From one empire to another … “Stop it! Only we are allowed to do that.”
The U.S. is not an empire. If you think it is, you have no real understanding of what an empire actually is. Russia has always been an empire and still is. We need to do to the remnant Russian empire what the Brits and French did to the Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman empires – end it.
Much of the rest of the world views things differently.
… and wrongly.
If a million people say a stupid thing, it is still a stupid thing.
Here’s my take on empires. There is a fundamental dynamic to empires – either they’re expanding in territory or they are dying. The US stopped expanding some point in the early 20th century when it relinquished the Philippines and its power has peaked much later. What’s going on with the US power-wise can’t be explained in terms of empire.
But it sure does explain what’s going on in Russia.
“So, to my mind, it comes down to two choices. An act of provocation by the ultranationalists; or, a false flag by the government.”
A lot of mind reading taking place. A better analysis would go over the video and then speculate based off that rather than stereotypes.
“I’m still very much of the opinion that Kamil Galeev and others are right. If we want peace, and we want a peaceful future, the current Russian Federation needs to be broken up.”
This is dumb. If we want peace for the USA, our country, we just need not continue our involvement. Escalating will lead to more war and the outcomes are not predictable. Russia has shown they are incapable of invading a NATO country, so all of the fearmongering of Russia wiping out Europe with their awesome military is dishonest.
What about peace between Russia, Ukraine, and the other buffer states? I don’t think there will be any as long as there are people in charge who don’t want peace and who desire ending Russia as a country. Russia may want to grab more land, as they have done in the recent past but looking at how that has taken place, there have been plenty of opportunities to use diplomacy to prevent that from happening.
We have a situation where both sides of the conflict have been taking over buffer states. Regardless of who you think is in the wrong, a path forward for peace requires letting old grudges go and focusing on building new relationships.
I see no mind-reading, just an analysis of motivations and costs-vs-benefits to various involved groups.
Reversing our Ukraine involvement will not obtain “peace for the USA.” It will simply “obtain” more enemies for us and embolden those we have already, especially the PRC. Assisting Ukraine to victory will end this war, not get us more. Abandoning Ukraine is what would get us more war.
We should, in any case, do our best – ASAP – to field VLEO active orbital defenses able to effectively insulate us from Russian or PRC weaponry as we await their national deaths from natural causes.
What Russia has shown is that it cannot conquer a NATO country – or the decent approximation of one which Ukraine has become. But it is perfectly capable if invading one – or more – and making a hell of a mess before being ground down to a nub.
And Russia would do that. Putin wants the old defensible perimeter from Soviet times back. Ukraine isn’t even the first thing he has taken on his quest to restore that perimeter. And it would not be the last.
Russia needs to be stopped cold in Ukraine and completely ejected. It would also be a good thing if the total Russian KIAs were to rise to a million or more. That would not only preclude Russia from making a run at any NATO country, it would render Russia incapable of effectively resisting the departures of future break-away provinces. I think Chechnya would lead off that particular parade. If most of Siberia also fractures and goes a variety of ways, that would get us that Russian Federation breakup without any necessity to see to it ourselves. It would also end any energy connection between Russia and the PRC.
“Diplomacy” is pointless. We tried sharply worded notes when Putin took part of Georgia. Those worked so wonderfully, he took part of Ukraine a few years later. More notes. More invasion of Ukraine. Now we send HIMARS and other things. Piles of corpses and corpse parts and thousands of destroyed and captured vehicles speak more eloquently than sharply worded notes.
Both sides in the conflict have not been “taking over buffer states.” Accession to NATO is in no way a “takeover.” The “buffer states,” having escaped a brutal imperium, wanted no part of any return to that status and vigorously petitioned to be allowed into NATO.
Ukraine for its part, was only a “buffer state” until it was invaded for the first time in 2014. If Russia desired a “buffer” it should have left Ukraine alone. But Russia isn’t looking for buffers, it’s looking for its old Soviet-era defense perimeter.
We “put old grudges aside” after the Soviet Union fell. Then Putin took over Russia and revived all the old gudges. Fool me once and all that. Russia needs to be dismembered and its European rump fenced in and defanged, then allowed to finish dying of terminal demographics absent any further ability to make more trouble in the world. When Russia finally dies, we can skin the corpse and tack the hide up on a convenient barn door somewhere, then use it for a rug.
I’m all for “building new relationships.” We can start with any willing former components of the Russian Federation that establish stand-alone statehood.
“We should, in any case, do our best – ASAP – to field VLEO active orbital defenses able to effectively insulate us from Russian or PRC weaponry as we await their national deaths from natural causes.”
My views would be different if we were safer. The timing of this war is bad for us and I’d rather we focus on rebuilding so that we can act with strength in the future. Being strong and secure is more of a deterrent to China than getting involved in yet another poorly defined war that prevents us from preparing for a war with China.
