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This might be a little tougher than Putin thought...

It may be worth saying something out loud here.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is obviously the greatest international security crisis since 9/11.

And, at this point, it’s got to be said that Joe Biden and his team have handled it masterfully. 1/

From forging (mostly behind the scenes) a united NATO diplomatic front against Moscow, one that has not cracked;

to the wrecking of the Russian economy, a process still in its early stages, which includes supporting European efforts to find alternative sources of energy; 2/

to the clear red line drawn at the Ukrainian border that has kept the US and NATO out of any fighting , and so far given Vladimir Putin no excuse to widen the war;
to the steady flow of US intelligence to Ukrainian forces, supporting their stunning achievements in the field; 3/

to the gigantic amount of arms and aid the US government has supplied directly to Ukraine, which is now proving decisive in the rout of Russian forces in Kharkiv, and changed the dynamic across the country—Joe Biden has, at this point, aced this test of his leadership. 4/

Of course, that is largely thanks to the amazing skill, resourcefulness and courage of the Ukrainian forces. But Biden has put the might of the USA behind them every step of the way. 5/

It wasn’t easy. Here at home, there have been plenty of nationalist naysayers all along the way—Donald Trump and many of his followers, from Tucker Carlson to Marjorie Taylor-Greene to J.D. Vance and a horde of online armchair strategists and right-wing media types. 6/

They’ve praised Russia, blamed NATO, and predicted doom and defeat for Ukraine from the start. They’ve been exposed time and again as ill-informed at best, Putin stooges at worst. 7/

Polls suggest that Biden has not earned much goodwill from the American public for his statesmanship on Ukraine. He’s in a deep hole with voters on so many issues, geostrategy is unlikely to help him much. 8/

But the long-term, follow-on effects from American leadership of the effort to support Ukraine and punish Russia for this war are likely to be profound.

China will think twice about seizing Taiwan. 9/

NATO is expanded. Old strategic bonds with the US are strengthened. Europe will accelerate its decoupling from Russian energy. 10/

Putin’s brand of illiberal nationalism—which has been so seductive in so many countries to those who see liberal democracy as an outdated, weak and soulless model of governance—has been shown as a con, a cheap costume donned by the thieves and gangsters in the Kremlin. 11/

Even the neo-fascism of the “Z” movement that Putin has sponsored in Russia is looking more farcical than threatening (unless you’re Russian, of course.) 12/

And, most important, the United States looks different in the world. Because of Biden’s leadership, especially coming on the heels of the Trump disruption, Europeans and others have been reminded of the good America can do, given skillful American leadership. 13/

We may no longer be “the indispensable nation,” as Madeleine Albright said (truth is, we never were). But Joe Biden has shown again that American power and American values can be a difference-maker in the long struggle for freedom.

That’s a big f***ing deal.

14/14
America has weapons and intelligence. That was never in question and would be fact regardless of Whitehouse residence. Now, rationalize that to those that want to slash that budget ...
 
Is there some specific gripe you have? The Ukraine war has made clear that an effective force needs weapons with varying ranges. If you have a hole in that range, you can get wiped the f*ck out. See Russia's grinding down of Ukrainian forces before the introduction of HIMARS. Our government has been very judicious and apparently very effective in doling out what was required to accomplish this. Is there some concern you have Ukraine will be selling them off?

Your link "header" refers to "the world's supply of HIMARS"

Not just "Ukraine's".
 
Your link "header" refers to "the world's supply of HIMARS"

Not just "Ukraine's".
The linked header says: "HIMARS rockets have been a 'game changer' in Ukraine, and the US Army is now looking for ways to build up to 500 more." In the body of the article, it says: "Adding 480 new launchers would almost double the world's supply of HIMARS. The US Army has 363 and the Marine Corps another 47. The Army said in 2021 — before Russia attacked Ukraine — that it would seek to increase its force to 547 HIMARS. Romania has 18 HIMARS and US approval to purchase up to 54. Singapore has 18 launchers and Jordan 12."

So which country listed are you worried about reselling HIMARS - the distribution of which is controlled by the US Army?
 
The linked header says: "HIMARS rockets have been a 'game changer' in Ukraine, and the US Army is now looking for ways to build up to 500 more." In the body of the article, it says: "Adding 480 new launchers would almost double the world's supply of HIMARS.

Yep. That's what it says, and what I'd posted.
 
The Zelensky car accident freaked me out
Not going to lie.
I'm shocked the driver of the car was not finished off by the security team. What could have been a more classic attempt at an assassination? A staged car accident and then the hit attempt.
 
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Why does he think those countries would have any interest in wasting their military forces on Ukraine?


