Russia's war in Ukraine

This is a pretty great article for people interested in what was happening in regards to Russia / NATO tensions almost a decade ago.

The article is from 2016 and predates the ultra politicization of nearly EVERYTHING, offering a unique perspective that is rarely found today. 

It's from the LA Times, a paper that in recent times has been EXTREMELY ultra-Left and disingenuous and yet this article takes a very central political position and is well balanced. 

The writer is Joshua R. Itzkowitz Shifrinson

His credentials: Associate Professor of International Relations, Boston University

Joshua R. Itzkowitz Shifrinson's teaching and research interests focus on the intersection of international security and diplomatic history, particularly the rise and fall of great powers and the origins of grand strategy. He has special expertise in great power politics since 1945 and U.S. engagement in Europe and Asia.



Op-Ed: Russia’s got a point: The U.S. broke a NATO promise

Moscow solidified its hold on Crimea in April, outlawing the Tatar legislature that had opposed Russia’s annexation of the region since 2014. Together with Russian military provocations against NATO forces in and around the Baltic, this move seems to validate the observations of Western analysts who argue that under Vladimir Putin, an increasingly aggressive Russia is determined to dominate its neighbors and menace Europe.

Leaders in Moscow, however, tell a different story. For them, Russia is the aggrieved party. They claim the United States has failed to uphold a promise that NATO would not expand into Eastern Europe, a deal made during the 1990 negotiations between the West and the Soviet Union over German unification. In this view, Russia is being forced to forestall NATO’s eastward march as a matter of self-defense.

The West has vigorously protested that no such deal was ever struck. However, hundreds of memos, meeting minutes and transcripts from U.S. archives indicate otherwise. Although what the documents reveal isn’t enough to make Putin a saint, it suggests that the diagnosis of Russian predation isn’t entirely fair. Europe’s stability may depend just as much on the West’s willingness to reassure Russia about NATO’s limits as on deterring Moscow’s adventurism.

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In early February 1990, U.S. leaders made the Soviets an offer. According to transcripts of meetings in Moscow on Feb. 9, then-Secretary of State James Baker suggested that in exchange for cooperation on Germany, U.S. could make “iron-clad guarantees” that NATO would not expand “one inch eastward.” Less than a week later, Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev agreed to begin reunification talks. No formal deal was struck, but from all the evidence, the quid pro quo was clear: Gorbachev acceded to Germany’s western alignment and the U.S. would limit NATO’s expansion.

So the question is, what happened? 

Well, apparently this happened:

Nevertheless, great powers rarely tie their own hands. In internal memorandums and notes, U.S. policymakers soon realized that ruling out NATO’s expansion might not be in the best interests of the United States. By late February, Bush and his advisers had decided to leave the door open.

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Meanwhile, the US continued to double talk Russia:

At the same time, however, it appears the Americans still were trying to convince the Russians that their concerns about NATO would be respected. Baker pledged in Moscow on May 18, 1990, that the United States would cooperate with the Soviet Union in the “development of a new Europe.” And in June, per talking points prepared by the NSC, Bush was telling Soviet leaders that the United States sought “a new, inclusive Europe.”

I'd previously posted about Wagner Group's attempted coup against Putin.

Putin gave Wagner the freedom to travel to Belarus and his soldiers to sign papers pledging allegiance to the Russian army.

Putin is now raiding Yevgeny Prigozhin's belongings and has ordered the FSB to assassinated Prigozhin. 

The writeup and videos in the link is incredible an da far cry from anything you'll see on Left Wing Mainstream Media. 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CuU6VjXv6kA

Very interesting article on a new development with Russia's military:

Russian regions will soon have the authority to establish their own private military companies and arm them, according to the proposed amendments being rushed through the State Duma. 1/5 (thread with multiple posts)

This news is a bit of a crossover, but it's interesting that Taiwan foreign money is now being pushed through a Ukraine budget. 

There has been increasing reporting that the US is slowly headed toward a multi-sided war against Russia / China and possibly North Korea and Iran at the same time. 

This would be the first time the US has ever fought a multi-sided war and there are concerns that the US may not be able to fund and keep all of those fronts effective should they engage in multiple wars. 

Certain, the world seems to be headed in that direction as countries continue to unite over pro or anti American sentiment. 

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cvc3q1NxhU7

Prigozhin is now presumed dead from a fatal plane crash. 

Wow.

Douglas Macgregor, Colonel U.S. Army, Ph.D. Key points from interview with Tucker.

Why Russia was moving slowly.