John Helmer and Putin

When even the best get it wrong

Media analysis is no easy task. On the one hand, you have out and out propaganda in the mainstream media. On the other, in the alternative media, you have rumor and conjecture-- of course, against the dizzying background of the MSM’s distortions.

Culture and cultural bias also complicates things ,

In the case of of the USSR, no Soviet person really believed the Russian media .

By extension, they also distrusted foreign media organizations. It’s like people who are afraid of dogs. They all bite?

To figure out what was happening, the Soviets had to look behind the contradictions and speculate as to reasons and facts.

There was no trust.

Such habits ingrained over years become part of the cultural mind and do not change when governments change – as was the case with the fall of the Soviet Union,.

With Glasnost, it was everybody for himself or herself . Suddenly it was a zero sum society-- with winners and losers. And not ruiles

It was hard to trust anyone or anything.

In such situations, people naturally believe and believe in only a small circle of friends. Perhaps just 10 or 15.

Now Russian society is making a comeback--but the trauma of the 90s remains. At that time the so-called “Atlanticists” looked to the West for hope. Now they realize their mistakes.

In 2014, Putin would not have found the Russian public willing to support the kind of war he is mounting against the West today.

He has had to prove his honesty, commitment, and most of all – realism. He is a pragmatist, not an ideolog.

That doesn’t mean everyone agrees with him. I have foreign journalist friends who have lived in Russia and don’t trust him—don’t like him. Those around them are of one mind. Dunbar’s Number again.

These are intelligent people—and I like them -- but I disagree. Doesn’t bother me. If everyone agrees with you, you know you’re in trouble.

So I was not surprised to see articles on the Internet by foreigners living in Russia, excellent on any number of matters – but “unpersuaded” by Putin.

This is John Helmer.

Putin’s restrictions on the General Staff’s proposals for neutralizing the US and British air surveillance and electronic warfare operations; and his orders to stand by while the Ukrainians have assembled several thousand forces, first to cross into Kursk, and then into Bryansk and Belgorod, are now as visible in Moscow as they have been in Washington.

What exactly were those proposals?

There has certainly been a lot of talk in the Russianb logosphere about shooting down US and British surveillance platforms—but I have not seen any proposals from, the General Staff to that effect. Nor have you. Nor will you. If the Generals made such proposals and Putin rejected them –and these proposals were revealed – think of the loss of face.

There is also talk blaming Putin for “standing by” while the Ukrainians assembled forces.

Some say it as incompetence. Some way he was planning a trap.

But the evidence suggests that he did know that the Ukrainians were planning something —and as a consequence ordered the General Staff to remove conscripts from the line of fire.

Other writers blame the General Staff —specifically Gerasimov— who is slated to be replaced. .

Moscow sources believe it was the Kremlin which was taken by surprise by the Kursk attack on August 6, but not the General Staff and the military intelligence agency GRU. They understood the battlefield intelligence as it was coming in and requested Putin’s agreement to respond. In retrospect, they say “we told you so”; they imply their hands were tied by the Kremlin orders.

Helmer does not identify his “sources” of course. For the most part, MSM reports often don’t either – which usually speaks to unreliability. Secrets, secrets, secrets….

In the war by the US and its Anglo-European allies to destroy Russia since 1945, the propaganda war has been lost by the Russians many times over. That war is still being lost.

Propaganda is only believed in the country that creates it. Otherwise, the strings get tangled.

The Russians didn’t “lose the Propaganda War” —the West was it’s own puppet.

The proof is simple. Support for Putin and the SMO and revulsion at the West has increased in Russia exponentially since 2022. And support for Russia is growing in the Global South.

But for the first time since 1945, the battlefield war is being won by the Russian General Staff.

I am not sure what that means. 1945?

Russia did get a win (with difficulty) in the Second Chechen War, in Georgia, Syria (partially—the Americans are still there) and so far in the Ukraine. It wasn’t just the General Staff – the generals – that did this —Russia isn’t the US —it was everyone —militaries, diplomats, soldiers on the ground.

The uncertainty which remains is whether President Vladimir Putin will continue to restrict the General Staff’s war plans in order that Putin can go to negotiations with the Americans on terms which will forego the demilitarization and denazification of the Ukrainian territory between Kiev and the Polish border, and concede to the Kiev regime unhindered control of the cities to the east — Kharkov, Odessa, Dnepropetrovsk

I find this odd. Putin has said publicly that he leaves war planning to the General Staff.

Putin has continually confirmed his commitment to demilitarization and denazification of all of Ukraine – which was part of the first peace plan in 2022.

Thinking beyond the SMO, however, Putin is clearly at pains to represent his willingness to negotiate. This stance is, of course, essential in creating a multipolar alliance of nations—BRICS and the like. He is saying to the world, “You can talk to us as equal partners”.

At the same time, he knows that the West cannot negotiate honestly – as they have proved over and over again. Theirs is only the language of power. So, he must speak the language of reason.

He has also indicated that all of Russian Ukraine, which includes Kharkov, Odessa and Dnepropetrovsk must have choices. That means democratic referenda, just as with the four oblasts that have joined Russia. Putin is particularly adamant about Odessa and Kharkov as Russian cities – indeed, Kiev too.

Helmer writes:

Days before his meeting with Orban, Putin had announced his abandonment of the demilitarization, denazification objectives of the Special Military Operation in exchange for “the complete withdrawal of all Ukrainian troops from the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics and from the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions.

He linked to Putin’s meeting with Foreign Ministry officials on June 14. But what did Putin actually say?

I will reiterate: once Kiev agrees to the course of action proposed today, including the full withdrawal of its troops from the DPR, LPR, the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions, and begins this process earnestly, we are prepared to commence negotiations promptly without delay.

I repeat our firm stance: Ukraine should adopt a neutral, non-aligned status, be nuclear-free, and undergo demilitarisation and denazification.

Not going to happen without an unconditional surrender, of course.

Helmer’s article is very long and he manages to savage Andrei Martyanov as a Russian “exceptionalist”! Martyanov is irascible and one of a kind, “exceptional” but hardly an “exceptionalist”—not at least in the American sense.

I am sorry to see a journalist of Helmer’s stature write this kind of thing.

Read it here and judge for yourself. Maybe it’s just me being “irascible”.

Special Article

Made good progress on this special article today.

What I do with articles like this involves intensive research and scholarship.

The problem with stuff like this is figuring out original solutions to knotty problems — and making it simple. I am not that smart. I am old. I need to keep things simple.

Although I cannot ignore the complexity. I figure Friday for this article. Touch wood.

No, not touch wood — taste coffee.

I am really thankful to all who bought me coffees this week! It is very helpful. You guys are the best.

I am working on a new mailing list now. As I said before if you want a previous article, please let me know and I will get it to you!

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Below…yes, cats DO get high on catnip.