Scott Ritter: 2023 Outlook for Ukraine | Consortium News

[Scott]

I'm a pretty big fan of former United States Marine Corps intelligence officer and United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM) weapons inspector Scott Ritter, so it's natural that I'd take a look at this article. After having read a good chunk of it, I wasn't dissapointed. I thought some others might find it intersting as well and perhaps worthy of a discussion. Quoting the introduction and the conclusion:

**
January 11, 2023

Given the duplicitous history of the Minsk Accords, it is unlikely Russia can be diplomatically dissuaded from its military offensive. As such, 2023 appears to be shaping up as a year of continued violent confrontation.

By Scott Ritter
Special to Consortium News

After almost a year of dramatic action, where initial Russian advances were met with impressive Ukrainian counteroffensives, the frontlines in the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian conflict have stabilized, with both sides engaged in bloody positional warfare, grinding each other down in a brutal attritional contest while awaiting the next major initiative from either side.

As the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine approaches, the fact that Ukraine has made it this far into the conflict represents both a moral and, to a lesser extent, a military victory.

[snip]

Both Ukraine and its Western partners are struggling to sustain the conflict they initiated when they rejected a possible peace settlement in April 2022. Russia, after starting off on its back feet, has largely regrouped, and appears poised to resume large-scale offensive operations which neither Ukraine nor its Western partners have an adequate answer for.

Moreover, given the duplicitous history of the Minsk Accords, it is unlikely Russia can be dissuaded from undertaking its military offensive through diplomacy. As such, 2023 appears to be shaping up as a year of continued violent confrontation leading to a decisive Russian military victory.

How Russia leverages such a military victory into a sustainable political settlement that manifests itself in regional peace and security is yet to be seen.
**

Full article:
https://consortiumnews.com/2023/01/11/scott-ritter-2023-outlook-for-ukraine/

 

[floridafan]

I'm a pretty big fan of former United States Marine Corps intelligence officer and United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM) weapons inspector Scott Ritter, so it's natural that I'd take a look at this article. After having read a good chunk of it, I wasn't dissapointed. I thought some others might find it intersting as well and perhaps worthy of a discussion. Quoting the introduction and the conclusion:

**
January 11, 2023

Given the duplicitous history of the Minsk Accords, it is unlikely Russia can be diplomatically dissuaded from its military offensive. As such, 2023 appears to be shaping up as a year of continued violent confrontation.

By Scott Ritter
Special to Consortium News

After almost a year of dramatic action, where initial Russian advances were met with impressive Ukrainian counteroffensives, the frontlines in the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian conflict have stabilized, with both sides engaged in bloody positional warfare, grinding each other down in a brutal attritional contest while awaiting the next major initiative from either side.

As the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine approaches, the fact that Ukraine has made it this far into the conflict represents both a moral and, to a lesser extent, a military victory.

[snip]

Both Ukraine and its Western partners are struggling to sustain the conflict they initiated when they rejected a possible peace settlement in April 2022. Russia, after starting off on its back feet, has largely regrouped, and appears poised to resume large-scale offensive operations which neither Ukraine nor its Western partners have an adequate answer for.

Moreover, given the duplicitous history of the Minsk Accords, it is unlikely Russia can be dissuaded from undertaking its military offensive through diplomacy. As such, 2023 appears to be shaping up as a year of continued violent confrontation leading to a decisive Russian military victory.

How Russia leverages such a military victory into a sustainable political settlement that manifests itself in regional peace and security is yet to be seen.
**

Full article:
https://consortiumnews.com/2023/01/11/scott-ritter-2023-outlook-for-ukraine/

Ritter was the subject of two law enforcement sting operations in 2001.[37] He was charged in June 2001 with trying to set up a meeting with an undercover police officer posing as a 16-year-old girl.[38][39] He was charged with a misdemeanor crime of "attempted endangerment of the welfare of a child". The charge was dismissed and the record was sealed after he completed six months of pre-trial probation.[39][9] After this information was made public in early 2003, Ritter said that the timing of the leak was politically motivated in order to silence his opposition to the Bush administration's push toward war with Iraq.[38][39][40]

Ritter was arrested again in November 2009[41] over communications with a police decoy he met on an Internet chat site. Police said that he exposed himself, via a web camera, after the officer repeatedly identified himself as a 15-year-old girl.[5] Ritter said in his own testimony during the trial that he believed the other party was an adult acting out her fantasy.[8] The chat room had an "age 18 and above" policy, which Ritter stated to the undercover officer.[5]

