemed to be of possible interest ?
“If/when you can access an original electronic version of his blog including comments from February 2014 until June 2014 (the contents often being finessed in the printed version) you will note the almost constant Russia must invade Ukraine mantra/useful foolery, which aided “old guys” and “green men” in achieving a “highly likely” possible result with a clean sheet, to facilitate what is for afters by facilitating the restriction of what is for now.”
OR did you rely on a person you perceive/perceived to be an authority “The Saker””himself” and extrapolate previous notion of I have already read convincing analyses from the “Saker” himself.” into the future?
“Andrei Martyanov is a firm address with me. But with him, I sometimes feel like he’s throwing a glass of whiskey in my face when I say “but”.”
Mr. Martyanov in following scientific practices in the context of a blog rigouously tries to avoid over-extending his area(s) of expertise but sometimes fails since one of his areas of expertise does not adequately extend to pedagogic communication, although he might disagree forgetting that he has perhaps not enjoyed a consistent interaction with a rigorous mentor for a good number of years.
“Always be willing to correct yourself.”
Of course but this is not encouraged or even accepted in “The United States of America”, and hence why the coercive social relations self-misrepresented as “The United States of America” has always been at war with science and the world including itself.
“When I have to deal with people who carry their truth in front of them like dogmas, then a door closes on me.”
That is a huge mistake – open the door and explore what is dogma ?, in what context do people rely on dogma?, what are the contents of dogma? since this is a significant phenomena of “perception management” which through time is
transcended.
You may have noticed that I have not addressed your contribution in full.
Most current scientific research including strategic development is done in the context of competition including “war” which is not restricted to things that go bang, and in such context communication is affected on implementation which others interpret.
Hence the useful foolery of charlatans have utility.
Or more expansively:
“So “freedom of expression” is always useful even if restricted to raising the noise/signal ratio, and also amusing when such as “The Saker” are annointed with authority/personality/cult status for his services in facilitating the sustaining of “we the people hold these truths to be self-evident with god on our side, or at least on our bank notes.”
There’s some kind of eschatological world domination story in all three Abrahamic religions. In the case of Judaism, it’s more secular, based on earth and not in heaven.
It involves a character known as Mashiach. After dozens of them over thousadnd of years, you’d think enthusiasm might wane, but not yet. It’s a very large rabbit hole which might take a while to discover.
An anglo-zionist is basically a neocon, but I basically agree with you on saker.
I’d prefer to call it the melding of WASP empire-style conservatism and Jewish trotskiist zionism to a common cause but’s that probably not so catchy. Besides, it’s a bit flawed as well….but not by much.
Will, for someone who “believe(s) in sovereignty of nations and self determination.” you appear awfully unwilling to look closely at the tight-knit, ethnic group which controls most US media and social media, the US financial system and banks, a huge part of the US housing stock, the military industry and big pharma, and which has a vastly disproportionate representation in Congress and on SCOTUS, as well as overwhelming funding (and thus control) of Congress critters, and occupies a vastly disproportionate share of influential roles in the Biden admin (and other admins).
And, incidentally, a young man of that same ethnic group who is reasonably accused of a massive crypto fraud involving $billions is swiftly released on bail by a judge belonging to the same group, while hundreds of ordinary Americans who exercised their constitutional right to peacefully protest were not just arrested but incarcerated without bail for months and years in horrific conditions.
A reasonable consideration of that pattern would lead one to wonder whether sovereignty and self-determination is at all possible for the majority of Americans.
The Bidens and McConnells and Romneys and McCains and Milleys of this world are not of that group and appear to have a well developed taste for corruption and devastation but they also dance to the tune of their funders, who disproportionately are.
I appreciate it is uncomfortable, reality often is. Ignore it, as much of the US and the EU are doing over the Ukraine (and over the “green energy” scam and the fraudulent COVID policies), and it is likely to bite you hard.
The few things I’ve seen or read it looks to me that parts ukraine (kiev)?will become new israel with black rock and Larry , who was that other larry? Oh yeah silverstein -doing all the planning
They just need 1 trillion dollars from who? Well the usa of course
Hate to be all anti zionist but we’ll I guess I can’t help it I’m white and part german .
Please disregard anything about black rock and 9/11 I’m just spewing my jew hate I guess
This happened because some people turned on location on their mobile phone. Anonymized data and then destroyed by an anonymous missile. Everything is logical.
