Politics

[Red Leg]

Really good analysis in interview form of the war and potential outcome.

His biography of Stalin "Stalin: Paradoxes in Power" is really worth the read if interested in that period of history.

How the War in Ukraine Ends

An eminent historian envisions a settlement among Russia, Ukraine, and the West.

www.newyorker.com

 

[Denvir Tire]

That was worth reading, thanks

 

[mdwest]

 

[Randy F]

Really good analysis in interview form of the war and potential outcome.

His biography of Stalin "Stalin: Paradoxes in Power" is really worth the read if interested in that period of history.

How the War in Ukraine Ends

An eminent historian envisions a settlement among Russia, Ukraine, and the West.

www.newyorker.com

He really spells out how nobody really "wins". Just who has to lick their wounds the longest before standing back up.

Good read, thanks.

 

[Red Leg]

He really spells out how nobody really "wins". Just who has to lick their wounds the longest before standing back up.

Good read, thanks.

I thought so as well. Clearly, neither of these militaries has the power to dictate peace in the other's capital. That has been clear with respect to Ukraine from the outset. One can only hope that it is finally sinking into the Putin's head also. His promised February offensive has been pretty much a one-sided bloodbath for his infantry with essentially no ground gained. Armored vehicle losses, which Russia is having ever more difficulty sustaining, have also been severe over the last couple of weeks. By the middle of next month, first of April at the latest, the mud returns.

 

[Randy F]

I thought so as well. Clearly, neither of these militaries has the power to dictate peace in the other's capital. That has been clear with respect to Ukraine from the outset. One can only hope that it is finally sinking into the Putin's head also. His promised February offensive has been pretty much a one-sided bloodbath for his infantry with essentially no ground gained. Armored vehicle losses, which Russia is having ever more difficulty sustaining, have also been severe over the last couple of weeks. By the middle of next month, first of April at the latest, the mud returns.

I do feel for the young men he keeps throwing into the grinder. He thinks he's got the biggest, most powerful engine and his idea of maintenance is just changing the oil. He keeps pouring in the new oil but doesn't realize that nobody put the plug back in the pan.

 

[mdwest]

Really good analysis in interview form of the war and potential outcome.

His biography of Stalin "Stalin: Paradoxes in Power" is really worth the read if interested in that period of history.

How the War in Ukraine Ends

An eminent historian envisions a settlement among Russia, Ukraine, and the West.

www.newyorker.com

Im typically not a big fan of any academics review on wars/warfare (as someone in the final phase of completing a doctorate, Im sadly even less impressed with academics/academia today than I ever have been).. but this was an insightful read.. well thought out.. and easy to follow.... thanks for the link @Red Leg !

 

[Wheels]

It is reassuring knowing the leaders of NATO got their military knowledge from studying 20 century sci fi. This helps tremendously when facing down a nuclear power. *

*Yes I see the quotation marks. This is still cringeworthy.




NATO
@NATO

Ukraine is hosting one of the great epics of this century ❝We are Harry Potter and William Wallace, the Na’vi and Han Solo. We’re escaping from Shawshank and blowing up the Death Star. We are fighting with the Harkonnens and challenging Thanos.❞ [9/10]



ALT

3:27 AM · Feb 23, 2023
·
2.7M
Views

 

[Randy F]

It is reassuring knowing the leaders of NATO got their military knowledge from studying 20 century sci fi. This helps tremendously when facing down a nuclear power. *

*Yes I see the quotation marks. This is still cringeworthy.




NATO
@NATO

Ukraine is hosting one of the great epics of this century ❝We are Harry Potter and William Wallace, the Na’vi and Han Solo. We’re escaping from Shawshank and blowing up the Death Star. We are fighting with the Harkonnens and challenging Thanos.❞ [9/10]

ALT

3:27 AM · Feb 23, 2023
·
2.7M
Views

Yeesh.
It's also unfortunate that a statement such as that is likely the only way the message is actually understood by way too much of the population.

 

[cpr0312]

 

[Randy F]

View attachment 519287

And himself

 

[fourfive8]

And himself

And Corn Pop

 

[Red Leg]

Streiff's latest update on the war from RedState. Pretty good summary. He takes a lot of grief on a conservative site from the neo-isolationist minions, but unlike most of them, he has an informed appreciation of both the operational art and the historical context of this conflict.

https://redstate.com/streiff/2023/0...-weapon-strikes-and-happy-anniversary-n704868

 

[spike.t]

Kinda like this

Proposed TN bill would expand concealed carry permits from handguns to all firearms

House Bill 1005, was met with opposition before the committee, from the legislative director for the Department of Safety, and a colonel for the Tennessee Highway Patrol.

www.wkrn.com

 

[Major Bonkers]

An interesting snippet from a 'Daily Mail' article; their reporter had spent two days with a Ukrainian artillery unit:

Other soldiers said many of their donated shells were very old, showing me pictures of an American missile dated 1958 — when Dwight D. Eisenhower was in the White House and Elvis Presley had released Jailhouse Rock.

