Puppet MastersS


Vader

Ukrainian and US officials out US role in Kiev's artillery warfare


RT
Fri, 10 Feb 2023 18:10 UTC
Ukrainian soldiers prepare a U.S.-supplied M777 howitzer
© AP Photo/LibkosUkrainian soldiers prepare a U.S.-supplied M777 howitzer to fire at Russian positions in Kherson region, Ukraine, Jan. 9, 2023.
The American military is "controlling every shot" with Pentagon-supplied rockets, a Ukrainian official told the Washington Post

The Ukrainian military requests precise coordinates from the Pentagon for almost every rocket fired from US-made artillery systems, and would not fire a shot without getting them, according to a report by the Washington Post.

Three Ukrainian officials and one senior US official spoke to the newspaper, on condition of anonymity, about America's involvement. One Ukrainian source implied that Washington has the final say on every action, making the case for the delivery of longer-range rockets to Kiev.

"You're controlling every shot anyway, so when you say: 'We're afraid that you're going to use it for some other purposes,' well, we can't do it even if we want to," the senior official was quoted as saying.

Comment: Nothing anyone paying attention didn't know anyway, but nice to see it being publicly admitted.

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NPC

"Putin Apologists": Former Sen. Claire McCaskill denounces senators calling for investigation of FBI abuses

Jonathan Turley
jonathanturley.org
Fri, 10 Feb 2023 00:00 UTC
McCaskill
Even after the collapse of the Russian collusion investigation, Democrats seem to be doubling down on labeling opponents as Russian lovers and Putinites. Yesterday, I testified at a hearing with members of Congress who want the House to investigate possible FBI abuses. One of the witnesses, former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, testified how her anti-war positions led to her being labeled a Russian asset by Hillary Clinton. Not to be outdone, MSNBC contributor and former Senator Claire McCaskill appeared on MSNBC following the hearing to denounce Senator Chuck Grassley and Sen. Ron Johnson as "Putin apologists" and Putin lovers.

McCaskill went on MSNBC's Deadline: White House to declare "I mean, look at this, I mean, all three of those politicians are Putin apologists. I mean, Tulsi Gabbard loves Putin."

(For the record, she also attacked me as not being "a real lawyer.")

Comment: Putin derangement syndrome anyone?

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Eye 1

WHO demands increased powers to track public for 'disease control'

Frank Bergman
Slay News
Tue, 07 Feb 2023 12:57 UTC
WHO Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
WHO President Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
The World Health Organization (WHO) is demanding increased "surveillance" powers to track the public and monitor "the health of people, animals, and ecosystems."

The unelected United Nations health agency argues that it needs new powers to track the public to handle "disease control" so governments can prepare in the event of another pandemic.

The WHO calls for new tracking powers in the latest zero draft of its international pandemic treaty.

Comment:

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Snakes in Suits

Wanna bet? Biden says Americans 'not going to pay attention' to House GOP Hunter probes

Emily Crane
New York Post
Thu, 09 Feb 2023 10:35 UTC
biden pbs
© PBS News HourPresident Biden has claimed Americans won’t be interested in GOP House probes into his son Hunter Biden and the rest of his family.
President Biden has accused House Republicans investigating his disgraced son Hunter of trying to "make up things about my family" — and claimed that voters just won't be interested in the probes.

In a Wednesday interview with "PBS NewsHour" correspondent Judy Woodruff, Biden was asked how he planned to deal with the House Oversight Committee's investigation into his son's shady business interests in China and Ukraine.

"The public is not going to pay attention to that," Biden, 80, insisted.

Comment: See also:

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X

Turkey silences earthquake response critics with Twitter ban

Ben Kesslen
New York Post
Wed, 08 Feb 2023 21:54 UTC
Kahramanmaras
© APAn aerial photo shows the destruction in Kahramanmaras, Turkey.
Turkey cracked down on social media Wednesday, just two days after being devastated by an earthquake — censoring Twitter and even arresting online detractors in an attempt to quiet criticism of its relief response, according to reports.

Several internet providers in the country refused Twitter access to their customers, according to Netblocks, a London-based global internet monitor.