There will never be an offensive, because quite obviously there can’t be. It is clear to me that we cannot believe anything from any of the involved actors regarding neither battlefield situations nor geopolitical developments. I understand why of course; truth is the first victim in any conflict and this conflict is global and on multiple levels. Russian numbers regarding Ukraine are approaching US Vietnam lies about enemy casualties. Ukraine is obviously stronger than what we have been led to believe; and the Russians, after initially having a complete control of the battlespace, have lost the initiative and cannot regain it. I don’t think this is due to Russian incompetence per se, nor Ukrainian competence. The fact of the matter is that warfare has changed right in front of our eyes. This conflict is as much a game changer as WW1. We are watching real-time that the Era of mass-forces and grand battles are over, at least until one side figures out how to overcome the stasis and revolutionizes the paradigm. Today, the battlefields are under complete and total surveillance by the US/NATO intelligence fusion centers both within and without the battlespace. I know this personally, and I assume the Russians are also fully aware of every aspect – US imagery and signals intelligence are able to see in real-time any massing of forces above battalionzlevel strength (company at the line of contact) and provide that information to Ukrainian forces and NATO advisors, such that it is suicide to mass any offensive elements. This is currently a war of squad-on-squad, so that company maneuver is the rule. Ukrainian squad tactics at the start of the war were by far more professional than their Russian counterparts, but the disparity in artillery has obviated that advantage, and now the Russian squad is roughly equal to the Ukrainian squad. Thus we are at an impasse; and this is why it is taking the Russians months to try and capture a small village. Every move the Russians make is known in real-time and countered, and every move the Ukrainians make is pounded by Russian artillery assets. Until this impasse is broken by one side or the other using novel tactics, the Russian advantage in personnel numbers won’t come into play. We may well be hearing Alexander Mercouris telling us this time next month that “The Russians are about to take Bakhmut any day now”.
You simply don’t get this conflict. Is not about territory, is about demilitarizing Ukraine and now Nato too, since they provide direct money and hardware support to their chosen proxy. This was the goal from day one.
Once you demilitarize and denazify the Ukie army, territories will fall directly into Russian hands, as there will be no functioning resistance.
But brainwashing by western media is still working, I guess.
This is mostly propaganda. Even with the military and civilian satellites that NATO has available, it is impossible to achieve a situation, where “every move the Russians make is known in real-time and countered”. At the Northern latitudes Ukraine sits at, low-earth orbit satellites require considerable inclination relative to the earth’s orbital plane to be able to pass over Ukraine. This means that each such satellite can make a pass over the battle space only a very few times per day, perhaps only twice or so. It certainly does not add up to real-time surveillance of the entire battle space. Airplanes and heavy drones, for their part, have to stay too far away to compensate for that; lighter drones are shot down by the Russians.
The reason why it’s going slow for the Russians is not the vaunted and largely fictional NATO reconnaissance advantage. It’s the political constraints they were under at the beginning combined with their lack of manpower, Ukrainian fortifications, Western supplies of material and manpower, and above all the Ukrainian willingness to use up most of their own manpower as cannon fodder, a willingness the Russians do not share.
Russian forces, by the way, certainly have the technological edge when it comes to certain types of reconnaissance, for example, new-introducewd passive measns of counter-battery sensing using accoustic and seismic means.
A comparison can be drawn to chess. In chess it’s also the case that each side has total knowledge of the “battlespace”. The way you can still surprise the counterpart is by way of setting up complex, mutually supporting vectors of offense and defense. You think ahead more than the counterpart, then you make a move that he could not discern as to the consequences it has.
