Friday...

Phil Collins (I wish him only the best--he is very ill) is a certified Russophobe and, evidently, not a very bright fellow. Many hate him for turning great Genesis towards popsy sound, once Steve Hackett has departed. But, I still love And Then There Were Three album as well as Wind and Wuthering--all post Gabriel albums. And they were good, damn good...

If You Want To Understand...

 ... why the US military education is bunk, here is an example. From neocon central Atlantic Council. Let's start, however, with the CV of the author of this drivel. He is JAG, actually. Lt.Colonel Gregg Curley. He is in Marines and most of his military education has entries like this: Roger Williams University School of Law, MBA and Naval Justice School. Hey, I have nothing against JAGs anywhere--they do a very important work in Armed Forces and are critical in many judicial matters of everyday military life and war. This, however, hardly explains this entry: USMC Command and Staff College, Master of Military Science. The immediate question here WHAT military science? Here is the list of this 10 months course:

Command and Staff College courses are taught by a military and civilian faculty divided into four departments:  Leadership, Warfighting, War Studies, and Security Studies. The program consists of 11 core courses and two electives (electives change each year and are not listed).

• Leadership in the Profession of Arms I

• Evolution of Modern Warfare 

• National Security Affairs and the International System

• Joint and Marine Corps Operations

• The Marine Corps Planning Process

• Leadership in the Profession of Arms II

• Origins and Evolution of Contemporary Great Power Competition

• Evolving National Security Concepts and Operations

• Complex Operational Problem Solving and Design

• Master of Military Studies

• Capstone Planning Exercise (PC-X) 

Absolutely nothing is wrong with this list except... that this course Origins and Evolution of Contemporary Great Power Competition in the US should be completely disposed of due to confabulation of the American military and political history in the XX century and a complete block in ANY US military educational institutions of REAL history of WW II. It is simply not taught anymore in any US military school. Secondly, I don't see a critical course of the Theory of Operational Research and introduction to appropriate level mathematics which starts in military academies, say in Russia? Can you teach an MBA and JAG differential equations, a spread of applied physics of military technology and systems integration understanding of which is critical for modern day battlefield in all three manifestations of military art: tactics, operations and strategy. Do you sense where I am going with it? Well, so this marine Lt. colonel pens this wowser...

In the early days of Ukraine’s incursion into Russia’s Kursk region, the Atlantic Council’s Daniel Fried likened Ukraine’s bold maneuver to George Washington’s historic raid across the Delaware River. At the time, this analogy was fitting, given the information available and the perceived objectives. However, as the operation approaches the six-week mark, it has become clear that this incursion is not merely a raid—a military operation characterized by temporary seizure of territory and a planned withdrawal. Ukraine has had multiple opportunities to withdraw, yet it remains. At this point, a different historical analogy may provide some insights: the Battle of Gettysburg.

You see, this is what lack of serious military STEM education and ignorance of world's military history (with the exception of beaten to death mind-rape of the American Civil War) gets you--correct, operational-strategic kindergarten. First, what nobody told those US generals and colonels is that it is 2024 and technological paradigm changed so much that it completely overhauled Operations and Operational Art and, as a result, strategy, that even time-wise and technologically close to us WW II lessons should be applied within a strict framework of technological, tactical and operational caveats, which, in the end redefine the whole process of developing strategies--a process unknown for the US military. So, finding a historic symmetry between Gettysburg and VSU's (a euphemism for the Washington and London "planners") suicidal incursion in Kursk Oblast is downright stupid. 

Curley lists "similarities" and parallels" : 

Strategic parallels and potential objectives in Ukraine

1. Political impact: A significant Ukrainian victory, combined with Russia’s embarrassment, could demoralize Russian forces, boost Ukrainian morale, intensify domestic and international pressure on Russian leadership, and enhance Ukraine’s leverage in negotiations or potential peace talks.
2. International recognition: Success on Russian soil could increase international support for Ukraine, resulting in continued military and economic aid while further isolating Russia diplomatically. In the short term, it could also prompt reconsideration of restrictions on the use of foreign-supplied weapons in Russian territory, enhancing Ukraine’s operational capabilities.
3. Further military campaigns: Ukrainian success could force Russia to redeploy some of its troops, limiting Russia’s ability to advance in the Donbas and perhaps providing time and space for Ukraine to strengthen its defensive position in the region.
4. Impact on morale and military strategy: Major Ukrainian victories could significantly boost national unity and morale, encouraging volunteer enlistment and drawing stronger international support.
5. Bringing the fight to Russia: While early successes could strengthen Ukraine’s position, they may also force the Kremlin to resource another front, which would further diminish public support and may generate additional leverage for Ukraine.

For starters he should go to the mirror and look into it. It WAS NOT a Ukrainian "operation" and VSU didn't have "many opportunities to withdraw", because there was no order from NATO to withdraw. It is a known and well documented fact that on all command levels in SMO Armed Forces of Ukraine are "manually" commanded by NATO officers. Not very good officers, I may add, because the only reason a catastrophe in Kursk (together with atrocities against civilians--a hallmark of American way of war) was planned and undertaken is an election campaign in the US with a desperate need for any kind of success in SMO which was launched in counter to a delusional Washington plan (they are ignorant illiterate people in Washington) in 2022 to topple "Putin's Regime". US Armed Forces do not know and have no experience in defending the country and for the last 50 years lost all of their wars which have been fought, in the end for primarily PR purposes. 

