Guest Post by Paul Craig Roberts
After 18 months of an ever widening war, Putin is still unable to recognize the failure of his “limited military operation.” Far from convincing Washington that his interests are limited to protecting the Russian people in former Russian territory who were dumped by Soviet leaders into the Ukraine province of the Soviet Union, Putin has convinced Washington that Russia is weak and that he is irresolute.
The consequence has been an ever widening war and a massive expansion of NATO on Russia’s northwestern border with the addition of Finland and Sweden to NATO. And now Putin’s hesitancy, which seems permanent, is bringing him the occupation of western Ukraine by the Polish army.
Russian Defense Minister Shoigu has shown no brilliance in the campaign either, but he now recognizes the failure of the “limited military operation” to protect Russia’s security and to keep NATO’s presence from increasing on Russia’s borders.
Today Shoigu said that Poland is preparing a pretext to occupy western Ukraine. As Ukraine has run out of troops, Poland is moving in. Washington won’t call it an invasion.
Shoigu went further, whether with Putin’s approval or as a criticism of the failed “limited military operation” I cannot say. At today’s meeting of the board of the military department, Shoigu said: “In the western and northwestern strategic directions, the threats to the military security of Russia have increased manifold.” He said that Finland and Sweden’s accession into NATO is a “serious destabilizing factor.” Shoigu pointed out that since the beginning of the “limited military operation” NATO formations have increased 2.5 times. https://sputnikglobe.com/20230809/warsaw-plans-to-create-polish-ukrainian-union-for-subsequent-occupation-of-western-ukraine—shoigu-1112480015.html
This is hardly a picture of success, so why is Putin sticking with a failed policy? With the failure of the Ukrainian counterattack and decimation of the Ukrainian army, now is the time for the Russian offensive. But there is no sign of it.
US Col. Douglas Macgregor has concluded that Putin is actually holding back a Russian advance, wasting precious time before the rainy season begins. From a military standpoint, it is mindless for Putin to let pass the opportunity to strike his devastated opponent and bring the conflict to a quick end before Washington can further escalate the conflict. Instead, Putin is providing Poland the opportunity to move into Western Ukraine. It seems obvious that this will result in a wider and more dangerous combat.
Col. Macgregor now agrees with what I have been saying for 18 months, that Putin is perceived in the West as irresolute and can be defeated or at least discredited in Russia as a failed war leader. As I have stressed, this is a very dangerous perception. Provocations of Russia will increase to a point where war will break out. Col. Macgregor now sees the situation as I do. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcwFyNbX5m8
Perhaps Putin would do well to take a cue from Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar:
There is a tide in the affairs of men.
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows and in miseries.
On such a full sea are we now afloat,
And we must take the current when it serves,
Or lose our ventures.
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Typical Neocon nonsense.
News Flash – The American economy is on its knees and our military is decimated, all of our own doing. BRICS will sink us and PCR keeps banging the neocon war drums. Sure Fella, Putin is a dummy. SMH
You don’t have to be a genius when dealing with psychopathic retards hell bent on self destruction. You just need to be patient.
No one can argue that Putin has been nothing if not patient…to date. The problem with patience is that it inevitably runs out. Even GOD’s Patience has its limits and that is the hard lesson set before us all today. May He have mercy on the righteous.
Who among us is righteous?
Sinners all,
BUT all of us do not deserve what is ahead.
The end of our Empire will be painful, tragic, and bloody.
Those who claim it in deed and in earnest.
And covered by the blood of The Lamb.
I disagree, PCR has called Washington NeoCons ‘dumbshits’. Before reading this I listened to Col Macgregor’s interview with Andrew Napolitano, he thinks DC is run by idiots, and Putin’s hesitancy invites DC to underestimate Russia.
That’s amazing! Everyone you mentioned, except Putin, are grand master ASS HATS!!!
PCR is as insane as the asshats currently running America. There is absolutely no way to legitimately lay current events at Putin’s feet. Russia has repeatedly entered mutual security agreements with the West only to be betrayed by the West consistently for decades.
This has been a long time coming, and anyone with an actual set of balls on them will realize that put in the same situation they would do no differently than Putin has done and is doing. Russia’s current course of action is both measured AND well reasoned. They are the stronger of the belligerents in this conflict, which provides them with many more options than their opponent(s).
The collective West is being given EVERY OPPORTUNITY to come to its senses, but with geriatric felons running the show there is little hope of that. These arrogant degenerates, desperately fighting for their next breath would like nothing better than to take the world with them into the final judgment of hellfire.
Putin WILL use nukes if and when it becomes expedient. Only a fool would doubt it. Unfortunately we are led by arrogant fools with a death wish. They WILL escalate at every opportunity, just as they have done from the beginning…the results of which will conform to the Deagal Report predictions for population in N. America.
I stated at the outset that “This will NOT be over quickly. You will NOT enjoy this.”. This IS the Russian way. You are now learning what I knew long ago. We will not emerge victorious. We most likely will not emerge…period.
Make what peace you can with that. I have.
READ THE DAMNED ARTICLE. PCR is not criticizing Putin for legitimately going into Ukraine. He’s criticizing Putin for not going further into Ukraine and ending this conflict. PCR said above
which means he (PCR) thinks Putin should have seized more of Ukraine long ago. If you had read any of PCR’s previous columns, you would know that he has been “playing the same record” for several months now.
So? Who’s in charge here? Putin or PCR? Fuck that armchair geriatric quarterback. Putin is doing just fine. America, meanwhile is fucking itself in the ass fast and furious. One might evcen say “at Warp Speed!”.
BWAHAHA! PCR is whining that Russia isn’t winning fast enough to suit him! I’m surprised he wasn’t rooting for north Vietnam in ’72!!!
