How The U.S. Does 'Diplomacy'
The U.S. doesn't do diplomacy. Every country has its own interests. But the U.S. and its pricks in the State Department insist that its interests must have priority over all others. Any country that disagrees with that will be called out on this or that issue or will even get sanctioned.
March 19 2022: President Xi Jinping Has a Video Call with US President Joe Biden
The two sides exchanged views on the situation in Ukraine.President Biden expounded on the US position, and expressed readiness for communication with China to prevent the situation from exacerbating.
President Xi pointed out that China does not want to see the situation in Ukraine to come to this. China stands for peace and opposes war. This is embedded in China’s history and culture. China makes a conclusion independently based on the merits of each matter. China advocates upholding international law and universally recognized norms governing international relations. China adheres to the UN Charter and promotes the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security. These are the major principles that underpin China’s approach to the Ukraine crisis.
March 21 2022: US announces new sanctions on Chinese officials over ‘repressive acts’
The State Department said it would impose visa restrictions on Chinese officials it said are believed to be responsible for “policies or actions aimed at repressing religious and spiritual practitioners, members of ethnic minority groups, dissidents, human rights defenders, journalists, labor organizers, civil society organizers, and peaceful protestors in China and beyond.”
April 11 2022: Ukraine dominates Modi-Biden talks
Mr. Modi, who spoke via videolink to Mr Biden, described the situation in Ukraine as “very worrying” and said he had spoken, several times, with both Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin and had not just urged peace, but also direct talks between them. India’s unwillingness to call out Russia by name for its attack on Ukraine has not gone down well in Washington, but U.S. officials have also said that they hoped countries that have relationships with Moscow might leverage them to bring about a resolution to the situation.
April 12 2022: US Monitoring "Rise In Human Rights Abuses" In India: Antony Blinken
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States was monitoring what he described as a rise in "human rights abuses" in India by some officials, in a rare direct rebuke by Washington of New Delhi."We regularly engage with our Indian partners on these shared values (of human rights) and to that end, we are monitoring some recent concerning developments in India including a rise in human rights abuses by some government, police and prison officials," Mr Blinken said on Monday in a joint press briefing with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and Defense Minister Rajnath Singh.
January 10 2022: Chas Freeman - Diplomacy as an Instrument of Statecraft: A Practicum
What distinguishes diplomats from courtiers, securocrats, and other bureaucrats in a national capital is a reliance on empathy: the ability to see the world through other eyes and to use this insight to induce others to see their interests the way the diplomat wants them to see them. It takes more than a diplomatic passport, position, or title to make someone a “diplomat.” Diplomacy, like other skilled work, requires knowhow gained through training, mentoring, on-the-job experience, and awareness of historical precedents. It is a calling and a role, not a job title.Yet diplomacy remains at best a proto-profession in the United States, thanks to the uniquely American reliance on the political spoils system to staff even key national security functions. This makes diplomatic appointments to benefit appointees and their political parties rather than the country. It thereby enshrines amateurism and incompetence. As the New York Herald-Tribune put it in 1857, in the United States “diplomacy is the sewer through which flows the scum and refuse of the political puddle. A man not fit to stay at home is just the man to send abroad.” Only one thing has changed about this in the last 165 years. Female campaign donors and celebrities now compete with men for appointments to what they imagine are ambassadorial sinecures in plummy places abroad, leaving seedy and dangerous places to lifers.
Posted by b on April 12, 2022 at 10:42 UTC | Permalink
next page »Any time you want to predict what the banksters will do next, simply ask yourself 'what would Nero or Caligula do in this situation?' most of the time you will be right.
Posted by: MarkU | Apr 12 2022 11:03 utc | 2
Since the US expects "host countries" to grant its military more or less diplomatic immunity, it's no wonder that US doesn't know how to conduct diplomacy.
Posted by: Martina | Apr 12 2022 11:09 utc | 4
Any time you want to predict what the banksters will do next, simply ask yourself 'what would Nero or Caligula do in this situation?' most of the time you will be right.
Posted by: MarkU | Apr 12 2022 11:03 utc | 2
Do not forget this guy - https://www.livius.org/articles/person/heliogabalus/
Posted by: Anne B | Apr 12 2022 11:15 utc | 5
Remember Jo Kennedy the bootlegger and Irish frontman of the Chicago Jewish mafiosi who were bigger than Italians ans Capone, was rewarded with the highest posting to the Court of St James to oversee the US/City backed nazi escapade in Europe and attack on Russia?
His reward? A presidency for his eldest born. A clean skin as they can’t really put a convicted criminal up for President...the would be potus unfortunately died in the war, as he was being groomed for that office that his daddy would control. Same goes for Sorry Joe 2 now.
Greek tragedy is what the US elite seem to strive to - internecine.
It’s settled in my mind that Joe 1 had his second born killed by his mates in Chicago and their Nazis of all shades who had been ‘evacuated’ instead of being exterminated as they deserved by the Red Army.
Hence here we are again - hopefully for the last time - at least the rest of this century.
Posted by: DunGroanin | Apr 12 2022 11:29 utc | 6
here's an article posted on Steigan.no earlier this year.
https://steigan.no/2022/03/om-bakgrunnen-for-usas-diplomatiske-tilhove-til-russland/
Hans Olav Brendberg discuss US diplomacy from WWI and onwards - it's quite readable as a translate.
The ingress reads.
Until the First World War, US diplomacy was rather randomly organized, and being an American ambassador to European powers was largely a job for industrialists and businessmen who wanted to do something new, and who bought cream jobs by campaigning for the big ones. partia. The sub-secretaries were people with a university education, and perhaps distinguished themselves first and foremost by being of good family and skilled at playing polo.
Posted by: Anne B | Apr 12 2022 11:29 utc | 7
In 02 I passed all the tests and was offered a foreign service officer position by the US state department. (Their written test that everyone says is “very hard” is a joke, the oral “exam” is super interesting.) Dream job. At the time I was fluent in Russian and passable in German. But it was 02 and the war drums for Iraq were loud, Afghanistan was already a mess; and, I suffered no illusions about the history of my nation and its actions. In the end, I realized that I couldn’t work for the empire in good conscience. Since then it has become clear that DoS is merely the public face of CIA.
It apparently has no country or regional experts (at least not ones who are listened to). It know only bullying and threats, so it’s ineffective but also embarrassing. Worse, it’s extremely dangerous even though it is ineffective. I don’t know if it’s salvageable. The one thing a diplomatic corps should not have is deeply ingrained ideology. Even “patriotism” is a dangerous trait in a diplomat, IMO. I don’t mean seeking the best interests of your nation, rather the emotional nature of patriotism. It’s emotional patriotism that functions as the blinders to being able to see the other side’s point of view. The US is “good” therefore disagreement with it must be “evil”.
There is no point in diplomacy with evil … there actually is but it’s simple to dispense with it from an ideological perspective. But when good and evil are associated with American interests, the problems become manifest. In US “diplomacy” Russia is evil. Overthrow Putin and replace him with a western “friendly” government and Russia is no longer evil. This is only viable if US interests are actually democracy, liberty, etc. The state department functions in support of actual US interests: finance capitalism and the machinations of the intelligence agencies.
Makes the whole good/evil ideology such a mess that the only realistic option is to just just insult, threaten and bully. These ideological positions cannot be defended rationally. And without rational analysis supporting rational discourse, there can be no hope for diplomacy.
Posted by: Lex | Apr 12 2022 11:31 utc | 8
One has to wonder if the mild and toothless "rebuke" of India with regard to their ongoing abuse of Muslims (and ignoring their treatment of many other minorities, by the way) has any relationship to the regime change operation underway in Pakistan. Suggesting it is a result of a US politician's "speaking out" seems a bit disingenuous.
Posted by: Billb | Apr 12 2022 11:36 utc | 9
This quote says it all for me. When asked by a reporter what are his thoughts on the government, Sam Giancana, former Chicago mob boss, responded, “The government and us are cut from the same cloth.”
