Category: War

One Step Closer?

For most of this year the Dems have been trying to make it a policy that the president cannot go to war without permission from the Congress and yesterday they may have come one step closer to making it so….

Lawmakers in the House just sent another warning shot over President Trump’s Iran policy. On Thursday, they passed a Democratic-backed war powers resolution aimed at curbing his ability to continue the conflict, with four Republicans crossing the aisle in a 214–208 vote. GOP Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Warren Davidson of Ohio, and Tom Barrett of Michigan sided with Democrats on the resolution to require congressional approval for the war, the Washington Post reports. The same four Republicans voted for a similar resolution last month, before the conflict reignited with daily US strikes on Iran.

The resolution’s sponsor, Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington, said the war has “no clear mission, no strategy, no end goal.” The measure doesn’t go to Trump’s desk and is widely viewed as symbolic, and any binding curb on his authority would almost certainly face a veto. Still, with the Senate weighing its own war powers measure Thursday morning, the move underscores mounting bipartisan unease over a grinding conflict that has recently intensified, including the deaths of four US troops in the region over the weekend, Politico reports.

During debate on the resolution, Republican Rep. Brian Mast of Florida, chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, read out the names of the 18 US service members killed since the war began, the AP reports. “To belittle this mission is to belittle and demean the very service these members gave their life for,” he said. “Their sacrifice was not meaningless. This operation is bringing reckoning for the hundreds of times Iran has attacked and killed people of the United States of America.” The committee’s top Democrat, Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York, said presidents are supposed to obtain congressional approval for wars. The service members, he said, died in “an illegal unauthorized war that the American people don’t want.”

This is not a done deal but at least we are closer to making Donny ask permission before bombing more countries…..which is a good idea for he is considering another country to be bombed…..

President Trump is considering opening a new military front in another nation, with advisers weighing military strikes in Mali against an al-Qaeda-linked group known as JNIM, reports the Washington Post. The idea is reportedly championed inside the National Security Council by foreign policy hawks such as Sebastian Gorka, Trump’s counterterrorism director, but faces resistance from other senior officials, according to current and former unnamed officials who spoke to the Post. The militant group’s stronghold is in Mali, but it has launched regional attacks throughout West Africa.

The US is pressing African and NATO partners to support Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger in the Sahel region. All are ruled by juntas that have ousted democratic leaders and turned to Russia for security help, and the US faults Moscow for being a weak partner. Critics warn US strikes could entangle Washington with Russian forces, empower Islamic State rivals, or push JNIM to target Americans and deepen ties to al-Qaeda. Others argue force is needed to keep jihadist groups from cementing a stronger foothold in the region. If approved, Mali would become the eighth country where Trump has ordered strikes in his second term, after Yemen, Somalia, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, and Venezuela, per the New Republic.

Time for the Congress to put on the brakes on Donny’s blood lust and he is not alone….

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

It’s Mine!

For many years Israel has had its way with Lebanon, Syria and parts of Palestine….and now that the US is doing its bidding it has expanded its borders through armed conflict.

Even if there is a peaceful solution Israel has made it clear that it will not give up any territory it has killed for….

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz told US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth in a call on Thursday that Israel won’t withdraw from Gaza, Syria, or Lebanon, according to a statement from the Israeli minister’s office.

According to The Jerusalem Post, Katz “emphasized Israel’s determination to remain in security zones in Syria, Gaza, and Lebanon to protect Israel’s borders and nearby communities from ‘threats posed by jihadist forces.’”

Katz added that Israel has “never asked the US to act in our place along our borders. We are committed to protecting the residents of Israel from every threat, and that is what we intend to do.”

The conversation came a few days after Katz said that Israel won’t leave Gaza even if Hamas disarms and that it would establish three “Nahala outposts,” a type of Jewish settlement that starts as a community for IDF soldiers with the goal of turning it into a permanent civilian community.

Axios recently reported that President Trump had asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to start “redeploying” forces from parts of Syria and Lebanon, though there’s no sign the US is concerned about Israel’s expanding occupation and continued attacks in Gaza despite the operations being a blatant violation of the US-backed ceasefire deal.

