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Douglas Macgregor: The wishful analyst
American Thinker ^ | 09/05/2023 | Asher Pat

Posted on 09/05/2023 8:53:01 PM PDT by SeekAndFind

With his calm voice and authoritative demeanor, Col. Douglas Macgregor gives the initial impression of a knowledgeable and dispassionate observer/analyst. Since the beginning of 2022, the Colonel, with an impeccable ‘American hero’ background has become the “go-to” analyst for many in the American conservative media, including Tucker Carlson.

Carlson is a top professional and no doubt, has a decent-size crew of researchers even when not on Fox. Given these resources, it's inexplicable that he is charmed by Macgregor, who has not put a foot right in his analysis and predictions since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, and actually, even prior to that.

Clearly, Macgregor’s predictions attract those who wish them to come true.

Let’s examine Macgregor’s analysis and predictions in the real world, where the war is close to entering its third year and where Ukraine is on the offensive, however slow, costly and uncertain.

Two months before Putin ordered the Russian troops over the borders of Ukraine with Russia and Belarus, Macgregor wrote in The National Interest predicting that the “Russian ground forces would [probably] reach their operational objectives along the Dnieper River in as little” as three days. Perhaps he was listening to the Russian State TV talk-show hosts’ disastrous bravado that became a popular Ukrainian meme of “Kyiv in three days,” though as far as I know, Macgregor doesn’t speak Russian.

On February 27, 2022, three days after the start of the war he said on Fox News (0’37”): “...the battle in Eastern Ukraine is really almost over. All the Ukrainian troops are being largely surrounded and cut off...the Russians will ultimately annihilate them.”

In early March 2002, Macgregor explained why his previous prophesy of “three days” did not happen, allowing the Russians ten more days.

(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events; Russia; Ukraine
KEYWORDS: 7yearwar; alwayswrong; analyst; asherpat; douglasmacgregor; dougmacgregor; justmakesitup; kosovo; neverright; notaccountable; russia; russianlies; russianstooge; ukraine; usefulidiot; wesleyclark; wesleyclarkscaboose; yugoslavia
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To: Eagles6
--- "The Butcher of Yugoslavia."

What is the reference? Serbian Ratko Mladić was the individual so nicknamed. Yugoslavia came to an end in 1992, and from it the smaller nations of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia, and then when NATO with Clinton bombed Serbia, Kosovo with its Albanian Muslim majority was spun off. Frictions there continue.

Who do you assert is cheer-leading for Mladić?

21 posted on 09/06/2023 12:58:02 AM PDT by Worldtraveler once upon a time (Degrow government)
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To: Worldtraveler once upon a time

MacGregor led the NATO bombing campaign against Yugoslavia, killing approximately 2,000 civilians.


22 posted on 09/06/2023 1:33:23 AM PDT by Eagles6 (Welcome to the Matrix . Orwell's "1984" was a warning, not an instruction manual.)
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To: Eagles6; All

Oh stop the BS.
MacGregor was a staff Colonel.
He is always referred to as the ‘ chief planner’ to General Wesley Clark, who led the NATO operation vs Yugoslavia. Why is anyone’s guess. He only got a bread and butter medal for Kosovo service. But he was an analytical wunderkind who rubbed the army yes-man senior officer bureaucracy the wrong way and paid the career price.

Mac has been more right about the war in Ukraine than any other analyst in the alt-media. The ongoing smear campaign orchestrated by “ sources” planting articles like this in the media…shows the establishment military wants to save their own sorry lying asses as the predicted outcome becomes more obvious and harder to deny.

You want to know what Mac was saying about this war from the beginning?
Here’s an interview.

https://new-economy.gr/2022/03/16/douglas-macgregor-ukraine/

You want to know who planted a BS story about Russia “taking Kiev in 3 days” that never came from Putin? But is ALWAYS cited as evidence of Russian failure! It was the pusillanimous Gen Mark Milley, a mouthpiece for the muppet military and wannabe alphabet military analyst community…..now scrambling to divert the historical narrative predicting Uke success…and save their sorry asses.

https://www.foxnews.com/us/gen-milley-says-kyiv-could-fall-within-72-hours-if-russia-decides-to-invade-ukraine-sources


23 posted on 09/06/2023 3:31:37 AM PDT by silverleaf (Inside Every Progressive Is A Totalitarian Screaming To Get Out” —David Horowitz)
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To: Stingray51

Let’s take a look at “ Asher Pat” ….


