An interesting set of details amid a few reports on Ukraine, with one very interesting White House announcement under section 621 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (FAA).
First, as previously discussed within the year-end National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) there was a supplemental addition of $300 million more for Ukraine.
(VIA CBS) – The Biden administration Wednesday announced a $250 million military assistance package for Ukraine.
The aid package — the final of 2023 — will include arms and equipment, including air defense munitions, anti-armor munitions, ammunition for high mobility artillery rocket systems, and more than 15 million rounds of small arms ammunition, a State Department spokesperson said to CBS News.
“Our assistance has been critical to supporting our Ukrainian partners as they defend their country and their freedom against Russia’s aggression,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement, urging Congress to “swiftly” approve further aid to Ukraine. (read more)
Then, there’s something rather interesting….
Remember how we’ve talked about Ukraine being somewhat of a money laundering operation; and the entire series of events being akin to “world war Reddit” without any visible ‘boots on the ground’ war correspondent reporting; and the highly visible structure of the CIA running the operation from Foggy Bottom with the Dept of State controlling the outcomes… Remember all that?
Now, check out this little slush fund:
WHITE HOUSE – “By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including section 621 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (FAA), I hereby delegate to the Secretary of State the authority under section 614(a)(1) of the FAA to determine whether it is important to the security interests of the United States to furnish up to $20 million in assistance to Ukraine without regard to any provision of law within the purview of section 614(a)(1) of the FAA.” (link)
Curiousor and curiousor….
POLITICO – “With U.S. and European aid to Ukraine now in serious jeopardy, the Biden administration and European officials are quietly shifting their focus from supporting Ukraine’s goal of total victory over Russia to improving its position in an eventual negotiation to end the war, according to a Biden administration official and a European diplomat based in Washington. Such a negotiation would likely mean giving up parts of Ukraine to Russia.
The White House and Pentagon publicly insist there is no official change in administration policy — that they still support Ukraine’s aim of forcing Russia’s military completely out of the country. But along with the Ukrainians themselves, U.S. and European officials are now discussing the redeployment of Kyiv’s forces away from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s mostly failed counteroffensive into a stronger defensive position against Russian forces in the east, according to the administration official and the European diplomat, and confirmed by a senior administration official.
This effort has also involved bolstering air defense systems and building fortifications, razor wire obstructions and anti-tank obstacles and ditches along Ukraine’s northern border with Belarus, these officials say. (MORE)
So, the official narrative has shifted from ‘winning‘ to ‘stalemate‘ to the more recent, ‘lose less’ and prepare for “giving up parts of Ukraine to Russia.”
Hmmm… What’s the DoS/CIA extra $20 million for, again?
Comrade Suspicious Cat remains, well, suspicious….
Given the nature of U.S. led NATO efforts, this collaborative move by Russia and Belarus is as subtle as a brick through a window.
Joe Biden policy, actually the policy of the US State Dept/CIA, like the policy of Barack Obama before him (same institutions), is contingent upon the targeted nations participating in a great pretending that U.S. moves are not intentionally adversarial. Unfortunately, the era of pretend foreign policy pressure has ended, but the State Dept and CIA refuse to modify their playbook.
Russia, Iran, China, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, et al, are not pretending.
TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — The president of Belarus said Monday that Russia has completed its shipments of tactical nuclear weapons to his country, an initiative that raised strong concerns in neighboring Poland and elsewhere in the region.
President Alexander Lukashenko said at a meeting of a Moscow-led economic bloc in St. Petersburg that the shipments were completed in October, but he did not give details of how many weapons were sent or where they have been deployed.
Tactical nuclear weapons, which are intended for use on the battlefield, have a short range and a low yield compared with much more powerful nuclear warheads fitted to long-range missiles. Russia said it would maintain control over those it sends to Belarus.
Lukashenko has said that hosting Russian nuclear weapons in his country is meant to deter aggression by Poland, a NATO member. Poland is offering neighbor Ukraine military, humanitarian and political backing in its struggle against Russia’s invasion and is taking part in international sanctions on Russia and Belarus. (read more)
All of Eastern Europe is praying for President Donald J Trump.