Posted by: Jose Garcia | Apr 12 2022 11:46 utc | 10
The US right-wing elites undertook a sustained purge of the Dept. of State following WWII. It kicked off with the China Lobby's attacks on the China-hands that worked during the war in support of Gen. Stilwell. As Amb. Freeman describes, an aged, none-too-bright political appointee was sent over in the waning months of the war to try and see if there was any way he could get Chiang Kaishek to actually fight; the State staff informed him (as did Stilwell) that there would be no way to make that happen, but the CCP was keeping up a pretty good fight farther north and they were willing to work with the US. Also, they informed him that by this point they were predicting CKS would lose the coming civil war against them, so it would be best if the US started building a relationship with them--all of which was true, of course.
The Ambassador returned to the US and told his Southern and Midwestern buddies that the Dept. of State - China and USM China Theater had been infiltrated by "commies" and that was why nothing was going right over there. Then, during the Truman administration, the far right anti-Commie wing of US politicians and businessmen were able to wrest control of the US government from moderates and their leftist comrades and systematically went through the Dept. of State and replaced anyone of any competence with ideologues who shared their fervent faith in the Cold War myth that had been invented.
This means that the Cold War was essentially a myth invented by the US right wing via the China Lobby+FBI+CIA to facilitate an oligarchic takeover of the US government, but especially the hallways of foreign policy. Remember: the CFR was, at this point, only about 30 years old, staffed by old-money families who fantasized about building ties to English and European nobility. These were men (mostly) who realized building up Europe after WWII would afford them (and their British mentors) an opportunity to spread their power across Western Europe in ways their ancestors could only ever dream of.
The Cold War myth that emerged was one of a Manichean struggle between pure darkness ("Communism!" "The Russkies!") and pure light (God-fearing Americans, living the American Dream!!).
Once the US "won" that struggle (a struggle that was invented entirely by the US and UK), the US suddenly became the Nation that brings Light to the world: American Exceptionalism, the idea that the US can do no wrong.
The right-wing elites--our Oligarchs--who manage the staffing of our halls of power of course require full subservience to these myths before they'll even consider hiring or promoting someone into their bureaucratic service, so now--today--the US government is nothing more than a collection of narcissistic children who fully believe that what the US desires is what is best and most right for the rest of the world.
They are the emotional equivalent of 6 year olds, and conduct the affairs of state with precisely such maturity.
Posted by: Pacifica Advocate | Apr 12 2022 11:56 utc | 11
These leaders and elements of their contry benefit handsomely from the association with the west.
And then the bill comes due.
Its how organized crime works.
Posted by: jared | Apr 12 2022 12:11 utc | 12
Mariupol Escape failed.
The enemy put our identification marks on the equipment, formed a column and tried to break out of Mariupol at night. In total, about thirty military vehicles, including self-propelled guns, reached out to meet us, not realizing that from the moment the column was formed, we had already controlled all its movements from the air. As a result, the equipment was abandoned, the enemy scattered around the district, ours caught him
He is still struggling, but his situation is getting more and more hopeless, and such desperate attempts to escape are clear evidence of this. Apparently, it's time to throw agitation on the territory under his control with the terms of surrender - there is information that many already would like to raise their hands, but do not know how.
Posted by: Kim | Apr 12 2022 12:20 utc | 13
not to mention the recent diplomatic operation in Pakistan, or "we know where your kids are" said US Ambassador to the UN John Bolton, to a resisting OPCW head.
Posted by: pretzelattack | Apr 12 2022 12:34 utc | 14
Reuters Main Headline:
Ukraine checking reports of Russian use of chemical weapons
subtext:
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday defended the war in Ukraine as a "noble" mission that would achieve its goals as his troops massed for a new offensive amid allegations of rape, brutality against civilians and possible use of chemical weapons.
If you read down, down into the associated article you see they are talking about flares.
The article never uses the word flares. They instead say, "phosphorus munitions".
Posted by: librul | Apr 12 2022 13:02 utc | 16
"senior US official implying the relationship between the two countries would improve if 'Khan/Modi/whoever' were no longer in power."
Do as we say or we will have you removed - USA Diplomacy 101.
Posted by: Henry Smith | Apr 12 2022 13:03 utc | 17
Is the UK using the false flag chemical attack in Mariupol by the Azov Battalion as an opportunity to get Nato officially involved, to rescue its troops from the Azovstal complex.
"Defence minister James Heappey has said if chemical weapons are used in Ukraine “then President Putin should know that all possible options are on the table in terms of how the West might respond”"
Posted by: Republicofscotland | Apr 12 2022 13:05 utc | 18
@Posted by: librul | Apr 12 2022 13:02 utc | 19
White phosphorus can, if misused, be used as a weapon.
Remembering Fallujah:
https://countervortex.org/blog/white-phosphorus-in-fallujah/
Posted by: librul | Apr 12 2022 13:13 utc | 19
In a comprehensive written account of the military operation at Fallujah, three US soldiers who participated said WP shells were used against insurgents taking cover in trenches. Writing in the March-April edition of Field Artillery, the magazine of the US Field Artillery based in Fort Sill, Oklahoma, which is readily available on the internet, the three artillery men said: "WP proved to be an effective and versatile munition. We used it for screening missions ... and, later in the fight, as a potent psychological weapon against insurgents in trench lines and spider holes ... We fired 'shake and bake' missions at the insurgents using WP to flush them out and high explosive shells (HE) to take them out."
Posted by: librul | Apr 12 2022 13:19 utc | 20
the U.S. and its pricks in the State Department
b unleashed...LOLOLO! IOW...be unleashed, damnit; this is WAR.
Posted by: Circe | Apr 12 2022 13:29 utc | 21
US 'diplomacy' here.
Washington calling
https://twitter.com/SpokespersonCHN/status/1513854661408657409
Hua Chunying 华春莹 @SpokespersonCHN
Ripping off the world with massive QE. Freezing Iran's forex reserves. Seizing Afghanistan's assets. Freezing $300bn of Russia's gold & forex reserves & the overseas assets of its entities&individuals. Surely these are enough to make the US the No. 1 economic bandit in the world?
Posted by: michaelj72 | Apr 12 2022 13:30 utc | 22
Boris Rozhin summarizing Putin's and Lukashenko's speeches, https://t.me/boris_rozhin/41756:
From Putin's statements today on the topic of his own in Ukraine.1. The operation is progressing according to plan.
2. The timing of the operation is determined by the intensity of the fighting and the desire to minimize their own losses.
3. Negotiations with Ukraine have reached an impasse, as Ukraine violated the agreements concluded in Istanbul.
4. The decision to launch the operation was correct and timely, and the conflict itself was inevitable - Russia was left with no choice.
5. The sanctions blitzkrieg against Russia has failed, but Russia does not plan to close, and it will not be possible to close it.
6. The USSR, being in sanctions isolation, achieved great success in the space program. Russia will also be able to follow this path.
7. The United States plans to fight in Ukraine to the last Ukrainian. Ukraine is a means to achieve goals for the West.
8. The provocation in Bucha is the same fake as staged chemical attacks in Syria.
9. Russia in the previous decades got hooked on Western technologies, and now it is facing the consequences.
10. Russia, Belarus and Ukraine are a triune people, some of which are now trying to use the West in their interests.We are waiting for the beginning of the 2nd phase of the operation in Ukraine, which Shoigu announced earlier.
Posted by: Boo | Apr 12 2022 13:43 utc | 23
Posted by: Soi | Apr 12 2022 12:14 utc | 13
Posted by: Soi | Apr 12 2022 12:16 utc | 14
Posted by: Soi | Apr 12 2022 12:18 utc | 15
Impressive amount of copy/paste. Please remember that the recent Imperial Anglo centuries were a consequence of Britain being invaded in order by:
1. Romans
2. Jutes/Angles/Saxons
3. Vikings/Danes
4. Normans
And finally a notorious banking family from Germany.
As a peaceful descendant of Brits now living in Canada, I would be happy to return there and reclaim my ancestral lands in Central London. There is now a good sized office/apartment rental building where where our family business, bombed by the Germans, used to be. Please let me know when you have sorted out the logistics.
