Ukraine conflict
09-05-2024, 12:25 PM
#3912
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Feb 2015
Position: 777FO
Posts: 769
This is the kind of weapon I was hoping Ukraine would deploy suddenly to maybe change the momentum of the war before Russia could react. Now that it is out there for all to see, I suspect the Russians won't be far behind. Nasty stuff.
https://www.twz.com/news-features/th...eld-innovation
https://www.twz.com/news-features/th...eld-innovation
09-05-2024, 07:57 PM
#3913
Perennial Reserve
Joined APC: Jan 2018
Posts: 12,112
This is the kind of weapon I was hoping Ukraine would deploy suddenly to maybe change the momentum of the war before Russia could react. Now that it is out there for all to see, I suspect the Russians won't be far behind. Nasty stuff.
https://www.twz.com/news-features/th...eld-innovation
https://www.twz.com/news-features/th...eld-innovation
09-05-2024, 08:04 PM
#3914
Perennial Reserve
Joined APC: Jan 2018
Posts: 12,112
https://www.politico.eu/article/vlad...echt-alliance/
European politics has always reminded me of three monkeys trying to have simultaneous carnal knowledge of the same bowling ball...
BERLIN — A heated debate on Russia is crashing the normally more provincial politics of eastern German states, and Vladimir Putin is likely loving it.
In regional elections in the formerly communist east on Sunday, Russia-friendly parties on both extremes of the political spectrum surged — and they are already demanding that German leaders radically change their way of dealing with the Kremlin.
That includes the populist-left Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW), a new party named after its founder, a leftist icon who started out in politics as a member of East Germany’s communist party, which took third place in both Thuringia and Saxony.
One of BSW’s post-election demands: that Berlin halt a plan, announced in July, for the United States to deploy long-range missiles in Germany starting in 2026 to defend NATO territory. Putin, soon after, threatened to take “mirror measures,” accusing the U.S. and its allies of escalating tensions.
“Many people are afraid that Germany will allow itself to be dragged into this war and many people also see the great dangers of the U.S. missile plans,” Wagenknecht said on German public television after the regional elections.
Members of her party, who also advocate a stop to military aid for Ukraine and peace negotiations with Putin, have since suggested they won’t form coalitions with any party that supports the presence of U.S. missiles.
“We see that this is a measure that directly increases the risk of war for Germany and we believe that a state government must really raise its voice here,” Amira Mohamed Ali, co-leader of BSW, said on German public radio.
The BSW’s stance puts the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU), which won in Saxony and came in second in Thuringia, in a difficult position.
With all parties vowing not to govern with the far-right, pro-Russia Alternative for Germany (AfD) despite the party's surge in the elections, the CDU is set to lead coalition talks. But in eastern Germany’s new fragmented political landscape, the CDU needs BSW as a coalition partner.
Such a partnership, however, would be highly fraught. CDU leaders on a national level categorically reject BSW’s positions on Russia and accuse the party of being a tool of the Kremlin.
“The BSW acts as an extension of the Kremlin and contradicts all values [our party] traditionally stands for,” Roderich Kiesewetter, a senior CDU parliamentarian on the foreign affairs committee, told POLITICO. “This can also be seen as part of Russia's hybrid strategy of shaping the discourse and setting the agenda in Germany.”
Kiesewetter is among some 100 CDU politicians who have launched an effort to rule out cooperation with the BSW on any level by extending a party resolution banning cooperation with the AfD and The Left party, the successor to the East German communist party, to include the BSW.
Nearly 3 out of 4 people in eastern Germany do not want the deployment of U.S. missiles in their country, according to a Forsa poll from late July. (Nationwide, half of Germans reject the plan.)
That helps explain why the conservative premier of Saxony, Michael Kretschmer, who led his CDU to a narrow victory over the AfD on Sunday, has views that are out of step with his party’s national leaders when it comes to Russia. In fact, on that subject, he often sounds a lot like a politician in BSW.
“We can no longer provide funds for weapons to Ukraine only for these weapons to be used up and achieve nothing,” he told a German media outlet ahead of the election. Kretschmer has also called for a referendum on the U.S. missile deployment.
