NATO’s Push Using Ukraine for Azov Sea Access – Encroachment on Russia?

I don’t know about you, but I like to put the shoe on the other foot and see how it feels. You know, like Ron Paul would say, the Golden Rule but on the macro level .. “do unto others as you would have them do unto you”

So when I hear from this Fort Russ article that NATO is using Ukraine toward asserting force into the Azov Sea, I had to look into it. At first glance this is not unlike the Russian fleet pushing itself into the St. Lawrence Seaway:

…  or the Straits of Juan de Fuca:

I contend that it is NOT like Russians entering the expansive Gulf of Mexico.

Let’s look at the Sea of Azov:

To narrow down on the rather small Azov Sea, we see what is going on:

This “sea” is almost landlocked. Notice that even without the Azov Sea, Ukraine is NOT landlocked. Yes, trade would be much easier for those on this sea IF peace were in power, however, those at the Pentagon hate peace and the Ukraine government is their puppet now that ISIS has been diminished and being redeployed.

 

You can see here that outside of Kerch is where the Russians built a awesome bridge that allowed the Crimean population to flourish with trade expenses lowered.

Should you see this as Russian encroachment, just know that the people of Crimea (and that of Dombass which has yet to be liberated) are solid Russians culturally:

So with this context, consider what NATO is up to:

the European Parliament approved a resolution calling on the executive authorities of the EU to provide for increased sanctions against the Russian Federation based upon the building of the Crimean bridge and the accusation – not unreasonable – that Russia now controls the Sea of Azov.

To assist in understanding what is at stake, consider the treaties that are in place:

Lavrov said a bilateral treaty with Ukraine prohibits military drills in the area around Azov without a green light from Moscow.:

“Now Ukraine wants to hold NATO drills in the Sea of Azov but it will be impossible to go there because our treaty with Ukraine requires mutual consent for the passage of warships into the Sea of Azov,” Lavrov told French media on Thursday. “But they want this and they are being actively goaded into this.”

That is correct .. if a bully comes into your neighborhood, you have to be firm:

Russia has reconfirmed earlier in the week that the Sea of Azov is ‘off limits’ to NATO and the U.S, for any purposes including drills and exercises.

To enter the Azov Sea, NATO ships would have to go under the new bridge in a waterway that is only just under 2 miles wide at its narrowest point.

Sorry, there is ZERO reason for NATO to move in this direction unless its real motive is conflict with the Russian military.

The US prompting of NATO policies that will be outfitting the Ukrainian navy with refurbished warships to not only stupid but dangerous.

The US / Ukraine alliance will not end well as one should understand the neo-Nazi underpinnings of the current Ukraine regime.

Please research this yourself .. know your locale, but also know your world as you will learn much about your government when you hear how they behave abroad.

-SF1

25OCT1780 Battle of Tearcoat Swamp – From Disappointment in Militia to a WIN!

Francis Marion and a subset of his militia had a few weeks rest and most of the others had returned to their homes at harvest season when I posted the last time. Marion decided once again to re-enter the fray against the supporters of the British Empire, the local Tories and their Loyalist militias and on occasion, British regulars.

On 24OCT1780 Marion moves southwest out of the swamps closer to the North Carolina border towards the Kingstree district hoping to gain some men as well as some Intel.  Marion is initially disappointed in the militia support that emerges from the district and momentarily considers leaving to join Continental Gen. Gates at Hillsborough, NC. Militia officer Lt. Col. Hugh Horry talks him out of this move and within hours the militia reforms and reinvigorates Marion. Over 150 men, with some accounts estimating even up to 400, came together and some brought with them Intel that Lt. Col. Sam Tynes with appox. 80 or so Loyalist militia had emerged from the High Hills of the Santee and are camped near what is called Tearcoat Swamp near the Black River.

The next morning, Marion and his men ride towards this camp and send Lt. Col. Tynes and his men back to the hills. Within a few days Lt. Col. Tynes and a few of his officers are actually captured by some of Marion’s militia commanded by Capt. William Snipes.

Lt. Col. Tynes loses include appox. 6 killed, 14 wounded and two dozen prisioners and more importantly, Marion gains eighty horses and muskets from this engagement.

