Posted by: Republicofscotland | May 1 2022 15:17 utc | 24
“BTG will be covered from the air.”
F-16’s, meet Mr. S-400. Not to mention an overwhelming larger Russian Air Force with better planes (and probably better pilots if the West’s side is not fielding American pilots.)
NATO nominally has 3,527 fighters vs Russia’s 772, but how many of them can actually go to the battlezone? NATO reportedly has 100 aircraft on high alert, and can presumably double or triple that. But they will be entering the heaviest AD they have ever faced. Even if most of that AD is inside Russia and away from western Ukraine, Russia can certainly move some into Belarus to cover the area and further west into Ukraine once the Donbass situation is resolved. There is also the AD provided by the Russian Black Sea fleet.
Not to mention that every airfield within the AO will be destroyed by Russian missile strikes. At the very least Poland can forget having functional airfields.
It will depend on whether NATO can be pushed to support Poland’s “adventure”. Poland is entering in this campaign allegedly as a national endeavor, not a NATO endeavor. This means they cannot legallycall on Article 5 of the NATO Charter to get NATO support once they come under attack by Russia. However, I think it’s clear that the US and NATO will not respect the NATO Charter’s rules in this regard.
So the issue will be: how soon will it be apparent that the Polish incursion is failing badly? The minute they cross the border – and perhaps before – they will be hit by as many as 500-1,000 Russian missiles (based on recent Russian attacks in Ukraine) and full Russian air power and support from the Black Sea Fleet. There is also the possibility that whatever Russian forces remain in Belarus – and perhaps Belarussian forces themselves – will commit on the ground.
I don’t see any chance of this incursion succeeding. The only question is how far will NATO go to support Poland? Because that leads directly to a full-on Russia-NATO war. And that is becoming more likely by the day as the actual goal of the US neocons – sacrificing NATO in order to bleed Russia, as I’ve suggested before.

Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | May 1 2022 19:47 utc | 104

“His name is Donald J. Trump,” Chomsky says.
…
He needs to join Biden in a rest home.
Posted by: circumspect | May 1 2022 18:45 utc | 75

I am not a fan, but do not view Trump as a pariah either. With respect to the Ukraine conflict, it is worth noting that nothing much happened in Eastern Ukraine during his 4-year tenure. Not so coincidentally, that was the time that Nuland and the rest of the Kagan clan (Straussians as per Thierry Meyssan) were no longer in positions of influence.

Posted by: Opport Knocks | May 1 2022 19:49 utc | 106

Three years ago, just around 4 a.m. on May 2nd, a rare angel on earth, my mother, quietly passed into the arms of eternity. Allow me to share this exquisite video to honor her memory.:
https://youtu.be/kdfGonQGFyc
《3:23-3:39》

Posted by: Circe | May 1 2022 19:52 utc | 108

@Posted by: AParadiseLost | May 1 2022 18:13 utc | 67
US and European companies have huge investments in China, the Chinese government can simply take these in exchange for any stolen US$ bond holdings. The US would also destroy all trust in the US government bond market if they made such a seizure.

Posted by: Roger | May 1 2022 19:58 utc | 110

Posted by: Vragtes | May 1 2022 14:05 utc | 10
“It is time to negotiate a peace that protects the peoples of all areas and allows them to live with their families free from the fear of being bombed.”
Good luck with that. All you have to do is change human nature.
I’d like to eat ice cream all day and still weight 155 lbs. “That Ain’t Gonna Happen.”

Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | May 1 2022 20:07 utc | 112

@Arvy 88
So you can’t set out Putin’s ideology that distinguishes it from the neocons. Saying the majority of the Russian population supports what Russia’s doing tells us nothing about his ideologies.

Posted by: Vragtes | May 1 2022 20:09 utc | 114

https://www.president.gov.ua/en/photos/zustrich-prezidenta-ukrayini-zi-spikerom-palati-predstavniki-4617
Just looking at the pictures, not an expert by any means, it looks photo shopped. It appears to be superimposed images. I will let the pixal police deal with photos.
Posted by: circumspect | May 1 2022 18:29 utc | 70
At this writing, the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th pictures of Pelosi are so obviously composited that it’s really quite embarrassing. All three composites feature the exact same Pelosi – superimposed against three different backgrounds. Seeing through absurdly transparent phoniness like this qualifies you to get banned from corporate social media, so be careful!

Posted by: Aleph_Null | May 1 2022 20:12 utc | 116

Posted by: Eric Newhill | May 1 2022 17:43 utc | 59
“How did she get in and out safely?”
My understanding is that there is a “diplomatic corridor” established between Poland and Kiev per arrangement with the Russians. That’s assuming, of course, that Zelenskyy is even in Kiev, and not just in Poland, which is still not established one way or the other. In any event, we can be sure that the Russians are notified of anyone important entering Ukraine. Even Angelina Jolie had no problem getting to Kiev (although last I heard, years ago, she has a UN commission.)
“What was so important that it required such a huge risk for such an old frail woman? Discuss what? The skim from the $33 Billion? For sure, but what else?”
Just another PR stunt for the plebes in the US electorate. And to keep Zelenskyy on track with the war by boosting his ego.
“Is Zelensky even really Kiev?”
No one knows.
The whole incident is irrelevant to anything. The only thing that matters is the military situation, both in Ukraine and the immediate region. That is going to govern everything.

Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | May 1 2022 20:14 utc | 118

Posted by: karlof1 | May 1 2022 18:55 utc | 77
“Look for the UK to assume the role of Airstrip 1 as men and material are built up akin to that prior to D-Day.”
Heh, that’s a mighty small “airstrip” – easily destroyed by stand-off weapons. They might be better off doing it in Germany where there is a little more room.

Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | May 1 2022 20:20 utc | 120

Poland is playing with fire
I wouldn’t be surprised if they get nuked
https://halturnerradioshow.com/index.php/en/news-page/world/poland-and-nato-sneaking-troops-around-forbids-public-photos-videos

Posted by: Andrew B. | May 1 2022 20:29 utc | 122

Posted by: Pagan | May 1 2022 20:10 utc | 111
“But the question is: can the US afford to sacrifice NATO? How to control Europe without NATO? Without Europe and NATO whom can they push around?”
If you have a war between Russia and NATO, Europe gets devastated. The rebuilding can only happen from one of two parties: the US or China. The US assumes it will be the US.
The point is the US intends to tie Europe to the US by involving Europe in a war with Russia. They also want to “bleed” Russia in that war. Then they think the US can take on Russia or that Russia will be so weak that the US can ignore it.
Doesn’t matter whether that is true – the neocons assume it is true, like they assume everything else will go their way even given the history that it never does.
The neocons make megalomaniacal comic book supervillains look like hypochondriacs. And why shouldn’t they? They’ve never suffered any consequences from any of their failed plans.

Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | May 1 2022 20:32 utc | 124

To continue the discussion re: “Nazi Aggression” in WW2 and the world order that arrived at the end of the war
Perimetr had this comment at the end of the last thread:

As the thread is about at its end, I want to add one observation to the somewhat disruptive conversation about the beginnings of World War 2. There is indisputable evidence that Hitler had spent months massing his forces in preparation to invade Russia in Operation Barbarossa. But I have always wondered about the fact that Stalin had built up huge stores of weapons, fuel, and food very close to the German lines. Is it possible that both the Soviets AND the Germans were simultaneously preparing for invasions?
Admittedly, this is pure speculation on my part, and I have absolutely no sympathy for ANY Nazis in the past, present, or future. And at this point in time, it is essentially a moot point in the context of current events (which seem to be moving towards a full-fledged war between the US/NAT) and Russia. But since the issue of who was going to invade who has become a point of contention, I thought I would put the idea out there, and expect to get educated one way or the other lol.
Posted by: Perimetr | May 1 2022 15:22 utc | 326

I don’t believe that it is, in fact, a moot point. I think it matters very greatly in today’s world how we view the Nazis of WW2 and their questionable actions and supposed aggression.
Indeed, I would argue that an unfair treatment towards the Nazis would mean a preemptive suppression of natural tendencies of Nations to adhere to cultural nationalism, which, although characteristically severely repressed in the E.U., seems to be, like Marx’s Communism, a Specter that is rearing its head again.
But let’s ask the question that Perimetr posits as I believe that this is, indeed, the crux of the issue: What if Soviet Russia was NOT the harmless and innocent nation of buffoons caught completely off-guard by Barbarossa? What if Hitler did, in fact, beat Soviet Russia in their invasion of Europe, to the punch by a matter of months?
Ron Unz, through the works of many “revisionist” authors, and, as of late, the historian Suvorov, pieces together, through the evidence unearthed by Suvorov within the Soviet Archives, a narrative that I think has great merit. Stalin was not a buffoon. He makes the claim that he hoped Europe would tire itself out with war, so that the Soviets could sweep in in the aftermath. Does this tactic sound familiar to anyone? The fact that Hitler’s Germany was able to steamroll France so easily, and that Austria and Czechoslovakia so eagerly sought annexation into Greater Germany meant that Stalin’s plan of Invading Europe might need to be hastened.
But, in the end, we would have to take the information gathered by Suvorov through the Soviet Archives as well as the testimony of several German Military commanders who gave their accounts to the Allies before their executions, as well as Hitler himself, who wrote that the massive scale of preparations the Soviets had accrued would have surely overrun the Nazis, and it was only by quick-thinking and action that caught the Soviets completely off-guard and where the Nazi Blitzkrieg was able to sink the Soviet Invasion and keep them from conquering all of Europe.
I do not see a way that this could ever be unquestionably and unequivocally confirmed. I would just ask readers here to think about the implications of such an aggressive buildup by Stalin. And how, at the very least, perhaps one who has historically viewed the Nazis as unquestionably the aggressors, might finally see that there were many parties equally culpable for the War and its outbreak.
But, and you may not be ready to ask such a question: but, what if, as Heidegger made clear with regards to the rise of National Socialism in Germany, that…

