Intermarkets' Privacy Policy
Support


Donate to Ace of Spades HQ!


Contact
Ace:
aceofspadeshq at gee mail.com
Buck:
buck.throckmorton at protonmail.com
CBD:
cbd at cutjibnewsletter.com
joe mannix:
mannix2024 at proton.me
MisHum:
petmorons at gee mail.com
J.J. Sefton:
sefton at cutjibnewsletter.com


Recent Entries
Absent Friends
Bandersnatch 2024
GnuBreed 2024
Captain Hate 2023
moon_over_vermont 2023
westminsterdogshow 2023
Ann Wilson(Empire1) 2022
Dave In Texas 2022
Jesse in D.C. 2022
OregonMuse 2022
redc1c4 2021
Tami 2021
Chavez the Hugo 2020
Ibguy 2020
Rickl 2019
Joffen 2014
AoSHQ Writers Group
A site for members of the Horde to post their stories seeking beta readers, editing help, brainstorming, and story ideas. Also to share links to potential publishing outlets, writing help sites, and videos posting tips to get published. Contact OrangeEnt for info:
maildrop62 at proton dot me
Cutting The Cord And Email Security
Moron Meet-Ups






















« Sunday Morning Book Thread - 11-03-2024 ["Perfessor" Squirrel] | Main | First-World Problems... »
November 03, 2024

Are We In The Endgame Of The Ukraine Fiasco? Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, General Dynamics, And Boeing Hardest Hit!

What a shock! Russia is slowly grinding up Ukraine's resources and army, which should surprise exactly nobody with two neurons to rub together.

This isn't an unexpected twist either. Russia is almost five times the size of Ukraine by population, and 10 times the size by GDP. And in a war in which both sides are using roughly the same tactics and strategy, the larger country will have the advantage.

The West is busily sending its own stocks of advanced weaponry to Ukraine, but the results are resoundingly disappointing. And that shouldn't be a surprise. The Ukrainian army is by now mostly conscripts, and advanced weaponry wielded by a barely-trained army may provide a modest advantage, but not a resounding one.

Russia makes substantial gains in Ukraine's east

October of 2024 was the most militarily successful month for Russia since July of 2022. After months of sustained pressure, and mostly stagnant front lines, Russian troops have broken through and made significant gains in the Donbas region of Ukraine. According to the New York Times, Russian forces have secured more than 160 square miles there, and are capturing strategic towns along the way.

It seems as though the next goal for Russians in the Donbas is to take the strategic rail town, Pokrovsk, which would seriously inhibit Ukraine's ability to resupply its forces in the region. Encirclement of this strategic city is likely as Ukraine has likely lost Selydove this week, a city which is only about 20 miles south of Pokrovsk.


It is tempting to assume that the West's technological advantage over Russian weaponry will save the day for the kleptocrats in Kiev (Kkyyeeevv?), much like the Israeli technological advantage over the terrorists in Iran, Gaza, Lebanon, and elsewhere. But those Israeli soldiers are very well trained, are drawn from a technologically advanced country, and are immensely patriotic. And most of all, the Israeli battle doctrine rarely calls for set battles on defined fronts, preferring to bring force to bear only after developing good intelligence and preparing the battle space. Ukraine does not have that luxury, or possibly even the ability.

Sadly, the West is quite happy to fight to the last Ukrainian soldier, even when the reality is that Russia will probably hold some of Ukraine regardless of future battles. Absent NATO troops and WWIII, is there any rational scenario that ends with a Russian withdrawal to the status quo ante bellum?

One of the many flaws in American and Western foreign policy is the inability to understand the other side. The military theorist Liddell Hart wrote about understanding "the other side of the hill," which is nothing more than what and why the other side is thinking.

