Stan R. Mitchell's Blog, page 24

Stan R. Mitchell: The view from the front podcast for 8-12-22.

What’s going on, guys?! Happy Friday!

Hope everyone is doing well!

What follows are the source notes for this podcast. (I’ll talk about the show below.)

So, if you just happen to be stopping by on the internet, or you’ve arrived here from the Apple Podcast, you’ll find the source notes here on my substack.

On the other hand, if you’re on Apple Podcast or one of the other podcast apps, you’ll need to click the “episode website” button at the bottom to reach those notes. Otherwise, not all of them will show up, as tweets don’t appear in the text-only summary of the podcast apps.

Subscribe now

About me: I am a prior infantry Marine, who earned the rank of Sergeant and a Combat Action Ribbon in 1997, and I love doing this podcast twice a week.

For those who don’t know, every Tuesday and Friday, I discuss military and defense news, as well as some history, motivation, and wisdom. (And I do all of this from a moderate perspective.) 

Tuesday posts will be available to everyone, but they’ll be delayed by one day unless you’re a paid subscriber.

That way, it will encourage folks to support what we’re doing here if they can, but also doesn’t really penalize you if you can’t make that $5 a month payment. At most, you’re waiting an additional day for the content.

So, if you believe in what we’re doing, and you want to be a part of this community, I’d be honored if you signed up. Either as a free or paid subscriber.

Subscribe now

So, that’s what I’m trying to do here. I don’t claim to know the answers, but I think we can ask the questions, seeks the answers, and make a difference.

And this concept is why I do all of this from a moderate perspective. I believe with we have to pull this country together. We have to stop hating those on the other side of the aisle and we have to stop rewarding the loudest (and most angry) voices on either side.

We need compromise, respect for the other side, and a more serious dignity and weight to our politics.

So, please, join what we’re trying to do. Sign up for free at a minimum. And chip in a few bucks if you can.

Source notes

Russia:

Liz Sly @LizSlyThe Crimea attack has drawn attention to the role of the undercover national resistance, or “partisans,” led by Ukraine special forces & operating in occupied territory. “If you ask me if there are partisans, I will answer: There are. They are everywhere.” Crimea airfield blast was work of Ukrainian special forces, official saysThe attack marked a dramatic escalation of the war, demonstrating Ukrainian forces’ ability to strike deeper behind Russian lines than previously believed.washingtonpost.com

August 11th 2022

6 Retweets20 Likesian bremmer @ianbremmersatellite images of the russian air base in crimea, before & after explosionsat least 9 aircraft destroyed

August 11th 2022

66 Retweets366 LikesTyler Rogoway @Aviation_IntelPost is up and we are live updating it. Russian Airbase In Crimea Erupts In Massive Explosions (Updated)If Ukraine did strike the base, it would be further evidence that the war has arrived in the Russian-occupied stronghold of southern Crimea.thedrive.com

August 9th 2022

69 Retweets420 LikesPetri Mäkelä @pmakela1Ammo dumps completely gone and several fighter and fighter bombers totally wrecked with more most likely damaged by blast and debris after the Ukrainian strike to the Russian airbase on occupied Crime.Extremely successful operation!

Kriegsforscher @OSINTua

Let me be the first one.And yeah, what air defence doing?Burn, Russians, burn. https://t.co/uLltDD3Z46

August 10th 2022

52 Retweets423 Likes

David Ignatius on Morning Joe, 8/12: 98 percent of Ukrainians believe they’re going to win the war. And that’s up from 96 in the previous poll.

@KyivIndependent ‘This is a question that worries absolutely everyone: when will the war end? Someone says - months, someone - a year, someone - even more. But the question of time actually directly depends on the question of the losses that Russia will suffer.’ ~Zelenskyy ","username":"OriginalRamayan","name":"Ramayan Original-'Ya Tut' to fight the info war","date":"Wed Aug 10 21:22:02 +0000 2022","photos":[{"img_url":"https://substackcdn.com/image/upload/...Ramayan Original-'Ya Tut' to fight the info war @OriginalRamayan@KyivIndependent ‘This is a question that worries absolutely everyone: when will the war end? Someone says - months, someone - a year, someone - even more. But the question of time actually directly depends on the question of the losses that Russia will suffer.’ ~Zelenskyy

August 10th 2022

79 Retweets423 LikesLiz Sly @LizSlyRussia isn't only capturing Ukrainian territory, it's seizing its wealth - 63 percent of its coal deposits, 11 percent of its oil, 20 percent of its natural gas deposits, 42 percent of its metals & 33 percent of critical minerals eg lithium 1/2 In the Ukraine war, a battle for the nation’s mineral and energy wealthRussia’s occupation of eastern Ukraine has given it control over some of the most mineral-rich lands in Europe.washingtonpost.com

August 11th 2022

13 Retweets19 Likes@Anthony_Faiola & @DDaltonBennett ","username":"LizSly","name":"Liz Sly","date":"Thu Aug 11 21:44:18 +0000 2022","photos":[],"quoted_tweet":{},"retweet_count":0,"like_count":5,"expanded_url":{"url":"https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/... the Ukraine war, a battle for the nation’s mineral and energy wealth","description":"Russia’s occupation of eastern Ukraine has given it control over some of the most mineral-rich lands in Europe.","domain":"washingtonpost.com"},"video_url":null,"belowTheFold":true}">Liz Sly @LizSly2/ A total of $12.3 trillion of Ukraine's metals, minerals & energy deposits are now under Russian control, much of it in the industrial Donbas area, the focus of the fighting. By @Anthony_Faiola & @DDaltonBennett In the Ukraine war, a battle for the nation’s mineral and energy wealthRussia’s occupation of eastern Ukraine has given it control over some of the most mineral-rich lands in Europe.washingtonpost.com

August 11th 2022

5 Likes

Economist story quoted from: Ukraine’s allies gather in Copenhagen

CNN International @cnniThe "alarming" situation at a Russian-occupied nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine had reached a "grave hour," the head of the United Nations' nuclear watchdog has said Ukrainian nuclear plant facing ‘grave hour,’ UN watchdog saysThe “alarming” situation at a Russian-occupied nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine had reached a “grave hour,” the head of the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog said Thursday, as he called for an immediate inspection of the facility by international experts.cnn.it

August 12th 2022

6 Retweets8 Likes

I discussed several weeks ago in my podcast that Somalia was going to start heating up, and sure enough, here beith some proof of that.

Andrew deGrandpré @adegrandpreInbox —> US military says three airstrikes in Somalia on Tuesday killed four Al-Shabaab operatives.

August 10th 2022

3 Retweets7 LikesMotivation and inspiration:Sara🌻 @rosencsaYou are 💜!

August 11th 2022

1 LikeSuccess Minded @_SuccessMinded_Consistency is the answer to all your problems.Show up every day, put in the reps and you'll work it out.

August 12th 2022

176 Retweets788 LikesSuccess Minded @_SuccessMinded_Set a goalMake a plan Stay focused Work hard SucceedStay humble

August 11th 2022

625 Retweets2,162 LikesDaily Dose of Philosophy @PhilosophyDose_"A man is great not because he hasn't failed; a man is great because failure hasn't stopped him." - Confucius

August 10th 2022

839 Retweets4,012 LikesDaily Dose of Philosophy @PhilosophyDose_"Don't count the days, make the days count." - Muhammad Ali

August 9th 2022

350 Retweets2,189 LikesSuccess Minded @_SuccessMinded_Do not worry if your path seems lonely right now. You are simply removing energies that no longer match the frequency of your future. You will soon attract people who truly deserve to walk that path with you.

August 9th 2022

263 Retweets1,144 Likes#quote","username":"Life__Quotes","name":"Daily Life Quotes","date":"Tue Mar 15 23:12:46 +0000 2022","photos":[],"quoted_tweet":{},"retweet_count":4,"like_count":22,"expanded_url":{},"video_url":null,"belowTheFold":true}">Daily Life Quotes @Life__Quotes"Refuse to Allow Any Thoughts Based on your Past to Define you." ~Wayne Dyer #quote

March 15th 2022

4 Retweets22 LikesMotivational Quotes @motivation_qotLet your past make you better, not bitter.

March 12th 2022

340 Retweets1,367 LikesMotivational Quotes @motivationalThere are two primary choices in life: to accept conditions as they exist, or accept the responsibility for changing them. -Denis Waitley

March 13th 2022

608 Retweets2,379 Likes

That’s it for this edition.

As a reminder, please be kind and try your best to love your fellow Americans.

Let’s all work together to unite this country. We have to stop hating those on the other side of the aisle and we have to stop rewarding the loudest (and most angry) voices on either side.

We need to bring back more decency to our politics. We need compromise, respect for the other side, and a more serious gravity to the matters before our country.

So, please, try to be a better person yourself each and every day. Try to be kinder on social media and how you interact with others with whom you disagree.

And, please, if you haven’t already, sign up for free episodes at a minimum. We’d be proud to have you join us here.

And if you love what you’re we’re doing, throw a couple of bucks in the hat by subscribing below.

I appreciate each and every one of you. Every tweet, every share, every email, etc. I can’t even tell you how much those mean to me, and I love each and every one of you all.

And also, if you have two seconds, drop a rating or review on Apple Podcasts. I think we only have a few ratings, so a little love there might help us grow the show a little better.

Thanks again, everyone! You guys are the best.

The view from the front is a reader-supported publication. The best way to make this work sustainable, and to help improve it, is with a paid subscription. But at the same time, free ones are appreciated, too!

Subscribe now

Semper Fidelis,

Stan R. Mitchell

P.S. Don’t forget to check out my books. I’ve written a CIA/Marine sniper series, a detective series, a private investigator series, an action-packed Western, a motivational/biography book about President Obama, and two realistic war novels: one about World War II and one about Afghanistan.

P.P.S. And here’s a short bio about me and what I’m trying to do with the newsletter.

Stan R. Mitchell: The view from the front podcast for 8-9-22.

What’s up, guys?! Happy Tuesday!

Hope everyone is doing well!

What follows are the source notes for this podcast. (I’ll talk about the show below.)

So, if you just happen to be stopping by on the internet, or you’ve arrived here from the Apple Podcast, you’ll find the source notes here on my substack.

On the other hand, if you’re on Apple Podcast or one of …

Read more

Stan R. Mitchell: The view from the front podcast for 8-5-22.

What is up, guys?! Happy Friday!

Hope everyone is doing well!

What follows are the source notes for this podcast. (I’ll talk about the show below.)

So, if you just happen to be stopping by on the internet, or you’ve arrived here from the Apple Podcast, you’ll find the source notes here on my substack.