This Europe, in its unholy blindness always on the point of cutting its own throat, lies today in the great pincers between Russia on the one side and America on the other. Russia and America, seen metaphysically, are both the same: the same hopeless frenzy of unchained technology and of the rootless organisation of the average man. When the farthest corner of the globe has been conquered technologically and can be exploited economically; when any incident you like in any place you like, and at any time you like, becomes accessible as fast as you like; when you can simultaneously ‘experience’ an assassination attempt against a king in France and a symphony concert in Tokyo; when time is nothing but speed, instantaneity, simultaneity, and time as history has vanished from Dasein of all peoples; when a boxer counts as the great man of a people; when the tallies of millions at mass meetings are a triumph; then, yes, then there still looms like a spectre over all this uproar the question: What for? – Where to? – and what then?

Although I believe this quote is post-war, he more or less said the same thing about Europe before the war. But his summmation was the same: “Europe in the pincers.”
…
I don’t think this current struggle is the same as between the Soviets and the U.S.. Not by a longshot.
I think that Putin is doing what he can to undo this trapped-Europe.
From what force is he trying to undo it from: Nazis? Perhaps, but only if you wish to use that word. To me, it is the anti-Christian force of Globalism that is really at play here.

Posted by: NemesisCalling | May 1 2022 20:34 utc | 126

… The rebuilding can only happen from one of two parties: the US or China. The US assumes it will be the US.
Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | May 1 2022 20:32 utc | 120
The juvenile politicians in DC may indeed assume such a scenario, but I am sure TPTB are aware that cannot be done with paper money.

Posted by: Pagan | May 1 2022 20:45 utc | 128

Posted by: Pagan | May 1 2022 20:45 utc | 124
Well, then, why don’t the TPTB get rid of the neocons? Because that does appear to be the plan of the neocons.
So clearly either you’re missing something or the TPTB are.

Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | May 1 2022 20:51 utc | 130

This “just war” concept is so 20th-century — “paleoconservative” perhaps?
Posted by: Aleph_Null | May 1 2022 19:47 utc | 101
Defending against an encroaching empire – defending against extremists I think fits the terms of a ‘just war’.

Posted by: Peter AU1 | May 1 2022 20:56 utc | 132

Read that France Press Agency is reporting that the Ukrainian Army is being wittdrawn from the Eastern front…
https://twitter.com/AFP/status/1520756171375734785

Posted by: Ghost of Mozgovoy | May 1 2022 21:01 utc | 134

Well, then, why don’t the TPTB get rid of the neocons? Because that does appear to be the plan of the neocons.
Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | May 1 2022 20:51 utc | 126
But, why should they? So far it’s working in their favour. They managed to work the Europeans into a frenzy, determined to destroy their own economies. So the money from Europe is pouring in, and the prospects for taking over their industrial capacity are very bright. As long as it’s not destroyed in a war, then everyone loses.

