Oh, Boy! And Larry On Propaganda and Lies.

That is a shocker..., not really. I totally expected that from Turkey but:

БРИКС ждет пополнения: заявки на вступление в организацию, помимо Аргентины и Ирана, готовятся подать также Саудовская Аравия, Турция и Египет. Об этом «‎Известиям»‎ заявил высокопоставленный источник, осведомленный с ходом процесса. По его словам, наследный принц королевства Саудовская Аравия (КСА) Мухаммед бин Салман «‎серьезно настроен на вступление в БРИКС»‎. Собеседник уточнил, что этот вопрос был затронут в том числе во время визита главы МИД РФ Сергея Лаврова в Эр-Рияд 1–2 июня. — Россия поддержала стремление Саудовской Аравии присоединиться к организации. Помимо КСА интерес к БРИКС проявили еще Турция и Египет, они изучают возможность присоединиться уже несколько лет. Но на саммите в Пекине вопрос с их вступлением не обсуждался, а вот членство КСА обсуждали серьезно. Участники объединения ищут дипломатическое решение, — отметил осведомленный источник.

Translation: BRICS is waiting for new members: in addition to Argentina and Iran, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt are also preparing to submit applications for membership in the organization. This was stated to Izvestiya by a high-ranking source who was aware of the progress of the process. According to him, the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) Mohammed bin Salman "‎is serious about joining the BRICS"‎. The interlocutor specified that this issue was also raised during the visit of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to Riyadh on June 1-2. — Russia supported the desire of Saudi Arabia to join the organization. In addition to the KSA, Turkey and Egypt also showed interest in the BRICS, they have been studying the possibility of joining for several years. But at the summit in Beijing, the issue of their entry was not discussed, but the membership of the KSA was discussed seriously. Members of the association are looking for a diplomatic solution, - said an informed source.

In fact, the name of one of the sources is known, she is Purnima Anand, the head of BRICS International Forum. So, there you go. Turkey, obviously, looks as a fit for BRICS, but Saudis joining BRICS--that is something else altogether and that is a sentence to what passes in the US for "diplomacy". So, this all comes against the background of this event:

MOSCOW, July 13 (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Wednesday that it hoped President Joe Biden's visit to Saudi Arabia would not be used to try to foster anti-Russian relations, just as the United States seeks to convince Riyadh to boost oil production amid soaring prices. White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Monday that Biden will make the case for greater oil production from OPEC nations to bring down gasoline prices when he meets Gulf leaders in Saudi Arabia this week. 

This is not posturing at all, though. Because Saudi permanent, if not paranoid, fear is... Iran. And the security "guarantees" which the US allegedly provided for KSA lost a lot of their value. Not least through Iran demonstrating that they are ballsy people in 2020, after General Soleimani's assassination. And now Iran is on the fast track to BRICS and much closer ties to Russia. Saudis are not complete idiots, they watch TV and have their own sources of information. They surely saw Russian operations in Syria and see SMO in real time, they also see what the US is trying "to accomplish" both on the oil market and how it destroys itself and, even more so, Europe. What is always appreciated in the Middle East is resolve and power. Did you see Joe Biden recently, or behavior of Jake Sullivan or Tony Blinken? If you think that it is all a projection of confidence and power, you live in the alternative reality. 

As I already stated not for once, the only things Western "elites" are good at is PR and killing defenseless. West's resource base is shrinking dramatically. And while some Turkish analysts think that joining BRICS is not the best time now because of Turkey's economic issues, this might be precisely the reason why some in Turkey are preparing applications for BRICS. Larry, actually, ads to the case of BRICS and how it is viewed in other parts of the world by means of demolishing yet another NYT propaganda piece:

If you were holding out hope that the media and military analysts predicting the imminent collapse of Russia because of the failed invasion of Ukraine would get a grip on reality, think again. I take the New York Times as the leading indicator of the establishment mindset and the Times published a piece that reveals the delusion and confusion about the war in Ukraine that infects the Washington/New York Swamps.Put simply, the article–Ukraine’s Demands for More Weapons Clash With U.S. Concerns–tacitly concedes Russia is winning but holds out hope for a dramatic Ukrainian come back.

Larry uses a very effective math and logic when concludes:

The real question that Schmitt and Barnes should have asked, how long can US officials continue to bullshit themselves and pour expensive weapon systems into a rat hole? The speed of Russia’s advance appears to be accelerating. There are reports today that Russian forces are entering the outskirts of Seversk, one of the key strong points of the new Ukrainian defensive line. If true, the Russians are likely to achieve a strategic breakthrough in the Donetsk. What the gullible reporters and the morons who staff the CIA and DIA fail to comprehend is that Russia’s tactic of systematically destroying the air, armor and artillery assets over the past three months appears to have achieved Clausewitz’s culminating point–i.e., the point at which a military force is no longer able to perform its operations. 

Read the whole thing at Larry's blog.