Iranians Fighting with Russians – This is Not a Test


Armstrong Economics Blog/War Re-Posted Oct 24, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

Reports first circulated that Iranian soldiers were training Russians to operate drones after numerous reports of technical failures. Both Tehran and Moscow denied the allegations, but the writing was on the wall. Now, there are reports of at least ten Iranians dying from Ukrainian air strikes.

Some ask whether it would be safer for Russian soldiers to train in Iran, but they’re missing the point. The “training” is no different than fighting alongside Russian troops. Over 20 Iranian instructors have been spotted in Crimea and Kherson Oblast.

“The Russians took Iranian instructors to the territory of the temporarily occupied Kherson Region and Crimea to launch Shahed-136 kamikaze drones,” the Ukrainian Nation Resistance Center claimed. “They teach the Russians how to use kamikaze drones, and directly monitor the launch of drones on Ukrainian civilian targets, including strikes on Mykolaiv and Odesa.”

This open door is an invitation for foreign troops to fight alongside Ukraine or Russia under the premise of training. It matters not who is holding the controls as the training is taking place in an active warzone. Ukraine is already asking foreign nations to begin “testing” their military defenses on their soil, pointed at the Russians. “Today hundreds of Iranian drones are undergoing ‘test runs’ on our land, killing civilians,” the Defense Ministry wrote on Twitter. “These drones were not intended for use against Ukraine. To have a strategic advantage over its enemy, Israel should conduct a ‘test run’ of its air defenses Ukraine is the best testing ground.”

Iran could turn around and declare this an act of war or use this as an excuse to fuel the flames. If someone from the West or an Asian ally were training Ukrainian forces in a warzone, their individual government would certainly escalate the situation if Russians killed their soldiers. Iranians are already on the ground fighting alongside Russians, paving the way for other nations to join the fighting on the frontlines.

Boris Johnson Announces He Will Not Seek Prime Minister Role, sets up WEF Groomed Rishi Sunak to Take Leadership Position


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on October 23, 2022 | Sundance

The moves are so predictable… {See Here}… well, it would be funny if the consequences were not so severe.

With Prime Minister Liz Truss announcing her resignation there was considerable discussion of former PM Boris Johnson returning to run for the job.  However, as an outcome of his conversations with other “conservatives” in British politics, Johnson has withdrawn his name.  This sets up… wait for it…. the World Economic Forum’s groomed U.K. climate change “conservative” to take the job.  This stuff is so predictable, it’s beyond funny.

(Via CBS) – Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in a statement Sunday that he would not seek the leadership of the Conservative Party, leaving former Treasury chief Rishi Sunak as the frontrunner to take over after Liz Truss hastily announced her exit last week, after just 45 days at the helm. (read more)

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak together with King Charles III….  What could possibly go wrong?  LOL

Sometimes people make fun of me for cementing my views in the reality of a big picture perspective.  I don’t care.  It’s not a conspiracy theory to see how the alignment of western leadership interests are shaped by the control of the people and institutions who manipulate the illusion of choice.

Liz Truss was dispatched because she dared, in the smallest way, to accept the reality of what created the ‘Build Back Better‘ U.K. economic crisis.  She was always going to be replaced by someone who was willing and able to retain their fullest devotion to the grand pretense.  That’s where Rishi Sunak steps in.  Please watch the video below, you’ll see:

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Boris Johnson Statement:

It’s all connected folks…. all of it.

…They have one job!

Interview: Collapsing Global Finance with Martin Armstrong


Armstrong Economics Blog/Armstrong in the Media Re-Posted Oct 23, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

Check out my latest interview with Laura-Lynn Tyler Thompson.

The Interview of Lukashenko The West Refuses to Listen


Armstrong Economics Blog/War Re-Posted Oct 22, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

The very question posed to Lukashenko demonstrates how biased the media is. There is ZERO independence and certainly ZERO effort by any investigative journalist to challenge whatever either side says in a war because it is always a propaganda war simultaneously. Zelensky was voted in to create peace and carry out the Minsk Agreement. The US and NATO told him NOT to negotiate peace. This is a proxy war and this is the real issue that the media refuses to even discuss.

Twitter Stuff, Reports of Anticipated Turnover of Employees, Combined with Reports of Treasury Dept Considering CFIUS Review


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on October 21, 2022 | Sundance 

Whenever we begin to evaluate how the U.S. government may respond to Elon Musk buying out Twitter and changing the dynamic behind Jack’s Magic Coffee Shop, it is always worth remembering a key point.  Elon Musk is not in an adversarial relationship with the U.S. government.  Indeed, almost every Musk venture is tied into the matrix of multiple government institutions.

That said, only Elon Musk knows the full intent of his objective to utilize Twitter and his larger aspirations to open information systems to all people (Iran example).

