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| Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia |
| Boris Johnson Defies Vladimir Putin's Claim to Crimea |
| 2021-06-29 |
| Pat Buchanan at TownHall About that clash between a British destroyer and Russian warplanes and warships in the Black Sea last week: there are conflicting versions. ...London's version: Defender sailed through waters off Crimea that belong to Ukraine. Russian gunfire was far off and unthreatening. No dropped bombs impeded the destroyer's passage. Yet, according to The New York Times, BBC correspondent Jonathan Beale, who was on board Defender, has "published video footage showing as many as 20 Russian warplanes buzzing the ship and a Russian Coast Guard vessel drawing close alongside." Brian Williams concurs - he was there And in the studio in NYC In brief, this naval encounter was serious business. Defender's captain, Commander Vince Owen, made it clear his ship sailed close by Crimea deliberately "to assert the position that Crimea and the waters around it legally belong to Ukraine." ...This is not an unserious matter. If the Brits repeat this exercise, which they see as a right, a duty and a mission, we could witness a Russian attack on a British warship. This would trigger Article 5 of the NATO treaty that requires all member nations to treat an attack on one as an attack on all. Britain's challenge to Russia, a few kilometers off Crimea, could have resulted in a shooting incident that could have forced a U.S. response against Russia. And that raises some serious questions: Did Johnson inform us he was about to issue this direct challenge to Moscow? Or were the Americans left in the dark? Did President Joe Biden or the Pentagon tell Johnson that if Defender were attacked, U.S. forces would have their back? With this clash off Crimea, a peninsula Russia regards as vital and we have never regarded as vital, we could have been drawn into a conflict by our ally, Britain, which could not prevail against Vladimir Putin's Russia without the military assistance of the United States. China would love a war between USA and Russia |
| Posted by:g(r)omgoru |
| #3 Going to guess Boris, his cabinet and the MoD are much more concerned about mask compliance on the ship than about Russians. |
| Posted by: M. Murcek 2021-06-29 13:34 |
| #2 The Charge of the Light Brigade 2021 remake? |
| Posted by: magpie 2021-06-29 12:53 |
| #1 Part of how Vlad does his slow grind-down of Ukraine is by tempting them with the possibility of getting Crimea and Dumbass back. And The West cooperates with Vlad in this. |
| Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain 2021-06-29 10:39 |