Yesterday we were discussing the difficulty—probably even the impossibility—of waging an expeditionary war against anything like a peer opponent. Expeditionary wars—what US strategist like to refer to as “power projection”, in which our military travels great distances to threaten or to kill people—can be somewhat successful in certain circumstances. For example, against overmatched or “third world” militaries. However, in the current state of military science, the logistical problems for the US of transporting its military forces overseas against
As Mark points out, expeditionary wars are hard to win. Douglas Macgregor, Scott Ritter, Alexander Mercouris and quite a few other close observers tell us that they are morally certain that we have lost this one. Not so fast.
Maybe that's not the point. Maybe the point of this expeditionary war is not to defeat Russia (which in objective point of fact is impossible to do), but to defeat the domestic opposition at home. Trump, MAGA, Tucker Carlson. Now RFK. You. Me. Us. All of the deplorables.
That enormously wise and intelligent observer of US politics, Vladimir Putin, points this out in one of his interviews with Oliver Stone, in response to Stone's question about some vile and inane US insult of Russia. Why are you not more offended Stone asks Putin. Putin says he is not particularly hurt by the insult. They (the US), he says, don't really mean it. Everything they do, he says, 'everything' is intended to influence domestic politics. By this he means, to stay in power in the US. Power, Putin suggests, ..and money...is what its all about. Ideology is simply a means to this end.
If that's the real goal (of the Uniparty...the War Party) why then the Ukraine War might last for as long as Joe Biden (or his successor) wants it to. Ukrainian casualties are basically irrelevant and not the point. This war really can last as long as it takes.
Yes. And the conduct of 'foreign affairs' as well as the conduct of war are activities well suited to the machinations of our DC power players as they are largely outside the 'purview' of the citizenry. Unlike 'abortion' or 'inflation' or any number of victim's rights issues which are in our face, foreign affairs (and war) are conducted by the 'President' (the Commander in Chief) and the Intelligence Community. And by the Administrative State and the Deep State. And financed with billions (trillions?) of dollars no voter ever sees...Is anyone surprised...really...that Chuckie Schumer and Mitch McConnell have never called for hearings to debate in front of the American People the pros and cons of the proxy war in Ukraine? And they never will.
It will be fascinating to see how the various candidates (don't) address the war next year.
Perhaps it goes without saying that I agree with your comments here.
I would observe that domestic politics is a rough and adversarial business. For every right to lifer there is a right to chooser. For every Trumper there is a Never Trumper. Even Bernie's presidential candidacies had to be taken down by his own party. Bills in the House of Representatives pass or fail by a handful of votes...all recorded. And if you deviate too far from your constituents wishes, you're gone. Ask Liz Cheney. And if you lie (too egregiously) you can be called out. Ask Adam Schiff.
But this foreign affairs and endless war thing is a whole 'nother can of beans (worms?). Who formulated Victoria Nuland's Ukraine policy? Where was it debated? Who is she accountable to? What are the consequences of saying "Fuck the EU"? Does the EU even care? And who is morally responsible for all the casualties? Did Madeleine Albright take responsibility for the reported 500,000 deaths of children in Iraq?
And where are the hundreds of billions of dollars of Ukraine 'aid' going? And for that matter, coming from? When the 'debt ceiling' is approached Congress holds a circus for a week or two to talk about the theoretical risks and necessary advantages of incurring another trillion or so of national debt. One side of Congress stands up and screams Yes Yes Yes and the other side No No No. But a few more (hundreds of) billions for an insanely deadly war and the opposition can barely be found...nor are the sources and uses of these moneys even vaguely reported.
Well, I didn't mean it literally...but what about right to life versus right to choose in suburban swing districts...who's going to get the suburban soccer mom vote in suburban Milwaukee, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Atlanta and Philadelphia? Anyway, my point is the life/choice vote is visible, contentious and in your face. Not so much the Ukraine vote...
Suburban Milwaukee, esp. Waukesha County, is one of the deepest Red areas in the country. There's a reason why the GOPe continues to support, verbally, the pro-life position. Without the support of pro-life voters the GOP might no longer exist. Pro-lifers consistently vote, year in-year out, perhaps even more than pro-gunners, who wait for a visible threat.
In any event, my point is that contentious issues in a handful of swing states, WI being one of them, can turn the whole election. I'm doubtful Ukraine (so far) is one of those issues.
