The sanctioned supertanker Marinera, formerly known as Bella 1, continues to steam northeast through the North Atlantic, a course that could theoretically take the vessel either toward the Baltic Sea or into Russia’s Arctic approaches, according to maritime tracking data.
The movement comes as evidence mounts that the United States is preparing a maritime interdiction operation to prevent the tanker reaching a safe haven following the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
The vessel is a blacklisted very large crude carrier sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury for transporting Venezuelan oil exports in defiance of international restrictions. According to reporting by CBS News earlier this week, U.S. officials have said Washington intends to seize the tanker rather than sink it, potentially replicating a boarding operation carried out last month when U.S. Marines and special operations forces, working alongside the U.S. Coast Guard, took control of another tanker after it departed a Venezuelan port.
As Marinera progresses northward, open-source observers have identified a corresponding increase in Western intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance activity across the North Atlantic. On Tuesday, a Royal Air Force RC-135 Rivet Joint signals intelligence aircraft flew a mission consistent with monitoring maritime and communications activity in the region. At the same time, a U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft was observed operating from Iceland, a key hub for North Atlantic surveillance.
The positioning of these assets indicates close attention is being paid to the tanker’s route, communications and potential rendezvous points. Analysts note that the combination of signals intelligence and maritime patrol aircraft is well suited to tracking a high-value commercial vessel while also monitoring any escorting ships or aircraft that could complicate an interdiction.
The latest activity follows several days of heightened U.S. military air movements through the United Kingdom. Open-source flight tracking previously showed multiple U.S. Air Force C-17 strategic airlift aircraft transiting through RAF Fairford, alongside sustained patrols by P-8A Poseidon aircraft and repeated movements by special operations-capable aircraft between RAF Fairford and RAF Mildenhall. At least one heavy-lift helicopter associated with U.S. special operations aviation was also observed conducting local flights.
According to analysis by UK Defence Journal’s senior editor Jon, the pattern and timing of these movements closely match known requirements for a compliant or non-compliant maritime boarding operation. He noted that early surges in airlift, followed by persistent ISR coverage, are consistent with force positioning giving way to monitoring and execution, a sequence observed during previous U.S. sanctions enforcement operations involving tanker seizures.
The apparent shift in surveillance focus toward Iceland and the wider North Atlantic suggests operational attention is now tracking the tanker itself. If Marinera were to reach Russian-controlled waters or seek refuge in the Arctic, legal and operational complications would increase significantly. Preventing that outcome would require precise timing, continuous surveillance and the ability to act quickly once political and legal authorisation is secured.
Asked about the RAF RC-135 flight, the UK Ministry of Defence declined to comment on specific operations but pointed to the broader defence relationship with Washington. “As routine, we do not comment on the operational activity of other nations, including third party use of UK bases,” an MoD spokesperson said. “The US is the UK’s principal defence and security partner. The depth of our defence relationship with the US remains an essential part of our security.”
The spokesperson added that U.S. forces operate from the UK under national and international agreements, including NATO’s Status of Forces Agreement and the Visiting Forces Act, with any proposed operations considered on a case-by-case basis. The U.S. Navy has not commented on the Poseidon activity or confirmed whether UK-based assets are directly supporting the planned seizure.
Apparently the Russians are sending a couple of ships to escort this tanker so if any thing is going to happen they had better get on with it!
Better to wait and humiliate the Russian navy face to face. Are they ready to go to war with their best new buddy Trump?
Our best strategy is to turn the authoritarian regimes on each other and sit back and wait.
“Sum of All Fears” strategy…?
Yes if this was the Soviet Union but it’s not. It’s a bunch of Donkey riding morons with very limited military capability.
Humiliation is the only language they understand.
