Posted on 04/24/2022 4:19:57 AM PDT by Kaslin
The Australian version of 60 Minutes recently aired this 17-minute segment about the level of apprehension and preparation now going on in Poland over the possibility of war with Russia. According to it, Poland is taking the possibility of a Russian attack very seriously. The military is exercising near the border, and is actively expanding and mobilizing. And also, ordinary Poles are terrified about the possibility of war, and are making plans how to flee if worse comes to worst.
I disagree. I am an American expat who has lived in retirement in Poland since 2007. Admittedly I live in the western portion of Poland hundreds of miles from the Belarus and Ukraine borders; nevertheless I think I have my finger on the pulse of what Poland is really thinking. I have yet to meet one single person who is at all worried that Russia might attack Poland next. I think Aussie 60 Minutes cherry-picked the most frightened Poles it could find, and falsely made them representative of Poland as a whole.
The first question is, does Putin have any interest in attacking Poland and absorbing it into the greater Russian empire? Theoretically, he might.
There are two reasons why Putin decided to attack Ukraine. One of them, in a word, is NATO. To Putin, but really to any competent ruler of Russia, Ukraine in NATO is a red line, just as Russian missiles in Cuba in 1962 were a red line to JFK. NATO is why Putin attacked South Ossetia in 2008 – to prevent Gruzia (Georgia) from joining NATO – and is why he annexed Crimea in 2014, after the Maidan coup d’etat overthrew the pro-Russian government.
(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...
I had read Le Pen is very pro Putin and was extremely upset with Trump. Not sure what to believe anymore.
Meh, nato aside Poland has a decent and motivated military—far beyond what Ukraine has
Suspect if Russia gathered enough of its military power to try and take Poland that China would annex Siberia 5 minutes later
Not gonna happen
No…the truth of what is happening in Ukraine is unknown…but the fact that the war is continuing is evidence enough that Russia has been bloodied losing a lot of personnel and equipment…Russia doesn’t have the resources to get involved in more extensive wars with any hope of having anything left after the dust settles…
“I don’t know why we’re assuming Russia is really at war with Ukraine.”
It’s a knife fight that has been ongoing for 500+ years. This isn’t just a 20th century bleedover into century 21.
Finally - someone who has a good answer and none of the BS to act “internationally intellectual” with.
God Bless.
yeah post 8
and I don’t know why people assume we landed on the moon
or why we assume the earth is round.
Soon to be annexed by Putin would be Brighton Beach in Brooklyn. Lots of poor Russians there.
If prophecies hold true... “Russia will advance as far as the Rhine”, “the Russian flag will fly over the Vatican” and “America will battle Russia’s secret armies” - Blessed Sr. Aiello.
‘minor incursion’ may prompt discussion over consequences. - Un-Blessed St.Dementia
The threat to Poland is not that Putin will attach next week, but rather if he wins in Ukraine and then annexes other post-Soviet states Russia could be back to its power level as the USSR.
For just as long as Russia has argued Ukraine is not a real country they have done the same about Poland.
A lot of people just assume that the US will go to war in that circumstance. In fact, Article 5 does not necessitate an automatic or immediate response from the US.
The NATO Treaty Does Not Give Congress a Bye on World War III
You seriously believe either Germany or the United States would go to war over Poland?
Because if Germany won’t (certainty) and the US won’t (probable), who is left? Belgium? Holland? FRANCE?
NATO does not exist in reality, it’s a scrap of paper whose rationale expired >30 years ago.
Your use of "artificial" was brilliant. Even if it was a misspelling, it told the truth.
With what?
“police action”
[Wiki] “In military/security studies and international relations, police action is a military action undertaken without a formal declaration of war. Today the term counter-insurgency is more used.”
Without congressional approval. It’s a constitutional workaround which shouldn’t be. But if you prefer we could go in and do some weapons testing.
Let's deal with reality. If Russia were to attack Poland, the US would come to its aid. The only time Article 5 was invoked was when the US was attacked on 9/11.
The sole objective of Article 5 is to act as a deterrent against an attack. Any potential enemy must perceive that Article 5 will be invoked. Otherwise, the credibility of NATO as a security alliance is destroyed.
The reason why the former Warsaw Pact countries sought NATO membership was to have NATO (read the US) to guarantee its sovereignty. Personally, I agree with George Kennan that the expansion of NATO was the greatest mistake of the post-Cold War period.
Perception is reality.
That was one of your more benign traditions:)
I think it’s far more likely the Polocks will attack the Russians inside Ukraine in solidarity with the Galician movement. Stoking crazy theories that Russia is about to invade Poland is how they are going to justify it. And truth be told, one single errant missile hitting a potato field across the border will be treated as an attack and they will scream for NATO to launch WWIII.
I’m originally from eastern Ukraine. It will take incredible loss of Russian lives or full rebuilding of the plant to take that land. If you’ve ever seen it you know closing that place off “so a fly cant escape” is pure fantasy. Possibly more so than Putin’s fantasy of taking Kiev in days.
Russians have been already stalled for 2 months and not making any progress far from the Russian border. Their logistics are instantly decimated approaching the core of Ukraine and every push grinds to halt from lack of gas, food and men. With Ukrainians taking whatever equipment is left behind from these idiotic moves.
Even if they take some land temporarily, once the green leaves fully emerge it’s over for Russia. Missiles and snipers behind every blade around every turn.
The insurgency there will make Afghanistan seem like a walk in the park, send more bodies home than they can count and bankrupt the Russians even faster.
On top of it all, troop morale for attacking Ukraine is very low since many Russians have family in Ukraine and know the Nazi thing is BS. That is why they are sending mostly poor conscripts from Muslim areas to do the dirty work. Singing “Alahu Akhbar” in front of the “liberated” shell of Mariupol. Spit
And for that, you were awarded the first hero of FREE REPUBLIC medal. Many have tried, but only a few merit the honor.
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