Scott Ritter is reporting via his contacts in Russia that the MoD considers the Kursk Offensive to be a joint NATO/Ukraine operation because of the number of foreign mercenaries fighting there. In other words, it was an overt act of war against Russia by NATO. Had they succeeded in capturing the Kursk NPP, it likely would have escalated things into a nuclear confrontation rather than intimidate Moscow into an unfavorable negotiation. Russia would likely have targeted NATO military bases in Poland and Romania first using conventional missile weapons, while putting their tactical nuclear deterrent on high alert status. Then wait to see how NATO responds. Serious game of chicken ensues in which a leaderless United States could easily stumble us all into Armageddon. And if Biden's neocon handlers decided to up the ante, Russia would likely take out all of Britain's military facilities in a preemptive tactical nuclear strike as a sign that they view the war as existential.
Moral of this story. Being lead by evil idiots can get us all dead. That is no trivial thing.
How is it that energy (over land gas pipelines) can flow between Russia, thru Ukraine into Eastern Europe uninterrupted? If Russia is fighting NATO proxies, then why fuel their economies? The Russians have largely knocked out the electricity generation of Ukraine, but Ukraine hasn't touched these pipelines. Why?
I understand that response. However, it does then suggest a degree of "latitude" in this SMO. It seems some areas (i.e. money interests) are TOTALLY off limits... Unless you're Germany and don't mind having Nordstream knocked out...and the underlying plan is to deindustrialise your country.
I think Faunsgarth raises some interesting and difficult questions some of which Mark addresses. But for me there remain many, many mysteries.
Why does Germany 'apparently' accept the destruction of the NordStream pipelines with the consequential impact on German energy prices and industrial competitiveness? Have the German people not witnessed (cf. USA) what happens when an industrial power exports its industrial capacity abroad and becomes totally reliant on imported manufactured goods?
As far as the legalistic SMO (as opposed to 'war') is concerned, I'm sure Putin (the lawyer) has his reasons for calling it what he's calling it, but the whole operation seems fraught with danger to me. I do believe Russia was seriously provoked into its military response, but its hard for me to see an end to it. Let's say the Russian Army defeats the Ukraine Army. What then? How will Russia insure that the neo-Nazis in Ukraine are eliminated or that Ukrainian neutrality can be enforced? Will it have to 'occupy' western Ukraine? And what becomes of the utterly devastated Ukrainian economy and the billions of dollars of destruction? And what becomes of Ukrainian civilians and families after 500,000 or more have been killed in this operation?
And, as we've seen, Russia can find other markets for its energy products and natural resources, but why would Eastern Europe want to do without and compete in a global economy with one arm tied behind its back?
You seem to be assuming that the German government represents "the German people". As if the people responsible for hollowing out the US economy also represented the American people.
Your comments aren't entirely clear. The SMO is Russia's designation for its actions with regard to Ukraine. As such, it's not legally a full war and so Russia doesn't attack gas pipelines transiting Ukraine to countries like Hungary (a main destination for Russian energy products) with which Russia undoubtedly intends to have good relations in the future. By the same token, NATO doesn't touch those pipelines because it would shut down those eastern European economies--which are far distant from LNG terminals in the North Sea or anywhere else. The Nordstream was, of course, destroyed by NATO, not Russia. Again, Russia is strategically looking to a future Europe that has broken away from US domination and which may no longer be NATO-ized. This is why Putin uses the legal construct of the SMO rather than declaring war--which may come. Again, Russia is looking to a future that would hopefully include some form of reconciliation with Ukraine. So energy considerations don't boil down to simply monetary considerations--there are strategic considerations for the future, as well.
Re the "NATO proxies" you refer to, Ukraine is the only NATO proxy. Eastern European countries are *members* of NATO, not proxies of NATO. Russia wishes to avoid direct full scale warfare with NATO for strategic reasons and also because Russia's military is largely oriented toward defense rather than force projection--i.e., it is not capable of projecting force into Europe in a way that wouldn't either backfire or lead to greatly upscaled warfare that is not in Russia's interest. Re the eastern European NATO *members*, there are divisions. Hungary and Slovakia are the main beneficiaries of the pipelines,, in my understanding. They are also holdouts against support for Ukraine. It is in Russia's interest to encourage those countries. This is very different from the situation with regard to Poland and Romania, which are all in on the NATO war against Russia.
