(OPINION) Have you ever found yourself completely losing your temper in the middle of a heated struggle of some sort? Whether it is a hotly contested sporting event, an actual fistfight, or a bitter battle against an online foe, it can be way too easy to lose your temper. And when tempers flare, you can end up losing control and doing things that you deeply regret later.
Unfortunately, the same thing is true on an international level. Russia and NATO have both become absolutely obsessed with “winning” in Ukraine, and leaders on both sides are getting angrier and angrier. And when leaders become extremely angry, they can do really stupid things.
I have been extremely alarmed by some of the events that have transpired over the past week. Hotheads in Russia and hotheads in the western world just continue to escalate the conflict in Ukraine, and we are getting dangerously close to a point of no return. The following are 5 signs that the war between Russia and NATO is about to spiral out of control…
#1 A “Dirty Bomb”?
There had been a lot of chatter about the possibility that Russia could start using tactical nukes in Ukraine, and now the Russians are alleging that the Ukrainians are preparing to detonate a “dirty bomb” in their own territory in order to motivate the western powers to get even more involved in the conflict…
Russia’s defense chief on Sunday alleged that Ukraine was preparing a “provocation” involving a radioactive device, a stark claim that reflected soaring tensions as Moscow struggles to stem Ukrainian advances in the south and is building defensive positions in anticipation of Ukrainian offensives elsewhere.
Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu made the allegations in phone calls with his counterparts from Britain, France, and Turkey. He also spoke to U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in their second call in three days, but a terse Russian readout of that call didn’t say whether the dirty bomb claim was also mentioned in their conversation.
#2 The U.S. 101st Airborne Division Gets Deployed To Eastern Europe
The 101st Airborne Division is one of the most famous units in the history of the U.S. military, and I was quite stunned to learn that they have just been deployed to Europe “for the first time in almost 80 years”…
The U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne Division has been deployed to Europe for the first time in almost 80 years amid soaring tension between Russia and the American-led NATO military alliance. The light infantry unit, nicknamed the “Screaming Eagles,” is trained to deploy on any battlefield in the world within hours, ready to fight.
For now, the “Screaming Eagles” are involved in “exercises” near the Ukrainian border, but CBS News is reporting that they are “prepared to cross the border into Ukraine” if that becomes necessary… The “Screaming Eagles” commanders told CBS News repeatedly that they are always “ready to fight tonight,” and while they’re there to defend NATO territory, if the fighting escalates or there’s any attack on NATO, they’re fully prepared to cross the border into Ukraine.
#3 A Million Rounds Of Ammunition
The U.S. has never armed anyone like they are arming the Ukrainians. If you can believe it, we have already given Ukraine “over a million rounds of howitzer ammunition” since the beginning of the war… The U.S. has now provided Ukraine with over a million rounds of howitzer ammunition since it began shipping arms to the embattled nation to aid its fight against Russia, according to the latest figures from the Defense Department.
That includes up to 903,000 standard 155mm howitzer rounds as well as 3,000 M982 Excalibur guided rounds, 7,000 Remote Anti-Armor Mine System (RAAMS) projectiles, and 180,000 105mm howitzer shells. And it appears that much more help will soon be on the way. Right now, a new “aid package” is being readied in Congress which would give the Ukrainians another 50 billion dollars in assistance…
The new aid package, which most likely would be part of an omnibus spending bill, could be within the range of roughly $50 billion, congressional aides and a source close to the Ukraine government said.
#4 Iranian Troops In Ukraine?
A lot of “mercenaries” from western nations have been fighting alongside the Ukrainians for a long time, and now the U.S. is alleging that Iranian troops have actually entered Ukraine and are “directly engaged on the ground” in an effort to help the Russians…
Iranian troops are “directly engaged on the ground” in Crimea supporting Russian drone attacks on Ukraine’s infrastructure and civilian population, the White House has said.
The US government has confirmed that Russian attacks have employed unmanned aerial vehicles purchased from Tehran in attacks carried out against Ukrainian targets from bases on the peninsula that Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said.
This conflict in Ukraine is becoming more of a “world war” with each passing day. We know that the Russians have been using Iranian drones to strike targets all over Ukraine in recent days, and that should deeply trouble all of us.
Speaking of Iran, I just learned that their military has been “conducting large-scale military drills on its border with Azerbaijan”… Iran’s military is conducting large-scale military drills on its border with Azerbaijan, including practicing crossings of the Aras River, which defines a large part of the border between the two states.
The exercises, called “Mighty Iran,” began on October 17. The exact location has not been specified, but Iranian media placed them in between Iran’s provinces of Ardabil and East Azerbaijan, the part of Iran across the Aras from Azerbaijan’s Fuzuli region.
One expert on open-source intelligence, however, analyzed photos of the pontoon crossing and placed it across from Azerbaijan’s exclave of Nakhchivan. The Iranians have been getting really aggressive lately. And I have a feeling that a direct conflict between Iran and Israel will begin sooner rather than later. READ MORE
