Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis

Senator Inhofe Sponsors Ukraine Military Weapons Bill Based on Images of Russian Soldiers in Georgia in 2008

Posted: 13 Feb 2015 11:59 AM PST

On February 11, US Senator Jim Inhofe authored a Bill to Arm Ukraine with Lethal Military Aid.

Mr. President I rise today to introduce my bill that authorizes the President to provide lethal weapons to the Government of Ukraine in order to defend itself against Russian-backed rebel separatists in eastern Ukraine.

On January 15, 2015, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stated, "For several months we have seen the presence of Russian forces in eastern Ukraine, as well as a substantial increase in Russian heavy equipment such as tanks, artillery, and advanced air defense systems."

These photographs were given to me by Lt Col Semen Semenchenko, the commander of Donbas Volunteer Assault Battalion and newly elected member of the parliament of Ukraine, during our meeting on 13 Nov last year.

The first set of pictures show Russian troops in T-72 tanks, BTR armored personnel carriers, and BMP infantry fighting vehicles entering eastern Ukraine, waiving Russian flags. This is not simply supporting separatists – it is an invasion of the Ukraine by Russia.

The second set of picture were taken by Ukrainian soldiers on the front line in eastern Ukraine.

Fake Pictures

According to Ukraine and NATO, there are 5,000 Russian troops swarming Ukraine with more coming in every day.

Thus one might expect Senator Inhofe to have a basket of images to use as justification for US warmongering.

Instead, it turns out the pictures were fake. They show Russian troops in Georgia in 2008.

Colonel Cassad Explains

Via translation from Colonel Cassad Photos that were the Basis of Preparation of the Law on the Supply of US Weapons to Ukraine Were Fake.

US Republican senator Jim Inhofe was furious to find out that Ukrainian parliament gave him fake pictures as evidence the presence of Russian troops in Ukraine. The senator gave these pictures to the Washington Free Beacon for publication. Readers immediately noticed something was wrong.

Later publication reported that the images "raised a number of issues," and this fact is being checked.

"Some of the photos of Russian military were made in 2008 during the conflict in Georgia" admitted the journalists. Other photos were taken years before in other armed conflicts. Be that as it may, these images were transferred to a reception Senator Jim Inhofe in December 2014 under the guise of photo chronicle of events in Ukraine.

Inhofe Tricked

No major western news site has picked up this story.

I did find this Free Beacon story Inhofe Criticizes Ukrainian Group for Providing Misleading Photos.

Following publication of this story, serious questions have been raised about the authenticity of some of the photographs provided by Sen. Jim Inhofe (R., Okla.). Several images of the Russian convoys appear to have been taken in 2008, during Russia's conflict with Georgia. Given the similarities between the earlier images and those provided by the senator's office, the Washington Free Beacon is investigating further and will update as necessary.

When asked about the discrepancies, Donelle Harder, Inhofe's communications director, said that the office is checking back with its sources.

"These were presented to the Armed Services Committee from a delegation from Ukraine in December," Harder said. "In December, we talked to them about publishing the photos and giving them the credit, and they were fine with that. We thoroughly checked our sources again prior to releasing the photos, and felt confident proceeding because the photos also match reporting. We are currently making calls to our sources."

UPDATE 7:10 P.M.: Sen. Inhofe said in a statement: "The Ukrainian parliament members who gave us these photos in print form as if it came directly from a camera really did themselves a disservice. We felt confident to release these photos because the images match the reporting of what is going on in the region. I was furious to learn one of the photos provided now appears to be falsified from an AP photo taken in 2008. This doesn't change the fact that there is plenty of evidence Russia has made advances into the country with T-72 tanks and that pro-Russian separatists have been killing Ukrainians in cold blood."

The Washington Free Beacon regrets the error.

Inhofe Tweets

Tweet: What a f'ing joke. WFB runs photos from Inhofe as proof Russia arming Ukraine. At least 1 from Russo-Georgian War.

Response 1: "One of them goes back to at least 2012:

Response 2: "Also from Russo-Georgian War. You can see structures in other photographs"

Response 3: "So @jiminhofe's 'new intel' on Ukraine armor consists, in part, of 2 photos from Ossetia, 1 AFP wire service photo"

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com

Obama Asks Congress for "Limited" War on ISIS; Explaining "Limited"; Republicans Seek "Robust" War

Posted: 13 Feb 2015 10:45 AM PST

On Wednesday, president Obama Asked Congress to Back War on Isis.

Six months after US planes began bombing Jihadi militants in Iraq and Syria, President Barack Obama is taking a political gamble by asking Congress to approve the military operation.

The White House on Wednesday sent to Congress a new war powers resolution to authorise a "limited" military campaign against the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (known as Isis) for the next three years.

In a statement at the White House, Mr Obama said the resolution was designed to give the "flexibility we need for unforeseen circumstances". He would consider using US forces in Iraq or Syria if, for instance, the US received information about a meeting of Isis leaders.

But he insisted that the US was not getting "dragged back into another prolonged ground war in the Middle East". The resolution was "not the authorisation of another ground war, like Afghanistan or Iraq".

Although operations against Isis so far have taken place only in Iraq and Syria, the resolution places no geographic limits on the fight against either Isis or what it calls "associated persons or forces" — a phrase that has been used in the past to justify counter-terrorism operations against a range of different groups.

However, at the same time the resolution calls on the next president to return to Congress in three years' time to either justify or change the military campaign and bars the US military from conducting what it calls "enduring offensive ground combat operations".

Explaining "Limited"

Don't worry. War will be "limited" just like Afghanistan, Iraq, Vietnam, and other initially limited engagements.
It can't last longer than three years because of the "stringent requirement" that the next president would have to ask for an extension.
Besides, ground troops won't be used, unless of course they are.
And operations will be limited to Iraq and Syria except as needed to target "associated persons or forces" anywhere in the world.

In other words, Obama seeks approval to pretty much do whatever the hell he wants. Realistically, there are no limitations.

Republicans Seek "Robust" War

However, war hawks in Congress, don't want to deal with even theoretical limitations. For example, House Speaker John Boehner quipped "If we are going to defeat this enemy, we need a comprehensive military strategy and a robust authorization, not one that limits our options. The president's request did not give military commanders "the flexibility and authorities they need to succeed and protect our people".

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com

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