It remains unclear how the CDU will navigate its dilemma over whether to work with BSW. But one thing seems certain: The Kremlin is very pleased that a debate is taking place due to the party's rise.
The rise of Russia-friendly parties in eastern Germany has been a focus of attention on Russian state television. Coverage of the election on “60 Minutes,” a popular Russian political show, included a segment highlighting the success of BSW, a party, as a narrator put it, that was "formed around the concept of peace.”
The party’s message, according to the show, has found resonance in an eastern Germany where “there is nostalgia for the socialist past and resistance to the U.S. and NATO is quite strong.”
When a guest on the show wanted to dissect the election results in Germany, the host, Yevgeny Popov, also a Russian parliamentarian, intervened in a half-joking manner.
“What is there to analyze?” he said. “Putin won!”
In regional elections in the formerly communist east on Sunday, Russia-friendly parties on both extremes of the political spectrum surged — and they are already demanding that German leaders radically change their way of dealing with the Kremlin.
That includes the populist-left Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW), a new party named after its founder, a leftist icon who started out in politics as a member of East Germany’s communist party, which took third place in both Thuringia and Saxony.
One of BSW’s post-election demands: that Berlin halt a plan, announced in July, for the United States to deploy long-range missiles in Germany starting in 2026 to defend NATO territory. Putin, soon after, threatened to take “mirror measures,” accusing the U.S. and its allies of escalating tensions.
“Many people are afraid that Germany will allow itself to be dragged into this war and many people also see the great dangers of the U.S. missile plans,” Wagenknecht said on German public television after the regional elections.
Members of her party, who also advocate a stop to military aid for Ukraine and peace negotiations with Putin, have since suggested they won’t form coalitions with any party that supports the presence of U.S. missiles.
“We see that this is a measure that directly increases the risk of war for Germany and we believe that a state government must really raise its voice here,” Amira Mohamed Ali, co-leader of BSW, said on German public radio.
The BSW’s stance puts the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU), which won in Saxony and came in second in Thuringia, in a difficult position.
With all parties vowing not to govern with the far-right, pro-Russia Alternative for Germany (AfD) despite the party's surge in the elections, the CDU is set to lead coalition talks. But in eastern Germany’s new fragmented political landscape, the CDU needs BSW as a coalition partner.
Such a partnership, however, would be highly fraught. CDU leaders on a national level categorically reject BSW’s positions on Russia and accuse the party of being a tool of the Kremlin.
“The BSW acts as an extension of the Kremlin and contradicts all values [our party] traditionally stands for,” Roderich Kiesewetter, a senior CDU parliamentarian on the foreign affairs committee, told POLITICO. “This can also be seen as part of Russia's hybrid strategy of shaping the discourse and setting the agenda in Germany.”
Kiesewetter is among some 100 CDU politicians who have launched an effort to rule out cooperation with the BSW on any level by extending a party resolution banning cooperation with the AfD and The Left party, the successor to the East German communist party, to include the BSW.
Sympathy for the Kremlin in the east
But such a move would put local CDU politicians in Germany’s east in a peculiar spot, given the pervasiveness of Kremlin-friendly views among their constituents.Nearly 3 out of 4 people in eastern Germany do not want the deployment of U.S. missiles in their country, according to a Forsa poll from late July. (Nationwide, half of Germans reject the plan.)
That helps explain why the conservative premier of Saxony, Michael Kretschmer, who led his CDU to a narrow victory over the AfD on Sunday, has views that are out of step with his party’s national leaders when it comes to Russia. In fact, on that subject, he often sounds a lot like a politician in BSW.
“We can no longer provide funds for weapons to Ukraine only for these weapons to be used up and achieve nothing,” he told a German media outlet ahead of the election. Kretschmer has also called for a referendum on the U.S. missile deployment.
It remains unclear how the CDU will navigate its dilemma over whether to work with BSW. But one thing seems certain: The Kremlin is very pleased that a debate is taking place due to the party's rise.
The rise of Russia-friendly parties in eastern Germany has been a focus of attention on Russian state television. Coverage of the election on “60 Minutes,” a popular Russian political show, included a segment highlighting the success of BSW, a party, as a narrator put it, that was "formed around the concept of peace.”
