I wanted to do a relatively brief post mostly devoted to this extraordinary new talk by Jacques Baud with the Duran folks, Mercouris and Christoforou: If you haven’t seen this yet, watch at least the first half hour, or a little more, which is the most profoundly meaningful stretch. Incidentally, according to his wiki, today just happens to be Mr. Baud’s birthday as well, so happy birthday to him.
Thank you for sharing. Deeply appreciated. Really fascinating and interesting information. I'm honestly not a peacetaker but a peacemaker.
Having based this on the demands of the gospel of Jesus Christ, who laid down his own life instead of punishing the enemies of his people. Who also stated His kingdom is NO part of this world if it
were of this world, he went on to proclaim that his servants would have been fighting, that he might not be delivered over to the Jews. "But my kingdom is not from the world.'
As a Christian, disciple & follower of Jesus I continue to believe that prayer and selfless obedience to God's way of peace and love have a greater influence on the final outcome of events than do bullets and bombs. Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. Psalm 20:7
Jesus never approved of killing in any context. This belief was rooted in Jesus’ command to love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you (Matthew 5:39-44) as it is frequently alluded to or quoted. It was both Jesus’ teaching and his example of the cross that provided the foundation for this nonviolent ethic of enemy-love.
The nonviolent response of Christians to persecution and defamation was seen as a fulfillment of prophecy and a major identity marker of following Jesus. (“We came in accordance with the commands of Jesus to beat the spiritual swords that fight and insult us into ploughshares, and to transform the spears that formerly fought against us in pruning-hooks.” Origen, Against Celsus 5.33).
The nonviolent response of Christians to persecution and defamation was often given as evidence of the value of Christianity to the Roman empire. It was argued that Christianity was making Rome more just and virtuous. This means that the enemy-love ethic had become a widespread way of living for Christians. If not, the arguments would fall flat in the face of opposing evidence.
Military and war imagery within the Old and New Testaments were reused and reimagined by the apostles to draw a distinction between the true Church and the Empire. The early Christian community really did wage war, even on behalf of the emperor, but
but with weapons NOT of this world, yet mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds,
it was done in accordance to Scripture, like Ephesians 6:11-17. Armed with the power of the spirit, word of God, prayer, and their nonviolent enemy-love, the saints fought against the spiritual forces of evil that were the source of violence and warfare. The imagery was retained, but it was clear that the Militi Christi was made of martyrs and those who prayed fervently for peace.
The early Church of disciple Christians took on following Jesus' non-violent ethic of enemy-love seriously. Many of these writers suffered persecution for their beliefs, some even demonstrated it in martyrdom. We cannot so easily dismiss them or their understandings infused and led by God's spirit simply because they don’t live in the modern world.
We don’t follow Jesus because its practical, we follow Jesus because He is the Lord and King, and as Christians, He is our Lord and King. Also, Rome made that same argument about how impractical Christianity and their nonviolent ethic was, and Tertullian responded, “The blood of the Martyrs is the seed of the Church” (Apology 50.13).
Non-violence worked. In the first three centuries, the Kingdom of God did not require Christians to serve in physical combat, but in spiritual warfare. They were conscripted to love and serve their Lord, Jesus Christ, and reflect his non-violent ethic of enemy-love to the world. Our weapons of warfare are not carnal, but mighty in God is the natural outworking of the gospel of peace.
and many peoples shall come, and say:
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,
to the house of the God of Jacob,
that he may teach us his ways
and that we may walk in his paths . . .
. . . and they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
neither shall they learn war anymore.”
ISAIAH 2:3-4; MICAH 4:3
“And that it did so come to pass, we can convince you. For from Jerusalem there went out into the world, men, twelve in number, and these illiterate, of no ability in speaking: but by the power of God they proclaimed to every race of men that they were sent by Christ to teach to all the word of God; and we who formerly used to murder one another do not only now refrain from making war upon our enemies, but also that we may not lie nor deceive our examiners, willingly die confessing Christ.”
JUSTIN MARTYR 1 APOLOGY 39
Jesus told us to: Love Your Enemies;
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers,what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect."
Matt 5:43-48
Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Romans 12:19-21
Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God. 3 John 1:11
for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.
James 1:20
Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Romans 12:17-20
When a man's ways please the Lord, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.