And if there are any parallels to be drawn to this suicidal mission, I would suggest this USMC officer to get a REAL reliable book on Operation Zitadelle and Kursk Battle and refresh his memory on what happened there starting July 5th, 1943 and where Russians ended up after Kursk in 1945. Meanwhile, it is the US (NATO in general) planning and C4 which manged to kill more than 1 million of Ukrainian troops (23,000 in Kursk alone since August 6, 2024) with another million of wounded and maimed and Ukrainian state ceasing to exist. So, instead of wasting the time on finding some useless parallels I would suggest this USMC JAG to get a good book on Russian culture and history, all 1200 years of it--maybe that will give him some insight into why nobody can defeat Russia in wars. I don't hold my breath--he is JAG and who cares about Pareto Distribution and scaling of military campaigns, right? Ah yes, those academies in Russia, what do they know. Gettysburg, oorah! 

She Is Absolutely Correct...

 ... one of rare occasions when this uneducated bimbo got it right. For all the wrong reasons, of course, but right nevertheless. 

BERLIN, Oct 11 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin is not willing to speak with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on the topic of brokering peace in Ukraine, Germany's foreign minister said on Friday. "Ukraine is ready for a just peace," Annalena Baerbock said in Berlin, where Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is expected to hold talks with Scholz on Friday.Speaking alongside the foreign minister of Slovakia, Baerbock criticised Putin for rejecting overtures for peace talks.

Absolutely correct. E.g. if I need to discuss the issue of property demarcation and maintenance with my neighbor--I go and talk to her (wonderful old lady), but not to her French poodle. So obvious, I talk to the owner, not to some lap dog who decides nothing. Then she continues. 

"He refuses to accept peace and every day sends another signal in favour of war and destruction. These days, he is no longer even prepared to speak to the German chancellor on the phone," she said.

Aw, poor baby, she still didn't get the message that Germany is irrelevant already and will become fully non-entity very soon. The only interest the Germany presents for serious geopolitical players is who will import the last remaining morsels of increasingly unsustainable and non-competitive German industry while Germany runs itself, completely on own volition, into the Morgenthau Plan. It got delayed in 1945 due to humanity of Ike and of Soviet leadership--recall Stalin's sacramental "Hitlers come and go, but the German people and the German state remain". As it became clear now--Germany learned absolutely nothing and substituted Nazism for uber-liberal fascism. The Nazi seed was preserved by the US. Don't be fooled by AfD's narrow victories in Brandenburg and Thuringia--this is a former GDR which was allowed to remain German the way Germany should have been reborn. Not without its problems, of course, but the rest of Germany--it hates Russia. It is just that this time around Russians wouldn't need to take Berlin, again--it takes between 5 to 15 minutes to settle the issue once and for all. 

 

Back to UVZ's 88th BDay. 

Here's Leopard tank, delivered 10 days ago to UVZ. To study. Well, those Leopards didn't fare well against Russian weaponry in SMO. German engineering is like a Mercedes--overpriced, over-engineered, overrated and pain in the ass to fix. Some things never change, I guess.

UVZ

This acronym strikes terror into the hearts of Russia's enemies. 

The acronym stands for Uralvagonzavod--literally Ural Railcars Works. And, boy, look at them those "railcars" produced in the city of Nizhny Tagil. 

Not only those "railcars", starting from legendary T-34s, first of which rolled off the conveyor in 1941, to T-72s to T-90M Proryv, continue to roll off assembly lines today, but UVZ produced now undeniably the best tanks in the world--real combat in SMO left no doubts about it. Moreover, Russia is unbeatable in terms of quality and numbers of these tanks produced. By a mile, more than whole NATO combined. Today, UVZ celebrates its 88th anniversary. These are state-of-the-art, netcentric tanks which are capable to take on any self-proclaimed "best" Western tanks and defeat them, in fact--they did it many times already. 

Dmitry Orlov in his latest, symptomatically titled Uncontrolled Chaos, notes today:

It was a disaster 80 years in the making. At the end of World War II, the United States stood virtually alone as an economic power. Accounting for 50 percent of global GDP, it held 80% of the world's hard currency reserves. Fast-forward to 2024 and the share of the US in the world economy has shrunk to 14.76% (calculated from figures provided by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund). But even this number is misleading, for fully 20% of the US economy is made of what goes under the acronym FIRE: finance, insurance and real estate. These are unproductive parasites on the productive economy. Another unproductive parasite is health care: ridiculously overpriced, it amounts to almost a quarter of all spending in the US. Neither the resources consumed by FIRE, nor by health care spending, contribute much of anything to the standing of the US within the world economy. Adjusted for these, the US share of the world economy dwindles to just over 8%. While hardly negligible, this share is nowhere near sufficient to give the US anything like a majority vote or veto power in world affairs. The tragedy of the situation is that the mindset of Americans, particularly those occupying positions of authority in Washington, has been unable to adapt to this development. Their mindset appears to be fixed for all time: they believe that they can still dictate terms to the whole world and finding it increasingly awkward to cover up for the fact that almost the whole world (with some notable exceptions) now feels free to ignore them.

