• Please take a moment and update your account profile. If you have an updated account profile with basic information on why you are on Air Warriors it will help other people respond to your posts. How do you update your profile you ask?

    Go here:

    Edit Account Details and Profile

Hard Power and Soft Power

taxi1 said:
If I am Putin, I am not seeing the benefit to a cease fire any more. I’m seeing Ukraine having lost its key supporter, and thinking I am going to keep the pressure maximal until there is a break in the stalemate and a collapse somewhere to exploit. Right or wrong. Anything less than Ukraine collapsing is a failure on his part, after all.
Click to expand...
You may be right. I rather doubt that even Trump could ignore a Putin win…especially as the final stages of any breakthrough will televised.
 
Griz882 said:
In an effort to keep things aligned with ground reality, this is not the first time a U.S. POTUS has yelled at Zelensky, just the first time one has made an unfortunate (and unprofessional) public spectacle. Zelensky clearly misread the room and Trump responded in a remarkably immature way, but Zelensky has a bad habit of making demands from allies and then scolding them when they don’t follow.

I am all for Europe stepping into the current confusion and taking the lead on the Ukrainian issue. We already know what they’ll push for…an end to the fighting, a return to 2022 borders, and a European PKF…all things Zelensky opposes.
Click to expand...
Thought you and a few others might find this article in The New Yorker interesting:

www.newyorker.com

The Imperialist Philosopher Who Demanded the Ukraine War

For decades, Alexander Dugin argued that Russia had a messianic mission, and that destroying an independent Ukraine was necessary to fulfilling it.
www.newyorker.com www.newyorker.com
 
Griz882 said:
In an effort to keep things aligned with ground reality, this is not the first time a U.S. POTUS has yelled at Zelensky, just the first time one has made an unfortunate (and unprofessional) public spectacle. Zelensky clearly misread the room and Trump responded in a remarkably immature way, but Zelensky has a bad habit of making demands from allies and then scolding them when they don’t follow.

I am all for Europe stepping into the current confusion and taking the lead on the Ukrainian issue. We already know what they’ll push for…an end to the fighting, a return to 2022 borders, and a European PKF…all things Zelensky opposes.
Click to expand...
Griz, this was a set up. Case in point was the reporter from a fringe right-wing outlet, who is MTG's boyfriend, asking Zelenskyy if he had a suit. It was obvious that Vance was there to stoke this.
 
taxi1 said:
If I am Putin, I am not seeing the benefit to a cease fire any more. I’m seeing Ukraine having lost its key supporter, and thinking I am going to keep the pressure maximal until there is a break in the stalemate and a collapse somewhere to exploit. Right or wrong. Anything less than Ukraine collapsing is a failure on his part, after all.
Click to expand...
Was thinking the same thing. I'm sure the EU, U.S. and NATO are nervously watching what this fissure between Zelensky and POTUS will result in from Putin's perspective . . .
 
JTS11 said:
Griz, this was a set up. Case in point was the reporter from a fringe right-wing outlet, who is MTG's boyfriend, asking Zelenskyy if he had a suit. It was obvious that Vance was there to stoke this.
Click to expand...
Even if it was the only end point would be to drag Zelensky to the treaty table (with him fully understanding the realities of the end product). He was nearly there in any case. If it was some kind of a weird “chess move” to force greater European engagement it appears to be working for now.
 
Griz882 said:
Even if it was the only end point would be to drag Zelensky to the treaty table
Click to expand...
Zelensky's goal has always been the restoration of all Ukranian territory and admission into NATO. He's not going to compromise on either point.

Media setup or not, that's also why the Biden administration was frustrated with him. He is determined to win back Ukraine's territory or die trying, and he thinks the U.S. owes him our support.

I don't blame him for his perspective since he is fighting an existential threat, but it's not in America's best interest for this conflict to go regional or global.
 
Spekkio said:
Zelensky's goal has always been the restoration of all Ukranian territory and admission into NATO. He's not going to compromise on either point.

Media setup or not, that's also why the Biden administration was frustrated with him. He is determined to win back Ukraine's territory or die trying, and he thinks the U.S. owes him our support.

I don't blame him for his perspective since he is fighting an existential threat, but it's not in America's best interest for this conflict to go regional or global.
Click to expand...
I don’t blame him either. He is struggling to face the facts on the ground.
 
Faded Float Coat said:
I'm genuinely curious what position some of you would've been taking circa 1939-1940. Too on the nose to presume that of Charles Lindberg?
Click to expand...
It is a pointless comparison. Not in terms of industry, not in terms of politics, not in any terms. Why not compare it to the U.S. in 1860 or Rhodesia in 1978?

If you are struggling for an easy historical comparison try Europe in 1914 where thoughtless treaties and foolhardy escalation danced the world into its First World War, with devastating consequences.
 
Faded Float Coat said:
I'm genuinely curious what position some of you would've been taking circa 1939-1940. Too on the nose to presume that of Charles Lindberg?
Click to expand...
People forget where the America First slogan comes from.

www.mnhs.org

America First and WWII

Discover the childhood home of Charles A. Lindbergh, the famed environmental activist, inventor, and aviation pioneer. Explore how ambition, fame, and life on the Mississippi River shaped his complex character.
www.mnhs.org www.mnhs.org
 
JTS11 said:
People forget where the America First slogan comes from.

www.mnhs.org

America First and WWII

Discover the childhood home of Charles A. Lindbergh, the famed environmental activist, inventor, and aviation pioneer. Explore how ambition, fame, and life on the Mississippi River shaped his complex character.
www.mnhs.org www.mnhs.org
Click to expand...
I’m not arguing for isolationism, in fact I’m against it, but America has had “America First” isolationist since about 1900 - the dawn of America’s global navy.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top