For most of Western Europe it’s already too late.
A Donald Trump win would be a complete disaster for the Neocons. He repeatedly stated that withdrawing from the war in Ukraine would be his first priority on day one in office. Trump threatened to leave NATO and was a harsh critic of the organization as he did not see the benefits for the US. Congress cannot take that chance again and has voted to ban any president from withdrawing from NATO.
The measure received bipartisan support and the effort was led by Senator Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) as part of the National Defense Authorization Act. The United States provided $821 million to NATO in its FY 2022 budget. NATO members agreed to spend 2% of their GDP on the alliance back in 2014 when fears of Russian aggression were spreading. Only three other nations adhered to that target, and as of July 2023, only 10 of the then 31 members were meeting their target.
The United States contributes more than any other NATO member. The United States, United Kingdom, and Germany pay for over 40% of NATO’s budget. NATO continually expands, also expanding the threat of war. Everyone knows the rules of Article 5 – if one nation is attacked, all nations must respond. Yet they are strategically growing NATO by welcoming countries that are a hop, skip, and jump away from “unfriendly” nations. This is precisely what the Russian government wanted to prevent, as they felt backed into a corner by NATO aggression.
Many decades ago, Russia wanted to join the alliance under Yeltsin, who worked to defend his country from the old hardline Communists. NATO declined as they needed an enemy as an excuse to maintain their alliance. To the Neocons, Russia will always be the USSR and the Communist enemy along with China. In 1997, the same year Yeltsin was reelected, then-Senator Joe Biden begged NATO to welcome all the Baltic nations. That was two years before Putin came to power, as Russia has always and must always be the enemy.
America has been the world’s war financier since WW2. Congress effectively welded international foreign interests with domestic policy by forcing the nation to back NATO indefinitely. I say indefinitely as Neocons are on both sides of the political arena and would never vote to leave NATO.
Russian President Vladimir Putin believes his nation is leading the battle against Ukraine. In a four-hour televised press conference on December 14, the Russian president said he believes that the war will end once Russia achieves its goals. “Either we get an agreement or we solve this by force,” Putin stated.
Russia will spend $11 billion (1 trillion rubles) annually on maintaining reclaimed land. “Ukraine’s whole southeast has always been pro-Russian because these are historically Russian territories,” Putin claimed. “What does Ukraine have to do with this? Neither Crimea nor the Black Sea’s whole northern coast have anything to do (with Ukraine). And Odesa is a Russian city,” Putin said after announcing that Russia would not surrender any annexed land in Crimea, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk, or Donetsk.
The televised event was the president’s first time addressing the public at large since February 2022, and comes days after announcing he will seek a fifth term in March. Putin took questions from the audience and journalists during the event. Some of the questions were pre-screened to allow Putin the opportunity to provide the public with the intended messaging. However, they also televised various text messages from the public that were critical of the government and world. “Why is your ‘reality’ at odds with our lived reality?” one message read.
The Russian people want the war to end as hundreds of thousands have already died. Putin claimed Russia does not plan to send additional troops into battle at this time, as over 600,000 are currently on the ground. He assured the people that better days are ahead, claiming GDP will rise in 3.5% in 2023 and unemployment will reach a historic low of 2.9%. One citizen asked about food inflation and cited eggs in particular as they have spiked over 40%. “I apologize for this, but this is a failure of the government’s work,” he stated. Inflation in Russia is running at around 7.5% despite the central bank targeting 4%.
Now the people of Russia want the war to end and Putin wants to win the favor of the people ahead of the election. “There will be peace when we achieve our goals,” Putin again reassured the public. Yet, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg made a speech around the same time urging nations to continue supporting Ukraine. Stoltenberg said that Russia will not stop at Ukraine if it achieves its objectives. “If Putin wins in Ukraine, there is real risk that his aggression will not end there. Our support is not charity. It is an investment in our security,” he said.
