In August 1964 the White House claimed an unprovoked attack by North Vietnam, Dominic Cummings reminds us, and Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin resolution:
The truth did not emerge until 2005 when an NSA document revealed all the lies. LBJ was looking for an excuse, had had a resolution drawn up in June awaiting the right moment, and used this ‘attack’ to order air strikes on the North. US claims about the unprovoked attack were false. The NSA knew they were false and there’d been a chaotic blunder. It was all covered up. The House voted 416-0, the Senate 88-2.
This ought to have been a lesson when considering the intense propaganda on Ukraine but the big lesson of history is almost nobody learns from history, that’s why it rhymes. Much of the Vietnam debacle has been repeated on UKR: institutionalised lying from the White House and No10, the DoD and MoD, ‘mainstream’ media; the corruption of intelligence analysis; constant fake narratives about ‘the tide is turning’ to justify vast resources down the drain; fundamental inability to not fool themselves about ends, ways and means and what level of escalation is worth what political ends.
Cummings is smart, and might be right.
But In the Ukraine, the CIA coup (or uprising of concerned citizens) that installed Zelensky’s dictatorship (or democracy that’s in a tight spot and can’t afford elections) and expelled Russian ethnics (or those dastards just felt like travelling), the CIA coup was a marvel of competence compared to any others since CIA started.
I never thought Putin would invade Ukraine. Everyone who hated Ukrainians went to the Russian side, everyone who hated Russians went to the Ukrainian side, it was as good as things would ever get. When Putin invaded, I thought the tough Slavs in Russia would roll right through. I forgot Ukrainians are tough Slavs also.
This war could end in total victory for Russia tomorrow, but Ukrainia has fought way above it’s weight.
Every US politician bribed by the Ukrainians has earned out the investment. Soros must be proud. It’s all run much better than the US bungling in Vietnam, and I suspect that well-bribed US politicians account for the difference. Aside from something about LBJ’s wife getting some rubber plantations, I haven’t heard anything about US politicians getting bribed to support the Vietnam war.
It’s a lesson to the world.
“I never thought Putin would invade Ukraine…”
Ironic, isn’t it? All the people saying “CIA coup” were surprised by reality, while the OSINT autists and people who gave a damn about ordinary white farmers saw it coming a decade earlier.
Duuude… The Clown loyalists openly stated all signs point to “invasion” at least in Jan 2022, even if they had to do a few contortions around the reasons (being obligated to paint the puppeteers as naive sheeple). Consider: https://jrnyquist.blog/2022/01/18/will-russia-invade-ukraine/comment-page-1/
More to the point — a little earlier or a little later, but what else could possibly happen there? A Color Revolution, then “Mother of All Proxy Armies” (© William Schryver) is built up to NATO proxy standards, then… a few more kickbacks, thumb twiddling, and a nothingburger? Or what?
Lolwut. Why do you expect “dem feelz” to even matter? Countries generally are not ruled by little kids, even if the TV talking heads occasionally give such an impression.
What for? Even in the best case, that is if “roll right through” approach worked without a hitch (never a safe bet), the next step is obvious. We expect bears to shit in the woods, rather than seeking an outhouse; likewise, USA State Department and their ilk can be expected to create and maintain ugly clones of the Balkan mess. So why take risks when the likely “prize” is the next Chechnya (or worse) the next door?
Besides, when the next opportunity to debug and field-test air defenses against Storm Shadow etc would present itself?