On the other hand, if you’re on Apple Podcast or one of the other podcast apps, you’ll need to click the “episode website” button at the bottom to reach those notes. Otherwise, not all of them will show up.

Subscribe now

About me: I am a prior infantry Marine, who earned the rank of Sergeant and a Combat Action Ribbon in 1997, and I love doing this podcast twice a week.

For those who don’t know, every Tuesday and Friday, I discuss military and defense news, as well as some history, motivation, and wisdom. (And I do all of this from a moderate perspective.) 

Tuesday posts will be available to everyone, but they’ll be delayed by one day unless you’re a paid subscriber.

That way, it will encourage folks to support what we’re doing here if they can, but also doesn’t really penalize you if you can’t make that $5 a month payment. At most, you’re waiting an additional day for the content.

But I do want to keep the option there (and the incentive there) for you to support this effort with a paid subscription. I’m doing this for several reasons.

First, I believe in the mission of this. Of trying to highlight what our military troops are doing around the world, while also trying to better educate Americans about looming hotspots. We want to avoid those places we should avoid. We also want to avoid unplanned mission creep, such as we did in Afghanistan, where we went from removing the Taliban and pursuing Osama bin Laden, to then trying to create a thriving democracy in one of the poorest, least-educated parts of the world. I could also mention our invasion of Iraq. Or our intervention in Vietnam. These decisions mattered when they were made, and the decisions being made now matter as well. I am passionate about this topic because I’ve been the scared, young rifleman, who went into a foreign land and had the wits scared out of him, while dodging bullets for a few days in a foreign land. The bottom line is foreign policy really matters. (What are the details of your military career?)

Second, I know that as our support grows, so, too, can the depth, length, and reach of the show. This, given the mission I just mentioned above, is important to me. And it’s also something that’s hard to achieve while continuing to work a full-time job, as I’m currently doing. Not to mention trying to be as awesome of a husband and step-dad as I can possibly be. 

Finally, I also know that this isn’t a broad topic that 80 percent of the country is excited to hear about. Foreign policy news is a very-small, niche subject, and I’m not kidding myself into believing that I can somehow single-handedly make half the country care about it.

So for all of these reasons, I need your support. If you’re a free subscriber, I need you telling others who might be interested. Or sharing some of the podcasts from time-to-time. And for those who can, and who really believe in what we’re trying to do, I’d greatly appreciate it if you can throw a few bucks in the hat. It’s $5 a month to subscribe, and if you do so, you’ll get the Tuesday edition without the one-day delay.

So, if you believe in what we’re doing, and you want to be a part of this community, I’d be honored if you signed up. Either as a free or paid subscriber.

Subscribe now

So, that’s what I’m trying to do here. I don’t claim to know the answers, but I think we can ask the questions, seeks the answers, and make a difference.

And this concept is why I do all of this from a moderate perspective. I believe with we have to pull this country together. We have to stop hating those on the other side of the aisle and we have to stop rewarding the loudest (and most angry) voices on either side.

We need compromise, respect for the other side, and a more serious gravity to our politics.

So, please, join what we’re trying to do. Sign up for free at a minimum. And chip in a few bucks if you can.

Source notes

China:

Pelosi, Congressional Delegation statement on visit to Taiwan press release.

Nancy Pelosi has left Taiwan. The real crisis may be just beginning. From The Economist.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/08/05/us-summons-china-ambassador/ 

Mick Ryan, AM @WarintheFutureThe aggressive behaviour of China, the PLA and the Eastern Theatre Command, as shown in this graphic, will provide valuable insights into Chinese military thinking and capacity in the days ahead. 1/14 🧵

August 3rd 2022

1,112 Retweets4,002 LikesMick Ryan, AM @WarintheFuture2/ First, the coming days will permit us to observe how China and the PLA might think about conducting a naval blockade of Taiwan. In essence, they are telegraphing their operational approach so we can war game ways to subvert it in future.

August 3rd 2022

113 Retweets1,077 LikesMick Ryan, AM @WarintheFuture13/ Beyond the strategic messaging about ‘don’t mess with the PLA’, the PLA will almost certainly use this as an opportunity iron out issues with its joint command and control. They are decades behind the west in these kinds of operations.

August 3rd 2022

57 Retweets613 LikesMick Ryan, AM @WarintheFuture14/ But, we have been given a priceless opportunity to learn about the Chinese joint military capability in real time, and to assess its strengths and weaknesses. The Taiwanese, Americans, Japanese, Australians and others will be watching closely. End

August 3rd 2022

99 Retweets1,066 Likes

China sends missiles flying over Taiwan https://www.economist.com/china/2022/08/04/china-sends-missiles-flying-over-taiwan  from @TheEconomist

Russia:#Olenivka prison complex holding Ukrainian POWs in occupied #Donetsk Oblast but blamed #Ukraine for an alleged precision strike using Western-supplied military equipment. (1/6)\n\nisw.pub/RusCampaignAug… ","username":"TheStudyofWar","name":"ISW","date":"Thu Aug 04 13:01:50 +0000 2022","photos":[{"img_url":"https://pbs.substack.com/media/FZUXYf...ISW @TheStudyofWarAugust 3 Assessment Highlight:Russian forces likely set fire to the #Olenivka prison complex holding Ukrainian POWs in occupied #Donetsk Oblast but blamed #Ukraine for an alleged precision strike using Western-supplied military equipment. (1/6)isw.pub/RusCampaignAug…

August 4th 2022

142 Retweets409 LikesPatrick Fox @RealCynicalFoxOn the castration video, short 🧵:Video evidence of Russian personnel, likely ethnic Chechens, castrating a restrained Ukrainian POW has been widely circulating. I will not be posting it here. If you want to view it, it can be found easily & I warn you it's extremely graphic. 1/

July 29th 2022

132 Retweets556 Likes#Finland and #Sweden into #NATO. US = 23rd ally to ratify; 7 more to go.\n\nVladimir Putin deserves big share of credit. Without his actions this year, Helsinki and Stockholm most likely would not have applied. ","username":"steven_pifer","name":"Steven Pifer","date":"Wed Aug 03 22:31:44 +0000 2022","photos":[{"img_url":"https://pbs.substack.com/media/FZRR8c...Steven Pifer @steven_piferUS Senate votes 95-1 to consent to ratify admission of #Finland and #Sweden into #NATO. US = 23rd ally to ratify; 7 more to go.Vladimir Putin deserves big share of credit. Without his actions this year, Helsinki and Stockholm most likely would not have applied.

August 3rd 2022

438 Retweets1,920 Likes

Russia’s faltering invasion. http://espresso.economist.com/44b8b1b5c2c259df31d9d9b0f53be68b  from @TheEconomist

Africa:

Story link: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/07/20/michael-langley-africom-marines-general/ 

In tech news, I wanted to cover:

zpr.io/mAWgT6dqNKty ","username":"defense_news","name":"Defense News","date":"Thu Jul 14 17:08:53 +0000 2022","photos":[{"img_url":"https://pbs.substack.com/media/FXpIke...Defense News @defense_newsRoyal Air Force chief says drone swarms ready to crack enemy defenseszpr.io/mAWgT6dqNKty

July 14th 2022

17 Retweets53 LikesDefense News @defense_newsThe Army won't be able to shoot down a swarm of enemy drones they way it would a single drone, Leonardo DRS CEO William Lynn said, so it needs a new strategy. Leonardo DRS chief talks taking out drone swarms and what integrated sensing has in common with TeslaThe Army won’t be able to shoot down a swarm of enemy drones they way it would a single drone, Leonardo DRS CEO William Lynn said, so it needs a new strategy.defensenews.com

July 26th 2022

15 Likesnews.usni.org/2022/07/13/sev… ","username":"NavalInstitute","name":"U.S. Naval Institute","date":"Thu Jul 14 01:53:33 +0000 2022","photos":[{"img_url":"https://pbs.substack.com/media/FXl29G...U.S. Naval Institute @NavalInstituteSeveral UAVs Under Development for Next-Generation Carrier Air Wing - USNI Newsnews.usni.org/2022/07/13/sev…

July 14th 2022

9 Retweets62 Likesdefenseone.com/technology/202… via @DefenseOne @caitlinmkenney","username":"DefenseOne","name":"Defense One","date":"Wed Aug 03 13:25:43 +0000 2022","photos":[],"quoted_tweet":{},"retweet_count":2,"like_count":10,"expanded_url":{"url":"https://www.defenseone.com/technology... Ships Debut at RIMPAC, Helping US Navy Sail Toward a Less-Crewed Future","description":"Four unmanned surface vessels sailed with manned ships, sharing data and testing how they would operate with the larger U.S. fleet.","domain":"defenseone.com"},"video_url":null,"belowTheFold":true}">Defense One @DefenseOneRobot Ships Debut at RIMPAC, Helping US Navy Sail Toward a Less-Crewed Future defenseone.com/technology/202… via @DefenseOne @caitlinmkenneyRobot Ships Debut at RIMPAC, Helping US Navy Sail Toward a Less-Crewed FutureFour unmanned surface vessels sailed with manned ships, sharing data and testing how they would operate with the larger U.S. fleet.defenseone.com

August 3rd 2022

2 Retweets10 Likes

Previous news on unmanned ships in my newsletter:

The view from the front by Stan R. MitchellThe Stan R. Mitchell report for 2/1/22.Happy Tuesday, everyone! Hope your week is off to a great start! I’m going to again skip over ruminating on the Ukraine/Russia situation this week. Things haven’t changed. Putin will either invade or he won’t. No huge news has broken on the matter as of publication time…Read more6 months ago · 1 like · Stan R. MitchellMotivation and wisdom:cnn.it/3bvDBJO ","username":"CNN","name":"CNN","date":"Thu Aug 04 02:01:09 +0000 2022","photos":[{"img_url":"https://substackcdn.com/image/upload/...CNN @CNNThis company is turning heaps of plastic trash into construction building blocks cnn.it/3bvDBJO

August 4th 2022

114 Retweets417 Likes#mindfulness","username":"MindfulEveryday","name":"Everyday Mindfulness","date":"Sat Jul 23 11:34:05 +0000 2022","photos":[],"quoted_tweet":{},"retweet_count":31,"like_count":256,"expanded_url":{},"video_url":null,"belowTheFold":true}">Everyday Mindfulness @MindfulEveryday“I saw that you were perfect, and so I loved you. Then I saw that you were not perfect and I loved you even more.” ~ Angelita Lim#mindfulness

July 23rd 2022

31 Retweets256 Likes#quote","username":"Life__Quotes","name":"Daily Life Quotes","date":"Wed Mar 23 01:42:42 +0000 2022","photos":[],"quoted_tweet":{},"retweet_count":14,"like_count":32,"expanded_url":{},"video_url":null,"belowTheFold":true}">Daily Life Quotes @Life__QuotesSome of life's best lessons are learned at the worst times. -Ani Difranco #quote

March 23rd 2022

14 Retweets32 Likes#zen #zazen #meditation #mind","username":"zen_buddhism","name":"Zen","date":"Sun Jul 24 06:20:24 +0000 2022","photos":[],"quoted_tweet":{},"retweet_count":1,"like_count":10,"expanded_url":{},"video_url":null,"belowTheFold":true}">Zen @zen_buddhismPatience deepens practice;practice deepens patience.#zen #zazen #meditation #mind

July 24th 2022

1 Retweet10 LikesInspirational Quotes @TheQuoteBoook_You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.

April 16th 2022

1,286 Retweets4,907 LikesMotivational Quotes @motivation_qotTrain your mind to be stronger than your feelings.

