"It’s time to punch the camel in the nose!" by Scott Ritter

   I fully concur with the short statement by Scott Ritter below. I understand the current policy both on Russia and China's side of diplomatic patience but since the US has now made clear its policy of doubling down and escalation, a stop must be made clear. Otherwise, down this road, World War III is months ahead. And not the current virtual, economic war this time.  

 It’s time to punch the camel in the nose.

There’s an old saying from the Arab world that if you allow a camel to stick his nose under the tent, soon the camel will be inside the tent.

Donald Trump is taking America down a very dangerous path, one where the rule of law has been replaced by the notion that might makes right.

This is a bold departure from the past, where the US at least tried to go through the motions of adhering to the processes, if not the principles, of the various legal frameworks that hold the world together.

But then Trump starting murdering the operators of boats in the Caribbean, even after they had been shipwrecked.

A gross violation of international and US law.

And nothing happened.

Next he kidnapped a sitting President of a sovereign state, in violation of international and US law.

Nothing happened.

And now he has ordered the US Coast Guard to commit an act of piracy on the high seas, seizing a Russian-flagged ship.

The US has assumed the posture of a rogue nation, a global criminal enterprise which seeks to operate without any checks and balances.

The seizure of the Russian tanker is the first time the US has exercised its rogue behavior in direct conflict with a major power.

If the US gets away with this voiding of any meaningful Russian response, then it will feel free to escalate up to and including directly confronting Russia on the ground in Ukraine.

The camel has stuck his nose under the tent.

Russia needs to smack the camel and get it to back off.

Now.

If it doesn’t, the camel will be in the tent before you know it.

This means WW3.

The end of the world.

Let’s pray Russia does the right thing.

Punch the camel in the nose.

PS: You can follow Scott Ritter on Telegram, the source of this post, or on YouTube. 

 U.S. Forces Seize Fleeing Russian-Flagged Oil Tanker In North Atlantic

January 7th, 2026

Via: The War Zone:

U.S. forces have secured the runaway Russian-flagged oil tanker Marinera, a U.S. official has confirmed to TWZ. Elements of the U.S. Army’s 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment and other American aviation assets had previously deployed to the United Kingdom ahead of an apparent effort to board the ship.

Until recently known as the Bella-1 before it was re-registered and the crew painted a Russian flag on it, the Marinera is part of a so-called shadow fleet. These vessels are accused of transporting oil for Russia, Iran, and Venezuela in violation of sanctions imposed by the United States and other countries. On December 20, the Coast Guard had previously attempted to board the ship, which is not carrying any oil at present, as it headed toward Venezuela. However, the crew refused to allow it, and the ship began sailing back toward Europe. Reports earlier this week said that new U.S. plans to interdict the boat had subsequently been drawn up, tied to the aforementioned deployment of special operations forces and other assets to the United Kingdom.

War Secretary Pete Hegseth weighed in on the seizure, saying that “the blockade of sanctioned and illicit Venezuelan oil remains in FULL EFFECT – anywhere in the world.” The Marinera, however, never arrived in port and was not carrying any fuel.