VLADIMIR Putin has renewed his nuke threat against the West by appearing to ready a nuclear missile for launch.
Footage shows a huge Russian Yars rocket able to hit the UK and the US being loaded into a silo at a base near Moscow.
The intercontinental ballistic missile has a 7,500 mile range and when nuclear-armed is reportedly 12 times more destructive than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima.
It was seen in Russian propaganda being installed in a launch-pad using a special transport and loading unit - but there is no indication of any order for an imminent launch.
Putin was seen in late October overseeing the launch of a similar Yars nuclear missile on a mock attack on the West amid high tension in the war with Ukraine.
In the drills, Russia reportedly practised its response to a Western nuclear attack and were aimed at targeting the UK and US.
Fears are have been raised that the 70-year-old tyrant could detonate a nuke as his forces face mounting loses in the disastrous Ukraine war.
Russia is building up to more nuclear showboating as it marks the annual Strategic Missile Forces Day on 17 December.
Missile force commander Colonel Alexei Sokolov made clear the latest exercise was aimed at sending a message to the West, with both the UK and US within range.
“The importance of this operation lies in the fact that the missile will be put on combat duty on schedule,” he said.
“The homeland will get another nuclear missile weapon, which will make it possible to solve any tasks at the strategic level.”
Combat engineer Vadim Vyazovsky told TV Zvezda, the Russian defence ministry’s own channel: “I feel proud of Russia that my country is putting such products into service so that the Motherland can sleep well.”
The Kozelsk missile base is currently undergoing modernisation and a revamp, said reports.
The Yars is a modification of the Topol-M missile system, and was first deployed in 2009.
Video released during October's drills showed armed forces personnel in front of computers launching a one of the missiles.
Other footage showed a Sineva intercontinental ballistic missile being fired from a submarine in the Barents Sea and a TU-95 bomber that launched cruise missiles.
The Kremlin said that all tasks set for the exercise were fulfilled and all the missiles that were test-fired reached their designated targets.
Kanye West defended Adolf Hitler, the leader of the Nazis who brutally murdered six million Jews in the Holocaust for the second time in a week on Monday, urging Jews to "forgive Hitler" in a conversation with Proud Boys founder Gavin McInnes. White supremacist Nick Fuentes mediated the interview.
West reiterated his stance that Jews cannot tell him who he can and cannot love and added that they "cannot force their pain on everyone else."
"Jewish people, forgive Hitler today," he said. "Let it go. Let it go. Stop trying to force it on other people."
West claimed that Jews gave Hitler a bad reputation because "they were upset that Hitler was kicking them out of the country."
The rapper additionally compared the Holocaust to abortion. "The Holocaust is not the only holocaust. So for them to take that and claim when we have abortions right now. That's eugenics. That's genocide. That's a holocaust that we're dealing with right now."
West doubles down on antisemitic tropes He also repeated the stereotype that Jews control the media and politics saying that it's wrong because Jewish people don't believe that Jesus is the "king of all kings" and the real king of the Jews.
"I think the Jewish (sic.) like Mossad and Rahm Emanuel and Bibi Netanyahu and all of them, I think they really got soft out here. Like I'm getting to walk around and say the truth out loud, you know," said West, adding that the US needs to be "ran by Christian leaders that don't bow to Jared Kushner, that don't bow to Rahm Emanuel."
The conversation between West and McInnes was defined by the latter as an attempt to "prevent West from becoming an antisemite, a Nazi."
"I'm going to talk him off the ledge and bring him back to the understanding that our problem is liberal elites of all races, Kamala Harris is a major problem. Barack Obama is a major [problem]. Barack Obama is what started this whole mess. I would argue we weren't really into racism before he came along," said McInnes.
McInnes noted that West's recent comments on Alex Jones's InfoWars podcast could be "bad for a presidential campaign to say the least." West rejected the statement saying "[I] think it's awesome for a presidential campaign. Yeah, to have someone that's honest, that understands the state of the world. And that's ready to listen to what the American people need."
McInnes stressed that he believed that the media was largely controlled by Jews who are "liberal elites, high IQ people, whites," adding that most of these people are "secular Jews atheists" and that he doesn't "see [George] Soros as Jewish."
"There's some sort of like lemming DNA in white people where when they reach a certain amount of success, they just want to take it off a cliff. And I don't like when Jews get pulled into that, because when I think of my Orthodox Jewish friends and even my Hasidic friends, these people are conservative Trump-supporting, you know, American patriots and the Jews that are getting lumped in with this sort of ethno-masochistic cultural suicide tend not really to be Jewish," said the Proud Boys leader.
West responded that he "lumps them all together," saying "that's why the tweet said the Jewish people."
McInnes responded by giving an example that black people are overrepresented in violent crime and stressed that, despite that, he doesn't make the assumption that a black person he is meeting is a criminal. "You start with a fresh slate every time you meet someone. Do you do that with Jews?" West responded "nope."
