U.S. Plays Russian Roulette, by James Rickards

Sooner or later the loaded chamber comes up. From James Rickards at dailyreckoning.com:

Since the start of the war in Ukraine, I’ve been warning about the dangers of escalation between the U.S. and Russia. We may be about to take a serious step up the escalation ladder.

On Sunday, Ukraine launched an attack on Crimea with U.S.-supplied Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) missiles. The target was likely a military installation, quite possibly a Russian airbase.

It appears that five ATACMS were used in the attack. Four appear to have been shot down by the Russians. The evidence indicates a fifth missile was damaged and knocked off course.

It had a clustering warhead, which releases multiple bomblets upon its target. It’s specifically designed to take out personnel as opposed to hard targets.

Well, this missile detonated over a crowded public beach in Sevastopol, the home of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet. Four people were killed and at least 150 were wounded.

“Retaliatory Measures Will Certainly Follow”

This incident has sparked outrage in Russia, and the Russian government has condemned it in no uncertain terms. The Russian defense ministry issued the following statement:

The responsibility for a deliberate missile strike on peaceful residents of Sevastopol is primarily carried by Washington, which supplied this weaponry to Ukraine.

Meanwhile, the Russian foreign ministry has warned that this attack “would not go unpunished,” and that “retaliatory measures will certainly follow.”

When Russia accuses the U.S. of being directly responsible for the attack, they have a valid point. The U.S. doesn’t just hand Ukraine ATACMS missiles to use as they wish and wipe its hands clean of it.

The targeting data for these missiles is supplied by U.S. reconnaissance assets, and that information is programmed into the missiles by U.S. personnel. Ukraine doesn’t have access to that data, only U.S. military personnel do.

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