Knew it was PCR from the title.
Reminds me of US chickenhawks during the Gulf War era.
Not in fight, not in danger, not a military strategist, think they are Sun Tzu.
“Everybody has a plan…until I punch them in the face or bite off their ear!” – Mike Tyson
Shogu just said there are over 300,000 NATO and Ukrainian groups on the borders of Belarus an Russia. Maybe the development of two new army groups to face Finland drew resources away from the battle in Ukraine. And with the meat grinder operations killing the enemy at 6 to 1 ratios (improved to 8-1 now) this sounds reasonable.
As in: let’s have everybody send weapons and mont to the most corrupt place around so lots of it gets siphoned off. The remaining goods have to transit 1000 miles under world class ISR and is utilized inefficiently by incompetents led by the mistrained.
Now we realize we are out of ammo reserves and it will be years before our production could ramp up sufficient to provide one weeks worth every month. Note also that our wonderwaffen are not so wonder and Russia has had plenty of time to optimize their response. Burning M1-A1’s will not be a good sales brochure, nor will the knowledge that the F-16 is suitable for fighting only in conditions that are not present on the modern battlefield, sterile runways with no foreign objects, extensive repair facilities and high replacement part usage. And has less range for detection and defeat of enemy fighters than the enemy’s has.
This seems to be a war for world leadership. Russia is not out for shock and awe, but to pull people away from the dollars’ control. Expect things to happen slowly until they go fast. But it is also a finance war. The US is under great economic pressure with no good choices. Even the smallest reduction in foreign and domestic demand for government securities could upend our applecart. For example, less demand means higher offering interest rates to “gin up” demand, which crushes banks under the falling values of the securities they use for collateral. Or the government can just print money to self finance and use inflation to destroy international confidence in the dollar.
If there was EVER a time to underestimate the industrial might of the Untied States (NOT a typo!), it would be NOW…and Putin knows this as well as anyone alive.
America is an empty sack. The cat’s out of the bag, my friends!
The sack is not empty, it has two tomcats in it.
Show us.
Putin is in a difficult situation. He started this whole thing believing he was dealing with rational people who were restrained in their actions by their democratic governments and their need to have the support of their respective populations.
He believed that like himself, the western leaders would do what was in the best interests of their countries, and peoples. He now realizes that is not the case. He now realizes that the globalist agenda includes the depopulation of earth, and that the countries he is dealing with want to kill off large segments of their own populations.
He realizes that given the opportunity to do so, the west will feed its populations into the meatgrinder just the same as the leaders in Ukraine have done.
He realizes that despite the fact that his military may be able to kill 5 to 1 of the enemy, when you are talking about countries that could feed hundreds of millions of troops into this meat grinder, he will eventually deplete his own population.
How do you deal with people who are so evil, they are hell bent on murder / suicide?
By giving them exactly what they’ve asked for in a way they never thought to look for.
Kill them ALL. It’s the only way to be certain.
No hesitation. No mercy. No regrets.
“Just Do It”
With all due respect, I think Putin knew, from past experience, exactly what he was dealing with as far as Western leaders. I believe he is conducting this war the way that he is so as to damage NATO (the U.S.) as much as he can using the least Russian resources. At times I, like PCR, question why Putin has not gone further into Ukraine, but I do believe that Putin is a very crafty and smart leader. He is the exact opposite of FJB and his 0bama administration.
The Wagner Gambit was a fucking master stroke of genius! The ultimate wild card in the deck…and totally expendable to boot!
Russia annexed the regions they are fighting in. According to Russia, all direct military action is happening in Russia at the moment. Obviously they are also blowing stuff up in Ukraine, but the ground war is IN Russia.
This may be because there are some restrictions in the Russian constitution about what type of soldiers can be used outside Russia, and the types (conscripts I believe) that can only be used in defense of Russian territory. Not a problem if you stay inside your new borders.
Just from memory. Could be mistaken.
Either way, Russian artillery, drones and air power seems to be wiping out the Ukes men rapidly. No men, no resistance to moving forward. If it take six months for Russia to wipe the rest out, it seems reasonable to do so. IMO.
At least Putin RESPECTS his country’s Constitution!!!
crickets from all American politicians, judges and plebs!
You have to admire anyone who freely elects to play by established rules!
Agreed.
PCR’s positions and views are based in his history as a Cold Warrior in the Ronald Reagan Administration. He sees things through that lens; as a hard core died in the wool Republican loyalist who believes ignores the GOP’s decades long lust for war.
Sadly he is stoking the fires for more war, not less. Ukraine is losing we all know that. The US/NATO/EU axis of insanity doesn’t care, they want war and there is little Putin can do to stop their objectives short of nuking them off the planet. Everything the US and its European lap dogs are doing is setting the stage for WWIII and there is little Putin can do to stop it save preparing Russia for what is coming which he is doing.
The world is taking sides we see it in Africa where Victoria Nuland is making demands in Niger while the coup leaders turn to the Wagner Group ,which is already in Mali, for support. Is this situation going to turn out like her intrigue in Ukraine with a regional war?
The Global South and the Arabs are applying for membership in the BRICS alliance. The US is also instigating provocations in the South China Sea and the Pacific against China. The US misleadership is attempting to ignite a spark there because they need a war, any war to distract from the impending economic implosion the banksters have caused.
It is not Putin who is failing, it is the somnambulant Americans who allow psychopathic plutocrats to keep pushing the envelop towards global warfare, death and depopulation.
To summarize: PCR is an antiquated douchebag long past his expiration date.
I totally agree!
Perhaps Putin, unlike Roberts, has actually read Julius Caesar and remembers what happened to Brutus after he spoke those words.