Pentagon to create “Ukraine command”
Paul
Craig Roberts
This is a serious development.
US
Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III (2-L) speaks in the presence of
Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov (R) and US Chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff, general Mark Milley (L) during a meeting of Ministers of
Defense at the US Air Base in Ramstein, Germany, 26 April 2022. [EPA-EFE/RONALD WITTEK]
As I have said over and over, the Kremlin’s go-slow
limited military operation is a fatal mistake resulting in a wider war. An
operation that should have been concluded in a week is now in its seventh month
and seems destined to continue indefinitely as the Kremlin does nothing to
disrupt the Ukrainian government’s war effort or the endless supplies of
weapons that the West pours into Ukraine. The long-running conflict
has allowed Western propaganda to portray the Russian military as unsuccessful
and to convince Western decision-makers that Russia can be defeated in Ukraine. This
conviction has led to ever higher states of Western involvement.
With the Pentagon’s creation of a “Ukraine Command,”
we move closer to the introduction of US troops. In fact US military
forces are already involved. They train Ukraine’s soldiers at the US
Army’s European Headquarters in Wiesbaden, Germany, thus committing Germany to
the intervention in Ukraine. US military personnel provide targeting
information for Ukraine’s attacks on Russian positions. Yet, despite
the growing involvement of US/NATO, the Kremlin holds on to its limited
operation, dangerous in its failure and miscalculation, as Russia’s
dilly-dallying has convinced the West that the Kremlin has no stomach for real
conflict, encouraging Washington to take another step toward sending troops by
forming a “Ukraine Command.”
Putin’s emphasis on legalisms might be the undoing
of Russia. The Kremlin could have avoided the Ukraine conflict by
doing in 2014 what it is doing, belatedly, in 2022–accept the Donbass Russians’
request to be returned to Russia. The Kremlin could have avoided the
US/NATO military commitment to Ukraine by knocking out Ukraine before the West
had time to react.
Blunders have a cost, and the cost of the Kremlin’s
blunders is developing into direct conflict between US and Russian soldiers.
https://www.rt.com/news/563768-pentagon-weapons-ukraine-command/
30 Sep, 2022 05:05
Pentagon
to create ‘Ukraine command’ – media
The new military unit will reportedly be modeled on
“train-and-assist efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan” over the last 20 years
FILE PHOTO: US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Gen. Mark Milley and officials from 50 other countries attend the Ukraine
Defense Contact Group at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, September 8,
2022. © US Air Force / Staff Sgt. Megan M. Beatty
The Pentagon is working to create a new military
command devoted to arming and training Ukrainian soldiers, US officials have
told multiple media outlets, suggesting the effort will effectively “overhaul” the
current process for weapons transfers to Kiev.
The command would be based in Wiesbaden, Germany –
where the US Army keeps its European headquarters – and be made up of 300
staffers led by General Christopher Cavoli, who heads up the military’s
European Command, according to unnamed officials cited by the New York Times and CNN on Thursday.
“The changes, which aim to give a formal structure
to what has been improvised since the war’s onset, are roughly modeled on US
train-and-assist efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan over the past two decades,” the Times reported.
While the new unit would look to make major alterations
to the current train-and-equip program for Kiev, Wiesbaden will remain a key
component in the scheme, as most Ukrainian troops currently being instructed on
American weapons are doing so in or near the city.
Since Russia sent troops into the neighboring
country in late February, US military aid to Ukraine has largely been managed
from Germany and Poland by Lieutenant General Christopher Donahue, who also
oversaw the chaotic evacuation of US forces from Afghanistan last year.
However, Donahue and his staff are set to return home next month, creating the
need for a specialized command oriented toward training and arming Ukrainian
troops.
The proposal for the new unit was initially floated
earlier in the conflict by General Tod Wolters, with Cavoli ‘fine-tuning’ the
idea after taking his place at EUCOM in July, according to the Times.
In late August, the Wall Street Journal similarly
reported that Washington was looking to appoint a general to lead the
arm-and-train program in Ukraine, suggesting the initiative could receive an
official mission name, as well as “long-term, dedicated funding” from
the US government. The outlet added that the changes would mark a “shift
from the largely ad hoc effort to provide training and assistance to the
Ukrainians for years.”
The US has authorized nearly $17 billion in
arms transfers to Ukraine’s military so far this year, with the vast majority
of that aid approved since hostilities escalated in February. Though large
quantities of gear and ammunition have come directly from existing stockpiles,
the Pentagon is also working with arms contractors to manufacture weapons
specifically for Kiev, including 18 brand-new High Mobility Artillery Rocket
Systems (HIMARS) announced earlier this week – one of the longest-range
platforms provided by Washington to date.
READ MORE: Pentagon reveals ‘full’ list of
military aid to Ukraine
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