Johnny Harris Is Moron.

He is also a Mormon. You would expect it from the guy who earns his living pretending to know "how to travel" and who has two "major" degrees in nothing such as BS in "international relations" and MA in "conflict resolution" from this and that. In other words, Johnny is a brainwashed parrot with enough pseudo-academic credentials and ability to string together several big words to avoid immediately applying for barista position in any of the numerous espresso kiosks and enough to spew BS on subjects he have no clue about. Here is Johnny(c)

Johnny, who wouldn't know the difference between LGBT and BTG, let alone having any clue "what Putin really wants", because people who taught him also do not and cannot possibly know, still tries to do geopolitical "analysis" because, you know, as Yogurt used to say: merchandising, merchandising. 

In this video by this polymath I posted above, Johnny gets it wrong not just badly, he obviously has no clue on how national security works (really, and I mean like really--Johnny wasn't taught that) but what it takes to balance things out between the combined West and Russia. Well, at least Johnny gives Putin the credit where the credit is due, because, as Johnny admits, Putin is "smart and well-read". Forget about Putin's background of an extremely well educated lawyer and foreign intelligence professional from arguably the best spy school in the world. What Johnny doesn't know, it is the fact that there are around 146 million Russians and most of them have a better feel for history and issues of national security than most people in the top positions in Washington D.C. including at the very top of CIA, Pentagon and State Department. So, it is not that Putin "runs" Russia, Putin merely serves overwhelming Russians' public opinion. And it is aware about war and the West orders of magnitude better than Harris. Even famous Russophobe and falsifier of Russian history, late Richard Pipes has to admit that, granted Russia's historic sacrifice in blood and treasure:

“Such figures are beyond the comprehension of most Americans. But clearly ... Such a country (Russia) tends also to assess the rewards of defense in much more realistic terms."

But then again, North American institutions allegedly providing an illusion of "education" in governance, do not really teach actual governance because... oh, boy--long story. But, as I already mentioned it before, Johnny shouldn't rely on my obviously partial opinion, let's us call on J.D.Vance:

Billions spent on the Kennedy school, grand strategies seminars, and the Georgetown school of foreign service has bought us an elite that’s about to blunder us into a Ukraine war. Our country is broken, especially in how it trains its leaders.

And J.D.Vance is a notable figure in the US politics, not that it really matters but still, he nails the issue and he got his Juris Doctor from Yale, I don't know if our Johnny gets the hint. Sadly, the profession of the modern Western "journalist" (Johnny is a "journalist", by his own admission--of course, all vacancies in State Department are occupied by ignoramuses from much more prestigious schools and with connections) is a euphemism for an ignorant BSer. Most of them anyway, and Harris is not an exception because the amount of propaganda and BS he spews in his video about what Putin "really wants" is staggering. And, as you might expect, no real (like in real real) desires of Putin are exposed. Difficult to do so when your only skill is in speaking and in "conflict resolution". Can Johnny "resolve" a conflict between two BCT (you know, Brigade Combat Teams) in Estonia and n-number of BTGs supported by two regiments of SU-34s. Just asking, because, obviously, Johnny doesn't know how states react to threats. They didn't teach him. 

But apart from sheer stupidity, this Harris guy is an embodiment of a "quality" of modern Western academe and governing class because most of the US "humanities" field was reduced to indoctrination and an old issue of removing causalities and substituting them with utterly contrived narratives, which started long before Harris was born and which finally succeeded by producing what can only be described as a catastrophe in both foreign and domestic policies in the US due to utter incompetence of what passes here for "elites". Harris, same as this half "brain"...

Who also speaks about subject he has no clue about, belong to the realm of entertainment, where they should discuss Stock Market, new iPhones, lingerie of new Hollywood starlets, maybe some sports cars or even IKEA furniture, but not the issues which in 21st century require an extremely serious technical, military, diplomatic and economic (industrial) expertise, not some BS "degrees" in who knows what, some fake academic subjects which are only good for... spewing the ignorant BS. Johnny, you are still young, while it is not too late--get a good valid education or maybe try arts, you never know--you may have a talent for writing and dramaturgy, and, boy, do we really need good ones at this stage. Otherwise, you don't want to be an Exhibit A of a state of being a moron.

Byron King On Wargames.

Last few days were excellent in terms of many people of repute, and who I, personally, keep in high regard professionally and writing-wise. First Commander Salamander went full broadside on the latest developments, now Byron King, eloquent as ever, wrote a superb piece on war-gaming and the issue of governance. It is my pleasure to let him talk. In his piece:

“It Failed Miserably” – What If the US Lost a War and Nobody Noticed? 

He makes some crucial observations which expand on what Sal wrote few days ago. And mind you, these people are not some YouTube fanboys who make videos heavy on military porn and light on knowledge. These are senior (serving and former) American naval officers who know what operational and strategic level of warfare looks like and how it manifests itself in military organization. Byron also opens with a broadside:

I have a friend who teaches at the university level — at a U.S. service academy, no less. The other day he was running a class and posed a short (but profound) question to a group of students. Namely, what was the most recent strategic disaster suffered by the U.S. military? “Blank expressions,” noted my friend. After a period of time, one student offered an answer… “Afghanistan?” (And yes, the student’s answer was in the form of a question.) Dutifully, my professor-friend led the students in a discussion of what happened in a war that began before they were born and whose outcomes will affect them for the rest of their lives. There’s a Whiskey tale to tell just based on this anecdote alone. But wait, there’s more! Because America’s loss in Afghanistan has already been overshadowed.

After that he meticulously lists factors which influence what he identifies as the main problem:

In this sense — that sense of reaching out to bomb people far from U.S. shores — America’s long wars are not just a military issue, easily dismissed by civilians as some sort of niche problem for the Pentagon. No, because closer to home, the long wars reveal seismic flaws in the very nature and character of U.S. governance. The long wars reveal a deep weakness in the American form of government itself. Indeed, we’re a long way from the sage advice of President John Quincy Adams, that “Americans should not go abroad to slay dragons they do not understand in the name of spreading democracy.” And look at it this way. It’s not as if the U.S. ever had a series of national referenda on 30 years of continuous warfare. In fact, the past three decades of war overseas were based on the geopolitical ideas of a relatively small, self-perpetuating cabal of elite elected players and policy wonks, in Washington and various brain-tanks. Many familiar names, to be sure.

The problem is political, it is on the level of governance. Recall Branislaw Malinowski's 1941 observation: "Another interesting point in the study of aggression is that, like charity, it begins at home." In general, read Byron's excellent piece, it is worth your time and that is why I bring it to your attention.