1/ I have a modest proposal in which the US and allies (or hell, some smart private company) at low cost and risk.
Identify Russian armor and aircraft positions in real-time (or near real time) and pipe the information to Telegram, Twitter, and other platforms.
2/ Several benefits: first, it will give UA defense forces better awareness than the Russians have of their own positions.
Second, it will give civilian defenders both warning and targeting.
Third, it's a record for the war crimes tribunals later.
3/ It will also get out to the Russian forces that those UA fuckers with Javelins and TOWs and Stingers know where they are, when they're coming and will whack them.
Objections will come from State (you're escalating) and IC (our secret sauce is too secret).
4/ State can, with respect, STFU. This is creeping on toward a global war and anything that checks the Russian armor advance and air superiority is a win.
The IC...y'all this war would be much worse if the Admin hadn't been letting the world know what was coming.
5/ It's the old "we know they know and they know that we know they know" problem of national technical means in intelligence.
This would empower Ukraine and its defenders at every level with an asymmetric advantage.
6/ Yes, the Russians could read the same feeds but they can't act on them with the same degree of speed and initiative.
They've already shown that they're not flexible or agile.
For all the UA defenders are putting up a heroic resistance, they can't fight RUS tanks to tank.
7/ This will become even more useful if Kiev is besieged and this goes into a resistance.
"Six Russian supply trucks are parked on the side of the H23 at LAT/LONG as of 14:30."
Can every target be hit? No.
Does it reshape the game? I think so.
8/ Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
1/ Why is Putin rattling the Last Saber and putting Russian nuclear forces on alert?
First, it's because he is losing. He's losing in Ukraine. He's losing as the world unifies against him. He's losing in the mysterious noumenon the Russian political power. He's losing money.
2/ Putin is in the mouth now of the crocodile, if I may slightly modernize Victor Rezun's formulation of how Soviet-era power worked.
He has to win and keep winning to survive.
3/ The Russian nuclear capacity is real-ish (control for Russian systems being, well, Russian), and could make millions of Americans or so have a really bad day requiring the proverbial SPF 25 million sunscreen.
1/ Putin's show today -- all the dog and pony, dog-whistle, golden-oldies from K-Tel's Greatest Hits of the Soviet Era -- is an invitation to the West to stand up, take action, and crush his global klept in a sweeping asymmetric tide of lawfare and financial actions.
2/ Putin and his cronies care about hard power and hard cash. Chaos and division here at home (looking at the vast right-wing media apparatus) are Putin strengths.
The same instinct that led the Russian klept to move their assets overseas...
3/ …to nations with the rule of law, economic stability, and better schools, shopping, restaurants, housing, and quality of life is also a massive strategic weakness for Putin now.
1/ We launched a new ad campaign this week that means a lot as Russia provokes a needless war and challenges the Ukraine, NATO, and the international order.
1/ I took a light weekend on the social media front, but let me say a few words about Newt's not-so-subtle threats this weekend.
He's right.
He's just saying the quiet part out loud.
2/ We've been warning you all along that this election isn't about BBB or prescription drugs or guns or climate or anything else in the policy domain.
It's about the emergent authoritarian state shambling its way toward the end of small-d democratic politics.
3/ Speaker Jordan (and no, Kevin, he didn't take your deal and he is going to shank you) and the MAGAe will comprise a clear majority of the GOP caucus in 2022 and they are Trump's political vergeltungswaffe.
They don't care about policy. They care about power.
1/ A year ago this morning the plan was in place. The conspiracy was in action. The players knew their lines and marks.
They had worked for weeks to contrive a ludicrous legal argument based on specious reasoning to retain Trump's hold on office.
2/ It ran deep, far across the entire right-wing ecosystem. Near the center was a putrid slurry of Trump, his crime family, his goon squad sycophants, cosplay lawyers, leathery degenerate Roger Stone...
3/ ...pernicious little ratfuckers like Ali Alexander, conspiracy loons like Alex Jones, and of course the throbbing, cancerous gristle of Steve Bannon.
1/ The head of the detail stared across the Governor's desk, his face a stone mask. Knowing the volcanic temper of the man who led his state, he knew he must choose his next words carefully.
"Sir, I understand the need for personal time. I understand the need for family time."
2/ "The responsibilities of your office are overwhelming. Everyone knows how hard you work."
He took a beat, waiting for even a flicker of reaction. Seeing none, he pressed on.
"With the legislative session coming, I wonder though if this is the best time..."
3/ "And naturally, the concerns we have for your security during your...breaks...remain paramount. I must insist your security team accompany you on this...break."
The Governor finally showed a flicker of emotion. It crossed his face like a cloud covering the sun, then reset.