They Missed Lessons...

Which is not surprising. For decades what passed in the West for military science was the ability to create bogus pseudo-military narratives saturated with relevant and not quotes from classic military thinkers--Sun Tzu, Clausewitz, Delbruck, Mahan et al--in attempts to apply expired lessons of the past to modernity, or explain "tactics" in terms of what many professionals came to regard as a military porn. Some people from Cuban "think-tank" lacking understanding of real operational and strategic (I omit tactics here) dimension of the conflict between Russia in the West start their Cuba's "regime change" with a broadside of illiterate BS:

Carl von Clausewitz, the XIX Century Prussian military strategist, wrote that “war is the continuation of politics by other means.” Vladimir Putin’s foreign policy is predicated on raw power and blackmail - and if needed murders and kidnappings both inside and outside Russia. His massive military buildup on Ukraine’s border and his threat to deploy troops “and infrastructure” in Cuba and Venezuela are aimed to force the Biden Administration and America’s allies to submit to his will. Comparisons with the 1962 October Missile Crisis that brought humanity to the brink of nuclear war are deceiving. Putin is no Nikita Khrushchev and Joe Biden is no John Kennedy.

I have no idea why these two Cuban ex-pats bring Cuban missile crisis here at all, not to mention the fact that they give a wrong representation of this crisis to start with. It was about US Jupiter ballistic missiles in Turkey which precipitated Cuban Missile Crisis which the authors of this piece forget. It is not surprising, considering a hysterical and strategically illiterate manifesto these people provided. Apart from the obvious lack of any touch with the reality in regards to Ukraine (I have no idea how some Ph.D. in Cuban History can have any ideas about the reality there), those people make two major, in fact gaping, mistakes. They state that: 

Washington’s messy withdrawal from Afghanistan sent a message of weakness to America’s enemies that animated both Russia and China into a more aggressive posture in Ukraine, and Taiwan respectively.

I understand these two dudes (as well as their org) have an agenda to push but, come on, not by spewing an obvious BS which doesn't even pass the smell test in terms of proper timing. Do I need to remind these two "experts" (a euphemism for grant-abusers in all kinds of US ethnic agenda "think-tanks") events of 2008 or 2014, how about events of 2015. What about events of March 1, 2018, what about other events which provide an easily recognizable pattern of Russians knowing exactly what the US is militarily and economically. But I am sure, while pulling Clausewitz' abused quote about war (do these two "experts" even know the Deng Xiaoping's version of this dictum?), they call for shutting down of Nord Stream 2. Sure, let the US do this, I will need a bucket of pop-corn. Of course, our two strategic "thinkers" arrive, inevitably, to this conclusion:  

A weak America makes for a more dangerous and uncertain world because it encourages international aggression. Americans will support these and similar efforts that should not be a partisan issue.

I think these two agenda-pushers should ask another 100% USDA approved neocon and "strategic thinker" from their neck of the woods, Senator Marco Rubio. While this Senator, still reeling from the death of his and other GOP legislators' main benefactor Sheldon Adelson, tries to present (so cute) a threatening posture towards Russia, even this neocon can contradict these two "academics" and I quote: 

My entire life, I've been an unabashed believer in American exceptionalism and consistent evangelist of the American Dream. But when I ran for president, I learned that many Americans did not share my optimism. 

American Affairs, Common Good Capitalism: An Interview With Marco Rubio. Spring 2020, page 3.  

Oh boy, there is nothing more inspiring than America's ethnic lobbies ranging from AIPAC to Eastern European, to Latino to what have you, who push their own agendas most of which are not only in any way beneficial to the interests of the majority of Americans but more often than not run counter to them and are in the foundation of the present America's geopolitical and economic conundrum, especially when these agendas are pushed by people who are either ill-equipped or altogether are utterly unqualified for offering their advice on any geopolitical and military matter, especially in modern warfare paradigm. This piece by two Cuban "academics" is an exhibit A of utterly illiterate people in modern geopolitics offering their sophomoric thoughts. Especially when not understanding military-technological capabilities of Russia to counter-threat the US even without the use of Cuba.

In related news, on 20 January the session of State Duma will start with the address by the Iranian President Ebrakhim Raisi (in Russian), who will be in Moscow on personal invitation of Vladimir Putin. After that, Raisi will meet leaders of Islamic Ummah of Russia which is predominantly... Sunni. Time for a pop-corn. I should continue with my videos probably tomorrow.