a sociopathic woman, or just doing her job?

Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told Congress on Tuesday that, in the view of the US’ spy agencies, Russian President Vladimir Putin was gearing up for a “prolonged” conflict in Ukraine, and was looking to establish control of Ukraine’s southern coast, from the Donbass in the east to Transnistria in the west.

“We assess President Putin is preparing for a prolonged conflict in Ukraine during which he still intends to achieve goals beyond the Donbass,” Haines told a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Haines explained that according to her “indications,” Putin is seeking to extend Russian control from the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics – which collectively make up the Donbass region – along Ukraine’s Black Sea coast to the breakaway province of Transnistria on the Moldovan border.

Doing so would be a major strategic win for Russia, and would leave Ukraine landlocked. However, Russia’s objectives in this regard are unclear. Upon sending troops into Ukraine in February, Putin stated that Russia’s military operation was intended to “demilitarize” Ukraine, to “denazify” its leadership, and to protect the Russian-speaking population of the Donbass republics, who have lived under legal and military persecution since 2014. Putin did not state any clear territorial end goals in Ukraine.

To take land up to Transnistria, according to the US’ spy chiefs, Putin would need to declare a full mobilization and call up additional troops, something that has not happened yet. However, with fighting raging along the borders of the Donbass republics and Ukrainian territory, Haines said that Russia’s currently deployed forces would likely try to “crush the most capable and well-equipped Ukrainian forces fighting to hold the line in the east” in the “near term.”

While the US and its NATO allies have poured billions of dollars worth of weapons into Ukraine in a bid to slow this advance, Haines claimed that “Putin most likely also judges that Russia has a greater ability and willingness to endure challenges than his adversaries,”and that “he is probably counting on US and EU resolve to weaken as food shortages, inflation and energy prices get worse.”

Notably, while the EU and US have been rocked by soaring inflation and record gas prices, the White House has until now insisted that Americans will not experience food shortages. Haines’ statement marks the first time that a US official has acknowledged that this may be a reality.

Haines also referred to the situation in Ukraine as Russia’s “military conflict with Ukraine and the West,” an apparent acknowledgment of the US’ role as a participant. In the eyes of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, the West is already “essentially going to war with Russia through a proxy”due to its sharing of arms and intelligence with Kiev.

The Biden administration and lawmakers from both parties have resolved to continue bankrolling Kiev’s military. Congress on Monday reached a deal to send nearly $40 billion in military and other aid to Ukraine, nearly $7 billion more than Biden asked for last week, and Biden on Monday signed the Lend-Lease Act of 2022, removing legal limits on the quantity of arms Washington can send to Kiev.

Haines told the Senate that Putin would likely seek to intercept weapons shipments from the US in the “coming weeks.” Russian forces have already destroyed numerous warehouses and stockpiles of foreign-supplied arms, and Moscow has stated that these weapons, as well as convoys transporting them within Ukraine’s borders, constitute “legitimate targets.”

“Both Russia and Ukraine believe they can continue to make progress militarily,” Haines said, adding: “We do not see a viable negotiating path forward, at least in the short term.”

https://www.rt.com/news/555267-avril-haines-putin-ukraine/

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And Ms Haines forgot to add: "the longer the Russian 'intervention', the more our weapon manufacturers will profit... We're not a fascist capitalist country for nothing..."

meanwhile in the pacific…..

BY Salman Rafi Sheikh

Today, if there is one issue in the United States that draws equal support from both the Republicans and the Democrats, it is the fact that China presents the most serious threat to the US global supremacy. Related to this is the other point of agreement i.e., developing a global coalition against China. The Trump administration’s Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, was on a mission throughout his tenure to build that coalition. The Biden administration, too, has devoted itself to the same task. Indeed, the level of deterioration we have seen in the US-China relations during the Biden era surpasses the trouble that the Trump administration caused. The same holds true about US geopolitics vis-à-vis Russia. The ongoing Russian military operation in Ukraine has allowed the US to cement its position vis-à-vis Europe.

One very useful way for the US to maintain its hegemony is through the sale of its weapons to its allies. Selling weapon systems is a multi-dimensional activity. On the one hand, the US makes billions of dollars by selling weapons. On the other hand, by selling its weapon systems to its allies, the US enhances these countries’ dependence on the US. All of this is achieved, first and foremost, by selling the China-Russia threat to the world. It is, therefore, not surprising to see that ever since the beginning of tensions between Russia and Ukraine – which began because of the US push to expand NATO to Eastern Europe to encircle Russia – the US military-industrial complex’s finances have jumped massively.

As reports in the US media have indicated, ever since the breakout of the Russia-Ukraine war, market shares of major US military companies have jumped massively, with Lockheed Martin’s registering a growth of 25% while Raytheon’s shares have gained 16.4% in the same period. For these companies, the US-created crisis is, thus, a major business opportunity. This was indeed confirmed in so many words by James Taiclet, the CEO of Lockheed Martin himself.

