Dutch politicians blame Russia for destroying Kherson dam [_link]

— DutchNews.NL (@DutchNewsNL) June 6, 2023

Ukraine strikes crucial bridge in Nova Kakhovka | Meduza |

Последствия обстрела моста в Новой Каховке. На нем видны пробоины. Впрочем, отдельные автомобили по нему проезжают.
Сайт «Страна» | YouTube | Прислать новостьфотовид ео

Translation:
Consequences of the shelling of the bridge in New Kakhovka. Holes are visible on it. However, individual cars pass across it.
Website "Country" | YouTube | Submit news/photo/video

More Ukrainian sources as verification ...

• Armed Forces of Ukraine disabled bridge in Nova Kakhovka | Pravda UA - Aug. 13, 2022 |
• Ukrainian Forces Hit Bridge in Russian-Occupied South, Military Says | US News & World Report / Reuters - Aug. 10, 2022 |

Plus earlier strikes and damage ... bridge has been target to stop Russian occupation of right bank of Dnieper towards Kherson high ground.

Ukrainian army destroys key bridge in Russian-held Kherson region | EuroNews - July 27, 2022 |

The Ukrainian military struck the Antonivskyi Bridge across the Dnieper River late Tuesday, the deputy head of the Moscow-appointed administration for the Kherson region, Kirill Stremousov, said.

He said the bridge was still standing but its deck was pierced with holes, stopping vehicles from crossing.

The 1.4-kilometre bridge sustained serious damage in Ukrainian shelling last week when it took multiple hits. It was closed for trucks but had remained open for passenger vehicles until the strike late Tuesday.

Ukrainian forces used the US-supplied HIMARS multiple rocket launchers to hit the bridge, Stremousov claimed. The claim could not be independently verified.

Google search has strict censorship on news not fitting NATO narrative ... useless tool.

Pravda UA added the video of damage to bridge ...

Video showing Ukrainian forces shelling Kakhovsky bridge appeared on the Web | Pravda UA - Aug. 10, 2022 | [cached version]

[video has been deleted]

The bridge across the Dnieper on the dam of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station was put out of action. According to the command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, this happened on the night of August 12 as a result of accurate strikes by the Ukrainian army.

"As part of the performance of fire missions by rocket and artillery units, the automobile bridge of the Novaya Kakhovka dam was hit with a control exception of using it for its intended purpose," said Vladislav Nazarov, a spokesman for the South operational command.

Thus, the bridge is disabled and cannot be used to move military equipment.

The bridge near the hydroelectric power station in Nova Kakhovka is one of three crossings across the Dnieper in the Kherson region. The other two are the Antonovsky automobile bridge near Kherson and the railway bridge, located six kilometers apart.

Disabling any of these crossings means serious logistical problems for the Russian army based in the area on both banks of the Dnieper. The Kakhovskiy Bridge is already the second object that has become unsuitable for communication. Earlier, as a result of shelling by the Ukrainian army, the Antonovsky automobile bridge was damaged, and the transfer of heavy military equipment across it is now also impossible.
[...]
Ukrainian troops systematically strike at bridges in the Kherson region.

In July, the Armed Forces of Ukraine fired at the Antonovsky bridge. Also, the Armed Forces of Ukraine previously delivered strikes on the Daryevsky bridge across the Ingulets River, which connects two parts of the Russian-occupied territory on the right bank of the Kherson region.
[...]

Did you mean to search for: The Ukrainian Armed Forces disabled the Kakhovsky bridge across the Dnieper. Can this be considered the beginning of the blockade of Russian troops near Kherson? August 13, 2022

This piece is typical: moscowtimes | North Crimean Canal Fills With Water After Russian Forces Destroyed Dam, Mar 4, 2022

The North Crimean Canal has begun to fill with water, the Russian state news service RIA reported on Friday. The canal brought water from the Dnipro River to Crimea. The service reports that the canal is slowly filling water and is expected to be made usable on April 15.

Ukrainian officials reported that the Russian authorities did not pay for water delivery [transit fees!], and subsequently Ukraine dammed up the canal.