April 19th 2022

50 Retweets168 LikesSuccess Minded @_SuccessMinded_Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.

August 3rd 2022

502 Retweets2,008 LikesSuccess Minded @_SuccessMinded_An unproductive minute can turn into an unproductive hour.An unproductive hour can turn into an unproductive day.So always be aware of your actions and do what you actually have to do.

April 16th 2022

109 Retweets425 LikesSuccess Minded @_SuccessMinded_If you don’t love it, you’ll never be great at it. Do what you love, Be devoted to your craft,Show up,And Do the work one day at a time.

April 15th 2022

140 Retweets592 LikesInspirational Quotes @TheQuoteBoook_Find out who you are and be that person. That’s what your soul was put on this earth to be. Find that truth, live that truth, and everything else will come.

April 23rd 2022

288 Retweets1,052 Likes#Motivation","username":"IMQuotes_Videos","name":"Inspired Motivation Quotes","date":"Sat Apr 02 13:00:09 +0000 2022","photos":[],"quoted_tweet":{},"retweet_count":76,"like_count":149,"expanded_url":{},"video_url":null,"belowTheFold":true}">Inspired Motivation Quotes @IMQuotes_VideosWhy put off until tomorrow what you can do today?What you can do today, why not do it now?"Later" is enemy of success.#Motivation

April 2nd 2022

76 Retweets149 LikesSuccess Minded @_SuccessMinded_"Before you can succeed, you have to believe you can succeed."

August 5th 2022

175 Retweets843 LikesSuccess Minded @_SuccessMinded_"Guard your big goals from small thinkers."

August 4th 2022

455 Retweets2,024 Likes#Keepgoing ","username":"fearlessmotivat","name":"Fearless Motivation","date":"Sat Mar 26 12:05:04 +0000 2022","photos":[{"img_url":"https://pbs.substack.com/media/FOxkJe...Fearless Motivation @fearlessmotivatIf it's not quite happening, double or triple your efforts, change your approach. Quitting is never the answer. #Keepgoing

March 26th 2022

32 Retweets142 Likes

That’s it for this edition.

As a reminder, please be kind and try your best to love your fellow Americans.

We have to pull this country together. We have to stop hating those on the other side of the aisle and we have to stop rewarding the loudest (and most angry) voices on either side.

We need compromise, respect for the other side, and a more serious gravity to our politics.

So, please, try to be a better person yourself each and every day.

And, please, if you haven’t already, sign up for free episodes at a minimum. We’d be proud to have you join us here.

And if you love what you’re reading, throw a couple of bucks in the hat by subscribing below.

I appreciate each and every one of you. Every tweet, every share, every email, etc. I can’t even tell you how much those mean to me, and I love each and every one of you all.

And also, if you have two seconds, drop a rating or review on Apple Podcasts. I think we only have a few ratings, so a little love there might help us grow the show a little better.

Thanks again, everyone! You guys are the best.

The view from the front is a reader-supported publication. The best way to make this work sustainable, and to help improve it, is with a paid subscription. But at the same time, free ones are appreciated, too!

Subscribe now

Semper Fidelis,

Stan R. Mitchell

P.S. Don’t forget to check out my books. I’ve written a CIA/Marine sniper series, a detective series, a private investigator series, an action-packed Western, a motivational/biography book about President Obama, and two realistic war novels: one about World War II and one about Afghanistan.

P.P.S. And here’s a short bio about me and what I’m trying to do with the newsletter.

Stan R. Mitchell: The view from the front podcast for 8-2-22.

Hi friend,

Happy Tuesday!

What follows are the source notes for this podcast.

So, if you just happen to be stopping by on the internet, or you’ve arrived here from the Apple Podcast, you’ll find these items below.

On the other hand, if you’re on Apple Podcast or one of the other podcast apps, you’ll need to click the “episode website” button at the botto…

Read more

Stan R. Mitchell: The view from the front podcast for 7-29-22.

Hi friend,

Happy Friday! Hope everyone has had a great week! And that you also have some great weekend plans!

In the past couple of weeks, I’ve created both a written and audio edition. But I’ve got to face reality and admit that I don’t have to do both the written and audio edition. So from this point forward, you’ll see the audio edition above. And I’ll paste the source notes below.

But it won’t be nearly as well-written.

I apologize I can’t do both, but the reality is that I simply don’t have time to do both while working a full-time day job.

One benefit of this is I think doing this will allow me to record longer podcast versions, which I’m hearing is what most of you want.

So, if you just happen to be stopping by on the internet, or you’ve arrived here from the Apple Podcast, here is how you sign up.

The view from the front by Stan R. Mitchell is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

If you’re on Apple Podcast, click the “episode website” button at the bottom. Otherwise, not all of the source notes (which are often tweets) will show up.

Source Notes follow (motivational tweets at bottom):

On the topic of Russia, I cited, quoted from, etc, the following:

ELINT News @ELINTNewsUkrainian army is learning how to adapt its HIMARS strikes. Initially they struck bridges in a line along the length of the bridge road. Now they strike across the width in order to prevent traffic flows after initial strikes were less successful.

July 27th 2022

109 Retweets908 LikesSamuel Ramani @SamRamani2This map shows the bridges that Ukraine can target as part of its Kherson offensive

July 27th 2022

113 Retweets521 Likes

Russia is ‘About to Run Out of Steam,’ MI6 Chief Says. (From Defense One.)

Chuck Pfarrer @ChuckPfarrerUK INTEL: The takeaways: UKR forces have staged a crossing of the Ingulets River-- an important advance north of Kherson. With bridges near the city destroyed, the occupying Russian 49th Army is now virtually cut off from reinforcement or supply.

July 29th 2022

23 Retweets118 Likes@OrenCNN & @barbarastarrcnn.","username":"ZcohenCNN","name":"Zachary Cohen","date":"Tue Jul 26 20:45:13 +0000 2022","photos":[],"quoted_tweet":{},"retweet_count":338,"like_count":1610,"expanded_url":{},"video_url":null,"belowTheFold":true}">Zachary Cohen @ZcohenCNNNews: Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin approved the treatment of wounded Ukrainian soldiers at a US military hospital in Germany, according to a memo obtained by CNN and confirmed by two US defense officials. A non-Jan 6 scoop w/ @OrenCNN & @barbarastarrcnn.

July 26th 2022

338 Retweets1,610 Likes@Deptula_David in his recent @Forbes editorial: ","username":"FarvaPrice","name":"Farva Price","date":"Tue Jul 26 02:30:52 +0000 2022","photos":[],"quoted_tweet":{"full_text":"Provide the Airpower Ukraine Needs to Win Now https://t.co/6Oh4NC5S0J","u... A. Deptula"},"retweet_count":6,"like_count":18,"expanded_url":{},"video_url":null,"belowTheFold":true}">Farva Price @FarvaPriceA little more detail on why I disagree with @Deptula_David in his recent @Forbes editorial:

David A. Deptula @Deptula_David

Provide the Airpower Ukraine Needs to Win Now https://t.co/6Oh4NC5S0J

July 26th 2022

6 Retweets18 LikesPatrick FoxThe Realist Case for UkraineThe Russo-Ukrainian War is now in its fifth month and the response from NATO remains strategically incoherent. Russia has blundered in initiating this conflict. Its shambolic military performance has not only given Ukraine a fighting chance at survival, but it also presents NATO a singular opportunity to reshape th…Read morea day ago · 8 likes · Patrick FoxEric Foltz @EricFoltzLooks like Putin is getting a present from the Chechens.Putin faces second war front as Chechens threaten new offensive in RussiaRussian President Vladimir Putin could be facing a second war front as Chechen forces opposed to his war in Ukraine threaten to launch their own offensive.yahoo.com

July 21st 2022

9 Retweets39 LikesFrancis Scarr @francis_scarrFor a while 🇷🇺 state TV has been very repetitive, but I think the incessant war coverage may now be giving way to the general anti-Western rhetoric typical of the past few yearsToday's early edition of 60 Minutes featured little on the war but a lot on trans people in the West

July 26th 2022

135 Retweets432 LikesMichael Weiss 🌻🇺🇸🇮🇪 @michaeldweissHorrifying footage appears to show Russian captors castrating a Ukrainian prisoner of war Horrifying footage appears to show Russian captors castrating a Ukrainian prisoner of warA horrific video posted online on Thursday appears to show a Ukrainian prisoner of war being castrated by his Russian captors.news.yahoo.com

July 28th 2022

297 Retweets514 Likes

On the topic of China, I cited, quoted from, etc, the following:

Derek J. Grossman @DerekJGrossmanPelosi set to leave for the Indo-Pacific on Friday, with stops in Japan, Indonesia, and Singapore. Still no mention of Taiwan.Bloomberg - Are you a robot?bloomberg.com

July 28th 2022

6 Retweets29 LikesPOLITICO @politicoAfter making no tangible progress on a range of issues, and with worsening tensions around Taiwan, both sides are pinning hopes for progress on a future in-person meeting.Biden-Xi call renders a lackluster rehash of polarized policy positionsAfter making no tangible progress on a range of issues, and with worsening tensions around Taiwan, both sides are pinning hopes for progress on a future in-person meeting.politico.com

July 29th 2022

4 Retweets13 LikesDerek J. Grossman @DerekJGrossmanHow China may react to Pelosi’s visit:Likely: military display near Taiwan, recall ambassador to Beijing, econ punishmentEscalating: PLAAF shadows her aircraft, cuts off mil-mil talks with USUnthinkable: targets her aircraft, launches missiles over Taiwan, naval blockade

July 28th 2022

31 Retweets175 LikesThe Washington Post @washingtonpostA top Biden administration official suggested Beijing is pursuing a policy of “military intimidation” as it rewrites the regional status quo. Pentagon calls out China’s military threats as Taiwan tensions worsenA top Biden administration official suggested Beijing is pursuing a policy of “military intimidation” as it rewrites the regional status quo.wapo.st

July 27th 2022

61 Retweets139 Likes

Pentagon Official: Chinese Military Actions Against Foreign Ships, Aircraft Are No Accidents — They’re Policy

Now, let‘s move to some motivation and wisdom.

