Right, so there’s a big purge going on in Kiev today—and ongoing purge that will ripple through the Ukro-Nazi regime for a few days. It began under the heading of an anti-corruption drive. An anti-corruption drive in Ukraine is something like a classified documents security crackdown in the US (h/t GT640Z)—a traditional way of removing officials who are viewed, for one reason or another, as a nuisance:
When I saw the word "Vietnamization" in the title, I felt a little spark of hope by reading that term the later, Nixonian sense of handing the mess over to the locals to fight their own battles. Alas, no such luck...crazies are doubling down.
Wow! Looks like we're heading for a massive pile-up of speeding juggernauts here. And with us in the middle. Not much to add to all the points made, except what the heck were the neocons thinking? If I, an ordinary Joe, can see that sanctions would never work against Russia, why couldn't they? Unbelievable.
Great comments on a great post. Everything sent to Ukraine has been consumed by the war with Russia. We have allowed difficult to replace military equipment to be destroyed IN DETAIL by the Russians. Either by overwhelming firepower or superior technology and often both. Sending very good tanks will be the same. Russian Air and artillery will wipe them out just as our air power did to the Germans when we had air dominance in WW2 Europe. After a bunch of Irreplaceable(?) Abrams are destroyed because the Russians have air supremacy the next escalation called for will be for us to ‘close the sky.’ Tanks without support are targets and the Russkies would love to show the world that the mighty Abrams tank can burn just like any other tank. Will we send the few F22’s that we have to contest the airspace? I mean those not damaged or destroyed by a hurricane that apparently sprang out of nowhere. Is an Air Force that can’t protect a precious asset like the F22 from THE WEATHER capable of dealing with Russian air defense? What is Air Force readiness like these days? Better than the Russian Air Force? Better than Aeroflot? Are they still flying baby formula around or have we figured out how to feed the babies again? Basic things that used to work do not and as described in the linked Crooke article we now have the big reveal. We are strip mining artillery ammunition from around the world to keep Ukraine from collapsing. NATO countries are sending ALL of their artillery to Ukraine to replace those destroyed by superior Russian counter-battery fire. How much artillery do the Russians have in storage? It will take years to replace the ammunition and guns already consumed. Is anyone discussing the need to go to a war footing? Are we sleepwalking/sundowning into a great power war? Apparently we have forgotten how terrible it is. I am concerned that we will start this war with fewer weapons and that we will be surprised at how good the enemy’s technology is. A F-117 was shot down and they were put into storage in the 90’s. Obsolete? Is stealth really that good? Good enough to ‘close the sky?’ I am afraid we will find out. One last thought: removing weapons and ammunition from stockpiles around the world sends a signal to our enemies and our friends. The cupboard is bare. What happens if our enemies make a coordinated move? Which friend to help first? Will we still have any or will they make the necessary accommodations in light of their permanent interests?
When Obama said "never underestimate Joe's ability to f-things up", I never thought he would manage to be so incompetent that he would precipitate the end of the US Dollar as the global fiat currency
Few people understand that a good portion of American national wealth and power is built on this - the reason why US national debt doesn't matter is because of dollar supremacy. Take that away, take away the endless demand for dollars from other nations, and suddenly you have to balance the books again. That means no more trillion dollar military. No more ridiculous spending.
A good example - China does the vast majority of its export business in USD. To anywhere. Thailand buying some plastic goods? USD. That currency typically gets recycled back to NY as long term T-bills. Incidentally this is why One Belt One Road scared a lot of (smart) people, the Chinese started spending their money rather than sending it back
Getting into a war with Russia makes no sense on any level. To this day, I do not understand the US (or UK) national interest in taking this stance in the conflict
Quite a stunning set of events, truly challenging to find historical precedence. Mark has a good point with the coup in 'Nam reminder. It appears many of our 'betters', mostly 'behind the scenes', are in competition for directing the Wests' path forward. The best I can do is see that competition for power, for ideological outcomes, for what seem mad-world controlling outcomes is finding a battlefield in Ukraine. And, I'll suggest, is a losing proposition all-around.