Meh. How many legs does Ukraine have? Must be a centipede because I heard this "last leg" for almost two years now by some commentators (MacGregor etc) I know Slavs they are not like normal people and will fight to last man. Stalin took 7 years to get those Ukrainian Slavs under control after Nazi benefactor was defeated. Yes, Russia will win but be a very ugly win and they have to take ALL of Ukraine. Concentration camps whole nine yards.
So, based on history, after NATO pulls all aid, Russia has another 7 years to end the inevitable insurgency.
Basic questions: why are these fights happening at this time? Simple answer: paradigm change from a TELEVISION/Globalism/fantasy dominated psycho-environment, to a DIGITAL/particular/memory dominated psycho-environment. World wide!
Conflict is between those invested in the post WWII “world order,” based on Western lead fantasies, and those that do not see that road as the road for them: everything outside of the traditional West, so the East and those in the middle.
Bigger question that drives every single thinking person: what comes next in the DIGITAL paradigm? In the short term it is the fights over the fantasies about humans: post/trans-humanism, or viewing humans not as souls that are formed v. everyone else. Longer term…serious question. Everyone knows/senses that everything is up for grabs and new answers/rules/narratives are coming. What is next depends on if enough smart people start working on what the humans will be like and need to know in the coming decades, rather than getting run over by what is coming through the windshield…
Perceptions matter. For Israel this is a spiritual/religious war, while it is a political one for those they fight. For Russians, it has become a spiritual/religious war, while it is political for US/Ukraine, et al.
Israel is the extension of the US/West fantasy in that part of the world, as is Ukraine, so fighting for OLD paradigm against those that embrace the NEW paradigm.
China, btw, has embraced the DIGITAL paradigm in official ways and is very much teaching its medieval history as the basis of its education of the young. Same for Russia. Same for India.
So was the drone attack on Moscow a last ditch effort to provoke Putin into some rash action? These people are not to be believed and I think that they are truly insane.
Scott Ritter is reporting via his contacts in Russia that the MoD considers the Kursk Offensive to be a joint NATO/Ukraine operation because of the number of foreign mercenaries fighting there. In other words, it was an overt act of war against Russia by NATO. Had they succeeded in capturing the Kursk NPP, it likely would have escalated things into a nuclear confrontation rather than intimidate Moscow into an unfavorable negotiation. Russia would likely have targeted NATO military bases in Poland and Romania first using conventional missile weapons, while putting their tactical nuclear deterrent on high alert status. Then wait to see how NATO responds. Serious game of chicken ensues in which a leaderless United States could easily stumble us all into Armageddon. And if Biden's neocon handlers decided to up the ante, Russia would likely take out all of Britain's military facilities in a preemptive tactical nuclear strike as a sign that they view the war as existential.
Moral of this story. Being lead by evil idiots can get us all dead. That is no trivial thing.
How is it that energy (over land gas pipelines) can flow between Russia, thru Ukraine into Eastern Europe uninterrupted? If Russia is fighting NATO proxies, then why fuel their economies? The Russians have largely knocked out the electricity generation of Ukraine, but Ukraine hasn't touched these pipelines. Why?
I think you know the answer is $, lots of $$$$$.
I understand that response. However, it does then suggest a degree of "latitude" in this SMO. It seems some areas (i.e. money interests) are TOTALLY off limits... Unless you're Germany and don't mind having Nordstream knocked out...and the underlying plan is to deindustrialise your country.
I think Faunsgarth raises some interesting and difficult questions some of which Mark addresses. But for me there remain many, many mysteries.
Why does Germany 'apparently' accept the destruction of the NordStream pipelines with the consequential impact on German energy prices and industrial competitiveness? Have the German people not witnessed (cf. USA) what happens when an industrial power exports its industrial capacity abroad and becomes totally reliant on imported manufactured goods?
As far as the legalistic SMO (as opposed to 'war') is concerned, I'm sure Putin (the lawyer) has his reasons for calling it what he's calling it, but the whole operation seems fraught with danger to me. I do believe Russia was seriously provoked into its military response, but its hard for me to see an end to it. Let's say the Russian Army defeats the Ukraine Army. What then? How will Russia insure that the neo-Nazis in Ukraine are eliminated or that Ukrainian neutrality can be enforced? Will it have to 'occupy' western Ukraine? And what becomes of the utterly devastated Ukrainian economy and the billions of dollars of destruction? And what becomes of Ukrainian civilians and families after 500,000 or more have been killed in this operation?