West added that he sees the Jewish vote as insignificant in the US and proceeded to claim that Jews "run America" and "have China scared." The rapper stated that he doesn't feel like Jews run Russia, but changed his mind after McInnes stated that many Russian oligarchs are Jewish.
West additionally stated that he told Elon Musk not to buy Twitter since he would go bankrupt "unless you bow to the Jewish people."
West says he would make Jews work for Christians if he becomes president When McInnes asked what West intended to "do about Jews" if he were to theoretically become president, the rapper responded that "[Jews] need to work for Christians. I'll hire a Jewish person if I knew they weren't a spy, and I collected their phone and follow them to their house and have a camera all in their living room."
"I love Jewish people. I love all people. I love people who have like, canceled my accounts, and all that, but they should not be the people in charge. It's what I'm saying. They've had their run."
After the interview, McInnes stated that he doesn't think West is antisemitic. "I don't even know how much he likes Hitler. Does he mean, he likes him like you like Darth Vader? I don't, I don't really get it."
Two explosions at major Russian military bases, including the Dyagilevo base near Ryazan just 150 miles from Moscow, mean the war in Ukraine has come right to Vladimir Putin’s doorstep.
The explosions—which may have been missile or drone strikes but that has yet to be confirmed—suggest that whoever is behind them wanted to strike fear right in the heart of Russia.
ADVERTISEMENT The second explosion struck the Engels-2 base, from which Tu-95 bombers have been pummeling Ukraine’s infrastructure over the last month.
A fuel truck explosion at the base near Ryazan killed at least three and wounded half a dozen and reportedly damaged Tu-95 bombers and Tu-22M long-range missile bombers, which have nuclear capability.
Video posted on social media suggests that the telltale whistle of a fighter jet or missile can be heard just before the Saratov base explosion, according to the Guardian.
Monday afternoon, several people in Crimea reported hearing explosions there, suggesting a coordinated effort.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that Putin had been advised of the “situation” but did not speculate on who might be behind it, saying quite unbelievably that he had only “read about it” in the media, according to reporters at a briefing Monday.
Almost immediately after reports, air raid sirens across Ukraine heralded a barrage of missile strikes, with many targeting Zaporizhzhia, where at least two people were reported to have been killed after missiles destroyed several residential blocks. Several cities reported having no electricity or water after Russian strikes.
Roman Busargin, governor of the Saratov region where the Engels-2 base is housed, wrote on Telegram that law enforcement agencies were chasing “information about incidents at military facilities,” adding that, “No emergencies have occurred in the city’s residential areas.”
Ukraine’s interior minister Anton Gerashchenko posted images of the explosions on Telegram, suggesting they were watching closely. “Some sources report that this morning planes based on Engels and Ryazan airfields were scheduled to bomb Ukrainian energy infrastructure yet again,” Gerashchenko wrote Monday morning.
Other officials mused that Russia’s compounding losses are Ukraine’s gain. “The Earth is round—discovery made by Galileo. Astronomy was not studied in Kremlin, giving preference to court astrologers,” Volodymr Zelensky advisor Mykhailo Podolyak wrote on Telegram Monday. “If it was, they would know: if something is launched into other countries’ airspace, sooner or later unknown flying objects will return to departure point.”
NATO will react to Russian missiles reportedly crossing into Poland, killing two, international relations expert Robert Patman says.
Speaking to Breakfast this morning, Patman said if the strikes in Poland are deliberate, there will be an Article 5 response.
"Mr Biden's always been very clear on this, and he's warned Mr Putin repeatedly, he said every inch of NATO territory would be defended."
Article 5 is the principle of collective defence, meaning if one member state is attacked, it's considered an attack against all.
Patman said he thinks there will definitely be a reaction from NATO, it just depends how big the reaction will be.
He said if it's a stray missile intended for western Ukraine, which he think it could be, there will still be a strong response.
"It may be increasing provision of weaponry for Ukraine."
Patman said it's important to remember NATO has played a "balancing act" by not giving Ukraine all the weaponry they've wanted "Those sort of restraints may be abandoned in light of this episode."
Patman said it seems like a major "blunder" by the Putin regime but not unpredictable given Russia's lack of success on the ground in Ukraine.
"The Ukrainians are winning the war on the ground, they have liberated 77,000km of territory in their counteroffensive since the beginning of September."
He added he doesn't think there will be a response from Putin's government but if Russia wants to avoid escalation, that may be a "sensible" move.
Russia's defence ministry has said it hasn't carried out any strikes near the Polish-Ukrainian border. It has called the reports a "deliberate provocation in order to escalate the situation".
The Polish government has said it's holding an emergency meeting due to a "crisis situation".
A respected Russian policy expert, Professor Valery Solovey, claimed that Vladimir Putin had been offered a surrender deal by the West.
According to Professor Valery Solovey, a respected Russian policy expert, Western officials have offered Vladimir Putin surrender terms today, Friday, November 11. The Russian President has suffered his biggest humiliation of the Ukraine conflict after being forced to pull his troops out of the Kherson region.