After the Trump-Netanyahu call, Netanyahu’s office said that the Israeli leader “raised the need for security zones along Israel’s borders,” and there’s no sign that Israel is planning to pull back or that the US is putting real pressure on Israel to do so. The Axios report noted that senior Israeli ministers want to establish settlements in southern Lebanon and southwest Syria.

In their call on Thursday, Katz and Hegseth also discussed Iran as the war between the US and the Islamic Republic continues to rage. So far, there’s no sign that Israel has joined in on the US attacks, though Katz and other Israeli officials have repeatedly stated that the IDF is ready to do so.

(antiwar.com)

Rebuilding some long lost empire of sand that they pretend they once had….and of course they use the old ruse of ‘national security’ as a reason to conquer and kill…..

These cretins will never be satisfied  and will always find a ‘reason’ to attack, destroy and kill in the name of whatever they think will fly with the rest of the world.

And now there is a chance the US will actually do there bidding…..a combined military force….

This merger would integrate the United States and Israeli occupation militarily, including “data fusion”, “network integration”, research and development, weapons and bio-manufacturing, and collaboration with AI, cyber, and quantum machine learning technologies. While the Israeli occupation forces and US military are already deeply connected and share many of their genocidal tactics, this represents a significant entanglement of the two most belligerent and murderous militaries in the world.

If passed, this would be the most integrated the United States is with any country on earth. It is perhaps unsurprising for Israel to be that partner, given it is a proxy for the United States used to entrench its hegemony in the region and provide a base for attacks, particularly against Iran. The Israeli occupation is totally reliant on the United States. The US has given Israel at least $300 billion in military money since 1948. It uses US-made weapons, relies on training and intelligence from the US, and is armed by many US citizens. So just like when the Trump administration re-named the “Department of Defense” to the “Department of War”, this is yet another overt action that reveals the reality that has always been there.

https://www.counterpunch.org/2026/07/15/israel-and-the-united-states-are-merging-their-militaries-heres-why/

This is bullshit!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

It Was A Matter Of Time

Before the Sharpie is even dry on the ceasefire deal with Iran Israel is doing what many of us thought they would do….be a thorn in the ass of the world.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that Israel’s military will stay in southern Lebanon, where it has occupied up to 6 miles from the border. In his first comments since the US-Iran deal was signed, Netanyahu said Israel must “maintain a security zone in southern Lebanon, and it requires that we must not leave there as long as Israel’s security needs require it,” the AP reports. He has made similar comments in the past about Israel’s refusal to withdraw from southern Lebanon.

The US-Iran deal to end the war in the Middle East, signed overnight, also calls for an end to the war in Lebanon, where Israel has been fighting the militant Hezbollah group, but it’s unclear what that means in practice. Speaking to a Hezbollah-aligned Lebanese news outlet Thursday, a spokesman for Iran’s foreign ministry said a continued Israeli military presence in Lebanon would mean the “annulment” of the memorandum of understanding, the Times of Israel reports.

“It was not acceptable for us to abandon our brothers in Lebanon,” the spokesman said. “We cannot talk about ending the war while parts of Lebanese territory remain under the occupation of the Zionist entity. As long as the occupation continues, it can be said that the war is still in place and has not ended in essence.” President Trump has repeatedly criticized Netanyahu and Israel’s military actions in Lebanon in recent weeks. Israeli sources tell Reuters that Israel is holding “stubborn” talks with the US over extending the Lebanon deployment.

Many of us knew this was coming….Israel will not stop its pathetic imperial desires.

The Israeli money will start working overtime….

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is aiming to influence the terms of the final US-Iran deal through pro-Israel “right-wing” media figures, CNN reported on Thursday, citing an Israeli official.

The only media figure mentioned by name in the report was Mark Levin, a long-time radio broadcaster and Fox News host, who is extremely pro-war and pro-Israel and has been harshly critical of the US-Iran Memorandum of Understanding to end the conflict.

Levin suggested in a post on X on Thursday that the US should pursue a different strategy to get through the midterm elections and then restart the war.

Time for a change in strategy. We should consider slow walking the enemy, building up our munitions, our oil reserves, get the price of gasoline down, get through the midterms, then knock them out,” Levin said. “Instead of rushing to a deal, building up their oil industry, transferring billions to them, etc.”