Posted by: Pagan | May 1 2022 21:02 utc | 136

karlof1@77
I defer to your great knowledge of Putin’s speeches and statements. My own view is that he is not much of a philosopher while being determined to make some urgently required changes to the world. To put Putin or Xi, for that matter, into perspective it is necessary to understand that, historically, it is only very recently that those ruling countries have come to believe, as do the neo-liberals and global imperialists, that the welfare of the populations over whom they rule is of no importance.
The mandate of heaven was understood in every state and society: the basis of legitimate rule lay in the consent and approval of the governed.
In other words Putin, in trying to make life better for the average Russian- who is a worker or dependent on work-, is doing nothing unusual or radical. He is a pragmatist, who appears to have the laudable ambition not to be a billionaire (just about the only one that western journalists can conceive) but to be remembered for serving his country and its people.
The radicals, and very likely the madmen, are the rulers of the “west” who appear to have concluded that what the Ministry of Food or Fuel cannot provide the Ministry of Truth will supply. That the human diet has now evolved to the point where lies and propaganda will soothe rumbling bellies and hungry children.
It is as if the scheme of replacing barter and precious metals with paper has worked so satisfactorily that promissory notes drawn on future headlined triumphs and gossamer peace dividends will make up for bread at $10 a loaf and gasoline/petrol at $5 a litre.
Setting themselves up as the arbiters of the Earth’s destiny is the least of the tricks being performed by the Barnum and Biden circus in Washington. Inviting popular applause for labour’s declining living standards (and vastly elevated returns on capital) is another.
The thing about Biden and the neo-cons around him is that they are the last of the Clintonites. They haven’t had a new idea since Monica was an intern. They see Russia-just as Obama did- as if these were still the ’90s: the country falling apart thanks to US sponsored reforms, the army disintegrating, life expectancy falling quickly and pimps were ferrying out unhappy women to every brothel and intern employer in the “west.”
But that is only half the story: while Clinton ruled the myth of overwhelming US power still persisted. The epic and lightening blitzkrieg in Grenada still lit up the sky. The destruction of the Embassy of the Peoples Republic in Belgrade was taught in West Point to future Shermans and Grants like Mike Pompeo. It was the High Noon of military glory in America.
In the past twenty years- seemingly unbeknownst to the Nulands, Kagans and Blinkens of this world- not only US but British and NATO forces have failed miserably in Iraq and Afghanistan. Behind the famous victories (of which poets in future will sing no doubt) in Libya and Syria, not to mention Lebanon in 2006, lies an unmistakeable record of military incompetence and strategic stupidity.
How much was spent in Libya, where NATO has still not replaced the man it killed and where the country teeters on the brink of anarchy? Iraq too is without a government. As is Haiti. And Yemen- where the US threatened after it refused to vote against Saddam at the UN, to demolish the country- is in as bad a position.
What all these places have in common is that Washington spent trillions and killed millions in order to change the regimes. and, after all everyone of them is now going to choose a government, when allowed, almost identical to the one the US devoted so much energy, blood and treasure to bring down. The classic case is Afghanistan where 21 years on the Taliban rule. But in Syria the Baath still hold power. In Yemen the independent Ansrullah movement is the leading national force. In Iraq the choice is between Iran’s favourites and Sadr. In Libya the Russian backed Haftar represents one choice- while Ghadaffi’s son Islam bides his time and waits to be allowed to campaign for support. In Haiti lavalas would win an election tomorrow, Aristide is the most popular politician by an order of magnitude.
Does history record a more dismal record of political and military failure?
And yet the clowns in Washington- and their fan club in EU/NATO-not only doubt Russia’s ability to cleanse its frontiers of missiles aimed at Moscow, and bio warfare labs preparing to spread deadly diseases across eurasia and fascist gangs intent on killing Russians for being Russian. They also plot 24/7 to relive their triumphs in the Yeltsin years.
It is an old charge that Russians like the knout. It’s the sort of insight that the C19th ancestors of Ms Kagan and her sister Nuland , Tony Blinken’s and Boris Johnson’s too might have shared in an Odessa salon. History teaches otherwise. Russians like all the rest of us want peace and plenty and respect. That seems to be what VV Putin has discovered.

Posted by: bevin | May 1 2022 21:06 utc | 138

“like Marx’s Communism, a Specter that is rearing its head again.”
What are you talking about? Marxism or any real leftist movement has never been more dead in the West. I can’t think of one western country that has even a smidgen of Marxism at this time.
With your misunderstanding of History you are a tool for fascism and are aiding and abetting in the killing of the working class you claim to be part of.

Posted by: Arthurdent | May 1 2022 21:09 utc | 140

Here Obama talking about containing “hate speech” through harsher censure in social media platforms…
https://twitter.com/TulsiGabbard/status/1520713806086696960?cxt=HHwWgMCjjcnJ1JoqAAAA
But, what he really means is containing any alternative view, since, as we continuously test, hate speech against the Russians, as it was for two years in a round against unvaccinated Western people, is widely allowed…
https://twitter.com/Amor_y_Rabia/status/1520828124702912512/photo/1

Posted by: Ghost of Mozgovoy | May 1 2022 21:13 utc | 142

@ Aleph_Null | May 1 2022 20:12 utc | 112
Excellent catch! This needs to be propagated far and wide. It’s rare for an official site to publish such brazenly bogus images!

Posted by: malenkov | May 1 2022 21:28 utc | 144

Posted by: Pnyx | May 1 2022 15:15 utc | 23
I too fully agree.
I hate it when people glorify in the death of even Ukrainian soldiers. They are someone’s son or father or brother, and even if on the wrong side are in most cases no more evil that any other soldiers.
I do not of course include the really vicious brigades who commit war crimes, though even here, fear, brainwashing, heat of the moment etc may make devils of decent young men.

Posted by: watcher | May 1 2022 21:32 utc | 146

Rjb@141
Well, you seem very bitter. IDK what else to say to you. Trump did not launch any war OK? Trump didn’t send billions over to a corrupt regime to fight a war “ leading from behind” either. LoL That is not good enough for you it seems. Not worthy to vote for.

Posted by: Obamavirus | May 1 2022 21:42 utc | 148

Posted by: Pagan | May 1 2022 21:02 utc | 132
“As long as it’s not destroyed in a war, then everyone loses.”
But the neocons are still pushing for a war between NATO and Russia. That is entirely clear. They are not being reined in by anyone, except for some Pentagon pushback. Biden is clearly on board with whatever the neocons want.
So you’re still missing something. The problem is you’re assuming that a NATO loss in Europe is an “everyone loses” scenario, when it’s really only the Europeans who lose. As long as the US stays out of it – and as I’ve said before, that is theoretically doable depending on how the neocons work it – the US benefits from the eventual peace deal between Europe and Russia. Reconstruction adds to the profits made by the MIC and the rest of the US economy from Europe.
In any event, this is all speculative until it happens. What is clear is that the neocons want a war between NATO and Russia. That I don’t doubt at all.

Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | May 1 2022 21:48 utc | 150

The western propaganda machine is worryingly effective. The fact that most of Europe, including Germany, is cheering on a country with a neo-Nazi battalion in its armed forces shows that the lessons of history are being ignored. How did so many people become so gullible?

Posted by: D J G | May 1 2022 21:52 utc | 152

About Cauldrons
Being inside a cauldron is not the same as being surrounded on all sides, it is just a U shaped front line where the opposing force, the force with less military strength is inside the U
The deeper the U is the worse it is for the army inside the U, because when their front line collapses and they have to do a tactical retreat, they will be fired upon from 3 sides during their retreat while inside the U. That is what is meant by “closed by fire”.
Now this does not mean that all troops won’t be able to get out of the U, but a large portion will be destroyed by the time they get out. This is why a cauldron is sometimes refered to as a “meat grinder.”

Posted by: Jimmy | May 1 2022 21:55 utc | 154

NemesisCalling@122
Just look at what you have posted:
Perimetr simply says
” As the thread is about at its end, I want to add one observation to the somewhat disruptive conversation about the beginnings of World War 2. There is indisputable evidence that Hitler had spent months massing his forces in preparation to invade Russia in Operation Barbarossa. But I have always wondered about the fact that Stalin had built up huge stores of weapons, fuel, and food very close to the German lines. Is it possible that both the Soviets AND the Germans were simultaneously preparing for invasions?
Admittedly, this is pure speculation on my part,…”
Yes, pure speculation, and not much tainted by knowledge either. The great weight of evidence is that the Russians were taken by surprise, at least that Stalin was. He was warned, it has been claimed, by various intelligence sources. The British he wrote off on the “They would say that, wouldn’t they? ” theory. Why he didn’t listen to his own people is not clear to me. But he didn’t.
And then the Soviet Union lost about three millions prisoners of war, trained soldiers, the backbone of the Red Army, which was Stalin’s only protection. If those soldiers were ready for the offensive they would not have succumbed in such numbers.
Let’s look at the meaning of this weird dispute. It’s great importance, politically, is that it does two things that benefit the Nazis. The first is to exculpate them of guilt, not only for starting the war but also of the various crimes they committed during the war, which become excusable on the grounds that they were “fighting for their lives against an aggressor.” Holocaust denial begins here.
The second conclusion is that the entire burden of responsibility for the war is shifted from Germany’s back to that of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
They were to blame.
Hitler was innocent: a war leader fighting to protect his people from extermination. A hero who snatched victory from the jaws of an impending surprise attack.
That lets both the Nazis and the whole galaxy of eastern european fascist collaborators off the hook. The only fault was Stalin’s. And of course the Russians who obeyed him. It is on their heads that the 27 million deaths in The Great Patriotic War must lie.
And there is justification for Ukraine’s simultaneous banning of the Communist Party and empowerment of the Bandera fascists, for tearing down the memorials to the Red Army and replacing them with busts of water carriers for the SS and concentration camp guards.
In other words Perimetr’s ‘speculation’ which is, in fact not a sudden inspiration but a central plank in the Hitler Rehabilitation/ anti Communist/ NATO collaborator eastern european/ russophobic platform, is based not on evidence, of which it flies in the face, but on a sinister attempt to re-found antidemocratic, anti working class, pro imperial politics to conform with the general programme of Full Spectrum Dominance.
I am not one of those calling for your banning but I do believe that you have to recognise that what you are doing could have dangerous consequences. And that it is incumbent upon those working for the demolition of the ideology of anti-fascism to base their case on real evidence not day dreaming speculations which have the power to influence others.
You are a religious man, I gather, so you will recall Christ “It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones…”

Posted by: bevin | May 1 2022 21:59 utc | 156

There is a man without honor at Turcopolier stating that all what the nazi battallions do and have done in Ukraine against Ukrainian population and Russian POWs is really what the Russians do, he states, projecting obviously, that the Russians have looted, raped and killed all the way in Ukraine….
Here US Col.Black, debunking his lies, and telling it all about US way, both in Russia and Ukraine…
https://twitter.com/apocalypseos/status/1519267894441304064

Posted by: Ghost of Mozgovoy | May 1 2022 22:01 utc | 158

“It is time to negotiate a peace that protects the peoples of all areas and allows them to live with their families free from the fear of being bombed.”
Good luck with that. All you have to do is change human nature.
I’d like to eat ice cream all day and still weight 155 lbs. “That Ain’t Gonna Happen.”
Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | May 1 2022 20:07 utc | 108

Some examples of modern societies where previously warring factions learned to co-exist in relative harmony:
– Northern Ireland
– Canada
– India
– Mexico
– Vietnam
But without a “let’s make it happen” attitude it won’t happen. Ironically, it is what Zelensky set out to do with the sponsorship of Kolomoisky. As most local mob leaders recognize, Kolomoisky knows war is bad for business.