Having listened to a lot of Musk’s explanations for his endeavors, I’ve yet to nail down how his statements mesh with the public-private partnership that forms the baseline of revenue for his various engagements.

The Washington Post is reporting that Musk may RIF (reduction in force) to 75% of Twitter employees.  “Elon Musk told prospective investors in his deal to buy the company that he planned to get rid of nearly 75 percent of Twitter’s 7,500 workers, whittling the company down to a skeleton staff of just over 2,000.” {link}

(WaPo) […] On Thursday evening, Twitter’s top lawyer Sean Edgett sent out a note to all employees saying the company did not have any confirmation from Musk about his plans. Twitter’s own, smaller-scale “cost savings discussions” were put on hold once the merger agreement was signed, Edgett said, according to an email viewed by The Post.

In internal Slack groups, Twitter employees reacted to the news with anger and resignation, supporting each other and making jokes about the turmoil of the past few months, according to people familiar with the conversations.

Twitter and Musk are expected to close the purchase by Oct. 28. Planning for the closing is moving forward in apparent good faith after months of legal battles, say people familiar with the negotiations who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. If the deal closes, Musk would immediately become Twitter’s new owner. (read more)

Meanwhile Bloomberg was reporting yesterday the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US (CFIUS), a Treasury Dept agency, was considering a national security review of the purchase due to foreign nationals investing and participating in the funding mechanisms for the buyout.  However, Bloomberg updated that angle today noting any CFIUS review would be unlikely:

(Bloomberg) Alarm over Elon Musk’s recent Russia-friendly tweets is driving Biden administration officials to explore using a secretive review panel to assess the national-security risks of his business interests.

Yet experts say that deploying the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US to investigate Musk’s dealings — including his pending $44 billion purchase of Twitter — is unlikely to work and would face legal challenges. 

There may be an argument for some sort of CFIUS review, but it’s thin, according to Emily Kilcrease, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security. The panel would only get involved if foreign investors were taking a controlling stake in the new company, she said, something Musk doesn’t appear ready to allow.

CFIUS has the right to look at foreign investors, not Musk, Kilcrease said. “So if there’s concerns around Musk, CFIUS is a really messy, imperfect tool to try to deal with that — and I suspect would be subject to legal challenge,” she said. (read more)

Two things about Twitter and the U.S. government are true, and that makes predicting where this ends up quite challenging to game out.

♦First, the U.S. intelligence apparatus is actively involved in the background operations of Twitter.  The extent of the IC involvement may be debatable, but the IC being involved in Twitter is fundamentally true.

♦Second, if the U.S. government wanted to stop Elon Musk from purchasing Twitter, they could – very easily.  As noted, Musks network of business operations is heavily dependent on a partnership with the U.S. government (SpaceX, Starlink, Tesla, etc.)  The State Dept, Pentagon, NASA, FAA, and various intelligence agencies are all parts of a deep network of relationships with Musk’s organizations.

The fact that the U.S. government does not intervene in any Musk effort, including Twitter, is not evidence of Musk being outside the system.  Factually, it would be challenging to find another company with tentacles as wide, far reaching and connected to the U.S. government.

Musk is purchasing Twitter because the U.S. government wants to allow Musk to purchase Twitter.  Musk may be ‘dirty dancing‘ with the government while trying to retain the patina of an outsider, but the network of his company attachments to the U.S. government run counter to that outlook.

Again, I don’t know what Musk’s intent is, and hopefully the Twitter outcome is something much more open and transparent than currently exists.  However, that said, we should not assign too much weight to any media outline of the dynamic until we have actual reference points to any possible change.

Iranian Drones


Armstrong Economics Blog/War Re-Posted Oct 21, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

The western alliance is not the only one providing military training. Iran has sent military members to Crimea to train Russian troops. Specifically, they are training them to use Iranian drones. There were reports of Russian troops visiting Iran in August to learn how to operate unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Since then, there have been numerous reports of UAVs failing, but the successfully deployed UAVs are capable of causing serious damage.

Shaheds, also known as kamikaze or suicide drones, explode on impact and are capable of also carrying missiles. This drone is less expensive to develop, but it can travel up to 1,000 miles and leave a range of destruction in its path. Mohajer-6 UAVs can be used for spying purposes and can, of course, also hold a missile. Ukraine claims that they have shot down at least 200 drones and have the capability to jam radars.

Both Russia and Iran have denied trading weapons, but what do they have to lose now that all the cards are on the table? Russia has violated the UN Security Council Resolution 2231 by transferring arms from Iran. The West has already sanctioned Russia in every way possible. Numerous nations are placing sanctions on Iran now, but again, they are not too concerned. Tehran and Moscow, two nuclear powers, are strengthening their relationship and seem prepared to face any Western consequences while resuming trade.