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On the eve of Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky’s address to Congress on Wednesday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki was asked no fewer than six times at the daily press briefing if the Biden administration would grant Zelensky’s military request of creating a “no-fly zone” over the bombarded country.
Ever since Russia invaded, the administration has made clear there’s no chance that the U.S. or NATO is going to create a no-fly zone, because that would mean direct warfare with a nuclear power inside Russia.
“First thing that we would do in order to establish a no-fly zone over Ukraine would be to send the U.S. military to attack military units inside Russia--the anti-aircraft batteries that are there, the anti-aircraft artillery,” Democratic Congressman Jim Himes recently explained. “United States Air Force planes would be killing thousands of Russian military members inside Russia."
Especially because Putin appears to be increasingly unstable in the decisions he’s making, a no-fly zone is not going to happen. The U.S. previously created no-fly zones over Iraq, Libya, and Serbia during times of crisis. None of those countries had an arsenal of nuclear missiles. They were also extraordinarily complex operations.
“When the U.S. and United Kingdom imposed no-fly zones in the south (to protect Shiites) and the north (to protect Kurds), American combat planes flew over 200,000 sorties and dropped more than 1,000 bombs on more than 240 targets,” Slate recently noted.
Yet for three weeks, the press has been relentless in asking the same question over and over, even though White House responses each time have been an unequivocal, no. A few of the inquiries from Tuesday’s session:
• “Has the administration’s thinking shifted on that at all?”
• “To put it bluntly, is Zelensky wasting his time tomorrow asking for these things?”
• “How does the President plan to continue being, like, a voice of restraint in these situations and holding back some of those requests?”
The media inquiries are usually framed as President Joe Biden not doing enough to help Ukrainians; that he represents “restraint” in the face of human suffering. After piling on Biden following the U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, the Beltway media — echoing GOP talking points — seem anxious to put the White House on the defensive, again.
When two dozen “foreign policy elites” signed an open letter advocating a no-fly zone, Politico’s Playbook ran the story as big news, trumpeting it as the day’s most important item. Later that week, when 78 experts signed a letter opposing a no-fly zone, Politico buried the item.
On March 7, CNN anchor Brianna Keilar compared the lack of a no-fly zone to the “bare minimum” countries like Britain and France did at the start of World War II. But Hitler’s Germany didn’t have 1,500 nuclear warheads deployed on strategic long-range systems and almost 3,000 more in reserve, the way Putin’s Russia does today.
The media chatter continues to be incessant. “No-fly zone” has been mentioned more than 700 times on cable news since the invasion began, according to TVeyes.
What explains this obsession? Why do reporters and pundits think there’s a chance Biden would change his mind and risk nuclear war? Why do they present the no-fly zone as a reasonable option? (They’re not constantly asking if Biden is going to send tens of thousands of U.S. troops to fight Russians inside Ukraine.) And why do journalists constantly, and recklessly, omit crucial context surrounding the topic?
Interviewing Americans about the invasion and what the U.S. should be doing to help Ukrainians, the New York Times this week quoted a Michigan voter saying she’s been unhappy with the Ukraine response so far and is in favor of establishing a no-fly zone. “I truly believe that [the U.S.] could be doing more to help,” she said. The Times made no mention that guarding the Ukrainian skies could spark a nuclear war.
Truth is, most Americans have no idea what a Ukraine no-fly zone would mean militarily, simply because the media have not educated them. When Americans do find out, their support for the strategy drops dramatically.
“A broad bipartisan majority of Americans think the United States should stop buying Russian oil and gas and work with NATO to set up "no-fly zones" to protect Ukraine from Russian air strikes,” Reuters announced last week, trumpeting its “exclusive” polling results. The findings were framed as bad news for the White House: “That puts pressure on U.S. President Joe Biden to take more aggressive actions against Moscow.”
The report though, came with a boulder-sized caveat: “It was not clear if respondents who supported a no-fly zone were fully aware of the risk of conflict.”
Oh.