The problem with that Jim is that this operation will be carried out fundamentally from the UK (as Iceland is still independent at least in the short term) so if a shooting match did break out who do you think the Russians would feel they could use as a prime target for ‘warning’ shots to US actions without risking all out war (at least in their strategising)? As things are going we had better have real faith in that defence ‘unity’ with the US has having some real substance. However it didn’t the last time it was tested upon under Trump with the Salisbury incident, at least until sensible Aides put pressure on him, even then it was minimal. No sensible such Aides exist any more, indeed in the likes of Miller it’s the precise opposite he hates or cares nothing for all things Johnny Foreigner. Equally worrying is that British Leaders have been sitting in their bunkers moving imaginary forces around to thwart most Russian intent under the impression that the US has our back, I see little sign that has legs and even if it does it just makes us more and more under their thumb knowing Russia sees us as the enemy they can crush one way or the other without it. Even if it were a mis-conception on their part like Ukraine it would not be good for us would it. Many a conflict has come from such delusions of invincibility.
US National Security Strategy is clear that Europe is the problem, not ruzzia. Only the FSB regime benefits from that maga delusion.
It seems that UK military are in denial, clinging to trans-atlanticism and the special relationship delusions.
Steve Millar disagrees and has the ear of FOTUS #47 and his enablers..
Surely America is a “super power” (according to Steven Miller) and can do anything it likes although apparently it can’t cease one tanker in the middle of the Atlantic on its own.
RC135 and half of Delta force flying into to the UK seems like overkill.
Especially when only the US coast guard can actually cease a US sanctioned tanker at sea.
Seems to be more of trump’s and his henchmens rhetoric not meeting reality on the ground.
You touch on a few interesting points there Jim.
‘Super power’ – yes the US is definitely a super power, however, even super powers have their limits and as we and many US observers have been pointing out for years one of the limitations the USN face is a severe shortage of escorts, as we are well aware of in the UK regarding the RN’s lamentable condition. However, it seems that politicians struggle to get their heads around the basic physical limitations that the real world imposes on them, regardless of which capital they sit in.
As for all of the aviation flying around I am not so sure that it is overkill. As you point out below that much of the US Atlantic Fleet is probably sitting off the Venezuelan coast. That means they are likely going to have to airlift any boarding party into position to seize the tanker. As such they are going to need a lot of air assets if they are going to use a heavy lift helicopter (probably fitted for in-flight refueling) and they will want to replace the firepower of a destroyer with something else and they are definitely going to need very very accurate intel on the position, course and speed of the tanker. Throw in a good dollop of caution and you quickly get into a large aviation force being deployed. Better too much than too little. Operation Eagle Claw, Carter’s attempt to rescue the hostages in Tehran in 1980 won’t have been forgotten in the US military.
Interesting times.
Cheers CR
Hi mate.
See, I thought amongst the assets permanently assigned to Mildenhall are USSOCM C130, V22, and CH53 or Chinook helicopters?
Maybe I’m out of date? Why fly them in if they’re already here?
On people, again, that many C17? How many Seals do they intend to use? Bin Laden was taken with a couple of heli loads plus backups on Chinooks not needed I recall.
Seems overkill to me to seize a Tanker with a dozen crew aboard. Or are there?
Hello Daniele,
I think it can probably be summed up as ‘worse things happen at sea’. As Operation Eagle Claw demonstrated things can go wrong and although the US apparently has a coast guard cutter on scene there would likely be a significant number of air assets involved and they would likely be at low level. If the US SF did deploy from the UK which needs to be confirmed it would likely involve a long range helicopter or Osprey flight necessitating inflight refueling, so there is a bunch of aircraft there. Also, any unforeseen incidents such as mechanical failure and they would need to mount a rescue operation PDQ or risk losing a full SF squad to the North Atlantic. Politically that would be ‘very bad’.