Posted by: Opport Knocks | Apr 12 2022 13:45 utc | 24
Posted by: Lex | Apr 12 2022 11:31 utc | 8
Excellent post. I was shocked when a bunch of State Dept. workers wrote a letter to Obama demanding the bombing of Syria. Diplomacy??? Man, I was naive back in the day. PR to both Pentagon and CIA.
Posted by: Erelis | Apr 12 2022 13:49 utc | 25
I wonder if behind the scenes the Yanks are negotiating with Russia over those held in the Azovstal dungeons. Do the Russians have Lieutenant General Roger Cloutier? Are their NATO headquarters under the Azovstal factory complex? Are the Russians going in with flamethrowers?
https://johnplatinumgoss.com/2022/04/12/where-is-lieutenant-general-roger-cloutier/
When all people care about is turning a profit, the modern day U$A, and it's drive toward corporate global hegemony, is what you end up with.
Not living up to it's Constitution, and treating people honestly and decently no longer matter, it's all about "capturing market share" globally, nothing more.
Time for the U$A to move over, and let other nations "set the rules" and live up to them. Something the U$A can't do.....
Posted by: vetinLA | Apr 12 2022 14:04 utc | 27
Well, if you recall US President Teddy Roosevelt popularized the idea to "Speak softly and carry a big stick." This idea is supposed to represent the notion that while violence is always on the table, the threat of violence is often enough to achieve 'diplomacy.'
Over the years this has morphed into, "Do as we say or die." Not a huge evolution from the original thought. The point is - 'Might Makes Right' has ALWAYS been American policy. But in the modern world the 'big stick' comes with a big price tag which sees the US bankrupt economically, morally and politically.
There is nothing in the history of the United States in which violence takes a back seat. Which is why many of us see the eventual outcome of a century or more of Big Stick politics as a landscape of connect-the-dots mushroom clouds over the 'land of the free, and the home of the brave.'
Posted by: gottlieb | Apr 12 2022 14:04 utc | 28
Anyone following George Webb Investigative Journalist on Twitter? He has been investigating all of this including rat lines of supplies, Awad brothers, Kolomoisky-Zelensky-Biden and so much more. He posted a link to Fierce News (not sure where Fierce News is) that French intelligence officers and officers of special forces could not get their comrades out of Mariupol.
This is why Macron kept calling the Kremlin to open up humanitarian corridors. Some French intel officers died in the failed rescue operation. Officers from U.S., Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Turkey Sweden, Poland and Greece are now trapped in the dungeons of Aazovtal. U.S. Lt. General Roger Clothier was recently captured by DNR People's Militia from a down helicopter. Clothier was tracked down by Russian GRU and SVR in MAriupol from external surveillance of his mistress in Turkey in Izmir.
The Ukie National known to the intel svcs as Klute, had always accompanied the general as his travelling wife, confidante and interpreter. As soon as the info was received that this woman arrived in Mariupol; Russia launched a military operation and blockaded the city.
George Webb has said US and NATO Lt General Clothier's father had been a U.S. scientist with the highest top secret clearence at Oak Ridge Laboratory which does more nuke work in Tenn (?) but his father was a biochemist. Viruses???
George Webb and Fierce News also posted" Under Azovstalindustrial zone (which is HUGE), owned by oligarch Rinat Akhmetov, the alleged illigitimate son of former PRes. Kuchma, there are 24 km of tunnels (14 or so miles) up to 30 m deep (95 feet or so).
There is a secret NATO facility PIT-404 and secret NATO biological weapons lab there. There are NATO officers in the PIT-404 facility, and the tunnels are equipped with an amored bunker system.
About 240 foreigners are in the bldg inclduing NATO and French Foreign LEgion officers and biolab staff. Their guards, financed by Akhemtov, number 3,000. The biolab under the Azovstal plant in Mariupol in the so-called PIT-404 facility - built and operated by Metabiota, a company with ties to Hunter Biden, Akhmetov and Volodymyr Zelensky. Bioweapons tests were conducted in the labs in the facilities. Thousands of Mariupol residents became "guinea pigs" in these horrible tests. And it was mainly Western specialities who took part in these tests.
George Webb also references thedukereport.com for info that Russia's Ministry of Defense is releasing on biolabs.
So what is really going on under Azovstal? It seems like Russia, DPR and possibly Chechens have made this a very high priority. Russia and Putin probably would very much like to show the evil that has been going on under Azovstal.
This morning on Intel Slava Z on Telegram was a phone conversation, probably intercepted by Russian forces. It was an American probably Merc talking to a Brit merc trapped in Azovstal. The American asked them if the Brit and his pals could get civilian clothes (to sneak out like rat cowards). The Brit said they tried and it failed. The Brit said they are trapped and was almost crying. The American guy was saying God have mercy. These guys are freaking mercenaies destroying innocent people's lives in the Donetsk, helping the nazis, helping possibly bioweapons tests on innocent people that are horrifying. Now these B**as*tards want to invoke God's name to save their souls? They already sold their souls to Satan aka ZATO.
I am wondering why all this bioweapons. They used them to steal and loot from taxpayers globally with COVID. ZATO-WEF-NWO want Russia's resources so bad. They have been trying to perfect viruses to just kill Slavic people. Monsters.
Posted by: Jerry1 | Apr 12 2022 14:06 utc | 29
LOL
https://twitter.com/abram19881212/status/1513730568843776004
Posted by: Norwegian | Apr 12 2022 14:08 utc | 30
Nice write up B!
We are now living under the era I call "The Dubya Doctrine". You're either with us or against us, diplomacy, nuance and communicating in a rational way are long gone.
One must always remember that 41 once was CIA chief, Prescott was a Nazi sympathizer/financier/supporter
and the Constitution is only a piece of paper.
And to think the D's are any different is pure hogwash. Both Clinton and Empty Suit had CIA ties and the CIA controls State, so here we now are
Posted by: Gazza | Apr 12 2022 14:09 utc | 31
Posted by: Jerry1 | Apr 12 2022 14:06 utc | 33
Latest info on the British merc, https://t.me/boris_rozhin/41762:
[Forwarded from INTERNATIONAL FAN]
[ Photo ]
🇬🇧🇺🇦 The fate of the British mercenary defending Azovstal became known
The British mercenary Aiden Aslin, nicknamed "Cossack Gundi" (Cossack Gundi — Ed.), was allegedly captured on the territory of the Azovstal plant in Mariupol. Aslin, along with a number of volunteers, surrendered to Russian troops when they ran out of food and ammunition. This was reported by a source close to the Briton.
"I just talked to him. His unit ran out of ammunition and food. They have no choice but to surrender. He said he loves you all. He surrenders to the Russians, their commander will meet with them soon," the message says.
It is known about Aslin that he participated in the Syrian conflict and fought on the side of the Kurdish People's Defense Units (YPG), supported by the United States. Earlier, the DPR troops and units of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation intercepted radio conversations in at least six European languages from the besieged Azovstal.
#Mariupol #Ukraine
@riafan_everywhere
Posted by: Boo | Apr 12 2022 14:09 utc | 32
diplomacy: the profession, activity, or skill of managing international relations, typically by a country's representatives abroad.
Has there been anyone in Washington who understands this? Who can stop insulting and sanctioning other governments?
No, instead we've had Hillary, and Pompeo, and Blinken, and Jake the Snake.
...and look at the State Dept motto:
"To protect and promote U.S. security, prosperity, and democratic[sic] values and shape an international environment in which all Americans can thrive."
It's all about ME with no consideration of YOU. That's not managing relations.
Suppose other countries were this way? What a world it would be.
Posted by: Don Bacon | Apr 12 2022 14:17 utc | 33
Check out the hazmat suits:
Talk about disproportionate hysteria, and of course, CNN is also running with this dud. The headline should read: Desperate for Anything that Sticks to Russians.
So Russian forces blow a mild gas into Azov stronghold to smoke out Nazis and friends from the Azovstal Steel Works and suddenly it becomes a chemical war crime on the entire city of Mariupol?
This headline rocket just exploded on lift off. Nothing more to see here.
Posted by: Circe | Apr 12 2022 14:24 utc | 34
Don't use "America" and "diplomacy" in the same sentence. Those words are antonyms and should never be linked together in a positive sense.