A subsequent CBS poll found that “Support for a no-fly zone … drops off considerably when people are asked if it meant U.S. forces might have to engage Russian aircraft, and be considered an act of war by Russia.” U.S support for the move dropped from 59 percent to 38 percent, once people were given proper context. We don’t know how big the drop would be if CBS had specifically spelled out that a no-fly zone could lead to nuclear annihilation.
The no-fly zone isn’t going to happen, and for valid reasons. The press needs to stop playing gotcha with the White House.
(Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
GOOD STUFF:
The brutal invasion continues to generate bouts of heroic journalism.
From Vanity Fair’s, ““This Is Personal for Them”: Two Ukrainian AP Journalists Capture the Most Devastating Moments of War”:
In Mariupol, Ukraine, two Associated Press journalists, Evgeniy Maloletka and Mstyslav Chernov, have captured the most devastating realities of Russia’s war. Their photographs are not only a record of the utter destruction, but a direct rebuttal to the Kremlin’s propaganda, giving the world a window into the lives destroyed every day as Russia pushes further into the country, attacking civilian targets. It was Maloletka who captured the bloodied, pregnant woman being taken from the bombed maternity hospital on a stretcher; ”one of the most iconic images of this war so far,” AP executive editor Julie Pace tells Vanity Fair.
FUN STUFF — BECAUSE WE ALL NEED A BREAK
War on Drugs, “I Don’t Live Here Anymore”
The pride of Philadelphia, Adam Granduciel’s band continues to expand and impress as he details our stumbles through life, wrapped in a majestic sound. This is the second single from the band’s latest album by the same name.
When I think about the old days, babe
You're always on my mind
I know it ain't like I remember
I guess my memories run wild
🎙 Click here to listen to the music that’s been featured on PRESS RUN, via Apple Music.
The term "no fly zone" needs to be changed to "attack Russia." That should clear up a whole lot of ignorance for most people. The Press? Not so much. Their willful ignorance in order to create drama is unforgiveable and incurable.
exactly. press loves plying this word game
Malcom Nance, an expert in military intelligence, said this week that a No Fly Zone is not even what Ukraine needs. Currently Russia is targeting Ukrainian targets with missiles not bombing with aircraft. According to the Pentagon, Russian jets are not entering Ukraine airspace for fear of being shot down. Point is that NATO jet fighters would not be much of a deterrent for Russian missiles anyway. This No Fly Zone rallying cry is just another "Let's make Biden Look Bad" talking point that the media has glommed on to. It also ignores the fact that the US is not acting alone, that NATO is working together to force Russia's hand. And while I sit here writing this, what do I hear in the background on my TV tuned to CNN? "Why not a No Fly Zone?". WTF? Does the media long for World War III? The MSM Is totally irresponsible. Remember when they banged the drums of war before we went into Iraq? How'd that turn out?
good point. most of the damage Ukraine suffering is not coming via Russian bombers
The American mainstream media is too focused on clicks, likes, shares, ratings, & eyeballs because it's more about generating financial profits to please their corporate owners, boards of directors, and shareholders.
They're showing all this carnage, suffering & death in the Ukraine to generate valid emotional responses of shock, horror & disgust from their viewers.
However, the editors have somehow decided to ignore the sober analysis to why establishing a no-fly zone in the country is a dangerous idea because they either believe their readers & viewers are morons, or it's too boring to actually share & discuss with them.
Seriously, the media longing for World War III is a terrible thought because it means further suffering & destruction of not just Ukrainians, but the entire world because some people wanted to make a lot of money out of a humanitarian disaster.
The media is just as bad as the military-industrial complex for engaging in talk of furthering an unnecessary war.
The Corporate Controlled Conservative Press will do or say anything to take Joe Biden down.
To most of them Ukraine is linked inexorably with "Hunter Biden's Laptop" and a chance to create a new fake scandal which would enable the return of their beloved Rethuglican Bully Daddies.
Well said but I'll go a step further. The MSM is a branch of the industrial-military complex or a least they want to be.
