Monday, September 21, 2020

Links — 21 Sep 2020

Caitlin Johnstone — Rogue Journalist
‘Confirmed’ Has Become A Meaningless Word In Mainstream News Reporting
Caitlin Johnston

Sputnik International (not so hybrid warfare)
Pompeo Announces US Sanctions on Venezuela's Maduro, Iran's Ministry of Defence

Sputnik International (Civil war watch)
US DoJ Brands New York, Portland, and Seattle as Cities That Permit 'Anarchy'

Sputnik International (START and stop)
Russian Deputy FM Says It's Unlikely That New START Treaty Will be Prolonged

Sputnik International (playing defense versus offense, but MAD requires real deterrence)
Russia Will Find Efficient Ways to Defend Itself if New START Not Extended, Envoy to UN Says

TASS
Russia has no fear of potential US sanctions over arms deals with Iran — senior diplomat

2 comments:

Peter Pan said...

So when exactly is the US military going to get its ass kicked by China or Russia?
I mean, smaller countries have done it...

Tom Hickey said...

There are two aspects of defense that pertain to Russia and China. First, they don't have to win an encounter, just make the cost unacceptably high for the US to engage, like take down a carrier or two. Secondly, MAD. Iran doesn’t yet have the second, but it most likely can impose a significantly high cost, like taking down some US bases in the region and targeting Sunni oil and gas.

Of course any attempt to conduct a land war against any or all of these would not be similar to Vietnam, Afghanistan or Iraq.

The military will likely explain all this to the president. When Trump wanted to attack Russian troops in Syria, DefSec Mattis asked him if he was willing to lose a carrier with 5000 men aboard and what he would do about it.