Solovey, who claims to have connections in the Kremlin, was previously involved with Moscow’s prestigious Institute of International Relations. He claimed that Russia had been told it could retain Crimea although it had to transform into a demilitarized zone. In this event, Crimea’s status would not be discussed again until 2029.
A proposal discussed between Ukrainian leaders in Kyiv and western officials had subsequently been passed to the Kremlin for the perusal of Putin’s inner circle. As part of the surrender, Russia must also give up all the occupied territories in Ukraine.
In return for meeting the surrender conditions, Russian officials would allegedly avoid facing any criminal charges over their involvement in the Ukrainian invasion and subsequent conflict. Solovey claimed that the proposal had been met with a positive reaction by the Russians, as reported by dailymail.co.uk.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had previously maintained that as long as Putin was in power, his government would never sit down at the negotiating table with Moscow. Last week, however, he issued a list of five conditions that would have to be met in order for any peace talks to take place.
It is thought that this sudden turnaround came as the result of increased pressure from Washington. Russia had reportedly been open to sitting down, and General Mark Milley, the head of the US general staff, commented earlier this week that there would be an ‘opportunity’ for talks if the fighting was to drop off during winter.
Vladimir Putin has faced unprecedented criticism from the Russian media since the Russian forces announced their retreat from Kherson. Videos posted on social media today show Ukrainian troops entering the previously Russian-occupied city of Kherson and being welcomed as heroes by ecstatic locals.
Pauldollars: The only power Russia has is Nuclear weapons. Even their soldiers are highly untrained in rules of engagement and modern warfare. They went to Ukraine with a Soviet mindset
Mihail Kogălniceanu, Romania — The U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division has been deployed to Europe for the first time in almost 80 years amid soaring tension between Russia and the American-led NATO military alliance. The light infantry unit, nicknamed the "Screaming Eagles," is trained to deploy on any battlefield in the world within hours, ready to fight.
CBS News joined the division's Deputy Commander, Brigadier General John Lubas, and Colonel Edwin Matthaidess, Commander of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, on a Black Hawk helicopter for the hour-long ride to the very edge of NATO territory — only around three miles from Romania's border with Ukraine.
From the moment Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, his forces have advanced northward from the Crimean Peninsula, a Ukrainian region that Moscow illegally seized control of in 2014. For more than seven months, Russian troops have tried to push along the Black Sea coast into the Kherson region, aiming to capture the key Ukrainian port cities of Mykolaiv and Odessa.
Their goal is to cut off all Ukrainian access to the sea, leaving the country and its military forces landlocked.
That threat, so close to NATO territory in Romania, is why one of America's most elite air assault divisions has been sent in, with some heavy equipment.
We're ready to defend every inch of NATO soil," Lubas told CBS News. "We bring a unique capability, from our air assault capability… We're a light infantry force, but again, we bring that mobility with us, for our aircraft and air assaults."
Skirting northward along Romania's Black Sea coast, the Black Hawk eventually touched down at a forward operating site where U.S. and Romanian troops were pounding targets during a joint ground and air assault exercise.
The tank rounds and artillery fire were real. The drill was meant to recreate the battles Ukraine's forces are fighting every day against Russian troops, just across the border. The war games so close to that border are a clear message to Russia and to America's NATO allies, that the U.S. Army is here.
"The real meaning for me, to have the American troops here, is like if you were to have allies in Normandy before any enemy was there," Romanian Major General Lulian Berdila told CBS News, referring to the landmark World War II battle on France's north coast. The American forces have been establishing a garrison at the Romanian military's air base.
In all, about 4,700 soldiers from the 101st Airborne's home base in Fort Campbell, Kentucky, have been deployed to reinforce NATO's eastern flank.
Matthaidess told CBS News that he and his troops were the closest American forces to the fighting in Ukraine. From their vantage point, they've been "closely watching" the Russian forces, "building objectives to practice against" and conducting drills that "replicate exactly what's going on" in the war.
"It keeps us on our toes," he said.
The "Screaming Eagles" commanders told CBS News repeatedly that they are always "ready to fight tonight," and while they're there to defend NATO territory, if the fighting escalates or there's any attack on NATO, they're fully prepared to cross the border into Ukraine.
A trio of Democratic lawmakers wants to pull all U.S. troops out of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates after an alliance of oil-producing countries announced it was slashing production, a move which is expected to drive up U.S. gas prices.
Democratic Reps. Tom Malinowski of New Jersey, a former State Department official in the Obama administration; Sean Casten of Illinois; and Susan Wild of Pennsylvania announced Wednesday night they were introducing a bill to remove all U.S. forces and military equipment from the two oil-rich nations.
"Saudi Arabia and the UAE's drastic cut in oil production, despite President Biden's overtures to both countries in recent months, is a hostile act against the United States and a clear signal that they have chosen to side with Russia in its war against Ukraine," the lawmakers said in a statement.