It is also possible that they planned to complete the mission even if they did lose a helicopter and squad, so their planning could have included multiple contingencies such as mounting a second attempt (possibly in the air from the get go) alongside a rescue mission…
All speculation on my part, but I would suggest that a failure would not be tolerated by the US administration so two belts and two braces were deployed. Why not? They have the people and kit. My guess is that they set out to deploy such overwhelming power that the Russian’s either stayed very very polite or had a very exciting afternoon..! I know which I would choose.
Summing up, at range at sea plus the need to overwhelm with no shots fired = a blinking big hammer being applied to a tin tack. It seems to have worked and Russia will have learnt a lesson. Will be interesting to see how Putin reacts.
My guess, quietly or relatively so. He wants Trump to hand him Ukraine and by extension Europe.
Greenland will be the next test…
Would be interesting times if they weren’t so unnerving…
Cheers CR
As always, good points mate.
So the Russians are sending a Submarine (How very Ice Station Zebra) now what happens if they get a detachment of their military onboard before this operation. I wonder if US bravado will continue in that scenario.
Well thankfully we didn’t find out as it seems the Russian Navy had not arrived in time. It also looks as if the huge deployment to the UK mainland was a diversionary move, although I suspect those forces were quite capable of getting stuck in if needed.
It also seems as if they used RFA Tideforce possibly to refuel or the USCG cutter or may be to ferry the MH-6 within range of the tanker / cutter as the cutter usually carries a MH-65 Dolphin. The smaller MH-6 is apparently better suited to getting in close to the cluttered deck of a merchant ship… Either way she played a key supporting role. Lets hope the US administration remember it as they seem to have forgotten that Denmark alongside most other NATO countries responded to their Article 5 declaration after 9/11.
Cheers CR
It’s like a Netflix saga, long winded, dramatic and drawn out. Bismark was easier to deal with !
I’m guessing so much of the the US navy in the Atlantic is sitting off the coast of Venezuela that they have no ships in the North Atlantic to do this and hence the pantomime of having to fly special forces into the UK.
Only the US coast guard is allowed to board a ship under US sanctions and they only have one team able to do this and they are on the USS Ford apparently.
Personally, I don’t get what the delay or real problem is. What’s the real story behind this ship, why all the drama ? Is it not just an empty Tanker, something doesn’t add up.
Maybe we should send 007 to sort this James Bond style plot ? 🤔0️⃣0️⃣7️⃣
For interest, the double 0 section doesn’t exist!
We do indeed have certain military groups and paramilitary groups that conduct that sort of stuff for Mi6, though in this case the SBS would be fine.
We should stay well out of it.
(I was joking)
You were? 😉
Yup, It’s an annoying habit of mine.
As you wish my lord.
Carry on.
Stay tuned !
You missed the film quote!
It’s ok though, I could feel your presence !
Certainly would have been better to have just done the operation before it hit the main press outlets. It could get more tricky by the day meaning more and more forces required. In the end without navy/coastguard ships in attendance soon after any boarding it could even get embarrassing for them to put it lightly.
Since the 19 vessels docked in Venezuela fled as soon as the Maduro kidnap was known, the US Coastguards will know that a simultaneous movement is intended to overwhelm their capacity, and so to plan accordingly.
Only Coastguards have maritime police powers, so the Delta force teams must take at least one with them for IMO regulation compliant inspection and search missions.
Without legal compliance effort, sanctions don’t have the intended effect so it’s overdue that action was taken, and the side effect on RF illegal war in Ukraine is a bonus.
Given the recent apparent support to RF (28 point surrender plan) it’s surprising that sanction enforcement may benefit Ukraine, but the inconsistencies further boost the Unreliable USA narrative. #47 doesn’t care..
You can afford Netflix while on benefits?