The next month, Ritter waived his right to a preliminary hearing and was released on $25,000 unsecured bail. Charges included "unlawful contact with a minor, criminal use of a communications facility, corruption of minors, indecent exposure, possessing instruments of crime, criminal attempt and criminal solicitation".[2] Ritter rejected a plea bargain and was found guilty of all but the criminal attempt count in a courtroom in Monroe County, Pennsylvania, on April 14, 2011.[5][42]

In October 2011, he received a sentence of 1½ to 5½ years in prison.[3] He was sent to Laurel Highlands state prison in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, in March 2012 and paroled in September 2014

 

[floridafan]

Ritter was the subject of two law enforcement sting operations in 2001.[37] He was charged in June 2001 with trying to set up a meeting with an undercover police officer posing as a 16-year-old girl.[38][39] He was charged with a misdemeanor crime of "attempted endangerment of the welfare of a child". The charge was dismissed and the record was sealed after he completed six months of pre-trial probation.[39][9] After this information was made public in early 2003, Ritter said that the timing of the leak was politically motivated in order to silence his opposition to the Bush administration's push toward war with Iraq.[38][39][40]

Ritter was arrested again in November 2009[41] over communications with a police decoy he met on an Internet chat site. Police said that he exposed himself, via a web camera, after the officer repeatedly identified himself as a 15-year-old girl.[5] Ritter said in his own testimony during the trial that he believed the other party was an adult acting out her fantasy.[8] The chat room had an "age 18 and above" policy, which Ritter stated to the undercover officer.[5]

The next month, Ritter waived his right to a preliminary hearing and was released on $25,000 unsecured bail. Charges included "unlawful contact with a minor, criminal use of a communications facility, corruption of minors, indecent exposure, possessing instruments of crime, criminal attempt and criminal solicitation".[2] Ritter rejected a plea bargain and was found guilty of all but the criminal attempt count in a courtroom in Monroe County, Pennsylvania, on April 14, 2011.[5][42]

In October 2011, he received a sentence of 1½ to 5½ years in prison.[3] He was sent to Laurel Highlands state prison in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, in March 2012 and paroled in September 2014

In July 2022, Ritter was added to a list of pro-Russia propagandists compiled by the Ukrainian Center for Countering Disinformation.[47]

 

[Scott]

Ritter was the subject of two law enforcement sting operations in 2001.[37] He was charged in June 2001 with trying to set up a meeting with an undercover police officer posing as a 16-year-old girl.[38][39] He was charged with a misdemeanor crime of "attempted endangerment of the welfare of a child". The charge was dismissed and the record was sealed after he completed six months of pre-trial probation.[39][9] After this information was made public in early 2003, Ritter said that the timing of the leak was politically motivated in order to silence his opposition to the Bush administration's push toward war with Iraq.[38][39][40]

Ritter was arrested again in November 2009[41] over communications with a police decoy he met on an Internet chat site. Police said that he exposed himself, via a web camera, after the officer repeatedly identified himself as a 15-year-old girl.[5] Ritter said in his own testimony during the trial that he believed the other party was an adult acting out her fantasy.[8] The chat room had an "age 18 and above" policy, which Ritter stated to the undercover officer.[5]

The next month, Ritter waived his right to a preliminary hearing and was released on $25,000 unsecured bail. Charges included "unlawful contact with a minor, criminal use of a communications facility, corruption of minors, indecent exposure, possessing instruments of crime, criminal attempt and criminal solicitation".[2] Ritter rejected a plea bargain and was found guilty of all but the criminal attempt count in a courtroom in Monroe County, Pennsylvania, on April 14, 2011.[5][42]

In October 2011, he received a sentence of 1½ to 5½ years in prison.[3] He was sent to Laurel Highlands state prison in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, in March 2012 and paroled in September 2014

Yes, I know. I think it's important to note that despite the charges, he was never shown to have actually contacted a minor- in both cases, he was set up. Furthermore, none of these charges changes my impression of him as good at the various professions he's had over the years, or the sound logic of the arguments in his articles.

