Author: Keith Smith

Ukraine War – Year One

On February 24, 2022, after weeks of media hype and repeated warnings from numerous western intelligence services, the Russian Federation launched what was supposed to be a 72-hour anschluss that would bring Ukraine back into the Russian sphere of influence. Confident in imminent victory, Russian soldiers brought along dress uniforms. Many who participated in the initial invasion were told they would soon parade in Kyiv and receive military decorations. As it has turned out, the affair was not the walk in the park anticipated by Putin and his planners. They grossly underestimated Ukrainian willingness to fight tooth and nail for every meter of territory, as well as NATO resolve to ensure a Ukrainian victory. This, combined with inept Russian leadership, antiquated tactics, and poorly prepared troops, quickly turned the conflict into the bloodiest conventional war of the 21st Century.… Read More Ukraine War – Year One

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High-Profile Russians Who Died in 2022

2022 was a deadly year to be an influential Russian, especially one who opposed the Ukraine War. Aside from numerous high ranking military officers who have been killed in the Ukraine war, a string of Russian oligarchs, politicians, and bureaucrats passed away unexpectedly. All had close connections with the Kremlin, many had immense wealth, most expressed an anti-war stance. Causes of death range from falling (out of windows, down a stairwell, and off a yacht) to heart attack, suicide, and murder. Add it all up and it is not surprising that many in the intelligence community and international law enforcement now suspect that they are in fact staged suicides, “accidents,” or murders ordered by Putin.… Read More High-Profile Russians Who Died in 2022

Keith Smith

The Allies and the Holocaust: What they knew, when they knew it, and what they did about it

The idea that Germany, during World War II, would attempt to completely eradicate the entire Jewish population of the territories under their control was initially inconceivable to the Allies. Even though the Nazi’s hate of Jewish people and other groups of “undesirables” was well known, nobody could have imagined that Germany – a modern nation of cultured people, would perpetrate such a base, primitive crime against humanity. Additionally, from a warfighting standpoint it made no sense to the Allies that the Nazis would waste the immense amount of manpower and resources that they did in such an effort.… Read More The Allies and the Holocaust: What they knew, when they knew it, and what they did about it

Keith Smith

Holocaust History: Auschwitz – Evolution of a Killing Factory

In Claude Lanzmann’s famous documentary film Shoah he interviewed SS guard Franz Suchomel who called Auschwitz a “killing factory.” There could not be a more adequate description of the hell that was Auschwitz-Birkenau. However as with most events of the Holocaust its purpose as a killing center did not emerge overnight. Rather, it evolved in response to circumstances and the whims of the Nazi leadership.… Read More Holocaust History: Auschwitz – Evolution of a Killing Factory

Keith Smith

The Crimean Bridge Will Cease to Exist: Interview with the Head Ukrainian Military Intelligence

Recently Ukrainskaya Pravda’s Roman Kravets sat down with Kiril Budanov, head of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense. Since the beginning of the war, Budanov has become one of the most authoritative Ukrainian sources on the conflict. He accurately predicted that Russia would initiate hostilities with Ukraine a year before the invasion. In late May of this year the young intelligence expert predicted that by August Ukrainian forces would be able to launch an offensive that would reclaim most lost territory by the end of the year. The subsequent summer offensives and ongoing push in the south toward Kherson and in the Donbas are the fruit of those predictions… Read More The Crimean Bridge Will Cease to Exist: Interview with the Head Ukrainian Military Intelligence

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Holocaust History: A Sinister Organization

By the time Operation Barbarossa kicked off in June 1941 and rolled across the East, Heinrich Himmler’s Schutzstaffel, or SS for short, controlled law and order in the police state that was the Third Reich. It all began in 1936 when Hitler appointed Himmler Chief of the German Police; he also retained his position as head of the SS. Himmler immediately set about creating new ministries under the umbrella of the SS that eventually controlled all aspects of policing in the Reich.… Read More Holocaust History: A Sinister Organization

Keith Smith

Holocaust History: Legislation – Propaganda – Intimidation, the Nazi Trifecta of Persecution 1933-1939

The conditions in Germany at the time of Adolf Hitler’s ascension to power were ripe for exploitation to advance the sinister causes of National Socialism. Hitler and his high-ranking Nazi associates were acutely aware of existing sentiments and prejudices; they moved quickly as soon as they took power to exploit them as far as was possible through legislation, propaganda, and other unofficial means. A prime example of this are the dealings of the Nazi Regime with the Protestant churches in Germany.… Read More Holocaust History: Legislation – Propaganda – Intimidation, the Nazi Trifecta of Persecution 1933-1939

Keith Smith

Ukraine War Update (Day 200)

For many in the West, the Ukraine war has now become an afterthought with blue and yellow yard signs fading in the sun or blown away in the wind. However, the war continues to grind on in what has become the largest and longest conventional war in recent decades. According to the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, Russian Federation troops have lost over 50,000 killed in action (KIA). While this number may not be accurate, if the actual body count is even half what the Ukrainians claim, it is devastating. Add to that approximately three wounded for every KIA and the total number of Russian casualties could exceed six figures, making it one of the deadliest conflicts of the 21st Century. One of the most interesting aspects of the conflict are the real time reports and footage from the front lines. Soldiers from both sides have made and posted videos… Read More Ukraine War Update (Day 200)

Keith Smith

The Evolution and Influence of the “Annales” School on Modern Historiography

Nineteenth Century historiography was dominated by the Empirical Model espoused by German historian Leopold von Ranke in which history was a narrative based on documented facts. Historians wrote volumes on wars, battles, great men, leaders, political institutions, and the rise of nations. Very few works were produced on the poor working class or peasants – the faceless little people on whose backs great nations and economies were built.… Read More The Evolution and Influence of the “Annales” School on Modern Historiography

Keith Smith