Tag: war

France Seizes Russian Tanker

It appears that the French have bitten off considerably more than they’re going to want to chew:

French troops have boarded the deck of a tanker alleged to be from Russia’s ‘shadow fleet’ stationed off the coast of France and suspected of involvement in drone flights over Denmark last month.

A source within the executive branch, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP earlier that the French navy had boarded the Boracay, a Benin-flagged vessel blacklisted by the European Union for being part of Russia’s sanction-busting ‘shadow fleet’ of ageing oil tankers.

French President Emmanuel Macron did not confirm reports of a connection to Danish drone flights but said on Wednesday that the ship had committed ‘serious offences’.

It is currently at anchor near the western city of Saint Nazaire.

It comes after the French Navy said on Tuesday that authorities were investigating a possible infraction by the Boracay tanker.

It was detained by earlier this year for sailing without a valid country flag.

The whole “shadow fleet” concept is absurd in the first place. It just means that Lloyd’s of London and other Western insurance companies don’t insure Russian-owned vessels. In any event, if the vessel isn’t released soon, I have no doubt that Russia will find a way to make France pay appropriately for its actions.

It’s informative to observe the French will stop Russian oil tankers, but not migrant dinghies.

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The Transformation of the EU

Simplicius points out how Clown World is attempting to transform the European Union from an economic free trade zone into a military bloc:

The Moldovan election has come and gone with the expected “democratic” results. Maia Sandu entrenches her power as another ex-banking head (“Sandu served as an adviser to the Executive Director at the World Bank.”) to lead a Western nation.

Now that the tentacles of control over Europe are falling into place for the cabal, they are ratcheting up the war machine to shoehorn the conflict into its next natural stage, which will necessarily include mass military ramp ups and provocations against Russia in order to force the EU vassals into a military ‘point-of-no-return’.

The new directive taking root is that Europe is “already at war”, which meme’s purpose is to slowly transition the entire EU into a full-on military bloc. We’ve already commented last time on how Ursula von der Leyen’s rhetoric has shown that her only priorities as leader remain war and ‘global health’ crisis alarmism. Now, slowly but surely, these elites are trying to turn the EU into a kind of super-NATO, where the central authority actually has power to force these nations to militarize and go to war, as opposed to NATO’s looser, more ‘suggestive’ structure.

I really fail to see how they’re going to turn the unhealthy, over-vaccinated, demoralized young men of Europe, the majority of whom absolutely hate the EU and their corrupt national governments, into any sort of fighting force whatsoever. Perhaps they could try drafting all of the migrant men, but then they’d end up with the usual sort of Third World military that isn’t useful for much more than running away as soon as the fighting starts.

And no one outside of the Finns and Poles have any appetite for fighting Russia whatsoever. This attempted militarization, combined with the pathetic false flags that have convinced absolutely no one of an imminent Russian invasion, strikes me as more desperate attempts to salvage some sort of continued US involvement than anything else. But that doesn’t mean the situation is safe, since that same desperation might inspire the Eurocrats to do something truly and astonishingly stupid like attacking Kaliningrad or Hungary.

UPDATE: It looks like more of the usual false flaggery.

Russia states that Ukraine is preparing a provocation in Poland — a staged infiltration of a supposed Russian-Belarusian sabotage group into NATO territory. According to the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), the operation will involve the “Freedom of Russia” Legion and the Belarusian “Kalinoŭski Regiment,” both fighting on the side of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

The plan reportedly includes simulating an attack on critical infrastructure inside Poland to create the appearance of Russian involvement. Moscow emphasizes that Warsaw is aware of the plan — it was allegedly developed jointly by Ukraine’s military intelligence (GUR) and Polish special services. The SVR also reports that recent drone incursions into Poland and Romania were organized by Kiev with the goal of drawing NATO’s European members into direct confrontation with Moscow.

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A Real Russian Attack

A “Russian” attack that does no real damage is an obvious false flag, as evidenced by this recent strike on a group of “instructors” and “targeting crews” in Ukraine.

Two Russian hypersonic missiles struck Ukraine’s Starokostyantyniv airbase today, destroying five (5) US-supplied F-16 Fighter jets, an unknown number of British-supplied Storm Shadow/SCALP missiles, along with “Dozens” of NATO instructors and targeting crews. According to a Ukrainian Telegram channel from the site: “Everyone is dead, everything is destroyed, we are in agony. Everything on the base is burning.”

