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Welcome back to Political Misfits on Radio Sputnik, where we bring you news, politics and culture - without the red and blue treatment. I’m John Kiriakou here with Michelle Witte.
https://news.yahoo.com/putin-russians-change-rhetoric-russian-005801683.html
Talk to us about what has been underway on the frontlines of Ukraine. A lot of news last week was eclipsed by the war between Israel and Gaza, but Russia has launched an offensive, after Ukraine’s spring effort really didn’t go anywhere. What is Russia trying to do?
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/10/16/north-korea-russia-weapons-ukraine-war/
The Washington Post this morning has a big story saying they have evidence that Russia and North Korea are probably buying and selling weapons to each other, based on things like an expansion of shipping traffic along a particular route, ships going dark on that route, the expansions of weapons holding capacity at ports on the route, etc. Now, I don’t know that you can tell us definitely if this trade is underway - if you can, go for it. But I wanted to ask about possible repercussions. The Post cites a researcher as saying, “This will have a very serious effect on the trajectory of the war [in Ukraine],” said Jack Watling, senior research fellow for land warfare at RUSI. “North Korea has the ability to manufacture a lot of ammunition, and it has significant stockpiles.” Everybody is of course scrambling for ammunition in this war. Is this possible trade as important as this guy says it is? And are these armies going to run out of ammunition first, or fighters?
The other angle here of course regards sanctions. Back in August, the US State Department said “Any kind of security cooperation or arms deal between North Korea and Russia would certainly violate a series of UN Security Council resolutions.” So … if that’s the case, are there more levers the UNSC or Western countries can pull to express their displeasure?
“This expanding military partnership between the DPRK and Russia, including any technology transfers from Russia to the DPRK, undermines regional stability and the global nonproliferation regime,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said, using the abbreviation for North Korea’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
https://www.npr.org/2023/10/16/1205886086/biden-israel-ukraine-funding-request-congress
In that light also, how much does US Congressional dysfunction affect Ukraine’s position? I mean, you would think with how much money the US has already earmarked for them that a delay in funding wouldn’t be that big a deal, but maybe I don’t know. Or maybe Ukraine is already having to change tactics in anticipation of a Congress that isn’t as willing to financially support its cause?
https://news.sky.com/story/we-can-certainly-afford-two-wars-us-treasury-secretary-says-12985335
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen spoke to Sky News ahead of a meeting of finance ministers in Luxembourg - fitting - and said, don’t worry, the US can afford two wars - we can support Ukraine and Israel, if Congress will just sort itself out. Do you agree? And is she forgetting that we’re also supposed to be preparing to fight China?
https://thegrayzone.com/2023/10/14/israels-govt-foreign-affairs-committee/
I also have to ask you about Congressman Brian Mast, who serves on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, showing up for work on Friday in an Israeli military uniform. Mast, of course, is not enlisted in the Israeli army, but he apparently volunteered there in 2014 as a bomb disposal specialist. I mean, I guess maybe this does nothing more than illustrate the kind of relationship the US has with Israel - it’s the only country you can publicly say you support in the same way you support and serve the US, and somehow that’s not seen as potentially conflicted. Should this make Americans uncomfortable at all?
https://www.barrons.com/news/putin-speaking-monday-to-israeli-iranian-arab-leaders-adviser-1425e236
The Russian president is scheduled to call Israeli, Iranian and Arab leaders today, as a number of world leaders have been. Huffpost reported on Friday that the US State Department has warned its staff that higher-ups don’t want to see the phrases “de-escalation/ceasefire,” “end to violence/bloodshed” and “restoring calm.” Do we know anything about the content of those phone calls yet and whether Putin will advocate something like the horror of de-escalation?
We’re going to talk more tomorrow about China’s Belt and Road Summit, which will run through Tuesday and Wednesday. China is describing it as an opportunity for senior government officials and business leaders to “exchange insights on multilateral co-operation and explore concrete business opportunities,” which sounds a little dull. Is there any more to this summit than that?
OK, something not dull to end up - Donald Trump’s UK lawsuit against our old friend Christopher Steele - former British intelligence officer who wrote the infamous dossier, commissioned by Hillary Clinton’s campaign team, suggesting that Trump could be blackmailed by Russia, that maybe he was a Russian agent, that was the source for so many of the salacious accusations we remember so well. Trump is saying that the dossier caused him “personal and reputational damage and distress,” which to me seems pretty unarguable. These kinds of challenges have had mixed outcomes in UK courts so far - the Post tells us in 2020, Britain’s High Courtdismisseda libel claim by Russian national and businessman Aleksej Gubarev. A judge ruled that, while references in the report were defamatory and caused harm to Gubarev’s reputation, Steele could not be held responsible for the report becoming public. In another case, however, Steele’s consultancy, Orbis, was ordered to pay two other Russians who said the dossier contained inaccurate personal data relating to them that was noncompliant under data protection laws - particularly, that they had “shady relationships” as the Post puts it, with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The judge ruled that the allegations were inaccurate or misleading, while tossing out some others. Orbis is trying to get Trump’s case thrown out - what do you think happens here?
Russia's Turn on the Offensive, North Korean Shipping Munitions to Russia, Americans' Bizarre Obsequiousness to Israel, Putin in Beijing for Belt & Road Forum, and more....