From the Notebook: The New State of Play Post Biden/Putin, by Tom Luongo. Biden Humiliates Putin By Besting Him In Ice Cream Eating Contest. GENEVA—Many were worried that U.S.
President Joe Biden might be run over by the fierce President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, and it certainly seemed like that would happen when the two first sat down together at the Villa la Grange. Taking UMBRAGE. It’s about all those ransomware hacks.
You know, the Colonial Pipeline, the attack on Martha’s Vineyard ferry, on Meat Packing Giant JBS, etc. Everyone immediately knows they all come from Russia, probably from Vladimir Putin himself. Afterall, the U.S. auto-responder says so. This guy knows – – – “Vladimir Putin, as many people in this chamber know well, wakes up every morning and goes to bed every night trying to figure out how to destroy American democracy.”
Western Covert Action and Russian Active Measures: Hypocrisy or Divergent Values? Most Americans now realize the Kremlin has attempted to influence, interfere, and subvert our democratic system.
Recent reports even suggest the Russian intelligence services may have also sought to suborn President Trump himself. This is obviously a critical national security threat and needs to be fought on many fronts. When not outright denying their activity, the Kremlin and its enablers justify their actions by claiming American covert and overt policy abroad is equally intrusive. The U.S. Puts More Pieces on Europe's WWIII Chessboard. Russia vs. NATO: Who Would Win in a War? One of the limited options cited in the study could include taking huge amounts of time to mobilize and deploy a massive counterattack force which would likely result in a drawn-out, deadly battle.
Another possibility would be to threaten a nuclear option, a scenario which seems unlikely if not completely unrealistic in light of the U.S. strategy to decrease nuclear arsenals and discourage the prospect of using nuclear weapons, the study finds. Current tensions between Russia and NATO are leading many to carefully assess this question and examine the current state of weaponry and technological sophistication of the Russian military -- with a mind to better understanding the extent of the kinds of threats they may pose. Nevertheless, Russia continues to make military advances and many Pentagon experts and analysts have expressed concern about NATO's force posture in Eastern Europe regarding whether it is significant enough to deter Russia from a possible invasion of Eastern Europe.
America's Insane Plan to Survive a Russian Nuclear Attack. America emerged from World War II as the most powerful nation on earth.
Not only did it produce half of the world’s economic output, but it was also in sole possession of the most devastating weapon ever created. Initially, U.S. officials believed America’s nuclear monopoly would endure for some time. After the war, Gen. How Fear of Russia Misleads Americans. NSA whistleblower Thomas Drake sees grave dangers in the U.S. government and media exaggerating foreign threats as a means to mislead and control the American public, reports Dennis J Bernstein.
By Dennis J Bernstein Source: Consortium News Russia has been made “the go-to scapegoat” for distracting Americans from the serious problems afflicting the U.S. government, says Thomas Drake, a former senior executive at the National Security Agency who blew the whistle on multi-billion-dollar waste and violations of the rights of citizens through secret mass surveillance programs after 9/11. Five Reasons Russia Is Not Looking Forward to Meeting Trump (Op-ed) President Trump is expected to hold a telephone conversation with Vladimir Putin today.
The topic of the exchange is likely to be Syria. In Lithuania, NATO Troops Set Up Near A Potentially Hostile Border. Just two years ago, it would have been nearly unthinkable for the Western alliance to set up a battalion here, some two hours' drive from Russia.
RUKLA, Lithuania — It’s lunchtime in a newly refurbished mess hall just outside this small Lithuanian town, and a unique collection of soldiers and officers from Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Lithuania, and the United States are tucking into solid local fare: soup, pickled salad, and noodles with meat. Their conversations are in English and low-key, but familiar and no-nonsense. Such a multifarious gathering of NATO troops might signal a planning conference, an educational course, or an industry exhibition — but it’s none of these.
Intelligence Agencies Ask Americans to “Trust, Don’t Verify” in New Cold War. Mark WeisbrotThe Hill, January 9, 2017 See article on original site Just as the first casualty of war is said to be the truth, the first casualty of the New Cold War is irony.