'These are antiques,' said Mykhailo, 41, a businessman before mobilisation last June and another of the commanders. 'But the problem is not the age of the weapons but the range of shooting. The older weapons are short-range. We have to move close and become like the infantry — and the closer we go, the more dangerous it is. It is like a suicide mission. When we go so close, even the mortar can reach us.'

The Ukrainian soldiers said while they had enough shorter-range shells, which can travel about five miles, they were down to just nine longer-range ones that can hit both targets 25 miles away and anti-aircraft defences.

Obviously, the value of that Eisenhower-era 'missile' has long ago been depreciated down to zero and, insofar as it was being stored, was actually costing the US taxpayer money to store it, semi-obsolete as it is. In the fulness of time, its place in the warehouse will be taken with an up-to-date replacement.

 

[John Wasmuth]

It’s on the internet so it’s got to be true….
According to this source they are getting some pretty nice stuff to make go boom

Weapons to Ukraine: Which countries have sent what?

Despite promises of arms transfers, Kyiv says it is still outgunned and is pleading for more heavy weapons.

www.aljazeera.com

 

[Wheels]

Did we get a sneak preview of Kuiu's new camouflage pattern for hunting in a banana plantation.

 

[Wheels]

 

[Red Leg]

An interesting snippet from a 'Daily Mail' article; their reporter had spent two days with a Ukrainian artillery unit:

Other soldiers said many of their donated shells were very old, showing me pictures of an American missile dated 1958 — when Dwight D. Eisenhower was in the White House and Elvis Presley had released Jailhouse Rock.

'These are antiques,' said Mykhailo, 41, a businessman before mobilisation last June and another of the commanders. 'But the problem is not the age of the weapons but the range of shooting. The older weapons are short-range. We have to move close and become like the infantry — and the closer we go, the more dangerous it is. It is like a suicide mission. When we go so close, even the mortar can reach us.'

The Ukrainian soldiers said while they had enough shorter-range shells, which can travel about five miles, they were down to just nine longer-range ones that can hit both targets 25 miles away and anti-aircraft defences.

Obviously, the value of that Eisenhower-era 'missile' has long ago been depreciated down to zero and, insofar as it was being stored, was actually costing the US taxpayer money to store it, semi-obsolete as it is. In the fulness of time, its place in the warehouse will be taken with an up-to-date replacement.

Interesting. I know of no such "missile" ever employed by the US Army with such short range. Nor has an older missile weapon system than HIMARS ( 90's era) been provided to Ukraine. It has nearly a fifty-mile range.

There was a nuclear delivery missile system in the fifties called the Davey Crocket that fired a small tactical nuclear device around five miles (duck and close your eyes tightly), but it was junked more than fifty years ago.

 

[Red Leg]

It’s on the internet so it’s got to be true….
According to this source they are getting some pretty nice stuff to make go boom

Weapons to Ukraine: Which countries have sent what?

Despite promises of arms transfers, Kyiv says it is still outgunned and is pleading for more heavy weapons.

www.aljazeera.com

I struggle with what point you are making. It is a very limited list and for what it is, reasonably accurate.

The vast majority of the listed equipment is best utilized in a defense. What you do not see listed are the components of a mobile combined arms team capable of making and exploiting a breakthrough in the Russian lines. Towed howitzers are effective in the defense, but hardly the best choice for fire support during mobile operations.

The UA is firing perhaps an eighth to a quarter of the artillery rounds of their adversary, but they are still firing 4-7K a day. You can do the math.

The artillery we and Europe have given them total roughly eight battalions of mixed types. Of those, only three are tracked SP artillery battalion equivalents capable of supporting combined arms maneuver operations.

Not listed in the article are the few tanks and modern infantry fighting vehicles promised by the US and other NATO partners. To date, they have been making do with MRAP type vehicles such as the Australian Bushmaster and ancient Western armored personnel carriers like the M113 which we last used to move troops in combat in Vietnam.

It would be useful to know what if any strategic vision the administration is following with regard to weapons deliveries. To date it seems to be focused on trying to prevent the Ukrainians from losing. If so, it is shortsighted nonsense. Without the weapons and fire support necessary for offensive operations, Ukraine is force to fight a war of attrition. That is a war they can not sustain indefinitely nor likely win.