Cracks Surfacing between U.S. Defense and State Departments?

A number of expert observers have refuted the big narrative that, firstly, Russia is wantonly bombing Ukrainian sights and killing civilians, is running out of ammunition and supplies, and has suffered heavy losses, and secondly, that this “proves” that the Kremlin will resort at any moment, to using chemical or biological weapons.

The editor-in-chief of Consortium News Joe Lauria, however, goes one step further, and puts forward the likelihood that the leaks about the reality of what Russia is not doing in Ukraine have been issued by the Defense Department, which “is engaged in a consequential battle with the U.S. State Department and the Congress to prevent a direct military confrontation with Russia, which could unleash the most unimaginable horror of war”. In the article titled “Pentagon Drops Truth Bombs to Stave Off War With Russia,” Lauria writes that President Biden is caught in the middle, but has so far sided with the Defense Department on rejecting a no-fly zone in Ukraine.

As evidence of this battle, Lauria cites an article he considers a Pentagon leak, posted in Newsweek on March 22 by William Arkin, a former Army intelligence officer who has gained a reputation for exposing secrets that military and intelligence agencies would rather not make known. The headline of Arkin’s article is telling: “Putin’s Bombers Could Devastate Ukraine But He’s Holding Back. Here’s Why.” He cites U.S. intelligence and military analysts, speaking freely on condition of anonymity, who strongly disagree with Washington’s official narrative of what the Russians are doing in Ukraine.

Though by no means supportive of vladimir Putin, these analysts say that Russian forces are causing a lot less damage in Ukraine than they could and are only going after military targets. To put things in perspective, in the first five weeks of the “military operation” in Ukraine, Russia carried out less bombing sorties and launched less missile strikes than in the first day (!) of Bush and Cheney’s Iraq war. A couple of analysts argue that a little honesty in evaluating the Russian military campaign in Ukraine would provide insight into how to end the war. One unamed U.S. Air Force officer is quoted expressing his “frustration” at the current narrative that Russia is intentionally targeting civilians and demolishing cities. “Such a distorted view stands in the way of finding an end before true disaster hits or the war spreads to the rest of Europe,” he says. An analyst from the Defense Intelligence Agency confirms that “Russia could be killing thousands more civilians if it wanted to.”

The second sign that Lauria points to is the statement by a senior defense official who said that the the U.S. has not yet seen any evidence that Russian use of chemical weapons in Ukraine is “imminent” but that they are watching for such signs very closely. Even though he was speaking during an on-the-record background briefing, and the transcript was posted on the DoD website, Reuters was the only major news service to report the official’s statement….