Both countries have long relied on an American military presence in the Gulf to protect their security and oil fields. We see no reason why American troops and contractors should continue to provide this service to countries that are actively working against us," they added. "If Saudi Arabia and the UAE want to help [Russian President Vladimir] Putin, they should look to him for their defense."
The United States has about 3,000 troops in Saudi Arabia and 2,000 in the UAE, numbers that have been boosted in recent years to help protect those countries from missile strikes by Iran-backed rebels in Yemen. The U.S. military presence also includes Patriot and Terminal High Altitude Area Defense missile defense systems.
On Wednesday, OPEC+, which includes the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and some other aligned oil-producing nations including Russia, announced it would reduce oil production by 2 million barrels a day. Saudi Arabia is considered the de facto leader of the organization.
Gas prices in the United States have been on the decline after peaking at an average of more than $5 per gallon over the summer, a spike attributed in part to sanctions on Russian oil levied in response to its invasion of Ukraine. The OPEC decision has raised fears in the United States that gas prices will tick up again, with GasBuddy analyst Patrick De Haan predicting a roughly 15 to 30 cent per gallon increase.
The bill from the House Democrats, dubbed the "Strained Partnership Act," would require removing all U.S. forces and equipment from Saudi Arabia and the UAE within 90 days of its passage. The missile defense systems would be relocated to elsewhere in the Middle East "with the priority mission of protecting United States Armed Forces," according to the bill text.
"It is time for the United States to resume acting like the superpower in our relationship with our client states in the Gulf," the three lawmakers said in their statement. "They have made a choice and should live with the consequences. Our troops and military equipment are needed elsewhere."
Their bill is similar to one Senate Republicans introduced in 2020 when the Trump administration was trying to pressure Saudi Arabia over oil production.
OPEC decision to cut production came after President Joe Biden -- who during his presidential campaign vowed to turn Saudi Arabia into a "pariah" over its killing of U.S.-based journalist Jamal Khashoggi -- sought to mend ties in an effort to convince the kingdom to boost oil production to offset the effects of the war in Ukraine. He took a trip to Riyadh in July that included a fist bump with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
"Many argued that we had to 'repair' our relationship with our Gulf partners to win their cooperation in stabilizing global energy markets following Russia's invasion, and President Biden made every effort to do so, going so far as to meet the Saudi Crown Prince personally in Riyadh, despite his role in the murder of Jamal Khashoggi," Malinowski, Casten and Wild said in their statement. "Saudi Arabia and the UAE have now answered our overtures with a slap in the face that will hurt American consumers and undermine our national interests."
In addition to the House bill, several Senate Democrats have also called for a reevaluation of U.S.-Saudi ties in the wake of the OPEC move, including the chamber's No. 2 Democrat, Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, saying it's "time for our foreign policy to imagine a world without their alliance."
THE world must be ready for a nuclear war with Russia if Vladimir Putin's army collapses, an ex-Nato chief has warned.
General Sir Richard Shirreff urged the West to keep up the pressure on the tyrant as his invasion of Ukraine loses momentum.
He suspects the bloodthirsty nation's army is heading for a total collapse - in what could be Russia's biggest military disaster for 100 years.
Sir Richard, who served as Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe for the alliance, even said Ukrainian forces could have successfully driven back Putin's forces by the end of 2022.
But after Putin unleashed a barrage of missiles on Ukraine in retaliation for the bombing of his prized bridge in Crimea, it has stoked fears about the lengths Mad Vlad will go to.
Sir Richard warned the danger - including threat of nuclear weapons - has by no means gone away despite Russia's recent retreats.
He told The Sun Online: "We should take that nuclear threat very seriously - but we should not in any way blink and I am pretty encouraged by the response of the West.
"But if we are promising massive retaliation in some way or other, you have to prepare for the worst case, and the worst case is being at war with Russia.
"There will be no peace in Europe while either Putin, a Putin-like regime, or an ultra-nationalist sits in the Kremlin."
He drew a grim comparison between Putin and Adolf Hitler, saying the Russian leader is now "in the bunker" as the German dictator was in the dying days of World War Two.
German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht on Monday said Russian missile attacks on Ukrainian population centers highlighted the urgency of delivering air defense systems to Kyiv's forces.
The long-promised systems, which are capable of protecting an entire city, were originally slated to be delivered at the end of the year. Monday's deadly strikes, however, have now sped up the delivery timeline.
What did German officials say? Lambrecht said the Russian barrage underlined the need for the vehicle-mounted Iris-T SLM systems to be delivered quickly.
"The renewed missile fire on Kyiv and the many other cities show how important it is to supply Ukraine with air defense systems quickly," the defense minister said in a statement.
"Russia's attacks with missiles and drones terrorize above all the civilian population," Lambrecht said.
She added that the first of four high-tech air defense systems will now be "ready for the effective protection of people in the coming days."
Chancellor Olaf Scholz had promised to provide the air defense systems to Ukraine in June.
