Tag: war

What Winning Looks Like

The victorious Ukrainian Army is blowing up bridges as it advances away from the defeated Russian Army, which is also demoralized, out of ammunition, and contemplating revolution against Vladimir Putin, the thuggish dictator who is crazy, Communist, cancer-stricken, and also dead.

Engineer units of the 24th and 93rd mechanized brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces began February 27 to blow up bridges in Artemovsk (Bakhmut). By destroying railway and road bridges, the Ukrainian army wants to slow the advance of Russian forces deep into the city.

First, the enemy blew up the bridge over the Bakhmutka River in the northeastern part of Artemovsk. In addition, the automobile bridge over the canal northwest of the city, which served as a communication route with the surrounding area – Chasovy Yar, Bogdanovka and Kalinovka, no longer works.

Another reason for the destruction of the bridges could be the fear of the Ukrainian side that the weapon arsenals of several large Ukrainian Armed Forces formations defending Artemovsk might fall into the hands of Russian Armed Forces units. They store thousands of anti-tank missiles, shells for mortars and grenade launchers, reconnaissance and satellite communication equipment. It is known that at the beginning of the Russian special operation, ammunition was placed in the industrial zone of the electrical plant and the Tsvetmet factory, as well as in the trolleybus depot.

Earlier, the famous Ukrainian activist blogger with call sign Madyar said that his unit left Artemivsk. He said part of the Ukrainian troops had received the long-awaited order to leave the city. According to military correspondents from the scene, Wagner PMC fighters approached the last road to the encircled town.

I wonder if the Ukrainian people are as tired of winning as Donald Trump’s supporters yet?

DISCUSS ON SG

Restoring the Mandate of Heaven

Some observers believe the Chinese have already declared war on the United States – or to be more precise, the imperial rulers of Clown World – on the basis of their recent proposal for peace in Ukraine and a recently published essay concerning the Chinese position on US imperialism.

All these vectors are evolving as ramifications of the bombing of the Nord Streams, the only military attack – cum industrial terrorism – ever perpetrated against the EU, leave the Collective West paralyzed, dazed and confused.

Perfectly in tandem with Putin’s address, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs chose the geopolitical/existential moment to finally take the gloves off, with a flourish: enter the US Hegemony and its Perils essay cum report, which became an instant massive hit across Chinese media, examined with relish all across East Asia.

This blistering enumeration of all the Hegemon’s lethal follies, for decades, constitutes a point of no return for trademark Chinese diplomacy, so far characterized by passivity, ambivalence, actual restraint and extreme politeness. So such turnaround is yet another proud “achievement” of the outright Sinophobia and mendacious hostility exhibited by American neocons and neoliberal-cons.

Scholar Quan Le notes that this document may be regarded as the traditional form – but now filled with contemporary wording – the Chinese Sovereigns used in their millenary past before going to war. It is in fact an axio-epistemo-political proclamation justifying a serious war, which in the Chinese universe means a war ordained by a Higher Power capable of restoring Justice & Harmony in a troubled Universe.

After the proclamation the warriors are equipped to strike mercilessly at the entity judged to be troubling the Harmony of the Universe: in our case, the psycho Straussian neo-cons and neoliberal-cons commanded as rabid dogs by the real American elites.

Of course in the Chinese universe there’s no place for “God” – much less a Christian version; “God” for the Chinese means the Beauty-Goodness-Truth trinity, Timeless Heavenly Universal Principles. The closest concept for a non-Chinese to understand is Dao: the Way. So the Way to the Beauty-Goodness-Truth trinity represents symbolically Beauty-Goodness-Truth.

So what Beijing did – and the Collective West is completely clueless about it – was to issue an axio-epistemo-political proclamation explaining the legitimacy of their quest to restore Timeless Heavenly Universal Principles. They will be fulfilling the Mandate of Heaven – nothing less. The West won’t know what it hit them until it’s too late.

It was predictable that sooner or later the heirs of Chinese civilization would have had enough – and formally identify, mirroring Putin’s analysis, the upstart Hegemon as the premier source of chaos, inequality and war across the planet. Empire of Chaos, Lies and Plunder, in a nutshell.

To put it bluntly, in streetwise language, the hell with this Americana crap of hegemony being justified by “manifest destiny”.

So here we are. You want Hybrid War? We will return the favor.

