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Larry C. Johnson
SONAR
![](https://www.greanvillepost.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Screen-Shot-2022-11-01-at-10.58.29-AM.png)
Marine drone used by the Ukronazis to attack Russian ships in Crimea. Note detonators on the prow. The guidance system is probably the most sophisticated part of the contraption. The British are supplying Kiev with more advanced models.
I am a big fan of John LeCarre. I especially enjoyed the TV series put together by the BBC based on LeCarre’s novels–Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and Smiley’s People. The books are better, but anything featuring the droll Alec Guinness is worth watching. LeCarre’s true gift is his ability to reveal through his stories the craven, soul-crushing, inept bureaucracy that rules British intelligence.
The fecklessness of the Brits, especially its intelligence operatives, is nothing new. But it takes on greater importance in light of recent news implicating the Brits in the sabotage of the Nordstream pipelines and the failed air and sea drone attacks on Russia’s Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol. The Brits are behaving a bit like a sex crazed school boy desperate to experience intercourse but, due to excess enthusiasm and carelessness, is incapable of finding a happy ending.
Let me start with the Nordstream debacle. Why anyone in the United States or the United Kingdom leadership would think destroying Germany’s primary source of natural gas was a terrific idea is prime evidence of the incompetence and shallowness that governs decision-making in the black world of intelligence. Many thought it strange that in the relative immediate aftermath of the Nordstream attack, former Polish Foreign Minister, Radek Sikorski jumped into social media and implicated the United States as the culprit
On his social media page, Sikorski left the controversial message “Thank you USA” and later quoted American leader Joe Biden as talking about destroying the gas pipeline.
https://scooptrade.com/twitter-users-lashed-out-at-sikorsky-after-deleting-thank-you-usa-post/
Why would Sikorski do such a thing? Some argue that he genuinely believed it to be true. But other evidence suggests that Sikorski was playing his part to divert attention from British culpability. Turns out that Sikorski is quite cozy with key British political, mililtary and intelligence figures:
Sikorski arrived in Oxford in 1982 and played the part of the English gent. “He was more English than the English,” says one contemporary, journalist Rachel Johnson. He had excellent English, well-tailored suits and even a penchant for bow-ties. He earned himself the nickname “Radish” and hung out with Gottfried von Bismarck.
The young Pole was swept into the Bullingdon Club — the drinking club that Cameron would also join a few years later — by the future Mayor of London (i.e. Boris Johnson).
https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/london-life/the-sikorski-set-the-polish-foreign-minister-has-locked-horns-with-cameron-but-their-history-goes-back-to-the-bullingdon-club-9564492.html
Bullingdon Club is all male and exclusive. The poor need not apply. The fact that Johnson and Sikorski share this bond is not a mere coincidence. Some, until today, could argue that this connection has nothing to do with managing messaging on the Nordstream attack. Then this news broke courtesy of Hal Turner:
When the Nord Stream Pipelines began to blow up, Russian natural gas firm GAZPROM got alarm bells from sensors in the pipeline, indicating the pressure had dropped massively and suddenly. GAZPROM then knew the pipes were ruptured.
The computers at GAZPROM, which recorded the minutes/seconds the sensor alarms went off, all use Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) for the time stamps.
Exactly one minute after the alarms went off at GAZPROM, iCloud records of Prime Minister Liz Truss iPhone, show that she used her iPhone to send a text message to Antony Blinken, US Secretary of State. The message: “It’s done.”
The iCloud computers also use Coordinated Universal Time for message time stamps. So although Russia and the UK are in different time zones, UTC proves that it was literally ONE MINUTE after the GAZPROM pressure sensor alarms went off, that Liz Truss sent her text message to Blinken.
No one else knew the pipelines had been blown up. GAZPROM knew there was a problem, but didn’t know what or why.
Liz Truss knew.
Because it was the British government that carried out the bombing.
https://halturnerradioshow.com/index.php/en/news-page/world/how-the-russians-found-out-it-was-the-uk-that-bombed-the-nord-stream-pipelines
This news comes less than 48 hours after a failed aerial and maritime drone attack on Russia’s Black Sea Fleet at Sevastopol.
