Article

2026-08-25 -Signs, Portents, and the Weather-

CIA Director John Ratcliffe secretly traveled to Russia — as mystery swirls over military flight landing in Moscow: reports

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Posted by Skidmark 2026-08-25 12:09|| E-Mail|| Front Page|| [337 views ] Top

1 Why a C-17? Was there a need for cargo space*

*There was/is a module that they could put in the cargo area of at least C-130's. More comfort and options for office space, conference table, etc.

Posted by Chantry 2026-08-25 13:12|| 2026-08-25 13:12|| Front Page Top

2 Security service vehicle, come pallet.

Posted by Besoeker 2026-08-25 14:03|| 2026-08-25 14:03|| Front Page Top

3 Communications.

Posted by Besoeker 2026-08-25 14:03|| 2026-08-25 14:03|| Front Page Top

4 He left after a few hours, so clearly this was something that needed to said face-to-face, and the discussion after it's delivery required the highest level of secure comms. Not a small matter, and clearly one of urgency. Very curious.

Posted by NoMoreBS 2026-08-25 14:32|| 2026-08-25 14:32|| Front Page Top

5 My guess as well NoMo. Not there to shop for stacking dolls.

Posted by Besoeker 2026-08-25 14:37|| 2026-08-25 14:37|| Front Page Top

6 And no Vindman's to lie about what was said

Posted by Frank G 2026-08-25 14:45|| 2026-08-25 14:45|| Front Page Top

7 My guess, given the near toppling or at least major fracturing of the Iranians from the impact of the financial D-Day, we needed the Russians to stop something kinetic/terrorist the Iranians were planning, that had a Russian component or their awareness of it to help stop it.

Posted by NoMoreBS 2026-08-25 15:10|| 2026-08-25 15:10|| Front Page Top

8 From CTH article posted earlier this morning:
"According to Visegrad, “President Putin had a major event scheduled for today, with hundreds of people preparing for it. The event was canceled due to the visit of the CIA director, according to Kremlin pool journalists.” CIA Director John Ratcliffe is now returning home from Moscow."

Posted by NoMoreBS 2026-08-25 15:21|| 2026-08-25 15:21|| Front Page Top

9 ... we needed the Russians to stop something kinetic/terrorist the Iranians were planning...

That is a good theory.

Another possibility, given Russian-Iranian economic ties, is we want to the Russians to back off a bit. In exchange for "other considerations", of course.

Posted by SteveS 2026-08-25 17:29|| 2026-08-25 17:29|| Front Page Top

10 It'll be interesting to find out

Posted by Chantry 2026-08-25 17:48|| 2026-08-25 17:48|| Front Page Top

11 you'll never find out

Posted by chris 2026-08-25 18:02|| 2026-08-25 18:02|| Front Page Top

12 There is a difference between educated assumptions and knowing…

We deal with educated assumptions here.

Posted by trailing wife 2026-08-25 19:19|| 2026-08-25 19:19|| Front Page Top

13 Highest intel official in the land on an overt flight. Clearly meant to draw eyes. What’s the other hand doing?

Posted by Jefe101 2026-08-25 21:22|| 2026-08-25 21:22|| Front Page Top

22:33 trailing wife
21:22 Jefe101
19:49 Melancholic
19:47 Procopius2k
19:23 SteveS
19:20 trailing wife
19:19 trailing wife
19:14 Lord Garth
18:45 Frank G
18:05 chris
18:02 chris
17:58 Cesare
17:48 Chantry
17:37 SteveS
17:29 SteveS
17:25 SteveS
16:03 Procopius2k
15:21 NoMoreBS
15:15 NoMoreBS
15:10 NoMoreBS
14:53 Besoeker
14:46 DooDahMan
14:45 Frank G
14:45 Frank G
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