During their chat this morning, Crooke elaborated on the points raised in his Al-Mayadeen column, most importantly the grave fiscal situation the EU faces thanks to its Ukraine policy and submission to the attacks on it by the Outlaw US Empire.
No one in Ukraine could even start to reconfigure their aircraft.
I was impressed with the depth of knowledge the German officer expressed wrt the significant access to engineering on both the aircraft configuration, and the Taurus.
The integration requires two sides, both sharing a lot of software, and hardware design data.
I tried to get an overview of the discussion in Germany. Surely not comprehensive, but the main point is, how dare the Russians being enraged, it's just talking, freedom of speech. Well, Russia bad, they published it. A minor point of critique, may be the software, and a hotel room ...
I didn't found any attempt to mirror the situation. Imagine, a discussion between Russian generals would have been leaked when they where talking about providing some proxy forces, let's assume North Yemen, with some nice toys, let's assume Onyx. May be 50 pcs. in a first patch, for fairness and proportionality. As we all know by now, providing weapons, training, target coordinates, and firing solutions doesn't count as being party to the war, so they can give the missiles to shoot down some ships, among them the German frigate "Hessen". Obviously, a Russian liaison officer would be present to ensure no civilian targets being hit, only military ones - but this is not a military mission, just a humanitarian one. Wondering, what the German media would make out of this ...
dear karl, as you know i live in canada. yesterday & today i have tremendous difficulty loading strategic culture. i look forward to you publishing alistair's post. SC has suffered targeting by government for the last 3yrs. thank you,
SCF delayed Crooke's essay and posted Matin Jay's instead, that is until after noon, which is why I didn't include it as usual. Now that I've finished with my Lavrov posting, I'll now turn to Crooke again.
"As Crooke notes, the longstanding Left/Right political divisions are no longer tenable."
Most of what we call "left" and "right" in western countries are just coalitions of interest groups that don't really have all that much in common. This is why, for example, leftists and conservatives argue endlessly whether the Nazis were "left" or "right", depending on which aspects of Nazi program and ideology one wishes to cherry-pick. and which aspects to downplay.
Similarly, Russia today is depicted as a communist regime when the audience are western right-wingers, and as a sort of backward theocracy when the audience are western leftists.
As we all know the left right dichotomy came into being because the supporters of the King sat on one side, while his enemies sat on the other.
The poiint was that the dividing point was the attitude towards the central figure, the symbol of the system.
Now that system is gone but there is a new one. And in this system the central place is occupied by capitalism.
The problem is that this dividing point is not one that the ruling class, the capitalists like: they prefer that people divide over issues that matter less to them sex and drugsand rock n roll.
There are plenty of people on the left- they are the billions who regard capitalism and its imperial form in particular as inimcal to their interests. Most of them live outside the traditional 'west' in eastern eurasia, Africa, Latin America and thoe countries where capitalist class indoctrination has not taken even when it was disseminated .
It is all very well to say there is no longer a left and a right, provided that we understand that, as was the case before 1790 and the example of France, there is always a clash of interests between those who work for a living and those who pick their pockets.
We could call the former the South and the latter the North, but that would not be a fair description: most of the peoole who live in the North, in the traditional imperialist countries, share the interests that the people in the South do- the interests of society as opposed to the selfish individualism of the exploiters.
Personally I persist in regarding the Left as those who oppose capitalism and struggle against imperialism. And the right as the dupes of the exploiters, their police, their managers and the idiots who regard themselves as part of a ruling race because they have white skins or worship on Saturdays.
Icky Vicky's resignation as told by Blinken. It is a start, if it happens.
Victoria Nuland has let me know that she intends to step down in the coming weeks as Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs – a role in which she has personified President Biden’s commitment to put diplomacy back at the center of our foreign policy and revitalize America’s global leadership at a crucial time for our nation and the world.
Toria’s tenure caps three and a half decades of remarkable public service under six Presidents and ten Secretaries of State. Starting with her very first posting as a consular officer in Guangzhou, China, Toria’s had most of the jobs in this Department. Political officer and economic officer. Spokesperson and chief of staff. Deputy Assistant Secretary and Assistant Secretary. Special Envoy and Ambassador.
