While there might’ve been string isolationism in the 1930’s, Churchill was successful in convincing Roosevelt why our involvement was necessary before Pearl Harbor. We were supplying the Allies with weapons and intelligence before Pearl, and our involvement was imminent. To be sure, it’s been surmised on countless occasions that Roosevelt allowed Pearl to happen, with Churchill’s knowledge, to incite the necessity anger to declare War and join the necessary fight.
Not I. Firstly, because I’m a pilot. Secondly, because I’m Army. What I was speaking of earlier was when I was in the Marines as a Squadron Logistics Officer on the 11th MEU in 2009-2010. In that role, the fuelers, firefighters, and expeditionary airfield repair techs worked in my Department.
Yes. In 2017. To stay in California when I was facing overseas orders to Okinawa for three years. My wife was a San Diego news anchor at the time and wasn’t going to leave her career (don’t blame her). I explained to the monitor (career manager) that as a pilot I have options. He laughed and said he’s heard it all. I was at 18 years. No way I was going anywhere. I should just take the orders like a “big boy.” Army National Guard hired me full time as a Blackhawk pilot (well, as a leader of pilots more accurately). During the first conversation with the monitor, I got mad and he laughed. During the second one a few months later (when he told me he now had to fill that job in Okinawa AND my then-current job at Camp Pendleton), he got mad and I laughed.
Roger, that. I wasn’t sure if you might have trained with the Redhorse Det at Tyndall. I should have picked up that you are a flyboy from previous posts.
Aaand now they have pretext for scorched earth. Russia ex-president calls for Zelensky to be KILLED after Kremlin drone strike
Obvious play there. It’s pretty infuriating since they’ve already sent numerous assassination squads after Zelensky.
This is a great show (pun intended) and Catherine was a strongly moral figure overall, but it will be interesting to see if they cover the part of her reign that created a lot of the Russian "claim" that Ukraine is just Russia, although she did not do it to subjugate, just as part of defending against Turk/Ottoman northern expansion. The term Potemkin Village comes out of that episode, the cruise down the Dnieper. That part of her story may be hard to finesse in this moment.
Pretext with whom? I can’t imagine a realistic scenario where they can use nukes and get away with it. I think it would push them inexorably toward war with NATO. And China would abandon them for it.
I’m not talking nukes, I’m taking scorched earth. We will see if they kick up the carpet bombing and other atrocities now.
You can't carpet bomb without air supremacy, and they don't really have an option except scorched earth when Ukraine is fighting for every inch. I'm not sure what this would offer a causus belli for, maybe drum up domestic support for more drafts? It could just be a real assassination attempt. Assassinating Putin could really dent Russian war efforts, since he's the main power on that side. Assasinating Zelensky isn't gonna do much, since the Ukrainian war efforts are sustained by Western powers. If anything that'd just make him a martyr and probably galvanize more Ukrainians.
Ever been to Eglin or Hurlburt? Thats my neck of the woods. (Well used to be) I'm in Philly now. I was a PM on a 28,000' install of new Jet Fuel piping with these incredible fuel hydrant stations that allowed personnel to fuel up aircraft right on the runway. (They got tired of trucking that stuff from the tank terminals at the docks). We had AMAZING acess - Could walk right up to parked F16's and A-10's, talk to the pilots. My absolute favorite was the day the shuttle arrived on the back of the big jet that hauled it around. My little office trailer was the closest structure to where they parked that rig. It was there several days. I would tell people and they would call B.S. on that and then I would send them pictures. It was a great gig.
How would they attack us? Send bombs in the mail? Super-long-range drones? The U.S. doesn't have all that many people in Ukraine or in the countries next to Ukraine. Besides, if (and when) Ukraine wins this war, they will need a ton of financial assistance to rebuild their country. You do not bite the hand that feeds you if you want to keep eating. I think the U.S. has learned its lesson from Afghanistan about turning our backs on a country that has won a war with Russia after supporting them through the war. We certainly don't want to create another Al Qaeda. Yes, we have turned loose a lot of upgraded military technology (compared to the standard in that region) during this fight, but I'm more worried about things that Russia has gotten their hands on and sent to Iran than things that Ukraine has. And where do you get the idea from that Zelenskyy will abandon his country "if the offer was right"? What kind of offer do you think it would take, a billion dollars? We've already given him several billion to keep fighting, if he wants to. He could probably pocket 10-20% of that money and few people would ever know. If there was ever a chance that Zelenskyy would cash in some offer and call it quits on his country, he would have done it a year or more ago. He's in it to win it. He's gone through quite a bit of hardship and stress over this war. I don't think he has time to consider a personal escape plan, much less "changing sides".
OT..I do some side work with a firm that does design for tanks and fueling facilities at airports around the country. They are overwhelmed with work right now.
you're wrong. hope that helps . the hatred between Ukraine and Russia is solidified for centuries now with the way Russia has treated the Ukrainian civilian population. The ukranians would skin Zelensky alive if he even thought about it. Remember, he isn't a politician out for power, just a citizen that was pushed forward to try and fix a broken gubmnt. Wish we had someone of his character willing to run for potus
Zelenskyy is not stupid. Any involvement by China is to China's benefit, and he knows that. China has repeatedly demonstrated that they cannot be trusted on a number of issues. China has a much stronger alliance with Russia, the other big communist country, than with any other country. (In reality, they are also playing Russia for their own advantage, if there is any advantage to be had.) Zelenskyy knows that the best way for Ukraine to achieve its long-term security goals is to join NATO, and the best way to join NATO is to defeat Russia. If China negotiates a settlement of the war, it will almost certainly come with Ukraine giving up some land to Russia, and Zelenskyy has said repeatedly that he will not give up one inch.
Putin needs to be careful. He could make people start to think, "I could do a better job with an attack on Putin than whoever did that!" Or, "this costly war with Ukraine would be over a lot faster and we could rebuild our economy if someone would finish that job!" I think Putin is over-estimating his popularity with his own people. They know he is responsible for the war and their own suffering.