A 2015 study in a Russian journal reports that 85% of the water in Crimea came via the canal, of which 72% was used for agriculture, 10% for industry

and 18% for drinking water and other public needs.

The study has shown that the territorial redistribution of local water resources (river runoff and groundwater) can provide Crimea with drinking and public water. However, the shortage of irrigation water remains a problem, because the region does not have water resources to the extent necessary for irrigated agriculture. ...We believe that a major way to decrease the water resource shortage and to meet agricultural and industrial needs is [KEY WORD] desalination of seawater.

The agreement paves the way for introducing new rules to collectively manage the reception and relocation of asylum seekers. Last year [2022], the EU received more than 962,000 asylum applications, the highest figure since 2016.
[...]
At the end of the meeting, Malmer Stenergard confirmed the one-off payment for each rejected applicant will be provisionally set at €20,000, which will then be channelled into a yet-to-defined common EU fund. The number of relocation will be 30,000 asylum seekers per year. Additional provisions have been included in case the pledges fall short of the target.

concilium.europa.eu | Migration policy: Council reaches agreement on key asylum and migration laws (08.06.23)
"To balance the current system whereby a few member states are responsible for the vast majority of asylum applications, a new solidarity mechanism is being proposed that is simple, predictable and workable. The new rules combine mandatory solidarity with flexibility for member states as regards the choice of the individual contributions. These contributions include relocation, financial contributions or alternative solidarity measures such as deployment of personnel or measures focusing on capacity building. Member states have full discretion as to the type of solidarity they contribute. No member state will ever be obliged to carry out relocations.

The political agreement allows the EU Council to start negotiations with the European Parliament, which has a somewhat diverging position on the matter. The goal is to wrap up the legislation before next year's EU elections.
[...]

On 17 May a revised compromise text (pdf) was circulated...This followed a previous version circulated on 15 May dealing with border procedures (pdf); on the same day, a document containing member states' comments (pdf) on a previous version of the text was also distributed within the Council.
[...]

In May 2014, Ukraine cut water supplies to Crimea from the Kherson Region via the North Crimean canal

Col. Leighton failed to mention this fact in his analysis. American disinformation.

• The Dnipro River has become a decisive front line, this is where the battle for Crimea will be fought | Le Monde - April 2023 |
• Crimea's water reservoirs have enough water for two years -- authorities | Tass - Nov. 11, 2022 |

Crimea's water reservoirs have enough water for two years and will be able to meet the peninsula's entire demand in case the Ukrainian authorities implement their threats and blow up the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant's dam, Crimea's Prime Minister Vladimir Konstantinov said.

"From the point of view of the actual situation, Crimea is not dependent on water from the North Crimean canal. We have been living without it for eight years. We have done a lot. We have a program for water supplies until 2024. <...> Water resources in Crimea's water reservoirs - they are all full - are enough for two year, even if there is no rain. <...> Nevertheless, we count on the North Crimean canal as a source for Crimea's development," he said.

Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, Oleksiy Danilov | Kyiv Post - June 7 |

The Crimean peninsula's water supply is fed by water from the Dnipro River, which flow through the North Crimean Canal, located in Nova Kakhovka. According to Danilov, water supply to Crimea will be impossible "for the next three, five, ten years, until this dam is rebuilt."

[...]
The ocean giants that squeeze through the narrow passage that is the Panama Canal remind us what else Latin America is: a potential titan in the global economy. Secure supply chains, green energies, reduced dependency on raw materials - since the start of the Russian war of aggression, we are rapidly reorganising our global links. We want a dense and sustainable network, also across the Atlantic. The free trade agreement with the MERCOSUR states would be a major step forwards here. If we shape it in a sustainable way and ensure effective protection for the rainforest, it will provide the incentives and rules our regions need to become pioneers in the green, socially just transition.

Latin America has long since found its way to our labour market. Brazilian carers [?] and Colombian electricians are already being met with open arms in Germany. We want to develop this partnership further. As the Federal Government, we have undertaken to completely revise our immigration policy, because our economy urgently needs more skilled workers. This is one of the issues I will be canvassing [?] for in Brazil along with my cabinet colleague, Labour Minister Hubertus Heil.