TBH, I think we should disengage from these petty conflicts and focus on expanding off planet.
“Both sides in the conflict have not been “taking over buffer states.” Accession to NATO is in no way a “takeover.” ”
I disagree. Russia has their own motivations and are not just reacting to us but it is also foolish to think our actions play no role.
“What Russia has shown is that it cannot conquer a NATO country – or the decent approximation of one which Ukraine has become. But it is perfectly capable if invading one”
We would destroy them. We are not Ukraine. Russia knows this and they also know that an attack on a NATO country means total war.
I don’t think that dealing with Russia nipping away at their neighbors has been a focus of our government. Our diplomatic efforts didn’t prevent the war much in the same way our efforts to create a blackhole have failed.
We have moved the goalposts from defending Ukraine to needing to destroy Russia as a country. At no point has this case been made to the American public. If people really believe this, be honest and make that case. Instead we get scheming, lies, and censorship as mission creep sets in.
Ukraine isn’t going to conquer Russia. How many Americans need to die to destroy a country that we dislike but that also poses no threat to us beyond nukes and ASATs? How many American civilians are we willing to sacrifice?
My views would be different if we had a strong economy, military, we could protect our space assets, and if Progressive Marxists weren’t trying to replace our society and culture with one of death and misery. Ukraine ranks lower on the priority list than the challenges we face at home, which is probably a major reason why we got involved in Ukraine in the first place.
What about peace between Russia, Ukraine, and the other buffer states? I don’t think there will be any as long as there are people in charge who don’t want peace and who desire ending Russia as a country.
I think after this war, Russia will be in a much better position to answer your question in a positive way.
“I see no mind-reading, just an analysis of motivations and costs-vs-benefits to various involved groups.”
It was all speculation including about motivations. That is fine. We all do it. Let’s just be honest about it. For me, the video of the drone provides a better jumping off point for speculation. Was it a false flag? I don’t know but the video is better evidence of that than the mindreading.
I still maintain that our media sucks and isn’t telling us the truth about what is going on in the war. How much of the coverage is being managed by the DoD and CIA?
The Twitter Files told us what we already knew, our corrupt government will run ops against American citizens.
I still maintain that our media sucks and isn’t telling us the truth about what is going on in the war. How much of the coverage is being managed by the DoD and CIA?
Remember that the primary contributor to DoD/CIA propaganda is Russia. They burned their credibility for years just at the start of this war.
From one empire to another … “Stop it! Only we are allowed to do that.”
The U.S. is not an empire. If you think it is, you have no real understanding of what an empire actually is. Russia has always been an empire and still is. We need to do to the remnant Russian empire what the Brits and French did to the Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman empires – end it.
Much of the rest of the world views things differently.
… and wrongly.
If a million people say a stupid thing, it is still a stupid thing.
Here’s my take on empires. There is a fundamental dynamic to empires – either they’re expanding in territory or they are dying. The US stopped expanding some point in the early 20th century when it relinquished the Philippines and its power has peaked much later. What’s going on with the US power-wise can’t be explained in terms of empire.
But it sure does explain what’s going on in Russia.
“So, to my mind, it comes down to two choices. An act of provocation by the ultranationalists; or, a false flag by the government.”
A lot of mind reading taking place. A better analysis would go over the video and then speculate based off that rather than stereotypes.
“I’m still very much of the opinion that Kamil Galeev and others are right. If we want peace, and we want a peaceful future, the current Russian Federation needs to be broken up.”
This is dumb. If we want peace for the USA, our country, we just need not continue our involvement. Escalating will lead to more war and the outcomes are not predictable. Russia has shown they are incapable of invading a NATO country, so all of the fearmongering of Russia wiping out Europe with their awesome military is dishonest.
What about peace between Russia, Ukraine, and the other buffer states? I don’t think there will be any as long as there are people in charge who don’t want peace and who desire ending Russia as a country. Russia may want to grab more land, as they have done in the recent past but looking at how that has taken place, there have been plenty of opportunities to use diplomacy to prevent that from happening.
We have a situation where both sides of the conflict have been taking over buffer states. Regardless of who you think is in the wrong, a path forward for peace requires letting old grudges go and focusing on building new relationships.
I see no mind-reading, just an analysis of motivations and costs-vs-benefits to various involved groups.
Reversing our Ukraine involvement will not obtain “peace for the USA.” It will simply “obtain” more enemies for us and embolden those we have already, especially the PRC. Assisting Ukraine to victory will end this war, not get us more. Abandoning Ukraine is what would get us more war.
We should, in any case, do our best – ASAP – to field VLEO active orbital defenses able to effectively insulate us from Russian or PRC weaponry as we await their national deaths from natural causes.
What Russia has shown is that it cannot conquer a NATO country – or the decent approximation of one which Ukraine has become. But it is perfectly capable if invading one – or more – and making a hell of a mess before being ground down to a nub.
