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aNSS translation preceded by our commentary.
We sometimes get complaints from Americans that our articles are too bleak. The thing is, by contrast to the Western msm and politicians, we do not specialize in fiction. We tell it as we see it. These Americans’ complaints are like those of a gravely ill man with serious disorders in all his bodily systems who receives a diagnosis from his doctor and then complains that the doctor never gives him any good news. America is sick in all of its functional systems, from military to economic, to social and educational, from the media and politics to the financial system. Of course, all of these things can be fixed. The only drawback is that very few Americans want to know what is wrong with them, preferring to focus on how exceptional and indispensable their nation is, and as long as they remain indifferent to the major issues, nothing will get fixed. They want to party on and want the authorities to take care of it. But the authorities suffer from the very same ills as they do. The Saker (must read!), writing about Putin’s scary speech before the Russian General Assembly, really hit the nail on the head: “…. the difference between Putin’s Russia and Trump’s USA is as simple as it is stark: Russia spends her money on defence, the USA spends its money on enriching corrupt politicians and businessmen. With that set of parameters, the USA doesn’t stand a chance in any arms race, irrespective of the talent and patriotism of US engineers or soldiers.” Trump had said several times in his campaign speeches that he wanted to build up the military to the point that “nobody will ever mess with us again.” Those in the know realized that the US was already spending on defence more than all other countries combined and that none of their military failures were due to a lack of effective weapons, so these words were nonsense. But now, Trump has raised military spending even more, to dizzying levels, and since Putin’s arms speech, much of this program looks useless in view of Russia’s new weapons, against which the US has no defences. This source reports on the components of the roughly $600 billion base budget for 2018-2019. The first 2 of the 7 line items are slightly boosted personnel and more salaries. No military advantage. The 3rd item is a “Missile Defeat and Defence Enhancement initiative” aimed at air defences against missiles. The Kinzhal and the hypersonic ICBM Putin mentioned will, if accurately described, make these “enhancements” useless because at their hypersonic speeds, these Russian missiles cannot be intercepted by any known system. This air defence equipment is money literally thrown away. The 4th is procurement of preferred and advanced munitions. The 5th is modernization of equipment for Army Armored Brigade Combat Team. Russia now has 20,216 tanks vs 5,884 for the US (source: here). “Modernization” does not necessarily mean increased numbers. Even so, Russia’s superior missiles can be used to target this armour as well. No. 6: Buy 10 combat ships. The Kinzhal, if accurately described by Putin, can destroy every one of them and there is no defence against it. It can also destroy every aircraft carrier and every plane carried thereon. The US surface Navy is now obsolete. No. 7: Increased production of aircraft that cost about 3 times as much each as their Russian counterparts and are not superior. So what's the answer? For now, the US must sit down at the bargaining table and learn to listen as well as talk. The following is NSS’s translation of an article from riafan.ru. BEGIN TRANSLATION The State Duma has responded to the Pentagon's statement about the ability of US submarines to destroy Russia By Ilya Muromsky 9 March 2018 https://riafan.ru/p/1033385 In the State Duma a tough response was delivered to the Pentagon about the ability of US submarines to destroy Russia The Chairman of the Strategic Command of the US Armed Forces, General John Hyten, at a budget hearing in the House Committee on the Armed Services, said that the United States could respond to any attack by Russia. "We are ready for all the threats that exist, and no one should doubt it," said Hyten. According to the US military, in addition to a massive attack on the United States, Russia is unable to do anything that Washington cannot respond to. "By the way, they (Russia - FAN) do not know where our submarines are, and they are capable of destroying their country if we go down this road," added Hyten. Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Defence Committee Yuri Shvytkin commented to FAN on the Pentagon's statement. "The United States is once again showing aggressive character and rhetoric. This statement once again confirms the need to strengthen our country’s defence capability. We have never stated that we are going to attack someone. Our doctrine is defensive in nature and is based on those opportunities and threats that can come from abroad. Vladimir Putin in his message publicly announced examples of the newest types of weapons, some of which have already been added or will be added to the arsenal of the Russian military.” “Regarding those submarines, which we supposedly cannot see, I want to point out that this is wishful thinking on the part of the American general. We have sufficient forces to repel a possible attack from the sea, including from below the surface. We have a response. The American Generals’ statement is another product of fantasy. I personally feel bad about those words, about the rhetoric coming from the American general.” “We are not going to attack anyone, but we will turn back the aggression of any enemy. The main message of Vladimir Putin's message, the part devoted to the latest weapons, is that we do not want war, we want peace. Everyone should realize this. The US, instead of sabre-rattling, must understand this and sit down at the negotiating table. But we will not allow anyone to talk with us from a position of strength,” Yury Shvytkin explained.” END TRANSLATION
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