 

[floridafan]

Yes, I know. I think it's important to note that despite the charges, he was never shown to have actually contacted a minor- in both cases, he was set up. Furthermore, none of these charges changes my impression of him as good at the various professions he's had over the years, or the sound logic of the arguments in his articles.

Right he was never shown to have contacted a minor, that's why he got 5 years in jail. He is also extremely sympathetic to the Russian government, meaning his opinions mean shit.

 

[Scott]

In July 2022, Ritter was added to a list of pro-Russia propagandists compiled by the Ukrainian Center for Countering Disinformation.[47]

He was also added to Ukraine's Myrotverets' list as well. Scott Ritter comments on both of these additions in an article that was published in December. Quoting from it:

**
I don’t take being on the Ukrainian government-sponsored “Black List” (published by the Center for Countering Disinformation, part of the Office of the President) lightly. To be labeled a Russian propogandist and an information terrorist who should be arrested and tried as a war criminal is no laughing matter. The same can be said for the “Myrotvorets” (Peacemakers) hit list promulgated by the Ukrainian SBU (intelligence service). It is—literally—a death list, with those on it marked for “liquidation” at the hands of the Ukrainian secret services.

In short, between these two lists I had a giant target painted on my back, one that was largely funded by my own government for the purpose of suppressing my constitutional right of free speech. Moreover, here in the United States the odious ideology of Stepan Bandera is actively fostered and promoted, manifesting itself in “Heroes Parks” where the busts of Bandera and his Nazi colleagues are openly displayed and admired, to the halls of the US Congress, where lawmakers who once rightfully insisted US taxpayer dollars be prohibited from being used to train and equip Banderist organizations like the Azov Battalion, described by Congress as a White Supremacist Neo-Nazi terrorist organization, but now openly welcome senior Azov members into the People’s House, where they are feted and praised by Congressional hypocrites.

In this day and age of political violence, one doesn’t have to work too hard to come up with a scenario where a Banderist true believer imagines that an official green light has been given to act out and liquidate someone the US government has labeled an “information terrorist.”
**

Full article:
The Holodomor Myth | scottritterextra.com

 

[Scott]

Right he was never shown to have contacted a minor, that's why he got 5 years in jail.

If you can provide evidence that he contacted an -actual- minor for some illegal act, by all means present it. From everything I've seen, he contacted 2 under cover police officers on 2 separate occassions and was charged for doing so.

He is also extremely sympathetic to the Russian government, meaning his opinions mean shit.

No. Like me, he believes that the Russians have a lot of reasons for initiating their military operation almost a year ago. You, on the other hand, are simply following the western propaganda line that anyone who dares question the official Ukrainian narrative and even see some merit in Russia's stance in regards to the Ukraine war is "pro Russian" or some such sound bite.

 

[floridafan]

He was also added to Ukraine's Myrotverets' list as well. Scott Ritter comments on both of these additions in an article that was published in December. Quoting from it:

**
I don’t take being on the Ukrainian government-sponsored “Black List” (published by the Center for Countering Disinformation, part of the Office of the President) lightly. To be labeled a Russian propogandist and an information terrorist who should be arrested and tried as a war criminal is no laughing matter. The same can be said for the “Myrotvorets” (Peacemakers) hit list promulgated by the Ukrainian SBU (intelligence service). It is—literally—a death list, with those on it marked for “liquidation” at the hands of the Ukrainian secret services.

In short, between these two lists I had a giant target painted on my back, one that was largely funded by my own government for the purpose of suppressing my constitutional right of free speech. Moreover, here in the United States the odious ideology of Stepan Bandera is actively fostered and promoted, manifesting itself in “Heroes Parks” where the busts of Bandera and his Nazi colleagues are openly displayed and admired, to the halls of the US Congress, where lawmakers who once rightfully insisted US taxpayer dollars be prohibited from being used to train and equip Banderist organizations like the Azov Battalion, described by Congress as a White Supremacist Neo-Nazi terrorist organization, but now openly welcome senior Azov members into the People’s House, where they are feted and praised by Congressional hypocrites.

In this day and age of political violence, one doesn’t have to work too hard to come up with a scenario where a Banderist true believer imagines that an official green light has been given to act out and liquidate someone the US government has labeled an “information terrorist.”
**

Full article:
The Holodomor Myth | scottritterextra.com

It's always someone else's fault. Of course he was never a child molester, just some guy in the wrong place at the wrong time.