🤦♂️
There is an interesting article on the BBC which, along with George’s article above, paint an interesting picture of cat and mouse and increasingly high stakes risks. The tanker has clearly tried to keep significant sea room from the UK having put in a northerly dog leg course change to avoid closing with the North West coast of Scotland and the Russian’s have reportedly sent a submarine and surface vessels to escort the tanker. They are also making a lot of ‘diplomatic’ noises about the ‘rules’ of the sea, etc.. The hypocrisy of which would be laughable if it was so blinking serious. Might is right, is back with a vengeance and Europe and the UK are sleep walking into serious trouble, or as the BBC put it last night, “being trampled”…
Part of me hopes that the US does indeed seize the tanker even in the presence of Russian naval units as that will give Putin a slap in the face and point out to him that Trump is true to his word about America first, as he sees it. If the Russian’s fight back Trump will be furious and perhaps he will have second thoughts about Putin in Ukraine..? The world is at yet another significant moment.
Happy New Year everyone! I hope you like roller coasters!
Cheers CR
What is the betting that the Russian frigate has ‘engine trouble’ if anything starts.
Remember how effective the A2A missiles were again the RIVET closer to UKR.
And how wonderfully the Russian/Chinese systems performed for the Venezuelans.
Crazy as Mad Vlad is he won’t want to risk his assets being visibly disabled.
Hi SB,
That is clearly the calculation that the US is making and I think they will get away with it this time and probably the next few times as well. However, I think every success will further embolden them and one day they will go too far if this leadership continues to push / test their boundaries. Either someone will shoot back and hit something operationally significant or they will do something that so shakes their alliances that politically they will lose their traditional international support.
The Venezuela operation was a brilliant and highly successful operation from a purely military point of few. The planning and execution was fantastic! Politically, I’m not so sure, trust in international relationships is a big issue, but the most serious impact for me is how is it being interpreted by the political leadership in Washington? There is already a sense of over confidence backed up by way too much pride. How will they react if and when they hit a wall operationally or politically?
This operation could still go badly wrong even if the Russian’s are just bluffing, which I grant you is very likely
Greenland. Putin could bank on encouraging Trump to go into Greenland if it hands him a broken NATO, so a bluff at sea to inflate the egos in Washington might be a very clever play. Putin might be a crazy risk taker, but he isn’t an idiot and he is a master risk taker and as such a very dangerous foe. Breaking NATO would be a huge prize and to achieve it without engaging in full scale warfare with NATO would be an even greater achievement than the West bettering the Soviet Union through shear economic and manufacturing strength, the latter we have sadly handed to China on a plate..!
Xi will be watching with great interest. A US without NATO support will be a much weakened US. Even the US commander in the Pacific has said he would like to have our carriers available if things go sideways..!
It’s all linked and blinking complex to boot.
We need a much much bigger navy – note I say “need”…
Cheers CR
As regards the BBC comments, they are of course (as usual) wrong. The UK is clearly taking a willing and active role in this operation.
Having the US grab this tanker is very much in our Geo strategic interest so why not help them.
Just no British boats onboard.
If the Russians want to start shooting let them shoot at the US personnel.
That will bring down MAGA and Putin very quickly.
As a bit of light entertainment 😱 I have been watching Fallout and yesterday out of interest watched a video on the preamble to the events that are shown in the TV series of the game. It scarily looks rather frighteningly like the present events we are slipping into with the Superpowers games and political machinations and the private corporation’s manoeuvres to take financial advantage from it all. When a computer game foretells actual disastrous events it’s time to either laugh manically and grab the kitchen foil or get serious, I think and hope the latter is more appropriate.
Wish I could afford to watch TV 🤔
It’s there for you. But you’re never in!
Never watched Fallout, may be I should.
Jeremy Bowen suggested that we are entering a new age of imperialism where might is right. If so Europe has a real problem and war is damn near a certainty. Mid-sized powers such as UK, France, Germany, Japan etc. will need to work together or risk falling / domination by extractive imperialism.
Not a pleasant future. I remember the hope we felt after the Berlin Wall came down. How on earth did we get to this point..?
Cheers CR
Why is the UK helping an openly belligerent nation
We’re helping the US son not the Russians – pay attention next time.
the same US threatening Europe with military force to capture Greenland?
