Out of the $40 billion, 6 goes for weapons and equipment.
Is this a good “investment” for the USA - coldly speaking? Yes.
Why?
1. Putin since 2000 has threatened his neighbours, invading Georgia in 2008 (when Georgia & Ukraine were rejected from joining NATO by Germany and France) and Ukraine in 2014.
2. Putin has taken Russia down the path of “we need to win against them militarily”, when he could have follower Germany and Japan’s path of winning economically. The latter approach would have worked well for Russia. But Putin didn’t do that and has damaged Russia
3. By making Putin pay, this prevents his future adventures and keeps American markets safe.
4. In addition, this holds out the possibility that the next rulers of Russia will stop the military madness
5. By not putting American soldiers there, the USA saves on American lives in future wars.
could this have been prevented — YES, if Trump was President, then Putin wouldn’t have dared invaded.
if Trump was President, then Putin wouldn’t have dared invaded
***********
Agree. Biden’s Afghanistan debacle encouraged Putin to undertake this invasion. It opened the door.
Strength is the only thing foreign leaders respect and Trump was as strong as they come. We all slept a lot better because he was president.
Knowing Biden is weak China and Russia fly nuclear capable bombers over the Sea of Japan while he is visiting the country. That kind of stunt would have had severe consequences in a Trump presidency.