Glib to the max. Shallow and self absorbed. They’ve forgotten what their job is, mission should be.
Keeping your head down = Keeping your paycheck
I think first and foremost they want the suffering to stop and believe wrongly that a NFZ would do it. If it does bring about a wider war, well, that would be both terrible and exciting to cover, wouldn't it? Just imagine today's press covering Pearl Harbor or D Day or the Battle of the Bulge. The thought makes me shudder.
On a different note, I only wish these journalists would show one tenth of that compassion for the refugees fleeing terrible suffering in other parts of the world.
The reference to the media's obligation to educate and contextualize is a reminder of how the vaunted 4th Estate is neglecting its prime directive - create (and maintain) an informed electorate. Polls consistently show that Americans are in the dark on the true state of the economy (inflation inflation inflation!! gets hammered while the unemployment and job creation rates are ignored); politics (the Ohio diner patrons are not asked why the election riggers forgot to make sure the GOP lost every race); and now war (Biden is Chamberlain!). One would think that the media doers and shakers would notice when news consumers believe up is down.
informing the public often seems like a distant goal for media
And sadly Charley, I believe that's the way they want it. The mainstream media works for the wealthy and powerful, not for all Americans.
It makes one wonder whether or not the msm is doing it’s homework re: what a no fly zone actually is or, for that matter, what the facts on the ground really are or if they even know what’s in the largest aid package ever being sent to Ukraine from the USA. God bless David Ignatius, who has been on the ground near the Polish border, for telling us he WITNESSED tons of equipment, armaments, humanitarian aid being offloaded there for Ukraine. I’m finally seeing pundits display lists of what the armaments/supplies are that we are endlessly providing. Whether they know it or not, the msm makes fools of themselves at these pressers, trying to beat out the competition with more gotcha crap. Sooooo tiresome. Sooooo ‘no there, there;’ Sooooo dangerous. Soooo disheartening to say the least. This is war time and they’re playing tiddly winks with no clue about their failings.
I mentioned Malcom Nance in my post. He has been so ahead of the curve in what is happening in Ukraine. His predictions have eventually been reported as true about a week to 10 days after he predicted it. If only the MSM would listen to him, and others, instead of regurgitating the same no-fly zone talking points.
Totally agree. A man who knows what he’s talking about. Love Malcolm.
Maybe the paradigm example of how harmful -- not inept but literally harmful -- the mainstream* have been in their no fly coverage in the wretched excess of Ukraine coverage. (*Same mainstream who still refuse to report that the GOP's response to Covid have been literally deadly since Day 1 or find much of concern with GOP subverting of the right to vote for two issues.)
I agree. The press is almost All Ukraine, All the Time. Most Americans were still calling it "the Ukraine," even though it is not a territory but a country. There are few articles on covid even though there's an omicron subvariant out there that's going to rain on our parade. The blow by blow coverage is excessive and it will give people war fatigue. The good side is that we haven't heard much from Trump.
The elite stenographers of the Beltway media are not going to stop playing gotcha until they achieve their goal. A Republican sweep in 2022 and the restoration of the glorious Trump regime in 2024. They want the circus back. When they can report on the circus, they don't have to wrestle with complex issues like the impact of a "no-fly zone/attack on Russia". But let's get real, do they think that the Republicans and especially Trump would be handling this crisis better than Biden? Are they really that naïve ... or deep in bed with the GOP?
What I have seen is not journalists/pundits directly promoting a no fly zone, but giving a platform to people who are saying that, without challenging them. They should be asking what those critics would say to experts who believe a no fly zone greatly increases the risks not only of widening the war but of Putin using nuclear or chemical weapons on Ukraine.
In my opinion saying saying a no fly zone could start WWIII is not as clear as saying it risks Putin using nukes or chemical weapons on Ukraine which would defeat the purpose even if the war didn’t spread to other countries. When I explained those fears to a Ukrainian friend who still has family in Lviv said those risks had never occurred to her. That is the fault of our media.
