Classless

Unclass is No-Class

Back when I fiddled with classified information, I was amazed at some things that were classified. I recall trying to order a ‘fastener, adjustable slide’ (zipper) only to learn that it had a classification not because it was other than an ordinary zipper, but because of what it zipped. I don’t dare say more.  Let your imagination run wild! I’m sure that there was a sole source contract and because of the provisions of the contract, the $.20 zipper cost the taxpayers $200.

It’s not the contractors that ripping the system off, either. Have you ever tried to navigate the TSA vendor requirements for an RFP? All the costs associated must be passed on or contractors go out of business. And you need the legs financially to wait for USGOV to pay.

  Bullet Points:

** Trump condemns double standard in contrast between low-key handling of Brandon retention of classified documents vs. FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago in his own official records case.

** The U.S. also said citizens should not visit Russia because of the “unpredictable consequences” of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. (Which American is dumb enough to visit Russia now?) To me, visiting Russia is akin to attending a conservative rally in DC – you’ll just end up in a drafty jail cell forever or until you die, whichever comes first.

** WASHINGTON ― The Pentagon’s international affairs chief said Friday that although Russia has lost tens of thousands of soldiers and likely half its main battle tanks in Ukraine, its forces are adapting and there are deep reserves of personnel.

“I think we need to be mindful that as Russia continues to suffer losses in Ukraine, it is learning how to adapt, it is learning tactically, operationally and somewhat strategically,” Celeste Wallander, the assistant defense secretary for international security affairs, said at a Center for a New American Security event.

** In Russia: A Russian general who was recently fired by Vladimir Putin has been found dead in a suspected suicide, though no note was left. Major General Vladimir Makarov, 67, was in charge of ‘combating extremism’ in Russia and was found shot dead on Monday morning. He reportedly led the hunting down and suppression of opponents of the Russian president, as well as journalists deemed hostile to the Kremlin.

The War, According to Milley

In prepared remarks following a recent meeting of NATO military leaders in Germany, Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, pledged to help Ukraine “go on the offensive, to liberate Russian-occupied Ukraine.”

But when it came time for questions, the United States’ top military officer went off-script.

“I still maintain that for this year, it would be very, very difficult to militarily eject the Russian forces from every inch of Russian-occupied Ukraine,” Milley said. “That doesn’t mean it can’t happen, doesn’t mean it won’t happen. But it’d be very, very difficult.”

While Russia has taken heavy losses, Milley added, Ukraine “has also suffered tremendously” with “a significant amount of casualties.” Accordingly, he concluded, “this is going to have to get to a negotiating table at some point in order to bring this to a conclusion.”

In calling for diplomacy, Milley reiterated a position first made public in November, when he broke with other Biden administration principals to urge direct talks with Russia.

But more evidence continues to emerge that the US has not merely taken an “agnostic” view of negotiations, as the Washington Post put it last September, but has actively stopped it. In an interview with Israeli television, former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett became the latest NATO-allied source to confirm that the US and its UK junior partner blocked a diplomatic settlement between Ukraine and Russia.

This endless war takes the place of the last endless war in Afghanistan.

When the replicator breaks…

Distribution of the Roman legions in the second century AD