Caoimhin O’Muraile ☭ Recently, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced to the world that areas of Eastern Ukraine, those areas being, Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson are an integral part of Russia. 

Any attacks on these areas by Ukrainian forces would be deemed “an attack on Russian soil” he told us. Only a few days after this announcement from the Kremlin the Ukrainian Army, if western reports are to be believed, had recaptured significant parts of these “Russian territories” which makes Putin look a bit silly. A bit silly yes, but a damn sight more dangerous to all of us, it would not be wise to mock him! 

Ordinarily I would applaud the Ukrainian Army but as their ranks include the neo-Nazi Azov regiment applause for the Ukrainians is somewhat muted. I, as an anti-fascist (in its generic sense) as opposed to a non-fascist, cannot applaud any victories by a regiment which openly boasts wishing to emulate the Das Reich regiment of Hitlers Waffen SS. 

All that aside, the Russians are not doing great and that is perhaps an understatement. In reality, and again if reports are to be believed, the Russian Army are performing atrociously losing ground on a daily basis. The last time a military force led by Russia performed so poorly was back in Finland 1939 when the Soviet Red Amy had been basically decapitated by another headcase, Joe Stalin. Thankfully Georgi Zhukov took the reins, and the Red Army became the largest factor in defeating Nazi Germany with help from the western allies. Thankfully, the Nazis were led by an even bigger headbanger in Hitler. The same cannot be said of Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy who, against all the initial odds is holding a steady ship and winning it seems. However, the fact remains that in Putin’s eyes these areas are sovereign parts of Russia after what he calls referenda passed this, meaning that by his criteria the Ukrainian Army are on Russian soil! How true or false these referenda were, is anybody’s guess. According to the USA and western media, as would be expected, they were “a sham.” That does not automatically mean they were. Irrespective of the rights and wrongs of the referenda, what could Putin’s response be? The possibilities are frightening for all of us!

Despite the poor performance, it would seem, of the Russian Army in the field these performances count for nothing when the steaks are raised to nuclear level. Battles in the field are an irrelevance when we talk of using tactical nuclear weapons. Should Putin decide to go down this suicidal avenue the conflict leaves the borders of Russia and Ukraine or even Russia and NATO countries and effects the whole planet. Vladimir Putin may well be in a fragile state of mind at the moment, shell shocked even by the Ukrainian advances, so what will his next move be? Egged on by another psychopath, the Chechnyan leader, Ramzan Kadyrov, who has already urged the Russian leader to use “low yield nuclear weapons” in the Ukraine, could Putin take this bad advice? The question is, rather than risk total disgrace in defeat would the Kremlin take this step towards potential global annihilation and use nuclear bombs? The scenario is frightening to say the least!

Should they go down this road what then would the response of NATO be? By NATO, of course, I really mean the United States. Despite the Ukrainian gains the Russian Duma are still ratifying these annexations so would this prompt Putin to go for broke? Should Putin decide to go down this barmy avenue and use these deadly weapons, starting with “low yield” ordnance would the west, on behalf of the Ukraine, or to prevent Moscow moving from “low yield” to more devastating missiles, launch their own attack on Russia? When talking of nuclear weapons, let alone using them, all rational and cognitive thought goes out of the window as irrational thinking takes over. The situation would escalate in no time as Moscow would respond to any NATO attack, should such an attack happen, and NATO would then up the stakes again, as then would Moscow and so on. There would be no winners and few survivors anywhere on the planet.

Ireland is a small non-nuclear country, and we are not part of the NATO war machine, and never should be. For the reasons pointed out above I do wish An Taoiseach, Micheal Martin, would keep his trap shut about Putin and Russia. If the Russian President is as unstable as it appears what is to stop him, having reached the point of no return, of thinking along the lines of, “fuck you Ireland, I am taking no more shit from you, take one of these?” One of these deadly nuclear missiles could destroy this country, north and south, and all who live here. The same applies to others who seem hell bent on antagonising the Russians, like Leo Varadkar and Simon Coveney hiding behind the USA and, no doubt, they have their own nuclear shelters. If this situation becomes a nuclear nightmare An Taoiseach should keep his mouth shut and thoughts to himself, we are out of our depth. Concentrate on looking after refugees by all means and perhaps put as much energy into building a health service and housing to look after the indigenous population and refugees alike, as he does by attacking and antagonising the Russians.

Are the twenty-six county government using the serious situation in the Ukraine to push their case for NATO membership? Do they think by acting the big boys, the hard men, hiding behind Joe (I wish I were Irish) Biden will fuel their case for NATO membership? They should stop this game of antagonising a nuclear power with a fragile leader, Russia, as his actions may well be unpredictable and devastating for us. 

