“Extending the US” – the Russians playing chess – Analysis

Russia invites the USA to a game of chess. The one-dimensional “shooter gamers” from the Pentagon are completely unfit for the Kremlin’s fast-paced chess. The risks are increasing.

Peter Hanseler

Introduction

You may remember the Rand Corporation’s major publication from 2019 entitled “Extending Russia“: the title said it all: weaken Russia. Over 354 pages, this instruction manual pondered how Russia could be destroyed, economically, militarily, scientifically and socially.

The Americans began the offensive to weaken Russia in 1990, accelerated it in 2014 and have been waging war against the bear with their proxies since 2022. The bear seemed sluggish, fending off all blows, but has so far not allowed itself to be rattled. Nevertheless, something seems to be happening; Russia is positioning its chess pieces precisely, gracefully, maliciously: the Americans are speechless and overwhelmed.

The Russians are using the famous summer lull to play a thrilling game of chess with the Americans, who are known to be more inclined towards shooter games. Quick strategic and networked thinking does not seem to be Washington’s strong point. The Russians move knights, bishops and pawns with great agility, making the Pentagon dizzy: Washington is surprised and seems overwhelmed.

The Pentagon wanted to finish off the Russians with Mr. Selenski on their western border – but a chessboard has 64 squares and not just one – the Russians use the entire board.

We comment on the first offensive moves by the Russians, which open up a game whose fronts are spread around the globe, from the US border to countries where the Americans have already lost wars: Korea and Vietnam.

Chess move 1 – Kharkov

Militarily, the Russians open the game with the opening of the Kharkov front. Is this a major Russian offensive? – Not at all. The Russians’ main reason for opening this front in the north is simply to extend the front, which was already over 1,000 km long, by a further 400 km. This forces the Ukrainians to move troops from other sections of the front to the north. The Russians captured border towns in the north, dug themselves in and did not have to wait long for the Ukrainians to throw troops against them. The result: Ukrainian daily losses have never been so high. At the same time, the Russians were advancing on the previous front where the Ukrainians had withdrawn troops. The Ukrainians are bleeding to death. It’s a cruel scene.

The huge Ukrainian losses do not seem to cause any problems for the West. Switzerland, as the lapdog of the Ukrainians, held a war conference under the pretext of seeking peace. Result: For peace: Zero; for further arms deliveries: One.

Chess move 2 – Cuba

One may remember 1962, when Khrushchev stationed nuclear missiles in Cuba, the world held its breath and World War 3 was just around the corner. Naturally, the Soviets found themselves in the role of the aggressor in the eyes of the West – “without reason, the Soviet Union brought the world to the brink of World War 3”, was the tenor. JFK left the stage as the victor. The small flaw in the Western narrative, which persists to this day, was the fact that the deployment of nuclear missiles by the Russians in Cuba was a reaction to American aggression in the form of the deployment of nuclear missiles in Turkey. The Americans won the marketing game; nevertheless, after a few months they withdrew their missiles in Turkey – an agreement between Khrushchev and Kennedy, negotiated verbally by confidants in a Washington café, not officially set down in writing; which Kennedy adhered to – those were the days.

In the eyes of the West, the Russians did not look good, even though they had won the game geopolitically. This was one reason why the energetic Khrushchev, who was great for the Russian people, had to vacate his chair. Brezhnev brought a chill back into Russian life.

The dispatch of the Russian flotilla to Cuba merely caused consternation in the USA – nothing more. Surprising, really, because if the Russians wanted it that way, Miami would be history within 90 seconds. The Russians are giving the Americans a big pinch of fear and terror, exactly the kind of terror that the Americans actually wanted to give the Russians in Ukraine: Stationing nuclear weapons on the border with Russia – and now Russia is showing how it can immediately counter this American move. An ingenious move by the Russians and a great bargaining chip in the hands of the bear; this bargaining chip will prove to be a heavyweight in later negotiations.

Chess move 3 – North Korea

After China, President Putin invites Kim Yong Un back to the geopolitics table. The mutual support pact is a thunderbolt. North Korea is a neighbor of Russia – just a stone’s throw away from Vladivostok.