 

[floridafan]

If you can provide evidence that he contacted an -actual- minor for some illegal act, by all means present it. From everything I've seen, he contacted 2 under cover police officers on 2 separate occassions and was charged for doing so.



No. Like me, he believes that the Russians have a lot of reasons for initiating their military operation almost a year ago. You, on the other hand, are simply following the western propaganda line that anyone who dares question the official Ukrainian narrative and even see some merit in Russia's stance in regards to the Ukraine war is "pro Russian" or some such sound bite.

As you follow the Russian propaganda line.
I know that he received a 5 year prison sentence and all you can do is defend him. There aint nothing lower than a child predator. But then again, you suck George Santos dick, so no surprise.

 

[Scott]

In July 2022, Ritter was added to a list of pro-Russia propagandists compiled by the Ukrainian Center for Countering Disinformation.[47]

He was also added to Ukraine's Myrotverets' list as well. Scott Ritter comments on both of these additions in an article that was published in December. Quoting from it:

**
I don’t take being on the Ukrainian government-sponsored “Black List” (published by the Center for Countering Disinformation, part of the Office of the President) lightly. To be labeled a Russian propogandist and an information terrorist who should be arrested and tried as a war criminal is no laughing matter. The same can be said for the “Myrotvorets” (Peacemakers) hit list promulgated by the Ukrainian SBU (intelligence service). It is—literally—a death list, with those on it marked for “liquidation” at the hands of the Ukrainian secret services.

In short, between these two lists I had a giant target painted on my back, one that was largely funded by my own government for the purpose of suppressing my constitutional right of free speech. Moreover, here in the United States the odious ideology of Stepan Bandera is actively fostered and promoted, manifesting itself in “Heroes Parks” where the busts of Bandera and his Nazi colleagues are openly displayed and admired, to the halls of the US Congress, where lawmakers who once rightfully insisted US taxpayer dollars be prohibited from being used to train and equip Banderist organizations like the Azov Battalion, described by Congress as a White Supremacist Neo-Nazi terrorist organization, but now openly welcome senior Azov members into the People’s House, where they are feted and praised by Congressional hypocrites.

In this day and age of political violence, one doesn’t have to work too hard to come up with a scenario where a Banderist true believer imagines that an official green light has been given to act out and liquidate someone the US government has labeled an “information terrorist.”
**

Full article:
The Holodomor Myth | scottritterextra.com

It's always someone else's fault. Of course he was never a child molester, just some guy in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Your response to my post makes me wonder if you even read what I had to say or if the only reason you quoted it was so that my PMs would get a ping. Since you apparently failed to notice, in this sub thread, you had brought up the fact that Ritter had been added to the Ukrainian Center for Countering Disinformation. The discussion of Scott Ritter's charges was in the other sub thread we'd started. So, are you actually going to respond to the subject of -this- sub thread? Or am I wasting my time trying to appeal to your sense of logic, since you'll just reply with some variation of what you said in your last post regardless of what I write here?

 

[Scott]

If you can provide evidence that he contacted an -actual- minor for some illegal act, by all means present it. From everything I've seen, he contacted 2 under cover police officers on 2 separate occassions and was charged for doing so.

No. Like me, he believes that the Russians have a lot of reasons for initiating their military operation almost a year ago. You, on the other hand, are simply following the western propaganda line that anyone who dares question the official Ukrainian narrative and even see some merit in Russia's stance in regards to the Ukraine war is "pro Russian" or some such sound bite.

As you follow the Russian propaganda line.

It gets tiring that whenever someone dares to disagree with the official western propaganda on various people, there will be some who will automatically conclude that one must therefore be following the "Russian propaganda line". All I did was point out some things that should be obvious to anyone who doesn't have blinders on.

I know that he received a 5 year prison sentence and all you can do is defend him.

I know he received a 5 year prison sentence too. That doesn't change the points I brought up.

 

[archives]

I'm a pretty big fan of former United States Marine Corps intelligence officer and United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM) weapons inspector Scott Ritter, so it's natural that I'd take a look at this article. After having read a good chunk of it, I wasn't dissapointed. I thought some others might find it intersting as well and perhaps worthy of a discussion. Quoting the introduction and the conclusion:

**
January 11, 2023

Given the duplicitous history of the Minsk Accords, it is unlikely Russia can be diplomatically dissuaded from its military offensive. As such, 2023 appears to be shaping up as a year of continued violent confrontation.

