Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #soviets
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Judging from various reports, the #ukrainecounteroffensive seems to be a complete disaster, even though this is officially denied by the Western side.
But this analysis by Col. Richard Kemp of the #British military shows no expectations of success.
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news.yahoo.com/prepare-ukrain…
But this analysis by Col. Richard Kemp of the #British military shows no expectations of success.
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news.yahoo.com/prepare-ukrain…
Col. Kemp uses cautious language, but it is easy to read between the lines. Being a retired Western Colonel, you don't expect him to come out and say openly that #Ukraine️ is going to lose. But that is exactly what he is saying.
Let me explain why the conclusion is clear.
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Let me explain why the conclusion is clear.
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His main points:
1. Surprise is essential for success.
But of course, there is no surprise here. The whole world has been expecting this operation for months. There are no unexpected lines of attack like #Incheon in the #KoreanWar in 1950.
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1. Surprise is essential for success.
But of course, there is no surprise here. The whole world has been expecting this operation for months. There are no unexpected lines of attack like #Incheon in the #KoreanWar in 1950.
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1/ Dimanche soir dans @EnqueteExclu sur #M6 à 23h15 sera diffusé le film-documentaire que nous avons réalisé avec mon ami Solomon Kane. Intitulé "#Transnistrie, #Abkhazie, #Ossétie : voyage dans les pays fantômes des #Soviets", il traite des zones grises autour de la mer Noire. 
2/ Ces zones grises sont des Etats séparatistes soutenus par #Moscou. La plupart d'eux datent de la chute de l'union soviétique au début des années 90. Ils sont les fruits des manœuvres du #KGB pour empêcher les pays dans lesquels ils sont situés de sortir du giron de la #Russie.
3/ En #Moldavie, la #Transnistrie est un de ces territoires séparatistes. Nous nous y sommes rendus clandestinement après l'invasion russe de l'Ukraine. La population y est prorusse et russophone. Elle est alimentée par un discours antioccidental et anti-européen.
Any military operation that has been expected for months usually fails because the opponent has had plenty of time to plan a defence. Most successful operations are surprise operations, but not all surprise attacks work against a prepared opponent.
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Expected attacks can work if there's overwhelming force. An example is #DesertStorm.
Example of successful surprise operations: #PearlHarbor, The #Incheon Landings in the #KoreanWar, #OperationUranus at #Stalingrad in October 1942 that encircled the #German #SixthArmy.
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Example of successful surprise operations: #PearlHarbor, The #Incheon Landings in the #KoreanWar, #OperationUranus at #Stalingrad in October 1942 that encircled the #German #SixthArmy.
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An example of a failed attack because there was no surprise in it was #OperationCitadel at the #BattleofKursk in June 1943. The expected line of attack was obvious to everyone because of the disposition of troops.
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As some of us celebrate the #Soviet victory over Nazism, let us remember the filthy role of the Canadian state, before, during and after #WWII. Prime Minister King, a vicious anti-Semite, was the most pro-appeasement leader in the British Empire, and was fond of Hitler
The Canadian state's interest in WWII was to use the war to whip up #nationalism and stamp out #socialist organizing at home, and to defend British #imperialism abroad. The Canadian state was happy to take on a founder of the Nazi Party, Otto #Strasser, as a political advisor.
THREAD: Who is Brig Yasub Dogar?
Brig Yasub Dogar was a Pakistani officer who served in the #SSG & #ISI. He was from the ISI's Covert Action Division (CAD) based on the #CIA's Special Activities Division (SAD). He is mostly known for his services during Afghan Soviet war.
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Brig Yasub Dogar was a Pakistani officer who served in the #SSG & #ISI. He was from the ISI's Covert Action Division (CAD) based on the #CIA's Special Activities Division (SAD). He is mostly known for his services during Afghan Soviet war.