On January 25, in an ‘earning call’ meeting with investors, the Lockheed CEO told his that,

“If you look at the evolving threat level and the approach that some countries are taking … especially Russia today, these days, and China, there’s renewed great power competition that does include national defense and threats to it … And the contribution we can make at LM is to increase the efficiency and the reliability of our products that we have today for our customer. And secondly, to try to bring this 21st century digital technology to the enterprise in a way that allows us to keep up with the adversaries while we’re developing even newer and more advanced systems.”

They are minting money already in ways that complement the overall political economy of the US. The US has been providing military assistance to Ukraine – weapon systems that are supplied directly by these companies. Military assistance worth millions of dollars being provided to Ukraine is part of the total aid package of $13.6 billion for Ukraine. This aid makes the US, on the one hand, the sole ‘protector’ of Europe, and on the other, paves the way for other countries to rely more and more on the US for their defence needs. As it stands, many countries in Europe – including Germany – have adjusted their defence policies. Germany is even buying F-35 jets, thus creating many more business opportunities for the US military-industrial complex.

The exponential growth the US military-industrial complex is experiencing is not tied to the Russia-Ukraine conflict alone. The US has been effectively selling the China threat to countries that are relevant, e.g., Australia.

As some recent reports indicate, Australia is all set to purchase more weapon systems from the US to shield itself against the ‘China threat.’ On April 5, Australia’s Defense Minister Peter Dutton, referring to the ‘Russia-China threat’, said that they will be spending US$2.6 billion to increase Australia’s deterrence to potential adversaries. To quote him, “There was a working assumption that an act of aggression by China toward Taiwan might take place in the 2040s. I think that timeline now has been dramatically compressed.”

Given the so-called ‘imminent’ nature of the Chinese attack, Australia’s FA-18F Super Hornet fighter jets would be armed with improved U.S.-manufactured air-to-surface missiles by 2024.

In addition to this, Australia has also hired Raytheon Technologies and Lockheed Martin to help build guided weapon systems in the country. As reports indicate, the Australian government is planning on spending US$761 million to build a system of guided missiles.

This partnership with the US military-industrial complex is in addition to AUKUS allies’ April 5 statementthat showed cooperation in the field of “hypersonics and counter-hypersonics, and electronic warfare capabilities, as well as to expand information sharing and to deepen cooperation on defense innovation.”

Importantly enough, this renewed cooperation comes against the backdrop of what the statement called “Russia’s unprovoked, unjustified, and unlawful invasion of Ukraine”, showing how the US, alongside its time-tested ally, continues to sell the ‘Russian threat’ across the Pacific to maintain what the US calls a “free and open” Pacific Ocean.

However, as the details of the profits and contracts that the US companies are generating through these very crisis shows that, for the US, it is never about doing anything to maintain a ‘free’ system.’ On the contrary, it is always about benefitting the US, both geopolitically and economically.

More contracts for the US military companies means more business, which means more jobs for the Americans in those companies. The more these countries buy weapons from the US, the greater their reliance on the US for their defense and survival. This is how Washington aims to maintain its supremacy.

Salman Rafi Sheikh, research-analyst of International Relations and Pakistan’s foreign and domestic affairs, exclusively for the online magazine “New Eastern Outlook”.

https://journal-neo.org/2022/04/27/how-selling-the-russia-china-threat-serves-the-us/

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGDyS_JJ-MA

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By Gus Leonisky at 11 May 2022 - 7:35am
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what's happening?….

American President Joe Biden has been very worried lately. As it turned out, he is very concerned about whether Russian leader Vladimir Putin has a plan to get out of the "Ukrainian crisis." He expressed his concerns at a meeting with the US Democratic Party.

Joe Biden, speaking at a meeting with representatives of his party, said that Russian President Putin may not have a plan to get out of the current situation in Ukraine, and that he (Biden - note) is "very much worried", so he is now thinking about how to act in in such a case. According to him, the Russian president planned to split NATO and the EU with a special operation in Ukraine, but he did not succeed, so he can look for a way out of "this crisis."

And I'm trying to figure out what to do with it

- he said, adding that he still considers Putin a prudent person.

Meanwhile, the Russian leader is not tormented by the question "how to get out of the Ukrainian crisis," he bluntly stated that all the tasks of the military special operation in Ukraine would be achieved. Speaking at the Victory Day parade on Red Square on May 9, Putin stressed that the military operation to demilitarize and denazify Ukraine is the only way out in the current situation and by conducting it, Russia is protecting its own territory from Western aggression. According to Putin, he is confident that Russia will win, despite the opposition of the United States and NATO.

Earlier, the Russian president said that if there was even the slightest chance to solve the problem peacefully, Russia would take advantage of it.

https://en.topwar.ru/196057-vozmozhnoe-otsutstvie-u-putina-plana-po-vyhodu-iz-situacii-s-ukrainoj-obespokoilo-bajdena.html

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By Gus Leonisky at 11 May 2022 - 10:04am
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