12-23-2017, 11:50 PM
*** 24-Dec-17 World View -- US sending anti-tank missiles to Ukraine as East Ukraine violence surges
This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com
****
**** US sending anti-tank missiles to Ukraine as East Ukraine violence surges
****
![[Image: g171223b.jpg]](http://Media.GenerationalDynamics.com/ww2010/g171223b.jpg)
Portable Javelin anti-tank missile
In a move that some analysts describe as escalatory, the US State
Department announced that it will be sending weapons to the government
of Ukraine to provide "enhanced defensive capabilities" to help
Ukraine build its military long-term, defend its sovereignty and
"deter further aggression." According to State Dept. spokesman
Heather Nauert:
<QUOTE>"US assistance is entirely defensive in nature, and as
we have always said, Ukraine is a sovereign country and has a
right to defend itself."<END QUOTE>
She did not describe what weapons will be sent, but unnamed
sources say that they will include portable Javelin anti-tank missiles.
The semantics are complex here. It's true that these missiles can be
shot at people to kill them, but that would largely be a waste since
they're designed to destroy tanks, in particular the Russia-supplied
tanks that the Russians have been using in East Ukraine to win battles
and gain ground on Ukrainian forces. For that reason, the Javelin
anti-tank missiles are described as defensive in nature.
Ukraine's president Petro Poroshenko has been requesting these and
other lethal weapons for years, as the Russians have been gaining
ground in East Ukraine. President Barack Obama considered sending
lethal weapons to Ukraine, but never approved them. Both Republicans
and Democrats have called on the government to provide these weapons.
President Donald Trump has been considering the plan ever since the
State Department and the Pentagon signed off earlier this year, and
finally approved it last week. AP and Newsweek (21-Dec) and Guardian (London)
****
**** Violence surges in East Ukraine as Russia withdraws its monitors
****
The war between Russians and Ukrainians in East Ukraine began in 2014,
but has been thought to be a "frozen conflict" for some time,
because of the "Minsk agreement," a ceasefire agreement signed
in 2015.
However, the ceasefire has been pretty much meaningless, as the
violence has been escalating much of the year, according to the
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), which
monitors ceasefire violations. According to the OSCE, there have been
16,000 ceasefire violations in one week alone, December 11-17.
According to the OSCE:
<QUOTE>"We note with concern a sharp deterioration in the
security situation with ceasefire violations reaching levels not
recorded since February this year."<END QUOTE>
Kurt Volker, the US special envoy for Ukraine, says that the war is
ratcheting up into a major crisis:
<QUOTE>"A lot of people think that this has somehow turned
into a sleepy, frozen conflict and it's stable and now we have...a
cease-fire. It's a problem but it's not a crisis.
That's completely wrong. It is a crisis. This has been the most
violent year, 2017, and frankly last night was one of the most
violent nights, certainly since February, and possibly this
year."<END QUOTE>
Volker was speaking on December 19, and he was referring to the surge
in violence that occurred the day before -- just after Russia withdrew
its ceasefire monitors from the OSCE monitoring programs. Volker
tweeted:
<QUOTE>"Russia withdrew its officers from JCCC - a ceasefire
implementation tool - right before a massive escalation in
ceasefire violations. Ukraine just suffered some of the worst
fighting since February, 2017. Decision for peace lies with
Russia. 9:01 AM - 19 Dec 2017"<END QUOTE>
Volker said that the "massive escalation" in violence was correlated
to the Russia's withdrawal from the ceasefire monitoring program, and
suggested that it was coordinated by the Russian soldiers in east
Ukraine. Reuters and RFE/RL and AFP
Related Articles
****
**** Russia objects to weapons sale with laughable statement
****
It's worthwhile to take a moment to review the massive program of
disinformation and lies that Russia has pursued since the beginning of
the Ukraine conflict.
Russia always denied that there were Russian army troops in Ukraine,
and when it was proven there were, the Russians claimed that they were
just "volunteers." That also turned out to be disinformation, as 80%
of Russia's army is a volunteer army. America has an all-volunteer
army. So saying that Russian troops in Ukraine are "volunteers" is
like saying that America's troops in Iraq and Afghanistan are
"volunteers."
In July 2014, the Russians in eastern Ukraine shot down Malaysia
Airlines Flight MH17 passenger plane with a Russian Buk 9M38 missile
that was transported by a Volvo truck from Russia, as was confirmed in
2015 by a Dutch report following a lengthy investigation. Russia made
one moronic claim after another, everything from the claim that MH17
fell out of the sky by itself to a claim that the US shot down MH17 to
embarrass Putin.
