General Hodges Says He Does Think

The other day I had a rare pleasure of reading a truly crazy text. It was an interview of General-Lieutenant Ben Hodges published recently in the German Bild under the title, which contained one of those so called Hodges' thoughts and wasa gem in its own kind, namely "Putin came to Syria to draw attention from Ukraine".

Just some extremely hot spots for you to enjoy:

BILD: Syrien, ISIS, Flüchtlinge, Putins verdeckter Krieg in der Ukraine – welche Krise sorgt Sie am meisten, Herr General?
Ben Hodges: Nach meiner Einschätzung sind diese Krisen miteinander verbunden. Egal ob es um die Terrormiliz ISIS geht oder darum, wie Russland die Sicherheitsarchitektur der Welt verändert.

General considers all cryses interconnected, either it is about ISIL militia or changing the architecture of the world's security that Russia did.

I wonder, does anyone else in this world really believe in the bullshit that it was Russia that changed the "architecture of the world security"?

BILD: In Syrien haben die NATO und Russland mit ISIS – zumindest offiziell – einen gemeinsamen Feind. Ist das ein Anknüpfungspunkt?Hodges: Ich bin mir nicht sicher, ob wir uns wirklich mit Russland einig sind, wer hier der Feind ist. Wenn man sich ansieht, was Russland tut, scheint es ihnen ausschließlich darum zu gehen, Assad zu stützen. Wir wollen Russland zurück in der Weltgemeinschaft. Wenn Russland hilft, ISIS zu bekämpfen, wäre das gut. Aber bisher haben wir nichts dergleichen gesehen. Je länger Russland Assad unterstützt, desto schwieriger wird es, in Syrien eine politische Lösung zu finden.

The General says: "I am not sure if we really share the same opinion as for who is the enemy there [in Syria]. If you consider what Russia does, you'll see that it goes exclusively about support of Assad. We'd like Russia back to the world community. It would be good if Russia helped to fight ISIL. However, until now we've seen nothing of the king. The longer Russia supports Assad, the more difficult it becomes to find a political solution in Syria."

Thanks to our Ministry of Defence, the world has a rare possibility to watch what Russia does in Syria pretty closely to real time streaming. Besides, I'd like to remember that Assad is the only legal power in Syria; moreover, he is a democratically elected power. Supporting Assad against all kinds of terrorists, whether ordinary or moderate, is a direct duty of any power of the world that is brave enough to call iself a democracy. And when the democracy in Syria is protected and saved, let them democratically find any political solution of the existing problems.

Said that, I would correct General's words: it is not Russia that has to come back to your "world community". These are you, the States, expected to get back to the real world.

BILD: Wie schätzen Sie die derzeitige Situation in der Ukraine ein?Hodges: Nach meiner Einschätzung hat Russland bisher mehrfach verhindert, dass die OSZE das Abkommen von Minsk effektiv überwachen kann. Russland könnte schnell Glaubwürdigkeit und Vertrauen aufbauen, indem es die OSZE ihre Arbeit machen lässt. Immerhin gab es jetzt einige Tage ohne schwerwiegende Verletzungen des Waffenstillstands. Das Problem ist aber, dass sich immer noch russische Soldaten im Donbass und auf der Krim – also auf ukrainischem Staatsgebiet – befinden. Wir müssen weiterhin darauf bestehen, dass das Minsker Abkommen eingehalten wird. Das bedeutet auch die vollständige Wiederherstellung des ukrainischen Territoriums.

As for Ukraine, having said there were finally some days without bad breaks of the cease of fire agreement, General goes on: "But the problem is that there are still Russian soldiers in the Donbass area and in the Crimea — which is a region of Ukrainian state."

The tongue is boneless, we say in Russian in such cases. There are no Russian soldiers in Donbass just because Russia is not at war with Ukraine (alas, it is a civil war there); and the world that is able to capture even some Russian missiles flying at an early morning to hit some ISIL targets, have never presented any proof of the opposite. Well, it is really difficult to find a black cat in a dark room — especially if there's none in.

As for the Crimea — Russian soldiers have been always since 18th century, when the peninsula became Russian. Except for some time when it was occupied by Nazi Germany during the WW2. Even after the disintegration of the USSR there were Russian military bases. Since March 21, 2014 the Crimean Republic is legally and officially back in Russia. And it is only and entirely our business to take decisions where Russian soldiers are in Russia.

BILD: Erwarten Sie eine erneute Aggression von Russland in der Ukraine?Hodges: Ich weiß nicht, ob Präsident Putin noch die Kapazitäten dazu hat. Ich war überrascht, dass er in Syrien eingegriffen hat. Die ukrainische Armee ist inzwischen so gut aufgestellt, dass die Rebellen die aktuelle Waffenstillstandslinie nicht überschreiten können, ohne offensichtliche Unterstützung aus Russland. Ich glaube auch nicht, dass Putin die Ukraine besitzen will. Ich bezweifle sogar, ob er überhaupt den Donbass besitzen will. Das wäre nur eine Belastung für Russland. Ich denke, Präsident Putin will vielmehr sicherstellen, dass die Ukraine nicht der EU oder der NATO beitreten kann. Er hat die Ukraine jetzt da, wo er sie haben will: im Chaos.

"Do you expect a renewed aggression of Russia in Ukraine?", asks the Bild reporter, as if there was one in the past. And Genral-Lieutenant thoughtfully replies: "... I don't believe Putin wants to own Ukraine. I even doubt he wants to own Donbass. It would be just a burden for Russia. I think President Putin wants much more to be sure Ukraine cannot into the EU or NATO. Now he has Ukraine exactly where he wants it to be: in chaos".

Hey, Mr. General, please, do not flatter yourself. You say you think, but people usually use brain and information for this process. Bullshit is not a proper ground for thinking, you know. Chaos in Ukraine would always be a nightmare for Russia, the last ever thing any Russian leader would want in this world. Just because we were one and the same country until 1991, and our economies were not just tightly interconected and mutually dependent; it was just one economy.

Until recently, Ukrainian plants produced many things for Russia and her industry. It were not those anti-Russian sanctions that became a major difficulty for our economy, but the necessity to break all those thousands economic and industrial ties we were connected to Ukraine. And they had it — I mean industry and economy. They produced engines for Russian helicopters and space rockets, even parts for our weaponry. Our partnership was more than strategic; it was like that of left and right hands of a body. Was.

Thanks to the stupid policies led by the USA we do not depend on them any longer. That's good for Russia, but really bad for Ukraine, which loses its industrial potential at a pretty quick pace.

I am far from the idea that it is required to be such a dumb fuck to become a General-Lieutenant of the US Army. But until it is obligatory to spread bullshit to keep such positions — there will be no profit for the world, and the prospects of lasting peace are also doubtful.

One of Clint Eastwood's characters, GySgt Thomas Highway from the "Heartbreak Ridge" (1986) wass a true American soldier (well, marine); and if he felt something was bullshit, he was brave enough to openly share his concern with his General. In direct, plain, though rough words.

General Hodges, are you a politician or a soldier?