This is distinct from the Unrestricted Warfare policy declared and successfully pursued by the Chinese military in 1999. The focus of that policy was to enable China to prevent US hegemony in Southeast Asia and gradually allow China to become a dominant regional power capable of defeating any enemy that dared to enter its zone of influence. It was essentially a defensive doctrine.

The new policy is a warning: mend your ways or else.

While a just cause wins its champion wide support, an unjust one condemns its pursuer to be an outcast. The hegemonic, domineering, and bullying practices of using strength to intimidate the weak, taking from others by force and subterfuge, and playing zero-sum games are exerting grave harm. The historical trends of peace, development, cooperation, and mutual benefit are unstoppable. The United States has been overriding truth with its power and trampling justice to serve self-interest. These unilateral, egoistic and regressive hegemonic practices have drawn growing, intense criticism and opposition from the international community.

Countries need to respect each other and treat each other as equals. Big countries should behave in a manner befitting their status and take the lead in pursuing a new model of state-to-state relations featuring dialogue and partnership, not confrontation or alliance. China opposes all forms of hegemonism and power politics, and rejects interference in other countries’ internal affairs. The United States must conduct serious soul-searching. It must critically examine what it has done, let go of its arrogance and prejudice, and quit its hegemonic, domineering and bullying practices.

DISCUSS ON SG

Brer Zelensky

Don’t throw us zat zere briar patch, Brer Zelensky!

And that percentage of Americans as you’ve mentioned is increasing, I can tell them only one thing: If they do not change their opinion, if they do not understand us, if they do not support Ukraine, they will lose NATO, they will lose the clout of the United States, they will lose the leadership position that they enjoy in the world.

That sounds like an excellent deal! Lose Ukraine, lose NATO, and see Clown World collapse. Not only will I not change my position, I am now inspired to not support Ukraine even harder!

Meanwhile, two-thirds of the world is now aligning with Russia and China against the imperial United States and its Ukrainian puppet state.

In geopolitical terms, the war in Ukraine energized Washington to build a global coalition to oppose Russia. This is often presented as a major achievement of the administration of President Joe Biden. Yet, to look at this from a different perspective, the Russia (and China) policies of the three successive US administrations – Obama’s, Trump’s, and particularly Biden’s – have led to a major split among the great powers that widened from competition to bitter rivalry (with China) and proxy war (with Russia in Ukraine).

US efforts to get China to distance itself from Russia appear ridiculous in a situation where Washington’s strategy appears to be to defeat/contain its two main adversaries one by one, and, moreover, to pit them against each other. The famous Kissingerian triangle is now pointed in a different direction: it is Washington that has the worst possible relations with the other two. As for Moscow and Beijing, they are getting even closer as a result.

Closer cooperation and coordination between China and Russia amid the war in Ukraine, which is gradually emerging on the platform of common strategic interests, represents a major shift in the world power balance. What is more – and what goes well beyond the usual Western concept of ‘great power competition’ – is the rise of over a hundred actors of different caliber in many parts of the world that have refused to support the US, and its allies, on the Russia sanctions and have maintained or even expanded their trade and other relations with Moscow. These countries insist on following their own national interests as they see them and seek to expand their foreign policy autonomy. At the end of the day, this phenomenon – call it the Rise of the Global Majority – could be the single most important development so far en route to the new world order.

DISCUSS ON SG

Under 7 Percent

I should probably update the numbers. But as of 2008, the figures were 1,763 wars, of which 6.98 percent could be reasonably connected to religion of any kind, half of which involved Islam. Statistically speaking, an attack on religion in war is intrinsically anti-Islamic.

And Jack is right to bring up Chinese civil wars. They were unbelievably brutal.

DISCUSS ON SG

Address to the Assembly

The President of Russia addresses the Federal Assembly. It does not appear to be a direct declaration of war or even an announcement of the launch of the anticipated military offensive. It’s wise to read the whole thing directly, as the Clown World media coverage of it is literally worse than useless, quoting the responses to the speech before the speech was even given or the transcript released.

So far, only the very first part of the official English transcript has been released, but the whole thing will eventually be posted here by the Kremlin’s press agency.

This Presidential Address comes, as we all know, at a difficult, watershed period for our country. This is a time of radical, irreversible change in the entire world, of crucial historical events that will determine the future of our country and our people, a time when every one of us bears a colossal responsibility.