We need to start looking at facts regarding the strategic war, as well. To start with, in my part of Europe – which is my own first-hand knowledge and therefore all I can reliably claim – there is NO oil or gas crisis. As a matter of fact, a liter of Euro95 gas is 1.33€, a 10% DECREASE from the high in early September. (Source: globalpetrolprices.com)
Heating oil is plentiful and the price has decreased markedly over the same period. The average value for Croatia during Sep 19 – Dec 26, 2022 was 1.15€ with a minimum of 0.98€ on 19 Dec and a maximum of 1.26€ on 24 Oct. (Source: globalpetrolprices.com)
Inflation is a worry; the annual inflation rate in Croatia rose further to 13.5% in November of 2022, a new record high, up from 13.2% in the previous month. Main upward pressure came from prices of food & non-alcoholic beverages (19.2% vs 19.7% in October); restaurants & hotels (17% vs 17.8%); furniture & household equipment (16.6% vs 15.8%); housing & utilities (16.5% vs 16.1%) and transportation (13.3% vs 11.5%). On a monthly basis, consumer prices increased by 0.9%, down slightly from a 1.3% rise in the prior month. (Source: Croatian Bureau of Statistics)
The Euro is now trading at 0.93€ to the USD, a dramatic slide in the favor of the Euro, gaining ~6% in just the last month, but the slide started in Oct and hasn’t slowed down in that time. (Source: xe.com)
The ruble has remained somewhat stable, but in the last month has lost ~20% to the USD month-on-month, trading at this moment 73.75 rubles to the USD. The trade was ~61 rubles to the USD on Dec 1. (Source: xe.com)
The price of a barrel of benchmark Brent Crude (for February contract) is $85.91, an increase of ~$10 over the recent low of $75.10 in early December – but still in a long-term downtrend, $36 down from the high of $122 in June. (Source: oilprice.com)
We all need to stop being so invested in hoping that Russia “wins” and globohomo “loses”, and start rationally considering these pertinent facts. Events will work themselves out regardless – and we have no control or influence over the decision-making levers. Our best option is to be aware and plan accordingly.
Andy may not have seen the BBC late night news that did have the attack on Russian forces as a lead item before moving on to the general mayhem that is UK today. However, GB News, which is not known as a government lickspittle, comes up with this:
https://www.gbnews.uk/news/vladimir-putin-warned-he-could-face-a-coup-within-months-as-russia-turns-on-leader/416317
Col Kemp has hitherto been known for his straight talking sense on the Ukraine issue so where did all this come from?
Your excellent commentary yesterday led me to Oleg Nesterenko , President of the European Trade and Industry Center (Paris) article on ‘thepostil’:
https://www.thepostil.com/conflict-in-ukraine-genesis/
This ‘Four petro-dollar wars’ article joins all the dots from Iraq to Libya to the current play between USA – China – Russia (and Ukraine). Threats to the petro-dollar are existential to the US of A. This was riveting stuff.
[ I know little of ‘thepostil’ – French Canadian, I believe, Jacques Baud (NATO analyst) – but click the ‘home’ button and read their lead item from Archbishop Carlo Viganò, former papal nuncio to the USA – it is inspirational. ]
After this, I have little doubt that somewhere, somehow, a NATO/US installation will suffer a catastrophic strike and be a devastating blow to NATO resources. Russia has a unique history of asymmetric retaliation against enemy targets when these kinds of attacks happen. I’d be watching my back from now if I was NATO or the septic nation. Payback is a bitch.
Surely the turning point for the West towards Ukraine was 4 or 5 months ago, when they pretty much stopped delivering arms in any quantity. Whether that was a deliberate decision or forced on them because of lack of existing weapons and manufacturing doesn’t really matter.
I’m still puzzled why US doesn’t just order Ukraine to retreat forcing Russia to chase Nazis all over W Ukraine leading to many Russian deaths and many civilian deaths and glorious photo opportunities for the loyal media.
That would be long term thinking, I guess US policy is purely guided by the next two weeks of media coverage and they continue to get away with a fiction that US (or Ukraine) is winning. A fiction that costs maybe 4,000 Ukrainian military deaths a week
Was this a retaliatory strike for the Dec 30/22 missile attack on the US facility in Al-Omar in eastern Syria oilfields?
https://thecradle.co/Article/News/19938
It was irresponsable to have a conscript new years party close to an ammo depot in an unfortified location. Those responsable should be punished. It is unfortunate, but will have no impact on the war.
The positive side is it made clear that this is real war and NATO will go to a lot more lengths to harm and weaken the Russians and postpone the inevitable defeat. The propaganda around the Ukrainian success is to screen this defeat from the general public as Long as possible.
I don‘t see it as trying to push the Russians to deviate from there warplan. The GS will stick to it. Hopefully NATO in Europe will collapse and the US go home. It might give Europe a chance of recovery from its dire situation.
What is really grinding my gear is seeing our main stream media having a orgasm about it. It’s not their blood spilled so it’s no drama , a mere statistic as Joseph said once. As if we have to also rejoice from the death of some men cause “Russia bad you know”. Those so called journalist make me puke.
We’ve seen street protest with bigger death toll without any MSM media even reporting about it. Remember Odessa Union House for an example , or recent Kirghistan uprising … no first page for them.
That’s shitty PR stunt, it’s not convincing at all … on the contrary I should say : if killing 60 soldiers is a great victory , how about 100 000 ?
