Posted on 03/17/2024 4:48:42 PM PDT by MinorityRepublican
Pope Francis’s suggestion that Ukraine’s leaders should admit defeat, find “the courage to raise the white flag” and negotiate a halt to the war with Russia provoked justified fury in Kyiv and eastern Europe. He was wrong to say Ukraine is beaten, and gravely remiss in failing to condemn Moscow’s illegal aggression and war crimes. Yet Francis is not alone in wondering how this conflict ends.
Two years on, there’s no sign of a winner. Maybe that’s just as well, in the sense that outright victory for either side could be disastrous for all. Does this unheroic consideration tacitly influence the cautious approach of Kyiv’s two biggest western backers, the US and Germany? If so, it makes the absence of a credible peace process all the more regrettable – and potentially very dangerous.
Vladimir Putin again threatened to use nuclear weapons last week after France’s president, Emmanuel Macron, said Nato should consider sending troops to ensure Ukraine prevails. Much of what Putin says is posturing or brinkmanship, for he believes time is on his side. He is letting the war simmer while he mounts a repeat coup this weekend disguised as an election.
But Putin was not so complacent 18 months ago when advancing Ukrainian forces threatened to retake Crimea and expel the invaders. It was revealed last week that US officials rushed radiation detectors and potassium iodide tablets to Kyiv, acting on intelligence estimates indicating a 50-50 chance of a Russian tactical nuclear strike to prevent Crimea falling.
So great was the concern that the White House asked a group of experts to devise a new nuclear “playbook” of contingency plans, optional American military responses and escalation scenarios, the New York Times reported.
(Excerpt) Read more at theguardian.com ...
It’ll end when the pig in the white hospice gets ousted.
ANTI pope, with no valid position. Squatting in 5he seat. And Putin just got re-elected, he’s not going anywhere soon.
Sad
“When Putin is toppled”
Great comedy! Add a rim shot and take it on the road.
Won’t be peace until Zelensky, America’s Gay Puppet, is gone.
One way or another.
Those with this view couldn't care less how many Ukrainians die or what's left of it when the war is over.
At every turn, it's been us and NATO that thwarted peace, including in March of 2022 when a peace deal was nearly reached and squashed by Boris Johnson.
Damon Wilson, president and CEO of the NED <>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Endowment_for_Democracy#Funding_and_structure
More on Damon Wilson, who lives in DC with his husband, here - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damon_Wilson
For over twenty years, Wilson has helped shape U.S. strategy and national security policy in regards to NATO and US-European relations to advance freedom and security around the world. He is an advocate for strengthening democratic alliances to address security challenges, believing “US interests are best served when Washington and its allies act in unison.”[21] Wilson views authoritarian Russia and China as “the main geopolitical challenge of the 21st century,” and that “there is no possible successful strategy to confront Putin’s aggression without a strong NATO.”[22][23]
In June 2021, Wilson was named as the President and chief executive officer of the National Endowment for Democracy, succeeding Carl Gershman.[46] During his first few months, he managed the safe passage of 923 Afghan grantees, staff and their family members during the 2021 evacuation from Afghanistan following the withdrawal of U.S. troops.[47][48] In December 2021, alongside USAID Administrator Samantha Power, Wilson moderated a session on human rights and press freedom during the Summit for Democracy.[49][50]
The NED and USAID are funded by congress. The NED partly funds the IRI, which has members of congress among it's board members. John McCain was chairman for 25 years so of course watery eyed Lindsay is a member as is Mitt Romney. Gotta wonder if the board members of the IRI get paid as they themselves fund it.
https://www.iri.org/who-we-are/#h-board-of-directors
LOL
The fact that the Guardian is pushing Russian defeat on this conflict just goes to show you how the political Left sees this as global struggle to ultimately push their values to the four corners of the world.
Pretty sure The Guardian’s Simon Tisdall plan to get Putin to Laugh Himself To Death will fail.
I love how a extreme-left British newspaper opine on how America should fund the Ukrainians.
Fight to the last Ukrainian!
That will teach Putin.
Putin wont’ be toppled by other country’s without using every nuke in Russia. Pretty foolish to think otherwise.
Dropped The Guardian off my "daily reads" list a couple of years ago.
I tried to at least look at it to get the enemy viewpoint, but my disgust overcame me.
Attack Russia with the woke gay trans selfish vaccinated army?
In December 2022, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines revealed that Ukraine consumed five years of production of Javelin anti-aircraft missiles in the first 10 months of the war.
Nor is the gap between supply and demand limited to advanced weaponry. Artillery is a prime example. In the spring of 2023, the Ukrainian army’s rate of consumption of 155 mm shells stood at 6,000 to 8,000 per day, whereas American production output was about 15,000 per month. Since then, the US has ramped up production significantly, but even so, it is not expected to exceed 100,000 shells per month by October 2024. As it turns out, the artillery forces of the United States and its allies are almost completely dependent on the output of a single factory in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
These constraints explain why, in January 2023, the administration asked Israel to transfer 300,000 artillery shells from American stockpiles located in Israel to Ukraine. Of course, Israel herself now needs those stocks. Not to mention Tamir interceptors for Iron Dome, which are also manufactured in small quantities in the US, bombs, and spare parts for aircraft, tank shells, and so on. One does not need a security clearance to conclude that Israel’s military dependence on the United States is nearly absolute.
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