Citizen Writers Fighting Censorship by Helping Americans Understand Issues Affecting the Republic.
During a Zoom call with members of Congress on Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reiterated his requests for a no-fly zone, more harsh sanctions and additional lethal military aid. Specifically, he asked for Russian-made MiG29 fighter jets. Ukrainian pilots know how to operate these planes, he said. As far as NATO leaders, including President Joe …
Part 8 looks at holistic approach to Multi-Domain Operations. These include the military, diplomatic, and financial measures countries and corporations are taking against Russia.
Perhaps a holistic statement of purpose could be “Ukrainian and NATO military operations disrupt and block Russian military aggression, provide sanctions and other financial measures time to create the conditions for change within Russia that will stop its aggression.”
Part 7 looks at the Joint Russia-China corporatist scenario. At what point would the differences rupture cooperation? In the event of a rupture, would one turn on the other? Could China buy up Russian companies and co-opt the interests of the kleptocrats or are their cultures and motives too dissimilar?
One thing is clear, there are stresses in the mix. Lukoil shines a spotlight on them.
Is Putin losing his grip if LukOil feels like they can criticize his strategy and call for an end to it?
The attack on the Ukrainian nuclear plant was a risk. If the strike damaged the containment vessel, it could have unleashed nuclear radiation. That got me thinking about the broader risks of destruction.
• Russian destroys Ukrainian cities and infrastructure trying to take it. More adventures like the nuclear plant could do it.
• Oligarchs in Russia see both a crisis and an opportunity and arrest/kill Putin and take control and force a “favorable” settlement with Ukraine that lets the oligarchs buy Ukrainian assets and resources.
• The west’s sanctions cripple the west and the Russians, leaving an opportunity for the Chinese to go after both. Perhaps they are crocodile watching the two snakes fight it out to take them both.
I think we also need to keep in mind the problems that a harsh peace settlement can create. The Treaty of Versailles created WWII. We certainly do not want that. We need to use WWII’s peace as an example. Our goal should be to incorporate Russia into the west as a responsible state with an effective government that embraces human and western values.
Therefore, I propose a different way to handle these war crimes. Separate the kleptocrats from the state. Prosecute the kleptocrats and use their considerable personal wealth to pay for the damage they inflicted in Ukraine. By most accounts, this is billions of dollars.
“No expert, but the invasion doesn’t seem to be going particularly well.”
Part 3 looks at energy. I think it is the number one security threat. It is at least partly responsible for the situation in Ukraine, both through funding and supporting Russia’s attack through Europe’s current dependence on petroleum-based energy from Russia.
Hannah-Jones feels no empathy for the people of Ukraine because they aren’t black. In her worldview, only the blacks have known true suffering.
Thoughts on Ukraine Figure Conceptual Framework for Russian Invasion of Ukraine I will be the first to admit that I really cannot understand Putin’s objectives and end state in Ukraine. I suspect that I am not alone in that regard. Listen to the news with the talking head experts and read the news and internet …
“Putin is furious, he thought that the whole war would be easy and everything would be done in 1-4 days.”
“How long do you think you can hold out?”
“Forever.”
Remember how decisive FDR was about asking for a declaration of war against Japan in 1941? He minced no words. He knew that day of infamy was coming for a long time, especially after he cut off U.S. oil supplies to starve the Imperial Japanese war machine. He laid down the gauntlet and there was …
Does anyone think Putin would have tried this if Trump were president?
In the run-up to the 2020 Democratic primaries, then-candidate Joe Biden took to Twitter to boast about his tough-guy image and to remind voters of his foreign policy bona fides. He wrote: “Vladimir Putin doesn’t want me to be President. He doesn’t want me to be our nominee. If you’re wondering why — it’s because …
Fox News host Maria Bartiromo was on fire this Sunday morning over the news that prior to and after the 2016 presidential election, the Hillary Clinton campaign allegedly paid technology experts to infiltrate servers in Trump Tower and then the White House to search for any information that could tie former President Donald Trump …