I really don’t see how the European NATO forces expect to survive engagement with the Russian Army. Do they really think that nuclear threats are going to make Russia back down? Do they imagine that the USA has enough conventional forces to impress the Russian generals?

What, exactly, are supposed to be the victory conditions?

Remember, the US military not only can’t stop hypersonic missiles, it also doesn’t have any of its own.

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More False Flag Warnings

I first warned about the false flags that would inevitably be attributed to Russia back in January 2022, before the Special Military Operation even began. In the aftermath of the pathetic attempt at pretending six duct-taped drones had attacked rural Polish farmhouses, a number of observers are increasingly concerned that NATO is finally going to stage a more serious false flag with a pre-prepared “response” intended to trigger a US defense of the soon-to-be overwhelmed European forces.

World War III will start very soon if the information about Kyiv’s plans to carry out a false-flag operation in Romania and Poland is confirmed.

According to the available information, the plan is to repair several downed Russian UAVs, send them — disguised as ‘Russian drones’ — to NATO hubs in Poland and Romania, conduct a disinformation campaign in Europe with the intent to blame everything on Moscow and thereby trigger an armed conflict between Russia and NATO.” (c) Russian MFA

On Kyiv’s plans to carry out a false-flag operation in Romania and Poland

Today several Hungarian media outlets reported on Zelensky’s plans to carry out sabotage in Romania and Poland in order to blame Russia. Thus, on Bankova they are preparing their own “Gleiwitz incident” — to create a casus belli for a war between Russia and NATO.

According to the available information, the Kyiv regime’s plan is as follows:

  • Repair several downed or intercepted Russian UAVs.
  • Equip them with a combat warhead.
  • Send UAVs controlled by Ukrainian specialists — disguised as “Russian drones” — to major NATO transport hubs in Poland and Romania.
  • Simultaneously conduct a disinformation campaign in Europe to blame everything on Moscow.
  • Ignite an armed conflict between the Russian Federation and NATO.

I very much doubt it’s going to work, despite what will be an absolute media blitzkrieg by the European, UK, and US medias, because it’s going to be absolutely obvious that Russia had nothing to do whatever the false flag turns out to be. And there are three reasons why it will be absolutely obvious.

  1. When Russia attacks, it does so in an open and unmistakable manner. Nor does it bother to hide its intentions or conceal its actions.
  2. False flags invariably involve minimal loss compared to real strikes. Russia attacks with an average of 187.5 drones and 8.4 missiles per day. An attack on NATO would be an escalation, so any real attack on NATO would presumably consist of at least 800 drones and 15 missiles. Anything short of this level should be assumed to be a false flag.
  3. If and when Russia attacks NATO, it will attack command centers, weapons depots, troop concentrations, and airfields. Attacks on trivial and tertiary targets, especially if they involve a minimal loss of life or primarily civilian casualties, should be assumed to be false flags.

More false flags are definitely coming. But there is no reason to assume that WWIII will be triggered as a result, since the Russians know perfectly well what the desperate Kiev regime and its European paymasters are trying to do. As does the Trump administration.

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The Meeting

Hal Turner reports an unprecedented meeting of the US military brass:

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has summoned ALL Generals and Admirals of the United States armed forces, to a meeting next week at Marine Corps Base, Quantico, VA. Top commanders in conflict zones and senior military leaders stationed throughout Europe, the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region are among those expected to attend Hegseth’s meeting. Everyone with the rank of Brigadier General or above is expected to attend.

This is an unprecedented action, a gathering of ~620 senior officers, called on short notice and without a stated reason.

It appears the ENTIRE command structure of the United States military will all be in one place at the same time early next week. The national security implications are huge; not only for having all of the command officers in one place at the same time – and adversary could wipe them out – but also for the unstated reason(s).

A Senior Pentagon media correspondent told me: ‘I’ve never seen anything like this in my past 30 years of reporting on the U.S. military. We might be going to war.’

I very much doubt this has anything to do with China or Russia. Whatever is going on is probably something Russia is down with, because only Russia has the unstoppable ability to end the meeting with a bang.

Obviously, it would be nice if this signified the launch of open and declared war against Clown World and the Deep State, but that’s just the hopium talking. It could be something as trivial as war with Venezuela. But it probably isn’t the usual nothing.

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Neocons and the Fall of NATO

Robert Kagan, the eminence grise of the neocons, has been steadily ratcheting down his objectives. Now he’s merely hoping to preserve the existence of NATO.