Here, you can see yourself overwhelmingly non-productive nature of the US economy. 

Get it? They consider a third world economy "based on services" a sign of a "developed nation". No wonder, when one looks at such "developed nations" like UK or Germany which increasingly look like a third world. Which also explains why the US is incapable of producing a new Main Battle Tank, with the reputation (primarily through Hollywood and propaganda) being blown up to smithereens by good ol' UVZ's T-72. Remember this? 

Well, in related news... Another SSK of pr. 636 Yakutsk (for Pacific Fleet) was floated today. 

But, but, I am sure that capitalization of the St.Petersburg's Admiralty Wharfs which builds those subs is nowhere near the capitalization of any business consulting company in the US. Hey, what do those losers at UVZ have on this monster--they'll tell you how to run business, right? Right?  

The Anatomy Of Decomposition.

And why everything West touches today turns to shit--everywhere. 

 

Nima and Me...

Live in 30 minutes. There are reports now of VSU fleeing Kursk and abandoning their positions without a fight (in Russian).

 

 

Admiral Golovko...

 ... is getting ready for cruise (no pleasure cruise(c)). Here they are training AD and strike mission, all within the framework of the K-2 Task, that is exams on Combat by a Single Ship (that's the official title). 

The air target is represented by Kh-35 sea skimmer anti-shipping missile launched by complex Bal. After that--strike, by Kalibr missile.

When One Is A Complete...

 ... imbecile and Bundeswehr general. They do grow them stupid and inhumane in Budndeswehr. 

Insgesamt entsteht der Eindruck, dass der Versuch der Ukraine, durch die Angriffe in der russischen Region Kursk für Entlastung zu sorgen und Russland zum Abzug von Truppen aus der Ostukraine zu zwingen, nicht aufgegangen ist.

Da muss man differenzierter hinsehen. Der Angriff auf Kursk hatte ja mehrere Gründe. Einen Grund haben Sie gerade genannt: Das war die Entlastung im Donbass. Es gab aber auch andere Gründe – etwa den, eine Überraschung zu schaffen und Bewegung in diesen scheinbar festgefahrenen Stellungskrieg zu bekommen. Das ist auf jeden Fall gelungen. Außerdem ist ein positives psychologisches Momentum entstanden - sowohl in Richtung der eigenen Bevölkerung als auch in Richtung der westlichen Unterstützer. Der Angriff ist ferner ein Signal an Russland. So wurden Tausende russische Kriegsgefangene festgesetzt, darunter viele Wehrpflichtige. Damit hat die Ukraine die Putin‘sche Propaganda einer Spezialoperation Lügen gestraft. Sie haben aber Recht damit, dass es nicht in dem Maße gelungen ist, eine militärische Entlastung im Donbass zu erreichen, wie das ursprünglich beabsichtigt war. Es wurden keine signifikanten russischen Kampftruppenverbände aus dem Donbass Richtung Kursk verlegt.

Translation: Overall, the impression is that Ukraine's attempt to relieve the pressure in the Russian region of Kursk through attacks and to force Russia to withdraw troops from eastern Ukraine has not worked. 

You have to look at this in a more differentiated way. There were several reasons for the attack on Kursk. You have just mentioned one reason: that was to relieve the pressure in the Donbass. But there were other reasons too - such as the desire to create a surprise and get this apparently deadlocked positional war moving. That was definitely successful. In addition, a positive psychological momentum was created - both towards the country's own population and towards its western supporters. The attack is also a signal to Russia. Thousands of Russian prisoners of war were detained, including many conscripts. In doing so, Ukraine has refuted Putin's propaganda of a special operation. But you are right that it has not succeeded in achieving the military relief in the Donbass that was originally intended. No significant Russian combat troops were moved from the Donbass towards Kursk.

Here is this cretin Major-General Freuding who wants to replay WW II but has no resources nor intellect to even grasp what is going on. 

I am not joking when stating that on operational-strategic level most of them are amateurs and sore losers. Here is a biography of this... clown. 

Christian Freuding, born on August 20, 1971, in Weiden in der Oberpfalz, is a Major General in the German Army. Since May 2023, he has served as Head of the Planning and Command Staff of the Federal Minister of Defense, and since 2022, he has led the Ukraine Situation Center within the Ministry of Defense. Freuding joined the Bundeswehr in 1990, studied political science, and earned a PhD in 1999. He has held various leadership positions, including Commander of the 9th Armored Demonstration Brigade, and participated in overseas deployments in Bosnia and Afghanistan.

Yep, a total cadre officer materiel for the 21st century. Can he grasp COFM and how it factors into operational planning? 

They are amateurs in real war... Still cannot wrap my brains around--political "science" general. I wonder what Russian graduate of Tank Academy, Armour War College and Academy of General Staff, a commander of tank division, would talk about with this dude if they ever meet each-other in peaceful time in the bar? Russian general would get drunk from boredom when listening to this moron. In related news, to date VSU lost in Kursk area 21 350+ KIAs. There were also no "thousands" POWs on Russian side. In general, NATO planners like this dude manged to kill the whole Army Corps in Kursk--creme de la creme with most of it equipped with NATO hardware. Christian, find yourself good military academy to get REAL military education. If he headed Bundswehr's Planning and Command Staff... Good Lord!

