Adapt: Reactionary Policy, no Strategy

Blinken and Stoltenberg adopt adapting to adjustments, or something.

Published: 2024-06-13

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Leading From the Front

To whom is US Sec. of State Blinken speaking when he makes public statements? By definition, he is speaking to the world's Foreign Ministers and diplomatic services; it comes with the job title. I contend that this is a misunderstanding. He is speaking to the leaders of US allies and its alliance organisations. He sets the keywords for their talking points.

During the lead up to the declaration of war by leading NATO member states on the Russia Federation and its CSTO allies, the UK and German foreign ministers began speaking about increasing defence spending to prepare for a future war with Russia, 5 years hence. There was a joint declaration of the UK and French foreign ministers of their entente or enduring alliance. Not long after, Macron started his "it can't be ruled out" lines about official French troops being sent to Ukraine to keep the unofficial ones company in the NATO war.

Then, just before the declaration, Blinken began using a new phrase which was quickly adjusted. It started with: the US continues to 'adapt and correct'. The problem was with 'correct', which explicitly implied that what was being done was incorrect. Swiftly, the phraseology was smoothed to 'adapt and adjust', a far slicker phrase with assonance and alliteration! Then, after the leading NATO nations declared their official support for Ukraine to attack Russia within its 1991 borders with their weapons which are manned by their men, first Kirby and now NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg are also 'adapting'.

Politics and Life

In life, adapting is what one does. The environment around us changes constantly, and we with it. Adapting is living. However, the world of representative politics is meant to be slightly different. Policies are described, people select from them and then, theoretically, vote for the representatives whose policies they prefer. These policy positions are meant to be stable, such that the electorate can evaluate the outcome and reassess at the next election. Thus, in politics, "adapting" means changing the policy. It is a mea culpa. An admission that the previous approach is not producing the expected and theoretically declared result.

Apologies for the political theory. The use of 'theoretically' above is because this description of politics, which is taught in school, is obviously not what happens. While we’re there, why is nobody suggesting that the curriculum be changed?

Going Forward

There is one statement by Blinken which has certainly been crafted, thus asking for examination. It was in response to a question on the NATO war in Ukraine, reported by the NYT on May 31st, 2024, at a news conference in Prague at the end of a two-day meeting of top diplomats from NATO member states.

Blinken said:

Going forward, we’ll continue to do what we’ve been doing, which is: As necessary, adapt and adjust

This translates as: We will continue to react. In military terms, it means: we have no strategy. In political terms, is means, we have no policy. In real-politik it means, we can't tell you, the public, what our intentions are.

This is the reality of Western international relations as declared by its lead diplomat: you, public, have neither reason nor right to know what we are up to. It is also quite possible that ‘leading’ spokespeople don't know what the real intentions are either, or even if there are any.

Perhaps all of the above could be condensed to: running wars is a risky, uncontrollable process, and trying to run one as a policy means you end up in precisely this sort of reactionary policy chaos.

Nuclear Doctrine

A two-day NATO defence ministers' meeting in Brussels will be held on June 13th and 14th to prepare for the heads of state meeting for early July in Washington D.C. The agenda of the Brussels meeting is to “discuss how to ensure predictable support to Ukraine for the long haul,”. This is pretty crazy, because Ukraine is not a member of NATO, which everybody seems to keep forgetting. Indeed, NATO's attempt to add Ukraine to its member states was the root cause of the war. Such is the behaviour of the "defensive alliance".

Note that the NATO meeting in Washington will coincide, during week 28, with the upcoming French and British elections. Not long after, the Paris Olympics will begin, and the movers and shakers will take their 'Summer of Living Dangerously' leave during which Pepe Escobar hopes we don’t get any nasty false flag surprises.

In the preparatory press conference for the Brussels NATO FM meeting, when discussing the attending NATO Nuclear Planning Group, Stoltenberg said the group "will discuss the ongoing adaptation of NATO’s nuclear capabilities". NATO is "adapting" its nuclear posture, which should scare the living shit out of everybody. Perhaps that was Stoltenberg's intention.

This 'lack of strategy' adaption by NATO, seems a response to two changing conditions.

Winning with Hearts and Minds

Firstly, NATO has lost its war against Russia and hiding this fact has become nigh impossible. Their puppet master's term has expired, Ukraine is running a national draft which is causing serious political unrest, Russia's attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure is causing even more Ukrainians to flee west into Europe, and Russia continues to advance on all fronts, piece by piece. To really stretch Ukraine's thin resources even thinner, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation has opened a new northern front in Ukraine's Sumy region. Ukraine's military situation could not be more disastrous.

The West's media when discussing the 'changing situation' will focus on statements made by Russia and its drills on the use of "tactical" nuclear weapons. Nothing has actually changed. Russia is asking the West, again, to read its nuclear doctrine. This is not a policy which might change, it is a doctrine, which has remained unchanged for years, and years preceding the current hostilities at that. But, because NATO is 'adapting' they need to describe something to which to adapt.

