CIA Chief Burns’ Descent Into Delusion

Gateway Pundit ^ | Jul. 5, 2023 | Larry Johnson

[Kazan]

Radio Sputnik called me first thing this morning and asked me to comment on the recent speech in Oxfordshire, England by the Director of the CIA, William Burns. I quickly scanned the news item and assumed it was a joke. I did a quick check to verify that this was a hoax or another clever bit of satire by the Babylon Bee. Nope. Burns really is this fatuous. Maybe the real Bill Burns has been abducted by aliens (the outer space kind).

CIA Director William Burns called Russia’s war on Ukraine a “once-in-a-generation opportunity” to recruit spies for the intelligence agency.

“Disaffection with the war will continue to gnaw away at the Russian leadership, beneath the steady diet of state propaganda and practiced repression. That disaffection creates a once-in-a-generation opportunity for us at CIA, at our core a human intelligence service,” Burns said in a lecture Saturday to the Ditchley Foundation in the United Kingdom, according to a transcript of his remarks.

I have posted the full video of Burn’s remarks below. If you held out hope that Burns was the lone adult in the Biden Administration, forget about it. Burns, while well-spoken, is a shallow, mendacious twit.

Burns’ claim that the war in Ukraine is a ““once-in-a-generation opportunity” reveals his appalling ignorance on what it takes to recruit a foreigner to commit treason. There was a time during the Cold War when a CIA case officer could pitch a Soviet intelligence or military officer with the image of the United States as a clearly superior alternative to the Soviet Union — the U.S. had a free press, a healthy complex economy, a robust political system and, most importantly of all, freedom (at least that was what the U.S. peddled).

Today the United States stands as the only existing country in the world with a forty-year track record of imperial military mis-adventures and the squandering of trillions of dollars. Instead of making the world safer the United States has sown chaos. The United States has more political prisoners languishing in prison than Russia and freedom of expression, especially for Christians, is attacked with increasing ferocity by a corporate media eager to shill for the U.S. Government. The U.S. intelligence and military organizations are a woke, hot mess. U.S. military leaders are fixated on promoting transgender degeneracy, routinely failing to meet recruitment goals and destroying the foundation of “uniformity” that is an essential trait of successful armies. I defy you to show me a mentally stable Russian intelligence or military officer eager to join this U.S.

Burns’ detachment from reality is underscored by his celebration of the CIA Telegram advertisement pleading for Russians to call the CIA. It got 2.5 million hits. Nobody on Burns’ team had the balls to tell him that most of those views were from skeptics who could not believe the CIA was this absurd or from people looking for a good laugh.

And here is the Russian response, ruthlessly skewering the CIA message (and I suspect many Americans still believe the KGB is intact and don’t recognize Arnold Schwarzenegger):

Russian Spoof of CIA

Burns’ insistence on the tired meme that Putin is in trouble and Russia is failing makes it almost impossible for any decent CIA analyst to provide an alternative set of facts and analysis that challenges that narrative.

Burns’ Ditchley Lecture should be a wake up call to the Kremlin that the top U.S. officials, like Burns, are really this clueless and genuinely believe that Ukraine is winning and Russia is failing. Iraq had Baghdad Bob. America has Bakhmut Bill. Good grief!!

[Tupelo]

I have no quibble with anything in this column from Larry Johnson.
None what so ever.

[PGR88]

This could be true. War creates all kinds of oppositional emotions and pressures

Its also true that the USA’s deep-state “leaders” are absolutely delusional

The two are not mutually exclusive.

[glennaro]

If this delusional behavior is true the Democrat/Communist Party will recognize his solid credentials as a candidate for office ... as they did with Pelosi, Feinstein, Fetterman and, of course, F-JB.

[glorgau]

To express doubt of “The Narrative” is career suicide in the TLAs (Three Letter Agencies).

[marktwain]

Burns’ insistence on the tired meme that Putin is in trouble and Russia is failing makes it almost impossible for any decent CIA analyst to provide an alternative set of facts and analysis that challenges that narrative.

No evidence is presented to the contrary. Rather, Johnson simply tows the Russian line.

If Russia is not in trouble, why is it bogged down in the war with Ukraine?

It is at least plausible that Russia is in trouble in the war with Ukraine.

Trouble with a major war means trouble with Russia. They might lose.

[Boogieman]

“It is at least plausible that Russia is in trouble in the war with Ukraine. “

Nah, Russia just cut its effective military power in half, just for kicks. They could have finished Ukraine at any time, but they are just toying with them. You can’t fathom this level of superior Russian military thinking!

[PGR88]

If Russia is not in trouble, why is it bogged down in the war with Ukraine?

What does "bogged down" even mean? the USA and NATO are also "bogged down" in this war, are they not?

So who will ultimately be able to bring their will to bear? Its certainly not whatever is left of Ukraine. NATO will have soon expended every military-age male in that country

So will Poland, USA, Germany have better luck fighting a war against Russia, on its borders?

History says NO

[wastoute]

LOL. “Russia is bogged down…”Russia has total air superiority on its share of the battlefield. But whatever…. Believe what you will.

[Kazan]

Russia is NOT bogged in Ukraine. You're grossly ignorant of what is occurring in Ukraine -- Russia is grinding down the Ukrainian army and de-militarizing Ukraine and NATO.

Ukraine is running out of men, is at a 10-1 disadvantage in ammo fired and suffering causalities at the same rate:

https://www.moonofalabama.org

Attritional warfare is of course what Russia has practiced over the last twelve month by systematically destroying Ukrainian forces, especially artillery and weapon supplies along the front line as well as deep within the Ukraine. When both sides commit to attrition warfare, like in World War I, the side with more resources will usually win. In this conflict that side is without doubt the Russian one.

