Posted on 04/04/2023 6:47:18 AM PDT by ganeemead
Zelensky’s already seeing support from Germany stopped. And there are others who have stopped sending military hardware and ammo they just aren't announcing it. So Zelensky knows he's being put on notice.....he's going to have to accept he's going to loose Ukrainian land they will never get back.
For starters, Russia will never agree to give up Crimea. And Ukraine can’t push them out. And it is doubtful they will leave the Donbas. Russia shares a 1,500 mile border with Ukraine. They will be neighbors for the foreseeable future. Time is on Russia’s side.
Ukraine must agree not to seek NATO membership in return for security guarantees.
“…We nixed that…”
Give the Ukrainians credit. They fight. Of course you, like all scalawags, favor northern invaders. But the Ukrainians do not want to be ruled by you criminal Russians and Mohammedans.
See my post #82. Europe is getting war weary. The sanctions have backfired hurting the European economy and engendering growing domestic opposition to continuing support for Ukraine. The Germans and French want a negotiated settlement sooner rather than later. And US public support is waning.
As we approach the run up to the 2024 election, the GOP led by Trump will become the anti-war party despite the neocons obsession with Ukraine. We can’t continue to borrow hundreds of billions to support Ukraine while our economy heads into a recession or worse. And our woke military is facing serious recruiting challenges along with depleted war reserves. And then there is China….
Doesn’t matter if Russia “agrees” or doesn’t — it didn’t ask for permission from Ukraine before grabbing Crimea.
Russia can collapse - no empire lasts forever — the Tsarist empire collapsed and the USSR was smaller. The USSR collapsed and the Russian Federation was smaller.
Removing Russian corruption and influence in Europe isn’t in American interest? LMAO. You know very well that is not true. European security is very much in our political and economic interest.
You never answered my question about Zaporizhia. There was no vote in that city and Putin fantastically declared it part of Russia. Is it part of Russia or Ukraine? The world is watching to our response here. Make the wrong choice and across the globe we will certainly pay in blood and treasure. “Denial isn’t just a river in Egypt.”
Poland has ordered 1000 tanks and is quickly building the best military in Europe. There is exactly 0% chance that they and other frontline states will allow the complete collapse of Ukraine. Rotely repeating maximalist Kremlin talking points doesn’t make them reality. Russia’s “second army of the world” is weak and being beaten to a standstill by motley army of Ukrainian citizen soldiers.
I’m surprised any conservative would accept Stalinist Kremlin “elections” after having the 2020 election stolen from us in a similar manner.
I’m surprised any conservative would breezily deny 40 million Ukrainians the right to self determination and sovereignty after conservatives face strikingly similar battles here.
Ukraine is ultimate rorschach test for conservatives. Do we still believe in Reagan’s Peace Through Strength and the right of all people to live in peace. Or are we butt hurt situational conservatives happy to consign million of Ukrainians to misery, slavery and death in the Russian World?
If the answer is the later I am sad to say you can declare conservatism is a dead as a political movement. When we stand for nothing we will be nothing. Just go ahead and vote for your favorite corporatist or communist because Reagan’s Shining City Upon A Hill will be truly dead and gone. Killed by a generation of weak and butt hurt conservatives.
That you can’t even be honest with the basic facts at hand shows how bankrupt your entire position on this matter is.
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Who cares who calls what position bankrupt? In a territorial dispute, the one who can keep the territory, controls it. Why talk about distractions?
Removing Russian corruption and influence in Europe isn’t in American interest? LMAO. You know very well that is not true. European security is very much in our political and economic interest.
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With the US trends on production and spending, the US won’t be able to increase its influence on borders and corruption in European countries. It is expensive. Crazy people might believe there will be enough money for that.
At a cost of $100's of billions of dollars that we must borrow? The US has been paying for the security umbrella for Europe since 1945. If European security is so important, why are only 5 NATO countries meeting their stated obligation of 2% of GDP spent on defense? We have been imploring Europe to spend more on defense for decades. It was called burden sharing.
Europe has a combined GDP and population exceeding the US. It is time to cut the cord and have Europe defend itself. Without the US, NATO is a paper tiger. Interoperability is a pipe dream.
You never answered my question about Zaporizhia. There was no vote in that city and Putin fantastically declared it part of Russia. Is it part of Russia or Ukraine? The world is watching to our response here. Make the wrong choice and across the globe we will certainly pay in blood and treasure. “Denial isn’t just a river in Egypt.”I did. Reread my response. A vote was held in part of the city. Russia claims it and like Crimea, the rest of the world does not recognize it. Similar to the lands held by Israel as a result of various wars.
If you are so concerned about sovereignty, why are US troops occupying a part of Syria against the host government's objections? The rest of the world understands what hypocrisy is. Look at the state of our democracy with a two-tiered justice system, stolen elections, an out of control surveillance state, etc. And who blew up the NordStream 2 pipeline? Is that an act of war?
Poland has ordered 1000 tanks and is quickly building the best military in Europe. There is exactly 0% chance that they and other frontline states will allow the complete collapse of Ukraine. Rotely repeating maximalist Kremlin talking points doesn’t make them reality. Russia’s “second army of the world” is weak and being beaten to a standstill by motley army of Ukrainian citizen soldiers.
Russia is no threat to Europe, especially NATO countries. After the fall of the Soviet Union, Russia lacked the manpower and resources to pose a conventional military threat. Only its nuclear arsenal represents a threat, which will only materialize if Mother Russia believes its existence is on the line. Biden likes to tweak the Bear with his demands for the removal of Putin and Austin's declaration that Ukraine is a proxy war to weaken the Russian military capability. And now the ICC has declared Putin a war criminal.