This is nothing new: 2 years to prepare for normandy; 9 months to prepare for desert storm. 40% of army ammo in south korea, and 10 heavy divisions worth of equipment, fuel, ammo stockpiled in germany and benelux prior to the breakup of the warsaw pact. The US (no one) has ever had the logistics tail to resupply overseas adventurism of a "high intensity nature".
I'm sure it's been addressed before but, I wonder what role bribing our corrupt President* through his utterly corrupted son has had on our seeming unending passion for supplying Ukraine?
I’m sure there’s nothing to be concerned about T. After all, we have the finest politicians that money can buy annnd they’re honest, when they’re bought they stay bought!
Oh, and I don’t want to hear any of this, “ if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck…..” conspiracy theory stuff either :-)
Oh man, what a tangled and infested rats nest of a mess we are in!!
I know that real hatred between Ukrainians and Russians is being hardened by the fighting. But I also wonder if/when the Ukrainians profoundly realize that they have been *had* by the US/UK. Perhaps inflammatory to say this, but I also suspect Western elites have no problems watching Slavs kill Slavs. Depopulation, untermensch.
Mark, you've brought together some top-quality material here and done so excellently. Kudos! We are indeed facing sheer evil. It's getting harder to deny some kind of diabolic influence. However, Albright was a piker compared with Nuland, who exudes evil like most people exude sweat. It's actually a good thing that she's been promoted because it will force her to take public rather than just private ownership of the war she helped create. As for the poor Ukrainian soldiers, they should have woken up a long time ago to their exploitation. Better late than never, I suppose, and I hope they surrender on mass. Their leaders are not worthy of them. I still have a feeling that somehow, somewhere, sometime, good will triumph over all this evil.
" If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? “
If Ukraine is no longer covered in the US press, will most Americans care? And if coverage is shadow banned by Google, Facebook, etc. the average voter won’t hear about it.
An example:
Networks devote 291 minutes to Trump scandals and zero seconds to Biden’s
RFK just had an interview with James O’Keefe, and understands social media. That understanding is a huge black swan. Tom Luongo noted that.
And the awareness of jab side effects is growing.
And who knows with Trump. Right now his messaging seems laser focused on demolishing his opponents for the nomination, along with fighting the lawfare against him. Or at least that is all I am aware of. Other stuff may be censored. He has an incredible ability to grab media attention.
How? How will they ever hit any of us personally? The money is gone. Wasted. Spent. Joe Biden is a dead man walking. He’ll pay nothing for what he did or rather what had been done in his name. This will all be covered up. Do you think there will be a war crimes trial to punish those responsible? Trump will be the one in jail.
JK, the headline on Le Point, a mainstream weekly here in France, shouted “Does France still have a president?” Can you imagine Newsweek asking “Is there a president in the White House?” Wowww. Of course, in full vacation mode, the Frenchies are paying less attention, but still…
I haven’t yet read the article, but given the author, Baverez, I’m sure it doesn’t break any new ground - he is one of those neo-anythings (liberal in this case) heavily credentialed à la française, but with a thesis on Toqueville! I imagine he would stress a “ disconnect” between Mac and the French (duh), and comment on M’s mediocre and feckless entourage being rewarded with promotions. But this is a guy who, just back in February, praised Zhou for restoring Ameeican power and prestige (pass the absinthe !), termed the US on the side of “winners” in Ukraine, ie supporting “democracy” against “authoritarianism.” Also, he’s been a supporter of Mac up until the violent rampages all over France - like others. A more interesting fellow is the philosopher, Michel Onfray, who now appears on tv, who is a socialist and an outspoken critic of the war in Ukraine and who has written a piece comparing De Gaulle to Mitterand. You know which side he comes down on. This piece was just removed from the French LI website. I will try to find it.
“I no longer wonder how the German people could allow the Holocaust to become a reality.” Or the French…the same can be said of those who rounded up Jewish children and sent them to camps - just doing my job, just following orders. Like those who say, just following the science!
Or the Dutch. The Ann Frank story has tended to obscure the reality. Most people assume that something bad--like, execution--happened to the family that hid the Franks. Wrong. It's true, they were very courageous, but they survived. To visit New York years later and receive acclaim. But the Dutch in general turned over their Jews and even helped.
