History, Religion, Politics, Culture, and Travels in the Islamic World
When David Petraeus was asked by a journalist at the onset of the Iraq War on the outcome, he replied “Tell Me How This Ends.” A bold but reasonable prediction by me on the outcome of the Russia-Ukraine War: it will not end through any settlement proposed by Trump. It will end with an unambiguous Russian military victory over Ukraine—NATO’s “battering ram” against Russia.
A classic tale of FAFO. The U.S. quit INF in 2019, freeing Russia to renounce its obligations under INF, and to produce intermediate-range missiles. After the geniuses in Washington and London authorized use by Ukraine of their missile systems to strike inside Russia, the Kremlin showed just one of its newest missile systems: Oreshnik (“Hazel). It’s a beauty. What else does Russia have in store for NATO?
Trump’s nominations are MIGA (“Make Israel Great Again”) zealots who harbor hawkish anti-Iran, anti-Russia and anti-China sentiments. Trump Administration II will fortify the Iran-Russia-China “Tripartite Alliance.” Beijing, Moscow, and Tehran realize that “we must all hang together or we will all hang separately.”
Russia is experiencing higher budget outlays in prosecuting the Ukraine War, but these expenditures should be considered “investments” because they will generate revenue streams for decades after the war. Russian investors have acquired at steep discounts the multi-billion dollar investments made in Russia by foreign companies; and the Russian Federation will annex many of Ukraine’s most fertile agricultural lands; and lucrative hydrocarbon reserves and mineral deposits.
Vladimir Putin is incensed by Kiev’s recent incursion into Kursk, which surely had NATO/US support. He has pledged to support America’s enemies. If NATO/US can supply Ukraine and say, “it doesn’t matter how they [the weapons] are used,” Russia can also supply “someone with something [and say] we do not control anything.” Game on!
As we await Iran’s response to Israel’s violation of Iranian sovereignty, quick looks at escalation domination and escalation ladders, high-value targets for the Axis of Resistance, and “Black Swan” events.
Russian heavy cargo transports are ferrying equipment to Iran. Precise contents unknown (of course) but Russian electronic warfare equipment was just spotted deployed inside Iran. What else is Moscow doing for, or sending to, Tehran?
Everyone is an OSINT expert these days. Twitter is swarming with OSINT accounts purporting expertise on Russia-Ukraine War and/or Israel-Palestine conflict. Businesses are seeking applicants with expertise in “OSINT tools, techniques and methodologies” and “HUMINT tradecraft” for sundry “threat intelligence” positions. Most OSINT experts have no intelligence or military background. They often supply propaganda, misinformation, or “confirmation bias” through ignorance, or, to satisfy the demands of their followers and/or paymasters.
A tribute to Ronald Wilson Reagan, who died twenty years ago today, and a requiem for America. Reagan revitalized America after Vietnam. However, Reagan’s America that we loved; the America that we were proud to belong to; the America that we proudly served in uniform; the America that we would have sacrificed our lives for, is dead. Since he left office, America has slid inexorably toward the dustbin of history
I am not a combat helicopter man, being from the “boom, boom, boom, artillery” school; hence my focus on artillery and missile systems. However, I have fallen in love with Russia’s Ka-52 “Alligator.” It is clearly the finest attack helicopter in the business; far superior to the Cobra and Apache attack helicopters that witnessed action in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Perspectives 
You must be logged in to post a comment.