Our most prominent journalists seem to have missed the Orwellian irony of Senator John McCain asking Director of National Intelligence (DNI) James Clapper at Friday’s Senate hearings if Julian Assange has any credibility. Assange has maintained that the hacked or leaked emails of Democratic Party officials did not come from the Russian government, or any other government. From 'The Great Game' to Ukraine: How the West's anti-Russian narratives always turn out wrong.
Arthur Schopenhauer said that “All truth passes through three stages.
First, it is ridiculed. McFaul on Russia: How the US' Demands Risk War - The Duran. In a lengthy article in the Washington Post lamenting the Brexit vote and calling it a “victory for Putin”, former US ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul slips out a fascinating comment that is very revealing of the looking glass world of neocon thinking: “He (Putin) stopped NATO’s expansion by invading Georgia in 2008 and slowed E.U. expansion by invading Ukraine in 2014. He has increased Russia’s economic hegemony in large parts of the former Soviet Union by building the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU). As a result of his military intervention in Syria, Putin is expanding Russia’s presence in the Middle East, as Europe and the United States pull back.” How Russia is preparing for WWIII - The Duran. Russia Bolsters Its Submarine Fleet, and Tensions With U.S. Rise.
Mr. Putin’s military modernization program also includes new intercontinental ballistic missiles as well as aircraft, tanks and air defense systems. To be sure, there is hardly parity between the Russian and American submarine fleets. Russia has about 45 attack submarines — about two dozen are nuclear-powered and 20 are diesel — which are designed to sink other submarines or ships, collect intelligence and conduct patrols. Bases of Confrontation: the US Military Empire. On 26 October the New York Times carried an intriguing commentary about spying. Its front page headlined a 1200 word report which included the statement that “Russian submarines and spy ships are aggressively operating near the crucial undersea cables that carry almost all global Internet communications, raising concerns among some US military and intelligence officials that the Russians might be planning to attack those lines in times of tension or conflict.”
Onion Studios. Game of trolls: the hip digi-kids helping Putin's fight for online supremacy. Is the Iran Nukes Deal Aimed at Crushing Putin? “The European Union is quietly increasing the urgency of a plan to import natural gas from Iran as relations with Tehran thaw (and) those with top gas supplier Russia grow colder.” “EU turns to Iran as alternative to Russian gas,” EA. The Iran nuclear agreement has less to do with proliferation than it does with geopolitics. The reason Obama wants to ease sanctions on Iran is because he wants to push down oil prices while creating an alternate source of natural gas for Europe. We restarted the Cold War: The real story about the NATO buildup that the New York Times won’t tell you. Putin’s Plot to Get Texas to Secede - Casey Michel. US to store heavy weapons in Poland under Nato plan. U.S. Is Poised to Put Heavy Weaponry in Eastern Europe. RIGA, Latvia — In a significant move to deter possible Russian aggression in Europe, the Pentagon is poised to store battle tanks, infantry fighting vehicles and other heavy weapons for as many as 5,000 American troops in several Baltic and Eastern European countries, American and allied officials say.
The proposal, if approved, would represent the first time since the end of the Cold War that the United States has stationed heavy military equipment in the newer member nations in Eastern Europe that had once been part of the Soviet sphere of influence. ’s annexation of Crimea and the war in eastern Ukraine have caused alarm and prompted new military planning in NATO capitals.
Russians React To Western Food Ban With Pride, Resignation. Return of the Evil Empire. The West's Reckless Rush Towards War with Russia. Waging war against Russia, one pipeline at a time — RT Op-Edge. Washington’s Iron Curtain in Ukraine. Why is Putin in Washington’s Crosshairs? Shoots Down Russia’s Push to Scrap Missile Shield. Cold War: Map shows areas prohibited to Soviet travelers in the United States. Kevin Baron's blog. Russia Demands U.S. End Support of Democracy Groups. Romney camp doubles down on Russia as “geopolitical foe” LYONS: Russia's shot across the bow.