The party’s message, according to the show, has found resonance in an eastern Germany where “there is nostalgia for the socialist past and resistance to the U.S. and NATO is quite strong.”
When a guest on the show wanted to dissect the election results in Germany, the host, Yevgeny Popov, also a Russian parliamentarian, intervened in a half-joking manner.
“What is there to analyze?” he said. “Putin won!”
09-06-2024, 07:05 AM
#3915
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Feb 2015
Position: 777FO
Posts: 769
It's less the thermite than the use of drones to employ it against trench lines. Dropping hand grenades is comparatively futile for clearing them.
09-06-2024, 08:45 AM
#3916
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Oct 2009
Posts: 788
I get free access to the WSJ and Foreign Policy through the DOD MWR Library website. Not sure if all vets have access or just retirees. Anyways, here's a couple of really interesting articles from Foreign Policy with some excerpts.
https://foreignpolicy.com/2024/08/27...c_latest062921
How the Russian Establishment Really Sees the War Ending.
By Anatol Lieven
"Only a small minority believed that Russia should fight for complete victory in Ukraine, including the annexation of large new areas of Ukrainian territory or the creation of a client regime in Kyiv. A large majority wanted an early cease-fire roughly along the existing battle lines. There is high confidence that the Ukrainian military will never be able to break through and reconquer significant amounts of Ukraine’s lost territories.
Most of my conversations took place before the Ukrainian invasion of the Russian province of Kursk. As far as I can make out, however, this Ukrainian success has not changed basic Russian calculations and views—not least because, at the same time, the Russian army has continued to make significant progress farther east, in the Donbas, where the Russians are closing in on the key town of Pokrovsk. “The attack on Kursk may help Ukraine eventually to get rather better terms, but nothing like a real victory,” in the words of one Russian security expert. “They will sooner or later have to withdraw from Kursk, but we will never withdraw from Crimea and the Donbas.”
https://foreignpolicy.com/2024/08/31...c_latest062921
History Shows: Giving Land to Russia Won't Bring Peace
By Kristi Raik
"The Russian empire—whether the tsarist or Soviet variant—collapsed twice in the 20th century: in 1917, when a communist coup dethroned the tsar, and in 1991, when another, unsuccessful coup was the final death knell for the Soviet Union. Both events created a window of opportunity for many smaller nations to break free. Moscow withdrew from many of its non-Russian territories not because it no longer wanted to have an empire, but because it no longer had the means to keep these territories under its control."
"So far, the West has been surprised by Russia’s ability to bear the heavy cost for its invasion of Ukraine. In Western societies, human life is priceless; in Russia, it is cheap. The Russian regime has been able to rely on seemingly endless waves of expendable soldiers and a harsh redirection of its economy to defense production in ways that would be far too costly for any democratic leader. What can be fatal for a Russian leader, however, is any perceived weakness and the failure to uphold Russia’s greatness. Most Russians want to live in a great country that dominates others, and they are ready to accept sacrifices for this cause, as documented in detail in books by Svetlana Alexievich, Jade McGlynn, and others"
"Full restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity will likely require another collapse of the Russian empire. It may be years ahead, but Russia’s historical trajectory suggests that it will happen at some point, as the country has shown itself to be incapable of correcting course through evolution rather than revolution. A Western “reset” with the current regime will not be possible without sacrificing Ukraine’s independence and the core principles of the European security order, including the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity."
https://foreignpolicy.com/2024/08/27...c_latest062921
How the Russian Establishment Really Sees the War Ending.
By Anatol Lieven
"Only a small minority believed that Russia should fight for complete victory in Ukraine, including the annexation of large new areas of Ukrainian territory or the creation of a client regime in Kyiv. A large majority wanted an early cease-fire roughly along the existing battle lines. There is high confidence that the Ukrainian military will never be able to break through and reconquer significant amounts of Ukraine’s lost territories.
