Ukraine, Russia, War, and the Beat Goes On

Europe is heading into winter while the war in Ukraine continues. It will be a cold winter not only for Ukraine, but also Europe, Great Britain, and Scandinavia. In any rational world, the war would be over by now, but then, the world is not rational now, is it.

Indeed, there are many interests outside the direct conflict that would like the war to continue into the indefinite future. When investigating crimes, the rule is often "follow the money". In the case of this war, we should " follow the power". Whose interests are served by the war? Certainly neither of the direct participants are benefitting by its continuation, so why is it still going on?

A population worried about keeping warm in the winter has little time to worry about their loss of freedoms in other areas

One key player is Zelensky. If the war ended today, he would probably be dead tomorrow. He needs the war to continue to retain his power, not to mention his life. He has been very effective at raising support for the war, and for his continued position, among the nations of Europe and with the Biden administration. He has played on the cold war fears among Europeans that Russia intends to overrun them. That 70+ year old boogeyman still has utility, even though the entity behind the threat, the USSR and the ideology that drove it, no longer exists.

Unfortunately, the Socialist ideology that had infected Russia and its satellites in the years following World War I, has spread to the elite of Europe. Russia, once infected and now recovered of the disease is largely immune and has been working to strengthen its capitalist economy.

This is a situation that the Socialist global elites cannot allow to progress. They cannot allow the country that was once the centerpiece and shining example of the superiority of Socialism to reject that failed model and to adopt capitalism and prosper. A successful Russia is a direct threat to globalist power for the same reason that the US is. Pitting Russia against the US serves their purposes nicely.

The threat of war is useful to the European globalists in that it gives them an excuse to impose further control over Europe as being necessary to prevent Russian invasion. It also serves as an excuse to contain and marginalize AfD in Germany, LePen in France, Meloni in Italy, Wilders in the Netherlands, Orban in Hungary, and other nationalist threats to globalist power.

Cutting off natural gas supplies from Russia has a dual benefit for the globalists of reducing income to Russia while distracting European populations from their consolidations of power. A population worried about keeping warm in the winter has little time to worry about their loss of freedoms in other areas.

Russia has been exercising restraint in their pursuit of the war

A good feature of Donald Trump is that he listens to his advisors. This also makes him vulnerable, however, to bad advice. We saw it during Covid when he listened to Fauci. It would seem that he is getting similar bad advice in regards to the war in Ukraine. Certainly it is far from the best interests of the United States to support Ukraine against Russia. US support for Ukraine has the effect of prolonging the conflict while also pushing Russia into alliance with China. Neither of these acts to our benefit.

Russia has been exercising restraint in their pursuit of the war. It may be that they have wanted to minimize damage to civilian infrastructure which would serve to reduce post war problems. In many ways, military operations by Russia in Ukraine resemble US operations in Vietnam. Just as the US could have employed weapons that would have destroyed North Vietnam, Russia has weapons that could destroy Ukraine. Yet both chose to try to limit their wars.

Extensive use of drones is a new feature of warfare that has grown to dominate operations

In any case, by confronting Western weapons and tactics, Russians have had to learn and develop countermeasures. A recent report shows that Russia is now able to counter the US Patriot missile system—a primary defense against ballistic missile systems. We are now considering giving Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine. Both these systems are vital parts of our US military advantage, and serve as foundations for next generation systems. These are in addition to many other Western weapons and systems that have been provided to Ukraine.

Extensive use of drones is a new feature of warfare that has grown to dominate operations in many areas from anti-ship naval drones to anti-aircraft drones, to bomb delivery and anti-personnel drones. Thanks to the Ukraine war, Russia has become a world leader in development of both war drone technology as well as drone tactics.

Russia has gained substantial practical experience in next generation warfighting

Tanks, once the mainstay of the Russian army, have proven to be vulnerable to modern systems and tactics. After initial deployment and high losses, Russian use of tanks has become much smarter and more effective. Tanks still have use in modern warfare, just not for the kinds of applications in the past.

The net result of the prolonged, US supported Ukraine war is that Russia has gained substantial practical experience in next generation warfighting, drone use, countering Western weapon systems, and new urban tactics. It also now has a generation of soldiers who are experienced in those operations—something that most Western nations lack.

By pushing Russia into closer alliance with China, we make all that experience available to a much larger potential adversary. We know that China has aspirations to annex Taiwan, and they are already seeking to dominate the South China Sea. We really don't want to teach them how to counter the weapon systems they would confront if it came to hot conflict with the US. Forcing Russia into the arms of China would do just that.

Russia entered Ukraine over three years ago with a small set of very specific objectives. Fruitless years of negotiations with Ukraine had not resolved matters. As Clausewitz pointed out, war is the continuation of politics by other means. It appears that Russia's primary goal was to force Ukraine into serious negotiation on long-standing issues relating to seaport access, pipelines, NATO membership, and treatment of ethnic Russians.

Had the Biden regime not supported Ukraine, those negotiations would likely have taken place, tens of thousands would still be alive, and destruction of a beautiful country would have been minimized. If Russian operations were halted today, those issues would still be unresolved. The advice Trump is getting to force Putin to unilaterally halt military operations does not present Russia with a viable option.

Trump has worked effectively to thwart socialist progressivism in the US

So long as the US and NATO continue to support Ukraine, the only realistic option open to Russia is to push rapidly to force surrender of Ukraine before European warmongers and US deep state actors can mobilize support. Zelensky would be the biggest loser in such an outcome which is why he is so desperate to keep the war going.

Both Putin and Trump have been reviled by world press and globalist propagandists for the same reasons. Both are patriots of their respective countries. Trump wants to make America great again. Putin wants to make Russia great again. Trump has been called a Nazi and a Fascist dictator. Putin has been called a brutal thug and dictator. In both cases the progressive, globalist Left has worked to turn public opinion against both leaders.

Both present a threat to globalist domination. Trump has worked effectively to thwart socialist progressivism in the US, while Putin's Russia is no longer the Communist worker's paradise it never was. Both have embraced the power of Capitalism to bring freedom and prosperity to their populations, and consequently both are huge threats to globalist neofeudalism desired by the "elites". Hence, they must be pitted against one another in hopes they will waste themselves in conflict to where their threat to globalism is eliminated.

In the US there is the additional hope that Trump will be so distracted by conflict with Russia that he will be unable to continue his campaign against our domestic deep state.

As I see it, the key to ending the war in Ukraine is to offer all sides a solution that addresses their needs. Russia needs a solution that satisfies their legitimate concerns. Ukraine needs a solution that will rebuild their country, keep them warm in the coming winter, and eliminates the corruption that has plagued them for too long. Zelensky needs a solution that will keep him alive after the conflict stops— perhaps a nice, well-appointed tropical island with a high security perimeter would do.

I proposed such a solution in a previous article, but there are likely others as well. Time is of the essence, Winter is fast upon us. Both Ukraine and Europe need to stay warm. China can do without encouragement of their world domination ambitions. The US needs to focus on cleaning out globalist progressivism. Time to get on with things.