RUTHFULLY YOURS

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/19399/china-balloon-us-weakness

If China perceives that the America’s leaders lack resolve or that its national security decision-makers are divided, these failures can only tempt Chinese aggression against Siberia or Taiwan. After watching America’s debacles in Afghanistan and a week of hosting the balloon, China must be asking: If not now, when?

These reconnaissance flights seem but one dimension of a vast, multidimensional intelligence-collection effort by China.

The most important lesson China might have learned, unfortunately, is that Washington’s bungled balloon performance could well be replicated if Communist China’s President Xi Jinping invaded Taiwan or other targets.

The second-most damaging impact to US security regarding spy balloon that the Chinese Communist Party floated over the entire US continent may have been the assessment that China’s decision-makers gleaned from the perceived clumsy and indecisive manner in which America’s political and military leaders responded to the incident.

China, flaunting a lack of respect for the US, publicly ridiculed the balloon’s shoot-down and did not answer the phone when US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin called. If China perceives that the America’s leaders lack resolve or that its national security decision-makers are divided, these failures can only tempt Chinese aggression against Siberia or Taiwan. After watching America’s debacles in Afghanistan and a week of hosting the balloon, China must be asking: If not now, when?

The saga of China’s balloon, as well as other unidentified objects in the skies over the US and Canada, only adds to the confused and feckless decision-making process of America’s political military leadership. Why, as reported, did the Pentagon brass really not follow Biden’s order to shoot down the balloon immediately after the White House was notified?

https://www.hoover.org/publications/strategika

As the Ukraine war enters its twelfth month, the military situation remains a stalemate, but a stalemate that gives the political advantage to Russia. If Russia can hold most of the territory in the oblasts of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson that it annexed on Sept. 30, 2022, it will claim success for its “special military operation.”

In furtherance of what strategic interests has the United States acted in Ukraine? Is Ukraine’s NATO membership an American raison d’état? Did American strategists really believe that sanctions would shut down Russia’s economy? Did they imagine that the trading patterns of the Asian continent would shift to flow around the sanctions? Did they consider the materiel requirements of a long war that is exhausting American stockpiles? Did they consider what tripwires might elicit the use of nuclear weapons? Or did they sleepwalk into the conflict, as the European powers did in 1914?

Why did Russia invade? Would Russia have invaded Ukraine if the West and the Zelensky government had put Minsk II into effect, with autonomous Russophone regions within a sovereign and neutral Ukraine? Contrafactual history is inherently unprovable, but there are good reasons to believe that this is true. Protecting the rights of Russians separated from the motherland by the breakup of the Soviet Union is a Russian raison d’état. After more than 14,000 casualties in fighting between Ukrainian nationalists and pro-Russian separatists in Donbas before the February 24th invasion, it is hard to argue that Russia’s concerns were groundless.

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/19375/biden-tanks-ukraine

From the outset of the conflict, Russian President Vladimir Putin has calculated that Western support for Ukraine would eventually wane. And, with the Russians reported to be preparing a new spring offensive, any sign of hesitancy by Washington in terms of supporting Ukraine will encourage Putin in the belief that he will meet no meaningful resistance from the Western alliance….

The Ukrainian military says it is in desperate need of the heavy armour if it is to withstand a new offensive.

The Pentagon, which has been lukewarm about supplying the tanks from the outset, says the delays are due to the fact that it will need to purchase new Abrams tanks to supply Ukraine because the Defense Department doesn’t have any available spares, which seems remarkable given that the US Army and US Marine Corps currently operate nearly 5,000 Abrams.

The [F-16 fighter jets], just like the tanks, are deemed essential if the Ukrainian military is to stand any chance of withstanding a new Russian offensive. The supply of Western fighters such as the F-16 would significantly enhance Ukraine’s war-fighting capability, and would send a strong message to Putin that the West remains committed to ensuring Ukraine ultimately declares victory over Russia.

As with so many other issues relating to Ukraine, the Biden administration finds itself unable to reach any firm decision about whether or not to accede to Kyiv’s request….

As with the tanks request, it has been left to European politicians to increase the pressure on the Biden administration to respond positively to the Ukraine request for fighter jets, with former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson making a direct appeal for Washington to supply warplanes during his recent visit to the US.

“The faster Putin gets out of Ukraine and the quicker we return to stability and the more powerful the message we send to people like China that the West – America, the U.K. – will not tolerate aggressive attempts to change borders by force,” Johnson said.