One year ago, to protect the people in our historical lands, to ensure the security of our country and to eliminate the threat coming from the neo-Nazi regime that had taken hold in Ukraine after the 2014 coup, it was decided to begin the special military operation. Step by step, carefully and consistently we will deal with the tasks we have at hand.

Since 2014, Donbass has been fighting for the right to live in their land and to speak their native tongue. It fought and never gave up amid the blockade, constant shelling and the Kiev regime’s overt hatred. It hoped and waited that Russia would come to help.

In the meantime, as you know well, we were doing everything in our power to solve this problem by peaceful means, and patiently conducted talks on a peaceful solution to this devastating conflict.

This appalling method of deception has been tried and tested many times before. They behaved just as shamelessly and duplicitously when destroying Yugoslavia, Iraq, Libya, and Syria. They will never be able to wash off this shame. The concepts of honour, trust, and decency are not for them.

Over the long centuries of colonialism, diktat and hegemony, they got used to being allowed everything, got used to spitting on the whole world. It turned out that they treat people living in their own countries with the same disdain, like a master. After all, they cynically deceived them too, tricked them with tall stories about the search for peace, about adherence to the UN Security Council resolutions on Donbass. Indeed, the Western elites have become a symbol of total, unprincipled lies.

We firmly defend our interests as well as our belief that in today’s world there should be no division into so-called civilised countries and all the rest and that there is a need for an honest partnership that rejects any exclusivity, especially an aggressive one.

We were open and sincerely ready for a constructive dialogue with the West; we said and insisted that both Europe and the whole world needed an indivisible security system equal for all countries, and for many years we suggested that our partners discuss this idea together and work on its implementation. But in response, we received either an indistinct or hypocritical reaction, as far as words were concerned. But there were also actions: NATO’s expansion to our borders, the creation of new deployment areas for missile defence in Europe and Asia – they decided to take cover from us under an ‘umbrella’ – deployment of military contingents, and not just near Russia’s borders.

I would like to stress –in fact, this is well-known – that no other country has so many military bases abroad as the United States. There are hundreds of them – I want to emphasise this – hundreds of bases all over the world; the planet is covered with them, and one look at the map is enough to see this.

The whole world witnessed how they withdrew from fundamental agreements on weapons, including the treaty on intermediate and shorter-range missiles, unilaterally tearing up the fundamental agreements that maintain world peace. For some reason, they did it. They do not do anything without a reason, as we know.

Finally, in December 2021, we officially submitted draft agreements on security guarantees to the USA and NATO. In essence, all key, fundamental points were rejected. After that it finally became clear that the go-ahead for the implementation of aggressive plans had been given and they were not going to stop.

Read the rest there.

DISCUSS ON SG

Red Lines

The USA consistently refused to respect Russia’s red lines. Why on Earth would China pay any attention whatsoever to whatever the USA claims its red lines to be?

Any nation providing lethal support to Moscow in its ongoing conflict with Kiev would cross Washington’s “red line,” the US envoy to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, told CNN on Sunday. Earlier the same day, US State Secretary Antony Blinken directly warned a top Chinese diplomat, Wang Yi, against considering such an option.

“We … have to be clear that if there are any thoughts and efforts by the Chinese and others to provide lethal support to the Russians in their brutal attack against Ukraine, that that is unacceptable,” Thomas-Greenfield told CNN’s ‘State of the Union,’ adding that it “would be a red line.”

Her words came as Blinken was meeting Wang Yi on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference in Germany. There, the US diplomat told his Chinese counterpart that the US was “very concerned that China is considering providing lethal support to Russia,” Blinken told NBC’s Chuck Todd in the wake of the meeting.

This is what happens when you have a bunch of very special boys in charge of things. The neocons genuinely believe that they have the right to do whatever they see as in their own interest, but no one else has the same right.

Of course China is going to provide “lethal support to Russia”. It’s in their interest, because the same special boys who are threatening them if they do have already announced their intention to go to war with China just as soon as they’re done defeating Russia.

All I can conclude is that because the neocons hate literally everyone, including themselves, they’re playing a suicidal game of Samson burning down the temple using the US military as a match. I mean, it’s impossible to believe that they’re literally this stupid and totally unable to see the obvious consequences of their actions.

