Retired USAF Lt. Col. Karen Kwiatkowski has given an interview to Sputnik, in which she claims that the advanced capabilities of the Russian Aero-Space forces have been a “rude awakening” for the West, and for the USAF in particular. It makes for interesting reading. Most military commentary on the war on Russia typically comes from former Army officers. An Air Force perspective is welcome:
Two sources I follow on Youtube regarding the S.M.O. The first is a guy in Belarus who speaks fairly good English. The second guy not sure where from but seems pretty good.
Good choices, AC. I also like Col MacGregor, Duran, Moon of Alabama and Slavyanska on telegram. These folks are all doing the job that the MSM should be doing.
LJ re the Black Sea blockade and live fire incident:
There are still politically influential oligarchs in Ukraine that are being financially harmed by Russia’s blockade. Now that a major bite is being taken out of oligarch bank accounts it is highly likely that President Zelensky will face growing pressure to find a way to end the war and get the “commerce” back in gear.
The poppy eradication was not news to me. Two friends in federal LE spent separate 9 month periods there pretending to do something about it. They weren’t allowed to touch “friendly” fields, which were the majority, and in “safer” locales. Both said while it was an interesting experience it accomplished nothing other than their two agencies getting to waive the flag and ask for more money from congress.
🤣 Nope, direct quote from one. Maybe Freudian on his part. After one of the Russian built helicopter went down with friends on board, one really questioned what the hell they were doing there, using second hand equipment.
This was only a "rude awakening" for our useless militaries. It's been pretty common knowledge for a while that Russian electronics, missile tech and artillery are the strongest aspects of their military capabilities. After all, the Russians beat us in the race to put a man in space. But, those dumb Rooskies!
What's interesting is how the Russians have moved past the days of the old Soviet Union where jokes were made about the quality of the cars they built always breaking down and useless. Many other aspects of their manufacturing were then considered inferior to what was being produced in the West plus Japan.. How did a country that once led the race for space suffer such indignity for so long now appear to have out produced the vaunted Western military industrial complex?
The Soviets were always top-notch on military gear. Their lousy consumer products blinded us to that. In WW2, they produced the best tank, some of the best aircraft, and the best submachine gun.
Good point, Steg and you are correct. I suppose in many of those years of the Cold War, the Soviets needed to allocate a lot of their GDP to rebuilding after the war and what was left over was pumped into defense leaving the consumer last in line, like their infamous bread lines. I think that's called sacrifice which is something the West has not had to deal with for a generation or two or three. Again, as we agreed recently, the potential to effect a robust partnership with what could have been a former enemy turned ally, was not just lost, but ignored in favor of plunder. Who gets the blame for that, the people running our state department today?
The Russians are an amazing people. Normally, I'd say that the way they came back from the abyss under Putin after 1991 is a sign of hope for us in the West. However, as you say, they are a people that are used to sacrifice. I don't see we Eloi in the West bouncing back from our current travails. Some of the tougher folks in Texas or Hungary should be able to save something, but the softer regions are doomed.
9/8/2018, Diana Johnstone: “When nobody, not even the President of the United States, has the right to meet and talk with Russian leaders, there is only one remaining form of exchange. When dialogue is impossible, all that is left is force and violence. That is what is being promoted by the most influential media in the United States.” (end of article)...https://www.globalresearch.ca/the-new-york-times-as-iago-undermining-peace-efforts-by-sowing-suspicion/5653375
Right. The enormity of what was done to the American Republic by Hillary, the Deep State, and the Political Establishment is almost unfathomable--using a hoax to deprive We the People of our rightful say in the direction of the country.
“Note: 1590 pages of letters, telegrams, and translations passed between John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev. This total does not include correspondence in draft form. The complete Kennedy-Khrushchev correspondence can be found in the online volume of the Foreign Relations of the United States.”
19 of those letters between October and December 1962 - Cuban missile crisis - enough said.
At the height of the Cold War. And with reasonable international accommodation within grasp, the Deep State and Political Establishment sided with an international Globalist/Neocon cabal bent on World Empire--sided with them against the American people and their choice for president. Breathtaking. Despicable.