Putin brought the prospect of large – and for North Korea important – agricultural deliveries, support for infrastructure and industry as well as a second “Aurus” as a gift for Kim. Putin and Kim went for a spin together in this magnificent version of a Rolls Royce, first the Russian and then the North Korean at the wheel. Both seemed to enjoy themselves immensely.

North Korea is supplying artillery ammunition – by the millions. In a few days, this will be at the front – on the cheap and unblockable land route. The freight trains traveling from the east of Russia to the west are endless.

The military agreement between Russia and North Korea is a multi-fold slap in the face for the Americans: not only are the North Koreans finally out of geopolitical isolation – they can live well with two friends, China and Russia – but the Americans in South Korea are completely blocked militarily. This gives any provocations by the USA a completely new dimension. Seoul is within artillery range of North Korea.

Chess move 4 – Vietnam

Today, every child – except possibly readers of leading Western media – knows that the Vietnam War was started by the Americans due to a so-called “false flag attack” (Gulf of Tonkin incident). It can also be assumed that Kennedy’s unwillingness to escalate the conflict in Vietnam was a reason for his early demise. The number of 58,000 dead American soldiers pales in comparison to the approximately 4 million civilians who were slaughtered – with the strong assistance of Henry Kissinger – in order to negotiate a “Peace with Honor” for President Nixon in Paris.

In contrast to the USA, an alliance with the Russians is therefore very easy to sell to the Vietnamese population. Incidentally, the role of the Russians in the Vietnam War is completely underestimated. It was Russian aircraft with Russian pilots and Russian air defense missiles that inflicted catastrophic losses on the Americans during the Vietnam War. Russia thus played a key role in the victory over the Americans – comparable to the role the Russians played in Syria from 2015 onwards. The American leadership does not seem to realize that you can get more out of a country with loyal long-term help than with the useless slaughter of the civilian population.

Conclusion

The Russians have taken the Americans completely by surprise and are not only weakening the US position twice over in Asia, but also on their own doorstep in the Caribbean. A complete disaster for the USA.

It could get much worse: The BRICS organization, which we consider to be the project of the century, is growing at lightning speed and has long since left the G7 behind. The fact that Thailand and Turkey are on the list of candidates should give Washington heartburn – or will they once again make a surprised face?

The Russians are thus demonstrating that they do indeed have the means to put the USA on the defensive. The bear has an excellent reputation in the Global South, as it is seen as reliable and fair. The USA has the reputation it deserves: You make treaties and insist on their fulfillment until they no longer benefit the US; then they are broken. However, this development can also lead to further escalation.

The latest missile attack on Sevastopol beach, which left many dead and injured, has stirred up the Russian population and calls for retaliation. The official statement from the Russian foreign ministry raises eyebrows, as the USA is being held fully responsible for the attack:

“All flight data were entered by US military crews based on US reconnaissance satellite inputs.  A Global Hawk US reconnaissance drone was on duty off Crimea.”

Erklärung des Außenministeriums zu dem Terroranschlag in Sewastopol

It is quite possible that the Russians will declare the Black Sea a “no-fly zone”. The Americans have often done this, for example in the Adriatic before the bombing of Belgrade, without any legal basis. The Russians could do the same. Then the Global Hawk drones would either disappear or be shot down. That would be the most efficient way for the Russians to minimize missile attacks on Russia. However, it would be a further escalation step.

At the risk of annoying readers, I am once again repeating a danger that is completely neglected by many geopoliticians, the media and politicians: The instability of the financial markets. The associated risks are very high and difficult to calculate, which makes them all the more dangerous.

In an interview with Greg Hunter, financial market specialist Bill Holter was extremely negative about the situation on the financial markets. In his opinion, the markets are hanging by a thread:

The system is so unstable, at this point, it could be anything that could bring it down.

It could be a banking problem.  It could be a derivatives problem.  It could be a derivatives problem in the stock market, the bond market and you could see a failure to deliver in silver.

Bill Holter

The Russians are overextending the US: The title of the Rand Corporation publication from 2019 has the potential to become a geopolitical bon mot in a modified form: “Extending the US”.