Hannes Wessels,
Recently, more information has come into the public domain about the British plans to intervene militarily in order to bring the ‘Rebel Rhodesian’ government to heel in the aftermath of the unilateral declaration of independence (UDI) on the 11th November 1965.
Just why it never came to fruition remains a matter for discussion; but I believe the invasion was probably called off because the Americans declined a request for assistance and Britain lacked the logistical resources to proceed without them. In the Falklands, the British probably would not have prevailed without American assistance, but they adept at grabbing most of the glory for themselves.
In this context I follow the exhortations of the UK media and the political establishment as they rally the populace, Europe and America to heed their clarion call to arms and give the Russians a good thrashing for their ‘brutal slaughter of the innocents’ in Ukraine. One politician who has cautioned against this jingoistic hubris is the Reform Party leader Nigel Farage who has a more balanced view of the cause of the conflict and what might be done to end the killing. [Farage did not condone Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, nor – as far as I recall – did he suggest any solution. The USA political scientist, John Mearsheimer, is the most notable proponent of the views expressed by Farage – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Mearsheimer) For this heresy he has been absolutely crucified and ne’er a whisper of support for him from any quarter among his compatriots.
Piers Morgan has expressed outrage against anyone who dares suggest anything other than that Putin is a bloodthirsty dictator bent on European conquest. The Telegraph newspaper, once truly conservative and inclined to provide a more measured platform, has been at the fore of the vilification of Farage process through columns by former soldiers, Colonels, Hamish de Bretton-Gordon and Richard Kemp.
Like virtually everyone else, these two vocal veterans condemn Farage as a Putin ally, a borderline traitor, and refuse to entertain the idea that there are two sides to every story and that this tragedy could have been easily avoided had NATO and the US not been so aggressive in expanding the alliance, leading to the installation of nuclear missiles on Putin’s doorstep [It’s worth pointing out that Putin received repeated assurances if not undertakings over 20+ years by Clinton, Blair, Obama and Cameron, that NATO would not expand its membership and footprint into the former Eastern Bloc EU states.]. What, asks Farage, would America’s response be to Russian nuclear weapons systems in Mexico? We all know what happened in Cuba in late 1962 so the answer is obvious, but for some reason Moscow is denied the right to harbour the same sensitivities.
Speaking, it appears, for the majority in the UK, the two colonels insist the war in the Ukraine is entirely Putin’s fault and that it is now waged for the very soul of the West, and Kiev’s demise will trigger the beginning of the end for our cherished democracies and for Western civilisation in general. This, despite repeated denials from the Russian president that he seeks any further territorial gains beyond establishing some sort of suzerainty over the Russian-speaking enclaves in the west of the disputed territory.
But what is troubling about these two writers and the media in general is nobody reports on the fact that democracy in Ukraine is stone-dead; having been killed by the incumbents. Zelensky, is unelected, (his term expired on the 21st June and no suggestion of the need for new elections), the opposition is in jail, the media is muzzled, and Christianity is under attack with the ongoing closure of churches and the arrest of clerics. Young men are being press-ganged into military service and almost certain death, while millions of others flee the country. Added to this, the EU, which has been very supportive of the Zelensky regime, has announced the country will not be allowed to join the bloc until it does more to address the reputation it has as being the most corrupt country in Europe.
This has had no impact on the British policy-makers; across the spectrum; Labour, Conservative, and Liberal Democrats; all agree that the fight to ‘save’ Ukraine and bury Putin must not only continue, but be prosecuted with increased vigour, and Britain must, if need be, lead the noble charge.
Looking at possible political swings around the world this could be interesting. France under Macron has echoed the UK view and even expressed interest in deploying troops to join the fight but power in Paris is slipping, and both Le Pen’s National Rally on the right, and Melenchon’s, New Popular Front on the left, have indicated little interest in following Macron’s lead. Germany is cowering, and Hungary’s Victor Orban is cobbling together an informal alliance including the Czech Republic and Austria which will consist of countries that seek peace and an end to war. In Holland, the new government in which Geert Wilders is an influential figure, appears unwilling to be uncompromising in dealing with Moscow. More importantly, Trump looms large on the American stage and a win in November will almost certainly bring an end to Washington’s support for continued war.
It’s starting to look like the bolshy Brits might get what they wished for and be tasked with leading the war effort to depose Putin and conquer the Russian Federation. I use the word ‘lead’ loosely because it is far from clear who will be following but if this scenario unfolds I’m not sure how much sleep Putin will lose. He’s a historian and he will know that even with Morgan, de Bretton-Gordon and Kemp in the lead, the British military have seldom fought wars on their own, let alone won them, and without the Americans to hold their hands, they probably won’t lose sight of the white cliffs of Dover.
I was only a boy when Britain threatened my homeland but my memory of those events is clear, along with an awful sense of betrayal; I could not understand why soldiers of the Queen we had been taught to revere were coming to kill us.
I subsequently came to learn about the British political class and their propensity for deception and dishonesty which led to the destruction of much I held dear. I would be lying if I suggested I will shed a tear if and when they are hoist by their own petard.
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Hannnes is correct in his assessment of the Ukraine situation, J Mearsheimer and N Farage have the courage to state the facts, for their heresy they must be punished by the Globalist elites and their puppets (lest it effects their profits, power, and strategies).
