{"id":1671447,"date":"2022-10-04T08:12:03","date_gmt":"2022-10-04T12:12:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1671447"},"modified":"2022-10-04T08:12:48","modified_gmt":"2022-10-04T12:12:48","slug":"reinforcing-failure-in-ukraine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/reinforcing-failure-in-ukraine\/","title":{"rendered":"Reinforcing Failure in Ukraine"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">8<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Freinforcing-failure-in-ukraine%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1671447&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><\/div>\n<p class=\"has-drop-cap\">In an open letter entitled \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/opinion\/national-security\/3605064-us-must-arm-ukraine-now-before-its-too-late\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">U.S. must arm Ukraine now, before it\u2019s too late<\/a>\u201d 20 notable American advocates for the war against Russia in Ukraine argue that the conflict has reached a decisive moment. To win, the authors insist, Ukrainian forces need an abundance of new equipment, including the constant resupply of ammunition and spare parts for artillery platforms, short- and medium-range air defense systems to counter Russian air and missile strikes, and ATACMS munitions fired by HIMARS with the 300km range necessary to strike Russian military targets anywhere in Ukraine or Crimea.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, the initial flood of equipment and ammunition from Washington\u2019s European Allies into Ukraine has been reduced to a trickle. Daniel Fiott, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.eu\/article\/data-show-europe-waning-military-support-ukraine\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">a European defense analyst<\/a> at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, complained, \u201cUkraine needs hardware, not hot air.\u201d Equally important, refugee fatigue is setting in across Europe.<\/p>\n<div class=\"o-ad o-ad--center  js-ad\">\n<div class=\"o-ad__border\">\n        <span class=\"o-ad__border-label\">Advertisement<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Germans and Hungarians lost their patience with the unrelenting influx of refugees into Europe some time ago, but now the Poles are reaching the saturation point. Polish households confront <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/5af8ac1a-2310-41ea-bdd7-d5573b6144d5\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">serious economic headwinds<\/a>. Poland has one of\u00a0Europe\u2019s highest inflation rates\u201415.6 percent in July\u2014caused in part by the war in Ukraine. As conditions worsen in the fall and winter, it is not hard to imagine enormous public pressure on Berlin, Warsaw, Prague, Paris, and Rome to end the war in Ukraine.<\/p>\n<p>The hard truth is the introduction of new weapon systems won\u2019t change the strategic outcome in Ukraine. Even if NATO\u2019s European members, together with Washington, D.C., provided Ukrainian troops with a new avalanche of weapons, and it arrived at the front instead of disappearing into the <a href=\"https:\/\/thegrayzone.com\/2022\/08\/18\/ukraine-veterans-us-aid-soldiers-war\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">black hole of Ukrainian corruption<\/a>, the training and tactical leadership required to conduct complex offensive operations does not exist inside Ukraine\u2019s 700,000-man army.<strong> <\/strong>In addition, there is an acute failure to recognize that Moscow would react to such a development by escalating the conflict. Unlike Ukraine, Russia is not currently mobilized for a larger war, but it could do so quickly.<\/p>\n<p>American military and civilian leaders routinely ignore the historical record and its lessons. Most importantly, they ignored the criticality of human capital in uniform that frequently constitutes the margin of victory in war.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>On June 22, 1941, the German Wehrmacht launched its invasion of Russia with more horses than tanks. For the most part, the German ground forces were composed of Great War-style infantry divisions <a href=\"https:\/\/www.buecher.de\/shop\/drittes-reich\/die-ostfront-194344-der-krieg-im-osten-und-an-den-nebenfronten\/gebundenes-buch\/products_products\/detail\/prod_id\/01623447\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">dependent on horse-draw logistics and artillery<\/a>. The German soldiers were indisputably excellent, but only a minority were equipped with the firepower, mobility, and armored protection needed for warfare in Eastern Europe.<\/p>\n<p>Of the millions of German soldiers who marched into Russia, roughly 450,000 to 500,000 were assigned to Germany\u2019s mobile armored force, the offensive striking power that rapidly crushed its Polish, British, Dutch, Belgian, and French opponents. These soldiers were the best of the best with the lion\u2019s share of the modern equipment.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class=\"o-ad o-ad--center  js-ad\">\n<div class=\"o-ad__border\">\n        <span class=\"o-ad__border-label\">Advertisement<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>It took four years, from 1939 to 1943, to wear down this core element to the point where large-scale German offensives were no longer possible. The critical data point to remember is that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Order-Chaos-Memoirs-General-Military\/dp\/0813174031\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">55,000 German officers had been killed in action<\/a> by October.