Regular Posting Will Resume ...

As it becomes possible. We’ve had a long day already today, but the hip replacement went well. Right now we’re feeling our way, being cautious—wanting to get on our feet to the degree possible but not wanting to push things. The sciatica makes stability more of an issue. The doc told me that nerve impingement often improves—lessens—after this type of surgery. The ball joint of the hip had deteriorated to the extent that my wife’s leg was slightly shortened, which no doubt had an effect on other things.

Anyway, a few tweets on major developments today.

DD Geopolitics @DD_Geopolitics

ESCALATION? Ukrainian Missiles Strike Deep into Russia

Six Ukrainian missiles targeted a Russian military unit in Toropets, Tver Oblast, northwest of Moscow, towards St. Petersburg. Three Ukrainian drones were intercepted by Russian air defenses, but the remaining missiles hit their targets, causing a major fire and explosion in an ammunition depot.

Local authorities declared an emergency evacuation to protect the population, and emergency services are currently managing the aftermath of the attack.

12:40 AM · Sep 18, 2024

The key here is that the damage was done by missiles. The type isn’t specified—cruise or ballistic? Either way, guidance would have had to have been provided by NATO, meaning, the US. Listening to Danny Davis and Doug Macgregor, Mac sees this as escalation but is not convinced that Russia will respond immediately with, say, strikes into Poland. His argument, which has been seconded by others, is that Russia is winning the big war. The Anglo-Zionists are degrading themselves at a phenomenal rate, so why not just continue? The Anglo-Zionists are playing for time to get past the election, but that’s leading to a strategic defeat that will dwarf Afghanistan (Macgregor). We’ve seen Iran following that path, undoubtedly in close consultation with Russia and China. We shall see. Here’s a more detailed transcript from Mac and Judge Nap. I was pleased to hear Mac saying basically what I and others have been saying about the deep strike idea. I was also pleased to hear him stress that this war on Russia is being run by the CIA and MI6:

Judge: Colonel, you were once an official in the defense department. Do you think that officials in the Defense Department actually went to the White House and said, 'Stop listening to Intel! We can't deal with this. Putin is serious.’

DM: It's possible, but I have no way of knowing. Thus far Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has been a go along get along guy--he really hasn't raised strenuous objections to very much, but it's possible. I certainly know that senior officers in the Air Force and the Army whom I know absolutely have raised questions about the wisdom of this and have probably pointed out what you just said: that we have no defense against these hypersonic missiles.

Judge: Colonel, yesterday Ukrainian drones [actually believed to be missiles] destroyed a Russian missile warehouse in a place called [Tver oblast], destroying 300 Iskander missiles and other anti-aircraft munitions. The explosion was so enormous it was detected on seismograph meters in the area. What does this tell you? Does it tell you that the crushing defeat the Ukrainians suffered in Kursk was not enough to teach them to stay out of Russia, or do they really think they're going to accomplish something by an offensive attack like this?

DM: Judge, I think we have to understand that this is a war that is largely being conducted today by the CIA and MI6 in London. Now they've had NATO senior officers give them extraordinarily bad advice, starting with the man at the top all the way down to the two star and one star levels in the US Army. There's no question about that. But the war at this point is really in the hands of the CIA. I don't think the Ukrainians per se are doing very much except dying in great numbers. And remember, this is more evidence for what President Putin mentioned when he spoke publicly about what would happen if we struck targets deep inside Russia. He said, 'We know that without United States intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities in space, without the communications capabilities, without trained technicians on the ground, intelligence and uniformed military personnel, the Ukrainians couldn't do very much.' He knows that so this is just a another nail in the coffin of our relationship not just with Russia but, I think, with everybody in Europe. We're making things worse at a point in time where in the interest of the Ukrainian people this should be scaled back dramatically. We should be concerned about humanitarian aid for Ukraine, not more weaponry, but the CIA is operating this almost in isolation from any strict guidance. So I hope seriously that Jake Sullivan and Secretary of State Blinken, President Biden and others, have made it emphatically clear that we will not tolerate the use of these strike weapons against targets inside Russia, because if it continues we will be treated to a hail of those hypersonic missiles, and they'll come quickly, suddenly, and dramatically and they can't be shot down.

Current reports from reliable sources are confirming earlier reporting—the Kursk incursion has been a monumental disaster:

Glenn Diesen @Glenn_Diesen

Narrative control: What was a brilliant move yesterday is all Zelensky's fault today

8:32 PM · Sep 17, 2024

Smart post by Alex Christoforou:

Alex Christoforou @AXChristoforou

The world has become much more dangerous for everyone.

