From the National Review. Joe Biden, the Unilateralist Cowboy Warmonger? Really? https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/joe-biden-the-unilateralist-cowboy-warmonger-really/ There are a lot of reasons to be skeptical of Seymour Hersh’s claim that U.S. Navy divers planted explosives and destroyed three of the four Nord Stream pipelines. Among other things, if the U.S. was secretly planning to attack the pipelines in late September 2022, it wouldn’t make a lot of sense for the CIA to send a warning to Germany in June that someone might be trying to attack the pipelines. That would be like calling up a bank and warning about the risk of robberies three months before you come through the door in a ski mask. Several defense and intelligence experts have pointed out aspects of Hersh’s report that don’t add up. Over the years, many reporters, including our Dan McLaughlin, have laid out how Hersh’s stories can’t be verified. John Schindler scoffed, “This was allegedly a vast, multi-agency, multi-national conspiracy with surely at least hundreds of people ‘read on’ for, yet nobody talked (not even the very leaky Biden WH) — except one person who gave the story to the 85-year-old conspiracy theorist.” But let me step back and point out one other odd aspect of Hersh’s account. In his version of events, President Joe Biden went from lifting all sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline in mid May 2021 to preparing to destroy it in November, in what everyone involved recognized was a unilateral and preemptive act of war against Russia. In fact, since the whole point of the pipeline was to double the amount of natural gas available to Germany, it could also be construed as an act of war against Germany, one of our NATO allies. ...
@Commodore You'll be pleased to learn that Russia is mounting a major offensive against Ukraine right now
Wrong thread but that is disturbing if it's true. The PRC is a strategic rival but if they have elements of their military and government acting rogue that isn't good for global security.
Interesting coincidence. Elon Musk's increasingly erratic behavior is disturbing. Just who is he supporting today in Russia's attempt to conquer Ukraine? Decrying Starlink's 'Weaponization,' SpaceX Cuts Support for Ukrainian Military But Wednesday's explanation by the Elon Musk-founded company is at odds with its continuing work for the U.S. military. SpaceX will no longer support certain Ukrainian military operations through its Starlink satellite-communications service, the company’s president said on Wednesday, explaining that the tech was “never meant to be weaponized.” But Gwynne Shotwell’s explanation is at odds with Starlink’s role in recent U.S. Army modernization experiments that seek to fire on targets more quickly. SpaceX began providing Starlink terminals to Ukraine shortly after Russia invaded in February 2022. The satellite service—along with help from other Western IT companies—helped Ukraine ride out a Russian cyberattack intended to knock Ukraine’s civilian population and government offline. That enduring connectivity has helped distribute aid, medicine, and supplies, and enabled Ukrainians to document and publicize Russian war crimes. And it’s been vital to the Ukrainian military, which uses it for purposes such as communicating with Western experts about equipment upkeep and guiding drone strikes on Russian positions. On Wednesday, Shotwell said has taken steps to keep Ukraine from using Starlink to control armed drones and perform other military tasks. “We were really pleased to be able to provide Ukraine connectivity, and help them in their…fight for freedom. It was never intended to be weaponized, however,” the SpaceX president said during an FAA Commercial Space Transportation Conference, according to Breaking Defense. SpaceX’s work for the U.S. military suggests otherwise. In May 2020, the company signed a cooperative research and development agreement with the Army to look at battlefield applications for the Starlink broadband. Later that year, Starlink played a key role in the service's inaugural Project Convergence experiment to test new and more interconnected weapons and systems. Broadband satellite connectivity from SpaceX and other providers was an even more important part of the following year’s Project Convergence, according to two military officials who spoke to Defense One at Yuma Proving Grounds that year. A big part of the reason for that was the increase in the number of commercial low earth orbit satellites like Starlink. “The biggest difference in 2021 is really just the availability of low Earth orbit satellite constellation has matured much more,” said one official. “We were having minutes of windows of time for [low earth orbit satellite communications], last year. This year, we're going on 24, you know, almost a continuous capability.” That high-bandwidth, low-latency satellite connectivity was important in helping the Army better meet mission objectives, finding and engaging more targets, faster. In November, Olha Stefanishyna, Ukraine’s deputy prime minister for European and Euro-Atlantic integration, told reporters that Starlink communications were a “signal of life” for Ukrainians, but said the country was growing increasingly concerned about the ever-erratic behavior of the company’s founder, Elon Musk—especially after Musk made attempts to charge the Pentagon for Starlink services he had donated. Ukrainian officials said they are looking for alternatives to SpaceX. https://www.defenseone.com/technology/2023/02/spacex-now-says-they-dont-want-starlink-be-weaponized-ukraine/382797/
Massive Russian offensive coming with 500k troops. May God be with the Ukrainians. What a scary thought if you're on the front lines. Man we're so spoiled in this nation.
When was the last time Russia invaded European countries post WWII? I hope this is not a serious question.
By this point how can anyone think of Russia as anything but a paper tiger vs any sort of motivated, first world defense? The Finns showed us 80 years ago that overwhelming manpower from Russia is negligible. Tactics, training, morale, purpose and equipment all matter.
Tanks Aren’t Arriving in Ukraine Despite Promises From European Allies A reluctant Berlin is Kyiv’s biggest tank provider BERLIN—For months, Germany withstood international pressure to allow neighbors to supply Ukraine with German-made tanks. Yet since Berlin finally yielded last month, only one country in Europe has agreed to dispatch a sizeable contingent. European allies’ reluctance to make good on earlier signals despite intense lobbying from Berlin in recent days is raising doubt that enough tanks can arrive in Ukraine in time for an expected Russian offensive. It is also leaving Germany’s government in an awkward position it has sought to avoid: becoming the sole purveyor of a large contingent of Western-made main battle tanks for Ukraine. Since the start of the war, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has made a point of coordinating weapon deliveries with allies. Europe’s sudden misgivings about supplying Ukraine with tanks reveal that, as with ammunition and heavy artillery, North Atlantic Treaty Organization members in the region have fewer operational tanks that they can spare at a time of heightened geopolitical tension than was originally estimated by experts and officials. https://www.wsj.com/articles/europe...y-out-in-the-cold-11675948197?mod=djem10point
I think we underestimated the graft and corruption that occurred during the modernization of the Russian military in the 21st century. We shouldn’t underestimate how willingly Russia is willing to throw its young men into the meat grinder.
I don't think we are underestimating the value Russia puts on their people, reference the WWII period alone. Life is cheap over there.