Patriots Have A Very Bad Time...

 ... in 404. Just as we discussed it yesterday--Garland, Scott and me--that Patriot is simply no good against serious targets. Here OTRK Iskander wipes out another one yesterday in 404. 

It tries to launch 2 missiles with no effect and gets its heart and most expensive part--radar and command post--wiped out. After that it is easy. Any slow drone can finish it off. Mind you, this is Iskander, not even Kinzhal, which is impossible to intercept. Iskander's "burn out" speed at the target is about M=6, still hypersonic but slower than Kinzhal with its M=10, albeit both are relatives. 

 

P.S. These were not Ukrainians who have been killed in the command post... Make your own conclusions.

To All Floridians...

 ... good luck. Get ready...

Garland, Scott And Yours Truly...

 ... live in 20 minutes. 

 

Are NATO Officers...

 ... operationally and strategically aware? Only very few of them, majority of them are capable of some tactical assessments, they are incapable of grasping space-time picture of a conflict on a grand scale, especially such as SMO--they simply have no tool kit for that. This tool kit comes through STEM, only STEM is capable to provide tools required for modern warfare. You need math and physics driven abstracts to be able today to run modern war. It is not just the knowledge, which, of course, matters, of tactical procedures--it is a framework in which operational and strategic decisions are made. Jacques Baud speaks about it all the time--if you see, as NATO militaries do, only a static picture, you are bound to be defeated.  If you believe in Money Power, as NATO militaries believe (e.g. $13 billion CVN of Ford-class can be sunk by 2-3 Zircon 3M22 hypersonic missiles, costing probably $2-3 million each), you lose. 

Germany now is learning a hard way what it is to betray the hand of reconciliation and friendship. And a reminder--terrorism is the weapon of the weak, hence the love of the atrocities in Washington and London.

You Can Only Dance Around...

 ... the unrelenting reality of real industrial output, military and political forces. You can try to get colorful clothes and bright makeup like in Kabuki Theater but that doesn't stop making it a theater. Reality doesn't care...

WASHINGTON/BERLIN, Oct 8 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden canceled his upcoming trip to Germany and Angola on Tuesday in a blow to plans for the highest level meeting ever of the Ramstein group of Ukraine arms donors that aimed to underscore unwavering support for Kyiv. The Ramstein group was set to meet at the highest level on the sidelines of Biden's Oct. 10-13 state visit to Germany, which would have been the first U.S. state visit in nearly 40 years. But the White House said Biden was postponing his trip to both Germany and Angola to handle preparations for Hurricane Milton and relief efforts after Hurricane Helene which last month killed more than 200 people. It added that it was still working on how the Ramstein event would work out, with Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz talking later on Tuesday."I just don't think I can be out of the country at this time," Biden said, adding that he hoped to reschedule the trip "and all the conferences I said I'd participate in".

The whole notion that a walking corpse can have any input on probable calamity of the hurricane is down right preposterous. Something much bigger is in play here. As Reuters asks--Ramstein Over? Well, not so fast, there is always pompous chihuahua of London, but in reality somebody has to "decide" on those "long-range strikes" on Russia and this is not easy. In the end, there are so many fat prestigious American, British, French and German targets for warmup in Europe and Middle East. But the comic relief comes, as always, by the way of Germany:

The German official reiterated Scholz's readiness for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, provided that they offer a prospect for progress on the way to a just and sustainable peace, but warned Russia to not interpret this as weakness.

Somebody has to tell this German official (and Scholz) that if they have requests or something to say--here is the phone of Presidential Administration in Moscow 8 495 625 35 81. This is the Section on Reviewing addresses of citizens and organizations, so Scholz may call there, they may connect him (as an exception) immediately with the department head and they may discuss what bothers Scholz and Germany. 

 

In related news, as some info pours in, it becomes clear that IDF is having a hell of a time in South Lebanon, since so far they managed to take 10.5 square kilometers of territory and their losses... well, we know how they report them.

How To Guard...

 ... the state border. Kazakhs waiting in line (at one of the check point in Chelyabinsk Oblast) to enter Russia decide to have issues with each-other in line. The instigator fled back to Kazakhstan after witnessed the way Russian Border Guards calmed things down and they really did. 

After the lesson on politeness and orderly behavior on Russian territory, the checkpoint resumed operations... smoothly. Kazakhs are by far not the worst Middle Asia visitors to Russia, but once in a while some of them need a reminder: Sī fuerīs Rōmae, Rōmānō vīvitō mōre; sī fuerīs alibī, vīvitō sīcut ibī. Or, rephrasing Lenin (on Revolution)--the Empire is only worth something when it can defend itself. Decent people from the former USSR are welcomed in Russia.

Instagram Vs. Reality.

No, I am not here to post some funny video, albeit I love sometimes scarecams because often being silly and startled, people showing their true colors after being scared, is endearing in 80% of cases when people laugh it off and reactions are genuine and very human, immediately manifesting human nature. As I said, in 80% of cases it is endearing and kind, and funny--being genuinely funny is one of the hallmarks of being kind. I love kindness in people together with self-irony. This, however, is different:

This is an excellent demonstration of the abyss separating image and perception from reality. This is a foundation of modern West's policies. Delusional and dangerous, primarily against the West itself. Volumes will be written on the utter delusion of "Instagram" capabilities and tactical-operational realities which the US only now begins to see in full. 

