MAGA does a quick Google search to find your beloved NYT, claiming them to be 2nd most corrupt behind Russia. Ukraine's corruption even has a Wikipedia page. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/10/opinion/ukraine-war-corruption.html
they are not good, but not the worst in the world (and improving) US is ok, but let’s check this out after Trump. Corruption Rank by Country
I am assuming that stands for US Defense Industrial Base While I am not an Isolationist, I am an America First. I vews DIB as a globalist type of organization
The thing these jokers never seem to comprehend is most of this corruption in Ukraine is because of their previous ties to Russia and the former Soviet Union. It isn’t a random or coincidental phenomenon. The Russian gangster state is the nexus for the corruption in much of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet bloc states which never escaped their sphere, this includes Ukraine which while an independent state has had its share of Russian influence. The states that DID more successfully detach themselves from Russia generally became more successful and have relatively less corruption.
I think if joey would have had some balls he could have ended things early on. Putin is a thug and knew joey would stand idly by when he moved on the Ukraine.
stood idly by?!? Biden was a key person to why Ukraine survived, especially in the first month. He rallied allies to help pump armaments into Ukraine and shared with the world what Russia was planning to do. It was close. He also spearheaded economic sanctions which are finally starting to wallop Russia. (21% int rates and 9% inflation reported but expected higher). I assume since you take more of a position of appeasing Putin you wouldn’t support sending US troops.
not sure I get the gotcha. the ravages of deforestation in the Amazon is a concern for many. Probably worthy of its own thread.
Ballet star clumsily falls to death after criticizing Putin’s Ukraine war. Ballet star Vladimir Shklyarov who criticised Putin’s Ukraine invasion dies in fall from... - LBC
killer robots have arrived. “a Russian ammunition truck—by tapping it on a tablet screen with a stylus. The pilot flicked a switch on his handset to select autopilot and then watched the drone swoop down from a few hundred yards away and hit the vehicle.” https://www.wsj.com/world/europe/uk...7f405?st=UMLq1D&reflink=article_copyURL_share https://www.reuters.com/world/europ...robot-wars-between-russia-ukraine-2024-11-18/
Maybe. But talking about what one guy shoulda done or what the other guy woulda done at some point in the past is only interesting if you’re writing an alternative history novel. We are discussing what we should do now, and it sounds like you just said, “Let Russia have it, and we will all just hope the other countries like China don’t follow suit to take by force anything they think belongs them.”
You understand that if the US DIB is not sufficiently rebuilt, peer adversaries like Russia and China will have a significant advantage against the US in any serious conflict?
Or "free speech". We all know that the campaign contributions are nothing more the legalized bribery although thanks to the SCOTUS which has labeled them a form of free speech the practice of that form of bribery is almost completely unregulated. Although the majority of American politicians are on the take one way or another the current President-elect is undoubtedly the best politician that money can buy.
Sure...don't remember y'all bitching about Barry's hundreds of millions of filtered chicom donations, or sKamal's 1.5 Billion coming from God knows whom... ....yesh, the SCOTUS, and Citizens United, blah blah blah...
The election is over. No longer any need to polish the turd that was Jake Sullivan’s response to Russian aggression. I agree with every measure you mentioned above, but it was still half-assed, insufficient, and often too late. Lots of inexcusable things we did or failed to do, especially in the early days and before: the assurances the President gave Putin that we would not intervene; our implication that as long as Putin “only took a small piece” we would accept without too much consternation; our encouraging Zelensky to surrender the seat of his government; our suspense of defensive arm shipments even after it was clear Russia fully intended to invade; our failure to immediately send heavy forces to Eastern Europe as a deterrent or at the very least as a means to make Russia keep a larger portion of its military unengaged in Ukraine; our having to be pressured by our own allies to stop buying Russian petroleum products; our having to be led by our allies at every step of providing material aid to Ukraine; our inexplicable insistence to keep trying to engage Iran via Russia even after hostilities had started and it was clear to anyone with more than two brain cells that both parties were playing us. I get furious just thinking about the comedy of strategic errors we have made that exacerbated this mess and sustained Russian hope even after their armed forces were humiliated in the field. Again, I say, inexcusable. Maybe Trump makes this worse, and maybe he doesn’t. Time will tell. But nothing he does or fails to do will excuse the role Sullivan (with Biden’s quiet acquiescence) played in failing to strangle Russian aggression in its crib.
You have me morbidly curious, Bill, how our indigenous industry that generates arms for our military is a “globalist organization.”
Some of these people have been so programmed they just drop talking points and commonly used propaganda terms, even where it makes no sense or is devoid of meaning or context. Could have just as easily garbled out “the entire defense industry is woke CRT communism!” and it would make just about as much sense. Good luck trying to make sense of it.
Good points. In my opinion, we (Obama, Trump, Biden) and our allies should have supported Ukraine more aggressively before the war began. It would have been cost-effective and beneficial for everyone involved. As the war progressed, delays in approving advanced weapons like HiMARS, F-16s, and ATACMS, as well as providing more equipment, were costly—especially during the failed 2023 fall offensive. This, combined with an eight-month halt in weapon supplies due to MAGA holding up the funding bill in the House, had devastating consequences, including the loss of many of Ukraine’s top soldiers. However, at the very start of the war, most people expected Russia to overwhelm Ukraine. I can understand the initial hesitation to send advanced systems, given the risk of them being captured and also not enough time to get there. Vs plan loads of MANPADS, etc. But as you say, hindsight is 20/20. Looking back at the early posts in this thread is fascinating in light of how things have unfolded. Going forward, I anticipate Ukraine may be willing to negotiate a deal that doesn’t require restoring 100% of its original borders. Let’s see what kind of poker players/deal makers the key leaders are. Btw a peace agreement will have a lot of complications- but for another post.