I just started a new thread to keep the talk away from the war thread, but access to nukes would be 1 reason. Or nuclear tech. The threat of Nukes why we haven't really joined in actively to support Ukraine, it could be a huge lever with those countries.
 
I'm shocked the driver of the car was not finished off by the security team. What could have been a more classic attempt at an assassination? A staged car accident and then the hit attempt.
This is precisely what I thought.
 
I'm sure Cubans, Venezuelans, and Nicaraguans can't wait to sign up and get deployed to Ukraine in the middle of winter, where they will be frozen and blown to bits.
I know we as a country aren't friends with them, but I don't think that the Cuba of today is a war mongering country looking for a fight on the other side of the planet. The same could probably be said for the others from the Americas.

Heck even Iran and NK probably don't want to sacrifice their soldiers in someone else's war. They seemingly will be content to sell weapons. I think they'd need a really big back scratch(like being given nuclear weapons) to want to get involved on the ground. And at this point I'm not sure how much they'd help aside from being additional cannon fodder. For Iran this isn't a holy war and for NK this would have absolutely nothing to do with their national defense, in fact it would hurt their defense by pulling troops out of country and increasing their vulnerability to the inevitable attack that they are worried about from the south.
 
America has weapons and intelligence. That was never in question and would be fact regardless of Whitehouse residence. Now, rationalize that to those that want to slash that budget ...

...and so you bail out of the argument

I'll recognize that as a White Flag acknowledging my point.
 
I just started a new thread to keep the talk away from the war thread, but access to nukes would be 1 reason. Or nuclear tech. The threat of Nukes why we haven't really joined in actively to support Ukraine, it could be a huge lever with those countries.

Not really North Korea but I could imagine that the rest of the countries might be willing to trade some military personnel for nukes.
 
America has weapons and intelligence. That was never in question and would be fact regardless of Whitehouse residence. Now, rationalize that to those that want to slash that budget ...
I'll jump in here. The military budget is bloated and is full of corruption. The budget has grown exponentially over the last 10-20 years with fewer war machines being made and military personnel diminishing.
 
I'll jump in here. The military budget is bloated and is full of corruption. The budget has grown exponentially over the last 10-20 years with fewer war machines being made and military personnel diminishing.
You know that about 40% of the budget goes to payroll, benefits, and healthcare, right?

main-qimg-b19ac748f3eaa8f5166b0cdec82a278d-lq
 
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You know that about 40% of the budget goes to payroll, benefits, and healthcare, right?

main-qimg-b19ac748f3eaa8f5166b0cdec82a278d-lq
Does that make it any less corrupt? Should we spend another trillion on planes that don't work? The US's budget is the ten next largest military budgets in the world COMBINED. I'm not saying cut the budget to nothing. I'm saying get rid of the the corruption and fat. The military is spending $778 Billion this year. What are we getting that costs $100 Billion more this year than in 2019?
 
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I'll jump in here. The military budget is bloated and is full of corruption. The budget has grown exponentially over the last 10-20 years with fewer war machines being made and military personnel diminishing.
fewer but extremely effective, for the most part
 
Does that make it any less corrupt? Should we spend another trillion on planes that don't work? The US's budget is the ten next largest military budgets in the world COMBINED. I'm not saying cut the budget to nothing. I'm saying get rid of the the corruption and fat. The military is spending $778 Billion this year. What are we getting that costs $100 Billion more this year than in 2019?
Probably a discussion for another thread, and this will be my last comment, but I do not accept that our military is "corrupt".
 
...and so you bail out of the argument

I'll recognize that as a White Flag acknowledging my point.
Dont make assumptions and draw your own conclusions unless they're explicitly stated (because its an incorrect assumption) - there is just no talking to someone with as warped view of logic as you have.
 
Does that make it any less corrupt? Should we spend another trillion on planes that don't work? The US's budget is the ten next largest military budgets in the world COMBINED. I'm not saying cut the budget to nothing. I'm saying get rid of the the corruption and fat. The military is spending $778 Billion this year. What are we getting that costs $100 Billion more this year than in 2019?
What planes "dont work"?
 
Does that make it any less corrupt? Should we spend another trillion on planes that don't work? The US's budget is the ten next largest military budgets in the world COMBINED. I'm not saying cut the budget to nothing. I'm saying get rid of the the corruption and fat. The military is spending $778 Billion this year. What are we getting that costs $100 Billion more this year than in 2019?
Youre data is wrong on every level. 2019 was $734.34B, so we're no near "$100B more" than 2019. ('21 was $801B, '22 was $742 then amended to $777B)

Maybe you should look at it in regards to GDP - far from "exponential", in fact, we're in an overall downtrend.

7HTaijQ.jpg
 
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