Taking about "American diplomacy" has about the same reality as the phrase "honest politician" or "sincere used car salesman."
Don't do it.
Posted by: ak74 | Apr 12 2022 14:29 utc | 35
Like the US and China, Putin and his pricks in the Foreign Ministry insist that Russia's interests must have priority over all others."There, fixed it for you.
Posted by: Useless meat beater | Apr 12 2022 14:00 utc | 30
There! Does that make you feel better now, mister Fix-it?
Posted by: Circe | Apr 12 2022 14:33 utc | 36
'How The U.S. Does 'Diplomacy'
@ b
respectfully, let me fix that for you....
'How The U.S. Does 'Diplomacy' Coercion and Blackmail'
= = = =
"Defence minister James Heappey has said if chemical weapons are used in Ukraine “then President Putin should know that all possible options are on the table in terms of how the West might respond”
@ Republicofscotland | Apr 12 2022 13:05 utc | 21
all possible options are on the table? Hmmm....an ageing english bulldog, no teeth all gums.
Take note the UK is leading the pack in escalating the conflict. Need a distraction much?
Bojo should open the door at No. 10....the Scotties have a handful of PartyGate fines. Chancellor Sunak is contemplating moving to the US due his billionaire wife's tax scandal...offshore bank accounts.
Posted by: Likklemore | Apr 12 2022 14:39 utc | 37
The United States lack of diplomacy and outright deceit has trigger the Russian Ukraine war. Video proof included.
Posted by: Dave Smith | Apr 12 2022 14:42 utc | 38
in the United States “diplomacy is the sewer through which flows the scum and refuse of the political puddle. A man not fit to stay at home is just the man to send abroad.”
Sounds a lot like the European Commission depressingly.
Posted by: Altai | Apr 12 2022 14:42 utc | 39
'How The U.S. Does 'Diplomacy' @ b respectfully, let me fix that for you.... 'How The U.S. Does'Diplomacy'Coercion and Blackmail'Posted by: Likklemore | Apr 12 2022 14:39 utc | 41
Big improvement, thank you. See, that's how it's done! Next...?
Posted by: Circe | Apr 12 2022 14:48 utc | 40
Dun Groaning @ 6
Joe Kennedy may have been a coarse brute, he was also a blood relative of every person he met at the Court of St. James.
In 1944, before anyone was famous, his daughter Kathleen married the Marquess of Hartington. Who would have shortly been the Duke of Devonshire had he not been killed in the war. The Dukes of Devonshire are not embarrassed for funds, do not need to marry American heiresses. Which would have been a bit of a gamble anyway with Kathleen. And they definitely do not marry shanty Irish. No, he married a cousin. As did Jack when he married the Bouvier woman.
These people already have all the money, all of it. Bootlegging is done for amusement. The worst gangsters are aristocrats. Most gangsters are aristocrats.
Posted by: Oldhippie | Apr 12 2022 14:50 utc | 41
When Madeline Albright died recently I thought that the most fitting epitaph should have been: "She was a loyal servant of the Empire." "Nuff said, and that same send-off could be used to describe most of the "diplomats," politicians, and bureaucrats of the US.
Ken Burns newest about Benjamin Franklin has been airing on PBS. Two things of interest: Franklin probably was the closest thing the US ever had to a true diplomat, and John Adams who tried to insert himself into the colonies in rebellion begging set the mold for what b describes above and Lex @8 fleshes out. The other interesting thing I noticed from Burn's presentation was that while the rebellion was in progress and going very badly for the colonists, Franklin was lying to his French counterparts about American victories and successes. The more things change, the more they remain the same.
Posted by: vinnieoh | Apr 12 2022 14:50 utc | 42
Boo (36).
It must be true, I'm surprised the NYPOST revealed the story, I'm also surprised the Russian forces didn't shoot him as Putin warned that foreign mercenaries wouldn't have the same rights as official fighting forces.
The NYPOST even posted his picture.
https://nypost.com/2022/04/12/uk-man-fighting-for-ukraine-surrenders-in-mariupol/
Posted by: Republicofscotland | Apr 12 2022 14:51 utc | 43
@Republicofscotland | Apr 12 2022 14:51 utc | 47
It is all over the net, he is a "hero" in The Sun, and in your link it says "Aiden Aslin was a care worker in Nottinghamshire who moved to Ukraine in 2018 to be with his fiancee."
Sweet. Soon he will not care anymore.
Posted by: Norwegian | Apr 12 2022 14:56 utc | 44
US military has divided the world into commands. Rather than a foreign ministry, US has department of state. US Presidential candidates dont have foreign policy listed on their websites. War policy covers it I guess. Sheepdog Sanders in the 2016 election did at least have war and peace policy.
Divide the world into military commands.
State department rather than Foreign ministry.
US presidents only do war policy, not foreign policy.
Rules based order = Washington based world government. It would be good to live long enough to see this corrupt shithole crash and burn.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Apr 12 2022 15:07 utc | 45
The Syrian White Helmets training the Ukrainian ones on how to stage events.
"White Helmets, a controversial group hailed as heroes in the West but also criticized for being close to radical Islamist forces in Syria, are filming video guides, which are meant for Ukrainians, the British newspaper Times reported on Monday.
The first of a planned series of videos, which the Times said will be translated into Ukrainian, showed two men explaining how to search for people under debris, identify unexploded ordnance and use first aid on injured people."
Posted by: Republicofscotland | Apr 12 2022 15:07 utc | 46
I have seen no mention of my "favorite" State Dept leadership quote
"We came, we saw, he died!"
Posted by: psychohistorian | Apr 12 2022 15:07 utc | 47
Sputniknews banner Updates feed
US Cannot Confirm Use of Chemical Agents in Mariupol, Senior Defense Official Says
https://sputniknews.com/20220412/live-updates-ukrainian-forces-shell-three-settlements-in-dpr-1094690213.html
+ + + + +
Putin Says Ukraine Diverted From Istanbul Agreements, Talks in Dead-End
Moscow-Kiev talks are in dead-end as Ukraine has diverted from agreements that were made during negotiations in Istanbul, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday."Most importantly, the Ukrainian side has moved away from its agreements in Istanbul. Now the requirement of security is one thing. And the issues of regulating relations regarding Crimea, Sevastopol and Donbas are taken out of the scope of these agreements. This is pretty much a return to the dead-end for them and for all of us," Putin said after his meeting with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
Putin added that he was informed about changes made by Kiev on Monday morning.
"I am not aware of these changes. But such inconsistency on fundamental issues creates certain difficulties in reaching final agreements acceptable to everyone on the negotiating track. And until this happens, the military operation will continue until it is fully completed and the tasks that were set at the beginning of this operation are solved," Putin said.
There will be no agreement. Borrell, NATO head skunk said it'll be a military solution. The West is not known to respect agreements. Over and Over again.
Talks are at a dead end; SMO will continue as suggested by Richard McCulloch in his long essay - Russia is back, and so is History
In full view, it's on to the partitioning ...Mr. Kinzhal, Kalibr, et al
[.]to the eastern boundaries of the Oblasts of Zhytomyrs’ka and Vinnyts’ka that would be about 250 miles long compared to the previous 1,226 mile border.[.]
do read.
Posted by: Likklemore | Apr 12 2022 15:08 utc | 48
psychohistorian | Apr 12 2022 15:07 utc | 51
500 thousand children were worth it... the fairer sex... dogs of war and bitches from hell.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Apr 12 2022 15:14 utc | 49
https://nypost.com/2022/04/12/uk-man-fighting-for-ukraine-surrenders-in-mariupol/
Posted by: Republicofscotland | Apr 12 2022 14:51 utc | 47
“For more than a month, we fought without resupplying our ammunition, without food, without water,” the 39th Brigade wrote in an alarming Facebook post, saying its heroic troops had been “bombed from airplanes and shot at by artillery and tanks.”
Who needs those things when they have social media access to sustain their egos.
Posted by: Opport Knocks | Apr 12 2022 15:18 utc | 50
How nice it is not to see our host and destilator in Hamborg being able to make a well-composed cocktail of an imbuement from just quoting the worst of the worst of US of North A low-level citizens -- or rather denizens & demi-mondes -- of the sinking Atlantis in their own words!
