What the Russians are saying about the nomination of AF General Charles Q. Brown, Jr. as next head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
As I have commented recently, the Russian state television news and analysis program Sixty Minutes hosted by Olga Skabeyeva and Yevgeny Popov provides excellent daily coverage of Western television broadcasts on topics of interest to their home audience. The video excerpts taken from CNN, Fox News, Euronews and other major channels are not sound bites. They are usually lengthy enough to ensure that nothing is taken out of context. The anti-Russian aggressiveness of interviewees and of news items on these US and European stations is so clear that it speaks for itself, and the Russian hosts can usually keep to a restrained demeanor.
As for the commentary on news items provided by the expert panelists on this program, it is often well researched and informative. A case in point was the coverage on Sixty Minutes of the nomination yesterday by Joe Biden of Air Force General Charles Q. Brown, Jr. to replace General Mark Milley as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the second highest post in the U.S. military after the Secretary of Defense and the post responsible for strategic planning, that is to say, the “brains” of the Pentagon. The handover of office will take place in October.
The explanation of who exactly is Charles Brown and the interpretation of what his appointment means for U.S. military policy to come was delivered by the editor in chief of a Russian military journal who frequently appears on Sixty Minutes. The description of Brown’s personal background and professional experience was substantive. We were told that Brown is a third generation military officer, that his father was a colonel and that he rose in the ranks not by “pull” but by dint of hard work and merit which is all the more noteworthy given that he is an African American.
A recent self-promoting video clip by Brown was put on air. In this he presents himself as an accomplished pilot of fighter jets and remarks that once he gets in the cockpit and puts on his headgear, no onlookers know whether he is black or white or Hispanic, whether he is a woman or a man. He is just a skilled flyer ready to “kick butt.” Yes, the video was acknowledged by the Russian presenters as impressive.
As the expert panelist further explained, Brown has logged more than 3,000 hours in the air, mostly on the F-16s on which he is a leading authority in the States, including or especially as regards their use for delivery of tactical nuclear weapons. Brown served in South Korea and is assumed to have carried out missions near or over the North. He also served in the Ramstein air base in Germany which is now the coordinating center for the Allied support of Ukraine.
In conclusion the panelist sees in Brown’s appointment a clear indication that as from his taking office in October, the U.S. will be raising its readiness to wage nuclear war on the European continent from the air.
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The foregoing news and interpretation is a direct answer to the question I posed yesterday about whether the U.S. and NATO have further plans for the war in Ukraine beyond delivery of F-16s to Kiev. This is also a direct answer to my suggestion of the need for a “course correction.” Regrettably that course correction is in the direction of nuclear war.
It appears that fighting the war in Ukraine to the last Ukrainian will be succeeded by an American formulated plan to fight to the last European. We have to view in this context yesterday’s declaration by German Chancellor Scholz that he opposes any “freezing” of the conflict in and over Ukraine and wants to continue the fight till Ukraine is victorious.
Scholz has already done a great deal to destroy the economy of his country. Yesterday’s declaration of recession in Germany is just the start of news on that country’s economy that goes from bad to worse as deindustrialization picks up speed. Now it would appear that Scholz is keen to see the total destruction of Europe in a U.S.-planned war. Is Mr. Macron listening? Or is he too busy greening France?
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I close this essay with a look at what American media are saying about the prospective appointment of Charles Brown, Jr. as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. One of the first articles you can find online by consulting Google Search is on ABC News, a pillar of the industry. I make reference to “Biden picks history-making general as next head of Joint Chiefs” by Chris Boccia and Alexandra Hutzler, datelined yesterday.
And what do they mean by “history-making”? Aside from the fact that Brown is a “butt-kicker” (quote Biden), we see the following:
Brown, if confirmed, would become the second Black Joint Chiefs chairman three decades after Army Gen. Colin Powell. For the first time in history, the Pentagon’s top two leaders, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and the Joint Chiefs chairman, would be Black men.
But that is not all which especially qualifies Brown in today’s America. We further read:
[In 2020] Brown..made headlines when he spoke out about racism in the military following George Floyd’s murder at the hands of Minneapolis police. ‘I’m thinking about how full I am with emotion not just for George Floyd, but the many African Americans that have suffered the same fate as George Floyd,’ he said in a highly personal video message. ‘I’m thinking about a history of racial issues and my own experiences that didn’t always sing of liberty and equality.’ His nomination on Thursday fell on the third anniversary of Floyd’s death.
In fairness to the authors of the ABC News article, they do mention in passing that Brown was an Air Force F-16 fighter pilot. They also mention that he “held senior leadership roles in the Middle East beginning in 2015 and in 2018 took command of Pacific Air Forces, America’s presence in the skies of the Indo-Pacific.” Good, but not good enough.
I leave it to readers to decide who will be better informed about what we may expect from General Brown once he assumes his new duties: the average Russian who watches Sixty Minutes or the average American who reads ABC News? Where is there Information? And where is there Dis-Information?
©Gilbert Doctorow, 2023