I was interested, talking of NATO membership, to hear Michael Gove, a man I totally as a rule disagree with, saying, when asked, he would not support Ukraine’s “application for NATO” membership. Gove argued, with much justification for once, that should Ukraine join NATO, and should another conflict with Russia, perhaps a resurgent one take place in the future, “we are all treaty bound” (referring to Britain) to aid Ukraine against Russia. This would, should such a situation arise, almost definitely turn nuclear. 

If Ireland is ever foolish enough to apply, and be accepted, for NATO membership this rule would then apply to us. For fucks sake, things are dangerous enough at the present, without making us an actual target in any nuclear conflict by some atomic nutter!! So, Micheal, think of our security first before you go playing, or trying to play, war games with the so-called big boys, which none of them are. Ireland are presently the big boys practising humanitarianism to those in need. Don’t go and ruin that by playing the big, would be, NATO hard men just perhaps to boost your own ego. 

Caoimhin O’Muraile is Independent 
Socialist Republican and Marxist

How Close Are We To Nuclear Annihilation?

Caoimhin O’Muraile ☭ Recently, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced to the world that areas of Eastern Ukraine, those areas being, Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson are an integral part of Russia. 

Any attacks on these areas by Ukrainian forces would be deemed “an attack on Russian soil” he told us. Only a few days after this announcement from the Kremlin the Ukrainian Army, if western reports are to be believed, had recaptured significant parts of these “Russian territories” which makes Putin look a bit silly. A bit silly yes, but a damn sight more dangerous to all of us, it would not be wise to mock him! 

Ordinarily I would applaud the Ukrainian Army but as their ranks include the neo-Nazi Azov regiment applause for the Ukrainians is somewhat muted. I, as an anti-fascist (in its generic sense) as opposed to a non-fascist, cannot applaud any victories by a regiment which openly boasts wishing to emulate the Das Reich regiment of Hitlers Waffen SS. 

All that aside, the Russians are not doing great and that is perhaps an understatement. In reality, and again if reports are to be believed, the Russian Army are performing atrociously losing ground on a daily basis. The last time a military force led by Russia performed so poorly was back in Finland 1939 when the Soviet Red Amy had been basically decapitated by another headcase, Joe Stalin. Thankfully Georgi Zhukov took the reins, and the Red Army became the largest factor in defeating Nazi Germany with help from the western allies. Thankfully, the Nazis were led by an even bigger headbanger in Hitler. The same cannot be said of Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy who, against all the initial odds is holding a steady ship and winning it seems. However, the fact remains that in Putin’s eyes these areas are sovereign parts of Russia after what he calls referenda passed this, meaning that by his criteria the Ukrainian Army are on Russian soil! How true or false these referenda were, is anybody’s guess. According to the USA and western media, as would be expected, they were “a sham.” That does not automatically mean they were. Irrespective of the rights and wrongs of the referenda, what could Putin’s response be? The possibilities are frightening for all of us!

Despite the poor performance, it would seem, of the Russian Army in the field these performances count for nothing when the steaks are raised to nuclear level. Battles in the field are an irrelevance when we talk of using tactical nuclear weapons. Should Putin decide to go down this suicidal avenue the conflict leaves the borders of Russia and Ukraine or even Russia and NATO countries and effects the whole planet. Vladimir Putin may well be in a fragile state of mind at the moment, shell shocked even by the Ukrainian advances, so what will his next move be? Egged on by another psychopath, the Chechnyan leader, Ramzan Kadyrov, who has already urged the Russian leader to use “low yield nuclear weapons” in the Ukraine, could Putin take this bad advice? The question is, rather than risk total disgrace in defeat would the Kremlin take this step towards potential global annihilation and use nuclear bombs? The scenario is frightening to say the least!

Should they go down this road what then would the response of NATO be? By NATO, of course, I really mean the United States. Despite the Ukrainian gains the Russian Duma are still ratifying these annexations so would this prompt Putin to go for broke? Should Putin decide to go down this barmy avenue and use these deadly weapons, starting with “low yield” ordnance would the west, on behalf of the Ukraine, or to prevent Moscow moving from “low yield” to more devastating missiles, launch their own attack on Russia? When talking of nuclear weapons, let alone using them, all rational and cognitive thought goes out of the window as irrational thinking takes over. The situation would escalate in no time as Moscow would respond to any NATO attack, should such an attack happen, and NATO would then up the stakes again, as then would Moscow and so on. There would be no winners and few survivors anywhere on the planet.