24 posted on 09/06/2023 3:33:58 AM PDT by silverleaf (Inside Every Progressive Is A Totalitarian Screaming To Get Out” —David Horowitz)
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To: SeekAndFind

Why would anyone support Putin’s war of aggression? The World has become too dangerous to allow nations to try to conquer their neighbors.


25 posted on 09/06/2023 3:40:20 AM PDT by popdonnelly (All the enormous crimes in history have been committed by governments.)
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To: kiryandil

That’s about as credible as Macgregor’s predictions.


26 posted on 09/06/2023 3:41:29 AM PDT by popdonnelly (All the enormous crimes in history have been committed by governments.)
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To: kiryandil

Putin fan spouting nonsense.


27 posted on 09/06/2023 3:43:13 AM PDT by popdonnelly (All the enormous crimes in history have been committed by governments.)
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To: ransomnote

“MacGregor thought it was going to be a conventional war between the Ukraine and Russia. In that scenario, Russia would quickly prevail”

Nope, MacGregor always thought it COULD become a full conventional war ….if the Russians opted for it…which he thought unlikely. He was pretty accurate about their limited goals, in his 2021-22 interviews.

However, he laid out his estimate of the Russian forces that could and would be brought to bear…IF the Russians opted to do so. Which is why he always saw Ukraine as dead-man walking, with no realistic chance of a military victory over Russia.

What Mac couldn’t predict was the early political decisions by the West that would affect lengthening and escalating a proxy war. Who could have foreseen Boris Johnson going to Kiev and ordering Zelensky to abandon a settlement being worked out with Russia within 60 days of the invasion? Who could have predicted Biden’s handlers would OK blowing the Nordstream pipelines? And that Germany would pretend to be puzzled by the identity of the attacker, and meekly accept the consequences of the damage inflicted by their biggest ally?


28 posted on 09/06/2023 3:53:26 AM PDT by silverleaf (Inside Every Progressive Is A Totalitarian Screaming To Get Out” —David Horowitz)
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To: kiryandil

That may be but what Russian army are we on, original forces, first mobilization, crypto mobiization(forced conscription of migrant workers, illegals…, the next 200k , followed by 500k, to simply say Russian can “afford” these numbers fails to address why do they need them, they have only lost 40k according to some

I believe this as much as the 400 aircraft and 4000 tanks Russian mod claim


29 posted on 09/06/2023 4:21:38 AM PDT by blitz128
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To: SeekAndFind

Yes Macs. Timing for his predictions has been bad. Yet he is more accurate on most things than deep state/fake news.

Need I give more example than how fake news crowed 4 months ago the “Greatest Summer Offensive” counter-offensive of all time would cut the Russ line, isolating Crimea from land supply from Russ? Then Ukr would destroy the Kerch bridges and all of Crimea would fall. By now Fake news said Ukr would be driving into Russ and mopping up Crimea. Mac. said the offensive had no chance and would be a bloody failure.

4 months later let’s look at who was closer. MAC was.
Ukr has been bled out by their failed offensive so badly they just put pressure on Poland to force men who fled there to avoid service to return. Even worse they have removed exemptions on many sorts of illness even mental disorders, HIV, hemoragic fevers (🙀) etc etc.

“Russ inflict critical losses”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOj0jsMfTw0

“Ukr has officially completed their summer counteroffensive”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOFwFPMsUX0&t=9s

Poland has started returning male draft dodgers to Ukr

https://news.liga.net/en/politics/news/v-seti-pishut-polsha-nachala-vydvoryat-nezakonno-vehavshih-ukraintsev-a-chto-na-samom-dele

I have to use a Pravda source to support the claim Ukr is removing many illness exemptions for military service as our western Fake news service is blacking the story out apparently —the list is huge:

https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2023/09/3/7418270/


30 posted on 09/06/2023 4:24:48 AM PDT by Phoenix8
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To: ransomnote

That doesn’t fly from the 1st sentence.

NATO was in fact providing increased weaponry at least 2 months before Pooty invaded.

Macgregor is totally laughable. But you give him a run for the money.


31 posted on 09/06/2023 4:38:17 AM PDT by Paul R. (You know your pullets are dumb if they don't recognize a half Whopper as food!)
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To: SeekAndFind

Yes I agree,so when Russian,Chinese and North Korean missiles start flying towards America because American tanks and missiles are killing Russians in Ukraine I will remember that.


32 posted on 09/06/2023 5:27:10 AM PDT by ballplayer
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To: Eagles6
--- "MacGregor led the NATO bombing campaign against Yugoslavia, killing approximately 2,000 civilians."

