WAR-The Mindset-The Risks

 

Nine Minutes Past Mid Night

brutality rising

    Human kind may be passing into a savage age. Markers are apparent; life upended by a virus, patterns of vicious and freak weather, social disorder, decline of civility, political degradation and now Russia's mad war of aggression in Europe. Any one is threatening, all of them could drag us out of the peaceful world our generations have enjoyed since the end of the second World War.

        We have lived in a rare interval of peace and well being in the span of a human history full of misery, suffering, darkness and brutality. 

        Within hours of Russia's invasion of Ukraine I sat in a briefing with six of the world's preeminent intelligence and security officers for a hard nosed assessment of where the new war finds us and what risks are ahead.

        The recent historic antecedent is Sudetenland in the late 30's. This is not about Ukraine and NATO, it is a manifestation of the Putin doctrine. It is an historic breaking of international law and rules, driven by man with a messianic complex who strives to change history to his shaping, remaking the map of Russia.

        The analysis from men who led Britain's MI 6, CIA, Canada's Security Intelligence Service, the British Foreign Office, and Homeland Security says Western response has been strong and united, but it will be tested by challenges, primarily economic costs. Western leadership is compromised by internal political division in the US, new leadership in Germany, Johnson's weak credibility in Britain, impatient domestic response and certitude. Taiwan looms over how this is resolved and they say it is likely to be a long process. 

        The invasion is a game changer, a disregard for law and is a piece of the rising authoritarian mindset that tramples, and seeks to destroy democratic structures and the rule of law and civil order. 

        There is a sense Putin is in an isolated state of mind as he demonstrates a messiah complex. He is in a dangerous state. He reads the West as being in a state of decay. The security veterans agree Putin must pay a heavy cost.

        The former senior CIA officer said we need to buckle up for a long ride, saying Putin's goals are beyond Ukraine, wanting to build the "Great Russia." Putin thinks "he can out suffer us, out last us and divide us."

        One of the men said we need to learn to deal with assertive and regressive leaders, that Putin is not alone. 

        They say this is an historic fight that can shape how succeeding generations will live, the degree to which law has value and meaning. Citizens should be informed of what is at risk and the cost. The costs will not be equally distributed. Gas and food costs will feed inflation in the US and elsewhere. 

        They warn of a possible spill over affect, perhaps by something as simple as a mistake. If any NATO nation is violated by cyber or military action, they say NATO must hit back with severity. 

fog in the valley, stars and moon 

        Repeatedly China was discussed. China will measure how resolved and lasting is the western response. Xi Jinping too thinks the West, especially the US is in decline and decay. He will calculate how we might respond to moves on Taiwan.

      They were quick to note the Russia-China alliance is not like the old Axis alliance of WWII. They say while China watches closely and shares a brutal resolve with Russia, it doesn't know how to be an ally. They will not make sacrifices for Russia. China will respect Putin as long as he does not get in the way or affect their agendas. 

        The China Belts and Roads initiative runs through the area of the conflict and neighboring nations. 

    

        Moments like this remind us of the interconnectedness of human endeavor and thought. In these closing paragraphs I seek to interpret the stark and hard-nosed assessment of men with years of real world knowledge, unknown to the majorities of the world.

        America has lost its way and is no longer the power that emerged from the end of WWII.

        How might this moment exist if Trump had not been subservient and a sycophant to Putin, taking Putin's word over the wisdom of his own national security apparatus?

        How might this moment look if Republicans had spotted in Trump the same authoritarian and reckless disregard for law and protocol as we see in Putin?

        How might this moment look if the Republican party stood up against the January 6th insurrection and all of the Trump effort to undermine an election and then attempt to overthrow the results? That was an invasion of our own sovereignty and dignity. And it followed the invasion of Putin's doctrine in our culture and politics.

        It is no wonder Putin and Xi look at us as in decay, and weak.

        The behavior of some elected office holders has been in my thinking traitorous. If I had my way they would be tried and if convicted they should be shot.

