The Stan R. Mitchell report for 1/25/22.
Discover more from The View from the Front. By Stan R. Mitchell.
The Stan R. Mitchell report for 1/25/22.
Happy Tuesday, everyone! Hope everyone’s week is off to a great start!
Moving to military news, there’s not been much change on the situation with Russia and Ukraine. (You can read plenty about the situation in the last two newsletters: 1/21/22 and 1/18/22.)
For some great insight on what could precipitate hostilities and what they’ll look like, check this out.
(Link here if the above isn’t working.)
Incredibly, the UK announced that Putin is planning to replace Ukrainian leadership following an invasion. (See below.)
There’s more about the plot below:
At least up to this point, Ukraine hasn’t fallen into a complete panic.
Writing in The Washington Post, long-time foreign policy icon David Ignatius has visited the country and reported an excellent piece from it. (See below.)
Here are a few key graphs from that piece:
“Since 2014, we have been in a state of war with Russia,” said Oleksiy Danilov, the head of the national security and defense council. “There are no people other than us who will defend us. Even if we don’t receive weapons [from the West], we will strangle them with our bare hands.”
…
Putin has prepared well for this strategic moment. Russia’s financial reserves are substantial enough to ease the impact of sanctions, at least initially, and energy prices are high. And Russia’s military alliance with China hasn’t been this strong in decades.
“What I am concerned about is that Russia is putting itself in such a position that it can’t step back,” argued Dmytro Razumkov, a young member of the Ukrainian parliament who led Zelensky’s party there and has now formed one of his own.
But panic or not, this won’t be anything even close to a fair fight.
For a quick visual of how lop-sided this could be, see this simple illustration below:
Finally, before we exit the topic of Ukraine, I thought I’d share this story by Jennifer Jacobs: Biden Officials Talking to Qatar About Supplying Gas to Europe.
You can see from the article that America is trying to reduce the leverage Putin has over Europe.
We’ll hit one more topic before signing off with some motivation and wisdom.
I mentioned in the last newsletter the breaking news that a CIA interim report says Havana Syndrome isn’t being done by some foreign actor, such as Russia or China. I said then that I was still trying to process both the news and my feelings toward this.
And since I dropped that edition, The Washington Post wrote a brilliant editorial that perfectly nailed what I was fighting with internally: The ‘Havana syndrome’ is still a mystery. It is too soon to stop investigating.
From the piece:
The CIA’s interim finding that a single global power is probably not carrying out attacks on U.S. intelligence and diplomatic officials abroad is hardly the last word. The intelligence community must continue to hunt for who or what is behind it, and the Biden administration must show compassion to a large cohort of government employees in distress.
What’s been called “Havana syndrome” began in 2016, when U.S. officials stationed in Cuba reported symptoms that included headaches, dizziness, blurred vision and memory loss after hearing strange noises and feeling odd sensations. A report from the National Academy of Sciences in 2020 suggested a cause for the injuries could be the use of “directed, pulsed radio frequency” energy. As the number of cases blossomed, the diagnoses became more varied. The perpetrator has never been identified.
Much speculation has focused in recent years on Russia, which has denied responsibility. Now a senior CIA official has announced, “We have assessed that it is unlikely that a foreign actor, including Russia, is conducting a sustained, worldwide campaign harming U.S. personnel with a weapon or mechanism.” This statement does not exclude the possibility that lesser actors — perhaps subcontracted — are responsible for the attacks, nor does it rule out that multiple sources are to blame. That might explain the diverse locations where the victims report being hit, although if such a large group of attackers was afoot, it might also increase the chances the culprits would be caught. So far, no one has.
The Post said the CIA and other intelligence agencies must continue digging on this matter, and I completely agree.
I’m not sure we have the full story on this.
Finally, for some motivation and wisdom before we close this edition out.
But before I do that, how about these incredible photos below?! They were too good not to share, and they provide a great reminder that our wonderful servicemen and women continue to protect, defend, and represent American interests around the globe, 24/7, in all climes and places.
Here are the photos individually:
And now for that motivation and wisdom:
That’s it for this edition. And as a reminder, please be kind and endeavor to love and support your fellow Americans. The vast majority of Americans are decent, loving, great people, and we must unite this country again so that we can at least discuss issues with dialogue and solemnity; not screams and threats online (or especially in person).
I beg of you, please don’t name-call the other side on social media, such as Twitter, Facebook, etc. The honest truth is they are mothers and fathers and folks not much different than you.
You (yes, you) can be the change we all want to see. (Never forget that most of those who are loudest on social media and in person are also those who are the most scared. You can only win them over and reduce their anxiety by showing love and kindness, not closing them off to further isolation and desperation.)
As always, please share this post if you enjoyed it! And I welcome any and all respectful comments below.
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Semper Fidelis,
Stan R. Mitchell
P.S. Don’t forget to check out my books. I’ve written 10 military and police thrillers, as well as a non-partisan, self-help book that’s about Obama. I’ve been fortunate to have sold 70,000-plus copies, to thank you to who have supported me on this journey! You can find all eleven books here: amazon.com.
P.P.S. You can also find out more about me, with lots of FAQs about my military background, at my website: stanrmitchell.com.
