Let’s have a war!

[Shirley]

Biden should approve a large increase in an existing, or better yet, a next-level defense system be provided to Ukraine in response to the Russian kidnapping of the America WSJ reporter.

[DCHawk1]

help us DC-Wan-Kenobi. You're this thread's only hope.

DC apologizes but is exceptionally busy at the moment.

In brief: Putin is evil. Putin is the aggressor in Ukraine. Putin should be kicked in the nuts as frequently as possible.

At the same time, the American policy of slow but steady escalation in aid (and, now, training) has been disastrous. It's been a slow enough burn that it never actually helps Ukraine, but fast enough that it provides the guys working at Lockheed with enough extra scratch to ensure that they can make the payments on the new chlorine-free, salt-water pools they're putting in. We HAVE boots on the ground in Ukraine; they're there to "train our allies" which is nice (but which would be triggering nostalgic seizures on this board, if we had any Boomers here old enough to remember how Kennedy's "best and brightest" sold Vietnam).

As with every conflict in which we've been involved over the last 25 years, we have no idea when victory will be achieved because we have no idea what victory is supposed to look like. That's something we can work out later -- always. Our strategy -- such as it is -- has been articulated and sold to official Washington and to the public by the same group of dipshits who sold the last two wars. Sadly, many of them (looking at you, Bill Kristol) see opposition to Putin as a proxy for opposition to Trump, which is to say that, to them, this is personal, not patriotic.

So far, the only winners from the policy advocated by the Bipartisan Washington Consensus are those who were smart enough to be heavy into defense stocks prior to Feb. 2022.

Oh.

https://puck.news/bidens-private-ukraine-deadline/

Everyone I spoke to who participated in these White House briefing calls was vociferous in praising the Biden administration’s policy on Ukraine. They wanted to give the president and his advisors credit for this and credit for that. They really had done a terrific job, everyone said, of saving Ukraine and acting nimbly in a rapidly evolving, predictably unpredictable conflict. But as soon as we went off the record or spoke on background, the truth flowed like a mighty river.

It turns out that Washington’s foreign policy set has grown increasingly frustrated with the Biden administration’s Ukraine policy. What is it, exactly? On one hand, the administration has been consistent in its line on Ukraine: Ukraine must win, nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine, this must not turn into World War III, and we must defend and strengthen the rules-based (and American-designed) international order.

But what does any of that really mean? What does winning in Ukraine even look like? Do we agree with Ukraine that it means restoring its 1991 borders? If we advocate for “nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine,” then what did it mean when Antony Blinken — just “Tony” to the community — told a group of experts that Crimea was Putin’s red line, and therefore America’s as well? Does our concept of victory actually diverge from the Ukrainians’ vision? And what does “as long as it takes” mean in the context of providing Ukraine with more sensitive weapons systems, like ATACMS, or dwindling weapons stocks in the U.S. and Europe? How “all in” are we? “If they have a strategy, it hasn’t been shared,” one expert on these regular briefing calls with administration officials complained.

[RainbowsandUnicorns]

Stupid question time.
Why hasn't Putin had Zelensky killed? Maybe I should also ask why hasn't Zelensky had Putin killed?

[ousdahl]

Putin supposedly gave a pledge to Israeli PM Bennett that he wouldn't kill Zelensky.

but that don't mean much.

[ousdahl]

Man…check out THIS headline!

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles ... #xj4y7vzkg

bro-fest lulz

[DCHawk1]

Oh.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/ ... o-ukraine/

Germany’s Defence Minister has ruled out sending any further weapons or equipment to Ukraine, admitting that the Bundeswehr will already not be able to replenish its stocks by 2030.

Blighted by chronic underinvestment since the end of the Cold War, the German army is now in even worse shape after having sent equipment, ammunition and vehicles like the Leopard 2 main battle tank to the battlefields of Ukraine.

“To put it bluntly, like other nations, we have a limited inventory,” said Boris Pistorius.

[japhy]

Coming home to roost.....

https://apnews.com/article/russia-explo ... f7f91e0d9f

[Shirley]

[Shirley]

I was gonna say...so if Putin is as reviled and if Russia at large is as crooked as we're told it is, how did this guy hang onto power for this long without some "unfortunate slip"

ETA I'm kinda surprised there aren't more suggestions to try to cut the head off the beast, so to speak, and to try one way or another to take out Putin directly.

but, back to the question: so is that the article's only realistic answer to Putin? Hope he falls down a flight of stairs, Ivana Trump style?

Or is the article's solution, as the sub-headline suggests, not relenting in "helping" Ukraine, with that "help" being, maintaining some status quo of continuing to flood the place with weapons with no end game in sight?

also, what the heck is the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor in the George W. Bush administration?

[ousdahl]

“They had it coming” lulz

In less than 80 years, Merica went from forming an alliance with the Russians to fight the Nazis, to forming an alliance with the Nazis to fight the Russians.

[ousdahl]

Also, let’s do this:

Hey DC!

Whaddya think of nato?

Lemme guess: they’re far more nefarious than anyone cares to admit, and far closer to some militant aggressor than some defensive alliance, but who cares cuz at least they do it in pursuit of “American interests?”

[TDub]

“They had it coming” lulz

In less than 80 years, Merica went from forming an alliance with the Russians to fight the Nazis, to forming an alliance with the Nazis to fight the Russians.

my god

[KUTradition]

it’s devolved to nothing but trolling anymore

[ousdahl]

Sorry you guys.

DC, if, after you might so kindly share your take on NATO, please also feel free to share what understanding you might have of the social and political climate and popular ideology in Ukraine.

[TDub]

no youre not

[Shirley]

I guess I knew these things don't move themselves, but damn.

"Logistics eat strategy for lunch."
Admiral James Stavridis, 4-Star General & former Supreme Allied Commander of NATO

[Sparko]

Hoping this is the last gasp of Russian expansionism. Forever.

[Shirley]

Apr 12, 2023 3 Hrs ago #News #Reuters #newsfeed

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy compared Russia to the Islamic state after a video emerged allegedly showing Russian soldiers beheading a captive with a knife.

[TDub]

sources say there are signs pointing to China aligning forces to begin an invasion on Taiwan.


we knew this was gonna happen while the world was engaged in Ukraine.....only a matter of time.

[TDub]

Apr 12, 2023 3 Hrs ago #News #Reuters #newsfeed

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy compared Russia to the Islamic state after a video emerged allegedly showing Russian soldiers beheading a captive with a knife.

well, its the only way to ensure there isn't a rebellion of zombie nazis....right Q? If only we hadn't pushed Putin so hard into this.....