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When the US ceases running NATO, you will know, because France will join NATO.
If you recall, France withdrew military from NATO, but not politically, because France did not like the US calling the shots all the time.
But OK, the US should have recognized, that he's still obsessing on Ukraine's potential to join NATO. They should have told him succinctly, that it's not happening, the new President doesn't want it to happen, NATO already vetoed it back around 2014 and has NOT reconsidered the idea since then, so end of story. Would he have believed that?
Russia already won. That's why US Media has toned down the rhetoric.
They most certainly are.
Like you even know anything about nuclear weapons.
The US desperately needs Ukraine for airbases to enforce the No-Fly Zone over western Russia.
Without Ukraine, the MECAS Strategy fails.
This is what your freaking very own government says will happen:
The costs of not implementing this strategy are clear. Failure to meet our defense objectives will result in decreasing U.S. global influence, eroding cohesion among allies and partners, and reduced access to markets that will contribute to a decline in our prosperity and standard of living.
I been saying that since 2008, years before that was finally published.
You are an Empire. Expansion into new markets is not optional: It is a requirement.
Your failure to expand into new markets will result in economic stagnation and the collapse of your economy, and the de-evolution of your Standard of Living and Life-Style.
Central Asia has 5x-7x more oil and natural gas than MENA (Middle East/North Africa).
Central Asia is Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
The eastern Russian republics have 2x more oil and natural gas than Central Asia.
For the not-too-bright, that means eastern Russia has 10x-14x more oil and natural gas than MENA.
Plus, it has coal, metal ores and non-metallic minerals include rare earth metals and minerals, and lots of other goodies.
How much do you think it's all worth in today's Dollars?
Well, it is alleged that Saudi Arabia's proven reserves are $26,620,000,000,000 at $100/barrel.
That's $26.62 TRILLION for the not-too-bright.
I think it would be a fair guess that the resources in eastern Russian are worth $150+TRILLION.
The US wants it. It needs Ukraine to get it.
Russia knows that. So does China and India. As Peter Marshal on Hollywood Squares used to say, "X for the block."
Get it?
I get you don't understand Geo-Political Strategy. I wrote, reviewed, revised, edited policy and doctrine for it. That was my job before it was to fix the FUBAR morass nuclear weapons mess in Europe.
That would be improper and a violation of diplomatic protocol.
Yes, because Russia knew the US would be coming to seize eastern Russia.
And if Mexico had allied with the East Bloc during the Cold War?
What would the US do?
Mmmh?
The US went ballistic over a tiny country like Cuba.
So, yeah, the US would have unilaterally and pre-emptively invaded Mexico.
That makes your position 100% hypocritical.
No doubt you're part of the "Do as I say, not as I do" and "Do unto others, rob them of their wealth and resources, and then split" crowd.
The only thing I may disagree on is the standard of living. For the most part the Financial empire is enjoyed y such financial elites and the trade deficits funds the same military to enforce it with little benefit to actual living standards .
Depends on how well the financial elites can squeeze their own citizens to make up the short fall. Given we are idiots that despise our own interests it will not be a total loss for them.
And speaking of hypocritical the US and Australia is just losing it over its security concerns in the Solomon islands . Again I am just not sure if Russia is more about destroying the West because it sure seems like it. American soft power would have easily absorbed Russia into the western sphere, but nope CIA wanted to keep plying spy vs spy and the brass wanted to continue playing with its toys.
Years ago, McCain accused Rand Paul of working for Putin. Looks like he's still on the payroll as yesterday, he delayed passage of the $40B aid bill for Ukraine.
The bill has broad bipartisan support in the House and Senate, and will likely pass next week. So this was just a stunt.
But still, you'd think he'd be a bit more discreet about his mission.
Your attacking the one senator that has a solid record on foreign policy and US intervention. McCain has blood on his hands and you can argue that he has some blame in todays events in Ukraine. He always looked for the next dictator or enemy of America to take out, he was the most hawkish, foolish senator on foreign policy in our nations history. Just look to his crony Lindsey Graham to see how McCain would be reacting today. Graham’s latest statement on Fox News was “no off ramp for Putin, let’s take him out.”
Angelina Davydova, a Russian journalist who recently escaped Putler's regime: many Russians are brainwashed by state media and refuse to believe what's happening in Ukraine.
The Sam Mister is eight. This is an excellent interview on the current state of affairs. Russia is in a state of disaster and if you don't agree with that it is heading into a state of disaster like a speeding bullet.