During the US-Israeli bombing campaign against Iran, Trump defended Levin from criticism from other conservative commentators who opposed the war. “Mark Levin, a truly Great American Patriot, is somewhat under siege by other people with far less Intellect, Capability, and Love for our Country,” Trump said in a long post on Truth Social in March.

(antiwar.com)

Israel will use the MAGA pipeline to sell their lies and misinformation and the MSM will go along with these lies….and Israel will be allowed to torpedo the peace deal.

Only a matter of time before this whole situation flares again.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

A Huge Defeat

Now that the war with Iran is officially over analysts are starting to look at it in a more clear light.

Some are saying that the US defeat is bigger than the North Vietnamese defeat….

At his second inaugural, U.S. President Donald Trump pronounced his hope “that our recent presidential election will be remembered as the greatest and most consequential election in the history of our country.” By losing his Gulf war, Trump has achieved that goal. His choice to launch a campaign against Iran was encouraged by others, but fully his own. It has led to a reversal that marks a strategic calamity far greater than the U.S. defeat in the Vietnam War.

https://archive.ph/bXUJu#selection-3751.0-3759.140

Those are harsh words but just look at the defeat with logical eyes (now that nought to be a challenge)….

Make no mistake the US was defeated by Iran….no matter how you try to cut it the defeat stands.

I Read, I Write, You KNow

“lego ergo scribo”

Same As It Ever Was

According to Donny (take it with a grain of salt) the deal with Iran has already been signed (digital)….

The digital ink is dry on a US-Iran framework, President Trump and other US officials said Monday, that he contends will have the Strait of Hormuz “completely open” by Friday. Arriving at the G7 summit in Évian, Trump touted a memorandum of understanding calling for the US naval blockade to be lifted in exchange for reopening the key oil chokepoint, the Guardian reports. Trump and Vice President JD Vance electronically signed the deal, as did Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s lead negotiator, per the New York Times. Pakistan said a ceremonial signing will be held Friday in Geneva; Trump did not commit to attending but said Vance would.

Little information about the agreement has been released. Vance told CNBC that administration negotiators have “very important details to figure out” in the next phase of the talks. Those details include how the US wants Iran to dispose of its highly enriched uranium. “It’s been nearly 24 hours since Trump announced there was a potential deal with Iran, and we still don’t know the details,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said, per CBS News. Trump told reporters in France that the text might not be released until after Friday. “This is a very powerful document and I want it to be released,” he said. “So probably pretty soon.”

Does this mean Israel will have to take a seat?

Israel’s leaders are watching President Trump’s looming Iran deal with more unease than enthusiasm. With the agreement expected to be signed this week but key details still murky, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is urgently seeking a meeting with Trump as Israeli officials warn the accord could ease sanctions and revive Iran’s economy without forcing it to surrender enriched uranium, per the Wall Street Journal. While Trump aims to bring the conflict to a close without Iranian regime change, Jerusalem still talks about using military pressure to weaken or possibly topple Tehran and maintaining a “security zone” in Lebanon.

Israel will continue killing civilians in the name of defense…..the same tactic they have been using for at least 50 years and get away with it because the US will always look the other way.

Now that a deal(?) has been signed what does it look like?

Barack Obama predicts some deja vu when the dust settles on the new deal between Iran and the US. In an interview with ABC’s Robin Roberts, the former president said any deal that emerges is unlikely to be much different from the 2015 nuclear accord his administration negotiated, known as the JCPOA—an agreement Trump quit in 2018 and has long castigated as a “horrible deal,” reports ABC News.

“It is doubtful that any agreement that arises is going to be significantly different, or in a significant improvement from the deal that we had in the first place, and had worked for a long stretch of time before we, the United States, pulled out of it,” Obama said in a Good Morning America interview set to air Wednesday, per the Hill. See the preview clip here.

If all that is true just why did we fight with Iran?

Can you see the stupidity here?

The only thing this ‘war’ accomplished was making more money for Donny’s butt buddies….after all is that not what war is for?

Very few people see this as something new and good…..

Way back on March 6, not long after President Donald Trump hurled America into the dumbest war imaginable, our Nobel-Peace-Prize-deficient leader declared on social media: “There will be no deal with Iran except UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!”

That was about the same time he said America’s “excursion” into Iran would take “four to five weeks” and “won’t be difficult.”