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has spent a great deal of time pleading with his allies for weapons and permission to use them to their full capabilities. But his administration is now pleading simply for the delivery of weapons that have already been pledged. Currently, these delays are the result of U.S. Department of Defense protocols that affect the drawdown rates of U.S. stockpiles. Each of the services is required to keep certain quantities of weapons and ammunition in reserve in case of war, and they are not allowed to dip below these levels. Such concerns are not without precedent. In the Second World War, during the German invasion of France in 1940, Winston Churchill had to deny French requests for Royal Air Force support. Churchill knew that every British plane would be required for the upcoming Battle of Britain. However, the United States is nowhere near such a crisis.

Actually, the US is in this crisis because it doesn't have resources and capabilities to conduct REAL war for even a couple of weeks as many admit openly. Nor, unlike GB in 1940, does the US face any danger to itself. It never did in modern times. Modern times being since Civil War, and even then, those Russkies sent couple of naval squadrons to San-Francisco and New York and that had a chilling effect on Great Britain. So, in other words, the US simply doesn't check any box related to real war as it is fought in real continental framework. Hence such an absurd claim by two former marines who, obviously, got their education from Hollywood...

The war in Ukraine is at risk of being lost—not because the Russians are winning but because Ukraine’s allies have not allowed them to win. If we encourage the Ukrainians to fight while failing to give them the tools they need for victory, history will surely conclude that the Russians weren’t the only ones who committed crimes against Ukraine.  

This, mind you, comes from people who claim their acquaintance with combat. Instagram combat. Not to diminish their experiences with death but when your tactical-technological "combat" experience is reduced to at most IEDs, RPGs and small arms fires (with the exception of Vietnam--Vietnamese had artillery and tanks) from the enemy--they should try to fight and command at least a platoon under the conditions of receiving long-range fires and facing off Russian storm groups. Well, none of them knows what it is. As per strategic assessments and understanding the nature, scale and scope of real war--it is too much to expect from people with such background: 

Ackerman studied literature and history at Tufts University, where he also joined Naval ROTC (Marine Corps option). He graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa in 2003. He holds a master's degree in international affairs from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. He also completed many of the United States military's most challenging special operations training courses.

Try to explain to this guy how does motor-rifle brigade, netcentric, almost fully proofed from the air, supported by long-range fires and rolling wall of fire from artillery, and CAS and being tactically aware in real time, feel when making a breakthrough in your defenses and your comms are suppressed, your CAS is shot down and you are outranged--they don't teach this in USMC, especially on operational level. They simply have zero experience of that. It is especially difficult to explain to a guy with literature degree. Somebody has to explain to this veteran why US military is panicking...

Since the 1980s, America’s world ranking in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) has declined, placing our once unquestioned supremacy in technological innovation and application on par with or behind those of our economic and military adversaries. A recent warning from the Office of the Secretary of Defense Acquisition and Sustainment Industrial Policy declared the paucity of STEM-educated Americans may lead to a “permanent national security deficit.” The lack of STEM education extends to Army officers. In 2018, the Army Strategy assessed the strategic environment to include partners, allies, and adversaries leveraging “advanced capabilities” such as cyber, counter space, electronic warfare, robotics, and artificial intelligence (AI). This assessment has proven true in the Russia-Ukraine War, an artillery heavy war interwoven with the burgeoning development and implementation of new and evolving technologies that demand innovative thinking, alliances, and strategy informed by STEM+Management (STEM+M) 

Hey, it is not me, this is US Army veterans writing. In Parameters, no less. So, I have news for these Instagram "analysts": 

A higher level of STEM+M education within the officer corps provides three benefits:
1. it increases the technical knowledge required of Army officers in scientific, engineering, and management fields;
2. it enhances the development of problem-solving and critical thinking skills, such as human judgment, to address ill-defined, ambiguous, and complex, multilayered challenges;
and
3. it fosters integrating new ideas, technologies, and social interactions into the greater context of officer professional development. 

In all three the US military fails miserably. It is difficult to explain to a literature major from ROTC the operational realities which he simply will fail to grasp having about zero tool kit for professional understanding. In the end, without understanding the dynamics of modern warfare and models (ever adapting) on which operational planning is done it could be an exercise in futility explaining to these two USMC veterans why they managed to contradict themselves within one mid-size article and mindlessly parroted 404 propaganda. That's Instagram military incapable of facing a much more prosaic and unglamorous reality. If they only had Maverick on his F-14 Tomcat, nay, better a platoon of Rambos they would show those Russkies what the real war is and how to fight it. 

Again, Encapsulated...

 ... modern geopolitics, warfare and COFM (Correlation of Forces and Means). Who is who--you decide;)) 

It is also this...
 

A Friendly Touch.

My thanks to Kazmans. A cruise ship Sapphire Princess in Med is visited by Russian ASW and patrol IL-38N (Novella). Boys in IL-38N enjoyed bodies of ladies at swimming pools' lounge chairs, while passengers had fun making videos of a friendly bird)).

Here was the main point of interest for Russian crew.
 

Antonov Leaves...

 ... Trump dreams. 

 

It Is Becoming...

