First

 

of all, I really like this guys writing.

But I disagree with him a lot with what he says in this article.

What happens if Putin goes nuclear in Ukraine? Biden has a choice to make Simon Tisdall

"Russian forces are in retreat yet Nato still holds back for fear of what a humiliated Kremlin might do. But now is precisely the time to step up the pressure"

(Wrong! That is exactly what they want us to do! That is the "trap" that is being set for US/EU etc)

"Less comforting for the western democracies is an alternative theory: that the war is approaching “a moment of maximum danger”.

(Yes it most certainly is.)

"Yet even as he warned the US response would be “consequential”, Biden refused to say whether it would involve commensurate US or Nato military action. The tenor of his remarks suggested he has not personally raised the nuclear issue with Russia’s leader. This renewed angst about WMD reflects the trap Putin set for the west when he launched his invasion. By placing Russia’s nuclear forces on high alert, deploying nuclear-capable missiles closer to Nato states, and targeting Chornobyl and then the giant Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, he and flunkeys such as Dmitry Medvedev deliberately played up fears of Armageddon. They hoped to weaken backing for Kyiv and deter direct Nato intervention."

(It's not just playing up fears, they were "all in" on this or they never would have started. They are not playing up fears, they mean it.)

"While supplying Ukraine with ever increasing amounts of arms and materiel, Biden and his allies continue to limit the power, range and quality of such weapons to ensure Putin’s position is not so weakened that he turns to extreme measures."

(Maybe the powers that be know what the Russians are capable of with their hypersonic weapons? And that we have no defense? Maybe that is why the Russians are trying them out in the Ukraine first? Maybe that is why we "continue to limit the power, range and quality of such weapons" that we are giving them? Just like Germany did with its weapons in the Spanish civil war in the run up to WW2? And meanwhile, "ever increasing amounts of arms and materiel". 15 billion so far the US has approved. Like we can afford that? Just like I said in my thing I did last week, were spending $ we cant afford at a time when we can least afford it, giving out weapons were likely to need here shortly and meanwhile food and energy cost skyrocket, so who is really winning the longer this goes on? Putin hasn't explained this to Xi? Really? Interesting?)

"As a result Nato is still not providing the tanks, missile defences and the air cover Ukrainian forces need to secure liberated areas and press home their advantage."

(Wait a minute...if Ukraine needs missile defenses and air cover? How do they have the advantage again exactly? Or are they being toyed with? Again reference the piece about antiquated air defenses, an antiquated 200 piece air force vs a modern 1500 piece one etc and draw your own conclusions.)

"The Putin trap has other malign aspects, notably the Kremlin’s economic blitzkrieg on Europe. In effect it is using gas and oil to explode cost-of-living bombshells in every private home, shop and factory. EU politicians who thought they could reason with Putin are enmeshed in the very war-like confrontation they sought to avoid. Some are wavering."

(The Putin trap is this:

"now is precisely the time to step up the pressure"

That is exactly what he wants you to think.

"Some are wavering"

No kidding. Think he didn't know they were gonna before he said "Go!")

"Their (Putin/Xi) shared aim: the evisceration of the post-1945, western-led rules-based order. In this context, Ukraine and Taiwan are prologue."

(That part I 100% agree with. Given that statement? 

Do you really think "By placing Russia’s nuclear forces on high alert, deploying nuclear-capable missiles closer to NATO states, and targeting Chornobyl and then the giant Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, he and flunkeys such as Dmitry Medvedev deliberately played up fears of Armageddon."

Do you really think that is all about "playing up fears of Armageddon"? Russia and China see this as a now or never moment and are both "all in" to create their own "international order." They will use every resource at their disposal to do so.

"Don't touch the dial this is not a test!" I heard somebody say once :-).

"Demolished is the defeatist argument that Ukraine cannot prevail and that western military and economic aid only delays the inevitable."

(See the thing I did on the disparity in the air forces. Again, 100% disagree, we are spending $ we cant afford, sending weapons we don't need to be, and in an instant it could all be over with the use of the Russian Air Force alone. THIS, is the Putin trap being set for us and we are falling right in it.)

"Nor is it any longer assumed Putin’s grip on power is unshakeable. Increasing domestic criticism is heard, not least from his pro-war, nationalist supporters."

(Because only 3 or 4 people at the very top understand what he is doing. Think Paulie in Godfellas, one on one meetings only and only using pay phones :-), everybody only knows their lil part, nobody sees the overall game plan except the bare minimum at the top that have too)

"Now is not the time to relax the pressure for fear of what Putin might do. On the contrary, it’s time to crank it up. Because, ironically, it’s Putin who is trapped now. He must not escape the consequences of his actions."

(That? That is your "Putin trap". That is exactly what he wants you to think. The guy was a KGB station chief for goodness sakes and has been out smarting the west for decades. All the sudden he just got stupid? How does this author not know the disparity between the air forces/air defenses etc?)

"It means sending more, better heavy weapons to Kyiv..."

(Exactly what Putin wants and what we can not afford to do)

“There is little he [Putin] won’t do when he feels it is necessary to win on the battlefield,” warned analyst Daniel Davis, a retired US army colonel. But this is not an argument for cutting him some slack."

"Don’t give him an inch. Keep him on the run. Show him there’s no way out but back. And if, panicked and vengeful, Putin does indeed threaten to use a tactical nuclear weapon in Ukraine, the response must be hard and clear."

"Biden must personally and formally inform him, in advance, that any such attack, breaking the global taboo on nuclear aggression and undercutting international security, would be viewed as an act of war against the US and Nato – with all the awesome, regime-toppling consequences that might entail. Perhaps Biden has already done this. Hopefully he has.

In which case, stop pulling western punches. Get on and ensure Ukraine wins, wins well, and wins soon."

(If we could? If it was in our best  interest to "stop pulling western punches. Get on and ensure Ukraine wins, wins well, and wins soon."

Don't you think we already would have?

Wait till winter comes and Europe freezes, then what?

We are going to live to see things we just never thought in a million years we would have.

Just way to many crises with no easy way out, it ought to be telling you what time period we are entering.

Romans 10:8-10

But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,”[a] that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved."

Godspeed everybody.

"Journey well" as my friend likes to say :-)