More than 14 weeks, thousands of lost lives and billions upon billions of U.S. taxpayer dollars later, it appears America is the one surrendering.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/columnist/2026/06/15/trump-iran-peace-deal-strait-hormuz/90560252007/

“Trump made Neville Chamberlain look like Winston Churchill,”

‘Trump Made Neville Chamberlain Look Like Winston Churchill’: The Iran Deal Is Nothing Short of a Disaster

Speak up!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Yes Irene We Have A Deal

There were rumblings over the weekend that there was a deal waiting to be signed…..and it was announced on his birthday (go figure)….

The US and Iran have finally struck a peace deal after 4 months of war. Both sides on Sunday said they had agreed to halt military operations in a conflict that has rattled global politics and energy markets, reports the Wall Street Journal. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said a formal signing will take place Friday in Switzerland. “Both sides have declared the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon,” he wrote. The two nations later confirmed, though “permanent” might be a overly optimistic: The most difficult issues have pushed into the next round of talks, notes the New York Times.

  • Trump: “Deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran is now complete,” President Trump wrote on social media late Sunday afternoon. “Congratulations to all! I hereby fully authorize the toll free opening of the Strait of Hormuz, and, simultaneously herewith, authorize the immediate removal of the United States Naval blockade. Ships of the World, start your engines. Let the oil flow!”
  • Iran: “Agreement reached,” Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian wrote on the X platform. “Greetings to Diplomacy General,” he added, under a photo of Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
  • 60 days: The accord launches a 60-day window for talks over Iran’s nuclear program. In return for limits on that program, Iran expects access to frozen funds and potential sanctions relief. Trump said he’s not seeking regime change, while promising “strong inspections” without detailing how they would work.
  • Oil prices: The price of Brent international crude dropped about 5% on the news to $83 a barrel, report CNBC.

There had been word that Donny would sign the deaal on Sunday….

President Trump said Saturday he plans to sign a peace framework with Iran on Sunday, though the Tehran government indicated it’s not on the same timeline. Posting on Truth Social, Trump wrote, “The Deal is scheduled to get signed tomorrow,” the Hill reports. He promised the Strait of Hormuz, a key oil chokepoint closed during the current crisis, would reopen immediately after a signing, while hinting at an undefined “ultimate alternative” if the process falters. Pakistan, which is mediating the talks, similarly projected a quick resolution, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif saying the agreement would be finalized within 24 hours.

You did not think he would let this minor deal crap on his birthday bash did you?

It is good news that the ‘war’ is over….but is it?

Will Israel stop killing in the name of ‘defense’?

If I were Cuba I would be fearful!

How long before Cuba will feel the pressure from Donny and Pistol Pete?

Just wondering.

Any thing to add?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Iran–The Usual Rhetoric

Since the US and Iran have started exchanging fire once again…the rhetoric coming from the Lazy Boy recliner in the Oval Office (does it still exist?) is the same as always from the mouth of Donny….

Early Thursday morning Donny starts thumping his chest (but not too hard)….

The renewed attacks between the US and Iran are on track to worsen in a significant way. President Trump on Thursday said the US planned to hit Iran “VERY HARD TONIGHT,” before further raising the stakes: “At some point in the not too distant future, we will be taking Kharg Island, and other oil infrastructure points, and assume total control of their Oil and Gas Markets, much like we have with Venezuela,” he wrote on Truth Social. The threat came after the two sides exchanged strikes for the second straight day, reports the AP.

Kharg Island is major oil terminal off the nation’s coast, seen as the “country’s economic lifeline,” notes the BBC. Its seizure would not only damage Iran economically but could give the US a base from which to carry out military attacks on the mainland. However, seizing the island would likely require ground troops, reports the Wall Street Journal.

Tough talk….(watch the markets)

Then after his lunch of Big Macs and Diet Coke the tune has changed (as if right on schedule)

Hours after threatening a major escalation in the Iran war, President Trump said the bombs are back on pause—and that Iran is on board with talks, reports the Wall Street Journal. In a new Truth Social post, Trump said he called off plans to unleash a new wave of strikes and to seize the Kharg Island oil hub because peace negotiations “have been brought to the highest level of Iranian leadership and approved.”

