Your reply reinforces my assessment and own conclusions. I have been following this conflict closely from multiple sources since it first began. I knew that you had had high-level participation in matters involving military intelligence, so I thought I would ask your opinion to verify the correctness of my understanding. I suppose what amazes me is that the military brass makes no attempt to restructure their information flow to assure their analysis is more accurate and more relevant. I fear that our politicians are making decisions regarding money and other assistance based upon what they are hearing from the Pentagon. If their information is incomplete and their conclusions questionable, this raises concerns as to whether Ukraine will really get what it needs when it needs it.
I can understand the historical slow pace of arming Ukraine. Early on everyone was fearful that Russia might resort to the use of a nuclear weapon. I think there was also a justifiable fear that NATO might be drawn into the war, resulting in a much larger conflict. As time has gone on and one red line after another has been crossed, it has become apparent that much of what Putin and his spokespeople have to say in the way of threats have no substance. It is all bluster. Accordingly, I would hope that the decision makers have come to fully accept this and increase the rate at which they provide Ukraine the needed equipment to successfully evict the Russian invader.
The US certainly seems to be moving in that direction. At the beginning of the war, the west insisted that there would be no modern battle tanks or IFVs, especially the M1 Abrams, and no long range rockets or F-16s. No cluster munitions. The west seemed almost paranoid in its fear that giving Ukraine weapons which could be used offensively against Russia might result in a nuclear conflict . Now that those fears have receded, we see formerly off-limits weapon systems being delivered. It is clear they have made a huge difference and will continue to do so. We should give Ukraine everything in our inventory which can help them repel the invaders. The initial effort was too slow paced. It has already cost too many Ukrainian lives unnecessarily as it has turned out.