On the other hand, the possibility of stupidity should not be entirely dismissed. China is already allied with Russia, and World War III started with the Special Military Operation in February 2022.

“If China allies itself with Russia, there will be a world war.”

—Volodymyr Zelenskyy, 20 February 2023

DISCUSS ON SG

The Offensive Begins Next Week

All of the signs are pointing to the Russian military transforming the Special Military Operation into a full-blown invasion of Ukraine next week. Simplicius goes into considerable detail about the mobilization and positioning of Russian forces and concludes that the invasion will be conducted on very different principles and will begin on the anniversary of the original operation.

Putin is now officially scheduled to give a big State of the Nation address on February 21st, which falls precisely on the anniversary of his pivotal Feb. 21, 2022 speech where he first announced the recognition of LPR/DPR’s independence, leading the way to the big Feb. 24 speech which announced the actual full military launch of the SMO invasion.

Conversely, Biden is said to fly into Poland on Feb. 20 to meet Zelensky, and Biden & Zelensky reportedly will give a joint address on Feb. 21. The timing is very climactic and intriguing. And the fact that Biden will be literally right next door on the potential day/eve of a massive offensive launch (which could include huge airstrikes only a few kilometers away from him) seems almost pre-calculated for escalation.

There are now even rumors (though the ‘source’ is uncertain) that the subject/talking points of Putin’s address will revolve around NATO’s escalations, treachery, Nord Stream attacks (Russian UN reps have just put forth a resolution regarding it to coincide), and American biolabs revelations. Some of the wilder speculation/rumors revolve around a recognition of Transnistria (and even Ossetia) as Russian territory, or an announcement for a new mobilization, but these are most likely more on the wild and improbable conjecture side.

And on top of that, the Russian federal council and Duma will convene an ‘extraordinary session’ on February 22, which could be designed to ratify new initiatives announced in Putin’s address.

With that said, if the rumors are true that the 1 hour long planned speech will touch on the various transgressions of NATO, then it does point to the likely announcement of some major Russian escalation. Whether that means using this as rhetoric simply to justify the coming offensive announcement OR a possible unforeseen doctrinal escalation, such as the announcement of new ‘red lines’ for NATO weapons deliveries/satellite ISR with a more formal warning that Russia will begin shooting them down or hitting certain facilities, etc.

The speech presumably would also make an effort to outline Russia’s new/updated goals of the SMO to give the people an idea of what this is all really about, and a possible notion of how/when people can expect the war to end.

While plans can always be called off or cancelled, I see no reason to doubt his conclusions. I don’t think there is any real question about whether the Russian offensive will begin soon or if it will be successful. Nor do I think there is much reason to fear an escalation to the nuclear level. For me, the real question is whether China is going to open the second front in harmony with the Russian actions, or whether Xi Xinping will continue to be patient in the hopes of a violence-free unification with China’s renegade island.

Regardless, you would do well to remember that the Russians historically prefer to launch offensives that are bigger and much more overwhelming than their enemies anticipate or even believe possible. And they have been preparing for this one for a long, long time. So, I suggest being prepared for the possibility that the media, as well as one’s friends and family, will start shrieking about World War III in a complete state of panic.

Here’s an outside-the-box idea: what if the timing of the joint Biden-Zelensky speech is designed to a) clear the path for Bardiem-Harris while b) stoking public support for the war against Russia in the USA? “They killed the two presidents” would certainly make for an epic false flag, and wouldn’t be too hard to execute or cover up amidst a barrage of Russian missiles.

DISCUSS ON SG

China Attacks USD

The largest foreign holder of the US dollar openly calls for other nations to stop enabling the USA’s debt-speding:

The world’s two largest foreign holders of US treasuries, Japan and China, continued to pare down their holdings of US debt in December, data from the US Treasury Department showed on Wednesday. Foreign holdings of US treasuries declined in 2022. Japan’s holdings also dropped by $224.5 billion specifically, while China’s holdings were down by $173.2 billion to $867.1 billion, the lowest since May 2010.

For a long time, changes in China’s holdings of US debt have been a topic of great concern, which is seen by some as a measure of the state of China-US relations. Yet, there is no need to complicate China-US relations with China’s reduced holdings of US treasuries. The reasons behind China’s recent reduction of its holdings of US debt are mainly economic considerations, as the problems in the US economy and the changes in bilateral economic and trade relations have increased the need for China to pursue diversification of its foreign exchange reserves.