Trump said the “final points have been, in both concept and great detail, approved by all parties involved, including the United States, Israel, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Turkey, Pakistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan, Egypt, and others.” Iran has not yet publicly commented. Trump added that the US naval blockade of Iranian ports will stay in place until a deal is signed, with time and place to be announced “shortly,” per the BBC. The president has previously announced imminent deals that have fallen through.

This event is all too familiar   (watch the markets)  This is for those too damn lazy to check the markets….

US stocks rallied to their best day in two months, and oil prices fell Thursday, after President Trump called off his threat to bomb Iran in the evening. That raised hopes for a deal that could get the global flow of oil going again.

  • The Dow rose 929.97 to 50,848.75.
  • The S&P 500 jumped 127.31 points to 7,394.30.
  • The Nasdaq rallied 640.16 to 25,809.66.

Apparently Donny is working from an old script….this is the same bullshit he gave about a month ago.

He should hire new writers his present ones are getting tiresome.

BTW the war has made the US the world’s number one oil importer and that means dollars for oil companies….so how long will we play this stupid game?

Any thoughts?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Could This End Donny’s Iran Adventure?

The House has finally voted on the resolution to end this war with Iran….4 Repubs jumped political lines and sided with the Dems….

The House approved a war powers resolution Wednesday that would halt the US military action against Iran, defying President Trump as a handful of Republicans joined with Democrats to end the three-month-long war that has reordered politics at home and abroad. House Speaker Mike Johnson had tried to prevent an outcome that would show the mounting opposition to the war, abruptly shutting down floor action two weeks ago when the war powers resolution was on the verge of approval. But displeasure has only grown as the conflict drags on. The roll call Wednesday was 215-208. Cheers then erupted in the House chamber, the AP reports.

Republican Reps. Thomas Massie, Tom Barrett, Warren Davidson, and Brian Fitzpatrick voted with Democrats to approve the resolution, the Washington Post reports.

  • “This reckless and costly war of choice needs to end today,” House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said earlier in the week. “All we need are a handful of Republicans to join us and we can end this reckless and costly war of choice.” During debate on the House floor, Democratic Rep. Gregory Meeks, the ranking Democrat on the Foreign Affairs Committee, said: “We are trapped in a war that won’t end because an incompetent president launched it thinking of only his own ego while failing to prepare for the consequences. Diplomacy is the only exit from this, not more bombing, not more bluster.”
  • It was the fourth time the House tried to curb the US war against Iran, and the first time the measure passed. The House deadlocked 212-212 in a vote last month.
  • The war powers resolution from the House would not immediately stop the war, but it would provide a symbolic if not legal step against further military action. It now goes to the Senate, where four Republican members last month joined Democrats in advancing a similar measure to curtail the war. The Senate has yet to take a final vote to approve or reject its own war powers resolution.
  • If the resolution made it as far as Trump’s desk, he would be certain to veto it, a move that would take a two-thirds majority in both the House and Senate to override, the Post reports.
  • Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned Wednesday, testifying at a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing, that the Iranians would think that the administration’s “hands are going to be tied” if Congress approved a war powers resolution. He said they would think “we won’t be able to do anything to them, so why make a deal?”

Does anyone really think this will end the conflict with Iran?

Donny will find a way to keep this war going if only to fund Israel and keep them crawling to the US for their help.

Do you think think will help end this conflict?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Opposing The War Machine

Anti-war is a movement dear to my heart for I was a participant in the 1970s after I returned from Vietnam….it pains me to see just how compliant the American people have become to the nightmare of war….but there are some that will not look the other way because they are told to do so…..

Let’s revive the movement on a massive scale….especially now when the government is staring war after war with no clear reason other than their lies and misinformation.

Time for Americans to return to the days of confrontating the war machine….

The war resides mostly in the background here in the aggressor nation. Most of those who think about it at all tend to oppose it and seem to think it’s a task forced on the US by the zealots running Israel. Some take it even further, presenting an argument that blames the relationship between the mad rulers of Israel and the United States for the entire catastrophe. The argument varies, but its essence is that Bibi Netanyahu is the individual responsible for convincing the sundowning Donald Trump to bomb Iran for the sake of Israel. There are those who argue that the reason for this is because Israel’s Mossad has compromising materials on Trump and his escapades with Jeffrey Epstein, while others place Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner in the role of instigator. Of course, no one has produced a smoking gun for either possibility, even though both have a potential element of truth. It is likely that Epstein had some working relationship with Mossad and it’s an established fact that Kushner’s family have a long-term relationship with Netanyahu. Furthermore, Kushner is financially connected to Saudi Arabia and UAE’s monarchies. It’s an established fact that Israel, the Arab monarchies and the United States all oppose the Iranian government—its support of national liberation and anti-imperialist movements and its existence in general. Furthermore, all of these governments are more interested in maintaining the political situation in West Asia as it is and has been for decades. They are not interested in bringing popular democracy to the region, with some more than willing to maintain a constant state of war and occupation to maintain the current hierarchy of power.

