The Ukraine War — Turn Out The Lights, The Party Is Over

What does this have to do with Ukraine? Did you see what the Washington Post did to its banner on line?

This is just one more indicator that the Ukrainian fan-boy shop in Washington, DC is shutting down. Clicking on a current link filled with articles about the War in Ukraine is quite a downer if you are one of the Deep State gaggle infesting Washington, DC and who bought into the fantasy that Ukraine was winning the war. There is a torrent of new stories popping up all over the mainstream media and it is a symbolic tolling of the bells that normally accompanies a funeral cortege. Here is just one example:

Yet, despite the darkening mood among the mainstream media, the delusional club of retired American Generals continues to insist that a Ukrainian victory is just over the horizon. The star of this club of crazies is Ben Hodges, former commander of EUCOM. He said the following in an interview with the Australians (hat tip to Andrei Martyanov):

The Ukrainian government needs to look at what Germany did in WWII to stand a chance against Russia, according to Ben Hodges, former commander of US Army forces stationed in Europe. . .

“They are gonna have to increase production of ammunition and weapons in Ukraine,” Hodges said. “Some of these things are already happening, but it is possible when you are at war to increase production, even with Russian missiles raining down on your cities.”

“I mean, think about what Germany did in 1944. Aircraft production for the Luftwaffe peaked in 1944. That’s after more than two years of steady bombing by the Royal Air Force and the US Army Air Corps bombing the hell out of German cities. But yet German aircraft production increased. So I think Ukraine can do that with some improving efficiency. Some Western companies are already there helping,” he concluded.

The ignorance displayed by Hodges is astonishing. He apparently does not realize that Luftwaffe aircraft production in 1944 was achieved with slave labor, comprised of Jews, Gypsies and Soviet POWs. Where is Ukraine going to get its slave labor? Hell, by their own admission, Ukraine cannot recruit or dragoon enough men to replace its catastrophic combat losses. They are grabbing guys in their 50s and 60s who, according to Ukraine’s Intel Chief Budanov, are useless in combat and nothing more than cannon fodder.

And let’s think specifically about what “Germany did in 1944.” (Here’s a hint — they got their ass kicked.)

Belorusskaya nastupatelnaya operatsiya “Bagration”), a military campaign fought between 22 June and 19 August 1944 in Soviet Byelorussia in the Eastern Front of World War II,[17] just over two weeks after the start of Operation Overlord in the west, causing Nazi Germany to have to fight on two major fronts at the same time. The Soviet Union destroyed 28 of 34 divisions of Army Group Centre and completely shattered the German front line.[18] It was the biggest defeat in German military history, with around 450,000 German casualties,[19] while 300,000 other German soldiers were cut off in the Courland Pocket.

Biggest defeat in German military history until the fall of Berlin. Is that the model Hodges has in mind? Good Lord! Maybe he can have some rubber bracelets made up with the initials — WWND (i.e. What Would the Nazis Do).

Fortunately, there are a few sane, mainstream analysts in Washington. Steve Bryen, for example, put out an excellent piece on his substack yesterday — NATO IS A MESS AND THE RUSSIANS ARE WINNING. Here is a taste:

The weakness and problems of the American defense industrial base pale into insignificance against the shortages of manpower that affect most of our NATO allies and the US.

Germany’s small army is lacking new recruits.  Like the US, Germany has a volunteer force, but things are getting so bad the German government is thinking about some kind of conscription system.  With the current German government already rapidly losing political support, trying to get the Bundestag, Germany’s parliament, to vote in any conscription system would be political suicide.  Boris Pistorius, Germany’s Defense Minister, understands the problem but has no solution likely to gain popular support.  Politics in Germany is sliding to the right, with the AfD, Germany’s right wing party, securing growing voter support. The AfD has not yet taken any position on conscription, but it is a nationalist party that would like to see the sanctions on Russia lifted and does not support any European-wide defense initiative.  The total number of armed forces personnel in Germany has dropped to  181,383 as of the end of October, with thousands of vacancies unfilled. The German tabloid Bild says that the German army has neither the strength nor the equipment required to effectively defend the nation.  Yet, at the same time Bild was pointing out the military crisis, Germany announced it is sending a  5,000-strong brigade to Lithuania. It will be stationed less than 20km (12 miles) from the border with Belarus.  The brigade relocation will start in the second quarter of 2024, with the brigade scheduled to reach full combat readiness by 2027, according to the German Defense Ministry.  But, says Germany’s Defense Minister, “We do not have an army which is capable of defending the country against a military offensive, a brutal war of aggression.”  The contradiction is self-evident.

Where is Robert Preston when you need him. Okay, he’s dead. But we need someone to update his iconic song from the Music Man and sing it loudly in the streets of Washington, DC, Kiev and London.