As Russia's Military Stumbles, Its Adversaries Take Note
Ignoring for a moment the fact that the article cites mainly US military sources for its analysis of the Russian military&#x27;s performance [so, no hint of bias there!] an alternative way of looking at this is that the Russian military is as outdated and incompetent as at least some people have long believed. And that dis-proportionate western fear of it has been equally long been encouraged by the US as a justification for its own continued military build-up and presence in Europe.<p>It would be highly amusing if, instead of encouraging the US&#x27;s client states in Western Europe to demand more American weaponry and protection, this exposure of Russian ineptitude actually persuaded them that they were capable of defending themselves and they told the US to pack its bags, go home and leave European nations to form their own relationships with Russia.<p>Oh well. One can but dream!<p>FWIW --Russia&#x27;s apparent cocking up of their invasion of Ukraine hasn&#x27;t come as a huge surprise to me. Historically the Russian military has always succeeded where they have counter-attacked an exhausted invading  enemy, who has over-stretched himself and already been practically defeated by the vastness of the country and the harshness of the winter.<p>When the Russians initiate the aggression, they almost always falter. As the old joke goes; it&#x27;s hard to mount a successful invasion when your military instruction manuals say <i>&quot;Form the tanks into a circle and wait for winter&quot;</i>