Certainly, the Biden administration’s constant dithering over its military support for Ukraine is not only demoralising for the brave Ukrainian forces fighting to protect their country from Russian tyranny. It also encourages Putin in the belief that, despite the significant losses he has suffered during the past year, he can ultimately achieve victory.

President Joe Biden may feel that, by finally authorising the shipment of American tanks to Ukraine, he has demonstrated that he remains committed to the Ukrainian cause. But given the time it will take for the tanks to arrive in Ukraine, it could well prove to be an empty gesture.

Furthermore, with the White House resisting Ukrainian requests for F-16 fighter jets to protect the tanks, Biden risks sending mixed messages about just how committed his administration is to supporting Kyiv in its fight against the Russian invaders.

https://freebeacon.com/national-security/full-of-hot-air-how-bidens-weakness-assures-chinese-aggression/

President Joe Biden’s weakness with China is once again on display. Earlier this week, U.S. officials tracked a Chinese reconnaissance balloon over the American mainland. A Chinese Communist Party spokesperson claimed this was nothing more than a “weather research” balloon that had simply blown off course. Sure, the CCP’s harmless weather balloon just happened to pass over multiple sensitive military sites vital to America’s national security—nobody should believe that nonsense, especially not the Biden administration.

Even if it were true, the CCP’s policy of civil-military fusion—which requires all available research and technology, from China’s private sector or otherwise, to be shared with the Chinese military—makes such an excuse an impossibility. Thus, this appears to be an intentional act of espionage, and it signals that the CCP is feeling ever more emboldened with Biden in charge. If the Biden administration does not act to change this paradigm quickly, the threat of conflict will only continue to grow. Weakness breeds aggression. America must demonstrate clear strength and resolve.

This is far from the first time the CCP has engaged in acts of espionage against the American people. China is, and has been for years, aggressively engaged in acts of espionage and propaganda against the American people at all levels of American society. The threat from the CCP is very real here at home, in places like Des Moines, Tallahassee, and Pittsburgh. Its malign activity doesn’t stay in Beijing or Wuhan; it is already inside our gates.

The CCP has targeted officials in our federal government, like congressman Eric Swalwell and Senator Dianne Feinstein, as well as our universities, local governments, media, think tanks, and more. The CCP underwrote a program of “Confucius Institutes” at American universities, ostensibly to foster cultural connections on our campuses, but in reality, to spy on students and professors and steal intellectual property. China’s economy was built on the backs of Americans not only by taking American jobs but also, crucially, by an unparalleled campaign of corporate espionage that has robbed Americans of billions of dollars’ worth of intellectual property. Even seemingly innocuous apps like TikTok have been revealed to be little more than tools for collecting the private information of Americans and spreading CCP propaganda.

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/19371/biden-gift-iran-china-russia

Thanks to the Biden administration’s weak and vacillating leadership, Iran, Russia and China have been emboldened to levels never before seen.

[T]he Biden administration has not been taking any action to deter, disincentivize or punish those who breach the sanctions. Ever since the Biden administration assumed office, in fact, Iran’s oil exports have been on the rise… of which more than 800,000 barrels a day are being exported to China.

Thanks to the Biden administration’s abject posture towards China; its dithering over help to Ukraine; its ruining the US economy by shutting down America’s energy independence then rushing to buy oil from Saudi Arabia and Venezuela rather than Canada; the unconscionable abandonment of Afghanistan and our allies there; the Biden family’s appearance of influence-peddling, and, by closing down the China Initiative, the administration’s failure to stop Communist China’s runaway espionage, Russia, Iran and China are simply not taking the US seriously.

So long as the Biden administration does not demonstrate real leadership, Iran, Russia and China will continue to seize all opportunities to become more empowered and emboldened. The Biden administration’s legacy so far appears to be leaving the world a far more dangerous place.

Thanks to the Biden administration’s weak and vacillating leadership, Iran, Russia and China have been emboldened to levels never before seen.

First, the US sanctions against Russia are completely being smoothly violated by Iran’s mullahs and China. Despite the Biden administration’s sanctions, Iran’s oil exports have reached a new peak last month.

https://www.frontpagemag.com/blinken-stays-home-to-avoid-confronting-china-over-spy-balloon/

“The Biden administration talks tough to Americans, but is gutless in the face of the enemy.”

“Should I stay or should I go?”

Blinken had been scheduled to meet with top officials in China Feb. 5-6 in a follow-up to President Joe Biden’s meeting with Chinese paramount leader Xi Jinping in Bali in November, in which Biden pledged to “maintain open lines of communication” with Beijing at a time of worsening bilateral tensions.