By Scott Ritter
Special to Consortium News

After almost a year of dramatic action, where initial Russian advances were met with impressive Ukrainian counteroffensives, the frontlines in the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian conflict have stabilized, with both sides engaged in bloody positional warfare, grinding each other down in a brutal attritional contest while awaiting the next major initiative from either side.

As the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine approaches, the fact that Ukraine has made it this far into the conflict represents both a moral and, to a lesser extent, a military victory.

[snip]

Both Ukraine and its Western partners are struggling to sustain the conflict they initiated when they rejected a possible peace settlement in April 2022. Russia, after starting off on its back feet, has largely regrouped, and appears poised to resume large-scale offensive operations which neither Ukraine nor its Western partners have an adequate answer for.

Moreover, given the duplicitous history of the Minsk Accords, it is unlikely Russia can be dissuaded from undertaking its military offensive through diplomacy. As such, 2023 appears to be shaping up as a year of continued violent confrontation leading to a decisive Russian military victory.

How Russia leverages such a military victory into a sustainable political settlement that manifests itself in regional peace and security is yet to be seen.
**

Full article:
https://consortiumnews.com/2023/01/11/scott-ritter-2023-outlook-for-ukraine/

"they initiated?" Last I knew Russia invaded the Ukraine, not the other way round, do you and this Ritter know something the rest of us don't?

And the amazing part is that Putin actually thinks that if he does conquer the Ukraine the Ukrainians are going to make it easy for him, mistake, the Russian Ukraine will be nothing but a thorn in his side

 

[Scott]

I'm a pretty big fan of former United States Marine Corps intelligence officer and United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM) weapons inspector Scott Ritter, so it's natural that I'd take a look at this article. After having read a good chunk of it, I wasn't dissapointed. I thought some others might find it intersting as well and perhaps worthy of a discussion. Quoting the introduction and the conclusion:

**
January 11, 2023

Given the duplicitous history of the Minsk Accords, it is unlikely Russia can be diplomatically dissuaded from its military offensive. As such, 2023 appears to be shaping up as a year of continued violent confrontation.

By Scott Ritter
Special to Consortium News

After almost a year of dramatic action, where initial Russian advances were met with impressive Ukrainian counteroffensives, the frontlines in the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian conflict have stabilized, with both sides engaged in bloody positional warfare, grinding each other down in a brutal attritional contest while awaiting the next major initiative from either side.

As the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine approaches, the fact that Ukraine has made it this far into the conflict represents both a moral and, to a lesser extent, a military victory.

[snip]

Both Ukraine and its Western partners are struggling to sustain the conflict they initiated when they rejected a possible peace settlement in April 2022. Russia, after starting off on its back feet, has largely regrouped, and appears poised to resume large-scale offensive operations which neither Ukraine nor its Western partners have an adequate answer for.

Moreover, given the duplicitous history of the Minsk Accords, it is unlikely Russia can be dissuaded from undertaking its military offensive through diplomacy. As such, 2023 appears to be shaping up as a year of continued violent confrontation leading to a decisive Russian military victory.

How Russia leverages such a military victory into a sustainable political settlement that manifests itself in regional peace and security is yet to be seen.
**

Full article:
https://consortiumnews.com/2023/01/11/scott-ritter-2023-outlook-for-ukraine/

"they initiated?" Last I knew Russia invaded the Ukraine, not the other way round, do you and this Ritter know something the rest of us don't?

Scott Ritter and I are hardly the only ones who believe that western Ukraine and the west was the true initiator of this conflict. Richard Ochs published an article over at CovertAction Magazine whose title itself makes it clear who he believes truly started the Ukraine war:

The United States and Ukraine Started the War—Not Russia | CovertAction Magazine

Former Swiss Intelligence Officer Jacques Baud also wrote an article in which he provides abundant evidence that it was western Ukraine and its western allies that lit the match that got Russia to enter into the Ukrainian conflict. I believe his article is so important that I made a thread out of it here and in other forums. The local thread is here:

Former Swiss Intelligence Officer blows the whistle on West's Ukraine War Narrative | justplainpolitics.com

And the amazing part is that Putin actually thinks that if he does conquer the Ukraine the Ukrainians are going to make it easy for him, mistake, the Russian Ukraine will be nothing but a thorn in his side

If Putin thought that this war would be easy, he would have started it 8 years ago, when western Ukraine began killing its eastern Ukrainian citizens after what amounted to a coup of its government by far right nationalists with ties to the U.S.. Instead, he put a lot of time and effort into trying to resolve the conflict diplomatically for 8 solid years, while thousands of eastern Ukrainians were killed by the western Ukrainian military.