Posted by: JoveBove/區司/Áss | Apr 12 2022 15:19 utc | 51
@Lex 8
what was interesting about the oral exams for the foreign service?
Posted by: mastameta | Apr 12 2022 15:24 utc | 52
@ 16:
⚡️ Azov officers may eliminate 2 US officers in Mariupol⚡️
At least two high-ranking retired US officers are in bomb shelters at Azov Steel, according to @wargonzo project from sources on the Donbass frontline, based on analysis of radio intercepts of enemy communications.
According to our sources, they entered Mariupol together with the Academy PMC and are most likely not active employees of the Pentagon. However, at the same time they are extremely important personalities for Washington.
"These officers are aware of many covert US operations in third countries and are carriers of highly sensitive information for Washington," a source familiar with the analysis of the radio intercepts told the @wargonzo project.
It is also noted that in order to conceal this "sensitive information", US intelligence agencies are ready to order Azov fighters to eliminate the two officers. Whether they are alive at the moment is not yet known for certain.
@wargonzo
*Our project exists by means of subscribers' funds, the card for help
4279 3806 9842 9521
Posted by: Barofsky | Apr 12 2022 15:25 utc | 53
librul and Republicofscotland re: NATO (direct military) involvement in Ukraine against Russia. It should be clear to everyone by now that the U.S. and NATO stooges have no intention of ever sending their troops to die in Ukraine. This was always going to be a proxy war, with NATO doing nothing but arming the Ukrainians (and mercs) who are supposed to die as heroes while killing Russians and seperatists. Maybe a few secret NATO military trainers on the sly and the usual smattering of CIA/Mi6 clownery, but no direct military involvement, not troops. Why even bother?
The intensity of the black propaganda spread about Russia, IMHO, has a much more sinister purpose: to justify some horrific retaliatory act by the Ukraine as their military defeat draws closer. WMD-type stuff - chemical, biological or nuclear. The US and NATO will object (mildly) to any potential WMD use by Ukraine, but scream about how poor Ukraine "had no choice - existential threat, etc.", and (as established by the propaganda campaign) "Russia used them first". The blame for Ukrainian WMD use will inevitably be put on some random rouge right-wing militia, not the Ukrainian army and certainly not NATO. Russia won't be fooled, but doesn't want it to ever get to that point.
Can the US possibly pull off a believable false flag showing this? Sure. Look at how easily the world lapped up the Bucha false flag. Even imagery from western media clearly showing a Ukrainian serial number on the Tochka motor body in Kramatorks is ignored. To this minute, mainstream media in the U.S. *insists* it was a Russian missile and most here believe that. The US and NATO stooges are reliably preparing public opinion for a "justifiable" Ukrainian act of desperation.
The 800 lb. gorilla in the room everyone is ignoring is Ukrainian tactical nukes. Every influential Ukraine organization from Svoboda to Zelensky have repeatedly made public statements about how Ukraine has the right and the desire to own tactical nukes for its defense. NATO never utters a word of objection to these insane comments. If Ukraine did use tactical nukes. NATO would publicly object, but point to the desperation of Ukraine and (fake) first use of WMDs by Russia. It's far more beneficial in NATO's small mind to have a tactical nuclear-armed anti-Russian Ukraine on Russia's border than to have Ukraine join NATO and move NATO nuke launchers on Russia's border.
Ukraine may still have a few tactical nuclear-tipped Tochkas it forgot to send back to Russia when it was denuclearized. Likewise, Russia strongly suspects Ukraine has a secret program to refurbish those or produce its own tactical nuclear weapons using its own nuclear materials. Some suggest Chernobyl 'trenches' were not for some fantastical defensive position for Russian armor, but an attempt by Russia to locate evidence (equipment, waste) from a covert nuclear weapons manufacturing program. Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant has always been the scene of strange goings-on, and Russia suspects at least some of the reactors have been reconfigured for enriching or producing more weapons-grade material. If nothing else, the strange effort to replace Russian fuel rods with Westinghouse fuel rods in Ukraine's Russian-built reactors may just be an effort to divert spent fuel to weapons production. With Russian fuel rods, that's impossible - Russian engineers know exactly what fuel assemblies they sent to Ukraine reactors and where every one of them is right now. Zaporizhzhia had also shut down all but one of its reactors before Russia invaded. That's just unheard of for nuclear power plants "We were afraid Russia would bomb them" is lame. More like, "We had to cover up our secret weapons program before the Russians started snooping around". Ukraine also had (has) a nuclear fuel reprocessing plant since Soviet times. It's not rocket science to extract plutonium, just dirty and dangerous. The fuel reprocessing plant is *supposed* to be closed, but Russia thinks otherwise. Ukraine's state atomic authority, Energoatom is secretive, rife with corruption and oligarch controlled. It's not hard to see them covering up weapons development at any of their plants. The US would turn a blind eye to this if the secret program produced a few tactical nukes or dirty bombs to be used against separatists or Russian troops. Far worse for the world if the US or allies are actually helping Ukraine in tactical nuclear weapons development. Everything will be denied by the West if/when Russia discovers hard evidence of such a program. That, and "Russia is just making this up!"
Crazy? Remember when Russia's nuclear forces went to that weird state of Operational/Tactical readiness? Russian intelligence thinks Ukraine has acquired or developed tactical nukes and plans to use them. They didn't go to a *normal* higher state of readiness for potential US ICBM attacks. This was specifically to prepare to respond to tactical nukes used in Ukraine. Russia plainly stated it is prepared to respond in kind to tactical nukes. Why would they do that? Ukraine doesn't have any, right?
This is a NATO dream come true. NO NATO stooge wants to provoke a global nuclear war by direct military action against Russia, but if those crazy Ukrainian Nazis (not in NATO) used them, then NATO gets dead Russians, plausible deniability (We didn't know!) and the inevitable Russian tactical nuke retaliatory strikes against Ukraine. Of course NATO sacrifices their failed Ukraine project (for the time being) and lots of Ukrainians die, but it's all for the greater good, you see. "Russia is a certified nuclear terrorist!" And if Ukrainian ultra-nationalists scatter after their defeat but take a few tactical nukes (or Stingers or Javelins) for terrorist attacks inside Russia, well... all the better in the eyes of US warmongers and our NATO stooges. "Not OUR fault..." "Shouldn't have attacked Ukraine".
God help us all if Russia does expose a secret Western-backed nuclear weapons development program in Ukraine. Russia will be the least of NATO's worries when their own citizens are outside NATO capitals with torches and pitchforks.
Posted by: PavewayIV | Apr 12 2022 15:27 utc | 54
b,
thank you for this post, in particular this sentence "Yet diplomacy remains at best a proto-profession in the United States, thanks to the uniquely American reliance on the political spoils system to staff even key national security functions".
on point and something I'd never considered.
Posted by: Oso | Apr 12 2022 15:27 utc | 55
Posted by: Republicofscotland | Apr 12 2022 13:05 utc | 21
UK get involved in a shooting war with Russia?
You know what?
Bullshit, total fucking bullshit!!! These corrupt, incompetent fuckwits pick a fight with 'Red' Army? I don't think so.
Posted by: Barofsky | Apr 12 2022 15:29 utc | 56
Putin say:
"We are not going to seal ourselves off. In today’s world, it is completely impossible to fully isolate anyone, and totally impossible [to isolate] such an enormous country like Russia. Therefore, we will work with those of our partners who want to cooperate," the Russian leader said during a meeting with Russian space industry personnel at the Vostochny Spaceport on Tuesday. (TASS 12-04-22)
Biden say:
"He seems to be self-isolated and there's some indication that he has fired or put under house arrest some of his advisers," Biden said without citing evidence. (Reuters 31-03-22)
Wrong, again.
I say: Replace Biden with Putin on the world stage. Replace ficton with reality, nonsense with common sense. What's not to like?
