Comments on: Sweden and Finland Give NATO/US Their Arctic Opportunity

By: penny2

penny2 — Mon, 17 Jul 2023 11:04:24 +0000

Hey Mark
Looks as if Zelensky is going to carry on for the US.
Too bad for the Ukrainians

By: Flashback- NATO North? Building a role for NATO in the Arctic – PFYT2

Flashback- NATO North? Building a role for NATO in the Arctic – PFYT2 — Sun, 16 Jul 2023 12:56:56 +0000

[…] Sweden and Finland Give NATO/US Their Arctic Opportunity […]

By: Mark Finnegan

Mark Finnegan — Sat, 15 Jul 2023 14:14:31 +0000

In reply to penny2.

Hi Penny,
I wonder if Zelensky will run into a ‘Mussolini moment ‘
( local mob revenge retribution ) or more of a ‘ Gaddafi moment ‘ ( CIA / MI6 orchestrated photo op ) which might be resorted to if he continues to go off script. Let’s just hope he and Kiev don’t go up in a ‘ Hiroshima moment. ‘

By: penny2

penny2 — Sat, 15 Jul 2023 12:51:48 +0000

In reply to Mark Finnegan. Hey Mark I saw Macgregor made a comment about Zelensky having a potential Mussolini moment in Ukraine. Dima reported something about Zelensky being advised to stop the offensive and him saying it had to go on in order to garner additional western funding- Lost cause that man, lost cause.

By: Mark Finnegan

Mark Finnegan — Fri, 14 Jul 2023 15:14:06 +0000

In reply to penny2.

If Zelensky ever wants to retire to one of his ocean front villas he better think of negotiating seriously and soon.
What’s often forgotten in all this talk of NATO’s desires are Russia’s clearly stated war aims for the Ukraine… demilitarization …denazification …neutrality … no US missiles on the vulnerable border.
We better start taking heed.

By: penny2

penny2 — Fri, 14 Jul 2023 12:39:31 +0000

In reply to Mark Finnegan.

It’s a military man!

“I commanded troops from both nations in Afghanistan, and Swedish forces in the Libyan campaign of 2011”

He commanded Norwegian and Swedish forces previously, so he’s definitely NATO- and they destroyed Libya back in 2011.

Much of the article is honking of one’s own horn, but, NATO does have these designs on the Arctic. And surely Russia knows this (as does China)

Canada’s control of the Arctic area (it being the territory of) is why the US supports our NATO partnership so very much.
Saw an article chastising Canada about its NATO spending- Canada freeloads off of the US? I, for one, don’t care. The US gains invaluable access to the Arctic and other regions of Canada, so they can be the empire they are- Empire has costs- Canada is at best a conveniently located territory for the US. The US wishes to be an empire then it can bear the costs of that mission/goal/delusion.

Have you ever seen the Russian icebreakers and nuclear subs they run through their portion of the Arctic? Probably you have. I mean they are a sight to behold- behemoths.
And yes a military man is going to advocate for war- It’s what they do. It’s all they know.

Meanwhile Ukraine is getting raked over the coals and Zelensky has to be feeling the fool- from being celebrated to being pushed aside.
Where did he lead his country and his people?
If I was him, I’d be thinking hard about a different course of action. And, quick.

By: Mark Finnegan

Mark Finnegan — Fri, 14 Jul 2023 01:00:45 +0000

Oh my. That Bloomberg article is a propaganda exercise in wishful thinking. I couldn’t see the author (paywall) but it sounds like a military man impressed by his ability to read a map.
Where is any evidence that Russia is seeking any aggressive encroachment on NATO spheres of influence in the Arctic ?
There are very little offensive or defensive capabilities in the Arctic on behalf of NATO or Russia. North American defense infrastructure is based on the DEW line radar installations constructed in the 1950’s. NATO ‘winter exercises’ are minuscule and limited to problematic weekend camp-outs.
As to my country, Canada’s submarine and ice breaker ‘fleets’ are woefully inadequate and, in the arctic, more dangerous to their crews than to any potential enemies. In our great north land of pristine lakes and rivers Canada cannot even provide fresh drinking water wells to remote northern indigenous settlements.
As a ‘free’ electorate we must avoid any grandiose delusional ’empire-think’ diatribes from military analysts who are solely motivated by the desire for increased military entanglement and expenditure.