Annalena Baerbock calls Brazil friend, partner and key country. But the Foreign Minister's visit shows that the relationship is difficult—also because of UKRAINE.
[...]

Baerbock exudes a lack of down-and-out attitude in the old western way. The calendar is as full as it is small. Many appointments are lined up, no one really has red carpet potential. It has been rolled out at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Brasília, but Baerbock makes a statement in front of a different entrance. Not including her Brazilian counterpart, whom Baerbock doesn't meet during her visit. Instead, the deputy foreign minister, the environment minister, the vice president and Lula's foreign policy adviser Celso Amorim. There is no joint press conference with anyone. The protocol, it is said, prevents a joint German-Brazilian appearance. Talking and negotiating is usually better in the back rooms lined with colorless carpets, and Baerbock has the chance to repeat her arguments in many conversations. The tedious diplomacy of small steps. But three days with the "friend, partner and key country," as the foreign minister puts it, without a real joint appearance, that's how it is.

[...]
And so the many small appointments made by the German Foreign Minister on this trip are combined into a complicated mosaic. In her speech in the small lecture hall in São Paulo, which was not completely full, Baerbock resorted to a not at all complicated sports metaphor. Football has a lot to do with democracy, says Baerbock. And you can only play together if everyone follows the rules. And a red card means a red card.

During her visit to Brazil, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock was ignored by both Lula and the Brazilian Foreign Minister pic.twitter.com/g65Zhu0Hbi

— COMBATE |🇵🇷 (@upholdreality) June 8, 2023

According to The Wall Street Journal, China will deploy a secret electronic intelligence base in Cuba to "eavesdrop" on the United States. A corresponding agreement between the countries has already been reached, the Chinese will pay the Cubans several billion dollars. pic.twitter.com/VLQSwFwXo4

— Zlatti71 (@djuric_zlatko) June 8, 2023

[...]
"While I cannot speak to this specific report, we are well aware of--and have spoken many times to--the People's Republic of China's efforts to invest in infrastructure around the world that may have military purposes, including in this hemisphere," John KIRBY, spokesman for the National Security Council, said. "We monitor it closely, take steps to counter it, and remain confident that we are able to meet all our security commitments at home, in the region, and around the world."
[...]

[...]
Ukraine has cut four bridges close to [Kherson] city and has also targeted Russian military infrastructure in the province, using artillery supplied by the West. Mr. [Vladimir] Saldo [RU gov] said that the evacuation, which was organized initially by the local authorities, applied to people living on both banks of the river.
[...]

[...]
Since the start of October, Ukrainian forces have burst through Russia's front lines there [Kherson] in their biggest advance in the south since the war began. They have since moved rapidly along the river's western bank, aiming to cut off thousands of Russian troops from supply lines and potential routes of retreat. Kyiv says it has recaptured more than 400 square kilometres (155 miles) in the Kherson region in less than a week, with its forces bearing down towards the three-kilometre-long (two-mile-long) Nova Kakhovka dam that provides one of the last river crossings.
[...]

Russian-installed governor Vladimir Saldo said authorities were moving civilians to the left (east) bank of the Dnipro River in order to "keep people safe" and allow the military to "act resolutely".

Lars Wilderäng (22.10.22)
Modeled by Dämmningsverket AB using the US Army Corps of Engineers (SACE) software HEC-RAS 6.3. The terrain data comes from Nasa.'s Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) and are available from the United States Geographical Survey (USGS). The model is not based on actual measurements of the current state of the Dnipro flow, waterline, temperature, humidity, air pressure, wind speed and anytning else which would affect the model, but on assumptions for a worst case. Assumptions include that the water-level in the dam is 13 meters above the Dnipro downstream, and that the dam break over an hour expands to a width of approximately 200 meters break in the dam. The destruction of the dam by Russia woudl be a war crime according to the Geneva Convention.

