Ben Hodges

Former CG USArmyEurope, loves the Army Team, FSU football and Atlanta Braves!

[Anton Gerashchenko @Gerashchenko_en]

Ben Hodges @general_ben:

Getting really after the center of gravity of Russia's war effort is the willingness of people to continue to support Putin.

The second implication, of course, is the practical damage to the logistics infrastructure at the operational level.

Convoys cannot move down the road because the ability of drones to reach them. The bridges leading into and out of Crimea are being wrecked. Facilities on the peninsula are being wrecked so that Crimea is becoming untenable, not just for tourists, but for the Russian military.

And then the third thing, of course, at the strategic level is the Ukrainian attacks on Russia's oil and gas infrastructure, which dramatically reduces their ability to export oil and gas to China, India, other customers that they have to do to sustain the war effort.

[Tymofiy Mylovanov @Mylovanov]

Kasparov: The imperial idea sits deeper than communism in Russia. Communist dictatorship lasted 74 years. The imperial idea has lived for centuries. It mutates, transforms, you can't simply pull it out

You need a shock and I believe there is only one such shock that will work 1/

[Marcus M. Keupp 📯 // NOW ON BSKY (SAME HANDLE) @MMKeupp]

... what sounds like a bad joke, is actually history repeating: from the early 1980s onwards, the #soviet union was no longer able to feed its own population and imported grain from the West.

[Ben Hodges @general_ben]

Excellent by @PhillipsPOBrien UKR's targeting is masterful, striking Russia's ability to manufacture missiles (killing the archer) and wrecking the Russian oil/gas infrastructure. @PhillipsPOBrien also keeps the bright light on Trump's continuing support of Putin, even though it is not in the best interest of the USA.
Weekend Update #191: It Is Not Just Oil Refineries , by @PhillipsPOBrien https://t.co/zFZF28E02o

[Terry Virts @AstroTerry]

You are 100% right Senator Tillis. So why did you vote to confirm Hegseth? And Bondi. And Gabbard. And RFK. And Noem.

And why did you vote to acquit on J6?

You own 100% of this Trump disaster, and if you had a change of heart then repent and publicly denounce Trump and MAGA.

[Aaron MacLean @AaronBMacLean]

There's nothing wrong in principle with taking a scythe to the ranks of flag/senior officers. George Marshall did the same before WW2. But forcing General Chris Donahue's retirement would be a serious misfire of any such effort--and it's not too late to reverse course. 1/11

[Ben Hodges @general_ben]

Best Soldier in the Army today. He is what right looks like. Kremlin and terrorist organizations will be relieved to know that he will soon be gone.

[Polymarket Intel @PolymarketIntel]

Gen. Chris Donahue, head of U.S. European Command, has been dismissed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and is expected to announce his retirement today. - Financial Times

[Ben Hodges @general_ben]

The continued unwillingness of Secretary Hegseth to explain why these Officers are being removed “without cause” leads to speculation about his motives and undermines trust among the Officer Corps and in the Ranks. Is the Secretary of the Army ok with this? SASC? Retired 4 stars?

[Jennifer Griffin @JenGriffinFNC]

Here are some of the facts about Gen CD Donahue’s storied Army career. Hegseth is forcing him to retire with no explanation, sending shockwaves through the Army and Special Ops community where Gen Donahue is widely respected.

* Commander of Delta Force in Iraq and Syria during the ISIS fight

* Led the mission to capture the Benghazi planner in Libya

* Ordered to secure the Kabul Airport after a chaotic withdrawal; returned order to the airport; arranged for hundreds of evacuation flights saving tens of thousands of lives; was NOT in charge of security at Abbey Gate where Marines were in charge of securing that entrance to the airport where 13 Americans were killed by a suicide bomber

* coordinated military aid to Ukraine after the Russian invasion and knows more about lessons learned on the Ukraine battlefield and advances in drone warfare than any senior officer in the US military

* led humanitarian aid efforts as head of 82nd Airborne from post at Ft Bragg during NC floods two years ago

* stint as head of US Army Europe cut short and will require presidential waiver not to lose 4th Star and retirement benefits after Secretary Hegseth forced him to retire early, having not had his 4th Star for the requisite 3 years. He was 18 months into current assignment.

[Jesus Chrysler @JesusChryslerII]

Five Mexican guys could have fixed the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in one weekend, but we deported them.

[Tymofiy Mylovanov @Mylovanov]

Hodges: Half of the intelligence our government uses does not come from American satellites. It comes from UK, France, Poland — from all of our relationships. That exists only because of trust.

The damage this administration has done to that — that's what worries me. 3X

[Tymofiy Mylovanov @Mylovanov]

Hodges: The secret sauce for American power was never its tanks or ships or industry. It was the network of allies — generally like-minded, even though we may have colossal arguments.

Every morning we wake up, we've got 31 other countries wearing the same jersey. 2/

[Tymofiy Mylovanov @Mylovanov]

Hodges: The Russians are already at war with us. Everything short of launching missiles at Western European seaports — drones, shadow fleet, sabotage, assassinations, interference in our institutions.

Until we inflict consequences, they'll continue these gray zone operations. 1/

[Marc Polymeropoulos @Mpolymer]

Dear JD: guess who was on the ground in Iran under the JCPOA? The IAEA. 🤔

[Marc Polymeropoulos @Mpolymer]

A US-Iran deconfliction cell, re Lebanon…. And no Israeli involvement…. Good lord, what r we doing. The US has made a catastrophic diplomatic error. Gave Iran a prime seat at the table re Lebanon (thought we were trying to reduce Iranian influence), limits Israeli required freedom of action to defend the north, gives Hizballah breathing room as pressure is on Israel to not take action, and overall unwisely links Iran nuke talks to the Lebanon war. Dumb diplomacy. Who is in charge of diplomacy on the US side? JD Vance and the Quincy Institute, it appears.

[Blue Cerulean @Blue_Caerulean]

@Ybretsae @PKurzin @general_ben https://t.co/Nvh37rWZMP

[Marc Polymeropoulos @Mpolymer]

These r some seriously stupid people

[Ben Hodges @general_ben]

BEN HODGES: MOSCOW IS FINALLY ON FIRE AND THE M.O.U. WITH IRAN IS AN INS... https://t.co/Bmn5EWG99c via @YouTube

[Ben Hodges @general_ben]

Excellent by @HC_Richardson. The image of the Soldiers of the First South Carolina Volunteers of African Descent, at the first public reading of the Emancipation Proclamation in Beaufort SC, is well-chosen. This Regiment of US Army Soldiers, all of whom were formerly enslaved Men, marks the beginning of continuous Service by Black Soldiers in the US Army.

What is Juneteenth and Why Does it Matter: A Short History | Journey to ... https://t.co/KaOzhYtoM3 via @YouTube

[Ben Hodges @general_ben]

"Have you been drinking, Sir?"

[Mark R. Levin @marklevinshow]

Watching POTUS now. Incredible how he can talk about so many things with such knowledge, passion, pride, and patriotism. And he brings his great business experience for architecture, design, and quality.  It’s spellbinding.

[Ben Hodges @general_ben]

Early Lessons From The US-Iran War, by @PhillipsPOBrien https://t.co/mK0cSwfWOI