https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/oppose-the-war-and-its-machinery/

To build a sustained anti-war movement one must look to the past and its many failures….

Before discussing the strengths and failures of the last major anti-war movement, we need to step back and look at US history. What that history shows is that the inability to build and sustain an anti-war movement or mass presence is directly linked to the absence of what one might call an anti-imperial/pro-democratic foreign policy on the part of progressive movements. As a result, those who adhere to the notion of a need for peace and justice find ourselves in a Groundhog Day scenario on a regular basis, trying our best to ignite or reignite a mass movement against US aggression each time that aggression raises its ugly head.

https://www.thenation.com/article/activism/anti-war-movement-history/

The only way to make sure that there is always opposition to any worthless war we need a movement that will be there for the long run and not one we need to rebuild with every war the government decides it needs to fight.

We need this movement now more than ever…..we cannot turn our backs on the opposition to senseless violence in the name of our country.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Time To Face Reality

With all the Epstein crap and now our attacks on Iran the ‘other’ war in Ukraine is falling through the cracks (for now)….

After years of war and countless tidbits about a ceasefire that never materializes this devastating conflict is no closer to a solution than it was the day after the original invasion.

The West has done all it can with cash and inventory to help without getting directing involved with troops…but after four long years maybe it is time to face reality.

Since the war started, voices in the alternative media have said that Ukraine cannot win a war against Russia. Indeed, John Mearsheimer has been saying this since 2014.

Four years into this devastating war, those voices feel at one and the same time both vindicated and unheard. Ukraine is losing yet western leaders in Europe appear bent on continuing the fight.

Nothing is illustrative of this more than Kaja Kallas’ ridiculous comment of 10 February that Russia should agree to pre-conditions to end the war, which included future restrictions on the size of Russia’s army.

Comments such as this suggest western figures like Kallas still believe in the prospect of a strategic victory against Russia, such that Russia would have to settle for peace as the defeated party. Or they are in denial, and/or they are lying to their citizens. I’d argue that it is a mixture of the second and third.

When I say losing, I don’t mean losing in the narrow military sense. Russia’s territorial gains over the winter period have been slow and marginal. Indeed, western commentators often point to this as a sign that, given its size advantage, Russia is in fact losing the war, because if it really was powerful, it would have defeated Ukraine long ago.

https://thepeacemonger.substack.com/p/why-cant-western-leaders-accept-that

After all the loss of life and the massive destruction from the fighting and all of it could have been avoided by one simple action.

When Zelenksyy was elected all he would have had to do was state formally that he had no intention for Ukraine to join NATO.

How hard would that had been?

After the invasion there could have been a immediate ceasefire with three things coming to the table….

If peace is to come to Ukraine three things are needed. First, the historical causes of the war must be acknowledged. Second, the goals and security needs of both sides must be addressed. Third, each side’s red lines need to be respected. Compromises need to be acknowledged and embraced as an accomplishment and starting point. Instead of seeing the remaining issues as frustrating impasses that lead to despair of diplomacy and continued war, they need to be seen as the last hurdles to a peace that all sides – Ukraine, Russia, the U.S. and Europe – should be encouraged to overcome.

No doubt, clearing those hurdles means neither side will get all that it wants, and both sides must decide what they need. That is why the historical causes and essential goals of each side need to be identified. The compromise settlement must then be composed in terms that allow both sides to present it to their citizens as having achieved the core goals and security concerns.

(antiwar.com)

After four bloody years we know that neither side wants to compromise and seems none of the benefactors want it either.

With all that in the spotlight time for the West to buck up and face reality….this conflict is a money pit that will will cost so much that it will be impossible to end it.

Realty is a cruel bitch!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”