        I put in that number Trump, Kevin McCarthy, Elise Stefanik, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Matt Gaetz, Jim Jordan, Lauren Boebert, Andy Biggs, Paul Gosar, Ted Cruz, Tom Cotton, Ron Johnson, Josh Hawley, John Kennedy.  I will not dignify what they have said but they have worked to undermine the US and the Western response to Putin's violation of international law. They are a pack of jackals in alliance with a Pariah.

       One of the British intelligence officers and a former Senior CIA officer said emphatically the Russian people must be made to pay, despite the pleas not to hurt the people because of Putin. The veteran's logic is, as long as their leader behaves as an international outlaw and Pariah, they too are culpable. They suggested yanking all Russian tourism visas, expelling Russians from international associations and sporting competitions, hitting them financially until they as a nation depose Putin or prevail at insisting the nation stop its illegal aggression.

    Until the US destroys the Republican Fifth Column we will indeed be weakened and it will encourage tyrants and assertive leaders such as Putin. Fox News personalities are amongst the anti American lobby and they have poisoned the minds of millions.

    Sad to say it, but those millions who think Trump won an election, or who elect fools like those named above, are also traitors to this nation and have contributed to the emboldening of a dictator. 

    Most of us have not lived through an event that is so precipitous. The best way forward is to adhere to principles of Westphalian Sovereignty, to listen to wisdom and experience, to remain true to our constitutional principles, think of the well being of all, reject emotion, propaganda and lies

and to be resolute and willing to pay the costs. To turn Putin on his own words, we must "out suffer, out last" him and not allow him to divide us any further.  It may take us into a brutal world, but we cannot relinquish our humanity or intelligence nor our will to prevail. 

   Stay strong.

   See you down the trail. 

The Demise

         There's a chop out there. Tough days in the newsroom, especially at CNN. Testing time on the diplomatic front. And I'm going to violate one of my mother's rules of conduct.

        Mom would often say, "if you can't say something nice about someone, don't say anything at all." But I can't ignore Jeff Zucker or Vladimir Putin. 

        From my view, they've been exposed, seen through and both have been up to no good. 

        They're dark agents and we deal with their legacy.

        I don't know Zucker though our paths crossed many times as we treaded the news and journalism events over the years.

        Zucker got respect for his early work at NBC bringing the Today Show to a new era. I worked 15 years at an NBC affiliate, was in and out of New York at NBC events or with the NBC crews in the field and we shared moments of history. 

        I followed his career track but when he got to CNN my opinion of his professional decisions tanked. Zucker turned CNN from a 24/7 News Network into a news and personality heavy yack format.

        Viewer interest in broadcast news rises and falls based on any number of variables, but substituting personality for reporting or investigative work and documentaries changed the nature of the network. Zucker was more about ratings and the bottom line than the public's need to know.

        

        The darker cloud over his now tarnished reputation was his fawning and irresponsible devotion to Trump. 

        Under Zucker's command CNN  gave then long shot and unlikely candidate Trump millions of dollars of free airtime during the Republican Primary. CNN's deplorable judgement  put on a countdown clock ticking away until the next Trump appearance. Never had a candidate been singled out for the spot light and free air time. No candidate ever was so propped up. No candidate was ever as undeserving.

        Zucker tossed out balance in news policy and philosophy to pander and let an infantile and crude hustler trash the sober Republican party, and infect the American political system with a rotting disease from which we still suffer. Zucker alone among all credible news group executives aided and abetted.

        I care less about Zucker's personal life. There are questions about his professional judgment and CNN is in a crisis. His damaging influence on news broadcasting is a greater offense. It is, however, another example of how self indulgent some in the information business are and how out of touch they are from the working and struggling audience and citizens.

       

        One has to wonder if Putin's campaign of interference, undermining and collusion would have happened without the  media shine on the narcissist stooge.

