Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Putin is hosed. He's backed himself into an unwinnable situation. Too bad for the Russian people.

How so? Europe and the US are not going to lift a finger to save Ukraine. Sanctions aren't going to do much. OPEC has more loyalty to its own members than outsiders, and Saudi Arabia won't budge on oil, which means Europe has a gas problem, since it gets its gas from Russia. China is in Russia's corner purely to act as counterweight against the West, which it wants to destabilize, on its way to becoming the world's next superpower.

Yes, it's an unwinnable situation for Ukraine and the West.

If you have opposing views backed by logical arguments, I'd be happy to be proved wrong.

Putin can't win. A war in Ukraine would be a long, grinding, house-to-house affair in urban places. Ukraine is the size of the north eastern quarter of the United States. It is not small. Such an action would make Russia a pariah-state. For a country with an economy smaller than Canada's, the effort would be devastating.

Anonymous wrote:She is so bad at this......WTH does the bolded even mean? And, if they think the "deterrence effect of the sanctions is still meaningful," why are they convinced Putin will be invading?

Harris in Munich:

Q But if Putin has made up his mind, do you feel that this threat that has been looming is really going to deter him?

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Absolut- — we strongly believe — and remember also that the sanctions are a product not only of our perspective as the United States but a shared perspective among our Allies. And the Allied relationship is such that we have agreed that the deterrence effect of these sanctions is still a meaningful one, especially because — remember, also — we still sincerely hope that there is a diplomatic path out of this moment.

And within the context then of the fact that that window is still opening, altho- — open, although it is absolutely narrowing — but within the context of a diplomatic path still being open, the deterrence effect, we believe, has merit.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2022/02/20/remarks-by-vice-president-harris-in-press-gaggle-2/

What don't you understand? Putin hasn't invaded yet, and as long as it hasn't happened there's still hope he'll change his mind.

She is so bad at this......WTH does the bolded even mean? And, if they think the "deterrence effect of the sanctions is still meaningful," why are they convinced Putin will be invading?

Harris in Munich:

Q But if Putin has made up his mind, do you feel that this threat that has been looming is really going to deter him?

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Absolut- — we strongly believe — and remember also that the sanctions are a product not only of our perspective as the United States but a shared perspective among our Allies. And the Allied relationship is such that we have agreed that the deterrence effect of these sanctions is still a meaningful one, especially because — remember, also — we still sincerely hope that there is a diplomatic path out of this moment.

And within the context then of the fact that that window is still opening, altho- — open, although it is absolutely narrowing — but within the context of a diplomatic path still being open, the deterrence effect, we believe, has merit.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2022/02/20/remarks-by-vice-president-harris-in-press-gaggle-2/

Anonymous wrote:Th traitors are easy to spot

I have been reading this thread for the past couple days.

It is past time for someone to point out that just because someone has a different perspective on foreign policy or a different idea of how to approach this crisis, that does NOT mean that person is a "traitor" or "puppet of Putin."

It is lazy and the sign of a weak argument to simply name call and throw such accusations.

Th traitors are easy to spot

Anonymous wrote:I need to know one thing: will direct flights from the US to Russia be banned or no? In case there is some semblance of attack (I still don't believe Putin is so self destructive as to attack full scale) and sanctions are applied.

I don't know if they'll be banned but it would be incredibly stupid for an American to travel to Russia right now with tensions this high.

Anonymous wrote:I need to know one thing: will direct flights from the US to Russia be banned or no? In case there is some semblance of attack (I still don't believe Putin is so self destructive as to attack full scale) and sanctions are applied.

They absolutely should be banned.

Actions mean more than words. Biden's actions have proven him to be a weak leader.

Anonymous wrote:Remove nukes and extractive resources from Russia and they are nothing.

I’d bet most of their nukes don’t even work. I’ve watched enough dashcam videos of Russian drivers to extrapolate how reliable anything a Russian touches is. I’m not worried

I need to know one thing: will direct flights from the US to Russia be banned or no? In case there is some semblance of attack (I still don't believe Putin is so self destructive as to attack full scale) and sanctions are applied.

Since when did a responsible superpower start a major war with a false flag operation? This looks like amateur hour.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Putin is hosed. He's backed himself into an unwinnable situation. Too bad for the Russian people.

How so? Europe and the US are not going to lift a finger to save Ukraine. Sanctions aren't going to do much. OPEC has more loyalty to its own members than outsiders, and Saudi Arabia won't budge on oil, which means Europe has a gas problem, since it gets its gas from Russia. China is in Russia's corner purely to act as counterweight against the West, which it wants to destabilize, on its way to becoming the world's next superpower.

Yes, it's an unwinnable situation for Ukraine and the West.

If you have opposing views backed by logical arguments, I'd be happy to be proved wrong.

DP. You’ve drunk the kool-aid. Not saying that the West won’t have some problems if Russia invades, but ultimately Russia will lose. First, Ukraine is a country of 40 million that hate Putin’s guts. Putin cannot occupy Ukraine and the West will fuel an insurgency. Second, Putin has never experienced the sanctions he’s about to experience, including those against his own assets. That may change his tune. Also, if Putin becomes a pariah, OPEC may be more interested in cooperating again with the US. China has recently backed away from supporting Russia’s invasion, even though it was happy to cement a cheap Russian energy contract. In the end, Russia is acting this way because it is weak. If Russia was something people envied, countries would flock to its door. Instead, Russia is a hellhole that no one except criminals want to partner with. Nothing like gaining friends at the point of a gun. That’s all Putin’s got.

If war starts. Ukraine will loose. Could be days, weeks or months. The key is the resistance while occupied. How much will the Ukrainians resist?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It would be most interesting to know how the US is getting its intelligence information.

Hopefully no one finds out who doesn’t need to know. It seems we have excellent intelligence. CNN reporting it’s indicating orders have been sent to Russian commanders to proceed with an attack on Ukraine,

Why do you think we have good intelligence? Historically, I don't think we have a good track record.

In this instance, perhaps Putin is feeding us misinformation. Perhaps he simply wants us to believe he has given the order to invade, when, in fact, no such order has yet been given.

Brinkmanship -- the strategy is making your opponent think you are willing to launch a full-scale war, in the hope of forcing them to the negotiating table. I believe that just happened, yes? Biden has agreed to meet Putin for a summit.

In this case, I think it’s Putin looking for a way out. Sure, the US and Europe don’t want a war, but I think Putin has much more to lose. Even China has backed away from support.

A summit is not a concession by Biden/NATO. It's just a meeting with no promise of actual concessions. It's a face-saving offer to Putin, so he can back himself out of the corner he's maneuvered himself into.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It would be most interesting to know how the US is getting its intelligence information.

Hopefully no one finds out who doesn’t need to know. It seems we have excellent intelligence. CNN reporting it’s indicating orders have been sent to Russian commanders to proceed with an attack on Ukraine,

Why do you think we have good intelligence? Historically, I don't think we have a good track record.

In this instance, perhaps Putin is feeding us misinformation. Perhaps he simply wants us to believe he has given the order to invade, when, in fact, no such order has yet been given.

There are multiple high ranking Russian generals opposed to this invasion. They're probably the ones passing this intel to NATO.