One implication for the combination of robots, gov drones, satellite ISR, and digital surveillance: the State now so vastly overpowers civilian resistance that the ability of citizens to constrain state power through arms is basically over. Even 30 years ago civilians with automatic weapons could force governments to negotiate on core political and civil rights. Now, unless you have satellites, servers, drones, and AI processing, State overmatch of citizens is unparalleled.
Way back in 2004, in preparation for Putin's visit to the United States (these were the days of the G8), I was mistakenly invited to attend a big "heads up" meeting with a whole melange of security chiefs that took place in a literal high-tech underground bunker. I say "mistakenly" invited because it was actually my boss who took me along, and he was the legitimate invitee, but he, for whatever reason, thought I should come along, probably because he expected that he'd have to deliver a detailed briefing, and I was better at "talking fancy" than he was.
So there we were, multiple checkpoints, armed soldiers outside, going deep into this bunker which had all kinds of gee-whiz monitors showing stuff, almost like in a movie. And there were military guys there, police guys there, homeland security guys, etc. I got to admit, it was kind of thrilling even though I was like shit, I can't believe they let a fool like me attend this big pow-wow.
Well, all that changed once the big summit or meeting or whatever it was called began. It was nonsense after nonsense, with warnings about terrorists attacking malls, hospitals, bridges, trains, schools, sewage systems, and basically hiding under everyone's bed, and there were a million billion of them out there, all armed to the teeth with chemical weapons and dirty bombs. And all this was based on "intel" and "chatter" and super duper serious high security classified sources etc, etc.
All I could do was laugh my ass off. It was a thousand times more insane than even the wildest blogger would ever post. And two weeks later, I quit that job and moved to Europe.
America and the collective West are "led" by the dumbest morons in history. How they've managed to accomplish anything successfully is beyond my ability to comprehend, other than to note that it's all done by stealing a million dollars' worth of resources from the poor working people of the entire globe to achieve a task worth $1. The rest is just razzle-dazzle bullshit and a smokescreen to cover the fact that the Great and Powerful Oz really is just a pathetic old man standing behind a curtain.
Is Russia incredibly dumb and corrupt at times? Sure, of course. But they're not spaced out lunatics. And that's the real difference.
1 April 2024 The French Defeat, The Sahel Victory, The Rise of Great Power Russia
Recent events in Niger have both consolidated the new régime there, clarified the solidarity and the gains of the Sahel Alliance (L’Alliance des États du Sahel) and shed further light on the involvement of the RF
All this has come to a head when Europe and NATO, specifically of course France, have been overcome with hesitation and confusion as to the future of the ‘war’ with Russia
Many have pointed to the humiliation of expulsion from the AES countries that have given recent venom to Macron’s anti Russianisms
In turn this process, which may be dated to 2021, although the origins go back generations, has brought about the humiliation of the French ruling class, and a re shuffle of power one in parallel with the US, notably in West Africa, one which has extensions throughout Africa
Until very recently it was thoiught the US was an easy winner, but the Niger leaders have recently inflicted the same humiliation as on the French, and ‘denounced’ or broken the US base agreement, 16/3/2024
The AES has faced down the US/French regional puppets, Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, and broken with ECOWAS, cancelled treaties with the EU, notably on security and immigrations, threatens the pillar of French power in Africa, the franc cfa, and the $13B Gas EU pipeline the EU is deperate for
The RF was initially discreet, operated via Lavrov diplomacy and Wagner force, now partially replaced by direct force and agreements, with a New Africa Corps, including donations of free grain, the result of shuttle diplomacy by Yunus-bek Yevkurov, Russia's deputy defence minister
RF has signed agreements with Niger, subsequent to their agreements with BF and Mali, although details remaine obscure these are security and economic : both the French and the US fear an Uranium agreement
Niger has signed an extensive Health and Security agreement with Iran, who has signed agreements with BF and Mali
The US/French lack considered means to counter/reverse all this : The US is already retreating to French bases in Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire, prior to expulsion from Niger, seeking to shore up failed state Nigeria, and to review it’s Africa policies in general
It is said that recently the US stymied a China plan to build a seaport in Gabon
The Niger said that it was the insolence and the contempt of the high level US delegation, including AfriCom chief Michael Langley, and Asst Secretary of State Mary McPhee to Niger March 12-15 which was the final straw, they did not get to meet the new Head of State
Following the disaster of the late lamented Vicky Nuland’s visit last August – her spirit lives on, her Mission not Accomplished
Links to read up on these intricate events, hitherto the most obvious and significant manifestation of the new world order, not to forget the role of Ansar Allah in the Red Sea
Stop Press
Senegal elects a new ‘opposition’ President, who will continue the African countries’ move away from the French, the franc cfa, and towards Russia and China and multipolarity, how long will those last few French bases last….
