78 Comments
Apr 25, 2022·edited Apr 25, 2022

But the US is sprinting into bankruptcy by killing it's energy independence, crippling it's manufacturing, destroying it's farmland, debilitating it's military and depleting it's weapons supplies.

It is also losing whatever advantage the petrodollar gave it, by choosing to enforce sanctions against Russia and pissing off the other countries that may once have helped.

The more I learn about this war, while also looking back at others, the more I realise that America has been the bad guy for a very long time.

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No mystery there. Putin started the war because the men behind the curtain told him to and he is fighting it the way the men behind the curtain want him to. Putin has been put in. He's got to dance to the music or he'll be put out. Meanwhile the war is on everyone. Figure out how you're going to feed, heat, and clothe yourself outside the system in the coming years or you'll be done for.

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1) I respectfully DISAGREE with the ENTIRE premise of this question and opinion hit piece of Russia's "special military operation". The way the hit piece was written makes me seriously doubt Riley or Marko have been to Crimea especially when labeling Crimea "a trick" like a one trick pony. I have been to Crimea twice and I can attest that ALL the people I spoke to really appreciate being reunified with Russia.

2) Russia (and Belarus where I live) ALREADY had their "great reset" in 1991 when the the Soviet money became worthless. Russians and Belarusians SHOULD improvise and intelligently plan how to first stabilize their own personal situation and then strengthen their personal situation day by day like I am doing. I have LOST more money than Riley and Marko COMBINED ($40K) however I realize Russia's "special military operation" was necessary for Russia's national security. I REFUSE to woe and wallow in the mire by trashing Russia's "special military operation" as a personal vendetta.

3) This article failed (in my personal opinion) to show any vision of the future if Russia had NOT conducted this "special military operation". First, Ukraine WOULD have military solved the Donetsk and Lugansk problem THIS YEAR REGARDLESS. Second, Ukraine would be emboldened to military solve the Crimea problem with a false flag under NATO membership in 10 years time in by 2032. So either have this "special military operation" NOW or world war 3 by 2032.

4) Trying to mix apples and oranges was a smooth move. Nice try. I totally agree with you when it comes to this SCAMDEMIC and President Putin and United Russia political party and the Sputnik injection poison. However WHY did you NOT mention the 30 biological labs that Russia's "special military operation" brought to light? Spraying aerosol poison courtesy of Ukraine via drone inside of Russia would have been a REAL possibility. Was this willful neglect or oversight?

5) The Russian oligarchs who invested overseas outside Russia are the biggest losers. Why NOT mention that? 2 Russian oligarch families (1 in Spain I believe and 1 near Moscow) have either committed suicide or have been murdered. Maybe, just maybe, this "special military operation" will have a positive effect in FORCING Russian oligarchs to INVEST IN RUSSIA!

6) Yes, there are very SERIOUS mistakes and failures in this "special military operation". However the main reason why this "special military operation" is going so slow is because Russia is taking village by village for a minimum loss of life. Yes, all loss of life is a tragedy. Also, the snail pace is mostly due to Ukraine violating LOAC (Law of Armed Combat) and the Geneva Convention by using civilians as human shields and civilian buildings as firing positions.

7) I could go on however I think I have at least sparked a discussion with those who support this "special military operation". And besides it is after midnight in Belarus and I am going to bed. Riley knows I appreciate his intellect so I hope my constructive criticism on our difference of opinion about this "special military operation" is taken with a grain of salt as my 2 cents for what my opinion is worth (if that).

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Paul Craig Roberts has warned of similar things, as the way the war is being fought is not going to end well for either side. Perhaps that was part of the plan, knowing that Russia pushed the COVID nonsense and jabs as much as the west.

https://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2022/04/14/the-kremlin-has-missed-the-opportunity-to-end-the-provocations-of-russia-that-are-bringing-the-world-to-nuclear-war/

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Interesting article, though it seems to mostly ignore the elephant in the room, which is the probable pivotal role of the globalist elite in this. In my view, all visible parties are following orders from this globalist elite and there is a lot of evidence for this. If indeed this is so, are Russia's real political masters the same as the West's? Or are they a different 'faction'? My view is that they're the same, and always have been the same. If the entire Ukraine situation is being stage managed, what is the real purpose behind it all? Accelerated wealth transfer? Part of the global reset (aka creation of a global slave state)? Whatever the answer, I don't think it's meant to be good for the people of Russia or of the West.