Posted by: Opport Knocks | May 1 2022 22:05 utc | 160

Posted by: Opport Knocks | May 1 2022 19:49 utc | 102
I first fell out with my family by making the “outrageous” statement that had I been a voter i would support Trump ahead of Clinton, because he was much less likely to start WWIII. I was absolutely right, but sadly he only delayed it 4 years.
Trump is an oddball, often sleazy, often ignorant, arrogant and pompous, but is not in favour of a war with Russia. That is completely true. As a businessman he sees little value in such a war. The Democratic ideologues lack this understanding.
On the other hand Trump is an appalling Zionist and his approach to China was dangerous.
There appear to be two factions in the US elite “”deep state” if you must. The “lets get Russia first and worry about China later” (mostly Democrats) and the “we are scared of the yellow horde” faction (mostly republicans). the first faction appear to be the most rabid and insane ideologues, cold war warriors with a mind set of 1955. They are very, very dangerous and stupid.
The russiagate stuff was organised by the first faction. Essentially they failed but Trump lost it by his total mismanagement of the COVID crisis. So now we are on the brink of WWIII with Russia as first enemy. Of course it is obvious to many (but not the ideologues), that war with Russia means war with China, but few seem to grasp this.

Posted by: watcher | May 1 2022 22:18 utc | 162

Posted by: bevin | May 1 2022 21:59 utc | 152
Well said!!

Posted by: watcher | May 1 2022 22:21 utc | 164

Posted by: Lysias | May 1 2022 22:01 utc | 153
Correct. However, these days that is not much consolation, given how NATO has bent over for the US. There were some grumblings here and there, yes, but in general NATO will do what the US wants. Certainly that is true of the UK, Poland, Romania, the Baltic states, and probably Germany and France in the end.
So again, the entire question is: If Poland does an incursion into Ukraine, how far does NATO go to support them? Asked another way, why would the US and the rest of NATO allow Poland to go it alone to complete failure? They’re allowing Ukraine to fight to the last Ukrainian. They’re allowing Poland to fight to the last Pole. So why not go further? Why not fight to the last European (or at least the last of NATO)?
Bottom line: If the goal is to “bleed” and “weaken” Russia, where is the limit where they’ll stop? I say the limit is actual nuclear war. But I can’t even be sure of that.

Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | May 1 2022 22:30 utc | 166

And now for the Swiss whitewash and grovelling apology.
The latest Commentary on the War by Jacques Baud.
https://www.thepostil.com/our-interview-with-jacques-baud/
This is pure ignorance dressed up as “informed analysis”. This report goes beyond the polite professional Swiss one dimensional reasoning – it totally ignores the very clear concerns facing Russia and all of Europe from a fanatic controlled NATO.
Baud says: “I have definitely no crystal ball… At this stage, we can only guess what Vladimir Putin wants. He probably wants to achieve two main goals.”
Comrade Baud might find it informative to read the Russian MOD statements, the treaties proposed by Putin in December 2021 only six months ago that is. He might consider the broader geopolitical context and he could develop a frank and fearless assessment based on those factors. He is a failure because of his willing blindness.
He is somewhat mystified about the turn of events after the Ukraine color revolution and provides no depth of analysis – this from a lifetime of professional practice in the field!
How does he reason -“As a strategic intelligence officer, I always advocated providing to the political or military decision-makers the most accurate and the most objective intelligence. This is the kind of job where you need to keep you prejudice and your feelings to yourself, in order to come up with an intelligence that reflects as much as possible the reality on the ground rather than your own emotions or beliefs. I also assume that in a modern democratic State decision must be fact-based. This is the difference with autocratic political systems where decision-making is ideology-based (such as in the Marxist States) or religion-based (such as in the French pre-revolutionary monarchy).”
Then this – “In 2014, during the Maidan revolution in Kiev, I was in NATO in Brussels. I noticed that people didn’t assess the situation as it was, but as they wished it would be. This is exactly what Sun Tzu describes as the first step towards failure. In fact, it appeared clear to me that nobody in NATO had the slightest interest in Ukraine. The main goal was to destabilize Russia.”
Are you F*ing kidding me? He refuses to see the pattern? This is NATO whitewash and bluster.
Is Jacques Baud willfully ignorant or just pure evil you might ask? “After the Maidan revolution, the emerging force in the political landscape was the far-right movement. I do not like to call it “neo-Nazi” because “Nazism” was a clearly defined political doctrine, while in Ukraine, we are talking about a variety of movements that combine all the features of Nazism (such as antisemitism, extreme nationalism, violence, etc.), without being unified into a single doctrine. They are more like a gathering of fanatics.”
Do tell.
Jacques Baud is a fool and thepostil is a participant in the great Wurlitzer of lies. I guess they get a payment from Integrity Initiative for this trash.