This is why I react strongly to the usual claims of Polish anti-Semitism. The Nazis really did execute--on the spot--Poles who expressed sympathy for Jews, much less sheltered Jews. And yet it happened to a remarkable extent in wartime circumstances that Western Europeans could never imagine. Those years were very different in Eastern Europe compared to what the West experienced.
Read Bloodlands by T. Snyder several years ago. Changed my perspective on the area quite a bit. I guess Snyder is quite the leftist but I thought the book was excellent.
"It was Eichmann’s “thoughtlessness”—the absence of thinking—that enabled him to commit monstrous acts." Or in the case of crafting and continuing a proxy war in Ukraine, allowed the nations leaders to commit monstrous acts without restraint.
"The longer one listened to him, the more obvious it became that his inability to speak [in anything but clichés] was closely connected with an inability to think, namely, to think from the standpoint of somebody else.” Clichés / slogans - hmm like "Slava Ukraine".
I still have friends who utterly refuse to believe this is a US proxy war against Russia and that Ukraine is simply fighting for its freedom against evil Russians and Putin. They think Zelensky is a hero. We don’t discuss the war anymore. Their naïveté (if not outright stupidity) profoundly depresses me.
As Mark points out, expeditionary wars are hard to win. Douglas Macgregor, Scott Ritter, Alexander Mercouris and quite a few other close observers tell us that they are morally certain that we have lost this one. Not so fast.
Maybe that's not the point. Maybe the point of this expeditionary war is not to defeat Russia (which in objective point of fact is impossible to do), but to defeat the domestic opposition at home. Trump, MAGA, Tucker Carlson. Now RFK. You. Me. Us. All of the deplorables.
That enormously wise and intelligent observer of US politics, Vladimir Putin, points this out in one of his interviews with Oliver Stone, in response to Stone's question about some vile and inane US insult of Russia. Why are you not more offended Stone asks Putin. Putin says he is not particularly hurt by the insult. They (the US), he says, don't really mean it. Everything they do, he says, 'everything' is intended to influence domestic politics. By this he means, to stay in power in the US. Power, Putin suggests, ..and money...is what its all about. Ideology is simply a means to this end.
If that's the real goal (of the Uniparty...the War Party) why then the Ukraine War might last for as long as Joe Biden (or his successor) wants it to. Ukrainian casualties are basically irrelevant and not the point. This war really can last as long as it takes.
In a serious sense this is a continuation of the Russia Hoax. "Russian Stooge" has long been the third rail of US politics.
Yes. And the conduct of 'foreign affairs' as well as the conduct of war are activities well suited to the machinations of our DC power players as they are largely outside the 'purview' of the citizenry. Unlike 'abortion' or 'inflation' or any number of victim's rights issues which are in our face, foreign affairs (and war) are conducted by the 'President' (the Commander in Chief) and the Intelligence Community. And by the Administrative State and the Deep State. And financed with billions (trillions?) of dollars no voter ever sees...Is anyone surprised...really...that Chuckie Schumer and Mitch McConnell have never called for hearings to debate in front of the American People the pros and cons of the proxy war in Ukraine? And they never will.
It will be fascinating to see how the various candidates (don't) address the war next year.
@Louis
Perhaps it goes without saying that I agree with your comments here.
I would observe that domestic politics is a rough and adversarial business. For every right to lifer there is a right to chooser. For every Trumper there is a Never Trumper. Even Bernie's presidential candidacies had to be taken down by his own party. Bills in the House of Representatives pass or fail by a handful of votes...all recorded. And if you deviate too far from your constituents wishes, you're gone. Ask Liz Cheney. And if you lie (too egregiously) you can be called out. Ask Adam Schiff.
But this foreign affairs and endless war thing is a whole 'nother can of beans (worms?). Who formulated Victoria Nuland's Ukraine policy? Where was it debated? Who is she accountable to? What are the consequences of saying "Fuck the EU"? Does the EU even care? And who is morally responsible for all the casualties? Did Madeleine Albright take responsibility for the reported 500,000 deaths of children in Iraq?
And where are the hundreds of billions of dollars of Ukraine 'aid' going? And for that matter, coming from? When the 'debt ceiling' is approached Congress holds a circus for a week or two to talk about the theoretical risks and necessary advantages of incurring another trillion or so of national debt. One side of Congress stands up and screams Yes Yes Yes and the other side No No No. But a few more (hundreds of) billions for an insanely deadly war and the opposition can barely be found...nor are the sources and uses of these moneys even vaguely reported.
