The US, like every other empire, kingdom, and nation that has ever come and gone, does not live on an island unto itself. We (like those before us) are subject to the schemes and maneuvers of all the other rising and variant forces that perpetually seek to challenge hegemony anywhere and everywhere at all times. The Babylonians had the Persians. The Persians had the Greeks. The Greeks the Romans. The Romans the barbarians. The Holy Roman Empire the Muslims. The West versus the East. The Old versus the New. And now, the New versus the Old.
The question everyone is asking now is, is America too big to fail?
The short answer is a resounding, no.
The question we should be asking is whether or not this present conflict is bait for a wider, more strategic one?
Defense in Depth
When I was in the Army, the Warrant Officer Corps (who were a sort of hybrid officers between the Commissioned and Non-Commissioned Ranks) had a particular saying that had been around forever, and of which, I am still fond of to this day.
Admit nothing
Deny everything
Make counteraccusations
This simple and somewhat humorously antagonistic saying is an old technique of sorts that has been around for millennia. It’s called, defense in depth. It can be applied in many different fields, such as the military, legal, and cyber world, but in a purely military application, it’s an intentional strategy. Defense in depth has two main applications, the first is the castle approach, which is to say, a layered defense (moat, drawbridge, ramparts, castle walls, etc.). The second is of a stalling operation disguised as a tactical retreat, designed to cause the enemy to spread out and lose momentum. Here is a semi-official definition of it.
Defence in depth (also known as deep defence or elastic defence) is a military strategy that seeks to delay rather than prevent the advance of an attacker, buying time and causing additional casualties by yielding space. Rather than defeating an attacker with a single, strong defensive line, defence in depth relies on the tendency of an attack to lose momentum over time or as it covers a larger area. A defender can thus yield lightly defended territory in an effort to stress an attacker’s logistics or spread out a numerically superior attacking force. Once an attacker has lost momentum or is forced to spread out to pacify a large area, defensive counter-attacks can be mounted on the attacker’s weak points, with the goal being to cause attrition or drive the attacker back to its original starting position. (Wikipedia)
Thus, in a purely military application, defense in depth is a form of defensive illusion that allows the invader/aggressor to believe they are actually winning when in reality, are making themselves more vulnerable and prone to defeat. Both Napoleon’s Grand Armée and the German Wehrmacht learned this most painful and humiliating lesson when fighting the Russians many years ago.
However, we should not give too much praise to the military genius of either the Tsarist Russians or their modern Bolshevik descendants, since this Russian strategy predates even the Romans. The Roman philosopher Cicero called Herodotus the father of history, and as such, Herodotus of Halicarnassus (circa 484 BC) is most famously known for his ethnographical/historical book titled "The Histories."
When describing the nomadic warriors who lived to the far north of both Greece and Israel, Herodotus makes much importance of this ancient strategy when he wrote about the ancient Scythian routing of the Persians. The Scythians are the ancient ancestors of the modern-day Russian peoples who dwelt in what was then known as the land of Magog. I've included more resources below for those who are interested in the history of the Russians in the land of Magog. Nevertheless, here is a quote from the late Dr. Chuck Missler's book, Prophecy 20/20, and he writes:
Herodotus describes them living in Scythia (i.e., the territory north of the Black Sea). He describes Scythia as a square, twenty-day journey (360 miles) on a side. It encompassed the lower reaches of the Dniester, Bug, Dnieper, and Don rivers, where they flow into the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. The Scythian language belonged to the Iranian family of the Indo-European languages. The Ossetian dialect of central Caucasus appears to be a survivor. The original area in which Iranian was spoken extended from the mid-Volga and the Don regions to the northern Urals and beyond. From here, Iranian-speaking tribes colonized Media, Parthia, Persia, Central Asia, and as far as the Chinese border. The ancient writers refer to the Great Wall of China as Sud Yagog et Magog, the “Ramparts of Gog and Magog.” Prophecy 20/20, Chapter 20, 160-1
Map-circa 650 BC
Dr. Missler continues.