##

During the last months the Russian side fired ten times more artillery ammunition than the Ukrainian. Russia also wages a dedicated counter-battery mission that is killing Ukrainian artillery systems.

In modern warfare artillery is causing about three quarter of all losses. The real number of killed and wounded on the Ukrainian side is thereby about 10 times higher than on the Russian side. The first time I wrote about this was in May 2022. The theme continued to December and more recently.

[bk1000]

“ Today the United States stands as the only existing country in the world with a forty-year track record of imperial military mis-adventures and the squandering of trillions of dollars. Instead of making the world safer the United States has sown chaos. The United States has more political prisoners languishing in prison than Russia and freedom of expression, especially for Christians, is attacked with increasing ferocity by a corporate media eager to shill for the U.S. Government. The U.S. intelligence and military organizations are a woke, hot mess. U.S. military leaders are fixated on promoting transgender degeneracy, routinely failing to meet recruitment goals and destroying the foundation of “uniformity” that is an essential trait of successful armies. I defy you to show me a mentally stable Russian intelligence or military officer eager to join this U.S.

Burns’ detachment from reality…”

Sounds pretty focused to me. It is tiresome listening to all the democrat propaganda about Russia. You don’t have to look that far to find the enemy to our Republic. They have turned us into the bad guys. I trust no aspect of our “government” at this point.

[AndyJackson]

A further point is that as effective as Russia has been in quietly attriting the NATO trained and supplies NATO army, the western regimes are rapidly losing support of their populations to support this war. So long as Russia does nothing to provoke a rally to the flag in the Western world they will wear down any remaining enthusiasm.

[Pilsner]

Russia is NOT bogged in Ukraine

Of course not. When Wagner sent a combined arms force up the M4, from Rostov-on~Don, through Voronezh, to within, what was it,120 klicks, of Moscow? Putin and the leadership jumped into planes, while calling out, to stop the Wagner troops, tanks and APCs, dump trucks full of sand.

Yessir. Nothing says the Russian Army is not overextended quite like deploying dump trucks to stop an armored thrust at Moscow

[Bonemaker]

“In modern warfare artillery is causing about three quarter of all losses.”

WW 1 proved that.

[G Larry]

How stupid do you have to be to announce to your enemy that you're going to start recruiting spies, because you think he's weak?

Sounds like a perfect setup for getting duped by a double agent.....

[BroJoeK]

marktwain: "If Russia is not in trouble, why is it bogged down in the war with Ukraine?"

PGR88: "What does "bogged down" even mean? the USA and NATO are also "bogged down" in this war, are they not?"

Russian fantasies notwithstanding, NATO is not "bogged down" in Ukraine, NATO is only helping Ukrainians keep their independence from Russia.

PGR88: "So who will ultimately be able to bring their will to bear?
Its certainly not whatever is left of Ukraine.
NATO will have soon expended every military-age male in that country"

Maybe, maybe not:

Russia has, all told, around 3 million in its military, including reserves, of whom around 200,000 are currently in or around Ukraine.
Estimates of Russia's casualties total around 300,000.

Ukraine has, all told, around 1 million in its military, including reserves, of whom all are currently in or around Ukraine.
Estimates of Ukraine's military casualties total around 150,000.

So, in or around Ukraine, Ukrainian forces outnumber Russians by 5 to 1 and Russian casualties outnumber Ukrainians by 2 to 1.

If we add in the clearly superior morale, training and equipment of Ukrainian troops, and the teetering Russian political situation, that is not a winning formula for Russia.

Of course, it doesn't mean Russia is doomed to lose, but it does mean confident predictions of inevitable Russian victory should be taken with a grain or two of salt.

Overall, in the past 120 years, Russians are running about three victories for every defeat, including the Big One, WWII, but they have also lost important wars, including:

1. 1905 against Japan
2. 1917 against Germany & Austria
3. 1918 against Finland
4. 1919 against Lithuania
5. 1920 against Estonia
6. 1920 against Latvia
7. 1920 against Georgia
8. 1921 against Poland
9. 1989 against Afghanistan

And most Russian victories have required the help of powerful allies, most notably, the Second World War.
So, who are Russia's powerful allies today?

Bottom line, the war could still go either way, or end in stalemate similar to Korea in 1953.
But I think Ukrainians will preserve their honor and independence, while Russians will find new leaders.

[reasonisfaith]

Has anyone in the CIA ever been free from delusion?

[citizen]

The usual crew of the delusional has arreved.

Their delusion is not born of ignorance but of hateful, willful stubborness.

[BroJoeK]

Kazan: "During the last months the Russian side fired ten times more artillery ammunition than the Ukrainian. Russia also wages a dedicated counter-battery mission that is killing Ukrainian artillery systems."

One difference is, Russians are often firing old ammunition from old artillery tubes, firing blindly at unknown targets -- it's the equivalent of WWII "carpet bombing".

Ukrainians are more likely to fire accurately at identified targets. These especially include groups of Russian soldiers gathered around smoking near their ammunition dumps.

Western estimates put Russian casualties at about 2 to 1 over Ukraine's -- 300,000 to 150,000 military.
These include something like 100,000 invader troops (not all Russians) over nine months attempting to take Bakhmut.
Today Ukrainians seem to be retaking areas around Bakhumt at a pace faster than the Russians originally took it, and for far fewer casualties.

Of course nothing is certain in the "fog of war" and we likely won't know for sure about this until long after the facts.

[Rdct29]

You really believe the western propaganda. Putin sent 30,000 troops to a certain spot and ordered them to take out the convoy if it made it that far. Wagner would have been wiped out by air power alone. They were never a threat to Moscow. That was Ukraine's best chance to attack but they still did nothing. More western bullshit for desperate people to believe. What would Wagner use for fuel and resupply along the way? Nothing.