Journalists should be leading a debate about the chances a no fly zone would lead to the use of nukes or chemical weapons but they aren’t even making those very real risks explicit.
Well said. But... journalists, at least of the elite Beltway type, should be leading the debate on any number of issues, not least Trump, the Big Lie, Republican voter suppression, Republican obstruction, the Trump/GOP/Putin connection and more. But they aren't, and they won't. Leading the debate on any of it, including the no-fly fantasy would cost them access and they value access to Republicans over everything, including any journalistic integrity.
Rs have actually (it appears) - overcome the ‘disadvantage’ of being in the minority… w/o any policy to worry abt - all of their energy can go towards simply ‘sticking a (performative ) foot out’ to trip up the opposition… or at least that’s the way the story is being presented to us ;/
Press consistently treats GOP as if they are the majority, regardless. It's always their talking points, their comments, their viewpoint and blame is always laid at the feet of Dems. GOP intransigence is always positioned as a Dem failure.
👆EXACTLY this :/ I think Eric has addressed this, as everyday, they wake up asking ‘what is the GOP outraged abt today?’. Sick of it.
Excellent analysis/point!
If Trump were in office now, New York City would likely have already been leveled.
Since the beginning of the invasion—which many journalists doubted would happen because they didn't believe the Biden administration's warnings—the media has over identified with the suffering that is happening in Ukraine. Yes, Russia is evil and what Ukrainians are enduring is needless and horrible. But American journalists and pundits couch their stories and discussions in the most emotional and personal language, such as: "how do you make the choice to say goodbye to the love of your life, the father of your children?" (one of many comments on MSNBC). Definitely not "stay calm and carry on."
It's absolutely infuriating and heartbreaking to watch the destruction and wanton loss of life caused by Putin. But that emotion is what is driving the relentless "no fly zone" harangue, just as it did the reporting on the Afghanistan withdrawal. When reporters/pundits do mention that the admin and allies consider implementing a NFZ an escalation, they dismiss these concerns as weakness—without reporting either the possible consequences or what setting up and maintaining a NFZ would entail. Oh, and don't forget the "give them the damn planes" mantra. Of course if anything were to go terribly wrong, the criticism and attacks on Biden would be as deafening as the charges of "chaos" and "incompetence" we still hear over Afghanistan.
Coupled with this unceasing fixation is the limited reporting on what the US IS and HAS BEEN doing to help Ukraine—and not only the $800 million this week, which has been framed as a response to Zelensky after his address to Congress rather than ongoing support. Wrongheaded as it is, the MM coverage echoes Hannity: "Biden has to get off his ass." It's also head banging that MM journalists echo GOP talking points, repeat GOP criticisms of Biden, yet fail to bring up that many of these same GOP Senators and House members voted against the aid packages, previously visited/worked with Russia to ease sanctions, and have touted Russian propaganda.
It's despairing.
The media also "forgets" that it is a united and firm standing NATO that has kept Putin somewhat restrained, and that it is Biden who undid Trump's unbridled and incessant attempts to sew discord amongst our European allies and blow up NATO.
Amazing how they conveniently pick and choose what they "forget," isn't it? They've even framed it as "Zelensky has brought the world together."
The American mainstream media is insulting the intelligence its readers, viewers & subscribers with its dumbed-down & overly emotional coverage of Russia's illegal, unprovoked and barbaric invasion of Ukraine.
It's frustrating that they seem to believe ordinary Americans do not have an understanding of the dangers & risks of establishing a no-fly zone for vaild fears it may escalate the war even further because of Putin's erratic leadership and the worst case scenario of him using chemical & nuclear weapons.
I blame journalists for their lack of imagination. I think they don't believe Putin would be crazy enough to shoot off a nuke; they think it's an empty threat so why not take the fight to him and end this madness? That lack of imagination, coupled with their emotionality, muddies their coverage and is doing a real disservice to Americans and the administration who must make the hard choices managing this crisis.