Larry,
You have apparently rejected my earlier comment – do you mind telling me why – was Kemp too far off message?
(I have a copy – if required)
From all indications, this attack looks like NATO troops killing Russian behind the facade of the Ukrainian war. The attack consisted of Western Intel, Western missiles, manned by Western crews. The only thing that could be worse is if the attack was on Russian soil. That, in effect, would have been a NATO attack of mother Russia. Seems like this stupid war is creeping closer and closer to a direct conflict between NATO and Russia. The only thing that is preventing is the adult behavior of Putin.
It is Russian soil.
I get that, but, the West doesn’t acknowledge it. Either way, NATO is getting deeper into the morass of this war.
Nobody knows.
Democrats and Republicans are destined for the ash heap. Here is an example:
“Thank you for your recent correspondence regarding Putin’s War of aggression against Ukraine. I appreciate your taking the time to contact me.
I understand your concerns and welcome your interest in this matter. I am in full support of the people of Ukraine and will continue to push for bipartisan legislation that can aid them in this invasion. I was proud to have introduced the Ukraine Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act of 2022 which passed the House and Senate and was signed into law. I have ensured and will continue to ensure that funding sent to Ukraine is governed by robust oversight.
As a member of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly and Co-Chairman and founder of the European Union Caucus, Ukraine victory remains critical to U.S. national security interest and global security. I will keep your thoughts on this issue in mind should more legislation in support of Ukraine come before me on the House floor during the 117th Congress.
It is an honor to represent the people of the Second Congressional District of South Carolina, and I value your input. To sign up for my email newsletter, please visit my website at http://www.joewilson.house.gov.”
Wilson is a “good” Republican.
Western propaganda likes to say that Russia is a totalitarian state with a fully controlled media. It’s laughable. Russian media, and especially social media, goes off anytime there’s the smallest setback or failure in Ukraine. This was the reaction to the death of 60+ Russian servicemen in one incident, and yet western media would have us believe that Russia has lost 100,000 men so far?
The furious reaction from the plugged in Russian public is understandable. Basing those guys there, next to an ammo dump, having a NYE party, allowing their phones to all ping calls home, etc. were all terrible decisions by the unit commander. But as Larry points out, the Russian MoD briefings include multiples of this number every day as a matter of course. The same goes for the few attacks inside Russia at Engles, Belograd, etc. These periodic successes by Ukraine are real, but they’re periodic and far less than what’s inflicted on Ukraine. If the conflict was relatively even or Ukraine was winning, few of these events would be news worthy because they’d all blend into each other. That they are propaganda/news worthy is a good indication of how things really are.
The word is the Russians were housed in a school. Russia complains about Ukraine doing the same. What comes around goes around. Why were so many Russian soldiers housed in one place so close the the conflict zone?
No, Redrider, Russia does not complain about Ukies being housed in schools. Russia and (the highly compromised) Amnesty International rightly points out that the NAZIs use schools, hospitals, and other civilian use buildings to launch attacks from.
Facts matter.
Ain’t that another war crime? How many has the prancing Zelfield folly boy racked up so far?
the west (america, eu, et al)is staring death in the eye…………financial, economic, uncontrolled migration upending the social order with a political and perhaps actual elite/s staring like a deer into the headlights of the multipolar world order literally being born yet truly powerless to stop beyond futilely lashing out which is all the barracks attack is and will be viewed by the world in 6 months.
those of us or at least the great bulk living in the west don’t have a clue the life and living standard we have enjoyed and were born into is ending and if the decisions our leaders are making today continue down the road that living standard we expect and enjoy will disappear for the foreseeable future.
russia and its role now is ””the messenger”” to the west and the message being delivered on behalf of the non western world is this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WINDtlPXmmE
I do find it very strange that the death of 60 or so Russian servicemen is so widely celebrated in the Western media. What about the hundreds of thousands of Russian deaths, the fact that Russia is out of ammunition? What about the ghost of kiev shooting down the entire Russian airforce singlehandly?
Ukraine is winning so hard that their commander Gen. Zaluzhnyi only needs about 300 new tanks, 600 to 700 new infantry fighting vehicles, and 500 new Howitzers in order to finish the job. Another 500 billion dollars would be a tremendous help as well.
The narrative is so contradictory. I suspect the Russian really don’t care about the Western narrative and only focus on the facts on the ground. The Western narrative requires that the desired conclusion be true but often doesn’t seem to be supported by facts. Who is this narrative designed to fool and for what reason? Surely the alphabet people and the Pentagon don’t think the Russians believe this nonsense.