The American aerospace company Maxar Technologies on its Twitter page released satellite images showing that the Russian occupiers damaged the dam of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant [HPP] in the Kherson Region. The images show that individual sections of the dam and locks have been destroyed. In general, the damage looks like significant. At the same time, according to CNN, referring to the analysis of satellite images of Maxar Technologies, water flows from three lock gates on the dam.

🇺🇦 Ukraine has demanded a billion dollars after the explosion of the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power station.

The head of Ukrhydroenergo said that the hydroelectric power station cannot be restored and it needs to be built anew.

"To build a new station, you need at least 5... pic.twitter.com/ys7yNWfd3o

— Zlatti71 (@djuric_zlatko) June 8, 2023

Still in office: PM Rutte barely survives motion of no confidence in Groningen debate [_link]

— NL Times (@NL_Times) June 8, 2023

The best way to undermine people's trust and an attack on democracy itself ... Rutte IV FAILS !!

Rutte: "I'm the best PM to fix the ills of the nation ....".

On another occasion: "We are in a war to protect freedom from a dictator ...".

PM Rutte acknowledges making mistakes with Groningen gas extraction [_link]

— NL Times (@NL_Times) June 7, 2023

Noord-Holland residents worried about continued gas extraction, new earthquakes [_link]

— NL Times (@NL_Times) June 6, 2023

Ministry has long known about safety risks to homes from gas extraction in Groningen [_link]

— NL Times (@NL_Times) June 4, 2023

Dutch central bank leader Knot concerned after employees win substantial wage increases [_link]

— NL Times (@NL_Times) June 7, 2023

Richest Dutch paying less and less tax since 2001 tax reform [_link]

— NL Times (@NL_Times) June 7, 2023

The law also aims to allow the Netherlands to levy taxes on subsidiaries of Dutch companies located in a tax haven. The proposal is part of an international agreement concluded in October 2021 by nearly 140 countries. [_link] pic.twitter.com/8QeRLS0c1s

— NL Times (@NL_Times) June 5, 2023

Dutch Cabinet wants minimum 15% corporate tax to cut down tax avoidance; First in EU [_link]

— NL Times (@NL_Times) June 4, 2023

Heroes for a Day | Spiegel - Sept. 15, 2011 |

Fu*cking bloodhound. French philosopher shows up ahead of regime change ... the EU version of John McCain ... neocon warmonger.

European leaders are rarely celebrated as heroes, but this is precisely how Nicolas Sarkozy and David Cameron were treated in Tripoli. As a reward for their military deployment against Moammar Gadhafi, the president and prime minister received a warm reception. The French appear to have gained the most in Libya.

All the streets in front of the hotel have been closed. Standing next to the rebels with their Kalashnikovs are security forces who ask in French for proof of access authorization and check each passer-by with small metal detectors. Despite the high security, many viewed the brief visit by Cameron and Sarkozy as a welcome diversion.

'Merci Sarkozy' and 'Thank You Britain'

For a little less than 12 hours, everything wrong in the world appeared to have been briefly forgotten -- the banking crisis, the market crash, sinking popularity in opinion polls. Cameron and Sarkozy clearly revelled in their one-day appearance as world leaders, basking in the glow of their popularity far away from their homes and the thankless routine of daily political life. Graffiti has been sprayed on walls across Tripoli with slogans like "Merci Sarkozy" and "Thank You Britain".

Onward to Syria we go ... CIA coordination HQ Benghazi of weapons transport into Syria through Northern border with Turkey. Sunni Arab states and Qatar funded airlift of weapons and thousands of jihadist fighters. The back country of Mali, across the vast Sahara desert will soon see Tuareg mercenaries return with more advanced weapons and vehicles to fight for an independent state Azawad. The start of African refugees start pouring into Europe as a free for all in human trafficking has opened borders.

• Italy will pay $5 billion in compensation for colonial misdeeds | Reuters - Aug. 31, 2008 |

  Italy expects in return to win energy contracts and for the Tripoli government to toughen security measures, including joint maritime patrols, to stem the flow of illegal migrants.