Ireland is a small non-nuclear country, and we are not part of the NATO war machine, and never should be. For the reasons pointed out above I do wish An Taoiseach, Micheal Martin, would keep his trap shut about Putin and Russia. If the Russian President is as unstable as it appears what is to stop him, having reached the point of no return, of thinking along the lines of, “fuck you Ireland, I am taking no more shit from you, take one of these?” One of these deadly nuclear missiles could destroy this country, north and south, and all who live here. The same applies to others who seem hell bent on antagonising the Russians, like Leo Varadkar and Simon Coveney hiding behind the USA and, no doubt, they have their own nuclear shelters. If this situation becomes a nuclear nightmare An Taoiseach should keep his mouth shut and thoughts to himself, we are out of our depth. Concentrate on looking after refugees by all means and perhaps put as much energy into building a health service and housing to look after the indigenous population and refugees alike, as he does by attacking and antagonising the Russians.

Are the twenty-six county government using the serious situation in the Ukraine to push their case for NATO membership? Do they think by acting the big boys, the hard men, hiding behind Joe (I wish I were Irish) Biden will fuel their case for NATO membership? They should stop this game of antagonising a nuclear power with a fragile leader, Russia, as his actions may well be unpredictable and devastating for us. 

I was interested, talking of NATO membership, to hear Michael Gove, a man I totally as a rule disagree with, saying, when asked, he would not support Ukraine’s “application for NATO” membership. Gove argued, with much justification for once, that should Ukraine join NATO, and should another conflict with Russia, perhaps a resurgent one take place in the future, “we are all treaty bound” (referring to Britain) to aid Ukraine against Russia. This would, should such a situation arise, almost definitely turn nuclear. 

If Ireland is ever foolish enough to apply, and be accepted, for NATO membership this rule would then apply to us. For fucks sake, things are dangerous enough at the present, without making us an actual target in any nuclear conflict by some atomic nutter!! So, Micheal, think of our security first before you go playing, or trying to play, war games with the so-called big boys, which none of them are. Ireland are presently the big boys practising humanitarianism to those in need. Don’t go and ruin that by playing the big, would be, NATO hard men just perhaps to boost your own ego. 

Caoimhin O’Muraile is Independent 
Socialist Republican and Marxist

12 comments:

  1. We are not close. All the fake wailing and outrage from Eurocentric countries, prompted by NATO terror states, has been quite loud but it also has demonstrated their weakness I.e the amount of propaganda used against Russia has been phenomenal and as a result it would've been a shoo-in to sway public opinion for NATO to go face to face with Russia. They opted not to as they know(more than they admit publicly) that going to war with Russia is a different ball game than showing off their weaponry against limited countries such as Libya,Afghanistan etc. I.e they may bomb Moscow but London and the US would get a return serve. Contrary and ironically to what mi7(media) spouts the longer the conflict in Ukraine goes on the weaker NATO terror states appear I.e Russia is systematically killing NATO led Ukrainians whilst NATO led Ukrainians charge into areas vacated by them by the Russians, seeking Pyrrhic victories for mi7. On top of that the rising costs in Eurocentric countries will surely reach a tipping point for the NATO led politicians.

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  2. I think Russia has been told via the back door that a Nuke in Europe would be taken as a strike against NATO due to the fallout and will be reciprocated in kind. In saying that, Moscow knows that support for Ukraine will nosedive among the Europeans when they endure the coming winter. In Ukraine, the winter will freeze the ground and no longer will Russian tanks be bogged down. I'd expect Ukraine forces to be forced to retreat back to the Dnipro river and consolidate Kiev. This will give Putin Eastern Ukraine down to Crimea, which I suspect he now wants as a buffer, and he'll cease there under guarantees that the remainder of Ukraine will not be allowed to join NATO.

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  3. At the minute the Russians look as if they are advancing on Moscow. Still reading Oestkrieg by Stephen G. Fritz - about the Nazi war of Annihilation in the East. The Russians had a different fighting machine then. Not much sign of a Zhukov or Chuikov these days. Aggressive nationalism doesn't seem to cut it in the same way as defensive nationalism combined with socialism Caoimhin!!

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    1. Depends on what media you adhere to. I.e western media claim 'Putin wants to take ukraine' whilst Russia stated their job was to the 'denazification' of Ukrainian forces and protection of people affiliated to Russia. I'd say Russia is achieving their objective. Be in no doubt if Russia wanted to 'take' Ukraine there wouldnt be a roof intact in Kiev. *Before NATO fans on here claim Ukrainians drove Russian forces from the outskirts of Kiev etc etc keep in mind that Russia's 'advance' on Kiev kept Ukrainian forces occupied whilst Russia simultaneously positioned other battalions in areas Russia truly desired.

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  4. Definately not, Anthony, the enthusiasm of today bears no comparison with that fighting the Nazis which, let us not forget, included not only Russians but Georgians, Ukrainians (despite many of them being pro Nazi), Belarus in the Soviet Red Army. You are correct to point out "not much sign of a Zhukov or Chuikov today".

    The major concern of mine is, now it appears Russia are retreating some gobshite western leaders banking on big daddy US Marshal Biden to back them, might start mocking Putin. If he is in an unstable state, which is possible, he could send the piss takers something serious to put in their gobs, like an SS20!!!