8/26/2021, “Everywhere US interventionism goes, the drug market seems to follow.”...“Poppy cultivation in the Islamic Republic [of Afghanistan] increased by 37% last year [2020] alone....US Marines are now tasked with guarding the opium crops. As always Geraldo [on Fox News] puts a spin on the story that it’s really bad but has to be done. Who makes the money off of this opium? Is it the farmers making all the money from these crops? Doubt it. This is nothing more than war-for-profit."...8/26/2021, “The War in Afghanistan: The real ‘Crime of the Century’ behind the Opioid Crisis,” Max Parry, Off Guardian
You do realize, right, that the date of that Trump tweet, 8/28/18, was just a few months before Bluto was nominated to replace waste of space Sessions? He squelched everything.
sorry, I really should have clarified that I was providing the link for the history about Bush, CIA, and drug trafficking, which is the front and back ends of the story. But of course there's the huge middle section that discusses the Russia hoax, HRC emails, etc... which Barr evidently thought were perfectly OK compared to the pro-constitution citizen he wanted removed from the WH in favor of the corrupto-crats that he seems to prefer.
This US failure to appreciate Russian capabilities is what you get when you purge competent officers and promote only those who salute smartly and who are ideologically aligned with "the narrative" favored by Nuland et al.
I'm imagining Adm Levine, Lt Col Vindman, Rear Adm Kirby and Gen Petraeus bumping into each other in the hallway in the White House on the way to a meeting with Gen Mark Milley and Secretary Lloyd Austin to brief them on the interface between US military strategy, sexual preference policy, classified information and diversity, equity and inclusion.
And then watching Douglas Macgregor commenting on it to Tucker Carlson.
1. Massive use by Western ISR to support targeting of Russian Targets, including drones in International Waters. This has had a huge impact on Russia Strategy.
2. Russian Electronic Warfare
3. Deadliness of Russian Anti Aircraft Missiles
4. Inability to stop Russian Hypersonic Missiles
5. Failures of Patriot Missiles
6. Due to extreme hostile anti aircraft environment over Ukraine, Russian Aircraft have been delivering ordinance / missiles from a distance. Very similar to what Israel had done in Syria, launching missiles over Lebanon.
7. US aircraft are not designed to be fly, except from well maintained runways.
8. F-35 issues, not to mention how ancient the F-22 is.
Good point on differences in Russian Culture in use of aircraft. Russian Air Force supports the Army, where the Air Force is into air superiority (that their aircraft would not last long in a Russian Battle Field is beside the point).
I’m quite sure that once all of the members of the Air Force receive the most updated pronoun useage protocols, these battlefield deficiencies will be corrected so I don’t think we should be overly concerned. That’s undoubtedly the root cause of our inability to deal effectively with the opium problem as well. Who knew that those pesky pronouns were having such a dramatic impact on our militarily performance.
Any chance that the geniuses in DC will wake up and realize that we are the laughing stock of the world? Didn’t think so, just thought I’d ask.
Drone tech makes the battlefield more lethal than ever. Watching videos makes one realize there truly is nowhere to hide. They chase guy into bunkers, drop grenades on them, etc. Not just lethal but maddening.
It's terrifying. What's even scarier is how the West was totally blind-sided by this. While we were making F35s and "Top Gun" sequels; the Russians were making $200 drones.
Two sources I follow on Youtube regarding the S.M.O. The first is a guy in Belarus who speaks fairly good English. The second guy not sure where from but seems pretty good.
https://www.youtube.com/@militarysummary
https://www.youtube.com/@Theti
I check them out on the latest 2 or 3 a week.
Good choices, AC. I also like Col MacGregor, Duran, Moon of Alabama and Slavyanska on telegram. These folks are all doing the job that the MSM should be doing.
LJ re the Black Sea blockade and live fire incident:
There are still politically influential oligarchs in Ukraine that are being financially harmed by Russia’s blockade. Now that a major bite is being taken out of oligarch bank accounts it is highly likely that President Zelensky will face growing pressure to find a way to end the war and get the “commerce” back in gear.
