Last week's posts on Moon of Alabama:
Meta:
- May 1 – When It Rains, …
b here:
I am still feeling drained and not up to any challenge. It will probably take another two week of low ops to get me back into some tolerable state. Please bear with me.
- May 3 – Ukraine SitRep: Niu-York Cauldron – Sumi Diversion – Supplying Crimea
Related:
– France Sends Troops to Ukraine – Stephen Bryen
– Ukraine is on the brink, says a senior general (archived) – Economist
– Zelensky is in a predicament in the war against Russia – opinion – Jerusalem Post
– Bondholders to Push Ukraine to Resume Debt Payments After Hiatus – WSJ / MSN
– Ukraine says close to $500,000 in reconstruction funds for Borodianka 'disappeared' – Yahoo
– No safety in retreat: Ukrainian soldiers say rear defensive lines barely exist amid Russian advance – AP– To bookmark: Aaron Maté's 8,000 word reference piece on Ukraine:
– What 10 Years of U.S. Meddling in Ukraine Have Wrought (Spoiler Alert: Not Democracy) – RealClearInvestigations
– Aaron Maté : Ten Years of US in Ukraine (video) – Judging Freedom
When it came out in March I had read and linked to the latest Alex Vershinin piece at RUSI:
The Attritional Art of War: Lessons from the Russian War on Ukraine. – RUSI
The attritional character of the war was obvious since Putin ordered the de-militarization of Ukraine. It is finally getting some discussion.
Vershinin is thus right in that the war in Ukraine is a war of attrition. But it is a one-sided one. It is only NATO and its proxy force Ukraine which get attrited while the Russian military gains in quality and quantity.
Still, it's a must read:
The fastest way to lose a war of attrition is to focus on manoeuvre, expending valuable resources on near-term territorial objectives.
This is exactly what Ukraine has done so far (Bakhmut, Krinky).
This is the current phase of the war, with SecDef Shoigu now officially talking of an ongoing Russian offensive:
When the second phase [of attritional warfare] begins, the offensive should be launched across a broad front, seeking to overwhelm the enemy at multiple points using shallow attacks. The intent is to remain inside the layered bubble of friendly protective systems, while stretching depleted enemy reserves until the front collapses. There is a cascading effect in which a crisis in one sector forces the defenders to shift reserves from a second sector, only to generate a crisis there in turn. As forces start falling back and leaving prepared fortifications, morale plummets, with the obvious question: ‘If we can’t hold the mega-fortress, how can we hold these new trenches?’ Retreat then turns into rout. Only then should the offensive extend towards objectives deeper in the enemy rear.
The 'west' (i.e. the U.S.) has lost its mind on the issue:
If the West is serious about a possible great power conflict, it needs to take a hard look at its industrial capacity, mobilisation doctrine and means of waging a protracted war, rather than conducting wargames covering a single month of conflict and hoping that the war will end afterwards.
See also:
- May 3 – Prime Minister Of Georgia Exposes U.S. Regime Change Attempt
Related:
– Opinion Protesting Georgians are begging for real support from the West – Washington Post
– Georgia’s ‘Foreign Influence’ Law Is Reasonable – American Conservative
– The West’s double standards on Georgia’s ‘foreign agents’ bill – Paul Robinson / Canadian Dimension
- May 3 – Smearing The 'Enemy' – A Typical U.S. Info-Op
Related:
– Blinken Tours China to Promote Some Ties, While the U.S. Severs Others – New York Times
– US accuses China of backing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – Politico.eu
– NYT: US Covert Missile Launcher Could Lead to Xi’s Ouster – Antiwar
—
Other issues:
Empire in demise:
- Shockwaves in the Global Order – Helena Cobban / Boston Review
While the U.S.–Israel alliance has become isolated, new ones are emerging. - Austin confirms Russians deployed to airbase housing US military in Niger – AlJazeerah
- Houthi Causing Headaches For the White House – CovertAction Magazine
- Syria: U.S. forces thought they killed a terrorist. They got the wrong man. – Washington Post
Gaza:
- Israel Tells US It Will Target the Palestinian Authority If ICC Issues Warrants – Antiwar
- US reportedly working to stop ICC from issuing arrest warrant for Netanyahu – Pearls & Wisdom
- ICC warns against interference amid Israeli leaders’ fears of arrest warrants – Washington Post
- Why the Provisional Measures Order in Nicaragua v. Germany severely limits Germany’s ability to transfer arms to Israel – Stefan Talmon
- The Israel-US game plan for Gaza is staring us in the face – Jonathan Cook
- Northern Gaza is in ‘full-blown famine,’ World Food Program leader says – Washington Post
- Ben Gvir said to ask IDF chief why so many Gaza gunmen arrested: ‘Can’t you kill some?’ – Times of Israel
- Report: Hamas Accepts Gaza Cease-fire Deal; Israeli Officials Reject Prospect of War Ending (archived) – Haaretz
- Advisors Assure Biden This Will Blow Over Once All Gazans Dead – The Onion
Zionist are fascist psychopaths:
- Albert Einstein Letter to The New York Times. December 4, 1948 – Archive.org
- Toward a History of the Term “Anti-Semitism” – Academic
Russia:
- America’s New Twilight Struggle With Russia – To Prevail, Washington Must Revive Containment – Foreign Affairs
- If History is any Guide, 'Containment 2.0' May Become Another Bloody Debacle for the West – Paul Robinson
- The clash over whether to commandeer Russia’s frozen assets (archived) – Financial Times
- Those who left due to the war in Ukraine are returning to Russia en masse. Reverse migration stimulates the Russian economy (in Russian) – Strana
Media:
- Why I'm Resigning From The Intercept …and starting something new – Ken Klippenstein
Grifters:
- The State of Crypto Is Anything But Strong – Molly White / Bloomberg
Use as open (not related to the wars in Ukraine and Palestine) thread …