Escalation is not very much fun for the French, or L’escalade c’est une salope!
Every interview of Jaques Baud is insightful. He has given quite a few recently with Daniel Davis (Deep Dive) and others, providing some pretty unknown/uncommon facts about this conflict since 2014.
Robotic wars and ever scary developments in AI...I'm not sure if this world would be suitable for humans for long.
Delicious: "Facts weren’t the issue: The assembled dignitaries, a representative sampling of the foreign policy establishment’s intellectual and executive leadership, simply couldn’t imagine a world in which America no longer gave the orders."
Yes, i heard that show with JB the day it aired, what a fabulous piece of work, one of the best, because the A2's just let him talk, and he went on at length ...
For those of us paying attention it affirms all those things the Duran, Garland Nixon, you mr Simplicius, several others have been saying, that mostly got ignored because genocide Joe said Russia has already , well, invaded America and made it a much better place, may it be so, tis so hard to learn Russian, will be much easier when everyone around me is speaking it.....ha ha ha
Just a side-note to ‘Operational Art’ — giver the root of the word art it makes perfect sense 😎: “The word “art” is derived from the Latin ars, which originally meant “skill” or “craft.” These meanings are still primary in other English words derived from ars, such as “artifact” (a thing made by human skill) and “artisan” (a person skilled at making things).” Once again, a great read. Thank you, Simplicius.
Ukraine plan B: As a casual, amateur observer of the geopolitical, there is a consistent quirk I notice among most of the US commentators. They have it all screwed on sideways because acceptance of the ´new´ realities are hard to take. One example is they are quoting that 35% is being spent on the war by Russia. Oh really, 35% of what? None of them will say. It makes me laugh. That is the government spending number, not GDP, which is only around 4.1% when I looked it up yesterday. The GDP number for the US is 3.2% and not much different. Now bring into view the debt situation of each country and the picture unfolds dramatically. For Russia I just pulled it up at 15.4% vs the US for 110% plus. The people from the US/Occidentals are spaced out blind and ignorant; even a bunch of the ones I like.
I went through the process myself of just dumping everything I had been taught and starting from scratch. It was intellectually and emotionally intense, to discover I had been shoved full of bullshit for my entire life. Mr. Goldman and others from Asia Times I discarded a couple of years ago because they were living in a dream world, to put it succinctly. I am now seeing that that crew has come a long way around to reality. About freaking time!
Another same indicator is Donald Trump. His constant blather of US superiority and what he was going to do with it during his term as president, bordered on nauseating. During 2020 I told friends and family that it don't matter who won the election because Russia, China, Iran et al were ready and waiting to get the party started. The summit in Alaska was the bell. Now, I observe Trump being more and more cautious about what he says, at least what reaches my attention, regarding what is happening outside the US. This is quietly marking a seachange, especially coupled with opinions coming out of AT recently.
So, I do see glacial movement in the right direction. I hope to God that these folks in charge over yonder in the West, get a real grip on reality, before they blow this thing skyhigh.
I think Russia has evolved during the course of the SMO and adjusted its strategy according to military, economic, demographic, and geopolitical exigencies. In fact the SMO became essentially a war with Ukraine as the spearhead of NATO.
But, some caution should probably be maintained in the tendency to selectively embellish or even romanticize historical events and trajectories. Such abstractions and reifications as the “Russian way of war” or similar though more subtle descriptions may be more reflective of unrecognized yet biased interpretations as much as logical investigations.
Military history and analysis can be quite prone to compromised objectivity due to unacknowledged or unrecognized underlying political identifications, values, preferences, and ideologies that could cause even good historians toward selective viewpoints and rigid deductive visions.