Posted by: uncle tungsten | May 1 2022 22:48 utc | 168

S.O. @ 92
Basically a staged environment.
The focal thing you are looking at that makes everything stand out is a wide aperture lens. E.g. an 85, F1.2 or something.
A good example for someone who is actually brilliant at it would be Joe McNally
Are they actually in front of those buildings? Everything is staged in politics so I am not sure what you mean. The pictures have some strange qualities to them but I was never into photography.

Posted by: circumspect | May 1 2022 22:59 utc | 170

Posted by: uncle tungsten | May 1 2022 22:48 utc | 164
Well, this is just the opinion of somebody in Switserland about what he thinks he knows about the situation in Ukraine.
Switzerland, although a nominal neutral country, not a member of NATO and not a member of the EU is still under western , pro Atlantic (Empire) media dominance. The Swiss media makes use of the same, western, spook infiltrated, news agencies such associated press and reuters that feed their media with images and narratives.

Posted by: Jimmy | May 1 2022 23:01 utc | 172

Aleph_Null | May 1 2022 20:12 utc | 112
Probably why they are not showing the pictures in the western press. Too many would notice.

Posted by: circumspect | May 1 2022 23:02 utc | 174

A point to remember.
During cold war, Soviet naval doctrine was of a sea-denial actions. In case of war in Europe, main purpose of Soviet navy was (among few other things) destroying ships moving reinforcement material and troops from US to Europe. Destroying port facilities, too, serving to same goal.
So, if at any point in future US starts to move amount deemed by Russia as dangerous to it’s strategic goals, we will get news about interned, hijacked and later, if hostilities grow to open war, sinking ships.
Europe by itself (NATO without US help) do not pose threat to Russia.

Posted by: Abe | May 1 2022 23:08 utc | 176

uncle tungsten | May 1 2022 22:48 utc | 164
It seems to me that J. Baud speaks the truth, he quotes facts (as for example the difference between Swiss and Belgian neutrality, which was new to me!) and I see no big Wurlitzer of whitewashing, please tell me in detail what you call “whitewashing”. Thank you.

Posted by: fanto | May 1 2022 23:15 utc | 178

I agree with Alexander that this conflict rhymes with Vietnam. The pouring in of vast quantities of weapons to support a corrupt government which is losing the war, only causing unnecessary destruction and ultimately futile, even with the insertion of half a million US troops.

Posted by: Oh | May 1 2022 23:25 utc | 180

Just finishing up Mercouris’ video from today. He spends most of it analyzing how the Ukraine escalation situation is comparable to the Vietnam war, both in terms of how it started and how it ended up. He fears that if it goes along the same path, US troops will end up in Ukraine with all the attendant consequences.
Before the amateur historians weigh in and dispute all that, I suggest they watch the video:
As Russia Advances in Donbass West ‘Seeks Victory’ in Ukraine, Inviting Disaster Instead
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4J5IUtMXklA

Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | May 1 2022 23:26 utc | 182

Brilliant article by Boris Buden. Truly a must read, especially as regards his very clear-headed analysis of the oligarchic/capitalist predatory problem at the heart of the present Ukrainian crisis. https://www.e-flux.com/journal/126/459559/the-west-at-war-on-the-self-enclosure-of-the-liberal-mind/

Posted by: Menelaus | May 1 2022 23:49 utc | 184

@ NemesisCalling | May 1 2022 20:34 utc | 122
Sorry but I’m just not buying that Suvorov crap.
1) You are expecting people to believe that in literally thousands (probably tens of thousands) of historical texts written after WW2, nobody, not even German commanders who were actually present at the time, thought to mention the fact that Barbarossa was an offensive that was hastily cobbled together in an attempt to beat the Soviets to the punch. Suvorov was working for a Kiev based publication when he first decided it was worth mentioning (check his wiki page) Sometimes people just want to pay the bills and that often means telling people what they want to hear.
2) During the (then) recent winter war, the tiny Finnish army had utterly humiliated the Russian armed forces and was only beaten eventually by sheer weight of numbers. To imagine that they were anywhere near ready to take on the German army would have been very obviously delusional. The Germans had also proven to be superior both in training and equipment in the Spanish civil war.
3) The recent purge of generals had left them with a severe leadership deficit. Would you decapitate your army just before your intended major offensive?
4) Do you seriously imagine that Germany would be fighting alone? If the USSR had attacked Germany and was making headway, do you imagine that the British, Americans, Spanish etc would stay out of the war? Not on your life, they were all deeply hostile to the USSR.
5) An army busy prepping for an offensive would surely have been far more capable of counter-offensive action than the red army at the time. Additionally, an army prepping for an offensive would have had a much better awareness of where the soon-to-be-enemy forces were actually situated and thus far less likely to be taken by surprise.
6) Stalin initially refused to believe the reports of the German offensive, initially believing it to be British disinformation intended to start a war.
Hitler himself is reported as saying “If I had known that your estimates of soviet tank strength were anywhere near accurate, I would never have started this war” (to Paulus if my memory serves correctly)
To sum up, on the one hand we have literally thousands of military historians, on the other hand we have Suvorov, a man who was working for the Ukro-Nazis when he wrote his book. It really isn’t difficult is it? Well is it?
Just for the record, I am not hostile to WW2 revisionism in general, it will not exonerate the Nazi regime (though it might embarrass the allies) But the Suvorov stuff is essentially garbage.

