Russia

Notre Dame Joe said:
You are true to the core.  We are not going to agree on much of anything so I can only offer running comments.
 

We were chased out of Afghanistan and our equipment was captured. It was a catastrophe. 

On the West/NATO, I've read that Obama/Biden reunified the alliances after Bush/Trump weakened them.  But I'm not sure what that means.  They clearly prefer to deal with Biden because he will not push them to spend more on their military. Europe is agreeing to sanctions on top of sanctions but are really wishy washy on the armed support, as is Biden.  

Biden got on board with supporting the Ukranian fighters; very late.  He is a rusty weathervane moving after everyone else felt the winds of change.
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It is absolutely hilarious when people bring up the withdrawal from Afghanistan and the equipment left behind, but conveniently forget how bad the withdrawal from Syria was. What's more- the equipment, resources, and intel in Syria was captured directly by the Russians. - It's almost like people bringing up Afghanistan get their information from a single source that minimizes or ignores Trumpuitn's failings while harping on any miscalculation no matter how trivial of Biden's/ the democrats to no end. Whether that news source is Fox News or the Kremlin, the results seem to be the same. And BTW. here is an article specifically about weapons and equipment left behind in Syria. 

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-russia-exhibitio/russias-military-shows-off-hardware-seized-in-syria-idUSKCN1QG2EP

https://www.militarytimes.com/news/2019/10/16/what-it-means-for-us-bases-in-syria-to-be-occupied-by-syrian-and-russian-forces/

As the U.S. abandons camps across Syria, it appears U.S. troops are removing sensitive equipment, but leaving fortifications that could present a later challenge for fighters in the region.

“I see a big problem with it. And it shows just how unplanned and half-assed this “withdrawal” is,” said Marine veteran Anderson Bryant, who fought with the SDF as it liberated Manbij from ISIS fighters in 2016.

Regardless of what you call it, the withdrawal makes for bad optics, Bryant said.

“Though ISIS doesn’t have the infrastructure to take and hold territory or bases anymore, just leaving equipment to be taken after a retreat looks bad for sure," he said.

 
Notre Dame Joe said:
You are true to the core.  We are not going to agree on much of anything so I can only offer running comments.
 

We were chased out of Afghanistan and our equipment was captured. It was a catastrophe. 

On the West/NATO, I've read that Obama/Biden reunified the alliances after Bush/Trump weakened them.  But I'm not sure what that means.  They clearly prefer to deal with Biden because he will not push them to spend more on their military. Europe is agreeing to sanctions on top of sanctions but are really wishy washy on the armed support, as is Biden.  

Biden got on board with supporting the Ukranian fighters; very late.  He is a rusty weathervane moving after everyone else felt the winds of change.
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Meanwhile, back at reality...


 
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I wonder if Mit is thinking about running for President again.  He is not the robot he seemed to be years ago and that will play well with voters.

Also, as an (amazing) teacher I can tell you that my HS students are totally captivated by this war and it is thanks to social media and especially Tik Tok

 
I hope there is a lot of this 'self sabotage' going on in that convoy.  Let the moral keep sinking as the resistance keeps mounting.   Maybe eventually the generals will turn on Putin. 

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/pentagon-official-says-russian-troops-have-deliberately-punched-holes-in-their-own-gas-tanks-presumably-to-avoid-combat-as-morale-declines-report/ar-AAUu2sH?ocid=entnewsntp

Pentagon official says Russian troops have 'deliberately punched holes' in their own gas tanks 'presumably' to avoid combat as morale declines: report
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  • Some Russian troops are intentionally punching holes in their gas tanks, a Pentagon official said.
  • The official said many Russian troops were young and inexperienced, The New York Times reported.
  • Some Russian troops are surrendering to Ukrainian forces as morale drops, Insider reported.
Some Russian troops have "deliberately punched holes in their vehicles' gas tanks" as morale among the Russians declines, a senior US official said. 

The troops appear to be self-sabotaging to avoid combat, the unnamed senior Pentagon official said, according to The New York Times. The official added that many of the Russian troops were young and inexperienced in combat and faced dwindling food and fuel resources. 

Tuesday marked the sixth day of Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, which prompted protests around the world, including in Russia. Explosions have rocked the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, as well as Ukraine's second-biggest city, Kharkiv, since Russia invaded.

As morale drops, some of the Russian troops have surrendered to Ukrainian forces "without a fight," a US senior defense official told reporters in a briefing on Tuesday.

The US official said there had been evidence "of a certain risk-averse behavior by the Russian military" since Russia launched its assault on Ukraine, CNN reported. 

In response to Russia's assault, Western nations have since levied heavy sanctions and other restrictive financial measures against the country, a move that Putin claimed was unlawful.
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Notre Dame Joe said:
CNN isn't really bothering with that SOTU so I won't either.  

Tell me loyal Ds.  If you are outraged by Putin's invasion of Western Ukraine in 2022 then why wasn't Obama-Biden angry about Putin's invasion of Eastern Ukraine in 2014?  Proportionally you should have been half as mad.  But it got 5 minutes of news coverage,  centered on Obama's complaining about toxic masculinity. 
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A couple semi-valid points tucked in there, but for the record Putin is not invading Western Ukraine, he is marching to Kviv to depose its democratically-elected leader and take over the country. Proportionally, this is worse than anything Europe has seen since World Ward II according to pretty much everyone but you. 

 
Moiraine said:
I think if I was the president of the U.S. I would follow the other NATO countries' lead here about getting involved. It should have to be okay with all of the NATO countries which border Belarus or Russia, since they are the most in danger.
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The countries bordering Russia, were all all in within a day. Especially Poland and the Baltics...and Czech. They remember how this will end if they do not get our support. When my wife and I spent time in Czech in the late 90s the US was the hero. The Gipper. They treated us like rock stars. At least the younger generations did. The younger generation was also frustrated with the older generation because some missed having everything handed to them. The young ones were all about becoming like the West.

 
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