This was something that was possible, but no one ever dared do it.

Now it has been done, Rubicon crossed.

Mobile devices weaponized, in batches of thousands, at the supply chain level.

2:51 AM · Sep 18, 2024

This was straight up terrorism—it was anything BUT a precision strike. I’m at the point that nothing would surprise me less than to learn that CIA/MI6 were involved. Israel was founded on terrorism and has consistently followed that path over the decades. The difference now is that people are noticing. Well …

Big Serge @witte_sergei

The worst people you know somehow convinced themselves this was a precision strike.

Quote

David French @DavidAFrench

From a law of war standpoint, Israel's pager bombs represent one of the most precisely targeted strikes in the history of warfare. I can't think of a single widespread strike on an armed force that's embedded in a civilian population that's been more precise. It's remarkable.

6:59 PM · Sep 17, 2024

Here’s how Larry Johnson states the case:

While Israel may have maimed or killed some Hezbollah operatives, there was no way to ensure that a civilian not involved in Hezbollah operations suffered the consequences of an exploding pager. This is no different then detonating a car bomb targeted at Hezbollah operatives, but also inflicts wounds and deaths on innocent civilians. If Hezbollah did this to a group of Israeli soldiers, but also killed or maimed scores of Israeli civilians, it would be widely (and correctly) decried as a terrorist act.

I’ll close with a bit of a rant by Doug Macgregor regarding the Middle East (also from the Danny Davis interview):

DD: Look we can't even stop the Houthis. Do we think we're going to stop the Russians with a few long range missiles? And of course you just had this issue with all these pagers exploding and it looks by all accounts that Netanyahu is trying to do everything he can to to launch into a new war with Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. He continues to do things to try and spawn attacks by Iran, because we have said many times that if Iran does anything to Israel we immediately come to their aid militarily. So it is in Netanyahu's interest to try to spawn a war and we don't seem to be able to stop him. We are on a path that if anything happens further we are going to get sucked into the war. How do you see that playing out?

DM: I think your description is accurate. Both parties [Dems and GOPers] right now are merging into the Uniparty. The Uniparty is hostage to money, the money comes from the Israel Lobby and the people in the United States who are enormously wealthy, who are determined to shape policy. So that's a foregone conclusion. You're asking people who are--in terms that most Americans would understand--on the take to back up, refuse the money, and say, 'No, we're not going to support that.' I don't see that happening--in fact, I see the opposite happening. I think we are going to unconditionally underwrite whatever Mr Netanyahu wants to do.

However, there is a caveat. The caveat is as follows. We're telling him privately, 'if you're going to do this you better do it quickly because we cannot afford to maintain all these carrier battle groups and supporting forces and Air Forces all over the Middle East and Europe waiting for your war to begin.' In other words, 'either act or we're leaving, because we can't afford to stay.' I think that's where we are at this point and I think that's the message that's being delivered to Mr Netanyahu. I'm sorry that that's the message because I think we should say the opposite. I think we should say we did not sign on for a regional war with Islam, because that's what this is becoming. All you have to do is look at the situation in Egypt and Jordan. Those two governments are on life support right now. King Abdullah just watched his entire government walk away from him, resign. Sisi [Egypt] is in fear of his life. So is Abdullah, because the millions of Arabs who live in those countries are furious. They're furious because these two Arab governments have abandoned millions of Palestinian Arabs to their Israeli executioners. That's the view on the ground in the Middle East. You have a similar situation in Turkey, at least in so far as Erdogan is concerned. He's talked a great game but he hasn't done anything and the population wants action. He's afraid of action because it has economic consequences. The population thinks they should act anyway.

You have a similar phenomenon, not quite as strident, in Iran. The Iranian people are not walking away from the government. Anybody who thinks that going to war with Iran will somehow or other result in the fall of the government and the abandonment of that government by the population is wrong. It's forcing cohesion on Iranian society because, while they may not like the mullahs in Teheran, who continue to oppress them with religious restrictions. They they do not want to surrender to American and Israeli pressure. We can go beyond that across North Africa down into Indonesia and Malaysia. Everyone the entire Islamic world is up in arms and is opposed to this. Why would we want to go to war with Islam? It's one thing to say we don't want Sharia law in the United States. That's absolutely correct and we should under no circumstances tolerate that here on American soil, but that doesn't mean that we want to go to war with Islam.