“wrong” is not a discussion and a meme is not a reply.
try using words… more than one
1 Like
thats kind of ukraine’s purpose, and the arms we send them are the bounty.
The Ukraine and Russia kind of remind me of the US and Canada. They are very closely alligned geographically and ethnically. I do not understand why the Russian people have allowed Putin to do what he’s done, especially at the cost of so many young Russian lives to their closest neighbor? It makes no sense so I’m waiting for the next…“shot heard round the world”.
2 Likes
I figure it will come when Ukraine takes Crimea. Putin won’t survive that.
1 Like
Good post
I would like to add that America also needs to recommit to soft power. I know this drives a lot of people-especially those on the right-crazy. But it works.
China isn’t conquering the Belt and Road; they are building it one port, hospital, and runway at a time. They are also buying it with loans.
I’ve never had a problem with foreign aid, the problem has always been that we gave it and really got nothing in return anywhere besides Israel. In most other places we’d give aid and then have the recipients opposing us and siding with Russia or, if they did support us, demanding more aid infinitum. We should give SMART aid. Aid that actually lifts up the recipient country and leads toward it becoming a self sustaining healthy “democracy”.
1 Like
The bottom line here is that I believe there will be a Chinese war. I believe its inevitable. The question is, do we act now to try to deflect it somewhere else? If we don’t it will 100% be the US vs China. I do not expect European help. If we can rearrange the deck chairs here…
That’s act of war…
2 Likes
Ben, the way I see the world Ukraine is no interest to United States, but Russia is. And we are driving em away.
1 Like
…and what is supplying tanks to the Ukraine labeled as?
They drove themselves away. Putin chose to attempt to expand Russian influence. Putin chose to be our adversary. Putin chose this, all of it.
And like I said, Ukraine itself is not the issue, what they can do to Putin’s regime is.
Get rid of Putin, his entire regime, and start over where we were before he came to power with somebody new.
resupply.
Strongly agree.
It is a geopolitical fit of sustained rage with a poorly defined goal.
Maybe you’re right … all by yourself.
2 Likes
I would add India to that list. India can be a counter balance to China.
hence the ANZUS+ play
I tend to think the issue is there are no superpowers…only several powers with competing interests but none of whom can completely break free of the other without severe dislocation.
1 Like
The US is definitely a superpower. The only reason the rest are in the conversation is because of geopolitics. Their dependence on each other is both their strength and their weakness.
Well thought out post Ben and thanks for contributing that.
The severe challenge is what happens in Russia after the Ukraine war. I think they are boxed in to be against Western powers for generations to come and are more likely to go the way of Iran and N Korea in terms of being pariah states.
Because of Chinas singular focus on economic growth with no qualms about morality, Russia is likely to evolve into a vassal state of China as you talk about. The only thing we can hope to do is contain Russias aggressive instincts with strong boundaries- especially in Eastern Europe.
I think there is a way of creating a soft cold war with China without it having to go hot over the decades to come. China wants hemispheric control over Asia and at some point we are going to have to face the Taiwan issue. I honestly think thats still about 10-20 years from now tho. We shall see.
Can we blow them up more times than they can blow us up?