And Russia would do that. Putin wants the old defensible perimeter from Soviet times back. Ukraine isn’t even the first thing he has taken on his quest to restore that perimeter. And it would not be the last.
Russia needs to be stopped cold in Ukraine and completely ejected. It would also be a good thing if the total Russian KIAs were to rise to a million or more. That would not only preclude Russia from making a run at any NATO country, it would render Russia incapable of effectively resisting the departures of future break-away provinces. I think Chechnya would lead off that particular parade. If most of Siberia also fractures and goes a variety of ways, that would get us that Russian Federation breakup without any necessity to see to it ourselves. It would also end any energy connection between Russia and the PRC.
“Diplomacy” is pointless. We tried sharply worded notes when Putin took part of Georgia. Those worked so wonderfully, he took part of Ukraine a few years later. More notes. More invasion of Ukraine. Now we send HIMARS and other things. Piles of corpses and corpse parts and thousands of destroyed and captured vehicles speak more eloquently than sharply worded notes.
Both sides in the conflict have not been “taking over buffer states.” Accession to NATO is in no way a “takeover.” The “buffer states,” having escaped a brutal imperium, wanted no part of any return to that status and vigorously petitioned to be allowed into NATO.
Ukraine for its part, was only a “buffer state” until it was invaded for the first time in 2014. If Russia desired a “buffer” it should have left Ukraine alone. But Russia isn’t looking for buffers, it’s looking for its old Soviet-era defense perimeter.
We “put old grudges aside” after the Soviet Union fell. Then Putin took over Russia and revived all the old gudges. Fool me once and all that. Russia needs to be dismembered and its European rump fenced in and defanged, then allowed to finish dying of terminal demographics absent any further ability to make more trouble in the world. When Russia finally dies, we can skin the corpse and tack the hide up on a convenient barn door somewhere, then use it for a rug.
I’m all for “building new relationships.” We can start with any willing former components of the Russian Federation that establish stand-alone statehood.
“We should, in any case, do our best – ASAP – to field VLEO active orbital defenses able to effectively insulate us from Russian or PRC weaponry as we await their national deaths from natural causes.”
My views would be different if we were safer. The timing of this war is bad for us and I’d rather we focus on rebuilding so that we can act with strength in the future. Being strong and secure is more of a deterrent to China than getting involved in yet another poorly defined war that prevents us from preparing for a war with China.
TBH, I think we should disengage from these petty conflicts and focus on expanding off planet.
“Both sides in the conflict have not been “taking over buffer states.” Accession to NATO is in no way a “takeover.” ”
I disagree. Russia has their own motivations and are not just reacting to us but it is also foolish to think our actions play no role.
“What Russia has shown is that it cannot conquer a NATO country – or the decent approximation of one which Ukraine has become. But it is perfectly capable if invading one”
We would destroy them. We are not Ukraine. Russia knows this and they also know that an attack on a NATO country means total war.
I don’t think that dealing with Russia nipping away at their neighbors has been a focus of our government. Our diplomatic efforts didn’t prevent the war much in the same way our efforts to create a blackhole have failed.
We have moved the goalposts from defending Ukraine to needing to destroy Russia as a country. At no point has this case been made to the American public. If people really believe this, be honest and make that case. Instead we get scheming, lies, and censorship as mission creep sets in.
Ukraine isn’t going to conquer Russia. How many Americans need to die to destroy a country that we dislike but that also poses no threat to us beyond nukes and ASATs? How many American civilians are we willing to sacrifice?
My views would be different if we had a strong economy, military, we could protect our space assets, and if Progressive Marxists weren’t trying to replace our society and culture with one of death and misery. Ukraine ranks lower on the priority list than the challenges we face at home, which is probably a major reason why we got involved in Ukraine in the first place.
What about peace between Russia, Ukraine, and the other buffer states? I don’t think there will be any as long as there are people in charge who don’t want peace and who desire ending Russia as a country.
I think after this war, Russia will be in a much better position to answer your question in a positive way.
“I see no mind-reading, just an analysis of motivations and costs-vs-benefits to various involved groups.”
It was all speculation including about motivations. That is fine. We all do it. Let’s just be honest about it. For me, the video of the drone provides a better jumping off point for speculation. Was it a false flag? I don’t know but the video is better evidence of that than the mindreading.
I still maintain that our media sucks and isn’t telling us the truth about what is going on in the war. How much of the coverage is being managed by the DoD and CIA?
The Twitter Files told us what we already knew, our corrupt government will run ops against American citizens.
I still maintain that our media sucks and isn’t telling us the truth about what is going on in the war. How much of the coverage is being managed by the DoD and CIA?
Remember that the primary contributor to DoD/CIA propaganda is Russia. They burned their credibility for years just at the start of this war.