Success Minded @_SuccessMinded_Success is measured by the size of your belief. Think little goals and expect little achievements. Think big goals and win big success.

July 29th 2022

6 Retweets21 LikesSuccess Minded @_SuccessMinded_"Make it happen. Shock everyone."

July 26th 2022

584 Retweets2,571 LikesSuccess Minded @_SuccessMinded_"Keep on being you. Keep on doing those beautiful, impactful, honest things you do. Out here in this crazy world, we need more people like you."

July 26th 2022

312 Retweets1,187 LikesSuccess Minded @_SuccessMinded_Everything you do and every decision you make should be from a good place. You should always be striving to make the world a better place.

July 29th 2022

38 Retweets149 LikesSuccess Minded @_SuccessMinded_Success doesn't just come. Most times, it has to be forced.

July 29th 2022

214 Retweets1,078 LikesSuccess Minded @_SuccessMinded_HUSTLE until your HATERS ask if you're hiring😤

July 29th 2022

124 Retweets650 LikesSuccess Minded @_SuccessMinded_"Decide. Commit. Succeed."

July 29th 2022

387 Retweets1,749 LikesSuccess Minded @_SuccessMinded_"Learn to trust the journey, even when you do not understand it."

July 29th 2022

576 Retweets2,536 Likes#Passion #Enthusiasm #Fullspeed #roalddahl ","username":"rosencsa","name":"Sara🌻","date":"Wed Jul 27 10:28:19 +0000 2022","photos":[{"img_url":"https://pbs.substack.com/media/FYqpjb...Sara🌻 @rosencsa#Passion #Enthusiasm #Fullspeed #roalddahl

July 27th 2022

That’s it for this edition.

As a reminder, please be kind and try your best to love your fellow Americans.

I believe with every fiber of my being that we have to pull this country together. We have to stop hating those on the other side of the aisle and we have to stop rewarding the loudest (and most angry) voices on either side.

I’m not sure how we do this, but it certainly starts with each of us being nice to our fellow Americans. And understanding what the great Abraham Lincoln said.

Lincoln, who is one of my absolute favorite people to look up to and study, said that a house divided cannot stand.

It’s also worth remembering that Lincoln had approximately one year of schooling. He was self-educated, learning through books and reading that he did. And yet he proved to be one of the wisest leaders we ever had.

I think his example is one we should all follow. So, stay engaged on the issues and be kind when you talk about them, especially online.

And, please, sign up for free episodes at a minimum. We’d be proud to have you join us here.

And if you love what you’re reading, throw a couple of bucks in the hat by subscribing below.

The view from the front is a reader-supported publication. The best way to make this work sustainable, and to help improve it, is with a paid subscription. But at the same time, free ones are appreciated, too!

Subscribe now

Semper Fidelis,

Stan R. Mitchell

P.S. Don’t forget to check out my books. I’ve written a CIA/Marine sniper series, a detective series, a private investigator series, an action-packed Western, a motivational/biography book about President Obama, and two realistic war novels: one about World War II and one about Afghanistan.

P.P.S. And here’s a short bio about me and what I’m trying to do with the newsletter.

Stan R. Mitchell: The view from the front podcast for 7-26-22.

Hi friends!

Sorry for the interruption!

Just wanted to let you know that yesterday’s podcast has been unlocked, and below is the entire edition. (The email you received — unless you are a paid subscriber — had a paywall about halfway through it, and the audio wasn’t included.)

This, however, is the entire episode, including audio.

Thanks in advance for your continued support!

Much love from Knoxville,

Stan

P.S. And I think next week, I figured out a way to avoid having to email you twice about the Tuesday post. (Big-time learning curve happening over here. lol)

Hi friend,

Happy Tuesday! Hope everyone had a great weekend!

I wanted to start this edition with a bit of an update on China, which is something we’ve discussed in the past, but also often gets pushed to the background because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

There are a couple of things that really bring China back into focus for this edition. (Okay, technically, I wanted to cover this in Friday’s edition, but that ended up getting rushed and cut short because I had to go catch a flight.)

Nonetheless, the first item that brings China back into the news was the item below.

NBC News reported that FBI Director Christopher Wray, standing alongside the director of Britain’s MI5, the U.K.’s domestic intelligence agency, argued that China was taking steps to protect its economy following an attack or invasion.

“In our world, we call that kind of behavior a clue,” Wray said, adding that were an invasion to happen, “it would represent one of the most horrific business disruptions the world has ever seen.”

So, the first point is you’ve got the FBI Director saying he’s seeing intelligence that China is making some moves to protect its economy. And oh, by the way, he makes this comment on foreign soil next to one of America’s staunchest allies.

To me, that’s no accident.

At the same time, we need to re-visit the news that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi may be visiting Taiwan.

Stan R. Mitchell @StanRMitchellChina says it will take ‘forceful measures’ if Pelosi visits Taiwan China says it will take ‘forceful measures’ if Pelosi visits TaiwanChina’s Foreign Ministry said there would be consequences for the United States if House Speaker Pelosi visits Taiwan.washingtonpost.com

July 19th 2022

I originally shared this in the July 19th edition. And as a reminder, Pelosi will be the first House speaker to visit Taiwan since Speaker Newt Gingrich did back in 1997.

But in the week that has passed since the news broke, there’s been a lot of increasing pressure for Pelosi NOT to visit.

This includes pressure from President Joe Biden and members of America’s highest military staff, which The Washington Post reported. (Hat tip to Derek Grossman for sharing it.)

From The Post story:

President Biden himself on Wednesday told reporters that “the military thinks it’s not a good idea right now” that Pelosi travels to Taiwan. Distrust between Washington and Beijing is at a heightened level, as China has acted with increased aggressiveness in recent encounters with the United States and allied military forces in the region.

And then on the flip side, you can already see that Biden and Pelosi are already being boxed in from folks saying they shouldn’t back down from China. Such as the tweet below:

Andrew Desiderio @AndrewDesiderioGOP Sen. Ben Sasse: “Speaker Pelosi should go to Taiwan and President Biden should make it abundantly clear to Chairman Xi that there’s not a damn thing the Chinese Communist Party can do about it.”

July 25th 2022

20 Retweets61 Likes

And even this interview from the former Secretary of Defense under former President Donald Trump. Mark Esper, the Secretary of Defense under Trump, said in an interview on CNN that China should not have any say over where American officials travel. (See video below.)

@MarkTEsper on Speaker Pelosi's planned travel to Taiwan next month: \"I think China should not have any say over where American officials travel. I think if the Speaker wants to go she should go.\"\n\nPres. Biden said last week the military does not believe the trip is a good idea. ","username":"brikeilarcnn","name":"Brianna Keilar","date":"Mon Jul 25 13:12:18 +0000 2022","photos":[{"img_url":"https://substackcdn.com/image/upload/...Brianna Keilar @brikeilarcnn.@MarkTEsper on Speaker Pelosi's planned travel to Taiwan next month: "I think China should not have any say over where American officials travel. I think if the Speaker wants to go she should go."Pres. Biden said last week the military does not believe the trip is a good idea.

July 25th 2022

25 Retweets133 Likes

And this minor debate over the Pelosi visit (or non-visit) brings up the bigger question.

Will China eventually invade, as the FBI Director warns they’re potentially preparing to do? And if so, when?

And on that impossible set of questions, I thought I’d shared a couple of things.

The first being an excellent column by Derek Grossman, who I mentioned earlier.

Grossman, who served over a decade in the Intelligence Community, and who is now a senior defense analyst at the RAND Corporation focused on national security and Indo-Pacific security issues, wrote a column in a Japanese newspaper that says Taiwan should be safe until 2027, unless one specific thing happens.

Derek J. Grossman @DerekJGrossmanMy fuller argument:Taiwan is safe until at least 2027, but with one big caveatChina is not ready to attack island territoryasia.nikkei.com

July 17th 2022

12 Retweets65 Likes

The full column is free to read, and if you really dig China issues (and want to get in the weeds on this), you should totally go check it out.

Grossman digs into the history of the issue by saying that Taiwan should have six years before it's invaded, if you believe the outgoing commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, Admiral Philip Davidson.

Davidson stated in March during open Congressional testimony that China might invade 2027, since that is apparently the 100th anniversary of the founding of China's People's Liberation Army (PLA).

But Grossman points out that despite the unprecedented number of warplanes flying near Taiwan, China has actually been less aggressive than it was in the 90s. He said as just one example that during the 1995-96 Taiwan Strait Crisis, China launched ballistic missiles near Taiwan; something that China hasn’t repeated since then.

Grossman also goes into detail about how Taiwan isn’t being mentioned in enough speeches and propaganda, something he thinks would ramp up significantly to rally the country before a war would be launched.

And while he acknowledges they could be keeping all this quiet as part of some surprise effort, Grossman reminds readers of all the serious challenges of amphibious landings. And also many of the short comings of China’s navy.

But there is one huge caveat to his prediction. Grossman says that if Taiwan elects a seriously anti-China candidate to the presidency, then China might act.

And apparently Taiwan has a current and tremendously popular vice president who could push China toward an attack, if he were to continue his rise to power.

Like I said, this is a great column that I highly recommend if you have a moment.

But there’s something else other than an all-out invasion that could soon happen.

Hal Brands, a professor of global affairs at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, who also serves as a columnist for Bloomberg Opinion, writes that a clash or crisis is more than due for the United States and China.

Brands wrote a fantastic Twitter thread on this, and was generous enough to say I could share it in its entirety, which you’ll see below.

Hal Brands @HalBrandsAll the hubbub surrounding Pelosi's potential trip to Taiwan is making one thing very clear: We are, alas, probably overdue for a major political-military crisis in US-China relations.

July 23rd 2022

179 Retweets865 Likes

FULL THREAD: All the hubbub surrounding Pelosi's potential trip to Taiwan is making one thing very clear: We are, alas, probably overdue for a major political-military crisis in US-China relations.

Not a crisis over trade, or COVID, or someone else's war (as in case of Ukraine), but crisis that brings two sides face to face in an area where both have highly important, perhaps vital, security interests.

And whether that happens over Pelosi's visit or something else, Taiwan is likely focal point, because it is where the two sides' security interests most directly conflict. It is also where Beijing feels that its military leverage is increasing...

But worries that its political leverage is decreasing, due to changes in Taiwanese public opinion and Taipei's tightening relations with Washington and other countries. That is a recipe for assertive behavior. If and when the crisis comes...

