Mentioned up thread but didnt see an article on it. We might as well send F16s to Poland. Not sure what our hesitancy is. Russia isnt attacking the world. They cant even beat Ukraine. Poland becomes first to pledge fighter jets to Ukraine | CNN Poland on Thursday pledged it would send four MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine, the first NATO member to do so, in a significant move in Kyiv’s battle to resist Russia’s onslaught. President Andrzej Duda said the planes – from about a dozen that it had inherited from the former German Democratic Republic – would be handed over in the coming days after being serviced. “When it comes to the MiG-29 aircraft, which are still operating in the defense of Polish airspace, a decision has been taken at the highest levels, we can say confidently that we are sending MiGs to Ukraine,” Duda said. Warsaw has taken a lead among NATO allies in supplying Kyiv with heavy weapons. The announcement that Poland will send the Soviet-designed planes marks a step beyond the rest of the alliance’s commitments, and could put pressure on other member states to do the same. Other NATO nations have been reluctant to move far beyond a decision earlier this year to send tanks to Kyiv, and the US insisted Thursday that Poland’s move would not force Washington’s hand.
For like 10 years people claimed we werent opening up the playbook against early competition. We just had to wait till we unleashed our full potential in the LSU/UGA/etc game. The rest of the world knew the Gators were weak and down. But so many O&B faithful just couldn't allow themselves to see it.
Just to be clear, you are making this comparison to the Russians trying to hint like they are holding back against Ukraine in order to smite the West when the West makes the wrong move?
Yup. A resident cheerleader seems to have red colored glasses that give them the same misplaced belief / hope.
Breast-beating Murcans struggle with balancing twin truths: (1) it is true that Russia is pulverizing America’s great proxy (2) it is also true that it is holding the larger part of its forces in check, presumably in anticipation of a wider conflict. For this, Russia seems ready. Is the brittle West ?
Interesting timing, the ICC calling for the arrest, of Putin, on the twentieth anniversary of the Iraq Invasion.
Just because Putin is a self-deluded poseur, who thinks he’s a military genius because he has read some books on the subject, doesn’t mean he’s a complete idiot. He is a brilliant, educated, determined man who acted in a cold, patient, thoughtful, and deliberate manner right up until our unforced error with Afghanistan convinced him the time was right to make a big move. You aren’t going to make him think he has won. He will have won. Russia has had to conquer or reconquer Ukraine, in whole or in part, at least four times I am aware of since the early 1700s. And without looking it up, most military historians probably couldn’t tell you how many Russians died in those campaigns in the same sense that most people know about 58,000 Americans died in Vietnam but have no idea how many Americans died in WWI. The reason for that is, generally speaking, just like winners don’t have to worry about war crimes trials, they also don’t have to worry about being held accountable for the human cost. That’s something losers have to do. The “bloody nose” you reference is only embarrassing in defeat. In victory, it’s a badge of honor from a struggle with a worthy foe. And I don’t have to believe that anymore than you do. But Putin can easily make the Russian people believe that. Because they want to. But let’s say you get your way with peace in our time. What is your prediction for how long Russia is satisfied with its limited gains over lands and people it feels rightfully belongs to it in entirety? No historical metaphor is perfect, but look up how long a rump state of Czechoslovakia survived after the West stabbed it in the back and gave away the Sudetenland to Nazi Germany. Under this Chamberlainesque peace you propose, where Russia gets to keep the Left Bank by pure right of conquest, what security guarantees do you offer the rump state of Ukraine? Do they get to join NATO? Or are you only giving them six months of respite before Russia gets to come for the rest of what’s rightfully theirs?
Might Makes Right ... US threatens to arrest ICC judges if they pursue Americans for Afghan war crimes
I have 3! All legally issued. British, Irish and American. I’ll probably be OK if terrorists capture a cruise ship in the Med…
I think the fallacy here is that Putin = Hitler and Russia = Nazi Germany. While both regimes were/are brutal and murderous, Putin’s goals, ambitions and how he will get there are completely different than Hitler’s. So we can’t really compare this situation to WW2, because we’re not dealing with a man who believes he has been ordained by God to establish a Third Reich that will rule the world for 1,000 years and that it’s going to happen on his watch. I’m not even sure that Putin would want to carry all of Ukraine’s water if the Ukrainians were to surrender today and lay down all their weapons. That’s an expensive proposition for Russia. Putin, of course, still wants to exercise unfettered influence over Kyiv, but I don’t believe he’s looking at Ukraine for the lebensraum. I think he views Ukraine much the same as we do, an insurance policy. One, as you noted, that has pre-existing historical ties to Russia. I believe if Putin’s plan was to conquer Europe, he would not have waited 22 years to begin his conquest, at age 70, no less. With all that being said, you do realize Obama was able to hold off Russia for 8 years with the Minsk agreements? Again, if Putin’s goal was to annex all of Ukraine as part of Russia, IMO, he doesn’t agree to and largely respect the Minsk agreements for 8 solid years. In other words, I don’t think it’s all or nothing in Ukraine. I think there is a middle ground that can be reached and respected by both sides. I’ve not given up on diplomacy. You can’t lose sight of the fact that hundreds are dying over there everyday and there are millions of displaced Ukrainian refugees. A humanitarian crisis of epic proportions.
I suspect one thing is certain: that the ICC is calling for Putin’s attest, as a war criminal, all but assures that Russia will not stop until the West capitulates. Nice going, morons.
