West Grapples With Chaos as Ukraine and Gaza Crises Worsen
Each passing day brings more dire news for Ukraine, as Russia steps up attacks all along the line of contact. Russia is pursuing a swarm strategy — think of a swarm of bees attacking you. You can fend off one angry bee, maybe two or three. But when you are being chased by a dozen bees, and that number is increasing with each passing minute, you are in big trouble. That is Ukraine’s situation today. Russia is launching attacks at multiple points, simultaneously, all along the line of contact, extending from Sumy in the north to Zaporyzhia in the south. The Russian goal is pretty transparent — force Ukraine to deploy limited resources to counter these new attacks and, in the process, weaken Ukraine’s defenses. At some point, Ukraine will break; exploding like a balloon filled with air beyond capacity.
The neocon crowd in Washington, DC is in an uproar, with a growing realization of Ukraine’s looming defeat. Their solution? More Cowbell!! Yep, they want Biden and his Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, to empty the U.S. military cupboards and ship everything possible to Ukraine, including long-range missiles that would be used to hit targets deep inside Russia. Fools!!
Meanwhile, Russia started its tactical nuclear weapons exercise today. That means this exercise had been planned well in advance. This is not something ginned up in the aftermath of Putin’s announcement from two weeks past. The exercise is a clear message to the West — FAFO!! (For those not familiar with the acronym, FAFO, it means, f* Around Find Out.)
NATO unity is facing some very choppy waters. The assassination attempt of Slovakian Prime Minister Fico (pronounced Fit-zo) now is being described by Slovakian officials as a terrorist attack with outside support. It is widely assumed that Fico was targeted because he opposed further aid to Ukraine. Then you have the fact that Serbia and Hungary recently had warm, cordial meetings with China’s Xi Jinping, and signed agreements that expand their cooperation with China. That does not sit well in Washington, DC.
Then today, we learn that two additional NATO countries — Spain and Norway — recognized the Palestinians as a state. That move was received in Washington and Tel Aviv with outrage and condemnation. This announcement makes one thing certain — NATO will not be intervening anytime soon on the side of Israel.
Oh, almost forgot. The Houthis downed another $32 million Predator Drone (aka Reaper) this week. That marks #5. I suspect that the Houthis weapons that downed these five drones cost less than $5 million. Do the math — 32 x 5 = 160 – 5 = 155. From a cost-benefit standpoint, the Houthis are getting some serious bang for their buck in thwarting the number one naval force on the planet. Amazing.
I did a video interview the other day with SL Kanthan, a citizen of India, who has a tiny YouTube channel. Regardless of the audience size, we had an enjoyable and informative conversation. I explained why I left the CIA and offered my views on the current disarray in U.S. foreign and defense policy.