The Russian psyche is not complicated. Why does the West not understand that an expansion of NATO to the borders of Russia is a direct challenge to the Russian bear? Fomenting political revolution in a country on Russia's border is a threat in the minds of the Russian political class and, probably, in the minds of its people. This goes back to at least 2008, when George Bush offered NATO membership to Ukraine and Georgia. The Obama administration had a hand in the 2014 Ukrainian revolution that got rid of Victor Yanukovych in favor of a more western oriented president.

How would America respond if Russia did the same thing in Mexico?

This is not an argument in support of Putin and his thuggish behavior and policies, but it is a recognition that in the absence of a clear strategic necessity for America, perhaps the best policy would be, "a pox on both their houses!"


[Crossposted at CutJibNewsletter]


digg this
posted by CBD at 12:00 PM

| Access Comments




Recent Comments
Lou Monte: "Dominic The Donkey is my perennial favorite. ..."

Boron Cobbie - women can't be incels, it's impossible: "This insurance company ceo murderer makes me think ..."

Don Black: "Obama's 3rd term ends soon, there's no reason to h ..."

J.J. Sefton: " My affection for Christmas music goes back to ..."

Northernlurker , Maple Syrup MAGA : "This insurance company ceo murderer makes me think ..."

18-1: "[i]Re-Inflation Continues - November Consumer Pric ..."

SMOD: "180 Dead: Haitian Warlord Orders Massacre Of Elder ..."

Boron Cobbie - women can't be incels, it's impossible: "I heard the other day that the song, made in 79, h ..."

Sponge - F*ck Cancer: "[i]Worst Christmas song... Do they Know It's Chris ..."

Inogame: "Good morning, J.J. Good morning, Horde. ..."

davidt: "When someone mentions a bad Christmas song it plan ..."

Sponge - F*ck Cancer: "[i]It's Christmas time in Hollis, Queens Mom's co ..."

Recent Entries
Search


Polls! Polls! Polls!
Frequently Asked Questions
The (Almost) Complete Paul Anka Integrity Kick
Top Top Tens
Greatest Hitjobs

The Ace of Spades HQ Sex-for-Money Skankathon
A D&D Guide to the Democratic Candidates
Margaret Cho: Just Not Funny
More Margaret Cho Abuse
Margaret Cho: Still Not Funny
Iraqi Prisoner Claims He Was Raped... By Woman
Wonkette Announces "Morning Zoo" Format
John Kerry's "Plan" Causes Surrender of Moqtada al-Sadr's Militia
World Muslim Leaders Apologize for Nick Berg's Beheading
Michael Moore Goes on Lunchtime Manhattan Death-Spree
Milestone: Oliver Willis Posts 400th "Fake News Article" Referencing Britney Spears
Liberal Economists Rue a "New Decade of Greed"
Artificial Insouciance: Maureen Dowd's Word Processor Revolts Against Her Numbing Imbecility
Intelligence Officials Eye Blogs for Tips
They Done Found Us Out, Cletus: Intrepid Internet Detective Figures Out Our Master Plan
Shock: Josh Marshall Almost Mentions Sarin Discovery in Iraq
Leather-Clad Biker Freaks Terrorize Australian Town
When Clinton Was President, Torture Was Cool
What Wonkette Means When She Explains What Tina Brown Means
Wonkette's Stand-Up Act
Wankette HQ Gay-Rumors Du Jour
Here's What's Bugging Me: Goose and Slider
My Own Micah Wright Style Confession of Dishonesty
Outraged "Conservatives" React to the FMA
An On-Line Impression of Dennis Miller Having Sex with a Kodiak Bear
The Story the Rightwing Media Refuses to Report!
Our Lunch with David "Glengarry Glen Ross" Mamet
The House of Love: Paul Krugman
A Michael Moore Mystery (TM)
The Dowd-O-Matic!
Liberal Consistency and Other Myths
Kepler's Laws of Liberal Media Bias
John Kerry-- The Splunge! Candidate
"Divisive" Politics & "Attacks on Patriotism" (very long)
The Donkey ("The Raven" parody)
Powered by
Movable Type 2.64