Above, The Honourable Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission. This image is a scaled down copy of the lady’s 2024. official portrait. Given that the lady was born 8 October 1958 and the shot was taken in 2024, the photographer (whoever they were) has my admiration as they clearly follow my dictum when it comes to taking portraits of a lady: Always make the image the best and most flattering possible! Why? Because your subject is a woman and not a man where the same overriding importance is not there. Of course, to the politically correct woke brigade this is yet more damning evidence of my antediluvian misogyny!
Speaking of antediluvian and thereby segwaying into ancient history, one of my regular walks is to the Kenidjack Cliff Castle (https://www.cornwalls.co.uk/history/sites/kenidjack_cliff_castle.htm) an ancient fortification with clear defensive works to counter an attack from what is now the sea and which in ancient times was a great expanse of salt marsh when the tide was out. This is what I mean in the title; New technologies: Old strategies.
You see, the Royal Marines occasionally go for training runs nearby. Were they to station soldiers to fend off and attack on the site, they would undoubtedly make use of the fortifications their long dead ancestors built!
Our long dead ancestors did not have our advanced technology but they had developed the strategies we still use today. Chief among these are #1; Divide and Rule (get your enemy to fight amongst themselves so you don’t have to) and #2; achieve #1 by getting your enemy to see a convenient (to you) other enemy as their friend!
These tactics are presently being used by a certain President Vladimir Putin! Furthermore, President Putin is having some success with these efforts!
President Trump’s foreign policy in relation to the Russo-Ukraine war is a disaster (for NATO). As is the attitude of the President of Hungary. This is because amongst the ranks of those of us that the Guardian reading BBC viewing British Left refer to as the “Far Right” there are those of us who want to reduce and even eliminate the support that has been extended to Ukraine.
Why?
Because such as the AFD in Germany see President Putin’s defence of traditional Russian culture and values and does not want to see large scale immigration from those with radically different culture and values as clear evidence that Germany’s interests and Russia’s interests can be in alliance. My advice to members of the AFD is to read some reliable books on German history!
The plain simple FACT is that a strong aggressive Russia intent on rebuilding a rebranded USSR presents a grave and existential threat to Europe (and by “Europe” I and referring to the geographical Europe and not the EU).
It is therefore a vital a strategic interest for the NATO nations to pursue the policy they were pursuing BEFORE the election of Donald J. Trump!
The awful truth of the matter is that Russian and Ukraine are locked into a War of Attrition. War’s of Attrition tend to end the way Europe’s last war of attrition did: The Great War of 1914-1918.
Germany was NOT defeated on the battlefields. She was defeated when her economy collapsed and her people were starving!
Ukraine will emerge the victor IF she can degrade Russia’s oil refinery and gas storage facilities sufficiently and just as importantly, degrade Russia’s oil export terminals. This will result in Russian’s suffering their infamously cold winter without adequate fuel and cutting off most of her oil revenues that fund the war.