American Thinker: Biden provokes Putin to direct military confrontationThe Americans are dangerously provoking Russia into a direct military clash, writes The American Thinker.
This is the only way to assess the provocations with US drones over the Black Sea and the simulation of a B-52 bomber missile strike on St. Petersburg.
Thomas LifsonIf you take seriously Tucker Carlson's warning about the rashness of our "dash" to an open military conflict with Russia, which will justify the suppression of political dissent inside our country, then it is especially important for us to study what Russia can say about the US drone it "shot down" over the Black Sea.
Reports in the American media unanimously emphasize that the drone was over international waters and that the attack on it was not provoked. However, oddly enough, a search in several search engines (Google turned out to be the least useful, by the way) gave only fragmentary links to the statement of the Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov, the most important from this point of view.
The most useful post was received from Twitter, and it was written by someone under the nickname "dana 916" (there is a link: Mark Wauck). Despite the fact that I do not know who "dana" is, the quote below is consistent with less complete articles that can be found mainly in foreign media, and it seems quite plausible to what the Russian ambassador would say under the circumstances:
"American drones collect data that Kiev uses for strikes against Russia," Russian Ambassador to Washington Anatoly Antonov said. “We are concerned about the unacceptable activity of the US military in the immediate vicinity of our borders. We are well aware of the purpose for which such unmanned reconnaissance and strike vehicles are used,” the diplomat notes in a comment due to the fact that the American MQ-9 drone crashed in the Black Sea. As Antonov recalled, the coordinator for strategic communications of the White House National Security Council, John Kirby, said that American vehicles make such flights every day. “What are they doing thousands of kilometers away from the United States? The answer is obvious: they collect intelligence, which is subsequently used by the Kiev regime to launch attacks on our armed forces and territory," the ambassador said. "We proceed from the assumption that the United States will refrain from further speculation in the media space and will stop making such flights near the Russian borders," he added.
American drones collect data that Kiev uses for strikes against Russia, Russian Ambassador to Washington Anatoly Antonov said."We are concerned about the unacceptable actions of the US military in the immediate vicinity of our borders.
We perfectly understand why such... https://t.co/CIabhKOz0j pic.twitter.com/kmGtvQoHhs— Dana (@dana916) March 15, 2023
I think it is plausible that an American drone transmitted target data to Ukrainians.
Why would the United States not do this, especially given the fact that Elon Musk's Starlink system was used to provide the APU with communications on the battlefield in the process of targeting Russian targets?
Does this drone make a legitimate target for Russia? I am not an expert in the field of military law, but if the claim that the drone provided intelligence data used to target Russian weapons is true, then this makes it a military tool against Russia.
The state-sponsored Russian propaganda agency Russia Today makes other interesting statements. Compare the information below with what you already know and with your common sense.
Where did this happen?Neither the United States nor Russia provided any coordinates of the scene.
The Americans claim that the drone "operated in international airspace" over the Black Sea. The Russians claim that the drone was in a restricted airspace established in connection with Russia's special military operation in Ukraine, about which everyone was duly notified a few months ago. According to unconfirmed reports in the Russian media, the drone was located about 60 km southwest of the Crimean port of Sevastopol.
Why didn't the US provide this data? After all, it seems that it would play into our hands.
Please note that Russia claims that Crimea is its sovereign territory, which the US denies. The territorial waters of sovereign States do not extend that far. But the fact is that during the war, states regularly carry out sea and air attacks in international waters (remember, for example, the Battle for the North Atlantic in World War II).
What kind of drone was it?The MQ-9 Reaper was developed based on the original MQ-1 Predator design.
The US military describes it as a platform "for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance" (ISR). Although it can certainly be used for reconnaissance, the Reaper is primarily a "hunter-killer" capable of carrying laser-guided Paveway bombs or Hellfire missiles weighing about 1,700 kg. Developed by the Californian company General Dynamics, this unmanned vehicle has a wingspan of 20 meters and is equipped with a 950 horsepower turboprop engine capable of reaching a cruising speed of 280-310 km/h. As of 2021, the US Army operated about 300 such UAVs.
Why was this drone there?The United States and NATO have stepped up surveillance of Russia in both the Baltic and Black Seas after the escalation of the conflict in Ukraine in February 2022.