Let’s consider an example so we prevent falling into the trap of idealizing “Russian way of war” as if it reflects some enduring or fixed “essence” rather than respecting Russia’s “flexibility” or dynamic ability to learn from mistakes and adjust or change accordingly. Does anyone forget those bizarre scenes of the long but thin and exposed Russian tank columns stretching to Kiev in the early days of the SMO? Is it not likely that today many of the leading Russian military or political planners look back at the images of those perplexing days with astonishment and grave regret, and regard them as devoid of a viable long term strategy, never to be repeated again? Was that not the Russian way of war? And how many mistakes and blunders were made by the Soviet Union’s military and political leaders during the first year or two of the German invasion of Russia before they evolved and created a Red Army that was vastly different in strategic depth, capability, competence, and execution by the last year of WWII?
I read the Goldman article. What I find frightening - Goldman doesn't like it either - is the cavalier way that Western military elites talk about nuclear "red lines." I think MAD is still in practice, but the use of tactical nukes is very real - we assumed that NATO would deploy them had Soviet forces broken through the Fulda Gap. The F-16 is capable of carrying nukes - so is the Taurus Cruise Missile that the hawks want sent to Ukraine. Bad vibes all around.
Might add that there's a very good and bluntly honest Ukraine based YouTube Channel "Ukraine Military Situation." The moderator - who has no love for Russia - reports that Russia is improving its use of armor and that the Ukrainian Army lacks the ability to carry out a major counter attack because, as the moderator puts it "a corrupt peasant army." My guess is that every major military on planet earth is searching for an analog defense weapon to use against FPV drones - most of those things are small, vulnerable and slow. Russia is deploying wire-guided FRP drones - those are jam-proof and you can bet the West will help Ukraine field the same. Hence the need for something like the old "Quad 50" or some variation on a shotgun - maybe stick a claymore mine on a drone and hope your operator will be the 21st century version of Richthoven. But the first country that can challenge the FPV drone will have a real advantage until the other side inevitably catches up.
Let the show begin. lol
https://youtu.be/zjIiApN6cfg?si=UtXveA3HTQyguCig
Come and see . A must watch movie about a boy who joins partisans while nazis and banderites ravage the country.
I first listened to Col Baud on Danny Davis, same topic. Was a riveting 59 min and highly recommend
https://youtu.be/1RgKLkvlWxw?si=mEludY1X6iPPPSri
Thank you for sharing. Deeply appreciated. Really fascinating and interesting information. I'm honestly not a peacetaker but a peacemaker.
Having based this on the demands of the gospel of Jesus Christ, who laid down his own life instead of punishing the enemies of his people. Who also stated His kingdom is NO part of this world if it
were of this world, he went on to proclaim that his servants would have been fighting, that he might not be delivered over to the Jews. "But my kingdom is not from the world.'
As a Christian, disciple & follower of Jesus I continue to believe that prayer and selfless obedience to God's way of peace and love have a greater influence on the final outcome of events than do bullets and bombs. Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. Psalm 20:7
Jesus never approved of killing in any context. This belief was rooted in Jesus’ command to love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you (Matthew 5:39-44) as it is frequently alluded to or quoted. It was both Jesus’ teaching and his example of the cross that provided the foundation for this nonviolent ethic of enemy-love.
The nonviolent response of Christians to persecution and defamation was seen as a fulfillment of prophecy and a major identity marker of following Jesus. (“We came in accordance with the commands of Jesus to beat the spiritual swords that fight and insult us into ploughshares, and to transform the spears that formerly fought against us in pruning-hooks.” Origen, Against Celsus 5.33).
The nonviolent response of Christians to persecution and defamation was often given as evidence of the value of Christianity to the Roman empire. It was argued that Christianity was making Rome more just and virtuous. This means that the enemy-love ethic had become a widespread way of living for Christians. If not, the arguments would fall flat in the face of opposing evidence.
Military and war imagery within the Old and New Testaments were reused and reimagined by the apostles to draw a distinction between the true Church and the Empire. The early Christian community really did wage war, even on behalf of the emperor, but
but with weapons NOT of this world, yet mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds,
it was done in accordance to Scripture, like Ephesians 6:11-17. Armed with the power of the spirit, word of God, prayer, and their nonviolent enemy-love, the saints fought against the spiritual forces of evil that were the source of violence and warfare. The imagery was retained, but it was clear that the Militi Christi was made of martyrs and those who prayed fervently for peace.