Posted by: Circe | Apr 12 2022 15:29 utc | 57
No one would love them
if not for the nukes
the blackmail the sanctions
and CIA spooks
the stealing the lying
the torture the spying
the starving and dying
and flag falsifying
they are vulgar and crass
and bold as brass
and expect everybody
to kiss their ass
the exceptional nation
whose main occupation
is forced subjugation
and world domination
don't dare to point out
their crimes or hypocricy
or they may decide
to send in the democracy
Until the great fall
that ends the Cabal
we must put up our fronts
and bow to these cvnts
Posted by: ld | Apr 12 2022 15:29 utc | 58
Posted by: John Goss | Apr 12 2022 13:54 utc | 26
Re Cloutier:
From the previous MoA story:
DPR forces have confirmed that they captured US General Cloutier.
And, here’s how they knew he was in Mariupol.
“Officers from the U.S., Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Turkey, Sweden, Poland, and Greece are now trapped in the dungeons of Azovstal. U.S. Lieutenant General Roger Cloutier, recently captured by DNR People’s Militia from a downed helicopter, has been tracked down by the Russian GRU and SVR in Mariupol from external surveillance of his mistress in Turkey in Izmir.
The Ukrainian national, known to the intelligence service as Klute, had always accompanied the general as a traveling wife, confidante and interpreter. As soon as information was received that this woman had arrived in Mariupol, Russia
launched a military operation and blockaded the city.”
As far as I’m aware the Russian forces do not want to bunker bust the underground complex, they want to capture all the Western troops alive, its just a matter of time.
Posted by: Barofsky | Apr 12 2022 15:33 utc | 59
Again from previous MoA post:
Now how about this? Just got this from Moscow (translated by DeepL):
DNR spokesman Eduard Basurin said on Channel One that chemical troops might be used.
If anything, only non-lethal special means of a chemical nature, such as tear gas, permitted by the Russian law "On Police", will be used. There are Russian hand grenades of tear (irritant) action of "Rulet - VV", "Drift" modifications, shots and cartridges of the same action for "Siren-7", "Cherry-7M" means, spray guns of "Zveroboy - 10" series and many other similar ones used by special services in hostage rescue, storming of captured buildings, constructions and areas. Such are our "chemical troops".
Western countries, prepared to criticize Russia for mentioning the wrong term by Basurin, should not forget in advance that they use similar "chemical weapons" against their own civilians. For example, the French police used tear gas during the "yellow waistcoat" protests or the US police used tear gas during the riots associated with the BLM movement in May 2020 in Washington.
By the way, saw the latest report that Azovstal's pumps supplying water will be shut down. So there is hope that its absence will force those on the premises to surrender and stay alive for later criminal proceedings. And the use of tear gas is still in doubt.
Posted by: Barofsky | Apr 12 2022 11:09 utc | 311
Posted by: Barofsky | Apr 12 2022 15:35 utc | 60
PavewayIV (54).
Thank you for that interesting comment, I'd hope that like the S-300 missile system that was given to Ukraine recently that Russian forces took out quickly, that Russian satellites would detect the readiness of any tactical nukes in Ukraine and destroy them before they were launched.
Posted by: Republicofscotland | Apr 12 2022 15:39 utc | 61
Posted by: Circe | Apr 12 2022 15:29 utc | 57
Self-isolating? Like self-isolating from C-19? More dream shit
Posted by: Barofsky | Apr 12 2022 15:40 utc | 62
I think the Empire in using Ukraine as canon-fodder has opened up a festering rats-nest and once more it's Russia that has to fumigate it!
Posted by: Barofsky | Apr 12 2022 15:44 utc | 63
US officers are always US officers like dementured Lang. There will be screams and whatever but the US military clowns like Lang trapped there (Mariupol) will be deemed expendable. So long as they die before they talk. That is perhaps the major problem.
Azov go to water once captured and sing like birds. I had thought war crimes tribunals would be held in the republics, but it seems they are held in Russia.
Singing like a bird helps mitigate their sentence. Or so they are led to believe.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Apr 12 2022 15:44 utc | 64
Circe | Apr 12 2022 14:48 utc | 44
Thank you as well.
The coercion and blackmail is an imperative:
Under pinning the might of the USD$, once backed by gold, now by the full faith and credit of
thin air – money printing - and trillions of debts … Uncle Sam’s IOUs...north of $90 Trln includes unfunded liabilities. Oh my.
The historic month is March 2022 – RUB and YN take center stage.
Russia is now demanding payments for its resources in RUB rather USD from a growing list of states “unfriendly” to Russia.
In short, we poked a bear and now it’s biting us in the tail…
-
‘The West is Trapped; Financial Doomsday is Closer to midnight’
Matthew Piepenburg, Matterhorn Asset Management, Switzerland.
those trillions of Eurodollars coming home will be unwelcome.
Posted by: Likklemore | Apr 12 2022 15:47 utc | 65
They are the emotional equivalent of 6 year olds, and conduct the affairs of state with precisely such maturity.
Posted by: Pacifica Advocate | Apr 12 2022 11:56 utc | 11
Nothing much have happened since Gil Scott-Herron made AHREF="https://youtu.be/6JvpNY1QHzs">"B-Movie"
Posted by: Anne B | Apr 12 2022 15:49 utc | 66
Posted by: librul | Apr 12 2022 13:02 utc | 16
Reuters Main Headline:Ukraine checking reports of Russian use of chemical weapons
If you read down, down into the associated article you see they are talking about flares.
The article never uses the word flares. They instead say, "phosphorus munitions".
The excuse for the US using Willy Pete ("White Phosphorous") on the 90% CIVILIAN population of Fallujah back in 2004 was that "Willy Pete" is "just a flare."
In fact, White Phosphorous is strictly outlawed for use as "anything other than a flare."
So essentially, librul, what you're doing here is legitimizing the US excuse of WP as a "false positive" because WP actually has legitimate uses on the battlefield.
The problem, of course, is in the details: the US military claimed that the use of WP over Fallujah was justified...because it "saved American lives" by "lighting up the battlefield." The truth, of course, is that the USM knew full well that it was showering portions of the city that remained inhabited by civilians in prohibited chemical weapons that literally burned them to cinders upon contact.
So the question is not whether Russia was "using flares" or not; the question, in fact, is whether Russia was using those weapons over large areas that it know are inhabited by civilians, or whether it was using those "flares" over areas that might be (because using WP over known enemy positions is also a war crime--one routinely ignored by the US and NATO) inhabited only by enemy combatants.
Now, let's flip that around on the current Russian offensive, which any honest observer will admit: Russia has been going out of its way to avoid civilian casualties and to avoid charges of "war crimes".
The term "phosphorous munitions" now becomes a seditious implication against the current offensive.
Which side are you precisely on, librul? It sure sounds to me like you're a seed for the NATO bloc.
Posted by: Pacifica Advocate | Apr 12 2022 15:51 utc | 67
Let me repeat it in today post too...
As soon as Russian army left Chernobyl - ukrainians started looting spent nuclear fuel.
https://www.facebook.com/dazv.gov.ua/posts/351817566984231
Posted by: Arioch | Apr 12 2022 9:48 utc | 296
Hopefully all those claims are outright lies and all nuclear materials are still in place.
Other I wonder where those dangerous stolen radioactive poison will get used.
Posted by: Arioch | Apr 12 2022 15:53 utc | 68
@Anne B | Apr 12 2022 15:49 utc | 66
Gil Scott gets better with every passing year.
Posted by: Pacifica Advocate | Apr 12 2022 15:56 utc | 69
@ 45
At present, there are 11 unified combatant commands within the DOD:
U.S. Africa Command (USAFRICOM)
U.S. Central Command (USCENTCOM)
U.S. European Command (USEUCOM)
U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM)
U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM)
U.S. Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM)
U.S. Space Command (USSPACECOM)
U.S. Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM)
U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM)
U.S. Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM)
U.S. Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM)
The first seven are area-based, covering the globe and its outer space, making decisions on US 'military diplomacy.' The Commander, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command requests the ships, battalions etc that he wants. then uses them in training and also in provocations of US enemies, chiefly China in that command. That would include sending destroyers through the Taiwan Strait or in China's island territorial waters, and carrier groups through the South China Sea.