It will reveal a lot about the competition: How the two sides perceive their relative strength or weakness, how willing they are to take risks, how capable they are of managing and de-escalating potentially dangerous tensions. Crises tend to be both terrifying and clarifying.

Such a crisis will also reveal whether the US can manage more than one major global security crisis at a given time. In sum: We are entering what is likely to be a very fraught period in the U.S.-China relationship. I doubt, unfortunately, that it will end anytime soon.

Okay, that was a lot on China. Let’s move to Africa. Or, more specifically, Somalia.

Somalia is starting to make the news, such as this “An attack on a military base in Somalia shows al-Shabab’s deadly power.”

From the story:

The May 2 assault claimed more than 50 lives, according to local officials and Western security personnel in Somalia, making it the deadliest strike on the U.S.-backed peacekeeping mission here in six years. Its success underscored the resurgence of al-Shabab and the challenges that African and American troops will face in containing the group.

This is going to be something to watch, as President Biden already approved sending 450 troops to Somalia back in May.

And there’s also this pretty big fact:

The Economist @TheEconomistToday al-Shabab collects more tax revenue than the federal government does, says the new president. “They’ve established a state within a state,” he told us Somalia’s new president vows to beat back jihadists, then talk to themAn interview with Hassan Sheikh Mohamudecon.st

June 5th 2022

9 Retweets44 Likes

All right, enough news. Let’s share some motivation and wisdom.

First, I’m always looking for the positive or good news out there. And with ugly fires, drought, etc, and with all the talk of global warming and how powerless we can often feel against it, I saw two news items that were at least a bit inspiring.

First, this:

#climatecrisis.\n\nWe have solutions. Time to ditch fossil fuels and implement them. #ActOnClimate\n\n#ClimateEmergency #ClimateAction #Renewables #solar #wind #tech #GreenNewDeal ","username":"MikeHudema","name":"Mike Hudema","date":"Mon May 09 23:32:13 +0000 2022","photos":[{"img_url":"https://substackcdn.com/image/upload/...Mike Hudema @MikeHudemaEthiopia planted a record-breaking 350 million trees in 12 hours to fight the #climatecrisis.We have solutions. Time to ditch fossil fuels and implement them. #ActOnClimate#ClimateEmergency #ClimateAction #Renewables #solar #wind #tech #GreenNewDeal

May 9th 2022

1,061 Retweets3,147 Likes

And then also this:

WBIR Channel 10 @wbirUS to plant 1 billion trees as destructive wildfires kill forests US to plant 1 billion trees as destructive wildfires kill forestsAs the globe heats up, destructive fires that burn too hot for forests to quickly regrow naturally have far outpaced the government’s replanting capacity.wbir.com

July 26th 2022

7 Likes

And with that out of the way, here are some other tweets worth sharing.

N. M. Curry @realPatriot_7Hard things are put in our way, not to stop us, but to call out our courage and strength...

April 19th 2022

2 Retweets15 Likes#Motivation","username":"IMQuotes_Videos","name":"Inspired Motivation Quotes","date":"Fri Apr 22 13:00:12 +0000 2022","photos":[],"quoted_tweet":{},"retweet_count":89,"like_count":197,"expanded_url":{},"video_url":null,"belowTheFold":true}">Inspired Motivation Quotes @IMQuotes_VideosSuccessful people aren’t necessarily brilliant or talented or gifted. But they all have one thing in common. Each of them is highly motivated. That’s what drives them to try harder, work harder, take action, turn dreaming into doing. Stay motivated.#Motivation

April 22nd 2022

89 Retweets197 LikesSuccess Minded @_SuccessMinded_A positive mindset = a positive life.

April 24th 2022

433 Retweets2,269 LikesSuccess Minded @_SuccessMinded_Never EVER forget who helped you while everybody else was making excuses

May 10th 2022

213 Retweets987 LikesSuccess Minded @_SuccessMinded_If you can spend 8 hours a day building somebody else’s dream,You can spend 1 hour on yours.

April 24th 2022

144 Retweets808 LikesSuccess Minded @_SuccessMinded_This week start affirming: "The future has wonderful things in store for me."

May 24th 2022

189 Retweets929 LikesSuccess Minded @_SuccessMinded_"Be the person you wish you could've been yesterday."

April 23rd 2022

184 Retweets1,303 Likes

That’s it for this edition.

As a reminder, please be kind and try your best to love your fellow Americans. We need to pull this country together, and that starts with all of us.

I believe with every fiber of my being that we have to pull this country together. We have to stop hating those on the other side of the aisle and we have to stop rewarding the loudest (and most angry) voices on either side.

I’m not sure how we do this (though I have some ideas), but it certainly starts with each of us being nice to our fellow Americans. And understanding what the great Abraham Lincoln said.

Lincoln, who is one of my absolute favorite people to look up to and study, said that a house divided cannot stand.

It’s also worth remembering that Lincoln had approximately one year of schooling. He was self-educated, learning through books and reading that he did. And yet he proved to be one of the wisest leaders we ever had.

I think his example is one we should all follow. So, please, sign up for free at a minimum. And if you love what you’re reading, throw a couple of bucks in the hat by subscribing below.

The view from the front is a reader-supported publication. The best way to make this work sustainable, and to help improve it, is with a paid subscription. But at the same time, free ones are appreciated, too!

Subscribe now

Semper Fidelis,

Stan R. Mitchell

P.S. Don’t forget to check out my books. I’ve written a CIA/Marine sniper series, a detective series, a private investigator series, an action-packed Western, a motivational/biography book about President Obama, and two realistic war novels: one about World War II and one about Afghanistan.

P.P.S. And here’s a short bio about me and what I’m trying to do with the newsletter.

Stan R. Mitchell: The view from the front podcast for 7-26-22.

Hi friend,

Happy Tuesday! Hope everyone had a great weekend!

I wanted to start this edition with a bit of an update on China, which is something we’ve discussed in the past, but also often gets pushed to the background because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

There are a couple of things that really bring China back into focus for this edition. (Okay, technically, I wanted to cover this in Friday’s edition, but that ended up getting rushed and cut short because I had to go catch a flight.)

Nonetheless, the first item that brings China back into the news was the item below.

NBC News reported that FBI Director Christopher Wray, standing alongside the director of Britain’s MI5, the U.K.’s domestic intelligence agency, argued that China was taking steps to protect its economy following an attack or invasion.

“In our world, we call that kind of behavior a clue,” Wray said, adding that were an invasion to happen, “it would represent one of the most horrific business disruptions the world has ever seen.”

So, the first point is you’ve got the FBI Director saying he’s seeing intelligence that China is making some moves to protect its economy. And oh, by the way, he makes this comment on foreign soil next to one of America’s staunchest allies.

To me, that’s no accident.

At the same time, we need to re-visit the news that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi may be visiting Taiwan.

Stan R. Mitchell @StanRMitchellChina says it will take ‘forceful measures’ if Pelosi visits Taiwan China says it will take ‘forceful measures’ if Pelosi visits TaiwanChina’s Foreign Ministry said there would be consequences for the United States if House Speaker Pelosi visits Taiwan.washingtonpost.com

July 19th 2022

I originally shared this in the July 19th edition. And as a reminder, Pelosi will be the first House speaker to visit Taiwan since Speaker Newt Gingrich did back in 1997.

But in the week that has passed since the news broke, there’s been a lot of increasing pressure for Pelosi NOT to visit.

This includes pressure from President Joe Biden and members of America’s highest military staff, which The Washington Post reported. (Hat tip to Derek Grossman for sharing it.)

From The Post story:

President Biden himself on Wednesday told reporters that “the military thinks it’s not a good idea right now” that Pelosi travels to Taiwan. Distrust between Washington and Beijing is at a heightened level, as China has acted with increased aggressiveness in recent encounters with the United States and allied military forces in the region.

And then on the flip side, you can already see that Biden and Pelosi are already being boxed in from folks saying they shouldn’t back down from China. Such as the tweet below:

Andrew Desiderio @AndrewDesiderioGOP Sen. Ben Sasse: “Speaker Pelosi should go to Taiwan and President Biden should make it abundantly clear to Chairman Xi that there’s not a damn thing the Chinese Communist Party can do about it.”

July 25th 2022

20 Retweets61 Likes

And even this interview from the former Secretary of Defense under former President Donald Trump. Mark Esper, the Secretary of Defense under Trump, said in an interview on CNN that China should not have any say over where American officials travel. (See video below.)

@MarkTEsper on Speaker Pelosi's planned travel to Taiwan next month: \"I think China should not have any say over where American officials travel. I think if the Speaker wants to go she should go.\"\n\nPres. Biden said last week the military does not believe the trip is a good idea. ","username":"brikeilarcnn","name":"Brianna Keilar","date":"Mon Jul 25 13:12:18 +0000 2022","photos":[{"img_url":"https://substackcdn.com/image/upload/...Brianna Keilar @brikeilarcnn.@MarkTEsper on Speaker Pelosi's planned travel to Taiwan next month: "I think China should not have any say over where American officials travel. I think if the Speaker wants to go she should go."Pres. Biden said last week the military does not believe the trip is a good idea.

July 25th 2022

25 Retweets133 Likes

And this minor debate over the Pelosi visit (or non-visit) brings up the bigger question.

Will China eventually invade, as the FBI Director warns they’re potentially preparing to do? And if so, when?

And on that impossible set of questions, I thought I’d shared a couple of things.

Read more

Stan R. Mitchell: The view from the front podcast for 7-22-22.

Hi friend,

Happy Friday! Hope everyone has had a great week!

I wanted to briefly discuss the response to the last podcast, which totally blew me away! We had several new free subscriptions, plus a new paid subscriber, and quite a few shares, which obviously helps us get the word out to others who have no idea what we’re doing here.

So, thank you, thank you, thank you for all of that.

And if this is your first time listening, here’s what we’re doing. Every Tuesday and Friday, I write about conflicts and military matters that are happening throughout the world, while also sharing some motivation and wisdom at the end (because who doesn’t need a couple of doses of that each week?!).

Tuesday posts will be available to everyone, but they’ll be delayed by one day unless you’re a paid subscriber.

That way, it will encourage folks to support what we’re doing here if they can, but also doesn’t really penalize you if you can’t make that $5 a month payment. At most, you’re waiting an additional day for the content.

But I do want to keep the option there (and the incentive there) for you to support this effort with a paid subscription. Partly, it’s because there’s so much more I want to be doing with this each week, but I need your help to get there.

The reality is this is what I’d like to be doing full-time, along with my fiction writing, long-term. And right now I’m balancing this out with a full-time job, which is preventing me from making this as incredible (or in-depth) as I’d like.