 ... nauseating. It is behind the paywall but what is available speaks volumes. 

On a recent trip to Ukraine, we walked through the rubble of a children’s hospital in Kyiv targeted by the Russians, toured an apartment building in Kharkiv where floor after floor had been destroyed by Russian missiles, and visited the front lines to meet with soldiers who spoke of the brutality of Russian human-wave tactics. But the most unsettling thing we saw was the American strategy in Ukraine, one that gives the Ukrainian people just enough military aid not to lose their war but not enough to win it. This strategy is slowly bleeding Ukraine, and its people, to death. Our visit was facilitated by With Honor, a bipartisan political-action committee that supports veterans in Congress, and we toured Ukraine alongside Republican and Democratic lawmakers. We are both Marine Corps veterans. We have a combined 60-year breadth of combat experience between us, including Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan. The horrors of war are not unfamiliar to us. Yet both of us felt deeply disturbed as we finished our trip.

And here, apart from these former marines parroting all types of 404 propaganda, which tells you immediately who they are as military professionals, some things need to be addressed. I'll start with the most abused term in the US--"strategy". These two do not know what strategy is, because what passes in the US for "strategy" is nothing more than knee jerking based on utter geopolitical and military incompetence based on confabulated military history and arrogance which manifested itself through dismal (and humiliating) American military record and military R&D and procurement policies which have nothing to do with real war. Albeit, at least in 1970s and 80s NATO was admitting its conventional weakness in Europe. 

But here comes this nauseating part, and you may have guessed it already, these two need to read this--their "combat" experiences are I-R-R-E-L-E-V-A-N-T for modern warfare. NO US military person ever fought against equal or better enemy than the US force, period. NO American serviceman knows, or, as on many occasions "maneuvers" of the US "volunteers" in 404 demonstrated when running away from serious contacts, can understand operational (emphasis on OPERATIONAL) realities and know how to act--recognizing one or another local tactical-operational reality the Joint Force Operations does not make. US never had real Joint Force, nor has any experience in having the main organ of combat control of ALL armed forces and that means General Staff. Joint Chiefs is not General Staff and America's military culture was always imperial expeditionary one and will remain such no matter what Washington does. So, these two former marines have to resign themselves to a cruel cold hard fact--the only people they fought in their lives have been essentially defenseless against them. With the exception of Vietnam which did have a serious support from the USSR.  

Thirdly, US military education is essentially a joke. Especially so in service academies whose serious modern warfare "studies" cannot even measure to what and how is taught in Russia. But here is something out of the left field for you. When even Masha Gessen (a fanatical Russophobe) speaking to another Russian deviant and foreign agent Dud' drops the truth bomb. 

Even this vile creature responding to Dud's question of what Americans think about WW II states that they really think that they won it. She points out that all this is due to arrogance and chauvinism. And then tells story from one of her experience at the exclusive gathering of CIA and Pentagon veterans when she was told to her face by one former CIA big honcho that: "We won WW II for you..." And even she (he, it) has been taken aback. When even this human anomaly has such an opinion, what do you expect from people who saw way more than these two "combat veterans" who are lost completely in the operational and strategic realities of SMO. Trump is correct here: 

The US has lost respect on the world stage and has become a laughing stock, former President Donald Trump said at a campaign event in the swing state of Pennsylvania.

And now you have many former and present US military people having a severe cognitive dissonance when they have been shown REAL war. But, of course, for them George Patton was and is great general. Hey, Hollywood says so. As per "human-wave" tactics, this is everything you need to know about these two marines--being militarily illiterate they would believe any "combat" BS, because nobody taught them real tactics and military history. Sore losers and amateurs...

Saturday.

Taking a me(n)tal break. 

Slowly mellowing into American classic... 

Larry Gives A Good...

 ... rundown on primary strategic considerations in the ME and elsewhere. 

While Israel is not letting up on its aerial bombardment of Lebanon, it is not rushing to attack Iran from the air, despite Netanyahu’s vow to do so in the immediate aftermath of Iran’s Monday 180 plus missile barrage. Why the delay? I doubt that the political extremists that surround Bibi are counseling caution. They are very likely insisting on striking Iran’s nuclear and oil facilities. However, I think some of the more sane military advisors are reluctant to pull the trigger because there are still too many unknowns other than Iran’s pledge to hit Israel harder if Jerusalem chooses to escalate. One consideration may be Israel’s concern about the reliability of its oil supply. At present, no oil is reaching Israel through the Red Sea because the Houthis continue to attack tankers trying to reach Israel’s Port EIlat or the Suez Canal. Israel’s oil lifeline, according to Pepe Escobar, runs from Azerbaijan, transiting Turkey, and arriving in Israel. 

Keep in mind, Azerbaijan does have its own problems, but President Aliev being a Soviet-educated diplomat from a family of a major political figure in the USSR, and a personal friend of Vladimir Putin didn't fail to recognize the so called "golden path" for Azerbaijan and it is certainly not with the West. Remarkably, Azerbaijan drifting towards BRICS, that is by default towards Russia, means also de facto a distancing in geopolitical terms from Turkey, despite a lot of serious economic, military and cultural ties between the two. But Turkiye herself, as much as her being a very important regional player, cannot solve her economic problems within Western framework, with Azerbaijan getting ready to be admitted into BRICS also spells the end to Erdogan's trans-Turkic ambitions, however unrealistic to start with in the vicinity of Russia returning herself into the exclusive club of global superpowers. 