Its all quite complicated, isn't it?
"For every right to lifer there is a right to chooser."
Not if you believe the polling that's been going on for decades.
Well, I didn't mean it literally...but what about right to life versus right to choose in suburban swing districts...who's going to get the suburban soccer mom vote in suburban Milwaukee, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Atlanta and Philadelphia? Anyway, my point is the life/choice vote is visible, contentious and in your face. Not so much the Ukraine vote...
Suburban Milwaukee, esp. Waukesha County, is one of the deepest Red areas in the country. There's a reason why the GOPe continues to support, verbally, the pro-life position. Without the support of pro-life voters the GOP might no longer exist. Pro-lifers consistently vote, year in-year out, perhaps even more than pro-gunners, who wait for a visible threat.
But Biden 'won' suburban Milwaukee, right?
https://eu.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/analysis/2020/11/06/election-results-biden-clinched-wisconsin-dane-county-and-suburbs/6179371002/
In any event, my point is that contentious issues in a handful of swing states, WI being one of them, can turn the whole election. I'm doubtful Ukraine (so far) is one of those issues.
This is nothing new: 2 years to prepare for normandy; 9 months to prepare for desert storm. 40% of army ammo in south korea, and 10 heavy divisions worth of equipment, fuel, ammo stockpiled in germany and benelux prior to the breakup of the warsaw pact. The US (no one) has ever had the logistics tail to resupply overseas adventurism of a "high intensity nature".
I'm sure it's been addressed before but, I wonder what role bribing our corrupt President* through his utterly corrupted son has had on our seeming unending passion for supplying Ukraine?
I’m sure there’s nothing to be concerned about T. After all, we have the finest politicians that money can buy annnd they’re honest, when they’re bought they stay bought!
Oh, and I don’t want to hear any of this, “ if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck…..” conspiracy theory stuff either :-)
Oh man, what a tangled and infested rats nest of a mess we are in!!
fuel, booster, and catalyst ...
I know that real hatred between Ukrainians and Russians is being hardened by the fighting. But I also wonder if/when the Ukrainians profoundly realize that they have been *had* by the US/UK. Perhaps inflammatory to say this, but I also suspect Western elites have no problems watching Slavs kill Slavs. Depopulation, untermensch.
In 2024, the day before the election, say Trump was polling 80/20. Then on election day, Biden wins 51/49. What would happen?
I am convinced that we can not vote our way out of this.
Blame the pollsters?
You mean 2020?
Mark, you've brought together some top-quality material here and done so excellently. Kudos! We are indeed facing sheer evil. It's getting harder to deny some kind of diabolic influence. However, Albright was a piker compared with Nuland, who exudes evil like most people exude sweat. It's actually a good thing that she's been promoted because it will force her to take public rather than just private ownership of the war she helped create. As for the poor Ukrainian soldiers, they should have woken up a long time ago to their exploitation. Better late than never, I suppose, and I hope they surrender on mass. Their leaders are not worthy of them. I still have a feeling that somehow, somewhere, sometime, good will triumph over all this evil.
" If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? “
If Ukraine is no longer covered in the US press, will most Americans care? And if coverage is shadow banned by Google, Facebook, etc. the average voter won’t hear about it.
An example:
Networks devote 291 minutes to Trump scandals and zero seconds to Biden’s
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/washington-secrets/networks-devote-291-minutes-to-trump-scandals-0-seconds-to-bidens
Have you read Technofog’s Substack today? DOJ abuse gone wild.
Yes, it’s amazing.
I’m surprised Trump has not blown up the hypocrisy by playing the race card. I see huge potential with the Black Vote.
https://technofog.substack.com/p/a-tale-of-two-plea-deals
Shocking. Read that.
Time for advertisers boycotts.
Maybe they won't for the near future, but they will be made to care at some point as these events start to hit them personally.
Perhaps sooner in Europe.
I don’t see it for a while in the US.
But, May be the horse will learn to sing.
RFK just had an interview with James O’Keefe, and understands social media. That understanding is a huge black swan. Tom Luongo noted that.
And the awareness of jab side effects is growing.