Yes you are right if we take a purely moral stand, but and it’s a big but, we can’t (thanks mainly to European negligence for decades) simply overtly confront the United States as much as I hate to say it. We need the US onside for Ukraine and standing up to Russian Imperialism even in the face of growing US Imperialism, so we are in an even weaker position than if the Ukraine problem didn’t exist, though one could equally argue a an un-humbled Russia might feel stronger before Ukraine, which shows the complexity in the US going rogue. This is a rock and a hard place scenario. We can’t just let Trump get away with whatever he wants especially as he needs to cover internal weakness with external big sticking to excite his MAGA faithful while trying to bend America First to fit it, despite his previous claims to end foreign wars. He’s a desperate man. But equally because he is desperate he could go either way (the fatality curve) so we have to try to find a way to massage his ego and keep him from going full on maverick madman to our detriment. We need him onside as much as possible, at least for as long as possible without giving him a free rein to commit terror everywhere. I don’t know where that line lays I have to say and I fear no one does, he seems to be in a dementia fuelled unpredictable rage now, he needs power and wide influence internally likely to remain out of jail, but to the best of our ability we (meaning what’s left of the civilised World) have to deal with it as best we can and try to stop the likes of Miller pushing him over whatever red line is next to cross. Tough job and we need to be united to have any chance of maintaining even the best bad solution I think. So I fear external bodies marking him as a self serving tyrant will make him even more of one and one more inclined to bring down hell on the rest of us. Scary indeed.
Because it’s going after an even more openly belligerent nation.
That’s how Geo politics is played in a return to the great game.
Indeed and it’s becoming brazen rather than even a modicum of disguise now. Claiming ‘high ground’ itself from a military origin, isn’t simply going to cut it as things stand, a clever AND lucky game is required. Down the line we need a landslide in the mid terms but in itself is already and only more so going forward make Trump more desperate and tyrannical. I worry he needs war to be able to introduce the internal control that he needs, when he says ‘Trump 2028’ he doesn’t mean in terms of changing the electoral rules it’s more about avoiding them or making them irrelevant. His biggest problem has been losing the MAGA base that he foresaw as enabling that, but he isn’t just going to give up it’s his only way to stay in control and likely out of prison.
What truly scares me is that Hitler in his madness called for the destruction of Germany because he felt its people let him down and no longer deserved him, I wonder how an ever maddening and incoherent Trump and his mad acolytes feel about the fissures breaking out and deep in fighting in the MAGA movement and his political support generally dissolving. Even (former) close advocates are saying he’s going to become a lame duck President, so if he is in terminal decline politically what are his other options while he still has power?
Hi Spyinthesky,
The Trump administration is making hay while they can it seems. They know that China is arming at a staggering rate and Russia is as bellicose as it ever has been under Putin and also rearming. My take is that the Trump administration has determined that they cannot counter China’s maritime buildup anytime soon, the US simply doesn’t have the shipbuilding capacity, and they have obviously decided that they cannot fight on two fronts either, i.e. in Europe against Russia. It seems to me that they have decided to fortify their backyard and they are in a hurry to do just that. However, it is also clear that they realise that they need their allies, at least for the moment. Throw in Trump’s unpredictability and boy are things looking a bit shaky – using a bit British understatement!
Oddly, 7 days into the New Year and Trump has thrown China a serious curve ball has the Chinese have spend years and some billions cultivating the Maduro regime so having Maduro so rudely removed from the chess board is a real slap in the face for Xi. He ain’t going to be pleased!
Now a Russian flagged tanker (no matter how flimsy the legality of the reflagging is or is not) Putin had sent warships to escort the it. Whether they got there in time is unclear but either way Putin just got a harsh lesson in unreliability…
So what does all this mean? Simple really, expect the unexpected from the US. Anything that Trump says is in America’s best interest is what he will do. Of course, how to define ‘America’s best interest’? Currently, is seems it is all about resources and money making, but it might actually be about preparing for a possible conflict that some in the US may have decided that they are almost as unprepared for as Europe, almost. China in particular is the Super Power on the rise and Xi has been toted as the world’s preeminent maritime leader today, with some justification.