• EU keen to strike deal with Muammar Gaddafi on immigration | The Guardian - Sept. 1, 2010 |

  Commission chiefs to hold talks with Libya over Gaddafi's demand for €5bn a year to stop Europe turning 'black'

North Africa, Sahel and Maghreb - Chaos after Western (Military) Intervention | Jun 27, 2015 |

Rutte to Tunisia with, Meloni, Von der Leyen for refugee talks [_link]

— DutchNews.NL (@DutchNewsNL) June 8, 2023

Rightwing Populists Are Charmed by Meloni

You can't undo what has been done by very bad EU foreign policy of intervening through NATO in Iraq-Libya-Syria.

Tunisia: Is the democratic transition at a dead end? | DW - Feb. 25, 2023 |

Talking to the new dictator ...

Kremlin-backed local authorities claim they are rescuing residents from the left bank of the Dnipro River, with some 1,300 out of 40,000 evacuated. Painting a rosy picture, Vladimir Saldo, the Russian-installed acting governor of Kherson, said in a statement that children have been removed from the flood zone and sent "to the sea to good holiday camps in the Kherson region, or Crimea." He continued: "As for the adult residents, few show a desire to evacuate. People want to wait until the water comes down and continue to work on their land."

But those on the ground report a different reality.

Ten natives of the town of Oleshky and the village of Kardashynka, located some 20 kilometers and 36 kilometers southeast of the city of Kherson respectively, told POLITICO that locals tried to flee immediately after the dam blasts—but Russian troops blocked them and forced them to return home to wait for an official list of evacuees who would be bussed out of the area. And Russian forces are actively preventing Kyiv's authorities from rescuing those who are trapped by floodwaters in occupied areas, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensk* said in an exclusive interview.

"From the roofs of the flooded houses, people see drowned people floating by," Zelensk* said. "It's very hard to get people out of the occupied ["left bank"] part of Kherson region. When our ["volunteer"] forces try to get them out, they are shot at by occupiers from a distance."
[...]"On the territory of the left bank that is not under Ukrainian control, evacuation is required for 20 settlements [!], with an estimated population of 25,000 [!] people," [Ukraine's Environment Minister Ruslan] Strilets said, adding: "The Russian occupying authorities are not providing evacuation assistance to the people."

Russian troops seemed disoriented by the scale of the disaster after the dam burst, eyewitnesses indicated.

"They left their own soldiers and weapons there," said Oleksandra, a resident of Oleshky who has also been helping coordinate local rescue efforts. Oleksandra asked for her surname to be withheld due to safety concerns.
[...]
Some Russian soldiers have attempted to help those in some parts of the disaster zone, Oleksandra said, but the efforts are sporadic and complicated by a lack of trust in the occupying forces. Told that Russian authorities had arranged for busses to shuttle them to safety, locals were terrified at the thought of boarding them: "They did not know where Russians would take them. They were afraid to be deported to Russia," said Oleksandra.

The shelling came just after Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensk* visited a ["]crossing point["] where people were being evacuated from flooded areas and called for "a clear and quick global response" to Tuesday's bombing of the ["left bank" of the] Nova Kakhovka [HPP] dam, which Kyiv and its allies say the Kremlin orchestrated [a/k/a mined].

"Orcs have just fired at School No. 2 where people from flooded homes were gathering," said Yevhen Rischuk, the Ukrainian mayor-in-exile of the occupied town of ["left bank"] Oleshky, which has been hit hard by the floodwaters. "Orcs" is the nickname Ukrainians use for Russian forces. Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office subsequently reported that nine civilians have been wounded in the city of Kherson.
[...]
On Wednesday, Zelensk* told Axel Springer [!], POLITICO's parent company, that Russian forces were shooting at Ukrainian rescuers attempting to reach those trapped in flood-struck areas of occupied Kherson. "As soon as our helpers try to rescue them, they are shot at," Zelensk* said.