What can the air defense shields do? The IRIS-T SLM can defend from approaching missiles at an altitude of up to 20 kilometers (12 miles) and a distance up to 40 kilometers.
According to Scholz, the defense system makes it possible to protect "an entire major city from Russian air attacks."
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Monday that Germany would do "everything it can" to help quickly bolster Ukraine's air defenses.
"It is despicable and unjustifiable for Putin to bombard large cities and civilians with missiles," Baerbock wrote on Twitter.
During the Monday morning missile strikes, the German Foreign Ministry said, a large building housing a German consulate in Kyiv was damaged. However, it added that the office had not been in use since the war broke out.
seunny4lif: USA navy carrier in which Black Sea? First, USA or NATO navy vessels are banned from Black Sea unless those that already have home in Black Sea like Romania navy as Turkey navy have banned all military vessels from Black Sea, even Russia navy can’t deploy additional fleets to Black Sea unless those that are already registered to Black Sea.
And mind you, USA carries can’t enter Black Sea, as the way to Black Sea is too narrow for aircraft carriers.
The US and its allies would destroy Russia’s troops and equipment in Ukraine – as well as sink its Black Sea fleet – if the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, uses nuclear weapons in the country, former CIA director and retired four-star army general David Petraeus warned on Sunday.
Petraeus said that he had not spoken to national security adviser Jake Sullivan on the likely US response to nuclear escalation from Russia, which administration officials have said has been repeatedly communicated to Moscow.
He told ABC News: “Just to give you a hypothetical, we would respond by leading a Nato – a collective – effort that would take out every Russian conventional force that we can see and identify on the battlefield in Ukraine and also in Crimea and every ship in the Black Sea.”
The warning comes days after Putin expressed views that many have interpreted as a threat of a larger war between Russia and the west.
Asked if the use of nuclear weapons by Russia in Ukraine would bring America and Nato into the war, Petraeus said that it would not be a situation triggering the alliance’s Article 5, which calls for a collective defense. That is because Ukraine is not part of Nato – nonetheless, a “US and Nato response” would be in order, Petraeus said.
Petraeus acknowledged that the likelihood that radiation would extend to Nato countries under the Article 5 umbrella could perhaps be construed as an attack on a Nato member.
“Perhaps you can make that case,” he said. “The other case is that this is so horrific that there has to be a response – it cannot go unanswered.”
Yet, Petraeus added, “You don’t want to, again, get into a nuclear escalation here. But you have to show that this cannot be accepted in any way.”
Nonetheless, with pressure mounting on Putin after Ukrainian gains in the east of the country under last week’s annexation declaration and resistance to mobilization efforts within Russia mounting, Petraeus said Moscow’s leader was “desperate”.
“The battlefield reality he faces is, I think, irreversible,” he said. “No amount of shambolic mobilization, which is the only way to describe it; no amount of annexation; no amount of even veiled nuclear threats can actually get him out of this particular situation.
“At some point there’s going to have to be recognition of that. At some point there’s going to have to be some kind of beginning of negotiations, as [Ukrainian] President [Volodymyr] Zelenskiy has said, will be the ultimate end.”
But, Petraeus warned, “It can still get worse for Putin and for Russia. And even the use of tactical nuclear weapons on the battlefield won’t change this at all.” Still, he added, “You have to take the threat seriously.”
Senator Marco Rubio, the ranking Republican member of the Senate foreign relations committee, told CNN that Putin was down to two choices: established defensive lines or withdraw and lose territory.
Rubio said he believed it “quite possible” that Putin could strike distribution points where US and allied supplies are entering Ukraine, including inside Poland. The senator acknowledged the nuclear threat, but he said most worries about “a Russian attack inside Nato territory, for example, aiming at the airport in Poland or some other distribution point”.
“Nato will have to respond to it,” he said. “How it will respond, I think a lot of it will depend on the nature of the attack and the scale and scope of it.”
But as a senator privy to Pentagon briefings, Rubio resisted being drawn on whether he’d seen evidence that Russia is preparing to use nuclear weapons against Ukraine.
“Certainly, the risk is probably higher today than it was a month ago,” Rubio said, predicting that Russia would probably take an intermediate step.
“He may strike one of these logistical points. And that logistical point may not be inside … Ukraine. To me, that is the area that I focus on the most, because it has a tactical aspect to it. And I think he probably views it as less escalatory. Nato may not.”
• This article was amended on 3 October 2022 to correct several misspellings of David Petraeus’s name.
I am certainly not one to dare assume to know what goes on in the mind of the God I believe in, and consider it a bit arrogant to go down that path. Nevertheless, at the risk of being labeled an old fool, it is a challenge for me to believe that the series of “plagues” that have befallen the United States of America of late are not part of some heavenly master plan.
From the end of World War II and for 70 years thereafter, America “worked.” The triumph of democracy and freedom over fascism and national land grabs energized the American body politic to take responsibility and rebuild the world after the devastating losses in the war. The world was put back in order, nations devastated by battle were rebuilt (much of that through US programs like the Marshall Plan), while people felt secure enough to plan for careers, family, education and retirement.