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Brig Yasub was a pioneering member of the Special Services Group (#SSG) Commandos, commanded guides Infantry (FF), an armored infantry battalion and commanded the operational Brigade at #Siachin. He served in key command, staff and intelligence assignments in #Afghanistan.
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He had a long and deep association with the Afghan war and knew all key Afghan Mujahideen figures. Brig Yasub was a very close associate of the famous Col Sultan Amir Tarar also known as Col Imam.
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THREAD: If we analyze declassified documents from the Central Intelligence Agency, we can learn quite a bit about the US role in the historical development of Ukrainian Nationalism.
The current #Ukraine/#Russia warstarted here — a long, long time ago.
redstreetjournal.com/p/cia1
The current #Ukraine/#Russia warstarted here — a long, long time ago.
redstreetjournal.com/p/cia1
In a declassified CIA document outlining the details of Operation Belladonna, we can see the US had already made contact with #NazisInUkraine who were keen to ally with the US against the #USSR, primarily through development of the Ukrainian Supreme Liberation Council (UHVR).
How much is #Ukraine similar to #Syria?
Back in 2016. power of Bashar Al-#Assad was on his last legs. Insurgents took over the almost entire country, leaving him with roughly 15% of land under government control.
by Slavyangrad
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Back in 2016. power of Bashar Al-#Assad was on his last legs. Insurgents took over the almost entire country, leaving him with roughly 15% of land under government control.
by Slavyangrad
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Latest @DefenceHQ update: #Russia's 1st Guards Tank Army (1 GTA), "one of the most prestigious" units, operating under the Western Military District, "had not been fully reconstituted" before #Ukraine began the #Kharkiv counter-offensive; has now suffered further "heavy" losses.
#Russia "recently requested to purchase ammunition for its Uragan rocket artillery from #Tajikistan, along with shells for Pion howitzers and armored personnel carrier (APC) engines." yahoo.com/now/moscow-see…
Latest @DefenceHQ update: #Ukraine's missiles/artillery continues to target #Russia's military personnel clusters, supply bases, and ammunition depots, straining RU combat logistics. First Ukrainian ship at the Bosphorus. RU using pyramidal radar reflectors to try to avoid HIMARS
Putin speech on 3 August declared "liberal-globalist American egocentrism" over and a "truly multipolar world" dawning, one not based on "self-serving rules" but on "international law, ... sovereignty of nations and civilisations, ... democracy, justice, and equality" (lol).
Latest @DefenceHQ update: #Russia making "tactical advances" around the Vuhlehirska power station in Donetsk. Lavrov in Africa, long an interest of Moscow's, trying to blame the West for the food crisis.
Not happy with Wagner being defined as a "private military company"
Not happy with Wagner being defined as a "private military company"
#pt: "Wagner" is a unit of the #Russian military under GRU. The purpose of the "private military company" presentation is to make it "deniable" - to minimise the domestic political impact of losses and to distance Moscow internationally from its atrocities foreignpolicy.com/2021/07/06/wha…
Latest @DefenceHQ update: #Russia is attempting "small scale assaults" along the Donbas frontline in eastern #Ukraine, particularly targeting critical infrastructure like the power plant at Vuhlehirska, hoping to use the momentum gained for a move on Kramatorsk and Slovyansk.
Great piece on the #China-#Russia-#Iran axis: bound by a "hatred of the #US and its global alliance system", any successful policy dealing with these imperial and ideological projects must view them holistically, rather than as independent challenges.
theaustralian.com.au/commentary/be-…
theaustralian.com.au/commentary/be-…
Insight into #Russian #fascism (really just #narcissism/#NPD on a grand scale). English translation a pro #Russia blogger- usual dehumanization of #Ukrainians ("evil, not to be thought of as humans"). Notably, this monster lives in #Europe teaching #Russians how to hate & kill us
Why must @ImranKhanPTI disgrace #Pakistan with his confused history?
During the war with the #Soviets, there was no #alQaeda or #Taliban. There was only #Mujahideen.
