Campbell replaced her as no.2 at State on 12 February. She's taken a long time to formally leave after demotion back to no. 3.
She lost the contest with Joe's China Czar Campbell from the NSC with his nomination on 1 November, and was only ever a temporary replacement for Wendy Sherman a few months earlier, because Wendy was too soft for Neocon Old Joe.
She was there to sort out Ukraine before Joe moved on to China before the election.
But she failed, and it was a fitting end that she flew to Kiev to appoint, or aquiesce in, another new leadership on her last day as no. 2.
It was a grand failure though, counted in human lives, political chaos and wasted billions over her long, bloody, shameful career.
I wish her and husband, PNAC founder Bob Kagan, all the worst in their twilight years.
Stephen, I read a long time ago that Britain's SBS was running Ukraine's sea-drone program from somewhere near Odessa, with NATO intelligence and logistics support.
Given the recent German leaks, and the sea-drone program as Ukraine's main recent success against Russia, I wonder if you have more on this?
Royal Navy Admiral Radakin is up to his neck in the attacks on the Black Sea fleet; he's so rabidly anti-Russian that he is postponing retirement for a year to "carry on" per his own admission (not the rabid anti-Russian bit).
Veteran front line soldiers don’t get rotated because there is no one with any experience to rotate with, so they stay on the firing line until they die.
Support troops - cooks, logistics, repair aka the majority of the soldiers - are called up to the front lines because there are no trained replacements available.
The army goes on fighting but they are cannibalizing themselves. Now there is nobody to fix the meals or stockpile the supplies or repair the broken weapons.
If something can’t go on forever, it won’t. Eventually the army cracks and there are no trained NCOs or Junior Officers to fix it.
Cisco Webex is supposed to offer strong end-to-end security through encryption. In other words, the security of the internet link being used shouldn't matter. So, either that was compromised (e.g., the Cisco encryption has a back door) or the hotel room was bugged. I'd go with the latter.
They say that, but I don't think it's that simple (or, for that matter, that we should trust anything they say). If he was using WIFI, he should have been using the web ex app / program, and the security of the WIFI shouldn't matter. If he was phoning in with a cellphone, that's a cell call, not generally WIFI.
Good article! The economics of war have changed dramatically. It is hard to imagine the front stabilizing over the medium term without the West going into at least a partial war economy. I wonder how that will be sold to the citizens of NATO.
There is zero chance any NATO country will mobilize industrially. At least that is my belief. I think all the "talk" is just that, not a real understanding of the growing discontent over supporting Ukraine and a lack of common belief in any imminent Russian threat.
I do wonder if this is really true. One outcome of further Russian success in the Donbas is that it reinforces the camp that wants to see a significant increase of Western support to Ukraine. Because of existing limitations in NATO production, this would require a switch to a war economy. I do not think the above is any way certain but I would not discount it.
Great description on the ERA and great link to the Ghoul/Extender radios, thanks! Their use of a single frequency is an obvious weak point, even if using relays. NATO tactical radios like Link 16 use frequency hopping and are far less vulnerable to jamming.
Hard to believe both Ukraine and Russia are fighting it out with such primitive adaptations of civilian drones with explosives attached, controlled by first-person-video (FPV). Apparently scene-matching algorithms, machine vision, autonomous operation are not yet known in this part of the world.
Aside from the US, no other country can simply print money and go to expensive wars like the US does. The US has no problem to drop a Million dollar bomb on a single Taliban fighter from an F18. Any other country can't really afford such luxuries (with the exception of China perhaps).
Innovative weapons. Now how many of those do they have? The Germans have a little more than 100 Taurus cruise missiles. The industrial base of the West is rotten. We saw what the innovative French or German equipment did in Ukraine. Now the Russian are even cracking Abraham tanks like candy. It's all an illusion.
If the US prints money it is being distributed amongst the entire world. The deficit grew by $1 Trillion USD during the last 100 days. I am not sure if any other country in the world can afford that luxury.
"Innovative weapons. Now how many of those do they have? "
Small Diameter Bombs II (SDB2) tens of thousands, SPICE-250 scene matching weapons same, stealth fighters like F35 and F22 over 2,000.