And who knows with Trump. Right now his messaging seems laser focused on demolishing his opponents for the nomination, along with fighting the lawfare against him. Or at least that is all I am aware of. Other stuff may be censored. He has an incredible ability to grab media attention.
How? How will they ever hit any of us personally? The money is gone. Wasted. Spent. Joe Biden is a dead man walking. He’ll pay nothing for what he did or rather what had been done in his name. This will all be covered up. Do you think there will be a war crimes trial to punish those responsible? Trump will be the one in jail.
JK, the headline on Le Point, a mainstream weekly here in France, shouted “Does France still have a president?” Can you imagine Newsweek asking “Is there a president in the White House?” Wowww. Of course, in full vacation mode, the Frenchies are paying less attention, but still…
What was the answer?
I haven’t yet read the article, but given the author, Baverez, I’m sure it doesn’t break any new ground - he is one of those neo-anythings (liberal in this case) heavily credentialed à la française, but with a thesis on Toqueville! I imagine he would stress a “ disconnect” between Mac and the French (duh), and comment on M’s mediocre and feckless entourage being rewarded with promotions. But this is a guy who, just back in February, praised Zhou for restoring Ameeican power and prestige (pass the absinthe !), termed the US on the side of “winners” in Ukraine, ie supporting “democracy” against “authoritarianism.” Also, he’s been a supporter of Mac up until the violent rampages all over France - like others. A more interesting fellow is the philosopher, Michel Onfray, who now appears on tv, who is a socialist and an outspoken critic of the war in Ukraine and who has written a piece comparing De Gaulle to Mitterand. You know which side he comes down on. This piece was just removed from the French LI website. I will try to find it.
The behavior of the Brits suggests their layers of elite corruption with respect to Ukraine is at least as deep as that of the US & EU
MI6 must have a direct conduit into the UK Press.
Either run our articles, or we make your outlet’s life very unpleasant.
Definitely happened:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/20/nsa-snowden-files-drives-destroyed-london
More details on D-notices and how that is used to censor the uk press:
https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2019-09-11-how-the-uk-security-services-neutralised-the-countrys-leading-liberal-newspaper/
The "utterly oblivious" mindset to the last three years by both the masses and those once respected is mind-numbing.
I no longer wonder how the German people could allow the Holocaust to become a reality.
Excellent compilation of facts but a very sober read.
“I no longer wonder how the German people could allow the Holocaust to become a reality.” Or the French…the same can be said of those who rounded up Jewish children and sent them to camps - just doing my job, just following orders. Like those who say, just following the science!
Or the Dutch. The Ann Frank story has tended to obscure the reality. Most people assume that something bad--like, execution--happened to the family that hid the Franks. Wrong. It's true, they were very courageous, but they survived. To visit New York years later and receive acclaim. But the Dutch in general turned over their Jews and even helped.
This is why I react strongly to the usual claims of Polish anti-Semitism. The Nazis really did execute--on the spot--Poles who expressed sympathy for Jews, much less sheltered Jews. And yet it happened to a remarkable extent in wartime circumstances that Western Europeans could never imagine. Those years were very different in Eastern Europe compared to what the West experienced.
Read Bloodlands by T. Snyder several years ago. Changed my perspective on the area quite a bit. I guess Snyder is quite the leftist but I thought the book was excellent.
And there’s Etty Hillesum, “An Interrupted Life” - your comment just reminded me.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Jews_in_Poland#Early_history_to_Golden_Age:_966%E2%80%931572
I don't wonder how either. This is helpful:
https://www.neh.gov/humanities/2014/marchapril/feature/the-trial-hannah-arendt
"It was Eichmann’s “thoughtlessness”—the absence of thinking—that enabled him to commit monstrous acts." Or in the case of crafting and continuing a proxy war in Ukraine, allowed the nations leaders to commit monstrous acts without restraint.
"The longer one listened to him, the more obvious it became that his inability to speak [in anything but clichés] was closely connected with an inability to think, namely, to think from the standpoint of somebody else.” Clichés / slogans - hmm like "Slava Ukraine".
I still have friends who utterly refuse to believe this is a US proxy war against Russia and that Ukraine is simply fighting for its freedom against evil Russians and Putin. They think Zelensky is a hero. We don’t discuss the war anymore. Their naïveté (if not outright stupidity) profoundly depresses me.
They do not have mature minds.
Yes that is all true!
Exactly!