Marion’s own losses are appox. the same as the Loyalist militia but there is a growing tide of defections from the Tories as many of Lt. Col. Tynes’ men actually come in and enlist with Col. Marion. The balance of the prisoners are sent to North Carolina Brig. Gen. Henry William Harrington at Cheraw, SC.

It is at this time that Marion proceeds toward establishing a new camp at Snow’s Island which would provide them a place of refuge in the months to come.

It should be noted that following Lt. Col. Tynes’ Loyalist militia defeat, Lt. Gen. Cornwallis has fifty men sent from Charlestown to Moncks Corner, while also maintaining patrols covering his line of communication at crossings up and down along the Santee River. The British Empire leadership is not amused at the successful guerrilla campaigns waged by Marion and his volunteer militia.

Stay tuned for a ramp up in the British reaction to Tearcoat Swamp!

-SF1

07OCT1780 Battle of Kings Mountain – Pivotal Event in USEXIT

In my previous post I commented that:

This battle in addition to Marion’s three victories were a major turning point in this war to be free of the British Empire. The resurgence in people’s heart for liberty represented a much needed boost in the morale of the people and soldiers alike, at least for those aligned with the principles of self-government and consent of the governed!

Well, I will guide you to one of the best historians of the region, J. D. Lewis who has researched the Carolina events of the Revolutionary War meticulously. From his page on this battle he states:

Major Patrick Ferguson was patrolling with a force of about 125 Provincials and over 1,000 Loyalist supporters attempting to pacify the countryside. With violence and atrocities rising on both sides, 1,100 to 1,600 Patriot Militiamen, most from North Carolina but with a good number of Virginians and South Carolinians, gathered to stop Major Ferguson and his troops. When Major Ferguson became aware of the large contingent of Patriots gathering, he decided it would be prudent to move back toward Lord Cornwallis’s larger army, now in Charlotte, North Carolina, a little over 40 miles to the east.

The Patriot Militia followed rapidly and, when Major Ferguson realized that they were overtaking him, he organized his defenses atop Kings Mountain, a wooded hill with a fairly clear top. On October 7, 1780, the Patriot Militia arrived at the base of the mountain and surrounded it. Soon they began scaling it on all sides. The Patriots had the advantage that the slopes of the mountain were very wooded, while the summit was not, exposing the Loyalists and Provincial troops to attack by the more-concealed Patriots. The defenders’ losses quickly mounted and, when Major Ferguson was killed, the fight went out of the remaining soldiers.

Of the Loyalist and Provincial troops, 157 were killed, 163 were severely wounded and 698 were captured. The Patriot Militia lost 28 killed and 62 wounded.

This battle was a direct result of Lord Cornwallis’ desire to squelch the patriot fever in the back-country of South Carolina. Cornwallis had thought that this effort would allow him to roll up into North Carolina and Virginia and suppress the quest for independence from the British Empire.

With three militia victories under Francis Marion and this militia victory at Kings Mountain, the southern colonies again had hopes that independence was still possible.

Francis Marion took this period of time to rest and regroup:

  • 30SEP – 11OCT1780 Marion camps at Drowning Creek and has comms with Maj. Gen. Horatio Gates who informs him that South Carolina Gov. John Rutledge is in Hillsborough, NC.
  • 12OCT – 23OCT1780 – Marion moves back to his camp at Port’s Ferry and rests.

On 24OCT1780 Marion would receive more Intel about some Loyalists in the area and set some plans in motions.

Stay tuned ..

-SF1

Republics that have Smaller Efficient Defense Assets Act Frugally – Empires Don’t

F-15 Flipped

This is what happens when bloated “defense” spending as well as mismanaged defense contracts both for new construction and maintenance go south. Your assets get blown out of the hanger and into the neighborhoods.

Here we have the situation in Florida where out of 55 F-22 stealth fighters, only 33 could be flown to safety in Ohio as articulated by the New York Times article:

Tyndall is home to 55 F-22 stealth fighters, which cost a dizzying $339 million each. Before the storm, the Air Force sent at least 33 of the fighters to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio.

Air Force officials have not disclosed the whereabouts of the remaining 22 planes, other than to say that a number of aircraft were left at the base because of maintenance or safety reasons.