And, as we've seen, Russia can find other markets for its energy products and natural resources, but why would Eastern Europe want to do without and compete in a global economy with one arm tied behind its back?
So many questions.
You seem to be assuming that the German government represents "the German people". As if the people responsible for hollowing out the US economy also represented the American people.
I'm not assuming anything, Mark. I'm asking.
But if the German government and the German people are at cross-purposes, I wouldn't be surprised. But then, again, I would ask why?
Just because its also happening here doesn't explain 'why'?
Your comments aren't entirely clear. The SMO is Russia's designation for its actions with regard to Ukraine. As such, it's not legally a full war and so Russia doesn't attack gas pipelines transiting Ukraine to countries like Hungary (a main destination for Russian energy products) with which Russia undoubtedly intends to have good relations in the future. By the same token, NATO doesn't touch those pipelines because it would shut down those eastern European economies--which are far distant from LNG terminals in the North Sea or anywhere else. The Nordstream was, of course, destroyed by NATO, not Russia. Again, Russia is strategically looking to a future Europe that has broken away from US domination and which may no longer be NATO-ized. This is why Putin uses the legal construct of the SMO rather than declaring war--which may come. Again, Russia is looking to a future that would hopefully include some form of reconciliation with Ukraine. So energy considerations don't boil down to simply monetary considerations--there are strategic considerations for the future, as well.
Re the "NATO proxies" you refer to, Ukraine is the only NATO proxy. Eastern European countries are *members* of NATO, not proxies of NATO. Russia wishes to avoid direct full scale warfare with NATO for strategic reasons and also because Russia's military is largely oriented toward defense rather than force projection--i.e., it is not capable of projecting force into Europe in a way that wouldn't either backfire or lead to greatly upscaled warfare that is not in Russia's interest. Re the eastern European NATO *members*, there are divisions. Hungary and Slovakia are the main beneficiaries of the pipelines,, in my understanding. They are also holdouts against support for Ukraine. It is in Russia's interest to encourage those countries. This is very different from the situation with regard to Poland and Romania, which are all in on the NATO war against Russia.
Meh. How many legs does Ukraine have? Must be a centipede because I heard this "last leg" for almost two years now by some commentators (MacGregor etc) I know Slavs they are not like normal people and will fight to last man. Stalin took 7 years to get those Ukrainian Slavs under control after Nazi benefactor was defeated. Yes, Russia will win but be a very ugly win and they have to take ALL of Ukraine. Concentration camps whole nine yards.
So, based on history, after NATO pulls all aid, Russia has another 7 years to end the inevitable insurgency.
Basic questions: why are these fights happening at this time? Simple answer: paradigm change from a TELEVISION/Globalism/fantasy dominated psycho-environment, to a DIGITAL/particular/memory dominated psycho-environment. World wide!
Conflict is between those invested in the post WWII “world order,” based on Western lead fantasies, and those that do not see that road as the road for them: everything outside of the traditional West, so the East and those in the middle.
Bigger question that drives every single thinking person: what comes next in the DIGITAL paradigm? In the short term it is the fights over the fantasies about humans: post/trans-humanism, or viewing humans not as souls that are formed v. everyone else. Longer term…serious question. Everyone knows/senses that everything is up for grabs and new answers/rules/narratives are coming. What is next depends on if enough smart people start working on what the humans will be like and need to know in the coming decades, rather than getting run over by what is coming through the windshield…
Perceptions matter. For Israel this is a spiritual/religious war, while it is a political one for those they fight. For Russians, it has become a spiritual/religious war, while it is political for US/Ukraine, et al.
Israel is the extension of the US/West fantasy in that part of the world, as is Ukraine, so fighting for OLD paradigm against those that embrace the NEW paradigm.
China, btw, has embraced the DIGITAL paradigm in official ways and is very much teaching its medieval history as the basis of its education of the young. Same for Russia. Same for India.
It’s got to happen soon
So was the drone attack on Moscow a last ditch effort to provoke Putin into some rash action? These people are not to be believed and I think that they are truly insane.
Ahhhh...real estate transaction, massive money-laundering, and genocide of white, Christian Ukrainians almost complete!!
Let's all sit down to eat.
Yeah, talk turkey. Lebensraum at the table.