Posted on 03/12/2022 7:25:55 PM PST by SeekAndFind
Jim Hanson, a retired member of the U.S. Army Special Forces and president of the Security Studies Group, said in his assessment, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s plan in Ukraine is developing according to the Kremlin’s initial goals, except that the Russian military is floundering.
“I’ve known what his ultimate goal was from the beginning, and it was to gain recognition for Crimea, to take official control of the two Russian-speaking provinces, and at that point, to use a further incursion into Ukraine proper as a bargaining chip to get sanctions removed,” Hanson told the host of NTD’s Capitol Report, Steve Lance, in a March 8 interview.
“I think this is playing out pretty much as Vlad expected, except for the fact that his military vastly underperformed.” He said that Ukraine has been using the anti-aircraft equipment it has to undermine Russia’s military.
“What they also have, though, is the Russians have been not particularly good at the tactics they’ve been using. I mean, one of the more famous shots is an attack helicopter being ambushed. And you can’t ambush an attack helicopter unless it’s flying a route you knew it was going to be on.”
“So, I think the Russians are making some mistakes. And I think the technology and the capabilities that Ukraine had and has been given have made it a lot more dangerous for the Russians to think they can fly unopposed.”
Hanson said the offer from Poland, a NATO member, to give fighter jets to the United States, who would, in turn, give those jets to Ukraine, is making the war more dangerous.
“It absolutely heightens tensions between the U.S. and Russia because … at some level, those are NATO aircraft. I mean, Poland can give them to Ukraine and say, ‘Well, this is outside of our function as a NATO member.’ Putin does not see it that way and does not have to see it that way, and I think that vastly increases the danger.”
Hanson sees the Kremlin’s demands to take Crimea and the two provinces of Luhansk and Donetsk like an off-ramp to the war, as the land Putin is asking for is already either aligned with Russia or under its control.
“Crimea is definitely part of Russia at this point, for all intents and purposes, the two Russian-speaking provinces were in everything but name, and now they’re asking for independence. And at that point, if they’re independent, they will almost certainly join the Russian Federation.”
Hanson said another of Putin’s demands is that Ukraine not join NATO. So far, Ukraine has turned down Russia’s demands. Hanson believes Ukrainians have shown Putin they will not submit to his violent attempts to take their country.
“I don’t believe it really ever was [Putin’s] goal to take and keep Ukraine, because I can’t imagine many places other than Afghanistan that would have a more powerful and dangerous insurgency if you managed to topple their government.”
Hanson said if Russia did try to occupy Ukraine, they would “keep it at a very, very high cost in blood and treasure.”
Dead Russian generals even better.
The question is will the Russians nuke Kyiv in order to conquer Kyiv?
<< It depends on whether he can break up the DNC/Soros/media/Green block that’s in the process of DESTROYING Western society. >>
Putin’s propagandists have actually long encouraged Western nations to go green because it makes Russia rich by making the nations in question dependent on them for oil. We’re seeing that in action right now. Putin, far from aiming to break up the cabal you mentioned, has used them to enrich his thug regime and weaken the West. His intention in invading Ukraine is geostrategic (albeit shortsighted), not a defense of Western values. The Russians aren’t the White Hats many of you naively think they are.
He was a NCO in the Special Forces from 1988 to 1996 and has never been to Iraq or Afghanistan, in or out of service. He talks a game that he never played.
Drunken Monkeys, Milkooks, Military, and the Media (archive.org)
Drunken Monkeys, Milkooks, Military, and the Media page 2 (archive.org)
I no longer know what to believe. Haven’t for years.
You must be a Putin fanboy for letting people make up their own mind. /s
Alternatively, somebody would call me a New World Order/George Soros fanboy for posting other articles that show Putin is losing. Some People just don’t learn to separate the content of the post from the poster.
That’s funny in a way. They are indeed warming up in their blasted transports and tanks.
It looks like tanks are as obsolete as battleships with the literally thousands of anti-tank weapons like Javelins that have flooded into Ukraine.
I agree that tanks are too vintage for modern warfare, especially in cities.
I guess they had a few thousand hanging around and wanted to use them up before they rust out.
Yes, it'd really be an interesting turn of events of modern man-portable anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons have finally become so effective and commonplace as to negate both armor and close air support on the battlefield. That pushes things back to the WWII level... riflemen, high-altitude bombing and, if it can be brought into range, artillery.
One thing I've noticed, though, in this strangest of Russian military excursions: we're not seeing much of their newest hardware (apart from some AK-12 sightings, that is the recently adopted Kalashnikov update). Tanks, APCs and helicopters all seem to be a generation or so old. Makes the entire thing feel like less than a maximum effort.
“Alternatively, somebody would call me a New World Order/George Soros fanboy for posting other articles that show Putin is losing. Some People just don’t learn to separate the content of the post from the poster.”
I’ve never understood why people assume a poster who posts news events, is agreeing with the articles.
Free Republic is better served if we actually consider a variety of sources, opinions, & topics.
We may not like the material, but it helps the intellect to actually have to think about subjects, instead of just regurgitating media material we ideologically agree with.
You do a great job.....I’m a fan. Carry on.
Wait a minute... there might be legal precedent. Of course! Land-snatching!
Land, land... “Land: see Snatch.” Ah, Russia vs. Ukraine. Russia: 7, Ukraine: nothing. You see, it can be done!
Interesting. Thanks.
Hatred of Russia will reach new heights thanks to Putin. Putin better enjoy Biden while he can because Trump is coming back.
Doubt it…seems like fake news.
Good point.
Facts are inconvenient to the narrative.
Nuke Putin
This is all poseur theater…of course tanks are dinosaurs. General public is not aware so tanks = Scary
...And Russian troops far-outnumbered the Kaiser’s troops in WWI.
Same dynamic in play here, except Russia is the invader and occupier. Even less popular with the Russian people.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.