The move to shield their citizens from seeing critiques of their government's handling of the response to the deadly tremor — which has already claimed at least 11,000 lives — could have fatal consequences, as locals continue rely on social media to organize and learn of relief and rescue work.

People trapped under the rubble but still able to access their phones have been using Twitter to share their location with first reponders and call for help, a journalist for The Economist tweeted.

Turkish police also detained at least 18 people and arrested at least five citizens for making "provocative posts," Semafor reported.

Prosecutors also began investigating two journalists for saying that the government response's to the temblor has fallen short, according to Balkan Insight.

Comment: Elon Musk says the Turkish government will reinstate Twitter access "shortly":



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Bullseye

Andrey Sushentsov gives eight reasons why the US has no interest in pushing for peace in Ukraine

Andrey Sushentsov
RT
Thu, 09 Feb 2023 20:54 UTC
zelensky joe biden
© Drew Angerer/Getty ImagesU.S. President Joe Biden (R) welcomes President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky to the White House on December 21, 2022 in Washington, DC.
Washington's priority is to contain Russia and how the fighting ends for Kiev is a sideshow to the main objective

It now appears that the US is not even remotely interested in supporting a peaceful resolution to the Ukrainian conflict, preferring to see the military campaign continue. Overall, strategic planning in Washington gives little thought to the parameters for ending the crisis: Whether Ukraine will remain within its current borders, lose its territories or disappear altogether.

Despite mounting casualties and the destruction of Ukraine's military, appetite for military action has not diminished, neither in Kiev nor in Washington. Many international experts rightly identify the US as the key player in a large coalition advocating for continued hostilities in Ukraine. In less than a year of crisis, Kiev has exhausted its own military resources and the means to replace them, and is totally dependent on external assistance.

Though the US is taking the lead in coordinating and strategizing support from the West, it would be wrong to equate Ukrainian and American interests. While continuing to pay lip service to Kiev's political demands, Washington is carefully assessing the right moment to initiate negotiations. The need for diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict has been increasingly emphasized by US military leaders, most notably the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley. The idea continues to circulate in the British press that the American tactic is to escalate the conflict in order to later de-escalate it: to pressure Russia with a wave of large-scale deliveries of military equipment and to put Kiev in a more favorable negotiating position.
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Arrow Down

WSJ reports that much-hyped Leopard tanks for Ukraine are in short supply


RT
Thu, 09 Feb 2023 19:26 UTC
leopard tank germany
© Philipp Guelland/Getty ImagesA Leopard 2 A6 tank during a photo op at the Bergen military training grounds in Germany, October 2, 2013
European NATO members are "dragging their feet" on sending Leopards to Kiev, the outlet says

NATO members have developed "sudden misgivings" about sending tanks to Ukraine because they don't seem to have any to spare, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. Finland, which pressured Germany to approve exports of Leopard 2 tanks, may only be able to send "a few" of its own - and most likely not until it formally joins the US-led military bloc.

This has left Berlin as the only major supplier of tanks to Kiev, something Chancellor Olaf Scholz had been keen to avoid, the Journal noted.

There are more than 2,000 Leopard 2 tanks in the stocks of various European NATO armies, but only Berlin and Warsaw have committed to sending any. Germany and Poland have promised about 14 apiece. Warsaw will also throw in 60 of its modified T-72s, while Berlin is buying up almost 190 decommissioned Leopard 1s for refurbishment, some of which may need to be cannibalized for parts.

Comment: The tank deliveries (should they even actually happen) will make no difference except to deplete Western arms stocks further, as they are methodically disposed of by Russian forces. Noted war analyst Scott Ritter gets right to the point:


And bernard of Moon of Alabama comments:
In his Economist interview General Zeluzhny has requested a third army to be delivered to him immediately:
"I know that I can beat this enemy," he says. "But I need resources. I need 300 tanks, 600-700 IFVs [infantry fighting vehicles], 500 Howitzers."
As the Economist writer dryly noted:
The incremental arsenal he is seeking is bigger than the total armoured forces of most European armies.
The stocks of two complete armies have by now been destroyed in Ukraine. The resources for a smaller third one will be delivered in the next rounds of 'western' equipment deliveries during the next months. Russia will duly destroy Ukraine's third army just as it has destroyed the first and second one. It is doubtful that the 'West' has enough material left to provide Ukraine with a fourth one.
The whole post is worth a read.