One reason Herodotus gave so much detailed information about the Scythians was that he wanted to describe the people who had succeeded in defeating the Persian king, Darius. This was a most important element in the history of the Scythians, and the memory of it remained with them for many years. In resisting the Persians, a provocative strategic tradition was born: defense in depth.
This unique strategy would also characterize these descendants of Magog in more recent times against Napoleon and Hitler. When Napoleon entered Russia in 1812, Field Marshall Kutuzov’s similar strategy, including the sacrifice of Moscow itself, resulted in reducing Napoleon’s Grande Armée from 453,000 to 10,000. Hitler, suffering defeat from the same Scythian strategy: pressing a quick advance deep into the Russian interior only to have his Wehrmacht swallowed up in the harsh winter. (Ibid. Chapter 20, 162-3)
However, keeping the defense-in-depth definitions in mind, we need to take this into consideration as we press forward in discussing current geopolitical, military, and economic events happening all around the world. This may also play largely into what we see happening with regards to the larger picture of why Russia is invading Ukraine.
Checkers vs. Chess
“I used to attack because it was the only thing I knew. Now I attack because I know it works best.” – Garry Kasparov
“Chess is rarely a game of ideal moves. Almost always, a player faces a series of difficult consequences whichever move he makes.” – David Shenk
“Tactics is knowing what to do when there is something to do; strategy is knowing what to do when there is nothing to do.” – Savielly Tartakower
“Chess makes men wiser and clear-sighted.” – Vladimir Putin
Whether Vladimir Putin is a grandmaster chess player or just a casual one, one thing is certain, Joe Biden is not. Aside from his mythical bouts with "Cornpop" more than half a century ago, Joe Biden (nor his handlers as far as we know) are also not black belts in Judo either. Here is how one writer put it back in 2014:
Russian President Vladimir Putin is often cast as a shadowy chess master making crafty moves on the global stage, a former KGB spy who treats Asia, Europe, the Middle East and former Soviet republics as pawns on a geopolitical chessboard. But another emerging metaphor for Putin's political style comes from a different contest that happens to be his favorite sport: judo.
A black belt in judo whose sparring partners from his working-class childhood in Leningrad now hold high-level government posts, Putin has never made secret the significance to him of the martial art. "Judo teaches self-control, the ability to feel the moment, to see the opponent's strengths and weaknesses, to strive for the best results," he says on his personal website. "I am sure you will agree that these are essential abilities and skills for any politician."
"Putin is a judo master by training, not a chess master, and that's how he looks at gaining advantage for Russia," Kimberly Marten, a Russia expert and professor of political science at Barnard College and Columbia University, tells Newsweek. "He sizes up an opponent's weakness, throws him off balance and then makes his opponent fall from his own weight."
Chess is played on quiet, peaceful, orderly terms, with one player making a move and the opponent following. By contrast, judo consists of explosive, sudden strikes in which a judoka, or judo master, aims to turn an opponent's size and weight against him. (Newsweek, June 5, 2014)
While I had mentioned the Beijing Olympic agreement in a previous Russia-Ukraine update, I had neglected to expand upon its deeper, and frankly, prophetic implications. I know there are a lot of folks out there wondering if what we are seeing now is the dreaded Gog-Magog coalition on the move, however, I don't believe this Ukraine invasion is Gog and Magog just quite yet. However, it is coming together.
What we are witnessing now (in my opinion) is akin to Satan's own version of the "Valley of Dry Bones." It is like some mythical, multi-national Golem, being willed into existence by those nations who are equally opposed and appalled at the seemingly inevitable rise and nature of the West's dreadful new world order also rising up. And in this epic clash of civilizations, the battleground today is in Ukraine. Some day in the not too distant future, it will be Israel.