These experiences have armed Toria with an encyclopedic knowledge of a wide range of issues and regions, and an unmatched capacity to wield the full toolkit of American diplomacy to advance our interests and values.
What makes Toria truly exceptional is the fierce passion she brings to fighting for what she believes in most: freedom, democracy, human rights, and America’s enduring capacity to inspire and promote those values around the world. These were the principles that drove Toria when we first met more than 30 years ago. They are the same principles she has brought to her work as Under Secretary, and as Acting Deputy Secretary of State – a role she filled seamlessly for seven months.
Over the past three years, Toria has led this Department on everything from addressing complex crises in the Sahel, Haiti, and the Middle East, to broadening and strengthening America’s alliances and partnerships across Europe and the Indo-Pacific.
But it’s Toria’s leadership on Ukraine that diplomats and students of foreign policy will study for years to come. Her efforts have been indispensable to confronting Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, marshaling a global coalition to ensure his strategic failure, and helping Ukraine work toward the day when it will be able to stand strongly on its own feet – democratically, economically, and militarily.
There is so much to admire about Toria beyond her diplomatic skill. She always speaks her mind – to my benefit and to the benefit of our foreign policy. She always stands up for and invests in America’s diplomats – mentoring them, lifting them up, and ensuring they and their families have what they deserve, and what our mission demands. She finds light in the darkest moments, makes you laugh when you need it most, and always has your back.
President Biden and I have asked our Under Secretary for Management John Bass to serve as Acting Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs until Toria’s replacement is confirmed.
We are so grateful for Toria’s service, and for the lasting mark she’s made on this institution and the world.
I spent most of my career in corporate America and then some in the US Government in DC. Writing that style of nonsense and dribble comes naturally to anyone in management at any level. It is normal and accepted. Deviating from that standard would be noticeable. You have been spared so much.
I never sought a desk job, although teaching involved much desk work. In some respects, it was like acting in a play in front of an audience and you recited your script.
The German officer were clear about the amount of engineering support to integrate weapons like Taurus and Stormshdow….
The Brit’s have already modified Kiev aircraft, and the U.S. has delivered the target ISR.
For months now.
Yes, the entire conversation revealed a lot of juicy stuff, and it vividly confirmed Russia's many longstanding assertions.
No one in Ukraine could even start to reconfigure their aircraft.
I was impressed with the depth of knowledge the German officer expressed wrt the significant access to engineering on both the aircraft configuration, and the Taurus.
The integration requires two sides, both sharing a lot of software, and hardware design data.
German officers seem to be more nuts and bolts…
NATO with all its different missiles and planes needs to be able to reconfigure, while Ukraine never faced that issue, thus the difference.
I tried to get an overview of the discussion in Germany. Surely not comprehensive, but the main point is, how dare the Russians being enraged, it's just talking, freedom of speech. Well, Russia bad, they published it. A minor point of critique, may be the software, and a hotel room ...
I didn't found any attempt to mirror the situation. Imagine, a discussion between Russian generals would have been leaked when they where talking about providing some proxy forces, let's assume North Yemen, with some nice toys, let's assume Onyx. May be 50 pcs. in a first patch, for fairness and proportionality. As we all know by now, providing weapons, training, target coordinates, and firing solutions doesn't count as being party to the war, so they can give the missiles to shoot down some ships, among them the German frigate "Hessen". Obviously, a Russian liaison officer would be present to ensure no civilian targets being hit, only military ones - but this is not a military mission, just a humanitarian one. Wondering, what the German media would make out of this ...
dear karl, thank you very much. i look forward to reading the essay & your views.
dear karl, as you know i live in canada. yesterday & today i have tremendous difficulty loading strategic culture. i look forward to you publishing alistair's post. SC has suffered targeting by government for the last 3yrs. thank you,
SCF delayed Crooke's essay and posted Matin Jay's instead, that is until after noon, which is why I didn't include it as usual. Now that I've finished with my Lavrov posting, I'll now turn to Crooke again.
karl, thanks for these valuable updates.. the fate of germany, the afd party and etc. etc - i find it extremely interesting to follow..
"As Crooke notes, the longstanding Left/Right political divisions are no longer tenable."
Most of what we call "left" and "right" in western countries are just coalitions of interest groups that don't really have all that much in common. This is why, for example, leftists and conservatives argue endlessly whether the Nazis were "left" or "right", depending on which aspects of Nazi program and ideology one wishes to cherry-pick. and which aspects to downplay.