My tendency is to look back in history seeking some understanding. I will have to commend the many, well considered thoughts shared tonight but find strong agreement with Ms. Amanda's statement of looking at the info Mark shared again tomorrow with a fresh set of eyes...
For the moment I can not separate our 'President' and his ails from the Neocon Kagan's beliefs of never-ending global 'forward-motion', claims of necessity therein for 'civic bonds of domestic unity' and the well considered Luongo 'Theory of Everything'.
At best I see the Ukraine battlefield a focal point of the broader 'New World Order' intentions that has many designers competing for their ideals to be the model. None of which, as I can see, include the wishes of the populace of said world to subject to the New Order. Is it possible it's all interconnected?
Running 'Biden' worked to give the presidency over to 'the dark side'; so just what was the Hitler-esque speech depicting 1/2 of American voters neo-fascists really about? The election happened: millions of 'student loan repayments' were promised [I think being unlawful] and political Hi-jinx abounded. Lots of unexplained, perhaps unexplainable cr@p went on. And goes on. To what end?
Our founding fathers made very clear our country was to not be involved internationally without absolute necessity. Trade? Necessary. Border regulations? Yes. War? Not unless absolutely necessary - to be avoided if at all possible. Yet, Wars are the common, historical thread since WWII.
BTW, which wars, of several, has the USofA won since WWII? I guess winners are not necessarily defined like they used to be. Billionaires abound resulting from the dreaded Military/Industrial complex President Ike strongly warned against. They seem to be winners. I'll suggest hundreds of millions of deceased or ruined lives might not find much winning in all of that, however.
I did get a chuckle from Mark's posting from the Babylon Bee: I guess I'll have to make some trips to the thrift store just to look for my own supply! Blessings to all! (WRH)
Thank you for this crucial examintion of our current exissential crisis, and the articles referenced. Ponzi seems to be the order of the day. Ponzi schemes always collapse. I question the emphasis on the Ukraine, although that could be the 'Black Swan' that brings it all crashing down. Is it Crooke or Kagan who stated that without expansion "civic bonds of domestic unity come into question." Any bonds of domestic unity have been totally destroyed by the actions of our government against its citizens these past years. The contempt shown us 'deplorables', the end of the rule of law and a trusted electoral process and the existence of an open border where anybody can come in and be treated better than we the citizens have destroyed all trust in government. I would even suggest that ignoring the world, shoring up our domestic economy and improving the lives of the citizens would be more productive than foreign adventurism and would do more to shore up the dollar as well.
Our elites seem to want it due to the grift involved. And a lot of the associated NGO's have children of the elites working for them. And probably, they get US funding for their mission, support Democratic Leaning Employees, and some of the money gets funneled back to the DNC.
I'm going to re read this tomorrow with fresh eyes but a quick update from U.K: Bojo called for Ukr to be given NATO membership straight away and Germany has finally agreed to allow Poland to ship Leopard tanks so things are sounding desperate.
Neocon Robert Kagan freely admits in 2021 that endless US foreign aggression is needed to keep US citizens in line at home: "He [Kagan] thus asserts that the U.S. empire abroad is required – precisely in order to preserve the myth of ‘democracy’ at home. An America that retreats from global hegemony, he argues, would no longer possess the cohesive binding to preserve America as liberal democracy, at home either."" ...Alastair Crooke, March 15, 2021...https://strategic-culture.org/news/2021/03/15/leviathan-mobilises-for-decisive-battle/...Robert Kagan, Foreign Affairs, March/April 2021, "A Superpower, Like It or Not
The US govt has known from Day One that Zelensky is neck deep in oligarch theft. This is the man who is an expert in propaganda which he has deployed to his advantage in the Western world. It has been surreal to see the comparisons to Churchill, as he and his wife take time out to do a glossy photo shoot for Vanity Fair and leave the war zone to attend the Cannes Film Festival--where he received a standing ovation. Ukraine was the money-laundering capital of the world. Not sure that has changed. The man is stuffing his pockets.
When I saw the word "Vietnamization" in the title, I felt a little spark of hope by reading that term the later, Nixonian sense of handing the mess over to the locals to fight their own battles. Alas, no such luck...crazies are doubling down.
