Category Archives: Military

Speaking of NATO

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As I pointed out in the previous post, Trump never liked NATO and didn’t want to be tied down by those strategic alliances. This article from Politico shows it clearly, reporting on a time Trump said exactly that to world leaders while he was President. Trump vowed he’d ‘never’ help Europe if it’s attacked, top EU official says ‘By the way NATO is dead,’ the former (and potential future) US president added in private meeting. BRUSSELS — One of Europe’s most senior politicians recounted how former U.S. President Donald Trump privately warned that America would not come to the EU’s … Continue reading →

Thinking about the Korean Peninsula

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If you’re not familiar with Pod Save the World from Crooked Media, it is where Tommy Vietor and Ben Rhodes, both of whom worked in the Obama administration, discuss world politics and all sorts of other affairs. It’s consistently interesting and informative, one of my favorite podcasts and I recommend it to you without reservation. Embedded below is the episode from January 10, 2024. If I’ve done this right it’s cued up to 51:35, towards the end of a discussion of Russia’s war on Ukraine, and the fact that North Korea is currently supplying Russia with a lot of heavy … Continue reading →

Now there are tanks

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Believe me I am aware of how strange it may seem that I, an old-fashioned peace activist who spent years working with Quaker pacifists, stand 100% with Ukraine as it wages a war of self-defense. My approach to this situation arises from discussions I’ve had with other activists about the nature of pacifist beliefs, and what it means to engage in nonviolent resistance. The discussions back then mostly focused on objections from those of us who were committed to a feminist vision of the future, a vision that definitely included the right of women to defend ourselves from predation. But … Continue reading →

The liberation of Kherson

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Kherson, the largest Ukrainian city that Russia managed to occupy, has been fully liberated and returned to Ukrainian control. Kherson was always a site of fierce resistance, resistance that was met with brutality (gift link). Atrocities of this sort have been found everywhere the Russians took over, but in Kherson they were particularly widespread. Witnesses recount detentions, torture, disappearances in occupied Kherson …Days after Russian forces fled in retreat, surrendering the only regional capital Russia had managed to seize since the start of its invasion, the horrors that occurred in this stately 18th-century port city are just starting to come … Continue reading →

The Ukrainian advances around Kharkiv

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Over the past few days Ukrainian forces have moved swiftly, regaining several towns and a lot of land near Kharkiv. It is possible that this will be decisive in turning this war around at last. At the very least, Russian forces are looking very weak. From what you’ll read below, it is clear that Ukraine itself has no intention of stopping while Russians still occupy their land, but how Putin might react to these events is still uncertain. Faster and Furiouser: Ukraine’s Forces Take Back Kharkiv Oblast and More …the narrative in Ukraine has changed in huge way over the … Continue reading →

HIMARS

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An image from occupied #Kherson where Ukrainian resistance is active and waiting for the #UkrainianArmy: "Occupier, go homeor HIMARS will show you the way" pic.twitter.com/AzQkLcqS5k — Victoria Amelina 🇺🇦 (@vamelina) July 27, 2022 From the BBC: West’s modern weapons halt Russia’s advance in Donbas The US and Europe have sent a number of HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems) to the Ukrainian army, and they are using the systems most effectively. Russia has very little in the way of defense against these very lethal, highly mobile truck-mounted rockets. Countries such as Poland and Estonia, also at risk of attack, have … Continue reading →

About that agreement on the Ukrainian grain shipments

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It does seem that mistrusting Russia is still the smartest position to take. #Ukraine 🇺🇦: Russian missiles struck the port of #Odesa today. By attacking the port the #Kremlin is making sure no captain dares to dock at the ports, meaning the Russians are actively sabotaging the grain deal they signed. pic.twitter.com/tB2rCdW5IU — Thomas van Linge (@ThomasVLinge) July 23, 2022

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Aftermath of Mariupol

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Mariupol was turned into a cemetery. Mass burials on city outskirts, graves in front of residential buildings, thousands left under the rubble. Death toll is unimaginable, number of lives ruined is uncountable. Russia’s main export is death & destruction.pic.twitter.com/i8tikLyfpW — Oleksiy Sorokin (@mrsorokaa) June 11, 2022

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Russia must be stopped

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Ukraine has an absolute right to exist, and to defend itself from Russian aggression. I want to be clear where I stand on that. The war on Ukraine is entirely Putin’s doing and could stop in an instant if Putin simply packed up his troops and went home. Now that it’s clear Putin’s attempt to overtake Kyiv has failed there are fewer dramatic images to show, and the long slog of war in eastern Ukraine near Donetsk will clearly be ongoing, perhaps for a very long time. This isn’t a subject I feel competent to discuss, for the most part, … Continue reading →