America’s role as the world’s police officer, resentful as that made some nations feel (everyone remembers the term “ugly American”), kept the world in check. For sure there were devastating skirmishes (Korea, Vietnam, the Pol Pot regime in Cambodia, and Rwanda, to name a few), but a nuclear crisis never actually materialized, and the world overall was a relatively safe place.
Domestically, politicians in opposing parties actually reached across the aisle and compromised on what was best for the country; elections were generally not contested; and the experiment in democracy set out by the founders of the US in the late 18th century proved to be sustainable. Or so we all thought.
Why has America and its role as the world's police begun to fall apart? However, 77 years after the end of the war, it all seems to be falling apart. Why? What happened? For sure, US foreign policy changed beginning in the Obama years, when it started to move away from the country’s self-defined role as the world’s police officer. Yes, countries do alter their foreign policies without their cultures going downhill. Yet over these past 13 years, with the advent of the smartphone and the exponential rise of social networking, hardly a day goes by that we don’t see some catastrophic event or trend that does not augur well for the continued success of the world’s greatest democracy.
A US civil war between Republicans and Democrats Politically, whether people want to admit it or not, the country is in the midst of a civil war, though for the moment, not one where both sides have taken up arms, one against the other (although that, too, could eventuate).
Nevertheless, a look at opinion polls on the 2020 election is enough to prove the point. For the population in general, 30% of the people polled do not believe President Biden won the 2020 election, while among Republicans, that number jumps to 70%. There has never been a time in modern history where such numbers were this high 18 months after the election itself, with the former president continuing to parrot the line that the election was stolen even in the face of overwhelming proof to the contrary.
Functionally, the legislative branch of government finds itself in a position where any proposal put forth by one party is not something that the other party will support. Even something as basic as the recent gun legislation passed in the House of Representatives saw just 14 Republican legislators voting with the Democrats. In most cases, reaching across the aisle to get legislation passed has been thrown into the dustbin of history, along with so many other traditions that enabled the legislature to function.
The US mass shooting crisis and gun ownership There have been over 300 mass shootings in the US this year as of early July, the largest number by far of any country in the world. A 2015 Politifact article cited data from 2000 to 2014 trying to prove that mass shootings do indeed happen in other advanced countries. However, the article conceded that the US experienced 133 shootings during that five-year period, while the next-highest total was Germany with six. This year, the US is on track to see over 600. Why is the situation so bad only in the US? No other Western country has this kind of problem.
Along with the issue of mass shootings is the issue of gun ownership. A Swiss-based worldwide small arms survey in 2018 showed that there are 120.5 small arms for every 100 people in the US, which is twice as large as the next country, Yemen, with 52.8. Even Israel, where people wrongly think that everyone has a gun, does not make it into the list of the top 20 worldwide. And the number of privately owned weapons has only grown since then. There is, of course, the related issue of what type of weapons people own. One can easily question why individual citizens need to own high-powered assault rifles in the first place, yet those proliferate legally as well.
The catastrophic weather in the US Then there is the weather. On average, the US experiences fewer than 1,500 tornadoes a year. Through June, there have already been 940 reported tornadoes there, which means the country is on track to see 2,000 or more, a 33% increase year-on-year.
The nightly news out of the US for the past few months shows tens of millions of people under extreme weather risk every day, often in three different areas of the country simultaneously (upper Midwest, East coast and the Southeast region). In the west, a long period of drought has been drying up reservoirs and spawning massive forest fires. National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) statistics show that as of July 5, 34,478 fires have already burned 4,582,301 acres. This is above the 10-year average of 27,346 fires, and twice the average of 2,026,917 acres burned. The odd thing is that very little of this occurs just north of the US in Canada, or just south in Mexico. It all seems to be centered in the US.
American homeless crisis Add to this the homeless situation, where in California alone there are more than 161,000 homeless, according to the US Interagency Council on Homelessness. Right behind California is New York, with 91,000 homeless, a large percentage of whom are, in fact, sleeping on the street.
No other Western country has the number of street people at that level. In Los Angeles, seemingly every underpass is chock full of homeless tents, which can be seen on the coastal beaches as well during the warmer weather. And the US domestic airline system is so broken right now that the odds of getting anywhere on time and with one’s luggage are low. Moreover, I have not even mentioned corona, which is still with us as well. Why? Why this bad and why (except for corona) only in the US? If one accepts the religious concept that whatever happens in the world is part of God’s plan for the world (and not everyone accepts that, to be sure), it is possible to postulate that God had a plan for the United States of America. After all, it was Abraham Lincoln who opined in 1865 that America was the “almost chosen people,” placing the issue of faith and the existence of a heavenly plan for the US squarely in the culture of post-civil war America.
If one does accept the God construct, then for the 70 years after World War II America continued to carry out His plan, creating an order in the world that had never existed before – and life was good.