Raven 6 “You don’t put a million man army in the field to just sit there playing Dixie”.
Don’t get me wrong, it will be and is being used. Just maybe not inline with the West’s thinking.
About a week ago Putin said he would expand the Army to about 1.5 million and trust me he is playing Dixie. That is the whole point.
This stopped being about Ukraine along time ago.
So dig in, build top cover along you line of choice, advance or pull back as required. 10 miles here,10 Kms there (maybe a big type push) but still.
Still 10-20,000 rounds a day lobbed into the SMO and trade as normal with 90% of the rest of the World.
Think forward 6-12 Months for NATO, “We need a few more billion here and do we have another Patriot battery? Some duffer turned the radar on and now it’s gone.”
All at the same time that new unexpected proxy war the West never saw coming kicks off requiring a NATO out of area deployment.
I agree in the end the final fighting in Ukraine will be hard and bloody in the tatters of the remaining cities.
However, who will be fighting who in the cities is not clear.
Why do people say it is a Ukrainian attack on Russian soldiers? It is an attack by American weapons, most likely manned by Americans, and coordinated using American/Western intelligence. Therefore isn’t it an American attack on Russian soldiers?
Media is awful. I chuckle if high ranking Russian tells world media the Russian people will remember those who celebrate Russian deaths.
Military Summary Channel on YT (he’s not much of an analyst, but covers developments nicely) mentioned the possibility that the target hit is a staging area for recently mobilized units (ie. Russian professional army rather than DPR militia) massing for their first offensive ops. If this is true the HIMARS strike was preemptive to imminent Russian offensive action, but I don’t see it would influence the timing of that action much one way or the other.
” … the target hit is a staging area for recently mobilized units .. ”
That’s the main takeaway of this incident, Russian regulars are in the Donbas, a place where they haven’t been since this war began.
Are they there to launch an offensive? I don’t think so, launching an offensive out of the Donbas seems to me an idiotic idea. I think the role of these newly arrived professional Russian soldiers, will be to hunt down an army as it flees westward toward the Dnieper River, in an effort to avoid encirclement.
The dogs nipping at the heels.
These would be limited-objective attacks, controlled baptism by fire, ie. walk phase. The further implication is that full-blown offensive action is weeks off.
You guys are reading too much into this. NATO parading this HIMARS strike is simply NATO boasting about how well they’re pinning Russia into a little corner of Ukraine (forcing to play some last-ditch “war of attrition” crap) over mere chump change (relative to the whole US/NATO budget + manpower altogether).
NATO manpower? Half of it (or more) is Turkish and Turkiye isn’t going to war with Russia. When NATO publishes figures they include the entire US military without subtracting for force positioning in Asia or anywhere else. The US has 100,000 troops in Europe right now, the largest contingent in decades. But how many are combat forces? The NATO rapid reaction force is partly theoretical and has a reaction time of weeks (maybe a bit better now).
Unless there’s a massive US buildup in Europe we’re not at all privy to, any real NATO action is months from being ready because it’s dependent on moving US forces to Europe. European NATO could probably put almost as many tanks into the field as Ukraine has already lost. NATO’s not ready ready for a real fight.
If there were any strategic thought or intelligent people in our government, we would not be involved in Ukraine. I don’t read any vast plan in this attack. Do you know what a shit testing girlfriend is? A shit tester throws a tantrum over dinner. If you put up with it, you must love her. But a shit tester has to constantly up the ante, to see if you still “love” her. Bear with me here. Eventually. If there is a single brain cell, or portion of testicles left, the man leaves. And she cries, and asks “Why”???? The entire world is watching this shitshow. From the weaponization of SWIFT, to the charnel ground of Ukraine. To the destroyed economies of Europe. Russia will win this war in Ukraine. There will “fingers crossed” hopefully not be a nuclear exchange. But who the fuck would get involved with the USA in any situation now? Economically? Where they just steal your shit? Do you think the average guy in Taiwan is hoping for a war with China now? Trade, tourism, everything is going to move away from the US. Our allies will be the insane little pretend kingdom of the UK, and the shattered welfare basket of the EU. Mexico and Central/South America will be our slave labor, and we will preside over the social and moral decline of our country into a failed state. The End.