The Trump administration has defined what it sees as it’s backyard and now it is demonstrating it’s willingness and ability to exercise it’s will in that backyard. What comes next is Greenland, assuming no more curve balls, which would be rash in the extreme! The only thing we can be sure of is the level of risk and uncertainty will continue to rise and the world order will never be the same again.
As I have said time and again we need a bigger navy a much bigger navy. If I was the government I would be ordering 4 more T26 and 3 more T31 as an interim measure and a signal to our European allies that we get it. Meanwhile I would be trying to work out what it all means for Five Eyes and NATO – a near impossible task on the face of it, but we do not know what is being said via the numerous back channels that exist within our relationship with the US. Certainly, the instability is very concerning and we need to increase our insurance cover dramatically – i.e. expand our armed forces urgently…
Cheers CR
I’m curious, and a few ramblings out loud.
Several C17s, for a boarding party? Ask the SBS, they have boarded ships without needing half of the USAF. Though, those occasions, bar 82, were closer to shore so using helicopters.
Moving people into position? That many C17? I thought USSOC V22 and heli assets already reside at Mildenhall, they don’t need flying in?
How many Seal do you need to fit into that many C17?
P8 ops in the GIUK are common as per NATO tasking, is there any actual link to the Tanker, or just routine anti Russia MPA work?
Our RC135, is it monitoring the Tanker, or a Russian response? Ans why are the USAF not using their own RC135 assets?
Why the headlines? Can the US not conduct an operation on the quiet without warning the world? Or is that the intent?
Regards assets, assume USAF heli have refuelling probes ( unlike ours ) and SOCOM C130 would also be used.
Yeah, that’s what I was trying to say really.
Things sure don’t add up.
Maybe there Is something they know about this Tanker that we aren’t being told ?
Sort of like a Tom Clancy plot.🤔
Indeed all seems very overkill and over advertised. Perhaps Hegseth has been on the juice again and couldn’t resist going on WhatsApp to boast about how big a stick he has.
There are reports that the tanker is empty. So, as you say, why so much effort by everyone including the Russians.
Let speculation begin!
I will start by repeating my widely derided comment the other day that they are coming for Starmer and Khan. Just kidding, obvs, but it makes you think!
Ant Middleton for Mayor.
Anyone know where Tommy Robinson is at the moment.
Under Parliament with some sparklers 🤔
Some of the C17s were probably carrying helicopters belonging to the Nightstalkers given their flight origin.
Ahh, true. The 160th?
RC135’s are scarce, the USAF probably has nothing spare in the North Atlantic as they are over Venezuela.
Legally the SBS can’t board this tanker, it’s not under UK or UN sanctions.
It’s under US sanctions so they need to board it if they want it.
We can provide intelligence and logistics but they won’t be able to fly any crew back via the UK if they arrest them.
I’d be surprised, as a det from the 55th at Offut has operated from the UK for decades.
Surprised if they withdrew that for Venezuela and not used US based assets.
I wasn’t suggesting the SBS be used, I don’t want us involved, only that we have conducted similar before, but closer to the coast.
Reading further, seems this Tanker has been in Iran amongst other places amongst it’s sanction busting, and refused the USCG who tried to board it before fleeing.
No wonder the US want it.
Hmmm, just read an interesting piece on global aviation news.
Seems i was wrong, certain assets that i thought were based here are not, especially 160th assets as Spock mentions below.
That accounts for the C17s at least.
Any spotters near Fairford?