Afghanistan, Iraq, Vietnam, Pakistan, and Ukraine were all among the most corrupt Countries when the US was involved in an armed conflict.
Wow! Looks like we're heading for a massive pile-up of speeding juggernauts here. And with us in the middle. Not much to add to all the points made, except what the heck were the neocons thinking? If I, an ordinary Joe, can see that sanctions would never work against Russia, why couldn't they? Unbelievable.
Great comments on a great post. Everything sent to Ukraine has been consumed by the war with Russia. We have allowed difficult to replace military equipment to be destroyed IN DETAIL by the Russians. Either by overwhelming firepower or superior technology and often both. Sending very good tanks will be the same. Russian Air and artillery will wipe them out just as our air power did to the Germans when we had air dominance in WW2 Europe. After a bunch of Irreplaceable(?) Abrams are destroyed because the Russians have air supremacy the next escalation called for will be for us to ‘close the sky.’ Tanks without support are targets and the Russkies would love to show the world that the mighty Abrams tank can burn just like any other tank. Will we send the few F22’s that we have to contest the airspace? I mean those not damaged or destroyed by a hurricane that apparently sprang out of nowhere. Is an Air Force that can’t protect a precious asset like the F22 from THE WEATHER capable of dealing with Russian air defense? What is Air Force readiness like these days? Better than the Russian Air Force? Better than Aeroflot? Are they still flying baby formula around or have we figured out how to feed the babies again? Basic things that used to work do not and as described in the linked Crooke article we now have the big reveal. We are strip mining artillery ammunition from around the world to keep Ukraine from collapsing. NATO countries are sending ALL of their artillery to Ukraine to replace those destroyed by superior Russian counter-battery fire. How much artillery do the Russians have in storage? It will take years to replace the ammunition and guns already consumed. Is anyone discussing the need to go to a war footing? Are we sleepwalking/sundowning into a great power war? Apparently we have forgotten how terrible it is. I am concerned that we will start this war with fewer weapons and that we will be surprised at how good the enemy’s technology is. A F-117 was shot down and they were put into storage in the 90’s. Obsolete? Is stealth really that good? Good enough to ‘close the sky?’ I am afraid we will find out. One last thought: removing weapons and ammunition from stockpiles around the world sends a signal to our enemies and our friends. The cupboard is bare. What happens if our enemies make a coordinated move? Which friend to help first? Will we still have any or will they make the necessary accommodations in light of their permanent interests?
It is existential.
When Obama said "never underestimate Joe's ability to f-things up", I never thought he would manage to be so incompetent that he would precipitate the end of the US Dollar as the global fiat currency
Few people understand that a good portion of American national wealth and power is built on this - the reason why US national debt doesn't matter is because of dollar supremacy. Take that away, take away the endless demand for dollars from other nations, and suddenly you have to balance the books again. That means no more trillion dollar military. No more ridiculous spending.
A good example - China does the vast majority of its export business in USD. To anywhere. Thailand buying some plastic goods? USD. That currency typically gets recycled back to NY as long term T-bills. Incidentally this is why One Belt One Road scared a lot of (smart) people, the Chinese started spending their money rather than sending it back
Getting into a war with Russia makes no sense on any level. To this day, I do not understand the US (or UK) national interest in taking this stance in the conflict
Quite a stunning set of events, truly challenging to find historical precedence. Mark has a good point with the coup in 'Nam reminder. It appears many of our 'betters', mostly 'behind the scenes', are in competition for directing the Wests' path forward. The best I can do is see that competition for power, for ideological outcomes, for what seem mad-world controlling outcomes is finding a battlefield in Ukraine. And, I'll suggest, is a losing proposition all-around.
My tendency is to look back in history seeking some understanding. I will have to commend the many, well considered thoughts shared tonight but find strong agreement with Ms. Amanda's statement of looking at the info Mark shared again tomorrow with a fresh set of eyes...