Posted by: Don Bacon | Apr 12 2022 16:00 utc | 70
@ 45
At present, there are seven unified area combatant commands within the DOD:
U.S. Africa Command (USAFRICOM)
U.S. Central Command (USCENTCOM)
U.S. European Command (USEUCOM)
U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM)
U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM)
U.S. Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM)
U.S. Space Command (USSPACECOM)
These seven are area-based, covering the globe and its outer space, making decisions on US 'military diplomacy.' The Commander, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command requests the ships, battalions etc that he wants. then uses them in training and also in provocations of US enemies, chiefly China in that command. That would include sending destroyers through the Taiwan Strait or in China's island territorial waters, and carrier groups through the South China Sea.
Posted by: Don Bacon | Apr 12 2022 16:01 utc | 71
Thank you, b for the informative post. On the topic of diplomacy, I see there is now a 10 Downing Street production of ‘meaningful handshake’ between Ukraine’s Zelensky and UK’s Johnson.
https://youtu.be/cJVIFKFzAjE
Handshake envy!! I find Johnson intimidating in this one and I’m not saying that strictly because I was just shopping for a proper cardigan.
AP news just posted an update that Germany’s Steinmeier is not welcome to show solidarity in Kyiv. (!)
Posted by: Bruised Northerner | Apr 12 2022 16:04 utc | 72
re: smoke
Military forces might use Riot Control Agents (not white phosphorous) to assist bunker and tunnel clearing operations.
The most commonly used riot control agent, CS, is a white solid that causes a blinding flow of tears and involuntary closing of the eyes. In greater concentrations, it irritates moist skin and the respiratory tract. Other agents in the US Army inventory include CSX, CS1, CS2, and CR. One of the more recent additions to the RCA inventory is
oleoresin capsicum (OC) or pepper spray. It behaves much like CS with respect to the affects on the upper respiratory system. However, OC is an inflammatory rather than an irritant as is CS. The physiological effects desired and the dissemination means available determine the choice of RCA. . .here
Posted by: Don Bacon | Apr 12 2022 16:09 utc | 73
thanks b....
your time stamps and actions followed in the thread as very clear and paint a very dysfunctional usa state 'diplomacy' concept!
@ Lex | Apr 12 2022 11:31 utc | 8
thanks lex... fascinating and insightful.. much appreciated...
@ Pacifica Advocate | Apr 12 2022 11:56 utc | 11
thanks... you give a lot of interesting history lessons here at moa! i appreciate it..
@ PavewayIV | Apr 12 2022 15:27 utc | 54
that is a fairy scary set up paveway... i hope that doesn't happen, but i can't rule it out.. i think you are definitely on the right track and have good insight into the mechanisms at work here... thanks..
Posted by: james | Apr 12 2022 16:15 utc | 74
Who are the USA to'investigate' human rights abuses anywhere in the world. They denied entry to the head of the ICC who was investigating USA war crimes in Afghanistan. They treat their own citizens with absolute contempt. Churchill once said you can tell a true democracy by the way it treats its prisoners (i.e. well). The USA treatment of its prisoners is brutal and of its citizens. They seem to forget about Abu Graib where, the International Tribunal investigating it said the images were so shocking, deeply disturbing and inhuman they could not be published. So USA and UK f the hell off with your sanctimonious accusations and allegations of human rights abuses and war crimes. What goes on in other countries is none of the U SA or UK's business.
Posted by: Jo Dominich | Apr 12 2022 16:17 utc | 75
"...Sanders in the 2016 election did at least have war and peace policy... Peter AU1@45
A very good, long and copiously illustrated article on Bernie and Foreign Policy.
https://covertactionmagazine.com/2022/04/12/bernie-sanders-claims-the-mantle-of-franklin-delano-roosevelt-has-he-earned-it/
Posted by: bevin | Apr 12 2022 16:20 utc | 76
White phosphorus munitions are a lawful weapon that can be used against the enemy consistent with the normal laws of targeting. However, white phosphorus munitions, like any lawful weapon, can be used in numerous unlawful manners, such as to specifically target civilians or launch attacks indiscriminately.
. .here
Posted by: Don Bacon | Apr 12 2022 16:21 utc | 77
appended to my post @ 37 on the need to distract because the Scotties are at the door---
Johnson, (and) Treasury chief to be fined over lockdown parties
https://apnews.com/article/boris-johnson-covid-lockdown-party-fine-6737373cb894d371fb86cae48adb0b66
LONDON (AP) — U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s office said Tuesday that he and Treasury Chief Rishi Sunak will be fined by police for breaching COVID-19 regulations following allegations of lockdown parties at government offices.The news came after London’s Metropolitan Police force said earlier Tuesday that they were issuing 30 more fixed penalty notices in relation to the “partygate” scandal, which has angered many in Britain and seen dozens of politicians and officials investigated over allegations that the government flouted its own pandemic restrictions.
“The Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer have today received notification that the Metropolitan police intend to issue them with fixed penalty notices,” a spokesperson for Johnson’s office said. “We have no further details.”
It was not clear how much Johnson and Sunak were fined. Johnson’s wife, Carrie Johnson, also said she was notified that she will receive a fine, though she has not yet received any details about it.[.]
Posted by: Likklemore | Apr 12 2022 16:25 utc | 78
Posted by: Boo | Apr 12 2022 14:09 utc | 32
"I just talked to him. His unit ran out of ammunition and food. They have no choice but to surrender. He said he loves you all. He surrenders to the Russians, their commander will meet with them soon," the message says.
I thought that "mercenaries" were subject to summary execution. It sounds like this bloke is being invited for tea and biscuits.
We can bear this sort of unwarranted gentleness in mind as we contemplate the (doubtless illusory) "war crimes trials" Russia will allegedly hold.
Posted by: Herr Ringbone | Apr 12 2022 16:28 utc | 79
Chemical attack at Azovstal!
Unknown origin poisonous substance at Mariupol highly likely deadly Novichok!
More than a few n.a.z.i.s in Azovstal factory complain about mild breathing disorder and dizziness after some kind of smoky, foggy unknown substance having surreptitiously been introduced in their environment. These worrisome symptoms are compatible with use of notorious deadly Russian-made toxic Novichok, due to the fact that all victims survived with no harm, which is the hallmark of those well known clumsy Russian operatives: Russian nationals Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov - already charged in London for such an attack!
Posted by: Greg Galloway | Apr 12 2022 16:31 utc | 80
@78 He may have been smart enough to enlist in the UAF. Would that make him a POW?
Posted by: dh | Apr 12 2022 16:41 utc | 81
@ GG 79
some kind of smoky, foggy unknown substance
Yup -- see my 72 above.
Posted by: Don Bacon | Apr 12 2022 16:41 utc | 82
Posted by: Oldhippie | Apr 12 2022 14:50 utc | 41
Kennedy clan was tightly connected to the snake pit of money and influence.
"The reason I mention Meyer at all is that, according to Eustace Mullins’ book The
Secrets of the Federal Reserve, the Lazard Brother’s banking house managed
the Kennedy family fortune. In that book there is also a chart showing the link
between the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Standard Oil of Indiana, and
Allied Chemical Corporation (Eugene Meyer family) and Equitable Life (J.P.
Morgan). Another chart shows the interlocks between Morgan Guaranty, Brown
Brothers Harriman, and Kuhn Loeb & Co. (the Warburg's U.S. bank). We also
find in that book congressional testimony stating that “Mr. Meyer is a brother-inlaw of George Blumenthal, a member of the firm of J.P. Morgan Company, which
represents the Rothschild interests.” So there are signs of a business alliance
between Morgan and two of Roosevelt’s advisers: Bernard Baruch, via Meyer,
and Warburg (we’ll get to him in a minute). It is also worth noting that Roosevelt
appointed Joseph P. Kennedy as the first chairman of the SEC in 1934."
Posted by: Tom_12 | Apr 12 2022 16:42 utc | 83
..from Press Secretary John Kirby yesterday -- if one lies consistently, it becomes truth (see Blinken's "ironclad.")
..This is to back up comedian Zelensky's charge of 5,000 war crimes by 500 Russians, etc.