"Russians are shelling the shores and the central district" of Kherson, the [Kherson] region's governor, Oleksandr Prokudin, said in a statement. ... Prokudin said that as of Thursday morning, the water level in Kherson had risen [?]  by 5.61 meters [from 11m - 12m?]. He said 600 square kilometers of the Kherson region is under water, of which 32 percent is on the Ukrainian-held ["right"] bank of the Dnipro River and 68 percent is on the Russian-occupied ["left"] bank.

Source: Yevhen Ryshchuk, the mayor of Oleshky, on Facebook; Suspilne news outlet; Radio Liberty, referring to Tetiana Hasanenko, Head of the Oleshky Military Administration

vOLdEmRT | Deaths confirmed in frontline dam rupture (08.06.23)
At least 5 people were killed and 41 were injured in the wake of the breach of the Kakhovka [HPP] dam, the mayor of the city hosting the damaged structure has said.
"Reports came today that out of the seven people, who were grazing cattle, five died. We are in the process of evacuating the other two," Novaya Kakhovka Mayor Vladimir Leontyev reported during an interview on Thursday.

jwld.pl | Large and smal reservoirs of Ukraine (2022)

Novaya Kakhovka is located on the ["]left shore["] of the river and is controlled by Russia, while Ukraine controls the opposite side of the Kherson region. Ukrainian officials said there were some fatalities after the flooding on the ["]right shore["] as well. Water levels in the city rose by 12 meters [!] after the dam was breached, before starting to slowly recede by Tuesday [06.06.23] evening. Russian authorities estimated that 14 settlements were in the impact area. In addition to the direct damage to buildings, infrastructure, and fields, the incident caused the draining of a water reservoir, which was used to feed a canal transporting fresh water to Russia's Crimea.

Kiev claimed that Russian troops blew up the dam to prevent a possible [UAF] amphibious operation across the Dnieper in Kherson Region. Ukrainian officials say that charges were planted inside the dam, which the Russian Defense Ministry has denied. Moscow in turn blamed the Ukrainians, citing their [UAF] record of shelling the strategically important facility.
[...]

strana.ua | Zelensk* arrived in Kherson today and visited the crossing through which residents are being evacuated (08.06.23)
"Our task is to protect life as much as possible and help people," Zelensky said.

Dnieper River topographic map

On the eve of the Kherson region, they reported the evacuation of residents  from areas near the Kakhovka reservoir, in Kherson, water began to arrive in some areas. About 16 thousand [16K] people live in the flood zone.

Today, the governor of the [right bank] Kherson region, Alexander Prokudin, said that as of the morning, 1,999 people had been evacuated from the right bank of the Kherson region, of which almost one and a half thousand [1,500]  were from the Korabel district in Kherson. Earlier we wrote that residents are being evacuated from the Ostrov microdistrict in Kherson by boat. This is done by both employees of the State Emergency Service and volunteers. And in the flood zone on the day of the explosion of the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power station, 52 people were rescued .

Russia, Ukraine, Oil, US Diplomacy - All in One | b @MofA - Jan. 20, 2005 |

The Asian Times then quotes Zbigniew Brzezinski at length. Brzezinski has long been an anti-Russian hawk, and he has always said the prying Ukraine and Russia apart was the best way to permanently weaken Russia, which for him is a worthy strategic goal. The fact that he was an influential player and that he is still part of the establishment does not mean that his advice has been followed.

There is a distinct pattern of US covert actions in changing regimes in Eastern Europe, in the context of this Eurasian strategy of the US, in which Ukraine fits the pattern. The Belgrade vote in 2000 to topple Serbian Slobodan Milosevic was organized and run by US ambassador Richard Miles. This has been well documented by Balkan sources and others. Significantly, the same Miles was then sent to Georgia, where he engineered the toppling of Eduard Shevardnadze in favor of the US-groomed Mikhail Saakashvili last year, another pro-NATO man on Moscow's fringe. James Baker III played a key role as well, as some noted at the time. Now Miles was reportedly involved in Kiev, with the US ambassador there, John Herbst, former ambassador in Uzbekistan. Curious coincidence?

