Very interesting report from Alexander here and especially from 22:30 onwards where he talks about an interview in the FT with US Marine Corps Lieutenant General James Bierman - mainly about Ukraine but also about his plans to start a war with China, Japan and the Phillipines in the Pacific!
He then talks about an interview with Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev who describes the war in the Ukraine not as a battle between Kiev and Moscow but as a battle between Russia and Nato, the US, and England rather than Britain!
The emphasis on England, instead of UK or GB, was interesting, yes, and pretty accurate too. In terms of where the agenda is set, and the actual power relations, the rest of Britain is largely superfluous, regardless of pretence to the contrary.
According to UKC the process Bierman is referring to is called “setting the theatre” - rather appropriate in the sense that US aggression is always depicted as something quite otherwise.
The involvement of the Phillippines makes sense geopolitically. They’ve been bullied by the US before. However, a day or two ago Ukraine publicly whinged about the difficulties that Elensky has had in getting any response from them. Since June 2022 he has been trying, apparently.
A response from the Philippines has now been made:
Sorreta maintained that the Philippines continues to have a “good relationship” with Ukraine, but the envoy’s decision to air his grievances publicly does not sit well with him. “Ukraine is a country we have a good relationship with but when matters like these are vented by representatives of another government…it’s not something we appreciate,” he added.
Alexander talks about the delay and draining of resources that further NATO tanks would entail, because of the need to train the operators. The thought occurred to me that it would be fairly easy to have NATO troops crewing these. Difficult to prove if the fate of the tanks is to be blown to bits along with their occupants. Worth keeping an eye on?