The Russia-Ukraine War is stalemated. Even Ukraine’s top commander concedes this point, as the New York Times reported here:
World
Ukraine’s Top Commander Says War Has Hit a ‘Stalemate’
By Constant Méheut and Andrew E. Kramer
In a candid assessment, Gen. Valery Zaluzhny said no “beautiful breakthrough” was imminent and that breaking the deadlock could require advances in technological warfare.
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(As an aside, I should note that back in July we saw articles in the New York Times and Wall Street Journal using that dreaded word, “stalemate,” as I wrote about here:)
Nice to know Ukrainian officials are finally being “candid.” Yet Zelensky is having none of it. In my CNN feed this morning, I saw this response from Ukraine’s leader: “People are tired. Everyone is tired … But this is not a stalemate.”
Truth is that Russia-Ukraine War will enter its third year in February of next year, even as the U.S. government has provided more than $130 billion in weaponry and other forms of aid to a Ukrainian government that’s known for its corruption. Meanwhile, the Biden administration wants to send another $60 billion in weaponry and aid to Ukraine. Many Republicans, notably new House Speaker Mike Johnson, are on record as being against scores of billions to perpetuate a stalemated war, though their motivation seems less “America first” than “Biden sucks.”
Things are so bad with the war that I now see articles at NBC News arguing for diplomacy! When NBC News, a reliable mouthpiece for Neo-con Democrats, suggests negotiations and the possibility of Ukraine making territorial concessions to end its war with Russia, you know the situation on the ground in Ukraine is likely worse than we’re being told.
The U.S. government, obviously distracted by the crisis in Gaza and the potential for a much wider war in the Middle East, may be near the point of cutting its losses in Ukraine, though obviously the military-industry-congressional complex (MICC) wants to keep sending weaponry until the final bullet and cluster munition is fired. After which Ukraine will have to “rebuild” its military, so you can count on more military “aid” going to Kyiv.
Yet, for the MICC there are bigger fish to fry now. Republicans in particular are obsessed with China. Democrats and Republicans are obsessed with Israel. Ukraine has become something of a distraction. Sure, you may continue to fly blue-and-yellow Ukrainian flags, but it’s time to back Israel unconditionally while threatening Iran with the full might of the U.S. military. Looming in the background is the alleged threat of “near-peer” competitor, China. After all, you can’t justify a massive U.S. war budget that’s approaching $900 billion with a stalemated war in Ukraine.
If nothing else, perhaps the U.S. warmonger obsession with empowering Israel and encircling China may provide an opportunity for diplomacy between Ukraine and Russia. With Ukraine apparently no longer enjoying a blank check of support (that’s now reserved for Israel), a grim-faced Zelensky may come to conclude that jaw-jaw is better than war-war.
Update (11/9): With high losses of frontline troops, Ukraine is now calling on women to fight, which the New York Times describes as “refilling” the ranks:
World
‘If Not Me, Who?’: As Ukraine Seeks Troops, Women Prepare for the Call
By Andrew E. Kramer and Maria Varenikova
With so much in the war against Russia hinging on refilling the ranks of soldiers, efforts are underway to draw more Ukrainian women into the army.
It's quite astonishing how the US National Security State apparatus repeatedly carries out the same charade, war after war after war. Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, and now Ukraine. Over and over again the mainstream media obediently reports that the "tide is turning" and that "victory" is within sight. Pure fictional narratives are fed endlessly to the public, while billions upon billions of $$$ is wasted needlessly in war after war after war, not to mention countless lives destroyed through injuries or death. And yet, no matter how many times this charade is shown for being the hoax that it is, the same game plan gets used over and over again. How many times will the American people fall for this nonsense? Now that Ukraine will be shuffled off the stage, it looks like next up is Iran and China. This transition now underway to a new multipolar world order is certainly messy, for sure, but the writing is on the wall for the US empire, just like all the previous empires throughout history that have come and gone. But there is one ominous difference this time. The US empire has the power to take down the entire world with it, if it decides that losing global hegemony is not an acceptable option.
As has become very clear since JFK was assassinated and the US became a perpetual war country, the US needs continuous wars not just for geopolitical and financial reasons, but also for keeping the public in a constant state of radical nationalism. "US Exceptionalism" is used as a bludgeon to whip the public into a pliable state where all US aggression and crimes are subserved under cover of good vs. evil. The public seems to be waking up to some degree over the brutality of the Gaza massacre, so maybe there is hope that the US and its allies have gone too far in the public's mind, even for all our "exceptionalism". Let's hope that that trend continues.