After the Soviet withdrawal & civil war, the Taliban emerged. There is no mujahideen in #Afghanistan today.
During the war with the #Soviets, there was no #alQaeda or #Taliban. There was only #Mujahideen.
After the Soviet withdrawal & civil war, the Taliban emerged. There is no mujahideen in #Afghanistan today.
A major part of #Pakistan’s #PR problem is confused narratives driving confused perceptions.
We didn’t train the #Mujahideen alone. We had help from the #US, @CIA & #SaudiArabia.
Why does the PM forget this & place on the responsibility on Pakistan alone?
We didn’t train the #Mujahideen alone. We had help from the #US, @CIA & #SaudiArabia.
Why does the PM forget this & place on the responsibility on Pakistan alone?
What is #Pashtun nationalism’s role in the war on terror?
All the insurgents that attacked #Pakistan post-#LalMasjid were ideological driven. Nothing to do with ethnic or linguistic roots.
It was the creation of the #TTP which kicked off mass #terror attacks in Pakistan.
All the insurgents that attacked #Pakistan post-#LalMasjid were ideological driven. Nothing to do with ethnic or linguistic roots.
It was the creation of the #TTP which kicked off mass #terror attacks in Pakistan.
In March 1975, on the eve of the Sovietization of South Vietnam, President Ford was asked why he could manage détente with the Soviet Union and Red China, but not with the then-non-Communist governments of South Vietnam and Cambodia.
The answer was flat-out incoherent.
The answer was flat-out incoherent.
Kissinger, in September 1975, was given another chance to explain why the Communist superpowers got détente from the #US, even as they destroyed American allies like South Vietnam, and he resorted to defending the #Soviets by saying they hadn't instigated the fall of Saigon.
The first treaty #Hitler signed, on 5 May 1933, was a renewal of the Treaty of Berlin (1926) and the German-Soviet Agreement (1929), promising non-aggression and trade relations with the #Soviets.
"It is a cause for special gratification", the #Nazi government announced.
"It is a cause for special gratification", the #Nazi government announced.
The same day, 5 May 1933, the #British Parliament ratified a trade accord with the #Nazi government nytimes.com/1933/05/05/arc…
After the May 1933 treaties with the #Soviets and #Britain, there was the 15 July #Four_Power_Pact with Britain, France, and Italy.
So the Reichskonkordat on 20 July was at least the fourth international treaty, and made under considerable pressure on the Roman Church.
So the Reichskonkordat on 20 July was at least the fourth international treaty, and made under considerable pressure on the Roman Church.
2) The the name "Nakhichevan" in #Armenian literally means "the place of first descent", a Biblical reference to the descent of Noah's Ark on the adjacent Mount #Ararat. Armenian tradition says that Nakhichevan was founded by Noah.
3) The region was at the center of the ancient Kingdom of #Armenia (858 BC-428 CE). During the invasion by Sassanid #Persian Shah Shapur II (r. 309-379) he removed 2,000 Armenian and 16,000 #Jewish families from #Nakhichevan (360-370 CE).
Људи,
Here's an interesting tweet that I dug out because I wanted to talk about #France, after talking about #Serbia this night.
Indeed France betrayed Serbs in the 90s, & has been holding onto it since.
I guess it deserves an explanation, from a Frenchman who's not on a payroll.
Here's an interesting tweet that I dug out because I wanted to talk about #France, after talking about #Serbia this night.
Indeed France betrayed Serbs in the 90s, & has been holding onto it since.
I guess it deserves an explanation, from a Frenchman who's not on a payroll.
2. First, as an Historical reminder, what #France betrayed was something big. 200 years of joint History since a wave of Serbian diplomats & scholars came into France to see what we were doing, & then Prince Petar Karađorđević fought in the Franco-Prussian War on the French side.
3. France, despite its ties with the Ottoman Empire, progressively supported Serbia against it because it needed a new foothold in the Balkans, & #Serbia and Serbs showed interest, & huge appreciation for French intellectual & artistic movements. This relationship grew until WW1.
