by Joseph P. Farrell, Giza Death Star: As regular readers of this website know, every now and then I have to post an unscheduled blog, a “NEWS FLASH!” as it were, and that is the case with this story shared by V.T. I have not had time to check, but I post it in case […]
So much outrage (including from Vice President and Democratic presidential contender Kamala Harris) about the claim in Bob Woodwardâs upcoming book that Donald Trump during his presidency sent some test kits to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin at the height of the Covid pandemic when they were scarce in the United States. And about the famed journalistâs report that the former president called Putin seven times since the former left the Oval Office in January, 2021. (See, e.g., here.)
And so little about by far the biggest outrage described in War (if true, of course â as with the above revelations): that President Biden may have pushed the United States, and the world, to within a coin flip of nuclear war in Ukraine.
Think Iâm kidding? Hereâs the description by CNN â which broke the news about Woodwardâs book â his account of a crucial moment in U.S. policy toward Russiaâs invasion. Itâs worth quoting in full:
By September 2022, US intelligence reports deemed âexquisiteâ revealed a âdeeply unnerving assessmentâ of Putin â that he was so desperate about battlefield losses that he might use tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine.
âBased on the alarming new intelligence reports, the White House believed there was a 50% chance Russia would use a tactical nuclear weapon â a striking assessment that had skyrocketed up from 5% and then 10%, Woodward reports.
ââOn all channels, get on the line with the Russians,â Biden instructed his national security adviser, Jake Sullivan. âTell them what we will do in response,â he said, according to Woodward.â
Thatâs the key phrase: âTell them what we will do in response.â
It doesnât necessarily mean that Mr. Biden had decided to use a nuclear weapon against Russia itself, or even against Russian forces inside Ukraine, or was considering such actions. Nor does it necessarily mean that the president had decided to deploy U.S. military forces in Ukraine in response.
But itâs difficult to imagine what else President Biden might have been thinking of that would deter the Russians from a step like tactical nuclear weapons use, or that would have convinced them to abandon this policy after firing one nuclear shot.
And the real outrage here â again, if Woodward has the story right â is that Mr. Biden actually was prepared to run such a catastrophic risk on behalf of a country whose fate Washington had never officially considered to be a remotely vital American security interest even at the height of the Cold War â and still hasnât.
Itâs one thing to threaten nuclear weapons use to protect a country or region that has been deemed a vital interest by U.S. leaders â like Western Europe or Japan. Or to do so when adversaries try to place nuclear weapons close to the American homeland (as was the case with the Soviet Union during the Cuban missile crisis of 1962).
But even to contemplate Armageddon in a situation meeting absolutely none of these characteristics? How can that be viewed as anything but needlessly reckless and even suicidal?
Bob Woodward reports that at one point Biden believed there was a 50% chance of Russia using nukes over Ukraine
He chose to escalate the war anyways and lied to the American people about the risk pic.twitter.com/Ce8IMAST9w
Keep that in mind the next time you hear that Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is too dangerously off his rocker to be fit for the presidency (in particular that his warnings about the current administration bringing World War III closer are nothing more than fear-mongering). And that the aforementioned Kamala Harris, when asked what she would have done differently from Mr. Biden, responded, âNot a thing that comes to mind.â
…LESLIE NOW A CATEGORY 2 HURRICANE AND COULD MAKE A RUN AT MAJOR HURRICANE INTENSITY…
As of 11:00 PM AST Wed Oct 9
the center of Leslie was located near 22.6, -49.3
with movement NW at 8 mph.
The minimum central pressure was 972 mb
with maximum sustained winds of about 105 mph.
…MILTON BRINGING DEVASTATING RAINS AND DAMAGING WINDS INLAND OVER PORTIONS OF CENTRAL FLORIDA…
As of 11:00 PM EDT Wed Oct 9
the center of Milton was located near 27.6, -82.0
with movement ENE at 16 mph.
The minimum central pressure was 960 mb
with maximum sustained winds of about 105 mph.
Kenny Johnson, 62, the Rockdale County Soil and Water Conservation District Supervisor, died Tuesday after collapsing near the Georgia State Capitol during a public meeting discussing the chemical plume resulting from the BioLab fire on September 29. The meeting focused on the effects of the BioLab facility fire in Conyers on the local community. The […]
Sexual predators are not permitted to stay at shelters, at least in Flagler County, Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly announced on Wednesday as Florida braces for Hurricane Milton.
…LIFE-THREATENING STORM SURGE, DAMAGING WINDS, AND FLOODING RAINS EXPECTED TONIGHT FOR PARTS OF CENTRAL AND SOUTHWESTERN FLORIDA… …600 PM EDT POSITION UPDATE…
As of 6:00 PM EDT Wed Oct 9
the center of Milton was located near 27.0, -83.3
with movement NE at 15 mph.
The minimum central pressure was 948 mb
with maximum sustained winds of about 120 mph.