Biden Permission To Fire ATACMS At Russian Territory Hastens WWIII


(MENAFN- Asia Times) A senile US President, Joe Biden, is reported to have authorized Ukrainian long range missile strikes on Russian territory. His decision has pulled the rug out from under German President Olaf Scholz, who has refused to send long range Taurus missiles to Ukraine. Germany's government had all but collapsed. Thanks to Biden, Scholz's credibility at home has now been damaged even further.

(It could be that Scholz knew Biden was going to authorize ATACMS missiles, which is why he telephoned Putin ahead of Biden's move to release ATACMS . We don't really know what the two leaders may have said to each other in an hour-long phone call that did not require a translator, since Putin speaks German. But it can be supposed that Scholz wanted to get targets in Germany off Russia's list after Biden's announcement.)

Russia has made clear that this is a red line and puts NATO directly at war with Russia. The Russians say that ATACMS missiles, fired from HIMARS launching platforms, are operated by NATO technicians, not by Ukrainians.




M142 HIMARS and ATACMS missiles. Photo credits: Mariusz Burcz

There is merit in the Russian argument. The fact is that if Ukraine controlled HIMARS launchers with ATACMS they would already have been firing them at Russian targets such as the Kursk nuclear plant, which they previously tried to hit with drones. The good news is the Ukrainians do not control them.

Use of ATACMS missiles won't change the course of the war, nor its outcome. It will, however, lead to some nasty surprises as the decision has consequences bigger than Ukraine.

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Asia Times

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