Posted originally on Rumble BY Kim Iversen on:August 4, 10:15 Am EST
After threatening to send American troops to die in Ukraine if Congress did not approve the latest blank check for Ukraine, Biden has invited Zelensky to travel to the White House today. Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the invite will “underscore the United States’ unshakeable commitment to supporting the people of Ukraine as they defend themselves against Russia’s brutal invasion.” Who has unwavering support for Ukraine besides the Neocons? Joe Biden’s approval continues to decline as his support for Ukraine rises. Our elected officials have repeatedly voted to cease funding. And yet, our president has chosen to dismiss the wishes of the people and their representatives.
America has already sent Zelensky over $111 billion to fight this proxy war. Billions have gone missing from the Pentagon since the war in Ukraine began, and there is no telling how much the government actually gave to Zelensky. Biden’s latest check would be worth $61.4 billion, bringing the US closer to having spent $200 billion on Ukraine since 2022. The entire Ukrainian government is on the US payroll on top of the endless funding to combat Russian aggression.
Do the people not see how offensive Zelensky’s visit is to US democracy? The people said no, the elected officials said no, but the “big guy” at the top is acting as a dictator and dismissing the wishes of the people. The American public has had a significantly lower standard of living since Biden took office, and I cannot think of anyone who wants to pass off our money to a foreign government to fight an undefeatable war.
Zelensky’s presence in Washington is an absolute disgrace to democracy. If the president of the United States cared about his country, he would invite the US Customs & Border Patrol to the White House and focus on redirecting funds to fix America’s broken border. Americans simply want to afford groceries and housing again, but the Biden Administration is DELIBERATELY making it harder for everyone to stay afloat.
For those confused. There are two bills to modify the FISA702 reauthorization in the House. (1) HR 6611 from the House Intel Committee and (2) HR 6570 from the House Judiciary Committee. The intel committee bill expands domestic surveillance authority under the modifications; the judiciary committee bill requires the DOJ to get a search warrant before they can look at the incidental collection of American citizens.
Both bills came out of committee and were scheduled for a floor vote tomorrow, which has been cancelled due to public outcry (good job). Speaker Mike Johnson initially planned to let both bills get voted tomorrow and the bill with the most votes advances to the Senate. That’s a hot mess.
The House Intel Committee bill organized by Chairman Mike Turner is absolutely horrible. It expands FISA702 surveillance and makes things much worse. The House Judiciary Bill organized by Chairman Jim Jordan is not structurally that much better, but it does put strong curtailments on the 702 surveillance authority by forcing the DOJ to get actual court approved search warrants on American citizens.
It should not come as a surprise to see a panel of 46 experts in Deep State weaponization come out in support of the Intelligence Committee bill, and then decry the insufferable 702 limitations put into place in the Judiciary Committee bill. The bad guys want the House Intel version.
That’s a who’s-who list of 46 Deep State weaponization operatives, all supporting the Mike Turner version.
Turner lied when he said his HR 6611 bill was supported by John Ratcliffe and Devin Nunes. It’s not, and they don’t. Both Nunes and Ratcliffe support a panel within the process who have eyes on everything that is being done and can conduct immediate oversight. Chairman Mike Turner is a big fibber, and y’all can tell him I said that.
The Deep State folks love the Turner bill (6611) because it makes the surveillance even easier by granting even more authority in their warrantless searches. The Deep State folks do not like the Jordan bill (6570) because it requires a search warrant to look at the material, which means a predicate justification must exist.
Both bills suck, but the Jordan bill sucks less.
Speaker Johnson abandoned the competing same-day floor vote effort, and no one is sure where it goes from here; but that’s probably why the Deep State guys are writing a letter trying to influence Johnson on what bill to permit a vote.
In the meantime, the current FISA-702 authorization will likely be “short-term” renewed through April 19, 2024, as part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), while congress figures out which long-term reform bill to send to the Senate.
It’s all a hot mess.
We The People just don’t want to be under surveillance, but we have no representation.
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