So if the USA seize a Russian-flagged tanker in the North Atlantic, are we going to see an end of freedom of navigation, and the PLAN seizing Western vessels in the South China Sea?…
I’ve read, unsure on it’s accuracy, that changing flag mid voyage for convenience isn’t valid and can be ignored under the UNCLOS.
So considering how China also ignores such niceties, makes you wonder.
UNCLOS Article 92 says you can’t change flag mid-voyage… unless you change registry, which according to the Russians is the case.
Insert dots between “www”, “un”, and “org”
wwwunorg/depts/los/convention_agreements/texts/unclos/unclos_e.pdf
Ta.
Problem for China is there are almost no western flagged vessels and thousands of Chinese ones. China is the number one beneficiary of freedom of navigation.
Most UK exports are digital or fly out of Heathrow.
Most UK imports come on a truck on a ferry over the channel.
Same goes for the USA, very little of its imports arrive by sea and almost none of its exports.
China and Russia need to find out what it’s like loosing access to the sea and then perhaps they will start to play by the rules.
Too narrow a focus. It impacts us if they start seizing ships to/from Taiwan, due to the global economy we now live in.
And of course, if it becomes the norm that ships can be seized in international waters, then they’ll soon extrapolate to include aircraft too.
Trump looks like he’s bottling out to Pootin – what a surprise!
Hoping I’m wrong tho.
The BBC are reporting at time of writing that a USCG cutter is close to the tanker and video on social media shows special force boarding the tanker from a helicopter…
So I don’t think Trump is bottling out at all…
Cheers CR
Sea trials for the Legend class frigate 🙂
So how is this boarding going to work; roping down from helicopters refuelled from C-130s based out the UK?
How impressive. No one on this forum has access to any US intelligence or individuals who have the appropriate clearance to know what’s going on yet everyone knows what’s going on. What’s next, Ouija boards?
No, everyone is speculating as to the what’s and Why’s.
Big difference.
It is allowed on a UK defence forum.
Puff that chest out a little more, won’t you. And mind that chip, it’s sizzling so much it might burn your shoulder. 😉
‘Ouch’ and well earned I might add.
Deserves it.
It’s been the same for years.
The seething, self importance in every letter, the “look at us, we are American and we look down our noses at you and are superior in every way” attitude is clear.
Hilarious, A country of migrants with no language of their own and even less history.
He does real Americans a disservice, as surely they’re not all like this? Ex USAF certainly isn’t.
He should look at history. Great Britain was somebody before the US even existed, and we gave up our Empire voluntarily to fight two world wars. China is already upsurping the US.
Many Empires and nations have their time as top dog. We had ours, and that’s history, and that’s fine. The US time in the sun is already going, and was only gained by Britain’s role in WW2 while taking European tech. And now they trample on long standing allies in the process of their fall.
I’ve no problem with the US being a super power. I DO have a problem with people who look down on my country, that gave the world so much.
So, what’s your take on what Is going on ? 🤔
Well if he sticks to his own logic he can’t reply to you halfwit, so this could be fun because if he does he would have to be a US intelligence asset with appropriate clearance. Somehow I think his owning a Quija board is more likely.
Hehe !
“Is there anyone there” ? 😁
Funny thing is that some months back, I was taking a gander at the historical articles from this site’s early years and his name was rather prevelent back then.
Makes one wonder why he seems surprised at the comments being made given ten years+ he’s been here 🤔
Exactly. Nasty piece of work with a clear chip on the shoulder about Great Britain.
Airborne used to bait him most amusingly.
I just say it as I see it, he has “issues.”
There’s a lot of it about here lately.
Strangely all following the same pattern, just different names.
“don’t give in to hate, that leads to the dark side”.
I won’t, and “I’ll be back” to finish my training.
I promise….
Maybe the surplus capacity can rob the cargo off of the russian freighter heading south in Biscay
If Donald manages to fall out with Putin over this, it may be a good thing. Not that we can ever trust Donald to play nicely with anyone, least of all America’s allies.
“Beautifull words” !