After years of reading and enjoying military history I have recently gained a greater knowledge of the Rhodesian Bush War and the country’s betrayal by British politicians of all parties, the skill and bravery of your servicemen, politicians, Elders, and civilians of all colours is truly inspiring.
The books by Hannes and others, the YouTube channel ‘Fighting men of Rhodesia’ are a wonderful resource – thank you.
I am an Englishman, please don’t judge us all by our political, intelligentsia and academic classes, the loud and those of poisoned mind.
Please keep up the important and good work.
Whilst I agree Ukraine has a history of corruption (the Hunter Biden saga a case in point) I do think that Putin needs to be stopped in Ukraine.
He can not be trusted to stop there and I have no.doubt is eyeing the rest of the states that broke away from the Soviet Union.
You state he has said he has no such plans but he also denied he was going to invade Ukraine right up the day before he did !…..don’t trust him at all.
He is a brutal dictator who has destroyed most of the occupied territory in Ukraine by relentless bombardment without any regard to the civilian population and is close to starting another regional war just like Hitler who had the same expansionist designs.
Putin is also in bed with China and North Korea so we are looking at a new Axis of Evil and every effort must be made to stop him before he can enrich Russia with Ukraine oil gas and agricultural resources and get ever more powerful.
Best article in a long time – tops Hannes – nothing to add
And it was Ian Smith, who joined up to fight for Britain in WW2, as a spitfire pilot, being shot down, recovering and climbed back in the cockpit to fight another day. Forgotten 20 years later. Shame on you, England. You are now reaping your just rewards. Enjoy.
My sentiments exactly, Hannes!
When I saw a post on “X” announcing how many seats the various parties have won after the election (with Reform getting a measly 13), my only comment was “WTF is wrong with you Pommies?
So it is not only the politicians who are idiots in England – it is almost the entire electorate.
As my dear old Dad used to say – “The best Englishmen were either killed in WW2, or they emigrated”.
I have had a healthy disdain for the Brits for years, even though I was born there.
Who was it who said “Patriotism is the last refuge of scoundrels”? Chesterton, I think.
A concise, and good explanation of past and current events. Astute.
My thoughts are to have a better access to bringing in usurpers to Eastern Europe.
Exaggerations by the Shadow government, this includes the medical, vehicles, along with military expeditions Need to be exposed.
Keep up the education of us.
“In the morning and in the evening, we will remember them.”
Tatenda.
Mearsheimer has been clear about the West’s tactics in provoking Putin for years. Starting with the Bucharest summit in April 2008 (see the NATO declaration at the end thereof), through to the coup in 2014 (lest we forget Victoria Nuland’s leaked phone call), he has warned that NATO’s expansion eastward would result in a Ukrainian conflict. He labels himself as a 19th Century thinker, which is why he is more respected in China than anywhere else. Why he is shunned by the mainstream media is astounding. Everything he says makes sense. Not surprisingly, you won’t see or hear much of him in the UK, where Putin is brandished as Public Enemy #1.
What a colossal mess Ukraine is indeed Hannes. This tragedy is nothing more than overt and criminal globalist / deep state manipulation. Anyone who knows what actually happened there will or should easily see through the BS mainstream narrative against Putin and Russia that exists today.
Russia has been sequentially baited in the worst possible ways since they conditionally withdrew from the Warsaw Pact in 1991. Their withdrawal was contingent upon their overriding request that NATO and countries sympathetic to “The West” encroach no further upon their agreed conditions, in terms of their NATO affiliations or membership, or their setting up of bases in countries on Russia’s borders with military strike potential. Remember the Cuban Missile Crisis? SSDD. Where is JFK when you need him, right?
These perfectly reasonable stipulations have subsequently been totally ignored, and actually the reverse has aggressively been implemented. Russia had repeatedly warned OVER DECADES that it would resort to war if the aggression from NATO et al continued.
The criminals running the West WANTED this war, and wouldn’t stop until they got it.
Biden and the USA / UK “leadership” (and I use that term as loosely as one can) are 1,000% responsible for the deaths of the over 600,000 young Ukranian men who have died in this proxy war. On Bidens’ orders, that indescribable idiot WEF puppet Boris Johnson travelled to Kiev and forced the unelected Zelensky to RETRACT the peace treaty that had already been signed by Russia and the Ukraine.
Russia finally and reluctantly declared war the following day – proof that ANYONE blaming Putin for this obscene debacle has the IQ of a freshly crushed amoeba, or the same satanic agenda as those orchestrating this conflict.
I never knew until recently how much pressure JFK was under from the hawks in his administration at the time of the Cuban crisis. Dulles and the top brass in the military wanted war; JFK, to his great credit and probably because he had actually been to war, had the guts and the good sense to find a way out of it and probably save the world. He had to be got rid of.
Because majors and below refused to go. The plans were far advanced with 6 brigades of troops selected.
Bravo Hannes, great piece. I, with you, shed no tears for the UK for knifing Rhodesia in the back…I still believe we could have made it work.
Everything you say is true, to a point.
This not is not about Brit Politicos, nor media, nor Farage , nor Trump, nor Zelensky, nor any other political crazy.
This war has but one purpose- to degrade, debilitate and weaken the Russian military machine by any method. Ukraine is merely the proxy tool being used to achieve this.
Even Germany who is heavily reliant on Russian oil and gas at last sees this. The only people who want an end to this war are Zelensky and particularly Putin. This war suits everyone else.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bd9Uftz1hfE
Tucker Carlson on his trip to Oz makes the same point.