Commentary
-
Our commentary partners will help you reach your own conclusions on complex topics.
Hey everybody, Peter Zeihan here coming to you from Colorado. It is the ninth of May. And all talk is about the imminent attack, counter attack of the Ukrainians against Russian forces across the length and breadth of Ukraine. There are a lot of reasons to expect a lot of action. And we’re going to have to break this up into chunks. Today, we’re gonna do talk about the stuff that we know is inevitable. We’ve seen significant improvements in Ukrainian air defense to the point that over 90% of the missiles and drones that the Russians have been falling with firing in have not been able to hit their targets, which is, you know, great if you are in Ukraine, because they’ve been targeting the power grid. However, once it becomes apparent that the Ukrainians are going to move, and once it becomes apparent that the weather is warm enough that targeting the power sector isn’t going to kill any civilians in Ukraine, the Russians are going to switch their targets to facilities that are more difficult to defend, and that is the agricultural supply chain system. So on the 18th, there is a deal that lapses, the Turks in the United Nations have brokered a deal between Ukraine and Russia that allows civilian bulk trade shipping vessels to get into Ukrainian ports, after being searched by the Russians load up with Ukrainian, corn, wheat, sunflower and other stuff. And they get reinspected on their way out just to make sure that they’re not smuggling anything in such as say, weapons. The Russians have been warning for weeks, if not months, that they’re backing away from the deal. And they’re definitely not going to be renewing it next week, when it becomes up for renewal, because they need to switch target sets. In the past, they’ve gone for the power grid, because that’s how you kill people in Ukraine in the winter. But once you get to summer, you have to starve them. And this is probably going to be the end of meaningful agricultural exports from Ukraine. They’re gonna go for ships, they’re gonna go for ports, they’re gonna go for loading facilities, they’re gonna go for cold chain systems, they’re gonna go for silos, and storage facilities. And of course, any place that builds or maintains agricultural equipment, this stuff is a lot more dispersed, it’s a lot harder to defend. It’s not like just putting a bunch of air defense around the city. And you’re gonna have a lot more target hits because of it. But that’s how this is going to go. On the Ukrainian side. This doesn’t mean that you should expect an assault before the 18th. In fact, I really don’t think it’s going to happen this month. And the problem is simply weather and not like abnormal weather, just how it normally is. The problem the Ukrainians face is that every fall in every spring, the country just gets deluged and the land is very flat and doesn’t drain very well. So you get mud, not mud that’s like three or four inches deep, but mud that can be six to eight feet deep. And until it dries out, you simply cannot move people, much less tanks, unless they’re on a road. And if you have heavy equipment on the road, you’re just asking for it to get blown up. So while the Ukrainians appear to be nearly ready, they brought in a lot of weaponry, all the battle tanks that NATO has promised are there. And they’ve even trained up on a few jets that have been donated. They can’t move yet. And so it’s probably going to be the last week of May or into June when things finally dry out. That’s just kind of traditionally when the spring mud season ends. So it’s coming. It’s close, but we’re not here yet. Now in tomorrow’s session, we’re going to talk about what the goals are of the Ukrainian offensive, but I’m going to warn you right now the Ukrainians have done well because they have been unpredictable. And after that, we’ll start talking about minimum cases for victory for both sides. Alright, that’s it for me. Talk to you guys tomorrow. Bye. Bye.
-
Hurricane Helene hits US coast, Appalachia and beyond
Hurricane Helene hit Florida and Georgia overnight between Sept. 26 and 27 as a Category 4 hurricane, and accompanying storms will continue reaching deeper into the continental United States today. Dangerous flash flooding from the hurricane, known as storm surge, was some of the worst flooding that the Tampa Bay area has ever seen, and… -
Israel holds upper hand against Lebanon, Hezbollah and Iran
On Wednesday, Sept. 25, Hezbollah launched a ballistic missile at Tel Aviv in retaliation for Israel’s explosive pager attack that blew up devices across Lebanon. Although Israel’s defense systems intercepted the surface-to-surface missile, the attempted strike on Tel Aviv marked a significant escalation by Hezbollah. Since the siege on Gaza began, shortly after the Oct. 7, 2023,… -
The Sinaloa Cartel civil war
Fears of a civil war within the Sinaloa Cartel are growing as violence between competing factions within the cartel continues. The Mexican Army has dispatched around 600 elite troops to Sinaloa to help quell those fears, in addition to roughly 2,200 regular soldiers and National Guard. Watch the above video as Straight Arrow News contributor… -
New Ukrainian weapons hit Russia where it hurts
Ukrainian drones struck a major Russian ammunition depot, triggering a massive explosion that was captured on camera. According to the Ukrainian military, 2,000 tons of munitions had arrived at the depot before the attack. Over the past two years, Ukraine has significantly increased its domestic drone production, allowing it to scale up attacks on military… -
Weighing social costs vs. economic benefits on immigration
Global human migration is one of the defining elements of our current historical era, according to the United Nations. Migrants face both the incentives to leave — forced out by climate change, crime and corruption, extreme poverty or violence — and incentives for where to go, based on available job opportunities and so on. Migration…
Latest Stories
-
AI companionship could be worth hundreds of billions by 2030
-
Earthquake in Iran fuels online speculation of nuclear testing
-
Headlines compared: Kamala Harris’ multiple answers to ‘60 Minutes’ question
-
Hundreds of viruses live on your toothbrush, shower head: Study
-
FEMA is spending billions a year on decades-old disasters
Popular Opinions
-
In addition to the facts, we believe it’s vital to hear perspectives from all sides of the political spectrum.
Latest Opinions
In addition to the facts, we believe it’s vital to hear perspectives from all sides of the political spectrum. We hope these different voices will help you reach your own conclusions.
The opinions published in this section are solely those of the contributors and do not reflect the views of Straight Arrow News.
Latest Commentary
We know it is important to hear from a diverse range of observers on the complex topics we face and believe our commentary partners will help you reach your own conclusions.
The commentaries published in this section are solely those of the contributors and do not reflect the views of Straight Arrow News.
Peter Zeihan
Geopolitical StrategistIsrael holds upper hand against Lebanon, Hezbollah and Iran
The Sinaloa Cartel civil war
New Ukrainian weapons hit Russia where it hurts
Dr. Frank Luntz
Pollster and Political Analyst‘A bipartisan problem’: Americans debate immigration policy
‘I’ve learned nothing’: Young undecided voters on debate, election
‘I don’t trust Kamala’: Why some Black men are voting Trump