But also, I’ve seen that most advertising-only efforts can only succeed if you’re like Joe Rogan or some big name. And I’m most certainly not Joe Rogan or some big name. And also, foreign policy isn’t an in-demand, large-audience subject, unfortunately.

So to sustain the time I’m putting into this, I’d really appreciate it if you threw a few bucks into the hat and signed up.

All right, with that out of the way, let’s get started. We’ve got a ton to discuss.

In big news, the United States has announced that it’s sending four more of the HIMARS multiple launch rocket systems to Ukraine.

That will increase the number that we’ve sent from 12 to 16.

@SecDef: We’ve provided the Ukrainians with 12 HIMARS multiple launch rocket systems to further strengthen their long-range fires capability, and I think everybody understands the difference that they’ve made on the ground. ","username":"DeptofDefense","name":"Department of Defense 🇺🇸","date":"Wed Jul 20 17:34:00 +0000 2022","photos":[{"img_url":"https://substackcdn.com/image/upload/...Department of Defense 🇺🇸 @DeptofDefense.@SecDef: We’ve provided the Ukrainians with 12 HIMARS multiple launch rocket systems to further strengthen their long-range fires capability, and I think everybody understands the difference that they’ve made on the ground.

July 20th 2022

15 Retweets66 Likes

While we’re on the subject of HIMARS, that leads us into the next topic I wanted to discuss.

Ukraine is getting closer to launching an offensive in Kherson (pronounced kehr·saan).

The Economist had a story about a week back that described Kherson as the gateway to Crimea, which as you recall, is the peninsula that Russia formally seized in 2014.

Kherson is the only regional capital that Russia achieved success in conquering since this most recent invasion.

And The Economist states that not only is the gateway to Crimea, it’s also “an agricultural powerhouse,” and thus Ukraine is prioritizing its efforts to retake it. (See story below.)

The Economist @TheEconomistThe Kherson province in southern Ukraine is an agricultural powerhouse. This is partly why the Ukrainian army is prioritising efforts to retake it Ukraine prepares a counter-offensive to retake Kherson provinceRussia will provide fierce resistanceecon.st

July 4th 2022

17 Retweets57 Likes

But back to the HIMARS multiple launch rocket systems, Ukraine has been using these weapons to hit one of two bridges that are behind Kherson. And you can see this in the video that I’ve linked to below.

OSINTtechnical @OsinttechnicalUkrainian forces continue to slowly chip away at the E97 Antonivsʹkyy Bridge near Kherson. At the moment the bridge appears to be down to one usable lane.

OSINTtechnical @Osinttechnical

Ukrainian forces hit the E97 Antonivsʹkyy Bridge over the Dnipro near Kherson https://t.co/auQk0INIxT

July 20th 2022

131 Retweets1,175 Likes

Already, one of the bridges are down to one lane.

And the Russians have nothing that can intercept the HIMARS rockets. None of their anti-air missiles seem to be able to hit them.

Now, Dr. Mike Martin, an analyst and author, shared a thread on Twitter about the coming offensive. And he made two points that go along with what I’m getting to.

Speaking of the bridges, he says this:

Dr Mike Martin 🔶 @ThreshedThoughtAnd, I guess as the cherry on the cake, the Ukrainians have started hitting the bridges over the river Dnipro that connect Kherson to the other side of the river.In other words, the bridges to the Russian force’s rear.

July 22nd 2022

19 Retweets337 LikesDr Mike Martin 🔶 @ThreshedThoughtThere are only two of them. And they haven’t destroyed them yet, they’ve just cratered them making them unsuitable for heavy logistics. But if I were a Russian soldier in Kherson I would be pretty scared right now.

July 22nd 2022

26 Retweets372 Likes

And while we’re talking about the coming offensive in Kherson, The Kyiv Independent wrote a great article about the coming attack. (The article is free and the link is below.)

Illia Ponomarenko 🚀 @IAPonomarenkoOne way or another, according to Ukraine’s leadership, it's bound to happen.What would a Ukrainian counter-offensive in Kherson look like?One way or another, according to Ukraine’s leadership, it’s bound to happen. Even though the Battle of Donbas is far from over, Ukraine is expected to open the next chapter of the war in the near future — a highly anticipated, major counter-offensive operation in the south, particularly to liberate…kyivindependent.com

July 20th 2022

167 Retweets1,258 Likes

But one of the things in the article that I think is key is that it mentions the Russians are holding a number of defensive positions, primarily at road junctions, small towns, etc.

And the advantage the Ukrainians will have is that they can use what we used to call in the Marine Corps as “maneuver warfare.” And thus, the Ukrainians can pin down certain positions, but then mass larger forces to overpower individual positions.

With luck, these attacks will lead to a spreading of the fear running through the Russian forces already, and it’s likely going to break their will and cause them to want to retreat. If not all-out flee.

While we’re on the subject of Ukraine, let’s talk about three more quick things.

First, the U.S. is starting to hint again about potentially arming Ukraine with fighter jets (possibly European models). Huge shoutout to Joshua Hughes, who first alerted me to this.

And then shortly after pointing out the Defense One story on it, (see below), The Washington Post also reported on it.

@StanRMitchell @DefenseOne Here's the source:\n\n","username":"joshuadhughes","name":"Joshua Hughes","date":"Wed Jul 20 21:04:12 +0000 2022","photos":[],"quoted_tweet":{},"retweet_count":0,"like_count":0,"expanded_url":{"url":"https://www.defenseone.com/threats/20... Force Chief Seems to Back Sending Western Fighter Jets to Ukraine","description":"No decisions yet, but U.S. and partners, looking at many options.","domain":"defenseone.com"},"video_url":null,"belowTheFold":true}">Joshua Hughes @joshuadhughes@StanRMitchell @DefenseOne Here's the source:Air Force Chief Seems to Back Sending Western Fighter Jets to UkraineNo decisions yet, but U.S. and partners, looking at many options.defenseone.com

July 20th 2022

The Washington Post @washingtonpostU.S., allies weigh providing Ukraine fighter jets to counter Russia U.S., allies weigh providing Ukraine fighter jets to counter RussiaThe U.S. Air Force chief of staff, Gen. Charles Q. Brown, indicated there are several possibilities, including American-made fighters or others made in Europe.wapo.st

July 21st 2022

81 Retweets359 Likes

I want to be very, very clear that nothing is definite on this.

The second quick thing I wanted to mention is that while I worried to no end about the brave defenders of the steel plant in Mariuopol (the Azovstal steel plant), it appears at least some of them are being released/traded for Russian prisoners. (See below.)

Illia Ponomarenko 🔥 @IAPonomarenkoThe Azovstal soldier get reunited with his wife after Russian captivity:

July 3rd 2022

1,730 Retweets15,515 Likes

I want to stress that this is not something that seems to be something that either Ukraine or Russia wants to talk about, and it’s probably not happening for all the defenders (especially the leaders), but at least some of them are being freed.

The third thing I wanted to share was the item below, because it’s yet more proof of the horrors that Russia is propagating in Ukraine.

Dan Lamothe @DanLamothe"Russia has deported 900,000 to 1.6 million Ukrainian citizens from Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine in a systemic “filtration” operation, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement Wednesday, in a loud condemnation of Moscow..."At least 900,000 Ukrainians ‘forcibly deported’ to Russia, U.S. saysReporting by The Washington Post in March showed that Ukrainian civilians were already being deported.washingtonpost.com

July 14th 2022

112 Retweets189 Likes

Moving to the Middle East, Putin recently flew to Iran to meet with Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The main thing I wanted to share with that Khamenei said the West and NATO was dangerous, and that if Russia hadn’t invaded Ukraine, then Ukraine and NATO would have invaded Russia.

One other thing real quick on this topic is that Turkish leader embarrassed Putin while he was there.

This is probably only the second thing that I appreciate that Erdogan has done in years. (The other being selling Bayraktar drones to Ukraine.)

Alec Luhn @ASLuhnErdogan gives Putin a little taste of his own medicine

July 19th 2022

2,480 Retweets19,388 Likes

All right, enough news. Let’s share some motivation and wisdom.

I wanted to start by sharing just these incredible images below.

James Medlock @jdcmedlockOne thing I love about America is our incredible National Park System

July 4th 2022

183 Retweets2,674 Likes

And here’s the other pieces of motivation and wisdom that I wanted to share.

Daily Dose of Philosophy @PhilosophyDose_"Life is a balance between holding on and letting go."- Rumi

July 22nd 2022

329 Retweets1,748 LikesSuccess Minded @_SuccessMinded_This week start affirming: "The future has wonderful things in store for me."

May 24th 2022

189 Retweets932 LikesMotivational Quotes @MotivateMsgsToo many people spend money they haven't earned, to buy things they don't want, to impress people they don't like. -Will Smith

July 19th 2022

3 Retweets17 LikesSuccess Minded @_SuccessMinded_Never EVER forget who helped you while everybody else was making excuses

May 10th 2022

214 Retweets988 LikesLife Quotes @RTLifeQuotesBe thankful for what you have; you'll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never, ever have enough. – Oprah Winfrey

May 10th 2022

58 Retweets274 LikesSuccess Minded @_SuccessMinded_"Knowledge is not power. Execution of knowledge is power."

July 22nd 2022

237 Retweets998 LikesInspirational Quotes @TheQuoteBoook_Don't miss out on something that could be great, just because it could also be difficult.

May 9th 2022

302 Retweets1,251 LikesMotivational Quotes @motivation_qot"A winner is a dreamer who never gives up."

May 8th 2022

914 Retweets4,339 LikesSuccess Minded @_SuccessMinded_"Sometimes you win, sometimes you learn."

April 24th 2022

1,497 Retweets6,493 LikesMotivational Quotes @therandomvibezWithout patience you will never hold the key to open the door to success.

May 3rd 2022

80 Retweets326 Likes

That’s it for this edition.

As a reminder, please be kind and try your best to love your fellow Americans. We need to pull this country together, and that starts with all of us.

And if you love what you’re reading, throw a couple of bucks in the hat by subscribing below.

The view from the front is a reader-supported publication. The best way to make this work sustainable, and to help improve it, is with a paid subscription. But at the same time, free ones are appreciated, too!

Subscribe now

Semper Fidelis,

Stan R. Mitchell

P.S. Don’t forget to check out my books. I’ve written a CIA/Marine sniper series, a detective series, a private investigator series, an action-packed Western, a motivational/biography book about President Obama, and two realistic war novels: one about World War II and one about Afghanistan.

P.P.S. And here’s a short bio about me and what I’m trying to do with the newsletter.

Stan R. Mitchell: The view from the front podcast for 7-19-22.

Hi friend,

Happy Tuesday!

Hope you had a great weekend. Wanted to say two quick things before we get to the news today.