But that isn't stopping Dean Baquet from chasing Hunter Biden's laptop!
Ain’t that the truth😵💫😵💫😵💫.
With a no-fly zone, Richard Engel would get to wear his coat longer and Ali Velshi can keep standing in Budapest wearing a baseball cap. I like Velshi, but I've been to Budapest, and I think he's there for the chicken paprika.
Michael Green. I think yours is a mean-spirited comment. So far, a pulitzer prize winning journalist and film maker, Brent Renaud, and a Fox News cameraman have been killed. Richard Engel, Ali Velshi and all other reporters are truly in the line of fire, risking their lives so we here, presently safe and comfortable, can see the horror.
I feel terrible about what happened to Mr. Renaud and the cameraman, whose name is Pierre Zakrzewski. I also have seen in the coverage by the others, particularly Engel, cheerleading for American involvement that they obviously know nothing about. I am a fan of Ali Velshi's work, but simply anchoring from Budapest isn't exactly taking a risk.
I'd also like to stand with Jackie Calmes, one of the few national political columnists worth a damn. Mean-spirited is when your supposed colleagues want to get you killed: https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2022-03-18/tucker-carlson-russia-ukraine-fox-news-journalists-killed
Instead of reporting on what they can observe, our media seems to create these narratives and then craft questions around why we haven’t yet implemented their plan! It’s endlessly frustrating and very reckless of them. And if their constant pounding has negative repercussions... oops... they have no accountability, they do t even apologize, they just move to their next thing they ain’t thought through and isn’t their job!! It’s insane.
Interesting…!
I’m not an armchair general, and I know nothing of tactics and strategies for winning wars, and I have always been the first out when playing Risk.
But I do know that domestically wars are “won” on perception, and our Failed Political Press ™ is waging a war of their own (and winning?) by declaring that there is something more that the US should/could/would do if only President Biden would lead. No one knows what that is, however.
What I do recall from the wars following 911 was that our press had spectacular profits, tons of clicks, and millions of eyeballs riveted on themselves. I don’t think we have to struggle much to know what the motivation is here; the Press is even covering with credulous eyes TFG claiming that Russia would not have dared invade Ukraine if he was still president, despite all the records showing that he was a useful, cowering idiot for Putin.
Possibly President Zelenskyy has tried to use popular sentiment among Americans in his arguments for a free-fly zone as well. He also doesn't seem to grasp the situation, that this would lead to our going to direct war against Russia.
I mostly skim over the war articles I see, because they've seemed so weirdly off-kilter in that they're written with more enthusiasm than the press has shown since they became obsessed with blaming Biden for inflation. They show this same willingness to pile on over the war, regardless of the fact that the US is working in concert with NATO in forming and implementing strategies against Putin, who has revealed himself to be more like Donald Trump than we ever realized.
A "no fly zone" would not only get lots more Ukrainians killed, it would get plenty of us killed as well.
Sorry Marycat, but I’m sure Zelenskyy appreciates more than you or I what a no fly zone is. I think he’s pushing to the max as he must for his people and country.
So he would even be OK with a regional war possibly involving nuclear weapons? How would that help Ukraine?
On topic, Marycat.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/03/17/zelenskys-scathing-speech-germany/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/03/16/zelensky-biden-no-fly-zone/
"Wearing the olive-green T-shirt that has become his wartime uniform, and appearing virtually from a capital that’s under siege, Zelensky was David asking us to join his fight against Goliath. Make no mistake: That’s what the no-fly zone he wants would mean — a hot war between the world’s two biggest nuclear powers."
Got it, but that’s the writer speaking. I can never figure out what his (Hohmann’s) politics are. But your point is well taken, that it’s scary as hell no matter what. I’m sticking with my hunch about Zelenskyy using it as a pressure point. (But my late husband described me as a Pollyanna so consider the source). Let’s pray things never reach that point.
Why would he use it as a pressure point? It makes no sense that he would try to cajole NATO into starting a full scale regional war. And the piece you cited doesn't explain Zelenskyy's motivations any better. It doesn't matter anyway.