Russian tanks have also cracked like candy on both sides of the frontline in Ukraine. Innovative active-defense tank/APC protection to stop that is becoming standard in all Western vehicles except the older models sent to Ukraine.
None of this is known to the inebriated Russians and Ukrainians.
"I am not sure if any other country in the world can afford that luxury. "
Japan's and Italy's debt to GDP ratio is far higher than the US and has been for years. The reason US, Japan, Italy can afford this is because they're advanced economies, unlike Russia:
Top US exports: jetliners, agricultural, high-tech
Top Russia exports: oil&gas, minerals, grains, prostitutes
Advanced economies who suffer because of their own sanctions against Russia lol.
And how do you even define a advanced economy. The US is the only advanced economy where the avarage lifespan is going down. Trillion dollar deficits in peace time and no recession. Sounds like a fairy tale to me.
And what's your high tech these days? Meta and Amazon? Nobody even wants Boein planes anymore and if I look at your infrastructure.... Chinese villages look more prosperous. But keep dreaming the dream. You are good at it and it obviously makes you feel great.
Easy, start by comparing their automotive industry: lots of Russian models with smart AWD, airbags, traction control, collision avoidance, lane departure warning? Or are Russian cars still 1960s technology?
That wasn't hard, was it?
"Nobody even wants Boeing planes anymore "
Seriously? Boeing delivered 528 planes in 2023 and got net orders for 1314 more. Who's living the fantasy and feeling good? How many jetliners did Russia deliver in 2023?
Thanks. Regarding the governing of Ukraine and the management of their armed forces, would a coalition government work? That arrangement seems to be working for Israel but I'm thinking that either it's too late in the game for that or that the Russians are too powerful for something like that to work.
If you mean a cross-party / broad-spectrum war cabinet, that's the opposite direction from the cornered Kiev Troika of Zelensky, Yermak and Budanov replacing Zaluzhny with Syrsky after Queen Victoria flew in on her last day as no. 2 at State.
But a 'government of national unity' formed from the Troika's opponents, led by Poroshenko, Zaluzhny and Klitschko, which would attempt to *end* the war, seems to me the most likely way forward in the medium term.
As for Netanyahu's war cabinet 'working for Israel', maybe check with Benny Gantz who flew in to Washington yesterday, denounced by Vicky's old friends in the cornered right-wing Israeli administration.
Is Kurt Campbell that expert of withdrawing troops from Afghanistan, which Biden called a success? a bit ironic that he's replacing one of the Ukraine's democratic transition architects, isn't it?
...But there's added irony in the 'double replacement' of Nuland by a China hawk and the architect of disastrous Afghan withdrawal.
Nuland's war in Ukraine was NATO-MIC's next business model after 20 years making war and money in Afghanistan, but the Red Peril in Ukraine was always just a warm-up for the Yellow Peril in Taiwan.
And Gaza is just an unwelcome intervening distraction - MENA is so passé (I know Sphen disagrees).
Milley's replacement previously ran the Pacific Air Command, and I fully expect that theatre to become more prominent before November (5 of America's 11 carriers are already in theatre).
China may even give Old Joe some help with an October Surprise, since they prefer a predictable neocon to a guy who's more madman practice than madman theory.
As I noted, she could not be confirmed and I think she is quite angry.
Campbell replaced her as no.2 at State on 12 February. She's taken a long time to formally leave after demotion back to no. 3.
She lost the contest with Joe's China Czar Campbell from the NSC with his nomination on 1 November, and was only ever a temporary replacement for Wendy Sherman a few months earlier, because Wendy was too soft for Neocon Old Joe.
She was there to sort out Ukraine before Joe moved on to China before the election.
But she failed, and it was a fitting end that she flew to Kiev to appoint, or aquiesce in, another new leadership on her last day as no. 2.
It was a grand failure though, counted in human lives, political chaos and wasted billions over her long, bloody, shameful career.
I wish her and husband, PNAC founder Bob Kagan, all the worst in their twilight years.
I hope Nuland knows anger exists in many forms and some is focussed on her
To adapt her comment on the EU: Fuck the Kagans.
That language came easily to them, not to me. But here it's painfully appropriate.
she and her husband one evening can cross with someone as for the poor John Lennon happened...