However, there has never been a time in post-civil war history as now where the US has been so broken, where so many things seem to be going wrong simultaneously, and where the political leadership seems powerless to deal with all of it.
It is almost as if God is now expressing displeasure with his servant, the US, in the course it has taken.
The hope, of course, is that at some point the political leadership will get its act together and find a way to address the myriad of problems that the country is presently facing. However, if one accepts that this is perhaps a manifestation of God’s disappointment with the USA, perhaps the nation should turn to God and pray for a return to normalcy.
When Americans turn to prayer in crisis It would not be the first time in history that prayer was invoked on behalf of a country. We need only follow the lead of the last person any of us would have expected would turn to prayer, and look at the example of General George S. Patton, Jr., head of the US’s Third Army in Europe in World War II.
In December 1944, fog, clouds, rain and snow over Europe were hampering US war efforts. A frustrated Patton contacted Chaplain James O’Neill, a Catholic priest, and asked for a prayer for good weather that would improve the chances of victory. In the presence of Patton, there was only one response the chaplain could offer and that was “Yes, sir.”
The chaplain wrote this prayer, which was then distributed to the 275,000 Third Army troops along with a Christmas greeting that read:
Almighty and most merciful Father, we humbly beseech Thee, of Thy great goodness, to restrain these immoderate rains with which we have had to contend. Grant us fair weather for battle. Graciously hearken to us as soldiers who call upon Thee that, armed with Thy power, we may advance from victory to victory, and crush the oppression of wickedness of our enemies and establish Thy justice among men and nations.
The results? The weather cleared for the next six days, and Patton’s allied forces were victorious, vanquishing the German army. Perhaps, just perhaps, this is another moment in history when civilization needs an intervention from the “immoderate” forces that are besieging us.
“Watch what people are cynical about, and one can often discover what they lack.” - George S. Patton
When hope eluded him, Patton, the battle-hardened cynic, asked his troops to turn to a higher force. What he later said about people in such a quandary is noteworthy: “Watch what people are cynical about, and one can often discover what they lack.”
Maybe the time has come for everyone to bury the cynicism and look up. There is certainly no downside in doing so, while there is every possibility that our prayers will be answered. ■
Sherwin Pomerantz, who has lived in Israel for 38 years, is CEO of Atid EDI Ltd., a Jerusalem-based international business development consultancy, former national president of the Association of Americans and Canadians in Israel, former Board chair of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies, and president of Congregation Ohel Nechama in Jerusalem.
WASHINGTON, Aug 16 (Reuters) - The United States military on Tuesday said it carried out a test of a Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile that had been delayed to avoid escalating tensions with Beijing during China's show of force near Taiwan earlier this month.
China deployed scores of planes and fired live missiles in the Taiwan Strait after U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi made a trip to the self-ruled island. China considers Taiwan part of its territory and has never renounced using force to bring it under its control.
The test showed "the readiness of U.S. nuclear forces and provides confidence in the lethality and effectiveness of the nation's nuclear deterrent," a U.S. military statement said.
The re-entry vehicle traveled about 4,200 miles (6760 km) and was launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
The military said about 300 such tests have been carried out previously and that it was not the result of any specific global event.
The test suggests that Washington is less worried about the situation escalating around Taiwan in the short-term at least.
President Joe Biden's administration has said that it would continue to carry out routine air and naval operations in the Taiwan Strait in the coming weeks.
China's military said it carried out more exercises near Taiwan on Monday as a group of U.S. lawmakers visited the Chinese-claimed island and met President Tsai Ing-wen, who said her government was committed to maintaining stability.
The U.S. military also canceled a test of its Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile in April. That delay had aimed to lower nuclear tensions with Russia during the ongoing war in Ukraine.
The nuclear-capable Minuteman III, made by Boeing Co. (BA.N), is key to the U.S. military's strategic arsenal. The missile has a range of 6,000-plus miles (9,660-plus kms) and can travel at a speed of approximately 15,000 miles per hour (24,000 kph).
Missiles are dispersed in hardened underground silos operated by launch crews.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said in February that his nation's nuclear forces should be put on high alert, raising fears that Russia's invasion of Ukraine could lead to nuclear war. But U.S. officials have said they have seen no reason so far to change Washington's nuclear alert levels.
Russia and the United States have by far the biggest arsenals of nuclear warheads after the Cold War that divided the world for much of the 20th century, pitting the West against the Soviet Union and its allies.
NATO will significantly increase the number of forces on high alert to over 300,000 from 40,000 as part of the biggest overhaul of the alliance's defences since the Cold War.
Units deployed across eight eastern and southeastern NATO countries to deter Russia hostilities will rise in size from 1,000-strong battlegroups to brigades, which comprise around 3,000-5,000 troops with more war-fighting equipment in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia.
With Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine changing the security environment across Europe, the head of the alliance also confirmed that allies will expand troop deployments in NATO countries that sit closest to Russia.
Ukraine is not a member of NATO.