The early Church of disciple Christians took on following Jesus' non-violent ethic of enemy-love seriously. Many of these writers suffered persecution for their beliefs, some even demonstrated it in martyrdom. We cannot so easily dismiss them or their understandings infused and led by God's spirit simply because they don’t live in the modern world.
We don’t follow Jesus because its practical, we follow Jesus because He is the Lord and King, and as Christians, He is our Lord and King. Also, Rome made that same argument about how impractical Christianity and their nonviolent ethic was, and Tertullian responded, “The blood of the Martyrs is the seed of the Church” (Apology 50.13).
Non-violence worked. In the first three centuries, the Kingdom of God did not require Christians to serve in physical combat, but in spiritual warfare. They were conscripted to love and serve their Lord, Jesus Christ, and reflect his non-violent ethic of enemy-love to the world. Our weapons of warfare are not carnal, but mighty in God is the natural outworking of the gospel of peace.
and many peoples shall come, and say:
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,
to the house of the God of Jacob,
that he may teach us his ways
and that we may walk in his paths . . .
. . . and they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
neither shall they learn war anymore.”
ISAIAH 2:3-4; MICAH 4:3
“And that it did so come to pass, we can convince you. For from Jerusalem there went out into the world, men, twelve in number, and these illiterate, of no ability in speaking: but by the power of God they proclaimed to every race of men that they were sent by Christ to teach to all the word of God; and we who formerly used to murder one another do not only now refrain from making war upon our enemies, but also that we may not lie nor deceive our examiners, willingly die confessing Christ.”
JUSTIN MARTYR 1 APOLOGY 39
Jesus told us to: Love Your Enemies;
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers,what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect."
Matt 5:43-48
Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Romans 12:19-21
Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God. 3 John 1:11
for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.
James 1:20
Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Romans 12:17-20
When a man's ways please the Lord, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.
Proverbs 16:7
One implication for the combination of robots, gov drones, satellite ISR, and digital surveillance: the State now so vastly overpowers civilian resistance that the ability of citizens to constrain state power through arms is basically over. Even 30 years ago civilians with automatic weapons could force governments to negotiate on core political and civil rights. Now, unless you have satellites, servers, drones, and AI processing, State overmatch of citizens is unparalleled.
Way back in 2004, in preparation for Putin's visit to the United States (these were the days of the G8), I was mistakenly invited to attend a big "heads up" meeting with a whole melange of security chiefs that took place in a literal high-tech underground bunker. I say "mistakenly" invited because it was actually my boss who took me along, and he was the legitimate invitee, but he, for whatever reason, thought I should come along, probably because he expected that he'd have to deliver a detailed briefing, and I was better at "talking fancy" than he was.
So there we were, multiple checkpoints, armed soldiers outside, going deep into this bunker which had all kinds of gee-whiz monitors showing stuff, almost like in a movie. And there were military guys there, police guys there, homeland security guys, etc. I got to admit, it was kind of thrilling even though I was like shit, I can't believe they let a fool like me attend this big pow-wow.
Well, all that changed once the big summit or meeting or whatever it was called began. It was nonsense after nonsense, with warnings about terrorists attacking malls, hospitals, bridges, trains, schools, sewage systems, and basically hiding under everyone's bed, and there were a million billion of them out there, all armed to the teeth with chemical weapons and dirty bombs. And all this was based on "intel" and "chatter" and super duper serious high security classified sources etc, etc.
All I could do was laugh my ass off. It was a thousand times more insane than even the wildest blogger would ever post. And two weeks later, I quit that job and moved to Europe.
America and the collective West are "led" by the dumbest morons in history. How they've managed to accomplish anything successfully is beyond my ability to comprehend, other than to note that it's all done by stealing a million dollars' worth of resources from the poor working people of the entire globe to achieve a task worth $1. The rest is just razzle-dazzle bullshit and a smokescreen to cover the fact that the Great and Powerful Oz really is just a pathetic old man standing behind a curtain.
Is Russia incredibly dumb and corrupt at times? Sure, of course. But they're not spaced out lunatics. And that's the real difference.