The Ukraine "democratic youth" organization, Pora ("High Time") is a slick, US-created entity. It is modeled on the Belgrade youth group, Otpor, which Miles also set up with help of NED and George Soros' Open Society, USAID and similar friends. Pora was given a brand image, for selling to the Western media, a slick logo of a black-white clenched fist. It even got a nifty name, the "chestnut revolution", as in "chestnuts roasting on an open fire". Before he came to power, Saakashvili was brought by Miles to Belgrade to study the model there. In Ukraine, according to British media and other accounts, Soros' Open Society, the US government's NED and the Carnegie Endowment, along with the State Department's USAID, were all involved in fostering Ukraine regime change. Little wonder Moscow is a bit concerned with Washington's actions in Ukraine.

Found a single match in diaries archive ...

Neocon Years and NATO Expansion of 2008

Simply more voodoo rhetoric of neoconservatives and the Goldwater girl Hillary Rodham when she took over Foreign Affairs at State.

The United States and the European Union in post-war Kosovo 1999-2012

an analysis of transatlantic peacebuilding approaches

To a unipolar great power like the US at the time, multilateral agreements and institutions were means, not ends. Still, she dismissed the distinction between power politics and policy based on values, stating that this was fine for academic debate, but made disastrous policy.

[...]
Two Bush administrations later in 2008, Rice wrote a Foreign Affairs piece titled 'Rethinking the National Interests: American Realism for a New World'. Because of 9/11, Iraq, Afghanistan and what she described as the destabilizing spill-over effects of globalization, policy shifted to "recognize that democratic state building is now an urgent component of our national interest". The supposed dangers to national security posed by failed, failing or collapsed states allowed for this shift. Running with the characterisation of the US as a reluctant superpower, the US was said to engage in foreign policy "because we have to, not because we want to".

This newfound affinity for democratic statebuilding involved the need to build civilian capacity and an inter-agency `whole of government approach', such as through the State Department creation of S/CRS (Office of the Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization). In meetings, S/CRS chief John Herbst used peacebuilding, stabilization and reconstruction interchangeably, pointing to Kosovo's transition to independent government as a good example of stabilization work. Again, Rice talked about the American history of trying to combine "power and principle - realism and idealism", calling it a "uniquely American realism".

Towards the end of the piece, she situates the uniqueness of this approach in the American "imagination", and their way of thinking, arguing how this accounts for American's uniquely powerful role in the world. In a 2010 Foreign Affairs article, her successor US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton [name can be used interchangeably with John D. Negroponte] also professed the importance of elevating "diplomacy and development alongside defense - a 'smart power' approach". Regardless, self-proclaimed realists such as Stephen M. Walt or John Mearsheimer have been adamant in their criticism of the process of `liberal internationalism', arguing it has had disadvantageous consequences for the US national interest.

The name Johannes "John" Herbst surfaced more often @MofA as early as 2005-6 -- Herbst False Flag Offer - Feb. 9, 2015 |.

US Think Tankland is vastly populated by such sub-zoology specimens - who merely regurgitate the agenda of their MICIMATT masters in places like this CIA rag.

"Democracy" has long been buried six feet under CIA darkness. pic.twitter.com/c9wIN0BQFX

— Pepe Escobar (@RealPepeEscobar) June 7, 2023

Ambassador to Ukraine 2004 Colour Revolution CIA partner

John E. Herbst
Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization, 
Term of Appointment: May 26, 2006 to 2009

"We must also improve the responsiveness of our government to help nations emerging from tyranny and war...and that means our government must be able to move quickly to provide needed assistance." 
-- President Bush

As Coordinator, Ambassador Herbst is leading the development of U.S. Government civilian capacity to promote the stabilization and reconstruction of societies in transition from conflict or civil strife, and to provide support to countries at risk of instability.

In May 2003, Ambassador Herbst was appointed the U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine. During his tenure, he worked to enhance U.S-Ukrainian relations and to help ensure the conduct of a fair Ukrainian presidential election. In Kyiv, he witnessed the Orange Revolution. Prior to that, Ambassador Herbst was the U.S. Ambassador to Uzbekistan, where he played a critical role in the establishment of an American base to help conduct Operation Enduring Freedom Chaos in Afghanistan. He also promoted improved U.S.-Uzbek relations, in part by encouraging the government in Tashkent to improve its human rights record.