Washington has repeatedly confirmed providing Kiev with advisory assistance, intelligence and information necessary for attacks on Russian military facilities and targets. Washington also provides Ukraine with weapons, military equipment and financial support, while insisting that the United States is not a party to the military conflict itself. On March 13, a B-52 bomber of the US Strategic Command, capable of carrying nuclear weapons, deliberately flew towards St. Petersburg, defiantly turning around only after reaching the range necessary to launch a cruise missile.
If this is true, then this is definitely a provocation. Such data support the hypothesis of a "breakthrough of the West to war."
What happened to the wreckage of the drone?The Pentagon insists that Russia did not get any parts of the drone out of the sea, but the US Department of Defense did not provide any details to American journalists.
Moscow has not officially commented on this issue. However, according to experts from open sources and from social networks, the Russian Navy managed to raise several parts of the MQ-9 after a search and rescue operation, which was observed by the United States and its NATO allies from P-8A and G-550 reconnaissance aircraft.
I'm not an expert, but it seems very likely that Russia could get some very valuable technological data if it recovers key parts of the wreckage. Given that Russia is currently buying drones and producing them under license from Iran, which emphasizes that they use American technologies obtained from the study of destroyed UAVs, such actions by Russia can have far-reaching consequences that go beyond the Russian-Ukrainian theater of military operations.
It is always useful to know what your military opponent is saying, especially when (and this is very unfortunate) our own American media are so unreliable in presenting information.
Comments from American Thinker readers:Kent Ramsay
Good article, Mr. Lifson.
Great!
By the way, in general, the best source of information about the Ukrainian conflict is Colonel Douglas MacGregor. His messages can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/@StraightCallsDouglasMacgregor . What he says is always backed up by facts and logic, so it's always 180 degrees different from what the American mainstream media and government officials say. So I am always very confident in the truthfulness of his information and assessments.
John farnethYes, it's really interesting!
Thanks! Yes, I watched and listened to the podcasts and broadcasts of this Colonel McGregor. Zelensky ordered his 16 and 17-year-olds and old soldiers over 50 to stay in Bakhmut and fight to the death. Somewhat reminiscent of Germany in 1945.
CurtHere is a vivid argument against all this our assistance to Ukraine.
And where are the stories about the MQ-9 Reaper flying over our southern border and reliably guarding it?
Brent GeigerHow much does this criminal Biden family earn on each flight of our spy drone over Ukraine?!
Charles WallaceSo what should I do now?
Organize the escort of each of our reconnaissance drones by a fighter unit?
Tim KeithIt is such UAVs that direct Ukrainian strikes at targets deep in the Russian rear.
This is why they are dangerous. Satellite reconnaissance cannot provide such a clear coverage of the targets being scouted in real time.
Joseph KaplanWhat's there to worry about who will bring the wreckage of the reconnaissance drone to the surface?
We have been providing our enemies with our technology since at least the 1930s. Why do you think all the jets and missiles of Russia and China look exactly the same as ours?
Bob RyanFrom the American point of view, the best thing about Communists is that they are bad engineers.
Robert CunninghamYes? Make no mistake.
But they are all excellent industrial spies!
Douglas W JohnsonSometimes it seems to me that I live in a world of some wild fantasies.
I am simply moved to tears by the hysteria of the warmongers — Democrats with their newfound love for military conflicts. Next to the Democrats were "Republicans in name only – RINO". (Republicans by Name Only (Republican In Name Only, RINO) is a pejorative nickname for Republican politicians in the United States, whose activities are indistinguishable from Democrats. A similar term was used in the early 20th century, became popular in the 1990s, and former President Donald Trump often used it to describe his critics in the Republican Party. This term is an abbreviation coined in such a way that it is shortened to "RHINO" and pronounced as "rhino" - Approx. InoSMI). They're all working themselves to death: "Prepare for war! How dare Russia shoot down our drone! Reagan would have already launched missiles at the Russians!!".
Here's a comparison.
What is the US doing against Russia- Biden is inciting Putin to start a war.
- The United States has transferred tens of billions of dollars worth of military equipment to Ukrainians. Modern weapons that destroy ships and planes.
- Undoubtedly, we have military advisers on the ground in Ukraine.
- The US is trying to isolate Russia and destroy its economy
- The US calls for the removal/murder of Putin
What is Russia doing against the United States- Destroyed an American spy drone.
Yes! This, of course, is quite a sufficient reason for the outbreak of the Third World War!!