Q: Have there been any developments in -- had DOD been helping in any specific way now with the effort to kind of collect the data and what the Russians have actually done and maybe charge Russians in the future?
MR. KIRBY: I would just say in general because we're not going to talk about everything specifically that we're doing as part of the interagency effort here of the United States government, but in general we'll pitch in and do our part to try to help with the collection of evidence of the war -- of war crimes being conducted for use in investigative procedures going forward. I mean, we're focused on doing what we can to help document that.
It's also fairly transparent for the world to see the -- again, the brutality and the war crimes that Russian forces are conducting. . .here
"Transparent," Kirby? . . .We can see right through your 'military diplomacy,' does that count??
Posted by: Don Bacon | Apr 12 2022 16:45 utc | 84
appending me @ 48 Sputniknews
Western (Canada) media standing for Ukies, has more on:
U.S. cannot confirm use of chemical agents in Ukraine's Mariupol
Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar said the government was checking unverified information that Russia may have used chemical [.]
operative word is "at this time" and is subject to change as the war of words warrant.
Posted by: Likklemore | Apr 12 2022 16:49 utc | 85
or the operative phrase is ''can't confirm'' but will offer up all sorts of b.s. with great ease 24/7... if they changed the wording that way, it would make much more sense..
Posted by: james | Apr 12 2022 16:51 utc | 86
@ me 47
Sputnik News US Cannot Confirm Use of Chemical Agents in Mariupol, Senior Defense Official Says
The United States cannot confirm the use of chemical agents in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, a senior defense official said on Tuesday.
Western media has it
U.S. cannot confirm use of chemical agents in Ukraine's Mariupol at ...this time
https://nationalpost.com/pmn/news-pmn/crime-pmn/u-s-cannot-confirm-use-of-chemical-agents-in-ukraines-mariupol-at-this-time-official
Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar said the government was checking unverified information that Russia may have used chemical ...
operative word is "at this time" and is subject to change as the war on word warrants.
Posted by: Likklemore | Apr 12 2022 16:59 utc | 87
"She was a loyal servant of the Empire."
Posted by: vinnieoh | Apr 12 2022 14:50 utc | 42
Boringly plain.
Let it be
"She was a truthful servant to the Empire of Lies."
Posted by: Arioch | Apr 12 2022 16:59 utc | 88
I posted this on the other thread too, but I consider the message important;
If common working people don't start funding sites like this one, the battle against corporate fascism, is over.
$= power and control. Getting your message out is critical, and, in todays world, the common people have no voice.
"The working classes are their own worst enemies, thru their inaction"..
Posted by: vetinLA | Apr 12 2022 17:02 utc | 89
He may have been smart enough to enlist in the UAF. Would that make him a POW?
Posted by: dh | Apr 12 2022 16:41 utc | 80
Well, if UAF would prove they were already in a state of war with Russia before he was captured.
Posted by: Arioch | Apr 12 2022 17:06 utc | 90
This may not be directly related to today's topic, but as the article is published on a web site named Modern Diplomacy, I guess I can post it here...
My friend George Eliason is not getting the attention he needs. Here is his latest piece:
Report from March Moscow Policy conference- Ukraine Denazification and Z - George Eliason, Modern Diplomacy, April 12, 2022About 5 months ago, I was invited to speak at a few Russian Duma led conferences on various subjects including Ukrainian information war and Ukrainian nationalism as the Duma was exploring policy positions going forward.
George Eliason has lived in Donbass for the last 10 years. No one I know has ever met him in person. I tried to get in contact when I visited Lugansk a few years ago. It did not work out, as the bus ride from Lugansk to the small village he lived in would have taken half a day and the ride back would only be possible the next day. My host in Lugansk, who happened to have Eliason's phone number, told me that the State Security Ministry (MGB) of the Lugansk People's Republic had done an investigation to find out if Eliason even existed. In the end I managed to speak with him by telephone, so I can confirm he actually exists.
George Eliason now has a talk show on something called TNT Radio. The episodes can be listened here:
The George Eliason Show
He also has a Subtrack page. The latest is here:
Bucha Proof of a Ukrainian Pogrom - George Eliason, April 5, 2022
Posted by: Petri Krohn | Apr 12 2022 17:12 utc | 91
Posted by: PavewayIV | Apr 12 2022 15:27 utc | 54
PavywayIV!!! Very good to see you posting again. Your thoughtful insights have been missed. Please don't be a stranger!
Posted by: Pablo Sanchez | Apr 12 2022 17:12 utc | 92
This is very good news!
https://gorthodox.com/en/news-item/
donbass-hostages-in-nikolo-vasilyevsky-convent-liberated-and-safe
The significance for Russian Orthodox Christians is this: the monastery is a new one, built in 1998 under the leadership of Schema-Archimandrite Zosima (remember that name!). The name of the cathedral there is Church of the Holy Dormition of the Theotokos, named for the same church in Moscow, and consecrated a few years later by Archbishop Kiril.
Added significance for the Orthodox is that this week in Lent, the story of Saint Mary of Egypt is remembered, it being the week before Holy Week for Orthodox Christians. Her story is closely entwined with that of Saint Zosima, without whom she would have not become known to the world. It was significant that the elder Father Zosima in Dostoievski's final work plays such a central role therein.
Also significant for me personally is the name of the church - the same was the name of my little church in Santa Fe, which physically no longer exists, but I know it still lives in the hearts of all who gathered there. I mentioned the story of Saint Zosima at the beginning of Lent, when I gave the Easter salute to all venturing out into the desert this war has become -- not knowing who would return, the Easter hymn being sung for them as they departed.
It goes:
Christ is risen from the dead,
Trampling down death by death...
[To those unfamiliar with the hymn, it can be heard in Rimsky-Korsakov's music.]
Posted by: juliania | Apr 12 2022 17:16 utc | 93
From the latest MoD briefing - just from sustained artillery fire 120+ VSUshniki have been permanently denazified in Popasnaya.
Looks like the Russians have brought the big guns.
Posted by: Boo | Apr 12 2022 17:18 utc | 94
@89 I doubt if anyone cares much about the legal niceties. But this young British 'hero' does have some PR value. Probably not a good idea to just bump him off without some kind of trial, even if they would like to.
Posted by: dh | Apr 12 2022 17:20 utc | 95
Posted by: dh | Apr 12 2022 17:20 utc | 94
Trials are the cheapest and best PR. Imagine the breathless tears of remorse and the blame on Azov and Zelensky the young Safari hunter from UK will bring to the proceedings. Guaranteed hit.
Posted by: Boo | Apr 12 2022 17:23 utc | 96
@95 Boris will personally pay for his defense lawyer. His mother and fiance will make heartbreaking appeals via satellite.
Posted by: dh | Apr 12 2022 17:27 utc | 97
After 911 the Zionist Neocons completely took over the State Dept. The Iraq war, Libyan war, Syrian war, relentless NATO expansion and now finally Ukraine, are the poisoned fruit of the Zionists. They also are responsible for the Department of Homeland Security. AIPAC money flowing back from military aid to Israel makes the congress look like pathetic clapping seals whenever a Zionist beams down into the chamber to issue instructions. All this power and arrogance comes from the ability to print money out of thin air through the banking industry connections. There is nothing magical or superior about it.
Posted by: Obamavirus | Apr 12 2022 17:30 utc | 98
Posted by: Boo | Apr 12 2022 17:23 utc | 95
Only if anybody in the West gets to see it and right now, there's pretty much total suppression of anything remotely Russian.
Posted by: Barofsky | Apr 12 2022 17:32 utc | 99
Posted by: dh | Apr 12 2022 17:27 utc | 96
I wonder whether BoJo will find even one attorney/barrister in Donbass - where it looks most likely for the tribunal to occur - that will defend this "brave" wannabe Nazi. He'll have to defend himself...
Posted by: Boo | Apr 12 2022 17:35 utc | 100
The comments to this entry are closed.
Don't forget also that the US uses its embassies and consulates abroad to spy on their host countries and disseminate propaganda through sponsoring cultural, artistic and educational programs and organisations, among the other things they're supposed to be doing
Posted by: Jen | Apr 12 2022 11:01 utc | 1