Posted on 02/08/2015 11:07:13 AM PST by tlozo
‘I believe the Russians are mobilizing right now for a war that they think is going to happen in five or six years... with somebody within the next five or six years.” So says Lt. Gen. Frederick “Ben” Hodges, commander of U.S. Army Europe... "American engagement is essential if the West is to deter a revanchist Russia that has set out to “redraw the boundaries of Europe,” Gen. Hodges says... Russian President Vladimir Putin “has done in Ukraine,” he says, “is a manifestation of a strategic view of the world... This level of assistance suggests Ukraine “is not a foray, not a demonstration. They are deploying capabilities way above and beyond anything that any militia or rebel organization could ever come up with.”
The fact that the political class in the West is still splitting hairs about the nature of the insurgency in Ukraine is testament to the success of the Kremlin’s strategy of waging war without admitting it... Gen. Hodges notes that the Russians already have an advantage in the information battleground: “They’re not burdened with the responsibility to tell the truth. So they just hammer away, and whenever somebody in the West puts out a blog or a tweet, there’s an immediate counterattack by these trolls.”... Gen. Hodges won’t comment on the U.S. strategic-force posture in Europe other than to say he is “confident in that process.” But he adds that the fact that the Russians rehearse nuclear-strike scenarios “shows that they’re not worried about conveying a stark message like that. You know, frankly, you hear this often from many people in the West, ‘Oh, we don’t want to provoke the Russians.’ I think concern about provoking the Russians is probably misplaced. You can’t provoke them. They’re already on a path to do what they want to do.”
(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...
But if want Ukraine part of Russia, bon voyage. If you view the Ukrainian population and their language with contempt, like your wife does from that earlier post, then "скатертью дорога" (bon voyage in Russia).
As for "Novorosiya", the Russian FSB leaders which form the leadership and the thousands of Russian soldiers crossing the border have no say whatsoever in what that region of Ukraine wants. Nothing, I might as well ask African Pygmies what the people in Donbas want, they're as relevant as the Russian troops
You're a dishonest dog. The Washington Post poll only proved for us that the "separatists" were a minority within a minority. I posted another link too that gave the Russians a total of 38 percent in the areas the 'separatists' now control.
If you have some other numbers somewhere that prove that Ukrainians in fact are the actual minority there, then provide it scumbag.
The Donbas wants an amicable divorce from Kiev. It can be relatively painless or it can turn in to World War III. What difference does it really make to the rest of us? Give them what they want and let’s return to normal.
Why should a Russian be forced to speak Ukrainian? But she lived in Ukraine, you might say. And we come to the crux of this dilemma.
Exactly.
Fyi, the thing with your wife, this Russian superiority complex, it's not just vis-a-vis Ukrainians. Russians have the same problem everywhere else in the former Soviet republics, so I know it's not a Ukrainian issue. It's a sense of entitlement issue that some Russians have. I say "some" because there are a whole lot of ethnic Russians who are great Ukrainian citizens.
I’m all for it staying a local conflict. Ukraine is going to hell, I’m all for Russia going down with it :))
Sevastopol was the most Russian city in Ukraine. The Russian BSF was stationed there, many business depended on it, retirees. Sevastopol had an autonomy outside of autonomy of Crimea and only thing connecting it to Ukraine was the subsidies it got from Kyiv. Wasn’t a surprise Sevastopol went the Russian way. Ukrainians and Tatars lived predominantly in the Crimean hinterland and they weren’t waving the Russian flags when RF troops were blocking Ukrainian bases.
Let me know when the Russians are back on the Elbe.
If they take Ukraine, then they will have already fought their way to the NATO borders.
Pure guess: Hungarians want a return to their old national/cultural borders and the best way to do that is settle down with a nice girl from the old country and get busy!
How man points did I score? :-)
Jeez. How _many_ points did I score? :-D
The only serious threat to America’s existence begins with the letter ‘O’.
No that isn’t the only serious threat to America, why say something so silly.
Wrong—The balloon will go up in a year or less—before Obama is out of power—Russia will do something to make themselves LOOK as if they are the victims. Then their will be a massive attack—watch the Red Airforce—a real invasion will feature them. In this—everything could go bad—fast. Poland could jump in, so too Other lands. Best to stay out of this least it go general in hours! Bombers out of Cuba—sub launched rockets—etc... We will not need to worry about IS and a few beheadings when whole cities are on fire.
Holy Moses! Saints preserve us.
THAT is one scary map.
Sent chills up my spine.
as if they are the victims??
Nobody is trying to invade them
I post where I want. And you still haven't offered your own specific alternative interpretations of Putin's behavior. So you've done exactly what I said you've done - attached the clear, general understanding of Putin being a totalitarian invader with vague directs about people not understanding him in order to imply people are being unfair in calling evil, evil. So you are undermining clarity and invoking peace and understanding in order to spread FUD about a totalitarian invader who is currently killing many people defending their own country.
And you're upset I called you a fraud?! LOL, you should breathe a sigh of relief that I didn't say what I really think of you.
But I will say this - your efforts have placed the blood of the Ukrainian dead upon your soul.
I enjoy spirited FR discussions. And I don't mind being told I'm wrong; often I can learn from that. But I do not respond to personal attacks ("you're a fraud", that sort of thing). I tried to make an exception in your case because you made some very good points. I now see my response to you was in error. Please do not post to me anymore. I certainly will not post to you.
I post where I want. And you still haven't offered your own specific alternative interpretations of Putin's behavior. So you've done exactly what I said you've done - attacked the clear, general understanding of Putin being a totalitarian invader with vague concerns about people not understanding him, in order to imply people are being unfair in calling evil what it is: evil. So you are undermining clarity by fraudulently invoking peace and understanding, in order to spread FUD about a totalitarian invader who is currently killing many people defending their own country from invasion.
And you're upset I called you a fraud?! LOL, you should breathe a sigh of relief that I didn't say what I really think of you.
But I will say this - your efforts have placed the blood of the Ukrainian dead upon your soul.
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