Puppet MastersS


Bullseye

Best of the Web: Alastair Crooke: The Art of War: Russia, the West, and different thinking systems

Alastair Crooke
Al Mayadeen
Thu, 04 Apr 2024 14:25 UTC
Russia Ukraine soldier
© Al MayadeenJust as the West failed to understand Russia, and was taken by surprise, so it is that the White House firmly ignores the Biblical 'End of Times' dimension to the Israeli 'way of thinking about war'.
Jacques Baud, a Swiss military officer with a long history of studying 'Ways of Thinking' about War (from Warsaw Pact to NATO -- to which he was seconded by his government), has written a new book -- The Russian Art of War: How the West Led Ukraine to Defeat. His book theme is essentially: Others understand the West, better than the West understands 'Them'.

Baud writes that the fundamental reason for the West having the 'blinkers on' is "the result of an approach we have already seen in waves of terrorist attacks — the adversary is so stupidly demonized that we refrain from understanding his way of thinking. As a result, we are unable to develop strategies, articulate our forces, or even equip them for the realities of war".

Comment: The following are some recent, worthwhile interviews with Jacques Baud:





Read More...
Bad Guys

Korybko: US tightening its containment noose around China in the first island chain

Andrew Korybko
korybko.substack.com
Tue, 09 Apr 2024 12:16 UTC
china pacific us
The latest military moves prove that America is preparing to "Pivot (back) to Asia" once the NATO-Russian proxy war in Ukraine inevitably ends, which means that global tensions won't abate anytime soon as the New Cold War becomes the new normal.

The stage is set for Japan to participate in AUKUS' Pillar II advanced capability projects (AI, hypersonic weapons, electronic warfare, underwater drones, quantum technologies, and space-tracking radar) after that bloc's Defense Ministers signaled their interest in this in Monday's joint statement. It was released ahead of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's trip to DC this week, which he described as occurring at an "historic turning point", where he'll also take part in the first-ever trilateral summit with the Philippines.

CNN hyped up the latter event by publishing a piece about how these three are coming together as a result of their shared concerns about China, though the reality is that their military convergence isn't as motivated by innocent defensive interests as they made it seem. China's three separate disputes with Japan, its wayward province of Taiwan, and the Philippines have been presented by the West as part of a hegemonic push by the People's Republic for dominance in the Asia-Pacific.

Comment: As Putin said in his interview with Tucker Carlson:
Tucker Carlson: [...] But have never explained why you think that happened, except to say that the West fears a strong Russia. But we have a strong China that the West doesn't seem to be very afraid of. What about Russia, what do you think convinced the policymakers to take it down?

Vladimir Putin: The West is afraid of a strong China more than it fears a strong Russia because Russia has 150 million people, and China has a 1.5 billion population, and its economy is growing by leaps and bounds — over five percent a year, it used to be even more.
See also:

Read More...
Pirates

Business as usual: US pledges to prevent Russia from developing new energy projects


RT
Tue, 09 Apr 2024 10:30 UTC
Geoffrey Pyatt in Maidan
From the days, when Geoffrey Pyatt was instrumental with Victoria Nuland in fomenting the Maidan coup in Ukraine.
The US is aiming to halt the development of the Russian energy sector, including a major new LNG project in the Arctic, senior State Department official Geoffrey Pyatt has said.

Speaking at a Financial Times summit on Monday, Pyatt stated that the US is specifically targeting the Arctic LNG 2 project in Russia's northern Yamal Region, which is being developed by private energy giant Novatek.

"Our goal is to ensure that Arctic LNG 2 is dead in the water," Pyatt, who serves as assistant secretary of state for energy resources, was quoted as saying by the British newspaper. "We're very focused on ensuring that Russia is not able to develop new projects in order to [redirect] the gas that it had previously sent into Europe."

The US has imposed several rounds of economic restrictions on Arctic LNG 2, the most recent of which was announced in November 2023.


Comment: So the imperative is for the EU to not get cheap gas from Russia?


Comment: As project Ukraine is collapsing, the US tries to make sure that the EU will stay depressed too and only get expensive gas from the US. Such a malevolent plan will undoubtedly fail too, though it gives in the process, the citizens of the EU yet another chance to see that the US deep state is not their friend.