Truce.
Thank you for the debate. :)
😊
Something else the media doesn’t report — for years Ukrainians were not in favor or were ambiguous at best about joining NATO even before they elected the pro-Putin Yanukovitch in 2010:
“ Yanukovich's bid to end the pursuit of military alliances such as NATO may represent an abrupt departure from his predecessor Viktor Yushchenko's pro-Western policies, but Gallup surveys suggest it may be more in line with what Ukrainians may have wanted for some time.”
https://news.gallup.com/poll/127094/ukrainians-likely-support-move-away-nato.aspx
Popular support for NATO membership is required before joining. I think most people are getting the impression from the media that NATO stiffed Ukraine on membership which makes no sense given that countries like Poland, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia joined in 1999 and the Balkan countries in 2004. Only in recent years, since the disaster of Yuschenko’s presidency, has support for NATO membership grown in Ukraine.
I don’t think NATO should just leave Ukraine on its own to stand up to Putin but that the media should be making it clear that NATO is not to blame for Ukraine not being a member any more than NATO is to blame for Finland or Sweden not being members.
My pro-Beijing dad actually believed in that claim about the U.S. & N.A.T.O pressuring Ukraine to join which led to the illegal & unprovoked invasion by Russia.
He seemed to believe Russia's invasion was justifed despite all the death & destruction going around while engaging in a lot of whataboutism like mentioning the second allied invasion of Iraq over a fraudulent claim of the existence of WMDs.
Somehow, he thinks it's okay for Russia invade Ukraine for the wrong reasons like the Western allies invading Iraq for the wrong reasons.
Count I of the indictment against the Nazis at Nuremberg was "Waging Aggressive War." It's something we could've been charged with after Iraq, which probably goes a long way in explaining why the United States is not a state party to the International Criminal Court.
For Putin, trump is the gift that keeps on giving. The uneducated (on specific critical points and context) seen to line up nearly perfectly with the maga crowd and their CNN-OAN-hate Biden fellows. They are willfully ignorant that their alliance is actually to Putin and not in the interest of the US and the rest of the world. These are the same people who refuse to wear masks, won't get vaccinated (because it limits their 'freedom', the rest of you be damned), play with their phones while driving and have no interest in anyone but themselves, just like their fraudulent hero. The press, in order to survive as a free press better recognize this and get its act together.
These Trumpkins aren't willfully ignorant. In the 2016 campaign there were supporters at Trump rallies who wore "I'd rather be Russian than a Democrat" tee shirts. They like Putin. They see him as being strong and decisive, a leader who takes what he wants "just like Trump."
They should be careful what they wish for.
The ultimate way to "own the libs." It's beyond their imagining such retribution would ever happen to them. They should really pay attention to what's happening in Russia right now. Putin's speech yesterday was chilling and a real throwback to Stalin and the early years of the USSR.
You would think! Too young, ignorant of history, incurious? To give some of them the benefit of the doubt, I think the 24/7 news cycle puts them into overdrive, with no time, real interest in/in depth knowledge of what they are covering. All they know are what their congressional sources on the hill tell them. Gossip, distortion. Realistically without a specialty (eg the economy) how are they to know everything about everything? Inflation, Covid, Ukraine, gas prices, unemployment. Shameful they need to pontificate on stuff they have shallow understanding of. Sometimes their arrogance gets in the way of any humility when they ask questions of those in charge, behaving as if they’re the experts who know more than say, Nancy Pelosi, Joe Biden. The responsibility for all this goes to the editors, higher ups, clicks, $$$. Where the hell are the patriots among them?
They don't seem themselves as patriots. That would be "taking sides"!
Dan. You are exactly correct in your assessment.
Should they survive the initial blast, I ask only that the advocates for a "no-fly zone" not take up needed space in fallout shelters, but rather reserve such resources for those people who did not advocate for war.