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I was expecting a balanced article but quickly found myself scrolling to find a premise that was backed by fact. Marco thinks Russia started a war against NATO but NATO has been playing provocateur for two decades. They exhausted all diplomatic avenues and felt it was now that gave them the most advantage. Given we now know Ukraine was planning an invasion into DPR. As far as US funding goes. The days of printing $ indiscriminately is over. We're almost to the point where other nations are not going to want US dollars. Inflation & shortages will be realized shortly. Secondly the US won't have a Ukrainian military to arm. 60k to 80k of the Ukraine military are encircled cut off from reinforcements. Five rail stations and two bridges were blown up this morning. The east is cut off and the sky is controlled by Russia in the western part of Ukraine. Russia didn't want this war they wanted assimilation into NATO, and found they were the object of destruction.

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In military terms, this was may seem like nonsense. But in terms of an Orwellian world order, it's perfectly logical. Both the US and Russia get to have a "war" with minimal consequences which can last forever, and that's the point, being able to bombard the populace with constant war news, reminder that "we're in a war," and another excuse for imposing the Great Reset policies.

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If you look at the actual results of this conflict, it's clearer what is happening and why:

1) NATO offloading current and obsolete equipment to Ukraine, replaced at taxpayer expense with new.

2) "a new security paradigm in Europe" Let's spend more annually on military, implement digital IDs etc.

3) Fear of WWIII and "nukes" makes the population easy to control, the sequel to COVID

4) Blame it on the War: Food production crisis (Russia/Ukraine makes 30% global wheat etc.), energy crisis (gas, electricity)

5) Clash of cultures - relocation of refugees to affluent Western countries.

6) Rebuilding Ukraine - how many "building contractors" are lining up for those juicy pickings of taxpayers money?

It's a forever war, and Russia is in on it.

With this mindset, it's clear WHY Putin hasn't done a lightning strike and rolled into and taken over Kyiv and the rest of Ukraine. That's not in the plan.

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Yep, okay. So what?

Anything we can do?

Or you're just addressing Putin?

I think you're just addressing Putin. Telling him to put up or shut up. Fair enough.

I've got a wildcard thought of my own: what about if what Putin wants is simply a return to the Iron Curtain?

He's tried getting along with the West for decades and the West simply will not have it.

So put up a wall and let Putin and whatever friends he can find build their own world on that side of the wall.

After all this time all the pretended civility and cooperation has finally gotten too sickening - we can all relate to that can't we? There's some people, some groups, even some movies, that sicken us too much and we just turn away from them.

How about if Putin is just deliberately turning away?

His situation - despite your analysis prophesying inevitable decay and decline - could hardly be worse that what they face on an ongoing basis nowadays.

'Come the crunch' we say. How about if Putin has simply decided to orchestrate 'the crunch' ?

So now on his side he can build a new currency, a new 'petrodollar' a new trading regime, new alliances and programmes and be safe from American meddling, sabotage, influence, all participants knowing which side of the wall they are on.

And of course, in the real world, still get from the West whatever he wants whenever he wants it. There's never any shortage of those who'll help find a way around embargoes and such, is there?

There's plenty of people and nations that hate the West.

And many of them do it in secret, are duplicitous right now.

And then there's the cost to the West.

It is said in many, many quarters that the West is in its death throes.

That it cannot function much longer with its insane monetary system.

We have seen clearly in the last two years that it has an insane political 'leadership', too, that effectively the people are led by clowns and worse.

We have seen that our media is as bad or worse than anything we used to accuse soviet Russia of.

We have seen the people have no protection, no 'champions', nothing, no one on their side.

China has said for decades that the West was corrupt and rotten, effete, lost in hubris and self deception, a fool's paradise.

Two years of covid proved it. Two years of destroying our democracies as political systems and destroying their wealth and viability, trampling all over the people, and all in a hysterical panic about a phantom that never materalised and which we now swear we 'beat' by using a magic potion that no scientific metric can show produced any benefit.

What if Putin just looks at all that rottenness and says 'I've had enough.'. 'I'll call your bluff'.

The West is said right now by numerous commentators to be shooting itself in the foot with its actions, cutting itself off from needed resources and valuable trade.

If my neighbour hassles me with his noise and disturbances and bad behaviour, insults and abuse sufficiently I'll finish up just putting up the strongest wall between us that I can and sever all relations.

You can preach to me that it'd be nicer and more christian and more productive if I 'got along' with him but I know better.

The West, specifically the USA has been making war on Russia for decades.

Everyone knows that.

The West - the USA - has been (and still is) making war on everyone for decades.

So okay. Let it be clearly manifest.

Put a wall of steel up.

Let the Ukraine be an American satrapy. Let the USA destroy itself financing from a position of bankruptcy yet another war.

All the USA has is the dollar, essentially. And it is doing all it can to throw that away.

How much confidence in the dollar now?

Foreigners see clearly there's no safety in putting their money into the USA.

And now even the USA citizens see there's no safety for them, either. The last two years have shown us that the fashion today is for Western govt. to simply seize your money if they don't like anything you do - even a civil protest, a few trucks driving up a highway....