Read More...
Die

Trump says abortion should be decided by states, 'will of the people'

Tyler Durden
ZeroHedge
Mon, 08 Apr 2024 19:38 UTC
trump
Former President Donald Trump said in a Monday announcement that he believes abortion should be left to the states and that in-vitro fertilization (IFV) should be available, he said in a video statement posted on Truth Social.

"My view is...the states will determine by legislation or vote or perhaps both, and whatever they decide must be the law of the land. In this case, the law of the state. Many states will be different, many will have a different number of weeks or some will have more conservative than others, and that's what they will be. At the end of the day, this is all about the will of the people," Trump said. "You must follow your heart or, in may cases, your religion or your faith. Do what's right for your family and do what's right for yourself...do what's right for our country."
Read More...
Star of David

Even with 'Lavender' AI 'kill list', Israel 'no closer to achieving' goals six months into Gaza war

Ilya Tsukanov
Sputnik
Sun, 07 Apr 2024 19:10 UTC
Al shifa hospital
© AFPA general view shows the damage in the area surrounding Gaza's Al-Shifa hospital after the Israeli military withdrew from the complex housing the hospital on April 1, 2024
Sunday marked the six-month anniversary of the Israel-Hamas war, with Tel Aviv finding itself increasingly isolated abroad, and the Israeli military humbled after getting bogged down in the ruins of Gaza's cities by militants armed mostly with automatic rifles and RPGs. What, if anything has 'Operation Swords of Iron' achieved in six months?

The Israel Defense Forces announced Sunday that the "active invasion stage" of its campaign in Gaza had reached its end, withdrawing elements of Division 98 from Khan Yunis, southern Gaza while marking the intention to continue the occupation the strip's central and northern areas using forces from the 162nd Division's Brigade 401 and the 933rd Nahal Brigade.

"The 98th Commando Division has concluded its mission in Khan Yunis," the IDF said in a statement. "The division left the Gaza Strip in order to recuperate and prepare for future operations."

Comment: 'A mass assassination factory': How Israel is using AI in its calculated genocide in Gaza

Read More...
Megaphone

Russia claims 'significant evidence' of Kiev's involvement in Crocus terrorist attack


RT
Mon, 08 Apr 2024 19:23 UTC
crocus
© Sputnik / Grigory SysoevSoft toys and flowers left in front of the Crocus City Hall music venue outside of Moscow in commemoration of the victims of the terrorist attack
Russian law enforcement has uncovered a potential link between Ukrainian special services and last month's terrorist attack at a music hall outside Moscow, the Investigative Committee said on Monday.

The statement was released after a meeting chaired by Aleksandr Bastrykin, head of the Russian agency, where progress in the high-profile case was discussed. The report declined to provide details on what was said at the gathering, only citing "significant evidence" of Kiev's involvement and repeating information that was already publicly available.

The attack involved four gunmen, who stormed Crocus City Hall ahead of a concert. They made their way to the main auditorium, shooting indiscriminately, and set the building on fire. Over 140 people were killed.
Read More...
Dollars

Multi-million dollar perks are going to Judge Merchan's family for taking Trump to court in bogus hush money case

Jim Hoft
The Gateway Pundit
Mon, 08 Apr 2024 18:26 UTC
jesse watters merchan trump trial making money
© Fox NewsJesse Waters
Jesse Watters Reveals the corruption

Jesse Watters ran a devastating segment last night on radical Judge Juan Merchan who silenced President Donald Trump from talking about his family's financial ties to the current junk case he is presiding over against Donald Trump in New York City.

Judge Merchan should be impeached for this lawlessness. This is peak corruption and cannot stand.

Comment:

Read More...
Cruise Missle

Iraqi militia attacks 'vital target' in strategic Israeli port city of Eilat


Sputnik
Sun, 07 Apr 2024 18:09 UTC
Iraqi Islamic Resistance
© AFP 2023 / HAIDAR MOHAMMED ALIA member of the Iraqi Islamic Resistance
Israel has faced a series of unrelenting missile and drone attacks from militias operating across the Middle East through the course of the war in Gaza. While most of the projectiles have been shot down by the country's powerful air defenses, some have managed to make it through. The city of Eilat has become one of the top targets.