After Putin's Russian forces invaded Crimea, Putin denied that there
were Russian troops in Crimea, but later he awarded a medal to the
leaders of the successful invasion. Putin said there were no plans to
annex Crimea, but then Russia annexed Crimea soon after.
The point of reviewing all this history is that now we're in a new
Ukraine crisis, and we're in the same situation, where everything that
the Russians say is 100% worthless.
So now we have Russia’s deputy foreign minister, Grigory Karasin,
saying that the US decision "raises the danger of derailing the
process of peaceful settlement in Ukraine."
This is laughable. There is no "process of peaceful settlement."
The war in east Ukraine is being fought by Russian troops --
"volunteers" -- supplied with heavy Russian weapons, including tanks.
As Kurt Volker says, "Decision for peace lies with Russia."
The Ukrainian troops are defensive. East Ukrainian is Ukrainian
territory being invaded by foreign troops -- Russian troops. So if
Karasin is serious about a "process of peaceful settlement," then
Russia could stop sending troops and weapons into East Ukraine.
It's also up to the Russians to turn this into a full-scale war. Most
analysts believe that the Russians do not want this, and can't really
even afford it. But that's what would happen if the Russians send in
more troops and more weapons. Russia Today and NBC News
Related Articles
KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Russia, Vladimir Putin,
Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, Crimea, Grigory Karasin,
Heather Nauert, Kurt Volker,
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, OSCE,
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, Russian Buk 9M38 missile
Permanent web link to this article
Receive daily World View columns by e-mail
Contribute to Generational Dynamics via PayPal
John J. Xenakis
100 Memorial Drive Apt 8-13A
Cambridge, MA 02142
Phone: 617-864-0010
E-mail: john@GenerationalDynamics.com
Web site: http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com
Forum: http://www.gdxforum.com/forum
Subscribe to World View: http://generationaldynamics.com/subscribe
This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com
- US sending anti-tank missiles to Ukraine as East Ukraine violence surges
- Violence surges in East Ukraine as Russia withdraws its monitors
- Russia objects to weapons sale with laughable statement
****
**** US sending anti-tank missiles to Ukraine as East Ukraine violence surges
****
Portable Javelin anti-tank missile
In a move that some analysts describe as escalatory, the US State
Department announced that it will be sending weapons to the government
of Ukraine to provide "enhanced defensive capabilities" to help
Ukraine build its military long-term, defend its sovereignty and
"deter further aggression." According to State Dept. spokesman
Heather Nauert:
<QUOTE>"US assistance is entirely defensive in nature, and as
we have always said, Ukraine is a sovereign country and has a
right to defend itself."<END QUOTE>
She did not describe what weapons will be sent, but unnamed
sources say that they will include portable Javelin anti-tank missiles.
The semantics are complex here. It's true that these missiles can be
shot at people to kill them, but that would largely be a waste since
they're designed to destroy tanks, in particular the Russia-supplied
tanks that the Russians have been using in East Ukraine to win battles
and gain ground on Ukrainian forces. For that reason, the Javelin
anti-tank missiles are described as defensive in nature.
Ukraine's president Petro Poroshenko has been requesting these and
other lethal weapons for years, as the Russians have been gaining
ground in East Ukraine. President Barack Obama considered sending
lethal weapons to Ukraine, but never approved them. Both Republicans
and Democrats have called on the government to provide these weapons.
President Donald Trump has been considering the plan ever since the
State Department and the Pentagon signed off earlier this year, and
finally approved it last week. AP and Newsweek (21-Dec) and Guardian (London)
****
**** Violence surges in East Ukraine as Russia withdraws its monitors
****
The war between Russians and Ukrainians in East Ukraine began in 2014,
but has been thought to be a "frozen conflict" for some time,
because of the "Minsk agreement," a ceasefire agreement signed
in 2015.
However, the ceasefire has been pretty much meaningless, as the
violence has been escalating much of the year, according to the
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), which
monitors ceasefire violations. According to the OSCE, there have been
16,000 ceasefire violations in one week alone, December 11-17.
According to the OSCE:
<QUOTE>"We note with concern a sharp deterioration in the
security situation with ceasefire violations reaching levels not
recorded since February this year."<END QUOTE>
Kurt Volker, the US special envoy for Ukraine, says that the war is
ratcheting up into a major crisis:
<QUOTE>"A lot of people think that this has somehow turned
into a sleepy, frozen conflict and it's stable and now we have...a
cease-fire. It's a problem but it's not a crisis.