I think he’s using it to negotiate everything else he needs shy of that, using it as pressure - see Germany - and apparently we and NATO are giving whatever Ukraine needs to defend itself. My guess is we have no idea what goes on behind the scenes. It’s hard for me to believe Zelenskyy doesn’t understand the risks. Ukraine would be blown to pieces along with the rest of us, no?
I have no issue if the media wants to “just ask the question,” but it would be nice if they also actually informed the public what that response meant or, in this specific case, asked the interviewee if they understood what a NFZ means.
And we just know that if the Biden administration went with a NFZ and it expanded the conflict, the media would be right there it criticize. Imagine if a US jet got shot down and the Russians showed a dead US pilot, the media would crucify the administration. On the Today show, Guthrie would interview another minor member of the Ukrainian parliament, only this time to tell us all how they were disappointed in the Biden administration getting militarily involved in the conflict. Something like, “we were in peace negotiations, now the US has widened the conflict and we may be the front line of WWIII.”
Nailed it.
What WE THE PEOPLE should do to media that's out of control asking these stupid questions and the ones on TV and podcast. We should send them to Ukraine with weapons and let them fight for their beliefs. Whether for or against Putin, let them fight for their beliefs. I mean it sounds reasonable to me, stand for what they believe. It's easy to sit in the WH press room and say stupid things and sit in a studio and tell lies. I think they should go and fight for those beliefs all he side with dictator Putin. Then maybe WE THE PEOPLE would have a chance to save democracy in America. IJS
The ignorance displayed by the media on this one topic alone is willful. That means that it is not the product of ignorance, but rather sociopathy. I suppose they want us to give them a pass on their conscienceless behavior, owing to the fact that over 1/2 of the people they regularly cover are themselves sociopaths.
It's not like the media have a dearth of self professed "experts" to consult, and that those experts are themselves unfamiliar with rudimentary and foundational concepts like Herman Kahn's models of warfare escalation. After all, our entire military capability is fashioned upon his precepts. They date back to the Cold War, are still in place, and will always be in place as long as there are nuclear weapons.
I am still waiting for a single mention of Herman Kahn, or that no-fly zones are never imposed in the middle of a hot war, not unless you want to create chaos. And that's what sociopaths like.
The media is addicted to following narratives - and if they are overly simplistic or based on false premises, that doesn’t matter as long as they draw eyeballs and page clicks. It’s a herd mentality. The prize is finding a “gotcha” hook on which to hang a narrative.
Mind, this dynamic only applies to Democrats undergoing trial by press; IOKIYAR.
We had four years of dangerous nonsense tweeting out of the Oval Orifice. Right wing deviancy has been defined so far down, the media can’t see it even when their noses are rubbed in it. They’ve already forgotten how bad the George W. Bush administration was. We’ve gone from the NeoCons to fascism with hardly a hiccup.
Digby has a write up that lays out the nuclear risks in no uncertain terms.
https://digbysblog.net/2022/03/17/i-dont-mean-to-alarm-you-but-2/
Really like your posts but please inform those of us in the dark what IOKIYAR stands for. Thx!
It's Okay If You Are a Republican.
AHA. Thanks.
An astute, totally correct analysis, as always. However, I think it is inevitable that tactical, battlefield nukes are gonig to be used by that madman. And once we cross that Rubicon, the nations of the world will either step back, take a breath and try to back away from the brink ... or it's "game on." There is a theory called the "Great Filter," which postulates that the reason we have never detected another advanced civilization older than ours is because at some point they always destroy themselves, either by accident, environmental catastrophe or war. Wondering if we are facing down our Great Filter.
Sanctions may yet bring Putin down, but, how many Ukranians have to die first, and how much damage to Ukraine infrastructure will be done? As it is today it’s going to take them ten years to rebuild everything that’s been destroyed, and it appears it’s going to get far worse. And given the history of Europe we may well end up in a WW2 situation where we should’ve stopped him after he invaded Poland I mean Ukraine. Putin might even try to use nukes regardless of what happens going forward.