Biden, in Final Two Months, Pushes Russia Toward War

UPDATE 3: Russia has now retaliated for the American-authorized Ukrainian missile strike into Russian territory. Or, alternatively, Russia has now begun to relaliate, and there is more to come. The Russian retaliation came in the form of an intermediate-range ballistic missile, that hit a missile production facility in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro. This is Russia’s first offensive use of its new hypersonic missile, which travels at a speed of 2.5-3 km per second. This speed is refered to as “Mach 10”, meaning that it ravels at ten times the speed of sound. It is said that the Western powers have no anti-missile system capable of shooting down Russian hypersonic missiles.

On Russian State Television, President Vladimir Putin said,

“We believe that we have the right to use our weapons against military facilities of the countries that allow to use their weapons against our facilities.”

“And in case of escalation of aggressive actions, we will respond resolutely in a mirror way.”

“There are currently no ways of counteracting this weapon. The missiles attack targets at a speed of 10 Mach, that’s 2.5-3 km per second. ”

UPDATE 2: Russia’s foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, has now accused the U.S. and NATO of escalatating the Ukraine War.

“The fact that ATACMS were used repeatedly tonight in the Bryansk region is, of course, a signal that they want escalation. And without the Americans, it is impossible to use these high-tech missiles,” Lavrov said.

Russia has warned that authorizing Ukraine to use its long-range weapons to target inside Russia would face a serious response. Following the missile attacks on a military facility in the Bryansk region, Russian President Putin announced that he was updating Russia’s nuclear doctrine, which provides when, and under what conditions, Russia can use nuclear weapons.

The updated document now states that any aggression against Russia by a non-nuclear state [such as Ukraine], if encouraged by a nuclear power [such a the United States], will be considered as a joint attack. CNBC asks, “Is Russia bluffing?” Maybe they are; maybe they’re not; we don’t think it is our best interest to play Russian Roulette to find out.

UPDATE 1: Russia claims that Ukraine has shot six American-made missiles (“ATACMS”) into Russia, just days after President Biden gave the go-ahead for Ukraine to do so. Russia says that it shot down five of the missiles and damaged the sixth. No casualties or damage was reported. Russian President Putin was previously quoted as saying that should Ukraine be authorized to fire these missiles into Russia, such an act would be interpreted to indicate that the U.S. and NATO are “in the war.”

Our take: We don’t think Putin wants a wider war with the U.S. and Nato, especially since he knows that Trump is coming in and will defuse the situation. But Putin does have other responsive options. So far he has spared Kiev. Maybe Ukraine’s capital city is at risk now. Or, maybe, the somewhat limited damage inflicted elsewhere in Ukraine will be intensified. This is a developing store. End of Update.

OUR ORIGINAL ARTICLE: Joe Biden knows he has only two months left in his presidency. He also knows that President-Elect Trump has promised to immediately end the Russian-Ukrainian War. So what would possess Biden to provoke Russia toward a war with the United States? We may be unfair in blaming this new escalation directly on Biden, for he knows not what he is doing; but with respect to those who pull his strings, why would they want to push Russia toward WWIII? Whoever these puppeteers are, they are not ignorant. They do not fail to understand the possible ramifications of their provocations. Do they just want a war, whatever the cost?

On what possible basis, as their parting shot, would the Biden Administration think it is appropriate to provoke Russia, knowingly crossing its “red line”?

Russia says Biden is “adding fuel to the fire” after he was reported to have given approval for Ukraine to target areas deep inside the Russian Federation with American made missiles. These missiles were given to Ukraine under the condition that they were not to be shot into Russia.

But now, with two months left to his presidency, Biden appears to have given the go-ahead to the Ukrainians to strike targets in the Kursk region, deep inside Russia.

Source: Institute for the Study of War

An official Russian spokesman said that the Biden administration was “continuing to stoke tension around this conflict.” The spokesman continued that the new Biden policy was “a qualitatively new situation in terms of the involvement of the United States in this conflict,” and he described the new Biden policy as “dangerous and provocative.”

Two months ago, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that if Ukraine were to target its missiles to strike within Russia that such an escalation would change “the very nature of the conflict dramatically.” Until now, the U.S. has conditioned the delivery of missiles to the Ukraine on them not being shot into Russian territory.

Just what does Russia mean when it says that the use of American long-range missiles by Ukraine will lead to “an appropriate and tangible” response by Russia?

Russia has now made clear that such missile use “would represent the direct involvement of the United States and its satellites in hostilities against Russia.” Is Russia stating, very clearly, that it will view the use by Ukraine of long-range U.S. suppplied missiles against targets well within Russia to be tantamount to an attack directly by the United States? Perhaps not, but do we really want to find out? Is the Ukrainian War worth this level of risk?

Let’s face it, the American people are of two minds on the Ukraine War. Some think America has a duty to do everything it can, without putting American boots on the ground, to repel Russia from Ukraine. Many others say, it’s not our war, and we have no interest, one way or the other, in this war. They point out that Ukraine was never an ally of the United States, nor was it ever a trading partner. They wonder why the U.S. is spending so much money to prop-up Ukraine when we need the money for serious problems at home. Most Americans couldn’t find Ukraine on a unmarked map.

Somehow, while our Pro-Ukraine media was not watching, or perhaps just choosing not to inform us, Russia has brought in 11,000 North Korean troops, who have been deployed in the Kursk region to assist in the war against Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has long been pressuring the United States to permit his military to use the American-supplied missile systems to strike deep inside Russia. He’s said his “victory plan” requires this ability.

Whatever side you may take on this conflict, our Presidential election just concluded with a decisive victory for Trump. He has stated repeatedly that he will end the war on Day One of his presidency, if not sooner. Does this seem like an appropriate time for the very short-term Biden Administration to be racking up the ante, and possibly drawing us closer to a war we don’t want?

More analysis on this story: Podcaster Chris Martinson, a well-regarded sane voice who comments on many issues, and whose early Covid reporting brought him some measure of fame on youtube, provides his “take” on what’s going on: “The people who are not interested in a peaceful transfer of power here in the United States — these are the neocons — they are actively trying to provoke a nuclear war at this point in time.” Martinson’s analysis is ominous and frightful: “We are risking nuclear war. … Everybody who is involved with this is a traitor to humanity, a traitor to their own countries. I am absolutely gobsmacked that this isn’t being talked about and that it is not on the front page of vitually every newscycle …”