Posted on 03/08/2022 12:41:20 PM PST by SpeedyInTexas
...
The CIA director said Putin premised his war on four false assumptions: he thought Ukraine was weak, he believed Europe was distracted and wouldn't mount a strong response, he thought Russia's economy was prepared to withstand sanctions, and that Russia's military had been modernized and would fight effectively.
"He's been proven wrong on every count," said Burns, who served as the U.S. ambassador to Russia from 2005-8.
(Excerpt) Read more at npr.org ...
>> a stage actor caught in a play of his own making.
nice, but not sure he’s the producer.
Sorry, but the CIA couldn’t ID a keister if their head was firmly implanted in it.
The days of us caring what they think or pronounce are over.
Their efforts against trump destroyed our trust.
Falkland we’re about oil.
Ukraine is about huge natural gas reserves. And who controls them. And who buys them.
Putin is consolidating forces for one giant roll-of-the-dice attempt to take Kyiv.
On the west of Kyiv, he is massing forces together with Chechens and Wagner mercenaries.
On the east of Kyiv, his trying to push his tank divisions to reach the eastern side of the city.
When his forces are in place, then one massive onslaught.
The Ukrainians are prepared to defend Kyiv, however.
It is not out of the question that Ukraine can frustrate Putin from consolidating enough forces through flanking attacks and severing supply lines
If Putin gets his forces in place, lots and lots of young Russian males will die.
Lots of other people will die.
If Putin fails to take Kyiv, then he will seriously negotiate a face-saving settlement.
ding ding ding ding! We have a winner!
“U.S. officials and analysts who follow Russia say the Russian military would need a force several times the size of the current one to maintain a sustained occupation of Ukraine.”
Retired General David Petraeus, who led the COunterINsurgency (COIN) fight in Iraq, was a champion of new COIN doctrine in the US Army, and later served as CIA Director, recently said the same thing.
If the CIA says it ... its time to buy calls on the S&P 500.
Maybe Russia DOES Millennials for an army.
I stand with my opinion.
It's all drama by the three ;
Russia, Ukraine and the USA, to cover and obfuscate until the "election"(s)
power is power.
Every death in this war is Putin’s fault.
“Or maybe start using fuel air explosives — the bang of a low-yield nuke without the nasty fallout”
FOAB has already been used, multiple times.
Yup.
Since when does the CIA speak out like they are FOX News?
That’s my fear - we’re backing him into a corner where the only options become radical and if he believes he’ll fail, being his own downfall, he might do the unthinkable.
Two plus months with light equipment and a thou in casualties does not make an invasion imo.
Money and materiel have already been delivered.
Agreed, fbi cia, near, all need to be dissolved..
Putin will not go nuclear. There’s nothing for Russia to gain by using nukes on a Ukrainian city and given that a lot of Russians are from Ukraine and fond of it he’ll irreversibly alienate these people for life.
...............
I disagree. I think he will use whatever it takes to get Ukraine.
He doesn’t care if the country is irradiated rubble. Actually that would help him. Unoccupiable.
“He doesn’t care if the country is irradiated rubble. Actually that would help him. Unoccupiable.”
If that was the case he could blow up the various nuclear reactors in the country. But he didn’t.
Fagland Fantasy.
Putin using Syrian mercenaries is like using Chechens. Murderous Muslim criminals. The Ukrainians will burn them down.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.