a former cia employee ruminates on how the empire is escalating the ukraine game and where its heading, which you probably won't like;

Yesterday three Western supplied drone boats attacked a Russian ship guarding the Turkstream pipeline. Russia claims all were destroyed but there is video that suggests one hit the Russian ship. This attack is the latest in a series of events over the last three weeks where Ukraine is hitting targets in Russia with U.S. and British supplied weapons. In addition to this maritime drone attack Ukraine has carried out the following:

• A cross border incursion in the Belgorod region with U.S. supplied vehicles and weapons. The attack was repulsed with heavy losses on the Ukrainian side.
• Sporadically launching artillery and himars attacks on Russian civilians towns along the border
• A drone attack on the Kremlin.
• The use of British Storm Shadow cruise missiles to hit targets in Russia.

None of these attacks are “game changers” in terms of the strategic picture, they are fueling a rising tide of anger in Russia that is likely to ratchet up pressure for a stronger military response. The maritime attack on the Russian ship guarding the Turkstream pipeline is especially puzzling because it is indirectly an attack on a member of NATO (i.e., Turkiye). Just what NATO needs, alienating the NATO member with the second largest army in NATO.

The media is discounting the possibility that was sanctioned by the U.S. or the U.K. and suggesting it was carried out by Ukraine without consulting its NATO partners. However, my new friend, Steve Bryen, has an excellent piece posted at the Asia Times on the Turkstream pipeline incident that explains why this was not a unilateral Ukrainian operation:.......more......