But that was scuttled after the Pentagon announced Thursday that it had discovered a Chinese airship hovering over Montana, saying it had “very high confidence” the balloon had been sent to the U.S. to collect sensitive information.

The balloon’s intrusion constituted a “clear violation of our sovereignty” and prompted the State Department to indefinitely delay Blinken’s visit until “conditions are right,” a senior State Department official said in a press briefing.

Conditions will be right when Americans forget about the spy balloon (and these days that takes about 24 hours) and then Secretary of State Blinken can make the trip to focus on “partnering with China” in the fight against the weather by buying garbage Chinese ‘green’ technology and taxing Americans to pay for it.

https://www.jewishpolicycenter.org/insight/

As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine heads into its second year, the American-led strategy of handing off weapons to Kyiv and hoping the underdog can defeat the overdog needs adjustment. Both US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley have expressed concerns about the US-German tank deal for Kyiv. But US F-16 fighter jets have been rumored as the next Ukrainian “ask.”

Supporters of the weapons-only strategy often cite Israel, usually with admiration. Israel doesn’t ask for, want, or have American forces fighting for it. With American weapons and outside support, Israel defeats its enemy and remains secure. This, they say, validates the Biden administration’s strategy.

It isn’t an exact analogy. Israel has an indigenous weapons and training capability and has spent its modern lifetime improving its ability to meet and defeat its enemies. Even so, it finds its ties, first to the US European Command (EUCOM) and now the US Central Command (USCENTCOM), a welcome source of allied cooperation. Israel isn’t asking for American troop support, but certainly sees itself as part of an integrated defense in the Red Sea and beyond.

Further, Israel’s state enemies have had battlefield doctrine, equipment, and outside political support that was manageable for Israel. Non-state actors represented challenges of a different, but not existential, nature. Iran in both its nuclear and terror-supporting modes presents a new threat and Israel’s doctrine has evolved accordingly.

Ukraine, on the other hand, faces Russia. And Russia’s military history is one of “grinding” until the enemy gives up. The number of Russians Moscow was willing to commit to battle has historically been endless, and the destruction of enemy infrastructure and civilian targets is part of the plan. Stalin’s war in Ukraine cost an estimated 3.9 million Ukrainian lives. An estimated 40,000 Soviet civilians died in a defensive battle at Stalingrad, along with 800,000 Axis troops and 1,100,000 Soviet forces killed, wounded, or captured. Overall, Russian figures show 8.6 million military casualties in WWII and 24-27 million casualties overall.

https://bit.ly/3Ye0qUX

Secretary Blinken’s January 29-31, 2023 visit to Egypt, Israel and the Palestinian Authority was another one of his milestones, well-intentioned – but erroneous – Middle East legacies. It has backfired on vital US interests, in general, and the pursuit of regional stability and peace, in particular.

*A major issue raised by President El-Sisi, during his meeting with Secretary Blinken, was the volcanic turbulence in Libya, which has traumatized the region since 2011, fueling Muslim Brotherhood terrorism in Egypt and overall Islamic terrorism in Africa and Europe.

*This turbulence was triggered by a US-led NATO military offensive against the Gaddafi regime, and was masterminded, largely, by key policy-makers in the Obama-Biden Administration. They included Antony Blinken, then National Security Advisor to Vice President Biden, and were led by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, her close advisor and Director of Policy Planning Jake Sullivan, UN Ambassador Susan Rice and Special Assistant to President Obama Samantha Power.

*The offensive was motivated by noble values of human rights, but went astray due to an intrinsic misreading of the Middle East, in general, and Libya, in particular, where Gaddafi was not fighting innocent bystanders, but anti-US Islamic terrorists. In fact, these terrorists murdered the US Ambassador to Libya, Christopher Stevens, following their US-facilitated victory over Gaddafi.

*While the aim of the offensive was to prevent a massive slaughter of non-combatant Libyans by Gaddafi, the outcome of the offensive has doomed Libya to decades of chaos, plagued by an ongoing slaughter house, which has dwarfed the worst casualty assessments made by Clinton and Blinken.

*The ill-advised offensive has transformed Libya – the soft underbelly of Europe – into one of the world’s largest platforms of anti-Western Islamic terrorists, drugs and arms traffickers.  It energized a global resurgence of Islamic terrorism, and became a home base for scores of terrorist militias and an arena of civil wars with the participation of Turkey, Qatar, Italy, Russia, Egypt, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and France.