Facepalm Of The Week.

Remember this triple Ph.D, sextuple M.S. and a prognosticator of prognosticators, and specialist of the specialists,  Russia "expert" par excellence Mr. Blank? Mind you, the guy taught in US Army War College and "consults" today all kinds of US think-tanks and evidently has his roots system deep into the pockets of Atlantic Council, which provides for life-sustaining cash flow in exchange for Mr. Blank's geopolitical and military profundity. This week, Blank blanked even himself circa August 2017 when he suggested to fight those damn Russkies inside the Azov Sea. I guess spirits of Alfred Thyer Mahan, Chester Nimitz and Elmo Zumwalt cried. Now, Dr. Blank went further.

How the US Can Shore Up Ukraine’s Vulnerabilities in the Black Sea. 

I don't want to comment on this sheer delirium which lacks even basic military sense but I still think that this pearl of a stratagem should be documented here. Consider what great strategist Blank suggests:

The United States, or even NATO, could lend Ukraine ships that it no longer needs and place them under Ukrainian flags, and see to the training and outfitting of those ships in return for leasing either bases in Ukraine along the Black Sea or, if that is excessively provocative, leasing those energy fields now occupied illegally by Russia. We could, with Ukraine, then contest that Russian ownership, enhance Ukraine’s defense capabilities, and enhance NATO’s presence in the Black Sea. Admittedly doing so can only be feasible if Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense wakes up to the naval threat and opportunity and launches genuine reforms. It also is a possibility that Russia will be so provoked that it will immediately undertake new operations against Ukraine. While this is possible, such operations will only likely prolong the war and heighten the costs to Moscow and arouse even stronger NATO resistance at a time when Moscow has shown no desire to widen the scope of its kinetic combat operations against Ukraine. So there is an element of risk in this proposal. But we offer it in order that others may refine it to minimize that risk and enhance the benefits that would accrue to the West and to Ukraine.

This delirium of a desperate man is what today defines US Russia "expert" community's level. Hey, at least he recognized that there is some risk. He also, probably is not well-acquainted with basic (forget augmented) Salvo Model and Russia's capability there to make a life span of any combat ship in the Black Sea extremely short if push comes to shove. So, I will leave it here, because I am getting tired commenting on all this off the wall military amateurism and butt-hurt "analysis" (wink, wink) of all those "experts" in US media. Let people who read this blog judge for themselves what modern US geopolitical "academe" has become. In fact, there is a good illustration on what it is today. One really has to ask the question--what are they sniffing, or smoking there. If it wouldn't have been so dangerous it would have been utterly hilarious.