Putin’s primary goal right now is to force Ukraine’s surrender. Aiding Ukraine has already begun to be a controversial subject in Poland; the prospect of Russian attacks in retaliation could drive up opposition, especially if the United States proves unreliable. That in turn will force Ukrainians to contemplate a world without foreign assistance.

But Putin also has his eye on a bigger prize: the collapse of the NATO alliance. For many months Putin has been waging a “shadow war” against NATO member states—one that the Center for European Policy Analysis describes as “a concerted and coordinated campaign of attacks” aimed at raising the costs and risks to those nations aiding Ukraine. These have included sabotage of key infrastructure, arson, and assassination attempts against European defense executives. The Trump administration’s response has been to tell the Europeans they need to defend themselves, because the United States can no longer afford to do so; to hint at substantial withdrawals of American forces from Europe; and, most recently, to cancel a multiyear defense-training program for the Baltic allies.

The “shadow war” was a characteristic Putin probe to see what the United States would tolerate. The Trump administration’s lack of response encouraged Putin to take the next step and bring the “shadow war” out from the shadows. By overtly attacking Poland, Putin has forced the question of America’s security commitment to the fore. For Trump to do nothing in response to the constant strikes against civilian targets in Ukraine was one thing. If he does nothing in response to a Russian attack on Poland, Europeans will have to stop fooling themselves and face the fact that the Americans really aren’t there for them.

Of course, you have to learn how to read between the lines with people like this. While it’s true that Putin would like to see NATO collapse, he’s obviously not trying to accomplish that by sending a few old drones to crash into country houses in Poland or buzzing the Stockholm airport. These are just the pathetic false flags being waved by the Europeans in a futile attempt to talk the US military into defending them in the war against Russia they started.

If Ukraine doesn’t surrender, NATO will be destroyed. NATO will likely fall apart on its own when the USA withdraws from Europe, but contra Kagan’s ahistorical assertions, it never had any ability to defeat Russia at any time since 2022.

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Back to Afghanistan

In case you’re not convinced that there are multiple Trumps, try to square the intention of this one to start a war with China with his previous anti-war positions.

President Donald Trump on Thursday suggested that he is working to reestablish a U.S. presence at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, four years after America’s chaotic withdrawal from the country left the base in the Taliban’s hands. Trump floated the idea during a press conference with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer as he wrapped up a state visit to the U.K. and tied it to the need for the U.S. to counter its top rival, China.

“We’re trying to get it back,” Trump said of the base in an aside to a question about ending Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

While Trump described his call for the U.S. military to reestablish a position in Afghanistan as “breaking news,” the Republican president has previously raised the idea. The White House did not immediately respond to questions about whether it or the Pentagon has done any planning around returning to the sprawling air base, which was central to America’s longest war.

During his first presidency, Trump set the terms for the U.S. withdrawal by negotiating a deal with the Taliban. The 20-year conflict came to an end in disquieting fashion under President Joe Biden: The U.S.-backed Afghan government collapsed, a grisly bombing killed 13 U.S. troops and 170 others, and thousands of desperate Afghans descended on Kabul’s airport in search of a way out before the final U.S. aircraft departed over the Hindu Kush.

The president repeated his view that a U.S. presence at Bagram is of value because of its proximity to China, the most significant economic and military competitor to the United States. “But one of the reasons we want that base is, as you know, it’s an hour away from where China makes its nuclear weapons,” Trump said. “So a lot of things are happening.”

A lot has changed since the withdrawal from Afghanistan. And in light of events near the Russian border, I very much doubt China is going to permit the US military to re-establish a base near one of its more strategic locations.

Clown World is almost certainly going to cause the US military lose a major war before the USA collapses. Indeed, that may be the proximate cause of the collapse, if Clown World does not collapse itself first.

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NATO and the Need for Resolve

The ever-brilliant NATO strategists who have been losing for three straight years now claim to believe that going head-to-head with Russia in Ukraine is the way to AVOID a Russian invasion of Europe:

Military experts have warned NATO must take seriously the recent drone incursions into eastern Europe or risk invasion, after Russia tested the military alliance’s resolve with intrusions into foreign airspace last week.

Hamish de Bretton-Gordon OBE, a former British Army colonel, told the Daily Mail that he has ‘no doubt’ that Russian President Vladimir Putin will keep going, after UAVs repeatedly breached NATO airspace in eastern Europe.

Poland called the intrusion a deliberate provocation, as Russia insisted it had not targeted objects in Polish territory. European allies have rushed to organise an ‘Eastern Sentry’ mission, bolstering the eastern frontier with greater materiel.