![](https://www.greanvillepost.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Larry2-boat.png)
The attack was carried out by UAVs and remotely piloted surface vehicles over the waters of Sevastopol Bay, Sevastopol’s governor has said.
British experts helped Kiev forces prepare ‘terrorist attack’, defense ministry says
“The preparation of this terrorist act and the training of the Ukrainian 73rd Special Maritime Operations Centre was carried out under the supervision of British experts based in the city of Ochakov in the Mykolayiv region of Ukraine,” the ministry said in a statement.
The photo and video shows one of the unmanned boats. A similar one was used in today’s attack.
https://t.me/Slavyangrad/17261
The Brits have been supplying and training the Ukrainians with maritime drones since late August:
![](https://www.greanvillepost.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Larry-3-Newspaper.png)
![](https://www.greanvillepost.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Larry-4-News.png)
And here is some video evidence of the delivery:
The Russians got their hands on one of the surface drones as it tried to attack Russian ships and recovered the following video. You can see the splashes from Russian fires trying to stop the drone. It is not clear how the Russians captured the footage:
Russia is keeping its powder dry in terms of retaliating with force against the Brits outside of Ukraine. However, Russia did bomb the base where they believe that members of the British Navy trained and prepped the drone attack. On the diplomatic front, Russia cancelled all further grain shipments from Ukraine under a deal brokered originally by the United Nations. If the suspension is permanent, the end of grain exports is widely considered a gut punch to the European Community.
Russia will present evidence against the Brits on Monday before the U.N. Security Council. I think the Russians realize this is a fruitless pursuit in terms of getting the Security Council to punish the United Kingdom. But it does allow Russia to demonstrate its commitment to international law, take the high road and expose the hypocrisy of the West to the rest of the world when it comes to terrorism. Vladimir Putin’s eye is on recruiting more countries into his vision of a multi-polar world free of Washington’s dictates.
One final point regarding burgeoning relations between Russia and Turkey courtesy of an old friend who did great service with the Navy SEALS:
Russia can’t declare anyone entering the Black Sea PNG without violating acceptable internationally recognized Admiralty Law. To willfully do so would put the Russian navy at risk everywhere else in the world. As long as the ships or aircraft remain in international waters and/or internationally recognized Sea Lines Of Communication, an attack upon them by Russia would be an act of war. Retaliation would be certain.
The question in my mind is how Turkey (a NATO member), who has provided naval security for the grain corridor shipments, will react to Russia’s navy should Russia now take an offensive posture towards Turkey or the ships they are escorting.
One more point to ponder. Russia doesn’t have the naval capacity to enforce closure of the Black Sea. Think about this angle – there’s only one strait in and out of the Black Sea and that’s largely controlled by Turkey and to a lesser extent, Greece. It passes through a number of fortified islands and the route is circuitous requiring navigation speeds and caution so grounding doesn’t occur. If Russia gets too frisky, all Turkey needs to do is close the gate (strait) and Russia’s navy is caught in a bottle neck shooting gallery, i.e., the Black Sea. And, closing the strait is done easily, at low risk and low cost. Lot’s of very subtle what if’s here, but Russia stands to lose more than anyone else if they play their hand poorly.
I think this gives all you smart people a lot of grist to chew on. Put on your analyst hat and fire away.
SELECT COMMENTARY
julianmacfarlane says
The United States is a constitutional republic with some, SOME, democratic privileges that have all been revoked. Democracy is a fiction. We have been allowing the government and the Military Industrial Complex (MIC) to “save the world for democracy;” something that does not exist. In democracy the people vote and vote all the time about everything. In a republic the people vote for the people who will decide what happens. Just ask George Soros and all the other rogue billionaires. Thomas Jefferson thought democracy “Rule by the Mob.” All the US government and PTB PR campaigns and propaganda has always confused me. When was the last time the US government allowed the American People to vote on either going to war, or staying out of one? Answer: Never. These governments just do whatever they want, regardless of what the people want.