#thread Communist-led Vietnamese victory over the third(usa) imperialist occupation in as many decades happened today 45yrs ago, the socialist north and the Vietnamese ppl finally liberated and reunified the entire country.
#HoChiMinh, Vietnamese Communist leader passes away several years before reunification, he passes away in Sept 1969. His life story is an amazing one.
#HoChiMinh is a leading figure in the founding of the Chinese, French and Vietnamese communist parties founding.
My OpEd in #IndependentArabiya. US withdrawal decision from Syria will have a domino effect in the region.
US isolated in #Iraq, will leave
Rise of an Ikhwan emirate in N. Syria
Iran highway is back
independentarabia.com/node/64211/آراء/قرار-ترمب-بالانسحاب-والتداعيات-الاستراتيجية-الخطيرة
US isolated in #Iraq, will leave
Rise of an Ikhwan emirate in N. Syria
Iran highway is back
independentarabia.com/node/64211/آراء/قرار-ترمب-بالانسحاب-والتداعيات-الاستراتيجية-الخطيرة
القوات التركية تحت أوامر الرئيس رجب طيب أردوغان يبدو كأنها تعمل بكل ما في وسعها لإقامة شريط حدودي يمتد من إنطاكية عبر عفرين إلى الحدود العراقية- السورية في الشمال الشرقي، وتستهدف هذه المنطقة إخراج قوات سوريا الديمقراطية والسيطرة على البلدات والمدن الكردية والعربية والمسيحية.
أبلغ أردوغان العالم بأنه ينوي الدفع بمليون لاجئ سوري موجودين داخل تركيا إلى هذه المنطقة لتوطينهم، وهذا يعني عملياً دفع مليون من القاطنين الأصليين في هذه المنطقة إلى خارجها نحو الجنوب وشرقاً إلى العراق،
It's not even surprising that the @WashingtonPost provides space to terrorists any more.
Cemil Bayik, the #PKK leader, has an op-ed in today's paper calling for "peace" with #Turkey. It's a skilled piece of propaganda. washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/… <thread below>
Cemil Bayik, the #PKK leader, has an op-ed in today's paper calling for "peace" with #Turkey. It's a skilled piece of propaganda. washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/… <thread below>
Excited to share my first piece in 18 months and in @ForeignPolicy, co-authored w/ Simon Miles, an assistant professor @DukeSanford, completing a book on US-Soviet relations during the early 1980s based on new Eastern bloc archival sources. 1/ foreignpolicy.com/2018/10/30/wha…
Context: @mike_giglio had an excellent piece last month on how the #Trump admin may be executing a strategy of "maximum pressure" against #Iran, partly inspired by the book "Victory" & its claim that Reagan used this strategy to defeat the Soviet Union. 2/ buzzfeednews.com/article/mikegi…
There's only one problem: "Victory" is not good history, to put it politely. The most basic critique is that the author didn't have access to US & Soviet archives when the book was published in 1994. You can find much harsher academic critiques online. 3/ amazon.com/dp/0871136333/…
America's war in #Afghanistan began on July 3, 1979. Yes, six months before the #Soviets invaded and long before Operation Enduring Freedom. That's four decades of winning, losing and not giving a damn when the Taliban rolled in. counterpunch.org/1998/01/15/how…
the talibs or #Taliban owe their origins to Shah Waliullah Dehlawi, who translated the Koran into Persian and the Deobandi Dar al-Ulum in Deoband in the Uttar Pradesh province of India opendemocracy.net/sayed-hassan-a…
Frustrated at the number of checkpoints run by warlords and with much of Afghanistan and Kabul destroyed by militias, In September, 1994, Mullah Mohammad Omar left the Sang-i-Hisar Madrassa in Maiwand to form a militia to oust a local warlord in the border town of Spin Boldak.