I very much agree. I think people are distracted by what’s happening militarily in Ukraine, and don’t see the big picture, which is what’s happening economically and politically in the world. There is a major realignment happening at the moment, and from the looks of it, it’s not gonna be good for the West. Ukraine is just a sideshow, the real show is the new Cold War environment which is taking shape in the world. The problem now is that the West has been exposed as hypocrites and its luster has been exposed as a mirage. So, in this new Cold War, it won’t have the same appeal as before, meaning that the West will rely on diminishing support from the “rest”. I don’t see this ending well for the West.
And I thought it was giving up your freedom giving up your property , chained to cbdc and social credit score and basically sharing all my money and wealth so me and Mr bangladesh can take our equal dollar 37 cents down to the bug bank and get our food for the week or do they deliver since I got no wheels now.
“Western support for the war” is a mirage. The people that run the country don’t care about public support, they make public support out of thin air.
I agree with John Helmer, we are in a generational war of the West v. Russia that most of us didn’t sign on to. Once Ukraine loses the east of the country in the next few months, we will just be entering the next act of this tragedy.
I’d say the war will move to Poland v. Russia based on their recent mobilization. NATO will declare western Ukraine a protectorate and move troops in.
I think that the failed crossing of the Seversky Donets was Russia’s biggest failure until now. And that was the kind of failure that was really consequential: Russia stopped trying to cross the river.
This on the other hand is mainly a lesson to stay awake. It is unlikely to have long term effects except for Russia becoming more careful to take maximum security precautions.
Note that the timing of the attack may have been the main reason for its success. Just before 12 all those guys at the air defense were probably busy watching the clock creeping towards 12 and ready to jump up and celebrate when it arrived. So they were distracted. So I am not inclined to some special meaning to the attack like the Saker does: this was an unique opportunity that won’t come back soon.
Hey remember this: 2004 Forward Operating Base Marez (Mosul,Iraq) bombing
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004_Forward_Operating_Base_Marez_bombing
A suicide bomber is just as much of a precision weapon as any HIMARS rocket. The Marez bombing killed 22 and injured 72 others and it sure as hell did not deter the US from prosecuting Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) for another decade +.
The Russian loss of 60+ soldiers is tragic as is the loss of 200+ UKR soldiers per day.
Russia has the means to bring an end to the SMO through military operations…the UKR does not despite Western military aid…their only option is through direct negotiations with Russia and that is very unlikely to happen in the near term. Unfortunately that means more casualties on both sides.
“All the ducks” rarely line up in war because the enemy always gets a vote…to that extent I disagree with The Saker. In my humble opinion it would be an error for Russia to launch a winter ground offensive even if the ducks were lined up…US-NATO anticipates such an offensive and is trying to bait Russia into one regardless of timing or preparation. I’d be surprised if the Russian General Staff hasn’t war gamed through the operational risks.
The SMO has many dimensions and domestic political pressure (as Larry pointed out in the last paragraph of this article) is a force to be reckoned with; but will the US-NATO-EU political elites listen to and act on the will of their constituents? I pray so.
Today two US-made MLRS HIMARS launchers were destroyed that had been launching attacks on the DPR. Recently the Russians have said the response time was less than two minutes, which means there isn’t enough time to relocate a HIMARS launcher. It’s possible that HIMARS launchers have become a one-shot expendable resource in Ukraine.
They should have a heyday with 30 minute knockdown knockouts of Patriots then.
Anyway, wasn’t some Ivy League Univ. demanding they be called Matriots from now on?
Europe are very vulnerable. A couple of mines on those Norwegian pipelines to Germany and Poland. A couple to the two that go to the UK and it is game over.
Add in those internet cables passing by the south of Ireland going boom and then it is well and truly over. Interesting that Russia was conducting Naval exercises off the Irish coast just before war started, exactly where those cables run.
This is turning out to be just another US/NATO grift/& body war drain. And Russia is turning out to be no more fiercer or triumphant than the Taliban. So, 11-20 years from now, it might end.
“which will increase domestic political pressure on the NATO countries to take care of business at home”
Since when has that counted for shit? There’s no real “domestic pressure” to keep sending billions to the 404 sinkhole. Most people can’t even be bothered to put up a “solidarity” avatar on their social media, and the economic bite is already being painfully felt, yet more fake digits keep flowing into this dumbass proxy war.