The decisions will be set out at a landmark summit this week in Madrid.
"Together, this constitutes the biggest overhaul of our collective deterrence and defence since the Cold War," Jens Stoltenberg said, in a briefing at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Monday.
Allies had already hardened their defences following Russia's all-out invasion of Ukraine in February, but the latest steps are by far the most significant.
"We will transform the NATO Response Force and increase the number of our high readiness forces to well over 300,000," the NATO chief said.
The NATO Response Force - which are kept at varying degrees of readiness to mobilise, from two days' notice to six months - is currently around 40,000 soldiers, sailors and air personnel.
Sky News was first to report the increase in forces last week before specific numbers were known.
Mr Stoltenberg also confirmed the strengthening of units deployed across eight eastern and southeastern NATO countries to deter Russia hostilities. They will rise in size from 1,000-strong battlegroups to brigades, which comprise around 3,000-5,000 troops.
The desire is for NATO to have sufficient forces on the ground to defeat any attempt at an invasion.
This is a fundamental shift from a policy known as a "tripwire" that was adopted after Russia first invaded Ukraine in 2014, with the annexation of Crimea.
Back then, allies agreed to set up four missions in the Baltic states and Poland, each with around 1,000 troops. If Russia chose to invade, these battlegroups would not be able to stop the attack but would trigger a "tripwire", prompting reinforcements to rush in.
However, the events in Ukraine, where Russian forces have wreaked carnage in areas they have occupied, means allies believe they need to deny any invading force from having the ability to take any ground from day one of an attack.
One defence minister has said that there cannot be a "Bucha on NATO soil" - a reference to the town of Bucha, outside Kyiv, where Russian forces are accused of mass murder, torture and rape of Ukrainian civilians.
Several long-planned NATO exercises involving member countries including the UK, and partners, have been taking place over the last few months in many of the nations where troops are to be boosted.
As part of the upgraded defence plans, military personnel tasked with defending specific NATO allies will not all need to be stationed on the ground, but could be based in their home country and only deploy forward when needed.
"These troops will exercise together with home defence forces," Mr Stoltenberg said.
"And they will become familiar with local terrain, facilities, and our new pre-positioned stocks. So that they can respond smoothly and swiftly to any emergency."
The changes will need increased investment, with allies increasing defence spending for the eighth consecutive year - an increase of $350bn since 2014.
As reported by Sky News last week, the NATO chief outlined new support that allies will collectively pledge to give Ukraine, including anti-drone systems and providing Ukrainian forces with secure communication.
In a disappointment for most allies, though, there has been no breakthrough yet on overcoming opposition from Turkey to a historic bid by previously neutral Sweden and Finland to join NATO - in the ultimate snub to Mr Putin and win for the allies.
The NATO chief said he would be talking to the Turkish prime minister and had already spoken with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
He said allies "aim to make progress on Finland and Sweden's historic applications for NATO membership, while ensuring the security concerns of all allies are addressed".
jimyjames: One Nigeria forever, Muslims and Christians can unite to achieve a better Nigeria, they did it before and can do it again, Gowon led hundreds of thousands of Muslims and Christians into Eastern Region and fought the rebels for close to three years, no Muslim or Christian turned a gun against one another except their common enemy the Igbos, Nigeria can do it again, the Igbos can only try
1. It will happen again and again and again, this is what they do best - kill kill kill and kill in the name of their weak god
2. Nothing will happen to the culprits; they will go free and be hailed in their communities as heroes
3. You cannot change the mindset of the fanatical Islamic religious zealots - it is next to impossible
4. One Nigeria is a fallacy, we cannot cohabit with barbaric religious fanatics
5. We are not one people and can never be.
6. These devils hate us, they hate our way of life, they envy us, and they want all of us killed
7. Keeping your children in some Northern schools is a suicide mission
8. If you live in Northern Nigeria as a Christian, protect yourselves, defend yourselves - fire for fire. Eye for eye and tooth for tooth
9. If you are Southerner in Northern Nigerian, move your investments to anywhere in Southern Nigeria and have a plan B for escape when these demons come baying for more blood to appease their weak god.
10. Our worst enemies are our leaders who refuse to deal with terrorism in Northern Nigeria and who like to play down the serious threat they pose to our collective safety and security
10. In the next 10 years, there will be two countries born out of the current Nigeria. One will be like Afghanistan and will include all 12 Sharia states in which women have no rights and education is discouraged. The other country will be called the new Nigeria and will flourish, excel and prosper
11. These murderers and vile haters are going to cause more chaos as we get to the election and their foot soldiers in Southern Nigerian may be activated to cause national confusion and mayhem. Be on the lookout. Protect yourselves.
12. Igbos supporting UGM should start now to denounce the UGM and form groups to counter them and eradicate them so that we don't turn our land into a mini Northern Nigeria
Foreign Affairs › Nuke Threat - Putin prepares Nuke Missiles to strike the USA and UK by SeeThisLoser(op): 7:35pm On Dec 14, 2022
