Collective Action: Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station and Nova Kakhovka Dam
Ask: What new, perhaps non-obvious proactive approaches can be taken to try to reverse weaponization of Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station and Ukraine’s hemispherically important Nova Kakhovka Dam by Russia? Fact: The Putin regime’s state terrorist activities against the Nova Kakhovka Dam and Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station are a threat to…
From Cluster Munitions to Cluster Neutralizers
Setup: Cluster munition shells made the latest round of U.S. military support to help Ukrainian Armed Forces replenish dwindling artillery shell supplies. For that stopgap purpose, it may be the only substitute the U.S. can now give. To date, Russia has aggressed with cluster and incendiary weapons against Ukrainian defenders…
Observations: Prigozhin, Wagner & Russian Forces
Yevgeny Prigozhin reportedly remains in St. Petersburg, Russia rather than in exile in Belarus as expected after his June 24th “march of justice” on Moscow. Belarusian President Lukashenko publicly speculated that Russian President Vladimir Putin has softened toward Prigozhin, perhaps discussing a “new” working relationship. Observations, Thoughts, and Informational Uses…
Russian Expansion Strategy: Active Measures and Nukes
In May, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said this to Russian TV audiences, per Reuters: “No one is against Kazakhstan and other countries having the same close relations that we have with the Russian Federation,” Lukashenko said. “If someone is worried … (then) it is very simple: join in the Union…
View: Autocratic model trips on its own red carpet
Mr. Khrushchev said, “We will bury you” I don’t subscribe to this point of view… -Sting Xi Jinping has spent tens of billions promoting autocracy as the new, responsible leadership model. Yet Putin’s Russia, North Korea, Iran, Syria, and others have shown the world that autocracy is as outdated and…
Assessing Russia’s Ruling Convolutions
Perspective: In an insightful 2016 paper, “A Little Masquerade: Russia’s Evolving Employment of Maskirovka,” Major Morgan Maier, United States Army, wrote: “Russians originally employed maskirovka to create a false reality to achieve surprise and battlefield advantage over adversaries. While surprise remains a significant component of maskirovka, it fails to address…
Reflection on Sacrifice: Trump’s Hatred for McCain, Mattis, and Kelly Tells Us Who Trump Served: Putin
On this Memorial Day 2023, the nation should have a long memory of those who have faked their love, honor, and support for the members of our Armed Forces including for those who would or did give their last full measure of devotion. We owe our troops and our people…
The Earthquakes of Erdogan
As an Economist headline editor put it recently, “Turkey sits at the crossroads of tectonic plates as well as civilisations.” And when the 7.8 magnitude earthquake centered near Gaziantep, Turkey caused a confirmed death toll of 50,783 souls, it highlighted the risk of autocratic license, boasting, and related corner-cutting to…
To Kill Autocrat Parasitism, Break the Autocratic Spell Over its Hosts
Prescription: By three key efforts parasitic autocracies can be removed: (1) honest diplomacy, psychological, and information operations with cyber-support that break the dictatorial spell over the host peoples wherever they are; (2) giving those physically battling the aggressive parasites a decisive, unfair advantage in eradicating the parasite; (3) aiding other…
China’s Interest in Saudi Arabian Investment in Iran
China’s diplomatic aid mending Saudi-Iranian relations in the Middle East sees Saudi Arabia immediately offering investment in Iran in the name of Saudi Arabia’s self-interest in regional stability. Yet Saudi Arabia’s investment in Iran would bolster the Iranian regime’s capability to perpetuate repression of its own people, continue as Russia’s…