There is a lot what is going on in the world today that is directly related to the upcoming Kazan BRICS summit and those anxiously anticipated historic steps which will be taken there. Meanwhile, just recently, Russian and Chinese navies wrapped up yet another exercise, this time in the Sea of Okhotsk, with both navies operating as a joint naval force. 

A lot is going on, a lot...

Fate...

 ... is sealed. 

 

Nima and Me...

 ... live. 

 

US Foreign Policy...

 ... and strategic planning in one video. Perfect encapsulation. 

I totally get why people in Moscow, from Foreign Ministry to MoD to SVR/FSB are shaking their heads in disbelief from the actions of Washington and Brussels. For Europe it is too late anyway, albeit...

МОСКВА, 4 окт - РИА Новости. Российская сторона получит приглашение на заседание совета глав МИД государств Организации по безопасности и сотрудничеству в Европе, которое пройдет на Мальте в декабре, сообщили РИА Новости информированные источники. Заседание СМИД ОБСЕ, как ожидается, пройдет в Валлетте, столице Мальты, 5-6 декабря. "Россия тоже будет приглашена на министерскую встречу на Мальте", - сказал один из источников. При этом, согласно предоставленной информации, приглашения еще не были направлены никому из государств-участников.

Translation:  MOSCOW, 4 Oct - RIA Novosti. The Russian side will receive an invitation to a meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which will be held in Malta in December, informed sources told RIA Novosti. The OSCE Ministerial Council meeting is expected to be held in Valletta, the capital of Malta, on 5-6 December. "Russia will also be invited to the ministerial meeting in Malta," one of the sources said. At the same time, according to the information provided, invitations have not yet been sent to any of the participating states.

 

Too little, too late but if it happens, Moscow will use this opportunity to read to Europe its new status. There will be no negotiations,  but Europe will be allowed to beg.

Ania, Larry And Me...

Live in about 40 minutes. 

 

Open Thread...

Very busy today.

On A Lighter...

... I mean heavier note. You literally cannot make this shit up. Especially for pushers of Holodomor propaganda BS about "deliberate" Russian starving of 404. The fact that million plus Russians died from this famine is irrelevant for 404 brainwashed population. They love their Holodomor. They even have a museum. 

Суд не удовлетворил иск главы музея Голодомора Леси Гасиджак к юристу Климу Братковскому на предмет высмеивания её внешости. Об этом сообщает Ассоциация женщин-юристок Украины "ЮрФем". Теперь, по информации ассоциации, Гасиджак намерена подавать апелляцию. Напомним, летом 2023 года Братковский заявил, что Гасиджак не может возглавлять музей Голодомора из-за, по его мнению, неподходящей внешности. "Вы видели, как выглядит и.о. гендиректора Музея Голодомор Леся Гасиджак? Это какое-то издевательство над памятью о Голодоморе", – написал тогда мужчина в соцсети. Отметим, внешность Гасиджак, ставшей заведующей Музеем Голодомора, вызвала бурное обсуждение в украинских соцсетях: часть пользователей поддержала Братковского, другие сказали, что нельзя судить о человеке по его внешнему виду и тем более высказывать неприязнь на этой почве. "Музей Голодомора-геноцида должен возглавить военный, прошедший российский плен и знающий реально, что такое голод, поэтому он может понять всю суть музея о Голодоморе, а не госпожа Леся Гасиджак", – написал Братковский в соцсети позже.

Translation: The court did not satisfy the claim of the head of the Holodomor Museum Lesya Gasidzhak against lawyer Klim Bratkovsky regarding ridicule of her appearance. This was reported by the Association of Women Lawyers of Ukraine "YurFem". Now, according to the association, Gasidzhak intends to file an appeal. Recall that in the summer of 2023, Bratkovsky said that Gasidzhak cannot head the Holodomor Museum because, in his opinion, of her inappropriate appearance. "Have you seen what the acting general director of the Holodomor Museum Lesya Gasidzhak looks like? This is some kind of mockery of the memory of the Holodomor," the man wrote on a social network at the time. It should be noted that the appearance of Gasidzhak, who became the head of the Holodomor Museum, caused a heated discussion in Ukrainian social networks: some users supported Bratkovsky, others said that one cannot judge a person by his appearance and even more so express hostility on this basis. "The Holodomor-Genocide Museum should be headed by a military man who went through Russian captivity and really knows what hunger is, so he can understand the whole essence of the Holodomor museum, and not Mrs. Lesya Gasidzhak," Bratkovsky wrote on the social network later.

Here is Lesya Gasidzhak... 

Did SBU investigate the possibility that it was Lesya Gasidzhak who was partly responsible for a famine? Fucked up country, with a completely invented history (part of it invented by CIA, MI6 and BND) and a completely brainwashed population. A fucking circus of freaks...

Mathematics Of SEAD...

 ... and why it is ruthless towards US/Israeli militaries. 

VSU's Combat Training...

Sure looks more like a cannon fodder being primed for meat grinder. 

At this stage it is nothing more than war crime by Ze's regime and people who run it from Washington and London. But when did the military ethics really stop them? Boy, this guy really built back well.  

