Ahem.
The mercenary captains are either capable men or they are not; if they are, you cannot trust them, because they always aspire to their own greatness, either by oppressing you, who are their master, or others contrary to your intentions; but if the captain is not skillful, you are ruined in the usual way.
Niccolo Machiavelli, The Prince, Chapter XII.
*”…sometimes she screams, ‘Why won’t anybody ever LISTEN to what I’m SAYING?’ and then lets fly with a club.” I had that on a button, once: I wonder whatever happened to it.
Hmm. A shame, truly.
{Sips cocktail}
Given mercs sell their dignity to the highest bidder, and their patrons are so insufficiently justified that they must become the highest bidder for recruitment, they deserve each other.
The problem is that so very much of the information coming out of the conflict has had little relation to reality.
This is more believable than much of what’s come out. But I’m wary of taking it at face value.
Conspicuously absent in the conversation is that the hundreds of billions of dollars we’ve shoveled into the conflict (with very little accountability) might have some bearing on a mercenary company changing sides.
Given they are literal mercenaries, I’d be offended if certain parties *hadn’t* tried that.
I still don’t know what’s going on, but I’m certainly becoming more amused as the absolutely certain are repeatedly forced to backtrack and disavow.
I don’t know either: but if the CIA spent a couple of billion bucks to mess up the one military organization on the Russian side who was actually accomplishing anything… I’m curious as to where this CIA has been for the last few decades, and I would appreciate it if they didn’t take any more extended time off without at least telling us first.
A King’s ransom to get one group of brutalizers to brutalize their former employers is a bargain. I am a little disappointed it seems to have sputtered out instead of ending with the formation of the independent principality of Rostov and Belgograd, but I play too much Crusader Kings, so I probably had unrealistic ideas about how rebellions work.
If only. Sometimes a Mutiny is just a Mutiny, and the leader is exiled for Command to save face while achieving some changes.
And sometimes, the mutiny is a staged psy-op to smoke out the disloyal.
(Shrug)
With fits about as well as anything else. (Besides the check clearing.)