Posted by: MarkU | May 2 2022 0:00 utc | 186

@uncle tungsten @179
I don’t think there is any hope in raising people who can think critically. Firstly, the State wouldn’t allow it. Secondly, these are not qualities that make one a “happy”, average person, so it’s not encouraged by parents or educators.
To be able to be married happily for decades, for example, one has to be the type of person who just goes along to get along. Same with people who prosper in the corporate world. Entrepreneurs and people working in the creative world are probably the only types of people who would profit from developing those critical thinking faculties.
The Germans, who have just turned into slightly less fat Americans since WW2 aren’t a people who encourage their people to rock the boat.

Posted by: Manage without me | May 2 2022 0:00 utc | 188

Vragtes | May 1 2022 20:09 utc | 110
You need to study harder…Look at his actions over the span of his life. Better yet, look at yours.

Posted by: donten | May 2 2022 0:12 utc | 190

Come and See ….
https://youtu.be/NJYOg4ORc1w
The most important bit out of that for me is the piece that I think most of western civ will miss entirely: The essence of the entire piece is literally a part of the consciousness of the Russian population relative to the barbarity demonstrated by German Nazis, as well as the Ukrainian Bandera collaborators who were considered by the SS as even more barbaric than what is depicted in the movie and has been owned up to by the former SS.
When the Russians, through President Putin, Sergey Shoigu, Sergey Lavrov, Maria Zakharova, and others speak of the security situation with Ukraine/NATO and its rampant expression within the Ukrainian Military and throughout the government of Nazi symbols, Nazi hate, and Nazi practices as being an existential threat they have good reason. Kievian Ukraine led by Zelenski and the prior Putsch government presidents has practiced documented genocide against the Russian populations of eastern oblasts of former Ukraine particularly since the Maidan Coup in 2014. The hate training goes even deeper and has been an aspect and leverage point for the US State Department since forever.
If you can appreciate the perspective, which is a deep part of being Russian, then I don’t see any ambiguity in the intent of Russian President Putin and the majority of the Russian and BeloRussian populations.
The more US (NATO, UK, EU) try to escalate with Russia through the rump government of what is left of former Ukraine the more dramatic the ultimate response will be BUT it will be in Russian control and on Russian terms.
I have zero doubt.
For the West’s idea of Unipolar Hegemony and Full Spectrum Dominance, the jig is up.

Posted by: Doesitreallymatter | May 2 2022 0:17 utc | 192

Aleph_Null | May 1 2022 23:55 utc | 181
I may have linked it some time ago. I have watched it several times now. there is a small number of English captioned movies that are based on historical documents but Brest Fortress is perhaps the best. All of them though give a good idea of what the soviet union went through.

Posted by: Peter AU1 | May 2 2022 0:32 utc | 194

“My understanding is that there is a “diplomatic corridor” established between Poland and Kiev per arrangement with the Russians.” Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | May 1 2022 20:14 utc | 114
RSH, Thx. That makes sense (I should have thought of that myself). It is contrary to the hyperbolic MSM rhetoric about Russia as blood thirsty maniacs, but only the most ignorant of the idiotic believe such hyperbole. Also, agree that the trip was political grandstanding. I thought the old decrepit sack of silicon was nearing the end of her political life (and earthly life), or was hoping, at least. Maybe she thinks she still has some game.
On another note, people here should be aware that I think Bernard is an unreasonable anti-American with some kind of personal axe to grind – and he is perfectly capable of trying to sell ridiculous propaganda thinly veiled as “analysis”. I also find that most – but not all – of his followers are an unacceptable spoiled buffet of anti-American, commie/anarchist, conspiracy theorist, Eurotrash; whiners and critics without a viable alternative (the worst type). We’re unlikely to be friends long term. That said, other sources of analysis and discussion, like Pat Lang’s forum, have become even more disingenuous propaganda outlets. I have to think through this myself and am willing to weigh all smart inputs.

Posted by: Eric Newhill | May 2 2022 0:36 utc | 196

AParadiseLost #67

So what can be a rational game plan for the Chinese who have ? $1.5 Trillion in Assets/T bills tied up in the US. How does one back out of this predicament, and reclaim their value, before the US preys on them???

Easy, adhere to market forces as good capitalists SELL
I reckon their value is in destruction as appreciation or even possession is high risk and a fiduciary loser.

Posted by: uncle tungsten | May 2 2022 0:41 utc | 198

Aleph_Null | May 2 2022 0:10 utc | 185
Look real to me, the photographer is using a long lens with a small aperture that throws the background out of focus (look up ‘bokeh’).
The problem is pelosi’s rictus grin makes it look like the same frame superimposed. And the light is consistent in the wider shots.

Posted by: Dadda | May 2 2022 0:47 utc | 200