But this war isn't checkers where the goal is to crown as many of your own players as kings to dominate the playing board. That is what the West is playing, and ultimately, she will get her ten kings to help run the coming Beast system later on inside the 70th Week of Daniel. Right now, what we are witnessing (at least from the Russians) is this mix between Judo and chess, and it will always be played ten steps ahead of any actual geopolitical moves. This is why Putin began "recession-proofing" his government and economy years ago, long in advance of this day. Not only that, but he was shoring up his own alliances with China, India, Pakistan, and others within the Shanghai Cooperation and the Middle East, who also don't want to see this New World Order (the West's Great Reset) come to fruition. Speaking to this China-Russian preparation:
In their matching mauve ties, Russia’s Vladimir Putin and China’s Xi Jinping last week declared a “new era” in the global order and, at least in the short term, endorsed their respective territorial ambitions in Ukraine and Taiwan. The world’s two most powerful autocrats unveiled a sweeping long-term agreement that also challenges the United States as a global power, nato as a cornerstone of international security, and liberal democracy as a model for the world. “Friendship between the two States has no limits,” they vowed in the communiqué, released after the two leaders met on the eve of the Beijing Winter Olympics. “There are no ‘forbidden’ areas of cooperation...”
U.S. experts described the lengthy statement, which was riddled with false and accusatory language, as startling. “I’ve never seen a joint statement from both leaders using this kind of language. They’ve joined forces,” Angela Stent, a Russia expert who served at the National Intelligence Council and wrote “Putin’s World: Russia Against the West and with the Rest,” told me. She described the communiqué as “quite Orwellian” and called it an “inflection point” in which Russia and China are challenging the balance of power that has defined the global order since the Cold War ended, three decades ago. “We could be at the beginning of a new era as the Russian relationship with the West deteriorates and China’s does as well.” The agreement puts Washington and its key allies “in a terrible bind,” she added. “The fact is, whatever we do to counter what Russia is doing only reinforces its reliance on China.” (New Yorker Feb 7, 2022)
I titled this "Everyone Wants to Rule the World," not because I love the 80's pop hit (although I like the song), but because we are seeing the clash between two civilizations coming to a head. Should the west get drawn into a wider war that foregoes the use of nuclear weapons for more traditional ones, it would be wise for us to remember Russia's penchant for defense in depth. Appear weak, and in retreat, only to give chase and get sucked into a trap for the enemy to strike suddenly when we are off-balance. So just remember, when it appears they are losing, they might just be in a tactical retreat baiting us into the kill zone.
There is a strong possibility that what we are seeing now is the beginning of why the West and certain Arab states are in no position to stop the Gog-Magog horde that sweeps down from the north to retake Israel and reclaim all her newfound wealth before the Tribulation begins.
Resources:
Hey Everyone. Wasnt sure where to post this comment so I am choosing this article. Just finished reading Terry and Petes new book The Disappearing. What a fantastic book!! Highly advise you read it. There were some fresh ideas in there I hadn’t thought of before. I am going to use it to help some newer people understand the rapture. Easy read and really great. I hope you all get a copy
As the chess pieces have begun to move on the global board, I’ve been wondering about who Gog and Magog really are and what, if any, connection Putin and Russia have to them in Ezekiel’s account of the Tribulation-starting hostilities against Israel.
I hear the argument that Magog is Turkey and that Gog is its leader, Erdogan. I think it’s possible, especially because Erdogan is both an autocrat and a reviler of Israel, a very Antichrist-like combination. Putin is an autocrat as well, but I’m having a harder time seeing his animosity toward Israel being as bitter as Erdogan’s.
However: Russia’s leadership is on record as being inclined toward building stronger ties with Middle-Eastern nations, especially Iran and Syria (the…
Just listening to a bunch of very annoying talking head/experts handwringing over Russia and what it's going to do next. And, in the back of my mind I keep hearing "have you come to take a spoil?".
Liking the way people in the Ukraine deal with looters. Saran wrapped to light poles, in deep winter snow, with their pants down.
*not realizing it was a question!
This was a great lesson in strategy which I love! Such a good article. I'm surprised the Russians are smart being descendents of the Sythians. The Sythians were some of the first barbarians to use Cannabis habitually. They didn't even have the work ethic to grow it. The guys would run through fields of it naked. It would stick to them and that's how they harvested it. How is it now they have nuclear weapons? What a fun bunch they are.