That's completely wrong. It is a crisis. This has been the most
violent year, 2017, and frankly last night was one of the most
violent nights, certainly since February, and possibly this
year."<END QUOTE>
Volker was speaking on December 19, and he was referring to the surge
in violence that occurred the day before -- just after Russia withdrew
its ceasefire monitors from the OSCE monitoring programs. Volker
tweeted:
<QUOTE>"Russia withdrew its officers from JCCC - a ceasefire
implementation tool - right before a massive escalation in
ceasefire violations. Ukraine just suffered some of the worst
fighting since February, 2017. Decision for peace lies with
Russia. 9:01 AM - 19 Dec 2017"<END QUOTE>
Volker said that the "massive escalation" in violence was correlated
to the Russia's withdrawal from the ceasefire monitoring program, and
suggested that it was coordinated by the Russian soldiers in east
Ukraine. Reuters and RFE/RL and AFP
Related Articles
- New fighting between Ukraine and Russia flares up in eastern Ukraine (01-Feb-2017)
- EU agrees to grant visa-free travel to people of Ukraine and Georgia (10-Dec-2016)
- BBC reporters attacked by Russian thugs after finding evidence of new Ukraine invasion (19-Sep-2014)
****
**** Russia objects to weapons sale with laughable statement
****
It's worthwhile to take a moment to review the massive program of
disinformation and lies that Russia has pursued since the beginning of
the Ukraine conflict.
Russia always denied that there were Russian army troops in Ukraine,
and when it was proven there were, the Russians claimed that they were
just "volunteers." That also turned out to be disinformation, as 80%
of Russia's army is a volunteer army. America has an all-volunteer
army. So saying that Russian troops in Ukraine are "volunteers" is
like saying that America's troops in Iraq and Afghanistan are
"volunteers."
In July 2014, the Russians in eastern Ukraine shot down Malaysia
Airlines Flight MH17 passenger plane with a Russian Buk 9M38 missile
that was transported by a Volvo truck from Russia, as was confirmed in
2015 by a Dutch report following a lengthy investigation. Russia made
one moronic claim after another, everything from the claim that MH17
fell out of the sky by itself to a claim that the US shot down MH17 to
embarrass Putin.
After Putin's Russian forces invaded Crimea, Putin denied that there
were Russian troops in Crimea, but later he awarded a medal to the
leaders of the successful invasion. Putin said there were no plans to
annex Crimea, but then Russia annexed Crimea soon after.
The point of reviewing all this history is that now we're in a new
Ukraine crisis, and we're in the same situation, where everything that
the Russians say is 100% worthless.
So now we have Russia’s deputy foreign minister, Grigory Karasin,
saying that the US decision "raises the danger of derailing the
process of peaceful settlement in Ukraine."
This is laughable. There is no "process of peaceful settlement."
The war in east Ukraine is being fought by Russian troops --
"volunteers" -- supplied with heavy Russian weapons, including tanks.
As Kurt Volker says, "Decision for peace lies with Russia."
The Ukrainian troops are defensive. East Ukrainian is Ukrainian
territory being invaded by foreign troops -- Russian troops. So if
Karasin is serious about a "process of peaceful settlement," then
Russia could stop sending troops and weapons into East Ukraine.
It's also up to the Russians to turn this into a full-scale war. Most
analysts believe that the Russians do not want this, and can't really
even afford it. But that's what would happen if the Russians send in
more troops and more weapons. Russia Today and NBC News
Related Articles
- Dutch report confirms that Russian missile shot down airliner over Ukraine (14-Oct-2015)
- Russia's sophisticated disinformation campaign over Ukraine (15-Aug-2014)
- Vladimir Putin brags about how he lied about Russia's invasion of Crimea (10-Mar-2015)
KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Russia, Vladimir Putin,
Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, Crimea, Grigory Karasin,
Heather Nauert, Kurt Volker,
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, OSCE,
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, Russian Buk 9M38 missile
Permanent web link to this article
Receive daily World View columns by e-mail
Contribute to Generational Dynamics via PayPal
John J. Xenakis
100 Memorial Drive Apt 8-13A
Cambridge, MA 02142
Phone: 617-864-0010
E-mail: john@GenerationalDynamics.com
Web site: http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com
Forum: http://www.gdxforum.com/forum
Subscribe to World View: http://generationaldynamics.com/subscribe