Good point.
The poppy eradication was not news to me. Two friends in federal LE spent separate 9 month periods there pretending to do something about it. They weren’t allowed to touch “friendly” fields, which were the majority, and in “safer” locales. Both said while it was an interesting experience it accomplished nothing other than their two agencies getting to waive the flag and ask for more money from congress.
"waive the flag"
an interesting slip of the keyboard. a Freudian slip?
🤣 Nope, direct quote from one. Maybe Freudian on his part. After one of the Russian built helicopter went down with friends on board, one really questioned what the hell they were doing there, using second hand equipment.
wave, not waive. check meaning and reconsider. :-)
Sorry, Apple autocorrect got me. Not that I noticed the second time around.
We're the West. We don't waive the flag, we waive the rules.
In your original comment I thought you were referring to “show the flag” rather than perhaps a white one.
This was only a "rude awakening" for our useless militaries. It's been pretty common knowledge for a while that Russian electronics, missile tech and artillery are the strongest aspects of their military capabilities. After all, the Russians beat us in the race to put a man in space. But, those dumb Rooskies!
What's interesting is how the Russians have moved past the days of the old Soviet Union where jokes were made about the quality of the cars they built always breaking down and useless. Many other aspects of their manufacturing were then considered inferior to what was being produced in the West plus Japan.. How did a country that once led the race for space suffer such indignity for so long now appear to have out produced the vaunted Western military industrial complex?
Perhaps propaganda and misinformation.
The Soviets were always top-notch on military gear. Their lousy consumer products blinded us to that. In WW2, they produced the best tank, some of the best aircraft, and the best submachine gun.
Good point, Steg and you are correct. I suppose in many of those years of the Cold War, the Soviets needed to allocate a lot of their GDP to rebuilding after the war and what was left over was pumped into defense leaving the consumer last in line, like their infamous bread lines. I think that's called sacrifice which is something the West has not had to deal with for a generation or two or three. Again, as we agreed recently, the potential to effect a robust partnership with what could have been a former enemy turned ally, was not just lost, but ignored in favor of plunder. Who gets the blame for that, the people running our state department today?
The Russians are an amazing people. Normally, I'd say that the way they came back from the abyss under Putin after 1991 is a sign of hope for us in the West. However, as you say, they are a people that are used to sacrifice. I don't see we Eloi in the West bouncing back from our current travails. Some of the tougher folks in Texas or Hungary should be able to save something, but the softer regions are doomed.
9/8/2018, Diana Johnstone: “When nobody, not even the President of the United States, has the right to meet and talk with Russian leaders, there is only one remaining form of exchange. When dialogue is impossible, all that is left is force and violence. That is what is being promoted by the most influential media in the United States.” (end of article)...https://www.globalresearch.ca/the-new-york-times-as-iago-undermining-peace-efforts-by-sowing-suspicion/5653375
Right. The enormity of what was done to the American Republic by Hillary, the Deep State, and the Political Establishment is almost unfathomable--using a hoax to deprive We the People of our rightful say in the direction of the country.
From JFK library website:
“Note: 1590 pages of letters, telegrams, and translations passed between John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev. This total does not include correspondence in draft form. The complete Kennedy-Khrushchev correspondence can be found in the online volume of the Foreign Relations of the United States.”
19 of those letters between October and December 1962 - Cuban missile crisis - enough said.
At the height of the Cold War. And with reasonable international accommodation within grasp, the Deep State and Political Establishment sided with an international Globalist/Neocon cabal bent on World Empire--sided with them against the American people and their choice for president. Breathtaking. Despicable.
Yes, truly.