An Air Force spokeswoman, Maj. Malinda Singleton, would not confirm that any of the aircraft left behind were F-22s.

Well, those in the air can account for some of those F-22s still in hangers on the base according to this Zero Hedge article:

F-22s are notoriously finicky and, as the Times puts it “not always flight-worthy.” The Air Force reported earlier this year that just 49% of F-22s were mission ready at any given time – the lowest rate of any fighter in the Air Force. The total value of the unaccounted-for fighters is around $7.5 billion.

My guess is, just like the trillions of American tax dollars “lost” on 9/11 when the accounting office was hit at the Pentagon by that “757” (i.e. cruise missile) .. this $7.5B can just be “written off”:

If the US were truly a republic, it would be much more responsible with the money that taxpayers trust Washington DC with and be purely defensive in it’s military vision and mission.

As an example, when Abraham Lincoln called for 75,000 volunteers after he successfully manipulated the Confederate States of America and South Carolina into firing first at Fort Sumter, there were only just over 16,000 men in the US Army. By the war’s end over two MILLION would have served.

How different would the attempt for secession could have been if there had been no standing army but state/republic militias.

Fact is those, we are in an empire and we will continue to see the blatant disregard for all the taxpayer money and debt that has been squandered on this empire’s non-honoring policing of the globe.

-SF1

Calm and Peace in Syria: No Thanks to the US Empire

Syrian/Russian controlled territory in Syria (pink) ISIS/Extremists/Turkish territory in Syria (green) Kurdish territory in Syria (yellow)

This is not a Russian spin zone, this is just the truth. There is calm and peace holding its own around Idlib where ISIS and other radical elements remain but are in the processes of moving out with the protection of the Turkey military presence. This arrangement was accomplished with Russian and Syrian efforts in building a buffer zone to diffuse conflicts between forces that have been at war with each other for over 7 years.

The Moon of Alabama article makes it clear that finally the Arab nations in the region that had supported these extremists have now given up on their plan to overthrow Assad.

The Gulf Arabs, except Qatar which is allied with Turkey, have given up on removing President Assad and are making nice:

“In one of the more surprising developments amid a flurry of diplomatic meetings surrounding the U.N. General Assembly, Bahraini Foreign Minister Khalid bin Ahmad al-Khalifa was seen greeting Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem with hugs and kisses at a pan-Arab meeting last week. Bahrain, a close ally of Saudi Arabia, has been a vocal critic of Assad and other regional allies of Iran, but the top diplomat said: “the Syrian government is the ruler in Syria and we work with countries even if we disagree with them.” Days later, Assad conducted his first interview with an Arabian Peninsula newspaper since 2011, telling Kuwait’s Al-Shahed that he had reached a “major understanding” with a number of Arab states and that “Western and Arab delegations have already begun to come to Syria to arrange their return, whether diplomatic, economic or industrial.”..”

Assad in Syria has been patient with the process and personally I think that the resignation of the US Empire’s UN Representative Haley is linked to to the closing of this front in the empire’s war on sovereign countries that desire to remain independent from the US. Eyes are now turning toward the Ukraine (which has been the plan B to bug the Russians) and the South China Sea.

Assad has certainly done his part to start the healing process in Syria:

The Syrian president Bashar al Assad just issued a decree that grants amnesty to those who deserted the army or ran away from serving their conscription time. If the deserters and draft dodgers turn themselves in within the next six month to fulfill their service they will escape all punishment.

I do hope that US/Israel/SaudiArabia/UK take the hint and know that they need to take their war making plans elsewhere. This region of the world has born the brunt of this criminal activity and need decades to recover.

The blowback to the US foreign policy I see is that now Russia has a trusted ally in the region and now has a Mediterranean Naval port to boot. The US can no longer do what it wants in Syria and get away with it.

It looks like Africa is now seeing an uptick in US armed forces and CIA/FBI activity as another place to “play” with people’s lives. It is sad that a majority of Americans who pay for all this global gallivanting are clueless to what its government is all about.

Dysfunctional empires will have sick agendas, this ain’t no exceptional nation no sir, no ma’am ..

-SF1