You can't speak out, you can't act, you can't think...

And you'd wonder why Putin might turn his back?

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Putin is a puppet like the rest of the other world leaders !

He got his marching orders from our overlords and is setting up the "1984" world of George Orwell and the iron curtain curtain is coming back for good this time !

Your coverage of the "covid crisis" in Russia totally convinced me we cannot escape them !

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Apr 29, 2022·edited Apr 29, 2022Liked by Edward Slavsquat

This is a great piece by Marko, Edward, with the deep understanding and analysis of the situation. Thanks for sharing that! People in Russia are beginning to ask the same question? If we are at war, are we actually going to fight? This article by Marko proves the point that there are people in the English speaking world capable of understanding of places like Russia. Also, there was something I read yesterday in Russian Telegram channels that I think is worth sharing. Two news item appeared yesterday: 1. Head of Federal Comptroller Office, Kudrin, a well known liberal in Russian government, announced that he is flying to Israel again (second time in 10 days) for medical treatment; 2. Kudrin's big friend, liberal Ulyukaev, former minister of Economic Development, jailed in 2017 for corruption was released from jail 4 years ahead of completing his sentence. People interpret that as Kudrin, one of the very few with direct access to Putin who didn't get sanctioned, was sent by Putin to negotiate the end to the special operation, but Kudrin demanded that as condition to doing that favor his buddy, Ulyukaev, must be released. Other observation, in Russia while mask mandates were largely lifted for common people, for meetings with Putin's presence they started to demand again that parliamentarians, ministers, governors and generals wear masks in his presence, no matter how far they are located away from presidential body.

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Well, the focus had to be on the upcoming war in Ukraine, so the sudden need to abandon Afghanistan is more understandable in hindsight

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Interesting notes, especially about the Dnieper bridges. But in fairness, much of it, especially about Russia's prospects for protracted economic war + strategic stalemate with NATO, have been obvious since the end of the USSR. Re. "what kind of 5D chess move can explain all this", well, how about the 1D chess strategy of making war mainly as a pretext to turn the screws at home? Yes, the USSR collapsed when there were bread queues - sanctions - and the pathetic hopes of Russian autarky - must worry Putin.

But the one thing Putin seems to have out-calculated Western observers on is that the tele-serfs rally behind a strongman in adversity. His thinking - if there is any rationality to it - may be that this simulacra Great Patriotic War atmosphere can be maintained if not indefinitely, then until some global economic cataclysm will come along and "equalize" the degree of cluster-fuckery abroad to that at home.

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Your bottom line is that the empire and its vassals, as you put it, are succedding and Russia is failing. Really? You just sound as another US propaganda agent inside Russia and in this article I think you lost your cool, so no need to comment any further.

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The Russians are winning. Not sure they will have the strength to take all of the Black Sea coast. That depends on how completely they destroy the core of the Ukrainian army in the Donbass. The only real miscalculation they have made is in underestimating the degree to which the Biden administration is pinning ALL it's hopes for November on prolonging the war.

At this point, I tend to agree with part of your article. Russia may have to mobilize to capture all of South Ukraine and be prepared for an extended conventional war with Nato. The results of such a war are completely unpredictable. But Russia should maximize production of long range missiles and start beefing up their air defense. It will take the better part of a year for the US to move significant forces to Europe. Russia will need to use that window to bombard American bases all across east and central Europe - particularly Germany.

Hopefully it does not come to that because ultimately, Russia would not prevail in a conventional fight with all of Nato - assuming Nato held together - Big IF - and would be faced with an option of going nuclear or being dissolved.

Putins unwillingness to mobilize maybe the vain hope that he can halt the cycle of escalation. But the reality is, the west will escalate as Russian victory comes into clearer focus in Twitter.

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Oh, Edvard. My instincts told me you would ultimately disappoint, and so you have.

Now one can actually watch you construct your strawmen before you place them in mufti and deploy them in print/online/whatever we call this 'blogosphere' stuff while the internet still works.

Putin/Russia aren't morally/ethically/executively perfect? I am SO shocked! Said lack of perfection doesn't justify fact-impoverished, innuendo-riven, misleading garbage worthy of the NYT or WaPo.

I'm glad you found a niche market by which to continue your career, and I recommend you stick to the covid thing. There you at least lead with facts not unsubstantiated insinuation. Trying to pretend that Putin is behaving illogically or derangedly or even incompetently, fail when the clearly stated aims of this "special military operation" (SMP) increasingly align with the plainly visible consequences of said SMP.

If ever I need proof that journalism is informational prostitution, I need only look closely at the journalists presenting themselves as honest alternatives to the mainstream media whoredom. Usually, exceptions are expected to prove the rule not adhere to it.

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