8/26/2021, “Everywhere US interventionism goes, the drug market seems to follow.”...“Poppy cultivation in the Islamic Republic [of Afghanistan] increased by 37% last year [2020] alone....US Marines are now tasked with guarding the opium crops. As always Geraldo [on Fox News] puts a spin on the story that it’s really bad but has to be done. Who makes the money off of this opium? Is it the farmers making all the money from these crops? Doubt it. This is nothing more than war-for-profit."...8/26/2021, “The War in Afghanistan: The real ‘Crime of the Century’ behind the Opioid Crisis,” Max Parry, Off Guardian
Some interesting history:
https://badlands.substack.com/p/clowns-in-america
You do realize, right, that the date of that Trump tweet, 8/28/18, was just a few months before Bluto was nominated to replace waste of space Sessions? He squelched everything.
sorry, I really should have clarified that I was providing the link for the history about Bush, CIA, and drug trafficking, which is the front and back ends of the story. But of course there's the huge middle section that discusses the Russia hoax, HRC emails, etc... which Barr evidently thought were perfectly OK compared to the pro-constitution citizen he wanted removed from the WH in favor of the corrupto-crats that he seems to prefer.
Ny times article that was linked. I did not know.
https://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/21/world/asia/21marja.html
Hat Tip Elon Musk:
https://www.removepaywall.com/
This US failure to appreciate Russian capabilities is what you get when you purge competent officers and promote only those who salute smartly and who are ideologically aligned with "the narrative" favored by Nuland et al.
And get vaxed.
and Stay Home, Save Lives!
"Deploy the pronouns!"
From Nimitz and Bull Halsey to Richard Levine. We're doomed.
I shouldn't have but I did: LOL!
I'm imagining Adm Levine, Lt Col Vindman, Rear Adm Kirby and Gen Petraeus bumping into each other in the hallway in the White House on the way to a meeting with Gen Mark Milley and Secretary Lloyd Austin to brief them on the interface between US military strategy, sexual preference policy, classified information and diversity, equity and inclusion.
And then watching Douglas Macgregor commenting on it to Tucker Carlson.
Would Petraeus bring his "secretary"?
What was missing in the analyst:
1. Massive use by Western ISR to support targeting of Russian Targets, including drones in International Waters. This has had a huge impact on Russia Strategy.
2. Russian Electronic Warfare
3. Deadliness of Russian Anti Aircraft Missiles
4. Inability to stop Russian Hypersonic Missiles
5. Failures of Patriot Missiles
6. Due to extreme hostile anti aircraft environment over Ukraine, Russian Aircraft have been delivering ordinance / missiles from a distance. Very similar to what Israel had done in Syria, launching missiles over Lebanon.
7. US aircraft are not designed to be fly, except from well maintained runways.
8. F-35 issues, not to mention how ancient the F-22 is.
Good point on differences in Russian Culture in use of aircraft. Russian Air Force supports the Army, where the Air Force is into air superiority (that their aircraft would not last long in a Russian Battle Field is beside the point).
I’ll add a 9th. Russia’s ability to not overact and respond rationally after sound assessment of NATO plans and responses.
I’m quite sure that once all of the members of the Air Force receive the most updated pronoun useage protocols, these battlefield deficiencies will be corrected so I don’t think we should be overly concerned. That’s undoubtedly the root cause of our inability to deal effectively with the opium problem as well. Who knew that those pesky pronouns were having such a dramatic impact on our militarily performance.
Any chance that the geniuses in DC will wake up and realize that we are the laughing stock of the world? Didn’t think so, just thought I’d ask.
They could drop cluster pronouns to see off the Rooskies.
I’d sign off on that idea 21, but I’m having a bit of a problem with the “cruel and unusual punishment” aspect of the whole thing:-)
Drone tech makes the battlefield more lethal than ever. Watching videos makes one realize there truly is nowhere to hide. They chase guy into bunkers, drop grenades on them, etc. Not just lethal but maddening.
It's terrifying. What's even scarier is how the West was totally blind-sided by this. While we were making F35s and "Top Gun" sequels; the Russians were making $200 drones.
They are CYA statements, Old Frank. This dolt just needs to go on Rumble to see the queues of busted-up Bradleys.
Apparently some Rs, too:
https://badlands.substack.com/p/clowns-in-america