The “will of the people” hasn’t mattered for 60+ years here in the West. That ain’t changin’ until there are heads on spikes along the Beltway.
https://tankhistoria.com/cold-war/v-2-engine/
Pardon me for a massive digression. The V2 tank engine. First used in the T34. Had a unheard of aluminum block. 500 screaming horses. A 1000 horse variant is used in the T90m today. Russian engineering. It’s working, don’t fuck with it. And in a modern parallel drove those T34s right up the ass of superior Western technology.
Larry & friends
I read, a flurry of lesser missiles, then 1 salvo of himar; 6 missiles, 2 intercepted, 4 on target. New war, eh! At most 6 himar left, 2 minutes to shoot & scoot! That was an expensive headline. Washington/London/Kiev need it, because the pols are noticing that a bag containing stale dated hamburger & Ichiban shouldn’t be $35! On the massive attack; I think STAVKA has to get a lot of ducks in a row, the easiest operation is to slice down the Polish border. That will probably bring Poland (hotheads), a NATO country into the war; a small Polish army would be cut off in the Ukraine. Toxic to any sitting government. I think the Russians have to able to hit Poland so hard & so fast, they say ‘uncle’ immediately. There are variations on this theme but I think all variations are best solved with immediate, brutal escalation, & a hope that Ma & Pa Kettle see that the Ukraine is grossly overpriced!
i’m sure the 4 or 5 people who have ever read my comments on various sites are tired of me saying this, but:
This. Shit. Ain’t. Checkers. It’s. CHESS.
the willing slaves in the US of Adderall wil never understand that. there’s a concept called “asian patience”…maybe someone needs to remind these dumb f_cks what continent russia is in.
they did what countless combatants – hamas and the russians themselves comes to mind – have done: overload the AD with a volley of cheap sh_t then shoot the stuff that actually works. not exactly making napoleon sit up in his grave and applaud. plus they did it right at midnight on new year’s eve. classy. hard working soldiers trying to have a monent of levity and the NATOtards blow them up. must have been an odd experience for them…shooting at the donbass but not hitting civilians.
my hate is PURE and i’m just an internet rando. can’t imagine how badly actual russians want to see these guys mailed back to kiev in a cigar box.
Much of the years of planning, strategy, and information warfare has been directed towards getting Putin and Russia to act rashly.
Since 2014 there has been a drumbeat of propaganda against Putin personally. All negotiations were a farce. This awkwardly put Putin in the role of Neville Chamberlain. Wait, we are…? Merkel and others confirmed it.
Shelling of Russian speakers in Donbass after the coup killed around 14K people over 8 years and the collective West never said a thing against it. Instead Ukraine with its swastika-positive militia/now military units has been lavished with NATO aid and has created elaborate fortifications.
Humanity has learned since the 1300s that the “King of Battle,” (among many other nicknames) – artillery – if given enough time and ammunition, can reduce almost any fortifications. Or at least will if they are far enough aboveground to be useful. Presumably, the West knew Russia had/has a massive advantage in artillery. No less than Gen. Milley said so in 2016.
So the only sensible strategy for the West was to get Putin and Russia angry enough to throw waves of troops at fixed positions – like dummies – in order to “weaken” itself. Weakening apparently being the sum total of strategic planning our leaders did, based upon probably the most counterproductive sanctions in world history.
This explains why the main thrust of western propaganda has focused on Putin supposedly taking too long to capture objectives or pulling out of insignificant ground, often ground he never wanted in the first place. It fits with continuing to claim he wanted to conquer all of Ukraine in three days with the absurdly small economy of forces op he started in Feb. 2022. Everything they planned depended on misjudgment and overextension. But instead Russia is accumulating mass and taking its time while bleeding Ukraine and the West.
When sanctions backfired, all time pressure went on NATO. The Arsenal of Democracy is barely a shadow of what it once was.
I believe our planners are so dumb they were surprised Russia didn’t use human wave tactics on their clever super bunkers, like Stalin’s USSR might have. Some really seem to think Russia hasn’t built anything new or changed much since 1991.
God help us.
” Some really seem to think Russia hasn’t built anything new or changed much since 1991.”
That was very useful from 1991 until 1995, the opposite notion that Russia had changed much since 1991 “confirmed” by Mr. Clinton in 1994, being very useful from 1995 until 1999.
“I believe our planners” do require your belief that they exist and plan hence :
https://sonar21.com/western-reaction-to-confirmed-deaths-of-more-than-60-russian-soldiers-is-quite-a-tell/
With regard to these attacks by Ukraine, surely sold in the Western press as sign that Ukraine is really winning and Russia will soon be defeated, I will just say that eventually these will play into Russia’s hand. Ukraine and the West don’t seem to understand that the more they do these, the more they are hated by the Russian speakers (numbering in the millions) in the Donbass & surrounding areas. All Moscow needs to do is show the videos of the destruction to them, and those Donbass residents will get the message.