1 April 2024 The French Defeat, The Sahel Victory, The Rise of Great Power Russia
Recent events in Niger have both consolidated the new régime there, clarified the solidarity and the gains of the Sahel Alliance (L’Alliance des États du Sahel) and shed further light on the involvement of the RF
All this has come to a head when Europe and NATO, specifically of course France, have been overcome with hesitation and confusion as to the future of the ‘war’ with Russia
Many have pointed to the humiliation of expulsion from the AES countries that have given recent venom to Macron’s anti Russianisms
In turn this process, which may be dated to 2021, although the origins go back generations, has brought about the humiliation of the French ruling class, and a re shuffle of power one in parallel with the US, notably in West Africa, one which has extensions throughout Africa
Until very recently it was thoiught the US was an easy winner, but the Niger leaders have recently inflicted the same humiliation as on the French, and ‘denounced’ or broken the US base agreement, 16/3/2024
The AES has faced down the US/French regional puppets, Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, and broken with ECOWAS, cancelled treaties with the EU, notably on security and immigrations, threatens the pillar of French power in Africa, the franc cfa, and the $13B Gas EU pipeline the EU is deperate for
The RF was initially discreet, operated via Lavrov diplomacy and Wagner force, now partially replaced by direct force and agreements, with a New Africa Corps, including donations of free grain, the result of shuttle diplomacy by Yunus-bek Yevkurov, Russia's deputy defence minister
RF has signed agreements with Niger, subsequent to their agreements with BF and Mali, although details remaine obscure these are security and economic : both the French and the US fear an Uranium agreement
Niger has signed an extensive Health and Security agreement with Iran, who has signed agreements with BF and Mali
The US/French lack considered means to counter/reverse all this : The US is already retreating to French bases in Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire, prior to expulsion from Niger, seeking to shore up failed state Nigeria, and to review it’s Africa policies in general
It is said that recently the US stymied a China plan to build a seaport in Gabon
The Niger said that it was the insolence and the contempt of the high level US delegation, including AfriCom chief Michael Langley, and Asst Secretary of State Mary McPhee to Niger March 12-15 which was the final straw, they did not get to meet the new Head of State
Following the disaster of the late lamented Vicky Nuland’s visit last August – her spirit lives on, her Mission not Accomplished
Links to read up on these intricate events, hitherto the most obvious and significant manifestation of the new world order, not to forget the role of Ansar Allah in the Red Sea
Stop Press
Senegal elects a new ‘opposition’ President, who will continue the African countries’ move away from the French, the franc cfa, and towards Russia and China and multipolarity, how long will those last few French bases last….
Escalation is not very much fun for the French, or L’escalade c’est une salope!
Every interview of Jaques Baud is insightful. He has given quite a few recently with Daniel Davis (Deep Dive) and others, providing some pretty unknown/uncommon facts about this conflict since 2014.
Robotic wars and ever scary developments in AI...I'm not sure if this world would be suitable for humans for long.
Delicious: "Facts weren’t the issue: The assembled dignitaries, a representative sampling of the foreign policy establishment’s intellectual and executive leadership, simply couldn’t imagine a world in which America no longer gave the orders."
Made me think of this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-ixntLruNs
Yes, i heard that show with JB the day it aired, what a fabulous piece of work, one of the best, because the A2's just let him talk, and he went on at length ...
For those of us paying attention it affirms all those things the Duran, Garland Nixon, you mr Simplicius, several others have been saying, that mostly got ignored because genocide Joe said Russia has already , well, invaded America and made it a much better place, may it be so, tis so hard to learn Russian, will be much easier when everyone around me is speaking it.....ha ha ha
Just a side-note to ‘Operational Art’ — giver the root of the word art it makes perfect sense 😎: “The word “art” is derived from the Latin ars, which originally meant “skill” or “craft.” These meanings are still primary in other English words derived from ars, such as “artifact” (a thing made by human skill) and “artisan” (a person skilled at making things).” Once again, a great read. Thank you, Simplicius.
Oh Boy , Deizen is going to go off! He's so jealous of Mercouris.