And I hope they'll leave constantly with the fear that could happen... because I'm totally sure they never got a covid-19 real jab in their blood...
Russia has won. It's that blackmailed people need their money laundering country to continue no matter what.
More signs that conditions for a significant collapse on the front are growing. Regime change temp rising. Thanks for the update!!
Kurt Campbell likely pushed Nuland out as part of a pivot out of Europe and into Asia strategy.
If Nuland becomes NATO's next Secretary General, we are heading straight towards WW3 and I will buy some land in Paraguay.
Stephen, I read a long time ago that Britain's SBS was running Ukraine's sea-drone program from somewhere near Odessa, with NATO intelligence and logistics support.
Given the recent German leaks, and the sea-drone program as Ukraine's main recent success against Russia, I wonder if you have more on this?
sorry but I do not
Royal Navy Admiral Radakin is up to his neck in the attacks on the Black Sea fleet; he's so rabidly anti-Russian that he is postponing retirement for a year to "carry on" per his own admission (not the rabid anti-Russian bit).
Thanks for the update. You're one of the few commentators who have been trying to figure out what is going to happen.
If Ukraine is running out of manpower, they aren't showing it. Driving their unfortunate men forward to their end as fast as ever.
It doesn’t show right away.
Veteran front line soldiers don’t get rotated because there is no one with any experience to rotate with, so they stay on the firing line until they die.
Support troops - cooks, logistics, repair aka the majority of the soldiers - are called up to the front lines because there are no trained replacements available.
The army goes on fighting but they are cannibalizing themselves. Now there is nobody to fix the meals or stockpile the supplies or repair the broken weapons.
If something can’t go on forever, it won’t. Eventually the army cracks and there are no trained NCOs or Junior Officers to fix it.
Cisco Webex is supposed to offer strong end-to-end security through encryption. In other words, the security of the internet link being used shouldn't matter. So, either that was compromised (e.g., the Cisco encryption has a back door) or the hotel room was bugged. I'd go with the latter.
The Germans say either it was a hotel WIFI that was compromised or the cellphone itself was intercepted, in both cases Webex is not the culprit.
They say that, but I don't think it's that simple (or, for that matter, that we should trust anything they say). If he was using WIFI, he should have been using the web ex app / program, and the security of the WIFI shouldn't matter. If he was phoning in with a cellphone, that's a cell call, not generally WIFI.
you can connect on a dataline with an app using wifi or with a cellphone
Good article! The economics of war have changed dramatically. It is hard to imagine the front stabilizing over the medium term without the West going into at least a partial war economy. I wonder how that will be sold to the citizens of NATO.
There is zero chance any NATO country will mobilize industrially. At least that is my belief. I think all the "talk" is just that, not a real understanding of the growing discontent over supporting Ukraine and a lack of common belief in any imminent Russian threat.
I do wonder if this is really true. One outcome of further Russian success in the Donbas is that it reinforces the camp that wants to see a significant increase of Western support to Ukraine. Because of existing limitations in NATO production, this would require a switch to a war economy. I do not think the above is any way certain but I would not discount it.
I would not wonder to much.
"too much" not "to much" --sorry it was a typo
Hopefully it will be an Afghanistan 2.0.
Great description on the ERA and great link to the Ghoul/Extender radios, thanks! Their use of a single frequency is an obvious weak point, even if using relays. NATO tactical radios like Link 16 use frequency hopping and are far less vulnerable to jamming.
Hard to believe both Ukraine and Russia are fighting it out with such primitive adaptations of civilian drones with explosives attached, controlled by first-person-video (FPV). Apparently scene-matching algorithms, machine vision, autonomous operation are not yet known in this part of the world.
Aside from the US, no other country can simply print money and go to expensive wars like the US does. The US has no problem to drop a Million dollar bomb on a single Taliban fighter from an F18. Any other country can't really afford such luxuries (with the exception of China perhaps).
??
UK, France, Israel, South Korea have lots of innovative weapons besides US.
Basic economics: no country can print money endlessly because it leads eventually to hyperinflation. Even Paul Krugman has said so.
On the other hand, less alcoholism, nepotism and corruption does make a difference.