Similarly, Russia today is depicted as a communist regime when the audience are western right-wingers, and as a sort of backward theocracy when the audience are western leftists.
As we all know the left right dichotomy came into being because the supporters of the King sat on one side, while his enemies sat on the other.
The poiint was that the dividing point was the attitude towards the central figure, the symbol of the system.
Now that system is gone but there is a new one. And in this system the central place is occupied by capitalism.
The problem is that this dividing point is not one that the ruling class, the capitalists like: they prefer that people divide over issues that matter less to them sex and drugsand rock n roll.
There are plenty of people on the left- they are the billions who regard capitalism and its imperial form in particular as inimcal to their interests. Most of them live outside the traditional 'west' in eastern eurasia, Africa, Latin America and thoe countries where capitalist class indoctrination has not taken even when it was disseminated .
It is all very well to say there is no longer a left and a right, provided that we understand that, as was the case before 1790 and the example of France, there is always a clash of interests between those who work for a living and those who pick their pockets.
We could call the former the South and the latter the North, but that would not be a fair description: most of the peoole who live in the North, in the traditional imperialist countries, share the interests that the people in the South do- the interests of society as opposed to the selfish individualism of the exploiters.
Personally I persist in regarding the Left as those who oppose capitalism and struggle against imperialism. And the right as the dupes of the exploiters, their police, their managers and the idiots who regard themselves as part of a ruling race because they have white skins or worship on Saturdays.
Icky Vicky's resignation as told by Blinken. It is a start, if it happens.
Victoria Nuland has let me know that she intends to step down in the coming weeks as Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs – a role in which she has personified President Biden’s commitment to put diplomacy back at the center of our foreign policy and revitalize America’s global leadership at a crucial time for our nation and the world.
Toria’s tenure caps three and a half decades of remarkable public service under six Presidents and ten Secretaries of State. Starting with her very first posting as a consular officer in Guangzhou, China, Toria’s had most of the jobs in this Department. Political officer and economic officer. Spokesperson and chief of staff. Deputy Assistant Secretary and Assistant Secretary. Special Envoy and Ambassador.
These experiences have armed Toria with an encyclopedic knowledge of a wide range of issues and regions, and an unmatched capacity to wield the full toolkit of American diplomacy to advance our interests and values.
What makes Toria truly exceptional is the fierce passion she brings to fighting for what she believes in most: freedom, democracy, human rights, and America’s enduring capacity to inspire and promote those values around the world. These were the principles that drove Toria when we first met more than 30 years ago. They are the same principles she has brought to her work as Under Secretary, and as Acting Deputy Secretary of State – a role she filled seamlessly for seven months.
Over the past three years, Toria has led this Department on everything from addressing complex crises in the Sahel, Haiti, and the Middle East, to broadening and strengthening America’s alliances and partnerships across Europe and the Indo-Pacific.
But it’s Toria’s leadership on Ukraine that diplomats and students of foreign policy will study for years to come. Her efforts have been indispensable to confronting Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, marshaling a global coalition to ensure his strategic failure, and helping Ukraine work toward the day when it will be able to stand strongly on its own feet – democratically, economically, and militarily.
There is so much to admire about Toria beyond her diplomatic skill. She always speaks her mind – to my benefit and to the benefit of our foreign policy. She always stands up for and invests in America’s diplomats – mentoring them, lifting them up, and ensuring they and their families have what they deserve, and what our mission demands. She finds light in the darkest moments, makes you laugh when you need it most, and always has your back.
President Biden and I have asked our Under Secretary for Management John Bass to serve as Acting Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs until Toria’s replacement is confirmed.
We are so grateful for Toria’s service, and for the lasting mark she’s made on this institution and the world.
Gawdddd......
I spent most of my career in corporate America and then some in the US Government in DC. Writing that style of nonsense and dribble comes naturally to anyone in management at any level. It is normal and accepted. Deviating from that standard would be noticeable. You have been spared so much.
I never sought a desk job, although teaching involved much desk work. In some respects, it was like acting in a play in front of an audience and you recited your script.
For me, four years full-time at SUNY and ten years part time thereafter at the University of Rochester. Long enough.