NATO Keeps Saying Things NATO Doesn’t Let You Say

There are two things that go off script and are not allowed to be said. Every official statement or mainstream media article that mentions the war in Ukraine must call it an unprovoked war. You are not allowed to say that NATO expansion east, potentially to Ukraine and right up to Russia’s borders, was a provocation, even if you add that it does not justify the war. And you are not allowed to say that it is time for Ukraine to negotiate with Russia and that conceding territory must be on the table. In the past couple of weeks, top NATO officials have said them both.

NATO Keeps Saying Things NATO Doesn’t Let You Say

President Biden should not run again in 2024

President Biden should not run again in 2024

Biden has never been good at saying no. He should have resisted the choice of Harris, who was a colleague of his beloved son Beau when they were both state attorneys general. He should have blocked then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, which has done considerable damage to the island’s security. He should have stopped his son Hunter from joining the board of a Ukrainian gas company and representing companies in China — and he certainly should have resisted Hunter’s attempts to impress clients by getting Dad on the phone.

He shouldn’t have overthrown a democratically-elected president!

[07-2023] Zelensky showing ‘authoritarian traits’, says Swiss intelligence report

Ukraine is at a “critical point” in its democratic evolution as it heads towards presidential elections in 2024, says a confidential assessment by the Federal Intelligence Service.

Zelensky showing ‘authoritarian traits’, says Swiss intelligence report (archived)

H/T: Emil Cosman / Rand Paul

Related:

[2021] Ukraine’s Accelerating Slide into Authoritarianism

The Maidan Revolution alumni now seem to be trying to devour even some of their own members. In mid‐May, Kiev mayor Vitali Klitschko charged agents of the SBU, Ukraine’s state security agency, had come to his apartment in what he denounced as a continuing attempt by his political rival, Zelensky, to put pressure on him. Earlier in May, the SBU, the state prosecutor’s office, and police carried out large‐scale searches of various units of the Kiev city government, accusing the local authorities of misappropriation of budget funds and tax evasion, among other offenses. Although Klitschko was one of the original leaders of the Maidan demonstrations, Zelensky apparently now regards him as an annoying rival, since the Kiev mayor was a close ally of former president Poroshenko.

[2021] KIIS poll: Every fifth Ukrainian ready to vote for Zelensky in presidential elections

If presidential elections were held soon, incumbent head of state Volodymyr Zelensky would receive about 21.8% of the vote, according to the results of a sociological survey “Social and Political Sentiments of Ukraine” conducted by Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS).

Actually, China’s military isn’t going global

Yesterday, the New York Times published a guest essay by Craig Singleton, a fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, entitled “China’s Military is Going Global.” Singleton argues that Beijing is well on its way to building a globe-spanning network of “strategic strong points along China’s major trade, energy, and resource routes” that pose a dire military threat to the United States.

Actually, China’s military isn’t going global

Former Japanese prime minister provocatively visits Taiwan

In another provocative move directed at Beijing, former Japanese prime minister and virulent anti-China hawk Taro Aso recently visited Taiwan for three days. He met with senior government officials, including President Tsai Ing-wen and declared that Japan, the US and Taiwan should ramp up plans for war with mainland China.

Former Japanese prime minister provocatively visits Taiwan

Related:

China strongly condemns Japanese politician’s visit to Taiwan: FM spokesperson

William Arkin: CIA Is Playing “Outsize Role” in Ukraine Despite Biden Pledge Not to Send U.S. Forces

A new investigation reveals the extent of the CIA’s involvement in the war in Ukraine, where the agency operates clandestinely in what, under a formal declaration of war, would be the domain of the military. We’re joined on the show by the author of the investigation, William Arkin, a national security reporter and senior editor at Newsweek, who says that the CIA has “got its hand in a little bit of everything” in Ukraine. According to various sources, the CIA is shuttling weapons into Ukraine using a “gray fleet” of commercial aircraft that crisscrosses Central and Eastern Europe, sending personnel into Ukraine on secret missions and assisting Ukrainians with new weapons and systems, all while using Poland as its clandestine hub to coordinate its operations inside the country. At the same time, the U.S.’s nonaligned status appears to place a limit on its intelligence, keeping it in the dark on both Zelensky and Putin’s next moves.

William Arkin: CIA Is Playing “Outsize Role” in Ukraine Despite Biden Pledge Not to Send U.S. Forces

Related:

The CIA’s Blind Spot about the Ukraine War

My takeaways:

  • Putting aside the propaganda, Burns has been allegedly using the CIA as military operatives. Supposedly, this is why they clueless about what’s going on, such as with the NordStream attack, the terrorist attacks inside Russia, or the attacks on the Crimean Bridge. More likely, they are ‘clandestinely’ involved!
  • If Zelenskyi isn’t in charge, is Valerii Zaluzhnyi, whose advisor is former Right Sector leader Dmytro Yarosh?!
  • The Biden admin is dangerously using commercial airlines (the CIA asked Newsweek not to identify which ones are being used) to transfer weapons to Ukraine. Russia isn’t stupid enough to target a commercial airliner, but I wouldn’t put it past the AFU to setup the Russian Armed Forces!