Intelligence Round Table on Ukraine and U.S. Intelligence

Ray McGovern and I discussed with Judge Napolitano the war in Ukraine and the recent declassification of alleged intelligence. Just one more example of a government out of control; in this case, it is the United States. The declassified intelligence was designed to manipulate public opinion and deceive the members of Congress. Fortunately, at least for now, House Speaker Mike Johnson and his colleagues were not bamboozled.

Here is a summary of the latest developments with respect to the war in Ukraine:

*Kiev lost approximately 4,330 military personnel and 11 tanks, including one Leopard, in various sectors over the past week, as reported by the Ministry of Defense.

*During the week, 82 Ukrainian military personnel were captured or voluntarily surrendered, according to the Defense Ministry briefing.

*Russian air defense shot down a Ukrainian Mi-8 helicopter within a day, intercepted a “Tochka-U” missile, two S-200 missiles, and 119 drones in the past week, as noted by the Russian military.

*On the Kherson front, all attempts by the AFU to land on islands and the left bank of the Dnepr were thwarted; the Armed Forces of Ukraine lost 17 boats, according to the Ministry of Defense.

*At 0:25 [last night], Ukrainian Armed Forces launched three long-range missiles towards Mariupol, as stated by the Donetsk People’s Republic.

*An unnamed [as stated by Lavrov] leader of a Western country has sent signals to Moscow three times in the last six months through various channels, expressing the need for a meeting on Ukraine and European security issues.

*Lavrov stated that the longer the military actions continue in Ukraine, the more challenging the conditions for initiating peace talks will become.

The last point is critical. Alastair Crooke, a British diplomat and member of Britain’s Intelligence Service, and I were together in Moscow the first week of December. Alastair nicely summarized the state of diplomatic affairs between Moscow and Washington:

U.S.-Russia relations have touched rock-bottom; it is worse even than imagined. In discourse with senior Russian officials, it is evident that the U.S. treats the former as clear enemies. To gain a flavour, it is as if a senior Russian official were to ask: “What is it you want from me?”. The answer might come: “I wish you’d die”.

The inherent tension and lack of genuine exchange is worse than during the Cold War when channels of communication did stay open. This lacuna is compounded by the absence of political nous amongst European political leaders, with whom grounded discussion has not proved possible.

Russian officials recognise the risks to this situation. They are at a loss however on how to correct it. The tenor of discourse too, has slid from outright hostility toward pettiness: The U.S., for example, might block workers from entering the Russian mission at the UN to repair broken windows. Moscow then — reluctantly — finds itself with little alternative but to respond in a similarly petty vein — and so the relationship spirals down.

There is an acknowledgement that the deliberately vituperative ‘information war’ is wholly dominated by the western MSM — further souring the atmospherics. And though the scattered western alternative media exists and is gaining in scale and significance, it is not easily engaged (being both diverse, and individualist). The tag of ‘Putin Apologist’ too, remains toxic to any autonomous news providers, and can destroy credibility at a stroke.

You can read Alastair full assessment here.