First, I’m amending a bit how the paid versus free subscriptions work.

I’ve decided I don’t want to keep folks from getting the Tuesday edition, if they’re not paid subscribers. So, Tuesday posts will be available to everyone, but they’ll be delayed by one day unless you’re a paid subscriber.

That way, it will encourage folks to support what we’re doing here if they can, but also doesn’t really penalize you if you can’t make that $5 a month payment. At most, you’re waiting an additional day for the content.

But I do want to keep the option there (and the incentive there) for you to support this effort. Partly, it’s because this is what I’d like to be doing full-time, along with my fiction writing, long-term.

And right now I’m balancing this out with a full-time job, which is preventing me from making this as well (or in-depth) as I’d like.

But also, I’ve seen that most advertising-only efforts can only succeed if you’re like Joe Rogan or some big name. And I’m most certainly not Joe Rogan or some big name.

So to sustain the time I’m putting into this, I’d really appreciate it if you threw a few bucks into the hate and signed up.

But if you can’t, or don’t want to, no sweat. And no pressure. I’m glad to have you listening/reading, because I really do believe keeping up with foreign policy is crucial.

I know most Americans don’t care about foreign policy. It’s complicated, it’s happening over there (we say), and let’s face it, most Americans are terrible at geography.

But foreign policy matters. It can be the difference between whether we foolishly invade Iraq (as we did in 2003), or whether we try the impossible task of making Afghanistan (one of the world’s poorest and least literate countries) a democracy.

Having well-informed voters on both sides of the aisle is important, and this means a lot to me because I’ve been the tip of the spear. I’ve been the young man who carried a weapon into a scary foreign land.

This stuff matters, and it’s not nearly as complicated as we think it is.

I remember thinking how stupid it was we were going to invade Iraq in 2003, when we hadn’t even nabbed Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan or Pakistan yet. Why would we divide our efforts like that? And on such horrible intelligence?

Just as large a question? Why, after toppling the Taliban in Afghanistan with the help of the Northern Alliance and not many troops on the ground, would we suddenly shift to trying to build a thriving democracy in one of the poorest and least literate countries? Especially when Pakistan, our so-called ally, is playing all kinds of cute games and essentially supporting the Taliban behind our backs?

These questions came to me when I didn’t even follow foreign policy 1/10th as much as I do now. They are common sense questions, and it’s a shame more Americans didn’t ask them. Perhaps, we could have saved thousands of lives if we had.

And it’s for these reasons above that I’m beyond passionate about foreign policy matters. And I think historically, if you look at the Vietnam War, or the invasion of Iraq or mission creep in Afghanistan, you’ll see that making a mistake early on in regards to foreign policy leads to disastrous consequences for our country.

So, that’s what I’m trying to do here. I don’t claim to know the answers, but I think we can ask the questions, seeks the answers, and make a difference.

And this concept is why I do all of this from a moderate perspective. I believe with every fiber of my being that we have to pull this country together. We have to stop hating those on the other side of the aisle and we have to stop rewarding the loudest (and most angry) voices on either side.

I’m not sure how we do this (though I have some ideas), but it certainly starts with each of us being nice to our fellow Americans. And understanding what the great Abraham Lincoln said.

Lincoln, who is one of my absolute favorite people to look up to and study, said that a house divided cannot stand.

It’s also worth remembering that Lincoln had approximately one year of schooling. He was self-educated, learning through books and reading that he did. And yet he proved to be one of the wisest leaders we ever had.

I think his example is one we should all follow. So, please, sign up for free at a minimum. And chip in a few bucks if you can.

Subscribe now

We start this edition by mentioning the heat wave in Europe.

You’ve probably heard this by now, because it seems to be all over the news, but it’s so hot that runways are melting in the United Kingdom. (See below.)

@Reuters","username":"carlquintanilla","name":"Carl Quintanilla","date":"Mon Jul 18 14:26:00 +0000 2022","photos":[],"quoted_tweet":{},"retweet_count":3850,"like_count":11235,"expanded_url":{},"video_url":null,"belowTheFold":true}">Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla"SKY NEWS REPORTER, CITING MILITARY SOURCE: UK ROYAL AIR FORCE HAS HALTED FLIGHTS IN AND OUT OF ITS LARGEST AIR BASE IN THE UK BECAUSE THE "RUNWAY HAS MELTED" IN THE HOT WEATHER@Reuters

July 18th 2022

3,850 Retweets11,235 Likes

It’s also leading to melted tires, as you can also see.

@carlquintanilla @Reuters The problem isn't just that the runway has melted, but what the melted asphalt does to tires. These pictures from Australia show the effects of driving over melted asphalt in a heatwave. ","username":"ChrisO_wiki","name":"ChrisO","date":"Mon Jul 18 15:57:45 +0000 2022","photos":[{"img_url":"https://pbs.substack.com/media/FX9eow...ChrisO @ChrisO_wiki@carlquintanilla @Reuters The problem isn't just that the runway has melted, but what the melted asphalt does to tires. These pictures from Australia show the effects of driving over melted asphalt in a heatwave.

July 18th 2022

97 Retweets359 Likes

So just how hot is it?

In France, it’s a 109 degrees, according to The Washington Post.

Britain was supposed to hit 106 degrees, also according to The Washington Post.

Few homes have air conditioning in Europe, because they don’t typically see this kind of heat. And I don’t know about you, but I’m not sure I could manage long with 100-degree heat with no air conditioning.

I’ve done it, in the Mojave Desert training, but it wasn’t fun. And I for sure didn’t sleep much.

I also was much younger, and Axios is reporting that to date, 1,100 people have died in Spain and Portugal alone.

So, the heat wave is a pretty serious event happening in Europe right now.

Moving to Ukraine, news broke that Russia is going to buy hundreds of drones from Iran for use in Ukraine.

Stan R. Mitchell @StanRMitchellIran to send hundreds of drones to Russia for use in Ukraine, U.S. says Iran to send hundreds of drones to Russia for use in Ukraine, U.S. sayswashingtonpost.com

July 17th 2022

1 Retweet

On the one hand, this is quite worrying. But on the other, I think Ukrainian air defenses are much better than they were even a few months ago, so I think the impact of these drones will be mitigated to some degree.

Moving away from Ukraine, we haven’t talked about China in a bit, but they’re not too happy with the news that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi may be visiting Taiwan.

Stan R. Mitchell @StanRMitchellChina says it will take ‘forceful measures’ if Pelosi visits Taiwan China says it will take ‘forceful measures’ if Pelosi visits TaiwanChina’s Foreign Ministry said there would be consequences for the United States if House Speaker Pelosi visits Taiwan.washingtonpost.com

July 19th 2022

You can never tell how upset China really is, since they regularly get upset over things the United States is doing, but this does seem like a pretty big deal.

The Washington Post is reporting that Pelosi will be the first House speaker to visit Taiwan since Speaker Newt Gingrich did back in 1997.

As a reminder, Taiwan is a roughly 14,000-square-mile island that has nearly 24 million people, according to the CIA World Factbook.

China claims Taiwan, while the people of Taiwan seem to not want to be any part of China.

One thing I looked up is what exactly we’ve said we’d do as a country.

We’re currently operating under the US Taiwan Relations Act of April 1979.

This states that the US “shall provide Taiwan with arms of a defensive character and shall maintain the capacity of the US to resist any resort to force or other forms of coercion that would jeopardize the security, or social or economic system, of the people of Taiwan (2022).”

But, as a reminder, President Joe Biden has three different times made the wrong comment regarding whether America would defend Taiwan.

My personal view on the topic is the following:

I think Biden making the same mistake three times is not an accident. I think our government is telling allies that he absolutely means it. That this is the stubborn, cranky Biden that means it. The one with the backbone that left Afghanistan no matter what how bad that destroyed his poll numbers.

But while they’re saying this to allies to re-assure them of American commitment to Asia, I think these same administration folks are telling China and the media that the statements are nothing. That Biden is just a gaffe machine and we shouldn’t sweat what he’s saying. That he “mis-spoke.”

Doing this accomplishes a couple of things. First, it keeps China from being pushed over the edge in the short term into attacking Taiwan pre-maturely. At the same time, it buys our country some runway, so that America can continue its pivot and re-alignment to counter the great dragon in the East.

What do you all think? Am I crazy? (Or am I dead on the mark like the time I got lucky predicting a possible solution to breaking up the Russian blockade?)

I welcome any comments below or by email or social media.

Moving away from Asia to the Middle East, I wanted to discuss a column I came across.

Ronald S. Lauder, president of the World Jewish Congress and former U.S. ambassador to Austria, wrote a great column on Israel in The Washington Post that discussed an issue I had read about probably five or ten years ago, but frankly, it had kind of slipped my mind.

Stan R. Mitchell @StanRMitchellOpinion | Even as it flourishes, Israel faces a growing demographic challengeIf Jews do not have a solid majority in their own land, Zionism will collapse.washingtonpost.com

July 13th 2022

I’ll mention the problem that slipped my mind in just a moment, but let me set up the situation first.

Lauder said that despite a strong economy and signed peace treaties with six Arab League nations, that Israel faces a couple of big threats in the years to come.

The first is the potential that Iran could build a nuclear weapon. This is obviously something that a lot of people have been discussing.

But the second thing, which had slipped my mind, is that a growing Palestinian population in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip could cause long-term problems for Israel.

Lauder says that if nothing changes, and if Israel continues to rule over the West Bank, it will soon face a serious challenge from the Palestinian population.

His fear, and I quote here, is that, “If it gives Palestinians full citizenship — and therefore full rights — it will no longer be Jewish. If it doesn’t do so, it will no longer be democratic. Either way, Israel, as a Jewish democratic state, will cease to exist.”

So, this will definitely be something to keep an eye on, as well.

All right, enough news. Let’s share some motivation and wisdom.

The first comes from my wife, so I have no idea who to credit for it. But it’s a photo someone had shared on facebook.

Life Quotes @RTLifeQuotesEveryone is trying to accomplish something big, not realizing that life is made up of little things. — Frank A Clark

July 17th 2022

26 Retweets136 LikesMotivational Quotes @MotivateMsgsThe secret of happiness is to count your blessings while others are adding up their troubles.

July 17th 2022

1 Retweet5 LikesSuccess Minded @_SuccessMinded_"The key to success is to start before you are ready."

July 17th 2022

479 Retweets2,665 LikesLife Quotes @RTLifeQuotesHappiness is good health - and a bad memory. – Ingrid Bergman

July 16th 2022

33 Retweets108 LikesSuccess Minded @_SuccessMinded_"Don't dream your life, live your dream."

July 16th 2022

744 Retweets3,755 LikesSuccess Minded @_SuccessMinded_Your calling is higher, so your path is harder.

July 16th 2022

1,324 Retweets5,600 LikesSuccess Minded @_SuccessMinded_"It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop."