Most of my conversations took place before the Ukrainian invasion of the Russian province of Kursk. As far as I can make out, however, this Ukrainian success has not changed basic Russian calculations and views—not least because, at the same time, the Russian army has continued to make significant progress farther east, in the Donbas, where the Russians are closing in on the key town of Pokrovsk. “The attack on Kursk may help Ukraine eventually to get rather better terms, but nothing like a real victory,” in the words of one Russian security expert. “They will sooner or later have to withdraw from Kursk, but we will never withdraw from Crimea and the Donbas.”
https://foreignpolicy.com/2024/08/31...c_latest062921
History Shows: Giving Land to Russia Won't Bring Peace
By Kristi Raik
"The Russian empire—whether the tsarist or Soviet variant—collapsed twice in the 20th century: in 1917, when a communist coup dethroned the tsar, and in 1991, when another, unsuccessful coup was the final death knell for the Soviet Union. Both events created a window of opportunity for many smaller nations to break free. Moscow withdrew from many of its non-Russian territories not because it no longer wanted to have an empire, but because it no longer had the means to keep these territories under its control."
"So far, the West has been surprised by Russia’s ability to bear the heavy cost for its invasion of Ukraine. In Western societies, human life is priceless; in Russia, it is cheap. The Russian regime has been able to rely on seemingly endless waves of expendable soldiers and a harsh redirection of its economy to defense production in ways that would be far too costly for any democratic leader. What can be fatal for a Russian leader, however, is any perceived weakness and the failure to uphold Russia’s greatness. Most Russians want to live in a great country that dominates others, and they are ready to accept sacrifices for this cause, as documented in detail in books by Svetlana Alexievich, Jade McGlynn, and others"
"Full restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity will likely require another collapse of the Russian empire. It may be years ahead, but Russia’s historical trajectory suggests that it will happen at some point, as the country has shown itself to be incapable of correcting course through evolution rather than revolution. A Western “reset” with the current regime will not be possible without sacrificing Ukraine’s independence and the core principles of the European security order, including the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity."
While small items buried in the second article, was very pleased to see Svetlana Alexievich highlighted. Her work is mostly recording the thoughts of the people who lived through WW2 and her book on Soviet soldiers killed in Afghanistan and the effects on family and others.
Unfortunately she writes mostly in Russian, so I have only read excerps and summaries off her writings. Even at that, they give some insight into the attitudes of the diverse people who made up the USSR, and their attitudes toward Russia itself.
Jade McGlynn I am unfamiliar with, but she her book Memory Makers looks like a worthwhile read. Basde on just a short review it seems she "gets it". Russian leadership is driven by aggrievement, NOT paranoia.
They view themselves as deserving to be the dominant Nation. Based on physical power, moral superiority, and a somewhat messaih-like view of being the bastion of purity and holiness against the rest of the world. Especially the depraved West. NATO and western power thwarts this aggrandizing vision. To paraphrase Timothy Snyder, Russia and putin-like Russian thinkers hate the West because it exists.
My Mother used to say that of all the nations, Americans and Russians are the most alike. Everything was the biggest, the best, the greatest, etc. Also, each had the right to spread their salvation to all the lesser peoples.
The moral difference is American culture grew under the influence of John Locke and Rousseau (sp) and the exalting of the individual. Russia missed out on that. Also the West had the Roman Catholic church/Protestantism vs the Russian Orthodox Church (which is subservient to the Tsar). It has made for a somewhat softer road for the USA than Russia followed.
09-06-2024, 01:34 PM
#3917
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Joined APC: Apr 2011
Posts: 1,828
There is no comparison. To Russia or anywhere else. What other fool country died in the 100s of thousands to free continents, ran the table and gave everyone living there another chance to go on following their own destiny? Holy camoley
09-07-2024, 06:55 AM
#3918
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Thread Starter
Joined APC: Jun 2022
Posts: 1,437
09-07-2024, 07:41 AM
#3919
Perennial Reserve
Joined APC: Jan 2018
Posts: 12,112
https://www.theamericanconservative....-into-the-war/
09-07-2024, 08:31 AM
#3920
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Apr 2011
Posts: 1,828
Quickly dispatched native tribes. Waged a bloody war with itself to end slave trade and impose Federal supremacy over the states. Elected a 50% African American boss for such 150 years later. Tough place to explain. Excellent chicken wings.
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