If the Canadian government had been toppled by what amounts to a coup 8 years ago by a force of nationalists with close ties to Russia, do you really think the U.S. would have tried to resolve the conflict diplomatically for 8 years? I certainly don't. I think they'd have gone in the day after the coup, with the goal of restoring the couped Canadian government to power.

 

[Hawkeye10]

I'm a pretty big fan of former United States Marine Corps intelligence officer and United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM) weapons inspector Scott Ritter, so it's natural that I'd take a look at this article. After having read a good chunk of it, I wasn't dissapointed. I thought some others might find it intersting as well and perhaps worthy of a discussion. Quoting the introduction and the conclusion:

**
January 11, 2023

Given the duplicitous history of the Minsk Accords, it is unlikely Russia can be diplomatically dissuaded from its military offensive. As such, 2023 appears to be shaping up as a year of continued violent confrontation.

By Scott Ritter
Special to Consortium News

After almost a year of dramatic action, where initial Russian advances were met with impressive Ukrainian counteroffensives, the frontlines in the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian conflict have stabilized, with both sides engaged in bloody positional warfare, grinding each other down in a brutal attritional contest while awaiting the next major initiative from either side.

As the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine approaches, the fact that Ukraine has made it this far into the conflict represents both a moral and, to a lesser extent, a military victory.

[snip]

Both Ukraine and its Western partners are struggling to sustain the conflict they initiated when they rejected a possible peace settlement in April 2022. Russia, after starting off on its back feet, has largely regrouped, and appears poised to resume large-scale offensive operations which neither Ukraine nor its Western partners have an adequate answer for.

Moreover, given the duplicitous history of the Minsk Accords, it is unlikely Russia can be dissuaded from undertaking its military offensive through diplomacy. As such, 2023 appears to be shaping up as a year of continued violent confrontation leading to a decisive Russian military victory.

How Russia leverages such a military victory into a sustainable political settlement that manifests itself in regional peace and security is yet to be seen.
**

Full article:
https://consortiumnews.com/2023/01/11/scott-ritter-2023-outlook-for-ukraine/

BullSHit....Russia has been pushing for a diplomatic solution for many years, it was the West which is fully responsible for that not happening. This continues to be true.

 

[archives]

Scott Ritter and I are hardly the only ones who believe that western Ukraine and the west was the true initiator of this conflict. Richard Ochs published an article over at CovertAction Magazine whose title itself makes it clear who he believes truly started the Ukraine war:

The United States and Ukraine Started the War—Not Russia | CovertAction Magazine

Former Swiss Intelligence Officer Jacques Baud also wrote an article in which he provides abundant evidence that it was western Ukraine and its western allies that lit the match that got Russia to enter into the Ukrainian conflict. I believe his article is so important that I made a thread out of it here and in other forums. The local thread is here:

Former Swiss Intelligence Officer blows the whistle on West's Ukraine War Narrative | justplainpolitics.com



If Putin thought that this war would be easy, he would have started it 8 years ago, when western Ukraine began killing its eastern Ukrainian citizens after what amounted to a coup of its government by far right nationalists with ties to the U.S.. Instead, he put a lot of time and effort into trying to resolve the conflict diplomatically for 8 solid years, while thousands of eastern Ukrainians were killed by the western Ukrainian military.

If the Canadian government had been toppled by what amounts to a coup 8 years ago by a force of nationalists with close ties to Russia, do you really think the U.S. would have tried to resolve the conflict diplomatically for 8 years? I certainly don't. I think they'd have gone in the day after the coup, with the goal of restoring the couped Canadian government to power.

So now you are up to four people who think the Ukraine started the war

And I don't know how you think Russia forcefully taking the Crimea and funding anti Ukraine forces in southern Ukraine is "resolving" any conflict

 

[archives]

BullSHit....Russia has been pushing for a diplomatic solution for many years, it was the West which is fully responsible for that not happening. This continues to be true.

