Ukrainian servicemen fire a BM-21 Grad multiple launch rocket system towards Russian positions on a frontline near the town of Bakhmut, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Donetsk region, Ukraine January 15, 2023. REUTERS/Oleksandr Ratushniak
Zero Hedge: New RAND Study Breaks From US Hawks, Warns Against “Protracted Conflict” In Ukraine
The famous Pentagon and US government-linked think tank RAND Corporation has finally attempted to inject some rare realism into the Washington establishment’s thinking and planning regarding the Ukraine war.
So far throughout eleven months of conflict which remains largely stalemated, though the last few days have seen Russian military momentum and advance grow in the Bakhmut offensive, US and NATO officials have unhesitatingly and enthusiastically cheered on every major escalation of the West’s involvement.
But the new 32-page RAND document has sounded the alarm over the dangers of this approach, which is unusual given the think tank is notorious for being the hawkish academic arm of the military-industrial complex. This was especially the case in the Vietnam war era, when RAND became infamous for its fueling the policy behind various insurgency and counterinsurgency fiascos in Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand. RAND now argues that in Ukraine “US interests would be best served by avoiding a protracted conflict,” and that “costs and risks of a long war…outweigh the possible benefits.”
Read more ….
Update #1: Pentagon think tank warns against ‘long war’ in Ukraine (RT)
Update #2: Neither Ukraine nor Russia to achieve absolute victory in this war RAND (Ukrayinska Pravda)
WNU Editor: Even the RAND Corporation is realizing that if the Russia – Ukraine war continues, there will be no good outcome for the US. In short. They are admitting that this is a war that Ukraine (i.e. the West) cannot win, and that the military situation for Ukraine is worsening. Unfortunately. The leadership in the West is not listening, and this RAND report will be avoided.
The RAND report is here …. Avoiding a Long War: U.S. Policy and the Trajectory of the Russia-Ukraine Conflict (RAND Corporation).