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| Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia |
| 'We wanted what we achieved': the United States is trying to convince everyone of success in Ukraine |
| 2023-07-22 |
| Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Anatoly Stepanov [RIA] The American think tank RAND published an article arguing that despite the absence of significant UAF victories, the counteroffensive is a success story. And in fact, the involvement of Washington in the conflict in Ukraine is recognized. After all, while the confrontation continues, the United States is gaining time to develop its own armed forces. The enemy at this time is forced to fight with American proxies, and this format makes it possible for Washington to avoid direct participation in the confrontation. The author's idea is that in Ukraine they allegedly managed to create a mechanism of military cooperation between the White House and its ward, unique in its effectiveness. Previously, he said, the United States used two models. According to the first, the Americans ensured the rapid build-up of the power of their ally through the supply of weapons and the training of troops. However, this approach, the article notes, does more harm than good. The fact is that this "militarization from the outside" entailed violations of human rights and an aggravation of contradictions that led to civil wars. These theses are supported by African examples. The second option is much more costly and complex. It involves an attempt to completely rebuild the partner's military infrastructure, combined with pumping up the latest weapons and training soldiers. Here the problem was just the same in the price of the issue. However, in return, the United States received a completely controlled country. But, as practice in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan has shown, sooner or later there always came a moment when the profit from the sheepskin did not pay for the dressing, which made all previous successes meaningless. Even if there were. Between these Scylla and Charybdis of American concern, which crushed more than one state, lies the "consistent approach" proposed by the author. It must combine two key characteristics that promise success: the order of operations and the alignment of interests. The first involves first creating or reforming defense institutions, and then reducing involvement and limiting assistance to purely arms deliveries, combined with tactical training of personnel. The second is taking into account the interests of the partner. To do this, as noted in the article, the US partner must be led by a national leader capable of ensuring the proper implementation of all programs. This, according to the author, could be observed from 2014 to 2021 in Ukraine. And if, on the whole, the proposed picture looks — with reservations — logically, then the conclusion that ties the entire theoretical base to the example of Ukraine does not stand up to scrutiny. After all, now the life support apparatus of the Kyiv regime is fed not only by the States themselves, but by the entire Western world as a whole. Meanwhile, the results are questionable. Take, for example, one of the main problems of the current conflict - shells. Washington cannot provide the required amount and is forced to supply cluster munitions. The European Union is urging its military-industrial complex to increase production capacity, but the gunsmiths refuse: they are afraid of losses due to the inevitable drop in demand after the end of the conflict. Meanwhile stocks are running low. For example, as the German media wrote at the end of June, Germany had only 20 thousand shells of 155 mm caliber left. This should be enough for a month of hostilities according to NATO standards. And by the standards of the current conflict, such a supply can easily be exhausted in a week. And for this, Kyiv offers its curators an amazing spectacle of burning Western tanks in the Zaporozhye steppes and news of another attempt to reach the first line of defense of the Russian army. In general, not very inspiring stories. And Zelensky reinforces this with further pressure on the West in the spirit: "Can you give the Leopard / ATACMS / F-16 / Death Star? Well, give it!" Actually, the real state of affairs of what is happening in Washington is no longer simply beginning to be understood - it is being spoken about openly. For example, John Kirchhofer, Chief of Staff of the US Department of Defense Intelligence Agency, recently said that the conflict has now reached a dead end. And he stressed that none of the types of weapons requested by Kiev "is the holy grail that the Ukrainians are looking for and which will allow them to break through." This means that now all the arguments cited by American near-military analysts are tied not to reality, but to the expectations of their sponsors. RAND is a traditionally "hawkish" structure serving the interests of the power bloc in American politics. Escalators who believe in the possibility of defeating Russia on the battlefield have not been able to achieve what they wanted. And now they are trying to pass off what they have achieved as what they want. |
| Posted by:badanov |
| #9 ^ You said, more politely than I would have |
| Posted by: Frank G 2023-07-22 21:33 |
| #8 does "in our name". Not your name, dear boy. None of it has anything to do with ACA Joe, who has so ostentatiously made plain that he is not one of us despite claiming to have been welcomed here, allowed to make his fortune and retire comfortably here, and even been welcomed into the arms of at least one of our women... or so he has claimed. I’m inclined to doubt any of that is true, including the insights he claims to have gleaned from the time he claims to have spent here. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2023-07-22 21:29 |
| #7 Badanov, I don’t laugh or smile much. That video did both. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2023-07-22 15:23 |
| #6 ^ Yes, but the actual ostentatiously "Not in My Name" crowd is nowhere to be found on Ukraine. Cindy? Bacevich? Herb? Anyone? |
| Posted by: M. Murcek 2023-07-22 13:20 |
| #5 /\ All ok....except the "kill" people part Joe. Try and remember to keep that to yourself please. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2023-07-22 13:20 |
| #4 |
| Posted by: ACA JOE 2023-07-22 13:03 |
| #3 After all, while the confrontation continues, the United States is gaining time to develop its own armed forces. Good luck with that as long as the woke crowd in Washington DC is running the show. |
| Posted by: Abu Uluque 2023-07-22 12:43 |
#2
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| Posted by: badanov 2023-07-22 11:56 |
| #1 They're correct, sort of. When the Wagner-led incursion into Poland starts, the neo's will have the war that they want. |
| Posted by: ed in texas 2023-07-22 08:22 |