Boots On The Ground?
In the Military Reality vs. Political Reality post today I quoted the guys at The Duran extensively, including their fears that the US would be conned by Poland and the Baltics (and perhaps a couple of additional nations) into putting US boots on the ground in Ukraine—in an official war fighting capacity, rather than in a support capacity. Unofficially, it’s already possible that US personnel are manning or commanding the M777 howitzer and HIMARS missile systems in Ukraine. It’s beyond doubt that the US is providing the required targeting and guidance support for the efficient operation of these systems. On the other hand, The Duran guys do also suggest that the likelihood is that the US will, in the fairly near future, face considerable pressure to find an off ramp, due to the developing de-dollarization process that will make continued support for the war financially non-viable.
Bernard at MoA has a clever post today that addresses the same topic:
As others have also done, he extrapolates from Desert Storm to argue—with the help of maps—that the US doesn’t remotely have the forces and logistical capabilities at its disposal to launch a Desert Storm scale operation in Ukraine. And Ukraine is 5x larger than the Ukrainian theater would be. He concludes:
No U.S. ground troops will move into Ukraine. It is ludicrous to think otherwise.
What he means, of course, is that it’s ludicrous to think so. Bernard isn’t a native English speaker.
I agree with him on that score, but there is a third possibility that splits the difference between The Duran and MoA. My concern is that the US could blunder into a shooting war on some scale, without ever putting “boots” on Ukrainian soil in a deliberate deployment. What I have in mind is the degree of participation in the fighting that the US is already engaged in, and its support for other nations, like Poland, that are involved in a very direct fashion. Recent public statements by the Russian government suggest that the Russians are losing patience. My concern is that Russia could decide to take out NATO ISR flights around the perimeter of Ukraine, that are actively assisting Ukrainian forces. Or could strike at assembled military equipment—assembled for shipment to Ukraine—inside Poland. Something like that. The US is certainly flirting with possible Russian retaliation. The consequences are not entirely foreseeable.
After reading as many independent journals, reporting & blogs as I can, along with watching hundreds of hours of interviews encompassing dozens of differing viewpoints and after having put as much critital thought as I can into it...I have reached the the conclusion that the World is run by Insane Clowns, Inc.
I don't want to be the party pooper here, but Martin Armstrong's latest thoughts are very sobering. And he has a good track record on predictions: "Zelensky is an actor and he is playing the role given to him by the West to start World War III. Everything he does is to expand the war and to suck in NATO and the United States to create this war. He is succeeding. I can object all I want, but our computer will be right and we are looking at World War III between 2025 and 2027. So batten down the hatches." Here in Switzerland, every house by law has to have a nuclear shelter. I might get down there this weekend and check it's in order! :)