What a legacy. To kill what remained of the country in short four years. Per war crimes and ethics, and metaphysics of war--an excellent piece by Alexandr Rogers (in Russian).

Ugledar Falls...

 ... the whole front-line is on fire in 404. Iran puts on tour de force of its technology. Was it coordinated? But the DNC is getting one "present" after another before elections.  

It is about machines--always was, always will be.
 

Israeli AD Is Humiliated...

 ... together with Western journos who, apart from being imbeciles, have serious issues with depth perception. "Right next to us", seriously? 

Now, you saw and will continue to see main reasons why the US cannot fight real war against serious enemy--with AD like this (remember--Israel's AD is Boeing and Raytheon product, with some input from Rafael) staging areas of any US (NATO) formations will be torn to pieces, while air power will lose shitload of aircraft on the ground.

They Fly...

 ... and fly well. 

Fireworks over Israel. Now to those who were whining about new Iranian President as being a shill. He merely waited for Mishustin to depart. Now, get pop-corn and wait for reports of Israel's air defense shooting down all 146% of Iranian missiles. The salvo, evidently, consisted of around 400 missiles. That is a hell of a salvo. 

 Here is vaunted US-Israeli air defense...missing it all.

Russia Celebrates...

 ... on October 1 the Day of Ground Forces. 

Obviously, no force today fights alone, without VKS, ISR, Navy et al. But today, Russian Army NOT-arguably but in absolute terms is the most powerful fighting force in the world. It also rests on the foundation of a massive productive economy of Russia. I will be talking about economy again tomorrow. 

 

Preparing New...

 ... cannon fodder. Hitler-Jugend. Or, rather, Zelensky Jugend.

A Ukrainian copy. We know the final, right?

“History repeats itself, first as a tragedy, second as a farce.” (c) Karl Marx. 

Open Thread.

 Busy. Go at it.

It Is A Holiday In Russia...

 ... it is a Machine-builders' Day. 

День машиностроителя отмечается в России ежегодно в последнее воскресенье сентября на основании указа президиума Верховного Совета СССР от 1 октября 1980 года "О праздничных и памятных днях". Учрежден профессиональный праздник указом президиума Верховного Совета СССР от 15 августа 1966 года № 139-VII "Об установлении ежегодного праздника "Дня машиностроителя". В 2024 году он отмечается 29 сентября. Машиностроение – одна из ключевых, системообразующих и стратегически важных отраслей национальной экономики, тесно взаимосвязанная с ведущими отраслями экономики и обеспечивающая их устойчивое функционирование и наполнение потребительского рынка, являющаяся основой развития технологического ядра промышленности. От уровня развития машиностроения зависят важнейшие удельные показатели валового внутреннего продукта страны (материалоемкость, энергоемкость и т.д.), производительность труда в других отраслях хозяйства, уровень экологической безопасности промышленного производства и обороноспособность государства.

Translation: Machine Builder's Day is celebrated in Russia annually on the last Sunday of September based on the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated October 1, 1980 "On holidays and memorable days". The professional holiday was established by the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated August 15, 1966 No. 139-VII "On the establishment of the annual holiday "Machine Builder's Day". In 2024, it is celebrated on September 29. Machine Building is one of the key, system-forming and strategically important sectors of the national economy, closely interconnected with the leading sectors of the economy and ensuring their sustainable functioning and filling the consumer market, which is the basis for the development of the technological core of the industry. The most important specific indicators of the country's gross domestic product (material intensity, energy intensity, etc.), labor productivity in other sectors of the economy, the level of environmental safety of industrial production and the defense capability of the state depend on the level of development of machine building.

 

Yep. It is back into prominent celebration in Russia and no one can argue with thesis above. You either make machines or you are a geopolitical slave...

Additional Explanation...

 ... on updated Doctrine. It is about dragging out NATO cowards who have been hiding behind VSU cannon fodder's backs into the open. That's proxy removal. 

A Little Bit Of Beauty...

 ... for Saturday. 

This Is The Guy...

 ... who has Ph.D in political "science" and whose record of being wrong pretty much about everything is exemplary. Yet, this cretin still continues to "influence" such useless collection of "thinkers" as Council on Foreign Relations, and, of course, his knowledge of Russia and Russian people is about the same level as my knowledge of Mandarin. 

As was stressed by me over the years--in the West the war and warfare are handled primarily by credentialed amateurs, including those with general ranks and we can see the result. Obviously, explaining to some US "diplomat" or political "scientist" like Fukuyama what war is is a waste of time, due to them having no tool kit to grasp it, and is an exercise in Danning-Kruger futility, failing to explain the fool that he is a fool because he is a fool. Contemporary US "intellectual" strata is at best second rate, in reality--probably a collection of Fukuyamas with some handful of exceptions, who merely confirm the rule.

After I Defeated...

 ... bugs in my video soft, something on updates to Russia's nuclear doctrine and those pesky Houthies.  

Ugledar Is Hot...

 ... literally. You can see how Russian MLRS deal with the roads with VSU hardware and personnel on them trying to escape hell. 

 And, of course, incendiary munitions turning Ugledar into hell. 

These are visuals which are representative of the whole front which is very active. I guess Russians are getting ready for the US elections, if you know what I mean)).