July 15th 2022

578 Retweets2,525 Likes

That’s it for this edition.

As a reminder, please be kind and try your best to love your fellow Americans. We need to pull this country together, and that starts with all of us.

And if you love what you’re reading, throw a couple of bucks in the hat by subscribing below.

The view from the front by Stan R. Mitchell is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Semper Fidelis,

Stan R. Mitchell

P.S. Don’t forget to check out my books. I’ve written a CIA/Marine sniper series, a detective series, a private investigator series, an action-packed Western, a motivational/biography book about President Obama, and two realistic war novels: one about World War II and one about Afghanistan.

P.P.S. And here’s a short bio about me and what I’m trying to do with the newsletter.

The view from the front for 7/15/22.

Hi friend,

Happy Friday! Hope you’ve had a great week!

One quick administrative note: the last newsletter is unlocked and no longer paywalled, for those who missed it. You can read it here: The view from the front for 7/12/22.

Also, up above the header, you’ll an audio upload, so you can now listen to the edition instead of just reading it.

We’re going to begin today’s edition with Ukraine.

As you may recall, in the Tuesday edition, I shared quite a bit of video and analysis from Twitter about the way our HIMARS rocket system.

HIMARS stands for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, and these have been absolutely wrecking Russian forces now that they’ve arrived in Ukraine.

I collected lots of data and shared it in the Tuesday post, which supports this analysis. But low and behold, The Economist published an impressive piece on this same topic.

Am I saying that because I live on Twitter, searching for scraps of the tiniest imaginable data, that I covered something before The Economist? Yes, I am.

Yes, I am.

Am I also saying that The Economist covered that same issue with better clarity and authority than I did? Oh, I’m absolutely saying that.

But a subscription to The Economist will cost you four times as much as my newsletter, so there’s that. lol

Nonetheless, The Economist notes that the HIMARS are popping ammunition depots like some adult pops balloons at the county fair.

economist.com/europe/2022/07… from @TheEconomist ","username":"StanRMitchell","name":"Stan R. Mitchell","date":"Thu Jul 14 01:49:00 +0000 2022","photos":[],"quoted_tweet":{},"retweet_count":0,"like_count":1,"expanded_url":{"url":"https://www.economist.com/europe/2022... new rockets are wreaking havoc on Russia’s army","description":"The American-supplied HIMARS is wiping out arms dumps and command posts","domain":"economist.com"},"video_url":null,"belowTheFold":true}">Stan R. Mitchell @StanRMitchellThe Nova Kakhovka facility was probably the 19th such ammunition depot to have gone up in flames since June 27t. ... A strike on a command post in Kherson province on July 10th … killed at least two generals. economist.com/europe/2022/07… from @TheEconomist Ukraine’s new rockets are wreaking havoc on Russia’s armyThe American-supplied HIMARS is wiping out arms dumps and command postseconomist.com

July 14th 2022

1 Like

Nineteen ammunition depots have been hit to date, and they’ve also taken out several command posts, killing several Russian colonels and generals in the process.

And if Russia moves the new ammunition depots further back, it’s going to further strain the logistical nightmare for its army. Russia’s trucks will have to drive farther, and these trucks will increasingly become targeted as the linchpin that is holding the Russian Army together.

Moving away from the frontline of Russia to its larger picture, Washington Post columnist David Ignatius notes the following:

Stan R. Mitchell @StanRMitchell“Because of high energy prices, Russia still has cash. But it’s growing harder to buy what it needs. U.S. exports to Russia of … basically anything that’s needed for the Russian military … have declined 95.9 percent by value compared to a year ago.” Opinion | Putin’s long game in Ukraine may not play out as he predictsThe Russian leader is betting that he can exhaust his adversaries and win in Ukraine. But if the West remains resolute in imposing sanctions, its long game could beat Putin’s.washingtonpost.com

July 15th 2022

Ignatius also added the following:

The best evidence that sanctions are working, albeit slowly, comes from Russian officials themselves. “The situation is not easy,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov acknowledged last month. Herman Gref, the head of Sberbank, Russia’s largest, warned: “We may need around a decade to return [the] economy to the 2021 levels.” He told journalists recently that cargo shipments to Russia had fallen sixfold because of Western sanctions.

This is going to eventually affect Russia’s military and oh-so-much more. As Ignatius writes:

“We’re playing the long game, too,” Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told me on Thursday. The United States assembled a coalition of three dozen countries to support the sanctions, she noted, with this satisfying result: Exports of semiconductors to Russia have fallen 74 percent compared with a year ago. “You can’t sustain a modern military without semiconductors,” Raimondo observed.

Speaking for myself, I don’t know if the citizens of Russia are quite as spoiled as we are here in America, but once you can’t buy a new iPhone or other electronic device that you’re craving, I think that’s when Putin is really going to feel the internal pressure.

But the internal pressure might actually already be building.

Russian expert Fiona Hill recently spoke about this in the below video.

@RaviReports that Putin is not showing any signs of somebody who is confident about the future. \n\nCatch up on the full Q&A here:\nbuff.ly/3RDWP0a ","username":"ForeignPolicy","name":"Foreign Policy","date":"Thu Jul 14 21:33:21 +0000 2022","photos":[{"img_url":"https://substackcdn.com/image/upload/...Foreign Policy @ForeignPolicyFP LIVE: Fiona Hill, a former top advisor on Russia at the National Security Council, explains to FP's @RaviReports that Putin is not showing any signs of somebody who is confident about the future. Catch up on the full Q&A here:buff.ly/3RDWP0a

July 14th 2022

13 Retweets36 Likes

Hill, who’s a former official at the U.S. National Security Council specializing in Russian and European affairs, and who’s also a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, made the following points in the interview.

Russian President Vladimir Putin was supposed to be up for re-election in 2024, but he signed an executive order in 2020 that changed the Russian Constitution to allow him to run for two additional six-year terms.

That means he’s now there until 2036.

Hill says in the interview that President Putin is less popular than most know, and that as his unpopularity grows, there's more incentive for those around him to maneuver against him.

As such, Hill made a couple of other points. She speculates that Putin wants to seem popular, and that he wants to end the conflict in Ukraine.

She ends by saying that locking up Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is not a sign of someone who’s confident.

My take on what Hill says is that barring some kind of overthrow at home for Putin, it leaves the Ukraine situation in a complete and total mess.

Because even if Putin wants peace, he would need to negotiate to hang onto what Russia has captured.

But numerous Ukrainian officials have said that they won’t stop fighting until they’ve taken back every inch of Ukrainian soil. And that includes the peninsula of Crimea, which Russia formally seized that in 2014.

So for now, the war will grind on unfortunately.

Moving to the Middle East, President Joe Biden has traveled there and is meeting with Saudi Arabia today.

Stan R. Mitchell @StanRMitchellPresident Biden has traveled to Saudi Arabia to meet with MBS, where he plans to promote US interests in the region and hopefully increase Saudi oil production.(I'll have more on this in today's newsletter.)Biden will meet with Saudi Crown Prince without King present as he stops short of committing to raising Khashoggi murderPresident Joe Biden on Thursday stopped short of committing to raise the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi with leaders in Saudi Arabia this week, instead saying he “always” brings up human rights and that his views on the murder have been made “absolutely” clear.cnn.com

July 15th 2022

He started the trip in Israel, and the AP had a wonderful summary of the situation that he entered.

During a visit to the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Friday, President Joe Biden offered compassion and financial assistance for hope-starved Palestinians but also delivered a blunt acknowledgment that the “ground is not ripe” for new attempts to reach an elusive peace.

Political uncertainty in Israel, which is holding another round of elections in November, and the weakness of Palestinian Authority leadership has dimmed any chance of restarting negotiations that broke down more than a decade ago.

According to the White House fact sheet following the visit, Biden pledged “new contributions totaling $316 million to support the Palestinian people. This is on top of the more than half a billion dollars the United States has provided to the Palestinian people since the Biden Administration restored much-needed funding to the Palestinians,” according to the fact sheet.

Israel has also committed to upgrading wireless networks in the West Bank and Gaza.

Biden left Israel and the West Bank and visits with Saudi Arabia today.

CNN reports that “while oil production is not expected to be the main topic of the meeting, US officials do expect the topic to arise.”

The United States hopes that Saudia Arabia will boost production.

But Biden says he’s traveling to Saudi Arabia as part of a "much broader" agenda to promote US interests.

He also plans to meet with leaders from Egypt, Iraq, and Jordan.

CNN quoted Biden as saying “he has an opportunity to fix the "mistake" of "walking away from our influence in the Middle East," a reference to the Trump administration.

From the story, which quoted Biden:

"There are so many issues at stake that I want to make clear that we can continue to lead in the region and not create a vacuum -- a vacuum that is filled by China and or Russia, against the interest of both Israel and the United States and many other countries," Biden said.

I’m definitely glad that Biden is staying engaged in the Middle East, and I’m most certainly hoping Saudia Arabia turns on the gas pump.

Let’s end with some motivation and wisdom.

Success Minded @_SuccessMinded_"Stay prepared. Opportunities are coming."

July 12th 2022

907 Retweets4,343 LikesMotivational Quotes @MotivateMsgsWhen you meet a man, you judge him by his clothes; when you leave, you judge him by his heart. - Russian Proverb

July 13th 2022

3 Retweets16 LikesSuccess Minded @_SuccessMinded_"Be the person you look up to"

July 14th 2022

51 Retweets229 LikesLife Quotes @RTLifeQuotesTrying times are not the times to stop trying. – Ray Owen

July 8th 2022

34 Retweets152 LikesSuccess Minded @_SuccessMinded_"What's happening in your life is a result of what's happening in your mind."

July 9th 2022

630 Retweets3,037 LikesMotivational Quotes @MotivateMsgsI'd rather be a failure in something that I love than a success in something that I hate. -George Burns

July 11th 2022

6 Retweets14 LikesSuccess Minded @_SuccessMinded_"Everyone has ideas. Success is all about execution."

July 14th 2022

84 Retweets362 Likes

That’s it for this edition.

As a reminder, please be kind and endeavor to love your fellow Americans. We need to pull this country together, and that starts with all of us.

And if you love what you’re reading, throw a couple of bucks in the hat by subscribing below.

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Semper Fidelis,

Stan R. Mitchell

P.S. Don’t forget to check out my books. I’ve written a CIA/Marine sniper series, a detective series, a private investigator series, an action-packed Western, a leadership/biography book, and two realistic war novels: one about World War IIand one about Afghanistan.

P.P.S. And here’s a short bio about me and what I’m trying to do with the newsletter.