“Republicans cutting off funding to Zelensky in the New Year” You think the RINOs will stop feeding the MIC?
I agree, midterm will do nothing, we might have a chance after presidential elections. I live in Arkansas, and I questioned our congressman at a recent meeting: will you continue funding Ukraine after midterms. I did not get a straight answer. We have Lockeed Martin and it keeps our politicians in its pockets. Russia will absolve entire Ukraine next 2 years and demoncrats will blame republicans for either funding or not funding. Republicans are just stupid , and demoncrats are too cunning . It is doomed.
Americans are learning right now that Dems are evil. Americans will learn, after nothing substantive changes this so-called ‘Red Wave’ of establishment Republicans, that the non-MAGA Republicans are evil, too. It’s good cop/bad cop and both parties are owned by the same transnational corporate oligarchy. Nothing will change until transnational corporations (the basis of the oligarchy’s wealth and the corporate part of the corporate & government duality that defines fascism) are abolished as enemies of the peoples.
Another damn good analysis, Larry. Something else to consider, though… Sometimes things that don’t make sense using one filter make sense when you use another. Everybody analyzes the West’s foreign policies with Russia and Ukraine through a foreign policy filter and of course it doesn’t make any sense. So you have to go searching for alternate explanations, like incompetence or poor judgment or something else. But when you use a different filter, things make sense. A criminal does not mind being called incompetent if it helps him avoid accountability. Writ large, a criminal does not mind death and destruction so long as he profits. Who profits from eliminating Russian energy from the equation? Whomever steps up to fill that role. And the people who invest in that replacement. Did you ever stop and think WHY Trump was actually impeached? Do you think it might have been because he sent a former United States Attorney to Ukraine to investigate the people who invested in the intended replacement? And tried to get Bill Barr involved as well? The civilian intelligence services have been political since day one, so it should be no surprise that they can be and are ocassionally used by criminal elements. Because its not criminal if no one is actually prosecuted. If “your people” are the ones in power then no one will be prosecuted. And if European institutions collapse, there will be no ICC to prosectue anyone either, not that this feckless body has any legitimacy. Just a modicum of power. I suspect when viewing UK intelligence maybe we should use a different filter. It certainly cuts through the confusion when you do…
The unloading facilities require power, and are fixed infrastructure, its a little uncertain how much grain is left to be shipped out, perhaps the silos may have an accident grain explosions are a real threat, the ammonia pipeline will also be turned off, there by killing harvests going forward, and remove the need for shipping in general. From an insurance standpoint, calling it a conflict zone of some sort will invalidate all insurance, most shippers are not interested in that kind of risk with out widely inflated rates. Ultimately Ukraine will run out of grain to ship by sea, and will run out of shippers willing to take the risk. particularly if they risk there ships getting stuck in port again for another 5 months. I have not seen Russian/Iranian naval drones, but one suspects that if they exist they will be accelerated, and all navies are going to be facing a prickly prospect of marine time uav’s appearing anywhere and at any time, this takes what would be a relatively peaceful cruise with minimal oversight of entire navies, to the prospect of every ship being on essentially a war footing with enforced watches and all that staying on alert 24/7 entails, this mentality will drive up retirement rates and reduce desire to be in the navy. It will also kill the smaller crew sizes wanted to reduce the overall cost of the navy. Uncertain if they are trying to goad the Russians into taking Odessa sooner rather than later.
You cant get kicked out of the g20, you have to leave of your own volition. At least that’s how I understand its membership rules to work. As to the drones I think they recovered the floating wrecks and pulled the memory cards.
I would really like to know where the Russians got the drone footage. From Russian drones? Because that is what the United States and the Brits are going to say: “The Russians are sending out their own drones to sink their own ships.” If I was a Russian sailor and knew that my own country had declared war on me, I would find that a little alarming. NS1 and NS2 again? “The Russians did it?”