Look....everyone thought Russia was a Global Military Power going into this....everyone thought Russia would run rough shot over Ukraine in a matter of days or weeks. No one expected Kyiv to be a functional capital fighting a conventional war right now, routing the Russians out of Kyiv and holding Russian advances in the south to single digit miles. This has stunned the world. Before 2/24 people thought Russia was a global power...now they look like the gang that can't shoot straight. And people inside Russia were knowledgeable about the true state of affairs in Russia that we see unfolding before us. This guy served in Russia's parliament and was a Russian journalist.
Learn something new everyday. The United States almost certainly did not orchestrate the Euromaidan protests although it promoted Ukraine's move to the west and took advantage of on-ground events.
It was the so-called Berkut sniper shootings that enraged many formerly quiet Ukrainians and helped solidify public opinion. Violence by individuals against the state is a serious matter but state-sanctioned violence of greater concern yet. That appears to have become the final straw. Yanukovych maintains he did not order the killings (which as just noted, could well be true) ... perhaps an out-of-control intermediary?
Note.--The Poroshenko government was not an 'active-investigator,' but then the Berkut itself destroyed records.
Yanukovych missteps were factors, but then what were his objectives? For example, I was earlier aware he potentially supported Ukrainian EU-membership and that he was at odds with specific Party of Region members but not to this extent (article dated December 2013 describing an early fall 2013 first Party of Regions meeting):
Quote:
A handful of deputies from his Party of Regions complained that their businesses in Ukraine’s Russian-speaking east would suffer if Yanukovich didn’t agree to closer ties with Russia. That set him off. “Forget about it ... forever!” he shouted at them, according to people who attended the meeting. Instead the president argued for an agreement to deepen trade and other cooperation with the European Union. ...
Some deputies implored him to change his mind, people who attended the meeting told Reuters. Businessmen warned that a deal with the EU would provoke Russia - Ukraine’s former master in Soviet times - into toughening an economic blockade on Ukrainian goods. Yanukovich stood firm.
More, never underestimate the "personal factor" in leader decisions with that perhaps a factor in the Putin-decided invasion. This article suggests that was also true for Yanukovych.
Quote:
Risen from humble roots, Yanukovich likes to be treated with respect and as an equal, a characteristic that has informed much of his reluctance to join the customs union of former Soviet states that Putin wants to create. ...
“He told us Russia was not fit for talks, Russia did not consider Ukraine to be an equal partner, that it tried to force us to act by its own rules, that Russia does not act in Ukraine’s best interests in any negotiations, and therefore there can be no talk of having negotiations with Russia,” she said. ... [But then]
Yanukovich was also offended when he found out Kiev would not be offered a firm prospect of full membership of the EU; he felt Ukraine was being treated as a lesser country to “even Poland”, with which it shares a border.https://www.reuters.com/article/us-u...9BI0DZ20131219
Jailed opposition leader Tymoshenko also a factor. Andt then Yanukovych also needed more money from the EU if only because:
Quote:
Next year Ukraine will have to cover foreign debt payments of $8 billion, according to its finance ministry. It was teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, partly because Moscow was blocking sales of Ukrainian-produced meat, cheese and some confectionery, and scrapping duty-free quotas on steel pipes. Some officials said the restrictions showed what life would be like if Ukraine signed the EU agreement. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-u...9BI0DZ20131219
Interesting ... it was Prime Minister Azarov who did an about face in late November ... after the government approved the EU deal in September ... the Azarov who fled to Russia, now wanted by Interpol for "Misappropriation, embezzlement or conversion of property by malversation, if committed in respect of an especially gross amount, or by an organized group." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mykola_Azarov
Reuters describes Yanukovych as increasingly isolated, now in retreat at his incredibly luxurious government-funded estate where "he is guarded by a large contingent of police, who allow in only family members and his closest aides." https://www.reuters.com/article/us-u...9BI0DZ20131219
Funny enough, the night Yanukovych fled he had returned to find the police contingent mysteriously absent. Now wonder who did that? Methinks that Ukraine is immensely complicated. At some point all that can be known for certain is that Russians arrived en masse with guns on February 24, 2022, without permission from the Ukrainian government.
That and Putin appears 'never absent' from key events.
Last edited by EveryLady; 05-13-2022 at 10:38 AM..
CNN and proof don’t go together. I’ve been seeing a lot of proof that Ukraine is shelling civilians in Donetsk. It’s a strange war, on one hand Zelensky is saying he will never allow Donbass and Luhansk to be independent, on the other hand they bomb their people.
US Defense Secretary Austin spoke by phone today with Russian Defense Minister Shoigu for the first time since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Pentagon announced.
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