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[The smart money would have gone to the US over Cuba (Bay Of Pigs), Vietnam and Afghanistan (hasty, disastrous retreat from both).

Maybe now you can understand the need to learn to consider with the persons, places and things of the actual situation at hand instead of impressions of things that are, in every sense, far removed.]

But they’re not far removed - the common denominator was the invaded’s capacity to take punishment was superior to the invader’s. And in every instance, external assistance to the defender was necessary.

I understand you want the Russians to win. The problem is you’ve let your hope obscure important determinants of the outcome.

I started with the assumption that the Ukrainians would lose in 72 hours, with very light losses for the Russians. I thought Ukrainians would more or less be pretty passive about Russian rule because they had been through it before and the current zeitgeist had suppressed any urge to fight any kind of war among today’s youth.

I was wrong. The more I look at the situation, the more I think the prospect of Ukrainian victory is not as far fetched as anyone might. I’m still somewhat pessimistic, but there are reasons to be optimistic. The Russian people are not a tool for its leaders to pursue vanity projects at great expense in their blood and their treasure. Russia gave up in Afghanistan despite taking 1/5 of US losses in Vietnam and an internal security apparatus with coercive abilities dwarfing anything in US history. When not fighting a people (the Germans) literally bent on wiping them out from this Earth, Russian society can be more sensitive about troop losses than the US.

“I understand you want the Russians to win.”
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Nope, you understand wrong.

I don’t care who comes out ahead in the latest Euro urination contest, just don’t expect anybody else to give a damn, much less get involved.

Their corrupt governments, the dictatorships du jour and their wars have been a constant long before either of us graced this planet. This crap is very old and never ends, it’s a way of life in most the world. But it’s nobody’s business but theirs.

That being said, if you actually think the mighty Ukraine military is just half a pubic hair away from victory over the cornered Russian forces, you could make a massive killing on current events betting sites.