You can’t get kicked out of the G20. The G20 is composed of most of the world’s largest economies. The G20, by definition, includes Russia. The Ukraine, being the biggest loser, deadbeat, parasite out there; led by a drug addicted, cross-dressing, midget with the biggest mouth, should be told to sit back down at the child’s table and STFU.
The Byzantines had a giant chain. The Russians have nukes. Just what resources do the Turks have to actually close the strait?
They have the ability to shoot from the coast at any ship trying to sail trough strait. Good luck trying to “run the gauntlet”. As far as legality is concerned, there is:
I’m not sure that NATO could count on Turkey closing the Black Sea access points. Ergodan does what is best for Ergodan and often that is what is in Turkeys best interests. Presenting anything to the UN Security Council would obviously be a waste of effort if Russia expected anything but a US veto, but the as you point out, the world is watching. I saw the reports iCloud hack on Truss’s phone, Kim Dot Com has admin access and publicly confirmed it, but guaranteed Russia knew with or without that. The Security Council will do nothing but the world will know. The party is over folks. Stick a fork in it, the US/UK is done. The story certainly helps confirm this: https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/18990716/russia-nuke-london-first-world-war-three-putin-ally/
Public humiliation counts in shaping public opinion.
The Russians play smart. So long as its an issue with Erdogan they’ll go slow. Eventually there will be an incident involving a ship or two. And ultimately Russia will take Odessa and it will be a moot issue.
The Russians are a patient but unforgiving people when wronged.
If the deal is dead.. or suspended..then its likely that the insurance for the grain carrying ships is voided… and the grain transport from Odessa just stops because of that.
The Russians backing out of the grain treaty will have an effect. The carry costs alone, in terms of cargo and ship insurance for vessels daring to cross the Black Sea, will become prohibitive, and stop the grain shipments.
Is not MI6 the NHS of intelligence services? However, one should never underestimate the Brits capacity for ruthlessness, conniving and skulduggery. The British Empire wasn’t built by wusses. And they do have a long tradition of being successfully aggressive at sea. As for the NS pipelines, whoever did it got 3 out of 4 pipes, so only 75% for that effort. Like, how could you put explosives on the wrong pipe? Doh!
It was built on the backs of the so called “scum of the Earth” – the British working class, but make no mistake, the people running the show have always been weak-chinned inbred degenerate scum.
Excellent update, Larry. My 2-cents on this, Russia can pick its own time and place for revenge, if it is even needed. Zooming out, the UK attacked destroyed a major energy conduit to Europe. The attack is more on Germany than on Russia. How does one think this will land in the “Collective” West, especially as Germans freeze this winter and their energy shuts down? Meanwhile, the rest of the world (aka Joesph Borelli’s “jungle”) looks on aghast! This is a major psychological and political victory for Russia against the hegemonic forces of darkness. Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord.
Yes but these degenerate leaders have made the English the most exceptional race of the last 400 years. And they continue to be exceptional. With Americans and Russians you can like or hate them and it’s quite simple. With the British it’s actually very hard to hate them even though they are known evil toads. The reason is that there have always been two kinds of English upper class and the English are familiar to all. Eton, Oxford, manners, education, class and generally good eggs who seek a better world and the elite who are cunning scavengers in ties. When one falters the other steps in. America left Afghanistan, Libya, Iraq, Vietnam a wreck with poison relations. The British elite had the sense to know when a thing was done. They generally left countries following a nice handover where all shook hands and left nations in good condition. This means to the south they remain much more civilised than the American wrecking ball and French who are hated in their former colonies which now wave Russian flags as they boot the French out. So the English really are a special lot. But that generation is dying and the new one will be Americanised and woke and will forget the ways of the past. Internally is how the English lose, no more great leaders or cunning wise heads. I for one. Will miss the English if Poseidon goes. They really are the most civilised of scoundrels.
The British left with a nice handover? You need to revisit 1947 and the partition of India, where a cartographer who never visited India drew the new boundaries creating utter chaos. The British hurriedly lowered their flag and left after 150-yr rule leaving the nation in chaos with estimates of 1-3 million people dying within 6 weeks in an orgy of violence. Actually, it’s easy to hate the English. Just ask the Irish. As for civilised, Gandhi had the correct response: yes, it would be a very good idea.