‘NATO has suddenly woken up – or finally woken up,’ said de Bretton-Gordon. ‘We played lip service to the peace dividend … really giving the impression to Putin that we weren’t that bothered and we didn’t care. So in a way, it is slightly our own fault. We’ve got a show resolve now, otherwise he will keep going.’

The Europeans wouldn’t be so desperate to provoke WWIII if they understood that the USA is not going to intervene and fight for them. But they certainly know that what they’re doing by pretending they’re going to respond to a false Ukrainian flag is the best way to assure Russia invades the NATO countries on its borders, not avoid it.

The liars always lie.

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Bringing People Together

Say what you will about Netanyahu and Trump, but they both have a gift for bringing diverse people with differing interests together:

An Arab-Islamic emergency summit convened today in Doha to discuss Israel’s attempted assassination of the Hamas negotiators, who were in Doha at the request of the United States when they were attacked. The meeting produced some very startling optics, starting with former ISIS terrorist leader Abu Mohammad al-Julani — who is now repackaged as Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, with a nice beard trim and a $1,000 suit to boot — meeting with Iranian officials, including President Pezeshkian. Two years ago Julani’s forces were attacking and killing Iranian soldiers, and vice-versa. We also saw Jordan’s King Abdullah in attendance and interacting with folks he normally would shun… And Iran’s President Pezeshkian had a cordial meeting with the Saudi Crown Prince. This was akin to a conference of lions, lambs and jackals meeting to discuss how to stop poachers.

Although the summit did not produce a consensus to break all ties with Israel, the mere fact that such a diverse group, that in normal times are at odds with one another, assembled to engage in a diplomatic discussion about how to stop Israel’s attacks is noteworthy and also signals a dramatic decline in the ability of the US to influence events in the region.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio made a huge amateur mistake today by visiting Israel as this summit was underway. Following the summit, Israel reportedly has launched a massive attack on Gaza City. The participants at this summit will likely interpret this as Donald Trump giving Israel permission to expand its campaign of genocide. It will reinforce the view of the members of the Arab-Islamic that Trump is weak and totally under the control of Bibi Netanyahu. Regardless of his intent, Rubio will be viewed as the guy who delivered Trump’s message to launch the offensive in Gaza City.

The crows would appear to be gathering in anticipation of battlefields to come.

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“NATO is at war with Russia”

No doubt this official observation will spark all sorts of denials from the various neocons and Eurocrats. And none of them will matter, because in the end, the only opinion that matters is Russia’s.

For the very first time, the official spokesman for the Kremlin in Moscow, Dmitry Peskov has said publicly “NATO is at war with Russia.” This statement is a harbinger of dramatic and horrifying developments soon to come.

It is vital to point out that for three and a half years, Peskov has NOT said this. The fact that he uttered these words over this past weekend, is no accident.

Peskov is the official Spokesman for the Kremlin. He says exactly, precisely, what the Russian government wants said. He doesn’t embellish. He doesn’t take liberties with what he says. Never once in history has the Kremlin had to “walk-back” anything Peskov has said. The words that come out of his mouth are exactly, precisely what the Russian government intends to express.

The fact that the Russian government is now openly saying “NATO is at war with Russia” holds all the severe implications any rational person would think, could stem from such a statement.

And in truth, this is nothing more than a statement of the obvious. NATO is, and has been, at war with Russia since at least mid-2023. Russia’s patience in simply absorbing the economic and military attacks has been tremendous. But now that NATO’s proxy has been defeated, NATO isn’t doing what it should be doing and laying down its weapons, instead, it is doubling down and making preparations to fight Russia directly.

Russia, it is now clear, will behave accordingly. And it is very unlikely that more than a few of the current European regimes are going to survive the experience, however tangential it might prove to be.

And the European leaders know NATO is responsible for starting the NATO-Russian war. They’ve even admitted as much.

French President Emmanuel Macron has privately admitted that NATO is the driving force behind the Ukraine conflict, prominent American economist Jeffrey Sachs has said. Macron, along with other Western leaders, has repeatedly claimed that Russia launched its military operation against Ukraine in 2022 without provocation and has insisted that Moscow is solely responsible for the conflict.

However, speaking during a foreign policy debate with the Italian daily il Fatto Quotidiano, Sachs recalled that when Macron awarded him the Legion of Honor in May 2022, the French leader privately told him “exactly the opposite of what he says publicly” and admitted that “NATO was causing this war.”

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