Ukraine plan B: As a casual, amateur observer of the geopolitical, there is a consistent quirk I notice among most of the US commentators. They have it all screwed on sideways because acceptance of the ´new´ realities are hard to take. One example is they are quoting that 35% is being spent on the war by Russia. Oh really, 35% of what? None of them will say. It makes me laugh. That is the government spending number, not GDP, which is only around 4.1% when I looked it up yesterday. The GDP number for the US is 3.2% and not much different. Now bring into view the debt situation of each country and the picture unfolds dramatically. For Russia I just pulled it up at 15.4% vs the US for 110% plus. The people from the US/Occidentals are spaced out blind and ignorant; even a bunch of the ones I like.
I went through the process myself of just dumping everything I had been taught and starting from scratch. It was intellectually and emotionally intense, to discover I had been shoved full of bullshit for my entire life. Mr. Goldman and others from Asia Times I discarded a couple of years ago because they were living in a dream world, to put it succinctly. I am now seeing that that crew has come a long way around to reality. About freaking time!
Another same indicator is Donald Trump. His constant blather of US superiority and what he was going to do with it during his term as president, bordered on nauseating. During 2020 I told friends and family that it don't matter who won the election because Russia, China, Iran et al were ready and waiting to get the party started. The summit in Alaska was the bell. Now, I observe Trump being more and more cautious about what he says, at least what reaches my attention, regarding what is happening outside the US. This is quietly marking a seachange, especially coupled with opinions coming out of AT recently.
So, I do see glacial movement in the right direction. I hope to God that these folks in charge over yonder in the West, get a real grip on reality, before they blow this thing skyhigh.
I thank you for all of your efforts. God Bless.
Has that awkward little Coke-head become an expert on international law yet?
I think Russia has evolved during the course of the SMO and adjusted its strategy according to military, economic, demographic, and geopolitical exigencies. In fact the SMO became essentially a war with Ukraine as the spearhead of NATO.
But, some caution should probably be maintained in the tendency to selectively embellish or even romanticize historical events and trajectories. Such abstractions and reifications as the “Russian way of war” or similar though more subtle descriptions may be more reflective of unrecognized yet biased interpretations as much as logical investigations.
Military history and analysis can be quite prone to compromised objectivity due to unacknowledged or unrecognized underlying political identifications, values, preferences, and ideologies that could cause even good historians toward selective viewpoints and rigid deductive visions.
Let’s consider an example so we prevent falling into the trap of idealizing “Russian way of war” as if it reflects some enduring or fixed “essence” rather than respecting Russia’s “flexibility” or dynamic ability to learn from mistakes and adjust or change accordingly. Does anyone forget those bizarre scenes of the long but thin and exposed Russian tank columns stretching to Kiev in the early days of the SMO? Is it not likely that today many of the leading Russian military or political planners look back at the images of those perplexing days with astonishment and grave regret, and regard them as devoid of a viable long term strategy, never to be repeated again? Was that not the Russian way of war? And how many mistakes and blunders were made by the Soviet Union’s military and political leaders during the first year or two of the German invasion of Russia before they evolved and created a Red Army that was vastly different in strategic depth, capability, competence, and execution by the last year of WWII?
I read the Goldman article. What I find frightening - Goldman doesn't like it either - is the cavalier way that Western military elites talk about nuclear "red lines." I think MAD is still in practice, but the use of tactical nukes is very real - we assumed that NATO would deploy them had Soviet forces broken through the Fulda Gap. The F-16 is capable of carrying nukes - so is the Taurus Cruise Missile that the hawks want sent to Ukraine. Bad vibes all around.
Might add that there's a very good and bluntly honest Ukraine based YouTube Channel "Ukraine Military Situation." The moderator - who has no love for Russia - reports that Russia is improving its use of armor and that the Ukrainian Army lacks the ability to carry out a major counter attack because, as the moderator puts it "a corrupt peasant army." My guess is that every major military on planet earth is searching for an analog defense weapon to use against FPV drones - most of those things are small, vulnerable and slow. Russia is deploying wire-guided FRP drones - those are jam-proof and you can bet the West will help Ukraine field the same. Hence the need for something like the old "Quad 50" or some variation on a shotgun - maybe stick a claymore mine on a drone and hope your operator will be the 21st century version of Richthoven. But the first country that can challenge the FPV drone will have a real advantage until the other side inevitably catches up.