• Ambassador Craig Murray: Our Man In Tashkent | The Guardian - July 2004 |

Mr. Herbst previously served as U.S. Consul General in Jerusalem; Principal Deputy to the Ambassador at Large for the Newly Independent States; the Director of the Office of Independent States and Commonwealth Affairs; Director of Regional Affairs in the Near East Bureau; as political counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv and at the Embassies in Moscow and Saudi Arabia.

My earlier diary ...

Crimea As Endgame Before Going M.A.D.

I am truly amazed by the Ukrainian Navy's ability to sail undetected for 10k miles roundtrip & blow up the Nord Stream pipeline with their Navy Seals! I trust Washington Post & CIA, which assures me that this is totally plausible, despite Ukraine not having a functioning Navy. pic.twitter.com/tltR9DhoRA

— Jordan Schachtel (@JordanSchachtel) June 6, 2023

Ministers urge caution over reports pro-Ukrainian group behind gas pipeline blasts

• German prosecutors searched boat Nord Stream saboteurs may have used | The Guardian |
• "Der Spiegel": a Bavaria C50 yacht was used for the sabotage of the Nord Stream

  The boat, called "Andromeda", would have left the port of Rostock on 6 September, to stop at the island of Ruegen and the Danish island of Christianso, in the vicinity of which the explosions took place on 26 September

New Nord Stream Cover-Up Story Is Based On Dubious 'Leak' [_link] pic.twitter.com/84nNT1wqTF

— Moon of Alabama (@MoonofA) June 6, 2023

Are the Canadian Fires Under Control? There Are Over 400 Fires Burning, 7 June surprise!

Public Security Minister François Bonnardel spoke at a news conference on June 4 to discuss the fires, as reported by CBC. Bonnardel said, "We took charge of 35 fires today, compared to 21 yesterday. We chose specific fires to protect our critical infrastructures, but above all to protect our population. All our resources are concentrated on these fires."

The Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre reports that as of June 6, 414 total fires are burning, with at least 239 considered "out of control." Despite the active fight against the flames, firefighters can only attack 20-30 at a time. According to PBS, Canada currently has at least 480 wilderness firefighters on the ground, but they have been seeking international help to battle the elements.
[...]
On Twitter, French President Emmanuel Macron announced he is sending 100 firefighters to help aid Canada. PBS reports that the United States is also sending firefighters, and Quebec is negotiating with Costa Rica, Portugal, and Chile for additional firefighters.

As of June 7, the Associated Press reports that Northwestern Quebec continues to evacuate residents due to wildfires as firefighters first target blazes in more remote communities. An estimated 10,000 have already been evacuated.

[AP] notes there are more than 150 fires in Quebec alone, with at least 110 considered "out of control." The mayor of Lebel-sur-Quévillon, Guy Lafrenière, explains, "The fire started in an area where there were no trees, which slowed it down considerably."
[...]

Climate change and drought are a constant background presence when it comes to Western water politics. Arizona recently agreed to shoulder the bulk of cuts to water allocations for states in the Colorado River's Lower Basin that depend on that source for their water.

Policies surrounding groundwater in Arizona are a separate issue from that dispute. Unlike the river water, Porter said, "Out here in Arizona, groundwater is considered a non-renewable water supply." ... Specifically, the department determined the Hassayampa sub-basin groundwater supply west of Phoenix had some is 4.4 million acre-feet of unmet less than demand.
[...]
If the agency's decision isn't enough to address the groundwater shortfall, state officials have numerous other options to attempt to preserve groundwater, according to Katherine Jacobs, director of the Center for Climate Adaptation Science and Solutions at the University of Arizona. For example, she said, they can explore options like bringing in water from western Arizona, bargaining with Native American tribes for water rights or treating municipal wastewater.

BTW, how many months did Eva Kaili idle in jail?