    I still maintain Ukraine must never be allowed into NATO. Such a move could prove disasterous as Russia, no matter who is in charge there, would feel under constant threat. In fact NATO, now the Warsaw Pact itself formed as a reaction to NATO, has gone the alliance is no longer needed.

    Caoimhin O'Muraile

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    1. we live a life of privilege Caoimhin relatively speaking - contrasted to what the Soviets went through during WW2. This is one of the things I find irritating when revisionists claim the Holocaust was the single greatest crime of WW2. It wasn't. The war of Annihilation in the East (in which the Holocaust featured) was the greatest crime of that war. Those of us opposed to NATO are now confronted with the prospect that it is becoming more popular precisely because of Russia's war.
      For a negotiated solution to have any chance of success the status quo, pre-war of aggression, would need to be restored. Then Moscow and Kiev plus the West could discuss NATO. The difficulty with the NATO argument as a cause of war is that NATO was not expanding at any great rate of knots. I don't think there was any great urgency within Ukraine to get in and certainly no appetite in the West to rush them in. The West played Ukraine but also treated Russia with contempt. If you read nothing else about the history of how things got to where they are, pick up Everyone Loses: The Ukraine Crisis and the Ruinous Contest for Post-Soviet Eurasia by Samuel Charap and Timothy J. Colton. It is a short but powerful analysis of how the West so badly mistreated the Russians.

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  5. Cam comments

    There will never, ever, ever be a nuclear war. Think about the aftermath in terms of money? The whole concept of money would evapourate in the mushroom cloud and as result so would all the billionaires, the oligarchs, the oil barons etc, etc. Everything that the world places a monetary value on and the societal status of the person who currently owns that asset would no longer hold or retain any value whatsoever.

    So, the J P Morgans, the Henry Fords, the Bill Gates, the Rothchilds, the Oligarchs, the Saudi billionaires would make sure that their current status and value is maintained and would avoid a nuclear retaliatory war at every given moment. Oh you will get the odd nuclear strike against a country that cannot retaliate but never, ever will two nuclear armed countries go to nuclear strike.....nuclear bombs are there to deter invasion. Economic sanctions actually hurt more.

    Always remember that there is no derivates market for mushroom clouds. If there was, we would have been at nuclear war years ago!!!

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  6. There may not have been the "appetite in the west to rush them in", but there was certainly a rush in the Ukraine to join NATO. As I pointed out, even a normally disagreeable Michael Gove recognises this (Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg) and outlined why he, a bloke known for his tory right views, would opposse any application by the Ukraine for NATO membership. By this he means he would opposse it in the Brit Parliament, urging Britain not to support it.

    That was Putins rationale for invading, along with the perceived NAZI threat. We are back to the example of Mexico applying to join the now defunct Warsaw Pact, what would Washingtons reponse have been?

    Caoimhin O'Muraile

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    1. Caoimhin - where was the rush in Ukraine to join? They have been toying with the notion since the early 1990s, signed up to the membership Action Plan in 2008, went cool on pressing for membership and then after the Russians came in around 2014 pushed for it again. Russian aggression makes NATO look an attractive option. This is why I believe we are going to end up in it as well. You seem to have similar fears. I think those of us opposed to any such thing will find it hard going because of the war on Ukraine.
      Putin's rationale for invading has to be considered in the context of all rationales provided by invaders. Have you ever known an invader to proclaim they are invading for a bad reason? Should we believe his reasons any more than we believe his denial of what is happening is a war? Netanyahu makes similar claims when doing to Gaza what Putin does to Ukraine - eradicating extreme ideology, making his own country secure. I am as quick to believe one as the other. Two right wing nationalist thugs. The Palestinians' misfortune is that the West backs one of the thugs but not the other.

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  7. A little girl of seventeen in a mental hospital told me she was terrified because the Atom Bomb was inside her. That is a delusion. The statesmen of the world who boast and threaten that they have Doomsday weapons are far more dangerous, and far more estranged from 'reality' than many of the people on whom the label 'psychotic' is fixed.

    ~ R.D. Laing, The Divided Self: An Existential Study in Sanity and Madness

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  8. Can't see Biden making a speech like this.....in fact I an hard pressed to remember if Biden has ever made a speech! https://thesaker.is/putins-september-30-2022-speech-a-commented-reading/

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  9. How Close Are We To Nuclear Annihilation?

    Absolutely no idea. What I do know is once London goes then Belfast wont be very far behind. With MI5 having a command post just outside of Belfast, it is a sitting duck.

    If there is a nuclear war of sorts, what is anyone really going to do in the 8/10 minute warning? Make a toast to the world, smoke a final spliff...Phone your boss and call him a cunt....?

    It happens, it happens...Nothing I say or do is going to change events....

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