It should come as no surprise that the West is running for cover, proverbially, over the apparent use of an Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile (IRBM) to deliver a stark message over the failed use of US and British offensive weapons against the Russian Federation.

The title metaphorically suggests that the “game” of brinkmanship by Western leaders, particularly President Biden, risks yielding catastrophic consequences. His national security decisions are driven by short-term political motives. This has left him and what remains of the US Democratic Party politically vulnerable and strategically outmaneuvered.

The lame-duck administration’s decision to allow deep strikes with ATACMS, as well as the UK and French decision to allow deep strikes with the jointly produced Shadow Storm/SCALP missiles, was widely lauded in western media as a “gamer changer” despite previous warnings from Putin that, because of the technical nature of these weapons, and the need for the involvement of military personnel from the supplying countries in their use, any strikes deep inside Russia using them would directly involve the supplying country in the war.

On 19th November, the Ukrainians used the ATACMS system to try and strike a weapons depot in Karachev, 110km from the Russia-Ukraine border, luckily, Russian air defense troops rose to the occasion, reportedly shooting down five of the six missiles and damaging the sixth to the extent that it did no significant damage.

A further escalation by the West and Ukraine occurred on 20th November, with an attack using up to 12 Storm Shadow missiles on what the Ukrainians claimed was a command center in Maryno. While the extent of the damage caused is not known, the jubilant reaction by the UK media was both sickening and a sign that the UK government is fully involved.

What is truly ridiculous is that the justification for both the US and UK/France for deep strikes into Russia is the mythical 10,000 North Koreans strong that seem to be invisibly helping the Russians in Kursk. Although no evidence has ever been provided of NKPA troops in the conflict zone, the fantasy army is repeatedly used as an excuse for escalation by an increasingly desperate western leadership.

Another concerning factor is the silence from Trump over Biden’s authorization of deep strikes into Russia, with Russian officials becoming increasingly suspicious that the incoming administration has........

© New Eastern Outlook