        In a December 9, 2013 post I referred to Putin as being a taker. The world watches as his motive and intent have been revealed and counter played by the US and allies. Thus far President Biden, Secretary of State Blinken, Security Advisor Sullivan, NATO, and European leaders Macron and Scholz have been more than a match for the little Russian. But Putin is old school KGB, steely and immune to public opinion. 

        The table of options of response to an invasion are wide.

Putin is counting on a moronic partisan strife in Washington. We once enjoyed the adage that politics stops at the water's edge. That was before Jeff Zucker and Donald Trump.

        Stay safe and stay tuned. 

        See you down the trail.

        

          

America Energized

    The US is back on the trail. The path to a "more perfect union" has been rejoined. 

    Perhaps you've had the same experience; zoom conversations or other communications filled with expressions of a greater peace of mind or a sense of optimism. There's been a collective sigh of relief. We buoy our spirits as we confront the crises left for the Biden administration.

clean up work

    In the hard work before us is scouring the service branches and police departments. It will be tough, but right wing insurrectionists, racists and those lacking the intellect to reject the Q fantasy have no place in uniform. 

    The Defense Department* has leadership now to undertake a long overdue flushing of racists and the imposition of new standards. I had run-ins with Pentagon bureaucratic resistance and intentional blindness when I reported on racism including  the armed services. The present mood, and the dawn of a new administration could/should prompt appropriate improvement.

    Racist cops and sheriff deputies have been the bane of almost every American city and county perhaps forever. No, not all police and sheriff deputies are trouble, most are public servants, doing hard work, risking their lives while being horribly underpaid. It is unfortunate however most departments have the knuckleheads who, for whatever reason, dwell in misguided notions and suffer the lack of training and education that purges the simplemindedness of white supremacy and/or  overt macho recklessness and fanaticism.  

an old story

    I cut my reporting teeth in the mid 60's in a midwestern factory town where cops routinely beat Black arrestees, because they could. When I moved to the state capitol and  covered a metropolitan police beat it became rapidly obvious that despite efforts to integrate the department, racist cops were protected by the thin blue line of departmental loyalty. It is part of the American story, and there is much progress to make.

    The continuing investigations of the Capitol insurrection are likely to lead to a deserved focus on cops and troops who hate. We may finally get the enhanced employment evaluation and behavioral training so long overdue. Refine the police. 

rooting out the rebels?

    We'll know soon enough if the House and Senate are likely to press their resident seditionists. I'd censure or toss out any who voted against certifying the vote. There are certifiable screwballs serving in the House and they pose a danger to integrity and decorum. The nation needs a Congress that can legislate and see a nation larger than parochial or political intellectual limitations. The common good should be the objective.

    Competent people with American values, personal honesty and decency are in charge now and that change alone gives us hope. With the shameful retreat of the leading candidate for  worse US President, we can return to more down to earth and more satisfying matters.

     We were surprised to find one of our favorite isolated stretches of beach invaded by elephant seals, who fled their rookery due to recent Pacific wave events. This is the height of birthing season. The gull activity in the frame above attends a birth that occurred as we watched.

    The frame above features at least three newbies. They are  protected in the rookery where the public views from a curated vantage with docents on hand.

    We took high ground and observed, respectfully. The few other people who discovered the invasion as we were there, were also careful and kept a distance. A couple of days ago a docent and resident expert told me some visitors did not. 

    Reigning bulls are in the early days of mating season. Humans need not be on their mind. They are massive and powerful. A zoom lens is the way to approach.

    Who'd want to disturb a peaceful nap of an expectant mother?

          We've had our first jab and collected an image we chuckle about and wonder what in the world presently unborn descendants will make of it.

         Hope a shot finds you soon. Stay well and stay safe.

        See you down the trail.

         *Adam Ciralsky has an eye opening piece in the current Vanity Fair. He embedded with the outgoing Secretary of Defense in the last frantic days of Trump. It gave me a new perspective of Christopher Miller and what he did.