<\/p>\n<p>These German officers were among the best and most experienced officers in the army. They performed the brilliant maneuvers that brought the ill-equipped Wehrmacht to the gates of Moscow in a war on three fronts\u2014Western Europe, the Mediterranean, and Eastern Europe. They led it through the offensives that culminated in the battles of Kursk and El Alamein.<\/p>\n<p>A similar <a href=\"https:\/\/securityanddefence.pl\/The-Luftwaffe-s-campaigns-in-Poland-and-the-west-1939-1940-A-case-study-of-handling,103158,0,2.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">problem plagued the Luftwaffe<\/a>. German industry could provide modern jet fighters, but the Luftwaffe could no more replace the losses of its best pilots than the German Army could replace its best officers.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto understood the importance of human capital in uniform better than anyone. Yamamoto not only wanted to strike and annihilate the U.S. fleet at Pearl Harbor but also wanted to seize the Hawaiian Islands, declaring, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tandfonline.com\/doi\/abs\/10.1080\/02684527.2013.786606?needAccess=true&amp;journalCode=fint20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u201cTo defeat the U.S. Navy we must kill its officers.\u201d<\/a> Yamamoto understood how long it took to train and prepare officers for the Navy. Ultimately, Japan\u2019s attack on Pearl Harbor allowed U.S. forces to kill off the best the Imperial Japanese armed forces had in the air and at sea.<\/p>\n<p>In war and peace, human capital is everything. Sadly, Washington places almost no value on it, eagerly <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/what-if-they-gave-a-war-and-everybody-was-woke-military-recruitment-crt-training-obesity-reading-labor-market-11659108526\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">lowering standards<\/a> of admission for soldiers and officers. If this attitude persists, and it probably will, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/politics\/2022\/07\/20\/army-recruiting-crisis-shortage\/10098673002\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">relaxed standards will catch up<\/a> with America\u2019s military when our forces finally confront a capable opposing force in battle.<\/p>\n<section class=\"c-subscribe-email\">\n<div class=\"l-container\">\n<div class=\"c-subscribe-email__wrap\">\n<h4 class=\"c-subscribe-email__heading\">Subscribe Today<\/h4>\n<h5 class=\"c-subscribe-email__subheading\">Get weekly emails in your inbox<\/h5>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/book\/show\/2203.John_Adams\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">John Adams<\/a>, second president of the United States, observed,<strong> <\/strong>\u201cFacts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.\u201d<strong> <\/strong>Adams is still right.<\/p>\n<p>Ukraine\u2019s war with Russia is at a decisive point. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2022\/03\/08\/how-will-russias-war-with-ukraine-end-here-are-5-possible-outcomes.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">It is time to end it.<\/a> Instead, the authors of the letter seek to reinforce failure. They are demanding a deeply flawed strategy for Ukraine that will lead in the best case to Ukraine\u2019s reduction to a shrunken, land-locked state between the Dnieper River and the Polish border. These are results of misguided policies originating in the 1990s under the Clinton administration, which drove Russia into political isolation from Europe and forged Moscow\u2019s alliance with Beijing.<\/p>\n<p>Expanding NATO to Russia\u2019s borders was never necessary and has become disastrous for Europe. The longer the war with Russia lasts the more likely it becomes that the damage to Ukrainian society and its army will be irreparable. Neutrality on the Austrian model for Ukraine is still possible. If Washington insists on perpetuating Ukraine\u2019s war with Russia, the neutrality option will vanish, NATO\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/eandt.theiet.org\/content\/articles\/2022\/08\/view-from-brussels-germany-s-good-intentions-turn-sour\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">fragile \u201ccoalition of the willing<\/a>\u201d will collapse, and Ukraine will become the new \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.globalsecurity.org\/military\/world\/europe\/ot-history-4.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">sick man of Europe<\/a>\u201d and remain a catalyst for future conflict.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In an open letter entitled \u201cU.S. must arm Ukraine now, before it\u2019s too late\u201d 20 notable American advocates for the war against Russia in Ukraine argue that the conflict has<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1671449,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1671447","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1671447","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1671447"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1671447\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1671449"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1671447"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1671447"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1671447"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}