War in Ukraine

Refute what? Your assertion That Putin is bluffing? I would say that The level of Russian deployment is enough to take the threat seriously. Refute your statement That Biden is “warmongering”? Didn’t I point out that Biden said that we aren’t going to war but there Will be extreme consequences if Russia invades? Isn’t that a refutation of “warmongering?” Refute your argument That Biden is weak because he is repeatedly threatening consequences to an invasion? Aren’t the statements contradictory? As for your reference to Trump, I told you that I don’t respond to posters who claim that I made a statement I didn’t make as an argument. You had your chance to engage. Before I say sayonara to further responding to you, I will again note that what you have posted here is pretty close to the Russian agenda. Exactly the same accusations about Biden and the west.

 

Old, deep German money supporting Russia. Just like the UK, Russian $$ is being used to influence/buy western gubmnt policy. Seems the former german chancellor has been in the Russian camp for quite a while, likely the source of the major push for the pipeline

Germany loses patience with ex-chancellor's Russia lobbying (msn.com)

Former German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's close friendship with President Vladimir Putin and lucrative business dealings with Russia have for years been reluctantly tolerated at home. But as war clouds gather over Ukraine and allies question Germany's resolve, Schroeder is increasingly seen as potential liability to new chancellor and fellow Social Democrat Olaf Scholz, fuelling calls for a clean break with the pro-Kremlin lobbyist.
..................
Last week's announcement that the 77-year-old is set to serve on the board of Russian state energy giant Gazprom did little to calm tempers, as did the revelation that Schroeder held talks about Russia with an SPD interior ministry official last month.
......................
It was Schroeder, chancellor from 1998-2005, who signed off on the first Nord Stream pipeline between Russia and Germany in his final weeks in office, and he currently heads the Nord Stream company's shareholders' committee.

He is also chairman of the board of directors of Russian oil giant Rosneft.

 

Russia has a massive military operation going on in the Black Sea with over 30 ships, including 12 landing ships. They have shut down half of the Black Sea, declaring it a No-Go Zone. It is the biggest exercise they have had in the Black Sea in decades, apparently. The naval exercise amounts to a blockade of Ukraine. It looks like they are trying to get Ukraine to fire the first shot in their war.

Ominous Russian movements in Black Sea raise alarm

 

Sure, Putin would telegraph his moves. He does not need the element of surprise to defeat Ukraine. He just needs the west to not interfere. By telegraphing his moves, he can try to gauge what the American and European response will be. He doesn't want an escalating war with us any more than we want one with him. The question for him is: can he bluff the west into not responding? How Biden responds to these escalating threats will determine how seriously he thinks we are about stopping him.

 

Russia is not going to invade or they lose the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. Germany is making the decisions here. Everyone else is waiting.

 

Does Ukraine have more than 30 Harpoon missiles?

 

Excellent link. Thanks

 

Looks like Biden has them on the run. : ) Perhaps a good sign?

Russia Says Pullback Begins; Putin Meets Scholz: Ukraine Update

 

Putin and Scholz are meeting in Moscow. It's all about the pipeline. The Western war propaganda has failed.

 

Biden responds with a heroic, yet tepid, speech:

Biden: Defending Ukraine could hurt US economy

To paraphrase:

"Defending Ukraine could hurt the U.S. economy. I'm scared! But we will 'respond', whatever that means, if they target Americans."

It's not exactly the same as the old JFK standby:

"Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe..."

 

Do they know how to use them? Which way to point them, etc.?

 

Wait, now we can trust what the Russians tell us? Can't have it both ways.

 

Trust but verify! Shoot, I don’t know I just posted what I read which was the first non downer story in a while about the situation.

 

You know it possible that all of this is to get the female Russian figure skater off the hook for taking performance enhancing drugs. Why she wasn't automatically disqualified and sent home perplexes me, give her her medals and Put in backs down?

 

Russia isn't supposed to be competing in these olympics at all, for exactly those reasons.

 

They technically aren't. They are competing under the olympic flag, but everyone calls it the Russian Olympic Committee.

 

There's an Olympics are going on? Biden told us a week ago that the Russians were going to invade Ukraine within 48 hours. Putin would have to be insane to invade Ukraine during the Olympics. I can name about 100 reasons why that's just stupid off the top of my head. Lo and behold, no invasion has occurred and the Olympics are still going.

That's how you know Biden is doing this to score political points. Either that or he got trolled big time by Russian counterintelligence. That Putin would upstage Xi like that and carry out a major occupation of Europe's 2nd largest country during the Olympics is hogwash. Either Biden is a complete fool or he's scrambling as his approvals plummet. Nobody in the intelligence community really believes Putin would do that during the Olympics.

 

You sound extremely disappointed in how this thing has played out so far. LOL

 

Good column from Tom Friedman
Is Sleepy Joe Biden Making Vladimir Putin Blink?