this really belongs in the war thread but thought i'd post it here they're so synergystic
The awkward meeting didn’t produce the ceremonial signing or the joint press conference.
It appears that the U.S. military leadership took Vladimir Putin's warning about this escalation seriously. His words are worth pondering carefully:
“There is an attempt to substitute concepts. Because we are not talking about authorizing or banning the Kiev regime from striking across the entire territory. They are already striking with the help of drones and other means. ... The Ukrainian army is not able to strike with modern long-range precision systems of Western manufacture. It cannot do this. It can only do so using intelligence from satellites, which Ukraine does not have. This is data only from EU satellites or from the United States in general, from NATO satellites. … And so this is not about allowing the Ukrainian regime to strike. It is about deciding whether NATO countries are directly involved or not. If this decision is made, it will mean nothing other than the direct participation of NATO countries, the United States, European countries in the war in Ukraine. This is their direct participation. And this already, of course, significantly changes the very essence, the nature of the conflict. This would mean that NATO, US and the European countries, the United States are at war with Russia. If that is the case, then bearing in mind the change in the very essence of this conflict, we will take appropriate decisions based on the threats that will be posed to us.”
According to some sources, Putin’s warning was reinforced through back-channel communications between the Russian military leadership and their American counterparts who understand that they were being pushed over the edge of total war. In response, it seems that the American military leadership took over the conduct of the US foreign policy, both in terms of military and diplomatic affairs. State Secretary Blinken and his merry band of Neocons appear to have been sidelined. This is why the US-UK agreement to escalate against Russia didn’t get the Blaster’s signature.
The change in leadership could also be felt in the Middle East. General Michael E. Kurilla, the head of U.S. Central Command visited Israel last week (the second time in a week's interval), apparently also to announce a new policy. Allegedly, he informed the Israelis that if they provoke a war against Hezbollah or against Iran, the U.S. will not come to their aid: they're on their own.
The palace coup at the White House wasn’t officially announced and it almost certainly won't be. We will probably only know of these changes with time, by observing the pattern of events. If the U.S. policy really changes course in a substantive way, this would corroborate that the coup did indeed take place. This may seem inconceivable, but it shouldn’t be. Secretary Blinken has been conducting a truly insane foreign policy, inflicting massive damage to the United States in material, strategic as well as reputational terms. Such conduct would unavoidably provoke disapproval and opposition within the ranks of the American defense and foreign policy establishments.
When Hitler’s general staff mutinied in 1938
The latest escalation, concocted with the British, would put the U.S. in severe jeopardy. The burden of coping with the resulting fallout would fall squarely on the military. At the same time, it remains unclear what, if anything, could be gained from Starmer's and Blinken's reckless adventurism. This is a textbook recipe for provoking a mutiny, and such mutinies do tend to happen at critical junctures throughout history.
For example, when, on 21 April 1938 Hitler ordered General Wilhelm Keitel to draft plans to invade Czechoslovakia, German military brass were deeply alarmed – so much so that a group of top commanders, clustered around Hitler’s Chief of the General Staff, General Ludwig Beck, hatched a three phase strategy to disrupt Hitler’s reckless pursuit: (1) they would try to dissuade Hitler from pursuing his plans; (2) they implored the British to stand firmly by Czechoslovakia and warn Hitler that Britain would oppose him; and (3) if Hitler persisted in his resolve to wage war, they would proceed to assassinate him. The date for this act was set for September 28, 1938.
Of course, General Beck and his General Staff had no idea that it was exactly the British who were maneuvering Germany to war (though not against Czechoslovakia but against the USSR), just as they are maneuvering the U.S. to war today. In fact, the most recent episode hopefully helped dispel the idea that the imperial adventures are all hatched in the U.S. and that the UK is only being dragged along reluctantly, their only fault being their unshakeable, steadfast loyalty.
recall frank zappa saying they'd take the illusion down and we'd see the brick wall back of the theatre. the illusion is really really thin right now, like frayed tissue paper. epoch changing disaster is in prospect i'd say
