US closer to full-out war with Russia

By Reginald Johnson 

 

  Are we moving closer to a hot war with Russia?

  It certainly looks that way.

   Contradicting previous statements by the Biden administration, new information shows the US now has a small number of combat troops on the ground in Ukraine, and some are reportedly deployed with Ukrainian forces fighting Russia in the eastern part of the country.

 The recent leak of classified Pentagon documents by Air National Guardsman Jack Teixiera disclosed that 14 US Special Forces troops are in Ukraine, along with more than 80 special forces troops from other NATO countries, including the UK and France, according to a report in the BBC.

  Information in the leaked documents didn’t say where the troops are deployed or how they’re being used, according to the story. Pentagon spokesman  Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder confirmed last November that the US had a small contingent of military personnel in Ukraine connected with the US embassy, but they were there only to inspect deliveries of weapons to Ukraine and would not be involved in combat. 

 However, Special Forces are elite fighting units in the Army and are not generally connected with embassies or used for inspections.

  Also, Democratic Party presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr said on the Tucker Carlson show last week on FOX that his son had been deployed to Ukraine as a Special Forces “machine gunner” and fought alongside Ukrainian forces against the Russian army during “the Kharkiv campaign.”

 The leaked documents also showed the administration has been lying about progress by Ukraine in the war, with statements by officials like Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austen that Ukraine was doing well, with Russian military strength “waning.”.

For the past year, US officials have painted a rosy picture of how well Ukrainian forces are doing in the war with Russia. But the recent leak of Pentagon documents tells a different story.

   To the contrary, the documents reveal that Ukraine is suffering a high casualty rate, with seven Ukrainians dying for every one Russian. Also the information shows that Ukraine’s air defense system is nearly destroyed.

  In the wake of the new information, some Republicans in Congress are pressing the administration to make clear exactly what US forces are doing in Ukraine.

  “We’ve been engaged over there for a year and we’ve been hearing ‘transparency’ and ‘we will not let troops on the ground.’  Sadly, we now get information like this,” said Sen. Mike Braun of Indiana on the Tucker Carlson show on FOX April 20^th.

  “A few days ago we filed a letter (to the administration), tell us, who authorized this, how many are actually there, and what are they doing?” said Braun.

  It could not be learned how many other members of Congress had signed onto the letter and who they were.

  Braun commented to Carlson that “This is eerily familiar to what we should have learned decades ago in Vietnam. Mission creep comes into play. Afghanistan, Iraq --- it looks like it’s reeling all over again. The big difference is, this is where two world wars started.  Much different setting, much different context. We’re going to be sure to get to the bottom of this.”

 On his April 13^th show, Carlson said the leaked information “in fact shows that this is not Ukraine’s war. It is our war. The US is a direct combatant in the new war against Russia. As we speak American soldiers are fighting Russian soldiers. So this is not a regional conflict in Eastern Europe. This is a hot war between the two primary nuclear superpowers on earth. And yet this war has never been formally declared – it has not been authorized by Congress.

 “That means this war is a violation of American law. It is a crime,” he said.

Carlson and another guest on his show, investigative writer Glenn Greenwald decried the media’s performance in covering the Pentagon leak. Both charged that the press showed more interest in helping the government catch the person responsible for the leak and punish him, rather than reporting on the contents of the leak and their significance.

 Teixeira should be “celebrated” for the public service he performed, rather than demonized, Greenwald said.

Tucker Carlson, Ukraine War critic, pushed out

   By Reginald Johnson

    Commentary

 

   For those who care about the danger of US militarism, ending the proxy war in Ukraine, protecting free speech and forcing accountability from the nation's intelligence agencies, the departure of Tucker Carlson from FOX News is a big loss.

Carlson had in-depth shows on all those topics, unlike other commentators at FOX and news outlets like MSNBC and CNN.

I agree with Glenn Greenwald who wrote on Twitter:

 "Tucker was the cable host who most: * Opposed US proxy war in Ukraine; * Denounced CIA, FBI and DHS for its systemic lies and corruption; * Devoted himself to a pardon for Julian Assange; * Objected to regime change efforts in Cuba; * Criticized Trump Admin's militarism."

 Who's going to speak out on these issues now in the mainstream media? I don't know of anyone.

 Carlson would regularly bring in thoughtful, independent-minded and often progressive guests to talk about civil liberties and foreign policy issues --- including Jill Stein, Medea Benjamin, Aaron Mate, Dan Kovalik, Tulsi Gabbard, the late Stephen Cohen, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr and Greenwald.

 I particularly appreciated Carlson's outfront coverage on the Ukraine War. Right from the beginning, really months before the Russian invasion and the full-scale conflict began, Carlson was raising questions about America's role in Ukraine. He became a harsh critic of US involvement, and this showed a lot of guts, seeing as no other media voices, including those at FOX, were raising questions. 

 Carlson was a Republican so I didn't agree with him on several domestic issues. He can be faulted for a number of things, but that shouldn't wipe out his good work on a range of important topics.