Would Lend-Lease to Chechoslovakia have done any good? Lend-Lease was support to 36 countries and the primary recipients were the UK and the USSR. It was $180B in today’s dollars, roughly 1000 times the amount of aid we are talking about giving The Ukraine right now. It was support to countries that had a chance to beat the Germans. It was a lot closer to total war than it was to strict neutrality or a half measure.
Is The Ukraine like the UK/USSR here or is it like Czechoslovakia? Is a military solution here for The Ukraine possible? Real question, I don’t know. I do think a lot of people wildly overestimate Russia’s capabilities. That’s a result of the propaganda that we’re subjected to. Drum beat for war. They must be a global threat. Russia must be getting ready to roll tanks into Paris.
I just wish we’d stop helping destroy Rojava by supporting their real threat, which is Turkey. So, here are two very different questions: what would I wish for as far as US policy with Rojava if the US were a good partner? and what would I wish for as far as US policy with Rojava understanding that the US is a terrible partner and that our financial interests are absolutely at odds with Rojava’s mission and our strategic interests have been and will continue to be quite fleetingly and unreliably aligned with theirs at best? To the second question, as I said, I just wish that we’d quit supporting Turkey (which won’t happen obviously). To the first question, I still don’t think I’d supply military aid. What they need less arms going into the area, international recognition and trade and cooperation, and development assistance. But I wouldn’t want them getting married to the US any more than I’d want them getting married to Russia.
“Vlad Daddy we are in Mercury Retrograde!” one person commented. “Not a good time to start a war! I suggest an art project instead!”
“5 mcnuggets to stop the war.”
When I read articles like that I just shake my head. Even if all this is true. Why publish it? Why talk to CNN and get it out there? What does it achieve. In the last few days there were so many garbage articles esp on CNN where I really dont know what they try to achieve. And why are these people familiar with the intel are running around and talking about it? Do they really believe that by publishing this they can avoid whatever the endgame is? I really dont get it. Or they are publishing that Putin attacks once the ground is frozen enough so that the tanks can move. Seems some are really eager for a war and the media is eager to give these voices a medium to share it.
big shoutout to Keeeed and zara. the diplomatic standoff between russia/lavrov and france/usa/ukraine may have wasted more time on ukraine’s membership which i guess is a very small edge for russia. but on the other hand it has pushed swedish NATO membership forward
and stirred up the conversation in Finland, who up-to this point flat out refused to discuss nato membership because of some type of mutual agreement with russia.
good job good effort Vovan. “великий геополитический дед”. nato might be one country down, but two countries up. lol
I have read an interesting analysis on the Ukraine/Russia situation. The author posited that Putin neither wants to invade Ukraine nor even keep Ukraine from joining NATO indefinitely. He suggests Putin’s true goal is a concession that Crimea is recognized as a legitimate part of Russia. Why this is so important to is because Ukraine’s stated goal is to reunite Crimea with the rest of Ukraine one way or another. If Ukraine becomes a member of NATO they suddenly have a lot of more options available to them to achieve their goal.
I don’t know if it is true but it makes sense.
