The Unforgiveable Sin.

By Gene Ogorodov

In the past couple of weeks the Western media has committed the unforgivable sin of likening the Russian Federation to the Third Reich. With regards to Russia, political punditry has left the realm of reasonable biased apologetics, and entered the turbulent seas of pure emotive manipulation usually reserved for dictatorial right-wing nut jobs on Fox News. 

This accusation may seem hypocritical since here on The Boston Pine Flag we have frequently labeled Western Governments as Fascist, but we have an excuse--by any reasonable definition they are. Vladimir Putin is not Adolf Hitler and United Russia is certainly not the National Socialist Party. Furthermore, the Russian Federation is much more scrupulous about international treaties than Nazi Germany ever was.

Unlike Nazi Germany sending troops into Austria during the Anschluss, Russia has not officially sent any Russian troops into Crimea that were not already stationed there. The "paramilitary" forces that have captured every airport, sea port, and are protecting the Crimean parliament are certainly Russian airborne units, but fact doesn't matter in Geo-politics only precedents and posturing. The Russian position is that their military will protect Russian citizens in Crimea, ipso facto Russia refuses to admit to being an aggressor.

The more interesting story is the defection of Ukrainian military units to Russia. That will prevent a war in Eastern Europe. The Kremlin has re-affirmed its earlier pledge to maintain the geographical integrity of Ukraine. Crimea is virtually self governing right now and nothing short of a pan European war can remove Russia and pro-Russian forces from their bases in Crimea. Le Monde Diplomatique had an interesting article on Russia's status in Crimea saying essentially that Putin can maintain the ambiguous state of the Crimea being official Ukrainian, politically independent, and militarily Russian indefinitely.

Now we just have to wait on NATO. If the Europeans don't take the lead and let Washington dictate policy I can assure you of one thing, the response will be as dangerous as the Russian Empire mobilizing its forces before the First World War. The US has already made a serious blunder. Yesterday, Rear Admiral John Kirby announced that the Pentagon would end all military cooperation with Russia. How do you think we supply our troops in Afghanistan? The Trans-Siberian Railway of course. Does our brainless administration think that either Pakistan or Iran will pick up the slack?

Furthermore, the planned withdraw of NATO from OEF in 2014 was highly dependent upon Russian military advisors. So not only are our forces going to be under-supplied during the most dangerous part of the Afghan War, viz. the withdraw, we are going to do it blind. This imbecilic posturing by the United States over a crisis that our worthless State Department created will jeopardize an entire NATO Field Army.

A well supplied foreign army can hold strong fortified positions in mountainous terrain indefinitely. In fact that is exactly what we have done in OEF. However, once large ponderous columns start moving the advantage is entire with the natives. The disaster of the 1842 Retreat from Kabul where only one man out of an army of 20,000 soldiers reached Kandahar teaches a lesson about mountain warfare in Afghanistan that is as important today as it was in the 19th Century.

The modern NATO Armies depend upon large quantities of oil and mechanical parts that reach the front lines through well defended lines of supply. When those lines of supply are stopped our ground forces become sitting ducks. Our soldiers are not trained to move in large numbers on foot for long distances. The hostile terrain of Afghanistan is impossible for modern Western army to maneuver in without unacceptable casualties.

Worst case scenario, the withdraw from Afghanistan could turn into the greatest disaster for American forces since the battle of Fredericksburg. I thought that Bush was stupid, but Obama makes him look like Otto von Bismark.

What makes this situation even more unfortunate is that the US will blame our military misfortunes in Afghanistan on Russia. However, the brilliant Politicians and Generals that forgot that American soldiers need oil and bullets in Afghanistan might also forget that their forces will need oil and bullets in Crimea so the outcome of the next war won't be too disadvantageous.  

Let us just hope that the United States can take two major military defeats without falling into the temptation to use nuclear weapons. I personally do not think that any contemporary politician would do that under any circumstance. I may oppose many of the policies of Pres. Barak Obama, but he has far too many scruples to escalate any war that far. So long as the United States has Presidents with some moderation the world will be safe in a the transition to a post-Pax Americana. 

Nonetheless, if any one dares to push the proverbial red button and sends the world into a nuclear war, comparisons of that person to Hitler will be misplaced. That person will become the most evil person to have ever lived far surpassing the monsters of the 20th Century. If there are any humans left from the nuclear winter that will engulf our civilization that person's name will be more notorious than Nero, Attila, and Hitler combined.