How the West still thinks that Kiev can still rule over these millions of Russian speakers is just beyond me. No understanding whatsoever of how human psychology works. I guess they must think that after a bout of domestic violence, and the wife files for divorce, the husband can beat her silly and win her love back. What a strange logic.
I guess that what happens when you lie that often, you start believing in your own lies.
“How the West still thinks that Kiev can still rule over these millions of Russian speakers is just beyond me. ”
More importantly it is beyond them as a function of their bullshit and ball grabbing “strategies” some of which you illustrate , deemed to be requirements to attain continuing purpose not restricted to Ukraine.
To quote Mr. Stalin’s remark to Mr. Kaganovich – The Bolsheviks “learned” to talk (practiced self-defeating nonsense and rarely acted to “remove me” unlike these “enemies of the people” from 1969 onwards) and I learned to listen” {thereby facilitating the self-delusion that I always knew best, one of the consequences of which was the occupation of Ukraine between 1941 and 1943} which was replicated with lesser consequences by a Vietnamese politician instructing Mr. Giap to engage prematurely in the transition stage of the Tet offensive, and the Politburo of “The Soviet Union” from 1964 onwards believing/hoping that “The Soviet Union” was reformable, thereby facilitating the ongoing transcendence of both “The Soviet Union” and “The United States of America “by The Russian Federation, whilst the I-know-bestness routines continue by https://sonar21.com/british-propaganda-takes-a-swing-at-general-surovikin/ which of course Mr. Stalin never said}.
europeans won’t make a move : if they go on streets, they got shot with rubber bullets in the head (french yellow jackets).
and if they raise for revolution, they would loose the showdown (having no gun, unlike you in the USA).
Geoffrey, communist from Belgium (that is right, I am from Belgium)
The Russians are not foolish so they wont roll into southern 404 unless or until the ground freezes solid with the high probability of success with primary goals of cutting off all NATO supplies via Poland and being able to liberate all orthodox Christians living along the Black Sea coast who are currently hostages in NATO hands.
The notion that they may never cut off the Polish border preferring to grind down NATO forces along the Donbass frontlines instead doesnt meet Putin´s goal to demilitarize the whole of 404 & roll back NATO so they will come eventually. Russia could wait until summer when the ground is hard or even February 2024 IF Russia chooses to use its economic muscle to choke off diesel grade oil & uranium to USA & EU and pipeline gas to Europe which will collapse industries within a year. Russia has no need for € or $ or £ anymore as there is no longer anything competitively priced for Russians to buy with these currencies.
Western Governments no longer fear their electors because the lesson of Trump has been learned – in USA only Dems and RINOs can get elected in big cities and Congress/Senate while in Europe and the other 5 Eyes nations the only voter choices are all World Economic Forum proxies.
I FOUND the 1st 13 minutes of this podcast to be interesting. Ex USA Army liet. colonel potter said that the Makiivka incident was criminal negligence of the highest order of the part of the russian area commander leaving a large group of men together in a combat area and the men responsible for this need to be dealt with. He says that if the troops were properly dispersed only a plattoon size group of men would ever be affected by an attack like this. He compared it to what happened to the marines and the french in beruit, the rest of the vid is about the inept GOP and some bible stuff.
https://odysee.com/@RoystonPotter:b/beirut-and-makiivka-and-gope:3
My opinion these are the types of mistakes that Surovikin needs to avoid in the future as only screwups like this which affect russian morale will undermine the inevitable victory that it looks like russia will have.
regards,
ralph
” Ex USA Army liet. colonel potter”
Blaming others and hence seeking to deny complicity is a common practice undermining “The United States of America” whilst some components of “The United States of America” wish to believe the opposite.
One example of many being: please don’t conflate us with our governments the sustainment of which many are complicit but intone we meant well, whilst Persilschien certificates are no longer legal tender.
continually pray you are right. thanks for all of your work.
Anglozionists? What kind of a label is this? Where does it come from and what does it mean? So much hate going around, feels as if it is carefully managed.
What Russian deaths are you all talking about?
There won’t be turn point in January. In Europe electricity prices are sharply going down, weather is mild and certainly not any kind of energy crisis.