Innovative weapons. Now how many of those do they have? The Germans have a little more than 100 Taurus cruise missiles. The industrial base of the West is rotten. We saw what the innovative French or German equipment did in Ukraine. Now the Russian are even cracking Abraham tanks like candy. It's all an illusion.
If the US prints money it is being distributed amongst the entire world. The deficit grew by $1 Trillion USD during the last 100 days. I am not sure if any other country in the world can afford that luxury.
"Innovative weapons. Now how many of those do they have? "
Small Diameter Bombs II (SDB2) tens of thousands, SPICE-250 scene matching weapons same, stealth fighters like F35 and F22 over 2,000.
Russian tanks have also cracked like candy on both sides of the frontline in Ukraine. Innovative active-defense tank/APC protection to stop that is becoming standard in all Western vehicles except the older models sent to Ukraine.
None of this is known to the inebriated Russians and Ukrainians.
"I am not sure if any other country in the world can afford that luxury. "
Japan's and Italy's debt to GDP ratio is far higher than the US and has been for years. The reason US, Japan, Italy can afford this is because they're advanced economies, unlike Russia:
Top US exports: jetliners, agricultural, high-tech
Top Russia exports: oil&gas, minerals, grains, prostitutes
Advanced economies who suffer because of their own sanctions against Russia lol.
And how do you even define a advanced economy. The US is the only advanced economy where the avarage lifespan is going down. Trillion dollar deficits in peace time and no recession. Sounds like a fairy tale to me.
And what's your high tech these days? Meta and Amazon? Nobody even wants Boein planes anymore and if I look at your infrastructure.... Chinese villages look more prosperous. But keep dreaming the dream. You are good at it and it obviously makes you feel great.
"And how do you even define a advanced economy"
Easy, start by comparing their automotive industry: lots of Russian models with smart AWD, airbags, traction control, collision avoidance, lane departure warning? Or are Russian cars still 1960s technology?
That wasn't hard, was it?
"Nobody even wants Boeing planes anymore "
Seriously? Boeing delivered 528 planes in 2023 and got net orders for 1314 more. Who's living the fantasy and feeling good? How many jetliners did Russia deliver in 2023?
https://www.cnbc.com/2024/01/09/boeing-hits-2023-jet-delivery-goal-in-blockbuster-sales-year-.html
Nuland will soon be retired. and if she can find another job, it will be her last.
Thanks. Regarding the governing of Ukraine and the management of their armed forces, would a coalition government work? That arrangement seems to be working for Israel but I'm thinking that either it's too late in the game for that or that the Russians are too powerful for something like that to work.
I don't know the answer but I think it highly unlikely
If you mean a cross-party / broad-spectrum war cabinet, that's the opposite direction from the cornered Kiev Troika of Zelensky, Yermak and Budanov replacing Zaluzhny with Syrsky after Queen Victoria flew in on her last day as no. 2 at State.
But a 'government of national unity' formed from the Troika's opponents, led by Poroshenko, Zaluzhny and Klitschko, which would attempt to *end* the war, seems to me the most likely way forward in the medium term.
As for Netanyahu's war cabinet 'working for Israel', maybe check with Benny Gantz who flew in to Washington yesterday, denounced by Vicky's old friends in the cornered right-wing Israeli administration.
Is Kurt Campbell that expert of withdrawing troops from Afghanistan, which Biden called a success? a bit ironic that he's replacing one of the Ukraine's democratic transition architects, isn't it?
No, that was John Bass, who's from today replacing Queen Victoria of Ukraine as temporary no. 3.
...But there's added irony in the 'double replacement' of Nuland by a China hawk and the architect of disastrous Afghan withdrawal.
Nuland's war in Ukraine was NATO-MIC's next business model after 20 years making war and money in Afghanistan, but the Red Peril in Ukraine was always just a warm-up for the Yellow Peril in Taiwan.
And Gaza is just an unwelcome intervening distraction - MENA is so passé (I know Sphen disagrees).
Milley's replacement previously ran the Pacific Air Command, and I fully expect that theatre to become more prominent before November (5 of America's 11 carriers are already in theatre).
China may even give Old Joe some help with an October Surprise, since they prefer a predictable neocon to a guy who's more madman practice than madman theory.