SUBSCRIBER+EXCLUSIVE REPORTING — When Ukraine’s top commander said late last year that Russia’s war in Ukraine had reached a stalemate, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky rejected the notion and publicly rebuked his then-top General Valery Zaluzhny. The mere suggestion of a battlefield stalemate, Zelensky said, “eases the work of the aggressor,” and as for the merits of the assessment, he was blunt: “This is not a stalemate.”
That was nearly three months ago. Now, the word “stalemate” is coming up again. This time, in Israel’s war against Hamas, and the pushback has been just as forceful. With analysts questioning Israel’s ability to achieving its goal of completely destroying Hamas, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is pushing back.
“The Cipher Brief has become the most popular outlet for former intelligence officers; no media outlet is even a close second to The Cipher Brief in terms of the number of articles published by formers.” —Sept. 2018, Studies in Intelligence, Vol. 62
Access all of The Cipher Brief‘s national security-focused expert insight by becoming a Cipher Brief Subscriber+Member.
#Stalemate #Dangerous #Word #Ukraine #Israel