As is my wont, I take assertions without citations and URLs as assertions. Your assertion was simply incorrect.

First, and in the context of NATO involvement in today's "officially" non-NATO war, NATO is noted as aggressor, the bombing campaigns led by Wesley Clark and then Michael Short, and the whole was according to Wiki: :On 23 March 1999 at 22:17 UTC the Secretary General of NATO, Javier Solana, announced he had directed the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), General Wesley Clark, to 'initiate air operations in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia'." So not only was NATO aggressor, but it was done with the imprimatur of Javier Solana.

The assertion, "led the NATO bombing campaign" was false.

Additionally, that MacGregor calls himself "a top planner in the 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia" smacks of self-promotion. He, along with so many of the other talking heads and YouTube "content creators" operates monetized channels. His is relatively minor, compared to some promoted by "mom" and "speedy," and the whole on both sides comes to nobody reporting from the front. Not even the guy "reporting from Ukraine," whose channel is uploaded from the United States. While some may seem to cheer a side and another side, my view is that "there's gold in them thar" daily YouTube and Twitter posts.

The real "butcher of Yugoslavia" was as I wrote to you. I can source that. When making assertions, citations to back up an assertion will bolster an opinion. Was the bombing campaign against Yugoslavia good or bad? Depends on your view.

Since it was under the Clinton administration there are a number of "takes" on the event. Here's one, Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 10:

"These bombings have turned people who want to be our friends into enemies. These actions have increased anti-Americanism all over the world. We will have problems years from now because of all of this when the problems will be blamed on whomever is president at the time.

In addition, this has cost us many, many billions, which could have been spent on so many better things. Our military would have plenty of money and no shortages if this administration had not so totally misused our military in so many ridiculously costly ways."

Source: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CRECB-1999-pt10/html/CRECB-1999-pt10-Pg13588-2.htm

The larger context, in a thread titled, "Douglas Macgregor: The wishful analyst," is that he remains a pundit among many, many pundits. The world today is awash in punditry, and so much of it is monetized, as more join the fray.

Skepticism is warranted. Assertions which cannot be fully documented are just assertions. And all forecasting of the future is just so much entertainment for those whose confirmation bias leans to "mu side, correct, your side, wrong."

The above "in bold" highlight speaks volumes for today.

33 posted on 09/06/2023 5:30:19 AM PDT by Worldtraveler once upon a time (Degrow government)
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To: SeekAndFind

The wishful analysts are those saying the Ukes are winning....or that they can even hope for a stalemate with Russia.

They are losing. They’ve always been losing. There was only one possible outcome and anybody with a brain knew it from the start.


34 posted on 09/06/2023 5:31:57 AM PDT by FLT-bird
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To: entropy12

“Your posts are getting better and better!”

Thanks, Nordstream was the obvious one, but then so was ‘Russian Collusion’ - not the fact that everyone agreed with ‘collusion’, but that NO ONE was held accountable afterwards, since, at best, they were trusting very questionable sources. Bottom line is that EVERY ‘expert’ they put on the news is compromised at this point. Really sad.


35 posted on 09/06/2023 6:06:40 AM PDT by BobL (I eat at McDonald's and shop at Walmart, I just don't tell anyone)
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To: FLT-bird

RE: They are losing. They’ve always been losing.

Define for us what “losing” means and when that is going to happen. Maybe you can do a better job than the Colonel.


36 posted on 09/06/2023 7:08:53 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
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To: BobL

A blind and deaf person can figure out who blew up the pipeline. As usual just follow the money and who had the motive. Very sad how stupid American voters have become.
Teachers union has won.
.


37 posted on 09/06/2023 7:49:26 AM PDT by entropy12 (Career politicians like Desantis build wealth. Trump sacrificed his wealth to serve people. GO TRUMP)
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To: Worldtraveler once upon a time
"Additionally, that MacGregor calls himself "a top planner in the 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia"

His own words damn him. Argue with him.

38 posted on 09/06/2023 8:16:18 AM PDT by Eagles6 (Welcome to the Matrix . Orwell's "1984" was a warning, not an instruction manual.)
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To: silverleaf

Argue with him.
His own words damn him.
Look at the citations in the article.
Is that him or not?


39 posted on 09/06/2023 8:19:54 AM PDT by Eagles6 (Welcome to the Matrix . Orwell's "1984" was a warning, not an instruction manual.)
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To: kiryandil



40 posted on 09/06/2023 8:36:22 AM PDT by canuck_conservative (there would be no more need for NATO, if Russia could just stop attacking its neighbors)
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