For the moment I can not separate our 'President' and his ails from the Neocon Kagan's beliefs of never-ending global 'forward-motion', claims of necessity therein for 'civic bonds of domestic unity' and the well considered Luongo 'Theory of Everything'.
At best I see the Ukraine battlefield a focal point of the broader 'New World Order' intentions that has many designers competing for their ideals to be the model. None of which, as I can see, include the wishes of the populace of said world to subject to the New Order. Is it possible it's all interconnected?
Running 'Biden' worked to give the presidency over to 'the dark side'; so just what was the Hitler-esque speech depicting 1/2 of American voters neo-fascists really about? The election happened: millions of 'student loan repayments' were promised [I think being unlawful] and political Hi-jinx abounded. Lots of unexplained, perhaps unexplainable cr@p went on. And goes on. To what end?
Our founding fathers made very clear our country was to not be involved internationally without absolute necessity. Trade? Necessary. Border regulations? Yes. War? Not unless absolutely necessary - to be avoided if at all possible. Yet, Wars are the common, historical thread since WWII.
BTW, which wars, of several, has the USofA won since WWII? I guess winners are not necessarily defined like they used to be. Billionaires abound resulting from the dreaded Military/Industrial complex President Ike strongly warned against. They seem to be winners. I'll suggest hundreds of millions of deceased or ruined lives might not find much winning in all of that, however.
I did get a chuckle from Mark's posting from the Babylon Bee: I guess I'll have to make some trips to the thrift store just to look for my own supply! Blessings to all! (WRH)
I'm sure the Neocon's "gamed" this out at last years Aspen institute conference.
And what of the recent 3 stooges visit to Kiev too... two-bit Graham, Blumenhead, and Whitehorse?
And on Wednesday Zhou to announce that Abrams tanks are now in play...
Thank you for this crucial examintion of our current exissential crisis, and the articles referenced. Ponzi seems to be the order of the day. Ponzi schemes always collapse. I question the emphasis on the Ukraine, although that could be the 'Black Swan' that brings it all crashing down. Is it Crooke or Kagan who stated that without expansion "civic bonds of domestic unity come into question." Any bonds of domestic unity have been totally destroyed by the actions of our government against its citizens these past years. The contempt shown us 'deplorables', the end of the rule of law and a trusted electoral process and the existence of an open border where anybody can come in and be treated better than we the citizens have destroyed all trust in government. I would even suggest that ignoring the world, shoring up our domestic economy and improving the lives of the citizens would be more productive than foreign adventurism and would do more to shore up the dollar as well.
I just don't see this:
>expansionary republican greatness
Our elites seem to want it due to the grift involved. And a lot of the associated NGO's have children of the elites working for them. And probably, they get US funding for their mission, support Democratic Leaning Employees, and some of the money gets funneled back to the DNC.
I'm going to re read this tomorrow with fresh eyes but a quick update from U.K: Bojo called for Ukr to be given NATO membership straight away and Germany has finally agreed to allow Poland to ship Leopard tanks so things are sounding desperate.
Neocon Robert Kagan freely admits in 2021 that endless US foreign aggression is needed to keep US citizens in line at home: "He [Kagan] thus asserts that the U.S. empire abroad is required – precisely in order to preserve the myth of ‘democracy’ at home. An America that retreats from global hegemony, he argues, would no longer possess the cohesive binding to preserve America as liberal democracy, at home either."" ...Alastair Crooke, March 15, 2021...https://strategic-culture.org/news/2021/03/15/leviathan-mobilises-for-decisive-battle/...Robert Kagan, Foreign Affairs, March/April 2021, "A Superpower, Like It or Not
Why Americans Must Accept Their Global Role."...https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/united-states/2021-02-16/superpower-it-or-not
The US govt has known from Day One that Zelensky is neck deep in oligarch theft. This is the man who is an expert in propaganda which he has deployed to his advantage in the Western world. It has been surreal to see the comparisons to Churchill, as he and his wife take time out to do a glossy photo shoot for Vanity Fair and leave the war zone to attend the Cannes Film Festival--where he received a standing ovation. Ukraine was the money-laundering capital of the world. Not sure that has changed. The man is stuffing his pockets.