Really, so forcefully taking Crimea and funding forces fighting the Ukraine in southern Ukraine was a "diplomatic solution?"

 

[Scott]

I'm a pretty big fan of former United States Marine Corps intelligence officer and United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM) weapons inspector Scott Ritter, so it's natural that I'd take a look at this article. After having read a good chunk of it, I wasn't dissapointed. I thought some others might find it intersting as well and perhaps worthy of a discussion. Quoting the introduction and the conclusion:

**
January 11, 2023

Given the duplicitous history of the Minsk Accords, it is unlikely Russia can be diplomatically dissuaded from its military offensive. As such, 2023 appears to be shaping up as a year of continued violent confrontation.

By Scott Ritter
Special to Consortium News

After almost a year of dramatic action, where initial Russian advances were met with impressive Ukrainian counteroffensives, the frontlines in the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian conflict have stabilized, with both sides engaged in bloody positional warfare, grinding each other down in a brutal attritional contest while awaiting the next major initiative from either side.

As the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine approaches, the fact that Ukraine has made it this far into the conflict represents both a moral and, to a lesser extent, a military victory.

[snip]

Both Ukraine and its Western partners are struggling to sustain the conflict they initiated when they rejected a possible peace settlement in April 2022. Russia, after starting off on its back feet, has largely regrouped, and appears poised to resume large-scale offensive operations which neither Ukraine nor its Western partners have an adequate answer for.

Moreover, given the duplicitous history of the Minsk Accords, it is unlikely Russia can be dissuaded from undertaking its military offensive through diplomacy. As such, 2023 appears to be shaping up as a year of continued violent confrontation leading to a decisive Russian military victory.

How Russia leverages such a military victory into a sustainable political settlement that manifests itself in regional peace and security is yet to be seen.
**

Full article:
https://consortiumnews.com/2023/01/11/scott-ritter-2023-outlook-for-ukraine/

BullSHit....Russia has been pushing for a diplomatic solution for many years, it was the West which is fully responsible for that not happening. This continues to be true.

You misunderstood what Scott Ritter was trying to convey. He was saying that the west initiated the conflict, but he didn't say when it was initiated, only that the west has been struggling to sustain it since they rejected a possible peace settlement in April 2022. I fully agree with what you're saying above, and so does Scott Ritter.

 

[Hawkeye10]

You misunderstood what Scott Ritter was trying to convey. He was saying that the west initiated the conflict, but he didn't say when it was initiated, only that the west has been struggling to sustain it since they rejected a possible peace settlement in April 2022. I fully agree with what you're saying above, and so does Scott Ritter.

I mis read it.

I apologize for the error.

 

[Scott]

So now you are up to four people who think the Ukraine started the war

Let's remember that these are all journalists, not just people. I could add more as well, but I think the important thing should be the quality of the information, not the quantity of people who believe something.

And I don't know how you think Russia forcefully taking the Crimea and funding anti Ukraine forces in southern Ukraine is "resolving" any conflict

Your notion that Russia forcefully took Crimea is deeply flawed. A few years ago, yet another journalist, Canadian-American Eva Bartlett, decided to go to Crimea to find out the truth herself. I found her article to be quite informative. It's here if you'd like to take a look:

Return to Russia: Crimeans tell the real story of the 2014 Referendum and their lives since | mintpressnews.com

As to your notion that Russia was funding anti Ukraine forces, do you have any evidence for that assertion? There have certainly been claims that Russia armed eastern Ukrainians and even that it sent troops there, but former Swiss Intelligence Officer Jacques Baud provides compelling evidence that this never happened. I brought all of this up in the thread I'd mentioned to you in my previous post, this one:

Former Swiss Intelligence Officer blows the whistle on West's Ukraine War Narrative | justplainpolitics.com

 

[Hawkeye10]

The reaction of the Russian government to the failure on the part of the Russian military to defeat Ukraine in the opening phases of the conflict provides important insight into the mindset of the Russian leadership regarding its goals and objectives.

Defeat Ukraine? Russia had even if the military was well functioning, which it is not. 1/10 to 1/15 of the forces needed to occupy and hold Ukraine....that was never the goal....the goal was to get either Ukraine regime change and/or neutrality or to turn Ukraine into rubble and destroy the country culturally. The point was "You do not dismiss and antagonize the Bear". It ended up being the latter, because this is what the idiot Americans demanded.