Russia's red line of no NATO membership for Ukraine is being challenged by Stoltenberg who reiterated that objective today. This is an unwise provocation. If Poland or any other NATO country intercedes directly in Ukraine, what do you think Russia's reaction will be? Will the US allow other countries to hijack our foreign policy and drag us into a nuclear conflict? This is the danger of NATO.
I’m surprised any conservative would accept Stalinist Kremlin “elections” after having the 2020 election stolen from us in a similar manner.
I don't accept them. But I do accept the reality of the facts on the ground and note the Russian assertion that these territories are part of Russia. It raises the stakes of any foreign intervention.
I’m surprised any conservative would breezily deny 40 million Ukrainians the right to self determination and sovereignty after conservatives face strikingly similar battles here.
Ukraine is one of the most corrupt countries on earth. It doesn't have a free press, freedom of religion, or other civil liberties we equate with a democracy. We are not denying Ukraine its right to self-determination or sovereignty. The real question is why should the US invest blood and treasure in this fight? We have no treaty obligation to defend Ukraine. We spent 20 years in Afghanistan costing trillions along with tens of thousands of Americans killed and wounded. Nation building doesn't work.
Ukraine is ultimate rorschach test for conservatives. Do we still believe in Reagan’s Peace Through Strength and the right of all people to live in peace. Or are we butt hurt situational conservatives happy to consign million of Ukrainians to misery, slavery and death in the Russian World?
Reagan understood the limits of American power. He didn't get us involved in endless wars. I lived in Warsaw for two years during the days of Solidarnosc'. Reagan provided the moral support to the Polish people along with Pope John Paul II, who visited Warsaw while I was there.
Following Warsaw I was posted to West Berlin and was present for Reagan's "tear down this Wall" speech. The Soviet Union collapsed because of the brilliant strategy of containment by Ambassador George Kennan and his famous "Long Telegram" from our embassy in Moscow. The Soviet Union collapsed because it could not afford to compete with us militarily, e.g., Star Wars.
When Adm Mike Mullen, Chairman of the JCS, was asked what was the most dangerous threat to national security, he responded, "the National debt." We are the world's greatest debtor nation. The debt servicing costs now approach $500 billion annually and is projected to exceed the DOD budget by 2028. In addition to our $31 trillion national debt, we have an unfunded liability of $100 trillion in the form of the SS and Medicare. The Medicare Trust Fund (HI) is exhausted in 2028 that, by law, will require a cut in benefits which cannot exceed revenue. SS will go bust in 2034. And under Biden, the dollar as the world's reserve currency is under a serious attack. The end of the dollar will be devastating to our status as a global power.
The prime beneficiary of our increasing involvement in Ukraine is China. The US and the West are being weakened as money and weapons flow to Ukraine with no end in sight. We are stuck to this tar baby in war and then peace as Zelensky estimates over $800 billion will be needed to rebuild the country.
f the answer is the later I am sad to say you can declare conservatism is a dead as a political movement. When we stand for nothing we will be nothing. Just go ahead and vote for your favorite corporatist or communist because Reagan’s Shining City Upon A Hill will be truly dead and gone. Killed by a generation of weak and butt hurt conservatives.
We can no longer afford to be the world's policeman. We are broke. Our problems at home of an open border, inflation, high food and energy costs, 100K dying of drugs every year, a woke military that is having serious recruitment and retention problems, a repressive government that is attacking our civil liberties, an aging population, etc. require us to take an America First position. We must address a declining America and our greatest existential threat, China. Biden calls them a competitor rather than an adversary. We have a compromised President, along with a "captured" corporate, academic, and political elites.
More red herrings, fabrications and strawman Kremlin talking points. Is that all you’ve got?
Kicking Russian corruption and influence out of Europe will not cost “hundreds of billions”, etc. President Trump agrees and that is why he campaigned as POTUS to do just that.
Making Russia Great Again isn’t going to improve the situation of American conservatism. That seems to be your goal. Sad. You probably have not have noticed but there a lot fewer solid conservatives around here lately. Buy a clue and guess why that is.
The US has already spent more than $100 billion on Ukraine and that doesn't include all the hidden costs associated with the war. As someone who spent 36 years working in the federal government, I can assure you the real costs are much higher.
Congress Approved $113 Billion of Aid to Ukraine in 2022
Trump has said there would never have been a war if he had been President. I agree with that. Your boy Biden and his puppet masters (Blinken, Nuland, Sullivan, Austin, and Milley) provoked this war. It is a failure of diplomacy.
Making Russia Great Again isn’t going to improve the situation of American conservatism. That seems to be your goal. Sad. You probably have not have noticed but there a lot fewer solid conservatives around here lately. Buy a clue and guess why that is.
America First will solve the problem. You are a neocon, not a solid conservative. The war in Ukraine has exposed the liberal, globalist moles in the party. You can align yourself with Lindsey Graham, Romney, McConnell, etc. along with the special interests who are profiting from this debacle. In the meantime, Macron and the rest of the so-called coalition are desperate for negotiations, which is why Macron is in Beijing, Europe's biggest trading partner is China.
One of the best posts I read on this website. The other poster called it a red herring. What a fool. He is incapable of understanding.
Russia is a nuisance attacking its neighbours.
If they weren’t smacked down now by Ukrainians, they would try it next on a NATO country
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