Well said sir.
As a southern Irishman, I actually like the English for many reasons. However, it is their successive Governments I dislike. Beware perfidious Albion.
As an English person, Larry’s comments are difficult to read but totally valid. So are yours! I came across various Bullingdon Club types at Oxford and they tend to be of the Boris Johnson ilk: basically a bunch of posh children who do not grow up. These violent acts on Russia are in similar vein. A big issue in the British government is that we do not have adults in the room, and have not had for a while. Sunak is no different either. These guys all seem to want to pander to Big Daddy in the US and have zero thought of consequences. It is all about japes. Liz Truss texting Blinken seems so in line with their behaviour. These are people who are over promoted and out of their depth. Your comment about wise heads reminds me of that now 50+ year old BBC TV series from a smarter era “Dads Army”. Whenever Captain Mainwaring wanted to pursue some stupid, hair brained scheme then Sergeant Jones would inevitably ask: “Is that wise, Sir”. We then learned in the last episode that Jones had actually been a front line WW1 officer unlike the Mainwaring character who had never served. We have lost the wisdom of Sergeant Jones from our national character, and certainly from our government. My bigger fear is that the US is in precisely the same position.
Russian Black Sea fleet doesn’t depend on sea lanes to the outside of the sea, though, it’s NATO fleets that would (discounting Turkey and Romania). Straits mean nothing to it. If anything, the Black Sea is Russia’s shooting gallery with all it has set up in Crimea ranging all across it, not the other way around. Nor does Russia depend on shipping through the straits. Nor would Russian command open fire on Turkey’s navy with all the complicated relations Turkey maintains with Russia and the tensions it has with the rest of NATO, Greece above all (anyone remember the attempt to depose/assassinate Erdogan? He sure does). Rather, I’d expect Turkish ships to be mysteriously absent in case there is naval fighting between Russia and NATO there. And there won’t be a dramatic face-off against ships being escorted to or from Odessa, they simply won’t leave port in the first place. Because that’s how Russia actually does its thing, unlike what Hollywood mentality people like to imagine. Nor is Russia in the habit of just randomly shooting ships anywhere outside of the US gov’t presstitutes’ minds who always portray it as a petulant tantrum-prone movie villain. Else they’d have already shot up all of NATO vessels in range after their connivance against their flagship. What’s known so far is that at least some of the drones used in the attack have their recorded origin points at one of the “sanctuary” sea lanes covered by the shipping deal (i.e. launched from one of the ships using it), hence the deal being off now. What retaliation will come, will come at a time of Russia’s choosing – they haven’t forgotten the Moskva either. Westie command and leadership may soothe themselves thinking that if Russia doesn’t immediately throw a violent tantrum in response, then it’s weak and cowardly and won’t respond at all. But revenge is a dish best served cold. |
ABOUT THE AUTHOR / SOURCELarry C. Johnson is a former CIA analyst turned anti-imperialist blogger.
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Another great analysis. Which underscores Russia’s need to take Odessa and Nikolaev and cut Western Ukraine off from the sea, establishing its own strategic control of most of the northern shore of the Black Sea. Turkey needs Russia more than ever now that Lula has won in Brazil and BRIC is hugely strengthened. He also needs Russia’s forebearance for its efforts to control the Kurds in Eastern Syria. Erdogan can hardly trust the Americans after their attempts at a Turkish coup and their support the Kurds in Syria, Iraq and now Iran–a direct threat to the New Ottoman Empire. This situation is changing fast. With the midterms in the US, you will see the Republicans cutting off funding to Zelensky in the New Year, by which time, the Russians should have a force of 400,000 in Eastern Ukraine (counting the militias), and the advantage of solid ground for tank warfare. You can be sure that Iran will respond to American incitements in its Kurdish areas by supplying more drones. But watch what happens after the American Midterms. https://julianmacfarlane.substack.com/p/midterms-a-bloodletting