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq announced Sunday that it had attacked a "vital target" in the strategic Israeli port city of Eilat using a drone, reaffirming "its commitment to continue pounding the enemy's strongholds."

The umbrella militia group, also known for its long-running campaign of rocket and drone attacks against US military bases in Iraq and Syria, did not elaborate on the nature of Sunday's attack, or what "vital target" it was aiming at. A day earlier, the same group announced a drone attack on oil refineries in the northern Israeli port city of Haifa.

Comment: Looks like Israel's legendary 'deterrence' strategy is wearing thin. Hezabollah to the north, Iraqi militias to the east, Houthis to the south, and a determined Hamas within it's own "borders". How long will the Zionist entity be able to hold out?

Read More...
Nuke

Kremlin: Ukraine drone attack on nuclear plant a 'dangerous provocation'


RT
Mon, 08 Apr 2024 15:52 UTC
Zaporozhye
© Sputnik / Konstantin MihalchevskiyThis aerial view shows the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant located in the steppe zone on the shore of the Kakhovsky reservoir in the city of Energodar, Zaporozhye region, Ukraine.
IAEA inspectors earlier confirmed that Zaporozhye nuclear plant's main reactor containment structure sustained three direct hits

A Ukrainian drone attack on the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant is a "dangerous provocation" which could lead to seriously negative consequences, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov warned on Monday.

He was commenting on a strike carried out on Sunday by kamikaze drones on the nuclear power station in the city of Energodar in Zaporozhye Region. Multiple explosives-laden Ukrainian UAVs targeted what is Europe's largest nuclear plant, hitting several parts of the complex.

Comment: Russia stepped in at Zaporozhye as soon as it could after the start of the SMO, to make sure the neonazi crazies running Ukraine wouldn't be able to do something stupid. But they are still trying it seems.

Read More...
Attention

Brutal, chaotic war - norms, conventions and laws of conduct are being erased

Alastair Crooke
Strategic Culture Foundation
Mon, 08 Apr 2024 15:48 UTC
Bombed Embassy
© Sputnik
We stand on the cusp of what might be termed Chaotic War. Not the formula used by Israel often in the past to intimidate adversaries; this is different.

Israeli reporter Eddie Cohen said, in the wake of the attack on the Iranian Consulate: "We are very clear that we want to start a war with Iran and Hezbollah. Do you still not understand?"

"Israel wants to drag Iran into a full-scale war in order to be able to strike at Iran's nuclear facilities", though these facilities are beyond American and Israeli reach, buried beneath mountains.

Cohen, and of course, Israel's military leadership, will know that; but Israel nonetheless is locking itself into a logic that can only lead to defeat. Iran's nuclear facilities are safe from Israeli assault. The destruction of civilian Iranian infrastructure, which is out in the open, may kill many, but will not, per se, collapse the Iranian state.

Trita Parsi places Israel's objective in attacking the Iranian Consulate in Damascus in a different context:

"An important aspect of Israel's conduct - and Biden's acquiescence to it - is that Israel is engaged in a deliberate and systematic effort to destroy existing laws and norms around warfare.

Even during wartime, embassies are off-limits [yet] Israel just bombed an Iranian diplomatic compound in Damascus.

Bombing hospitals is a war crime, [yet] Israel has bombed EVERY hospital in Gaza. It has even assassinated doctors and patients inside hospitals.

The ICJ obligated Israel to allow the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza. Israel actively prevents aid from coming in.

Starvation of civilians as a method of warfare is prohibited under international humanitarian law. Israel has deliberately created a famine in Gaza.

Indiscriminate bombings are illegal under international humanitarian law. Biden himself admits that Israel is bombing Gaza indiscriminately".

The list goes on and on ... However, Israel's breach of Vienna Convention immunity accorded to diplomatic premises - plus the stature of those killed - is highly significant. It is a major signal: Israel wants war - but with U.S. support, of course.
Read More...