The Elephant in the Room

The second change is a new political reality in Europe based on the results from the recent elections for the EU's powerless parliament. They display a clear trend, which, again, the West's media misrepresents. The results are a rejection of the current leadership in states which are supporting and promoting the NATO war.

In France, Macron's party got whooped. In response, he's called a snap national, but not presidential, election. He, like the rest of NATO leadership, knows the war is lost. With the snap election, he gets to hand domestic policy, which is going to be hard to manage because of the war, to his political enemies. He maintains his presidency which keeps him in control of foreign policy and the military such that he can control France's engagement with or disengagement from NATO's agenda to his liking. He has three more years and cannot stand again for the presidency. He will be completing a "services rendered" process as he looks to where to head afterwards.

German Chancellor Scholz' party lost ground compared to the last national election. The real losers in the German coalition government were the Greens, who currently have Germany's financial (Habeck) and foreign (Baerbock) ministries. The Green's plummeted from 20% to 12%.

Globalist van der Leyen will almost certainly be re-approved by the EU's parliament. Her party has around 180 seats, needing another 180 to secure the simple majority of the 720 seat assembly for her re-approval. The upcoming results in the UK election will have no affect whatsoever on British foreign policy; the uniparty assures this.

For governments which have shown strong opposition to the war, or those who have been more cautious in expressing support, like Hungary and Italy, their parties fared well in the EU elections.

Sadly, in Ireland Clare Daly was not re-elected in Dublin, and Mick Wallace is unlikely to be elected in South Ireland.

The European parliamentary elections do not affect anything. But they do show the polity's disapproval of the current war policy and the consequences of it, be that immigration or financial. While Western media are reporting far-right this and anti-immigration that, the truth is a rejection of the war and its consequences.

European, warmongering, NATO, government executive leaders are caught. The parliaments under them are changing, or will change. They are trying to 'adapt' and do nothing by continuing, or as Blinkenlight's mumbled it:

Going forward, we’ll continue to do what we’ve been doing, which is: As necessary, adapt and adjust

The blind are leading the blind.

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Sources

The Summer of Living Dangerously, Pepe Escobar, The Unz Review, 2024-06-12

The world is safer for a renewed Entente, David Cameron & Stephane Sejourne, The Telegraph, 2024-04-07

PM: UK and Germany open ‘new chapter’ in defence partnership, Prime Minister's Office, UK Government, 2024-04-23

Defence Ministers prepare for Washington Summit, by strengthening defences and bolstering support for Ukraine, NATO, 2024-06-12

• Stoltenberg’s press conference [MP3]

Stoltenberg: NATO Is 'Adapting' Its Nuclear Arsenal to 'Current Security Environment', Dave DeCamp, Antiwar, 2024-06-12

Election results vital for parties seeking boost, Harry McGee, The Irish Times, 2024-06-12

Adapting and adjusting, Blinken style:

Nature of battle changing, US helping Ukraine adapt: Blinken, Shannon K. Crawford, abcNews, 2024-04-27

The nature of this battle is changing, to eastern and southern Ukraine. They're adapting to that. We're adapting to that.

Blinken admitted that the United States will "adapt and correct" its position on strikes with American weapons on targets in Russia, UNN (a Ukrainian news publisher), 2024-05-30

When asked if Blinken's words mean that the United States can support Ukraine's attacks inside Russia, he said: "adapting and correcting means exactly that.”

Blinken Hints U.S. May Allow Ukraine Greater Latitude to Strike in Russia, Edward Wong, NYT, 2024-05-31

The phrase “adapt and adjust” is one that Mr. Blinken used in a news conference on Wednesday in Chisinau, Moldova, to suggest that Mr. Biden was about to make a major policy shift and grant Ukraine permission to use the weapons to strike in Russia, as Ukrainian and European leaders had been urging for weeks.

US To Send Another Patriot Missile Battery to Ukraine, Dave DeCamp, Antiwar, 2024-06-12

• Not adapting: just sending more Patriot systems to be destroyed by Russia.

<>

Ursula, center holds. Macron thumped. Scholz & Greens crushed. Meloni wins. De Croo, Elensky curse, Alex Christoforou, 2024-06-10

The Heat ｜ The Wagners Are Back In Sumy ｜ Novooleksandrivka Breakthrough. Military Summary 2024.6.10, Dima, Military Summary, 2024-06-10

• The new Sumy front, or an incursion. Time will tell.

The Heat ｜ Breakthrough In The Kupiansk Direction ｜ Monstrous losses. Military Summary For 2024.6.11, Dima, Military Summary, 2024-06-11

Culture

When Tomorrow Comes, Eurythmics (the title track from their 1985 album), Eurythmics, uploaded 2016-05-01

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