To be clear, while China has reduced its holdings of US debt, it doesn’t change the fact that US treasuries remain an important part of China’s foreign exchange reserves. China is still the world’s second-largest non-US holder of US treasuries, because the US dollar remains the world’s most important currency for trade settlement and a safe-haven for investors seeking security amid the changeable markets. Besides, US sovereign debt has the highest and the most stable credit rating.

But nowadays these factors are changing.

US economy, debt mean other nations must diversify reserves, Global Times, 17 February 2023

Make no mistake. This public call to the BRICSIA nations to reduce their dollar reserves is a form of unrestricted warfare in action. China is in the process of doing to the US economy what the IMF has repeatedly done to third world governments since the 1960s, which is encourage them to enter a debt trap, become dependent on the IMF, and then seize the national assets used as collateral.

(NB: Before the smart boys jump in to make an erroneous “correction”, note that while Japan holds more US treasuries than China, China’s total dollar holdings are nearly four times greater than Japan’s. The former is a subset of the latter.)

While there is no actual collateral at risk here, what China has done is made the US economy dependent upon the Chinese willingness to subsidize it. This is why the USA can’t afford to financially sanction China the way it has sanctioned Russia, and why China has a financial gun to the US federal government’s head that is distinct from whatever control it directly exerts over politicians it has managed to buy or otherwise corrupt in various ways.

Live by the debt-dollar, die by the debt-dollar. Once an empire loses its reserve currency status, imperial decline tends to come swiftly. Consider the examples of the Venetian ducato, the Dutch guilder and the British pound if you want to contemplate likely timeframes and outcomes.

This appears to be another sign that China is getting closer to opening the Asian front of World War III.

DISCUSS ON SG

Inversion in War

I don’t think word magic works quite as well in military matters as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs apparently believes it does.

Russia has already ‘lost’ the war in Ukraine as the one-year anniversary of its brutal invasion approaches, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Mark Milley said in Brussels Tuesday.

Milley spoke amid warnings of a renewed Russian offensive, with allies seeking to rush modern weapons and ammunition to Ukrainian forces – who have been battling Russian forces who have been slowly gaining ground around Bakhmut in the eastern Donbas region.

‘Russia is now a global pariah and the world remains inspired by Ukrainian bravery and resilience. In short, Russia has lost — they’ve lost strategically, operationally, and tactically,’ said Milley. ‘Ukraine remains free, they remain independent. NATO and this coalition has never been stronger,’ he said.

This should be sufficient to get Milley institutionalized. I mean, it’s approaching Hitler in the bunker degrees of lunacy. NATO is out of ammo, Ukraine is nearly out of men, and the European economies are out of energy. It’s NATO that has not only lost the war, but lost the plot.

There are 1430 comments on a mainstream UK media site, and virtually no one even pretends to believe this.

Drafting Europe

The USA is attempting to expand NATO responsibilities in order to force the European nations to fight China.

NATO is set to adopt a guidance that lays out plans for a scenario in which member states find themselves fighting on the home front and beyond the borders of the alliance at the same time, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday. This comes as the US increasingly shifts its priorities to confronting China.

The classified document is to be discussed and signed off on by NATO defense ministers during a two-day summit in Brussels that starts on Tuesday, the news outlet reported. Members will be asked to prepare national plans for future military engagements.

The guidance will map out ways for NATO to engage in a “high-intensity so-called Article 5 conflict” – defending a NATO nation attacked by a foreign party under the treaty’s mutual defense provision – and “an out-of-area, non-Article 5 event.” The contents of the guideline were revealed to Bloomberg by “people familiar with the matter.”

I think we are going to witness the end of NATO sooner rather than later. The Europeans are already on the verge of surrender and they haven’t even started fighting Russia yet. What on Earth is Estonia or Austria going to do with regards to China, except possibly get wiped off the map?

Meanwhile, India appears to be aligning itself with the Sino-Russian alliance.

Moscow is ready to provide technology for India’s new tanks, Vladimir Drozhzhov, the deputy director of the Russian Federal Service of Military-Technical Cooperation (FSVTS), said on Tuesday. According to Drozhzhov, Russia can share its advanced Armata modular tracked platform with India.