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Footprints

Iran's Strategic Pivot

Scott Ritter
Energy Intelligence
Tue, 07 Feb 2023 00:00 UTC
Iran mural
© IRGC/US Navy/Strait Hormuz Kaveh Kazemi/Getty ImagesIran mural on Hormuz Island
Decades of Western sanctions against Iran, combined with the open hostility of the US toward the Iranian theocracy, have pushed Iran out of its historically Western-oriented trajectory, toward a new and expansive relationship with Russia, China, Eurasia and the developing South (Africa and South America). This pivot has manifested itself in a strengthening military relationship with Russia, and Iran's membership of organizations designed as alternatives to Western geopolitical dominance. The Iranian trajectory is a game changer that will redefine global strategic relationships for years to come.

A recent drone attack on Iranian defense industry infrastructure has put the issue of Iran's expanding military-to-military contacts with Russia back on the front page. This raises questions about the impact of this relationship both from a regional security perspective, and on more expansive geopolitical questions such as the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
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Dominoes

Why Joe Biden is more dangerous than Donald Trump

Timur Fomenko
RT
Wed, 08 Feb 2023 22:17 UTC
Biden
© Jacquelyn MartinUS President Joe Biden • State of the Union • Feb. 7, 2023
The President's State of the Union address shows he is a symptom of America's problems, just like his predecessor...

Joe Biden conducted his State of the Union address on Tuesday night.

A staple trait of Biden's presidency is that he repeatedly claims that he is making things better for ordinary Americans. In his own words, he is creating jobs, bringing down inflation and "delivering for families". He frames himself as an FDR style titan who is reinvigorating the US following troubled times, and, in his words, making it "more competitive" than ever.

In reality, his statements could not be further from the truth. The United States is in chaos and the Biden administration faces painfully low approval ratings, crippling levels of inflation, weak 2022 GDP and a looming recession. Whatever the expectations of Joe Biden were, he has proved himself to be the most dangerous and hawkish Democrat leading the US since Harry Truman. As America tears itself apart at home, it is also doing so abroad.
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Eye 1

Hersh's NordStream terrorist attack revelations and the causes of the NATO-Russian Ukraine War

Gordon M. Hahn
Russian & Eurasian Politics
Thu, 09 Feb 2023 00:00 UTC
NSMap
© Unknown
I have written several pieces on the causes of the NATO-Russian Ukrainian War. In them, I focused on long-term as well as the immediate causes in the runup to Putin's decision to invade. However, all this needs to be put together with new revelations in order to understand the mood in the Kremlin in late January-early February (most likely mid-February) when Putin decided to pull the trigger.

We have the background causes: decades of NATO expansion; NATO's attack on Serbia, Western recognition of Kosovo's independence from Serbia despite a UN resolution it sponsored stipulating Serbia's territorial inviolability; 'democracy promotion' color revolutionism in Ukraine and other states neighboring Russia; Western financial and moral support for a color revolution in Russia, the Western-backed February 2014 Maidan color revolution; the cover up of the Maidan ultranationalist, neofascist wing's snipers' flag terrorist attack that sparked the ultimate overthrow of Yanukovych, which the West to this day still 'fakes' as carried out by Yanukovych's security forces; Western support for Maidan Kiev's anti-terrorist operation targeting the civilian population in Donbas as well as the rebels who were merely repeating the Western-backed Maidan method of an illegal seizure of power; the certain loss for Russia of its Black Sea Fleet naval base as a result of the Maidan putsch; Kiev's failure to fulfill the Minsk 2 accord's stipulations that it negotiate with the Donbas rebels directly and adopt legislation granting the region autonomy; and NATO's buildup of the Ukrainian army into the second largest force in Europe and as a de facto member of world history's most powerful military alliance, and much more (e.g., abandonment and violations of arms control treaties).

Comment: The appropriation of History serves any master, any circumstance, any outcome.

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