Regardless of any of that, innocent people's lives are being destroyed.
Picture is people fleeing Kyiv this morning:

Moderator: Dux
It sounds like the airport is back in Ukrainian hands and 200 Russian paratroopers are dead. Video of air defenses shooting down a bunch of Russian aircraft tonight. Ukrainians not rolling over.
I was speaking with someone last night about this and made the same point. The US had limited options, but straight out said, "Putin's gonna do X, Y, and Z and all his appeals are bullshit and lies, he's already made the call." And sure enough, Putin did X, Y, and Z and all his appeals were bullshit and lies, he had already made the call.Grandpa's Spells wrote: ↑Fri Feb 25, 2022 3:23 am Despite the criticisms, it seems like the US intelligence community did a pretty super job and the Ukrainians are determined to deny Putin a quick victory.
What happened in Odessa?
I agree with the general sentiment, but it is impossible without recognition that the past decades have been a disaster. A total abd complete failure on every level except technological.Fat Cat wrote: ↑Fri Feb 25, 2022 6:02 pmI was speaking with someone last night about this and made the same point. The US had limited options, but straight out said, "Putin's gonna do X, Y, and Z and all his appeals are bullshit and lies, he's already made the call." And sure enough, Putin did X, Y, and Z and all his appeals were bullshit and lies, he had already made the call.Grandpa's Spells wrote: ↑Fri Feb 25, 2022 3:23 am Despite the criticisms, it seems like the US intelligence community did a pretty super job and the Ukrainians are determined to deny Putin a quick victory.
I give them props for that because it erodes the dramatic impact of Putin's performance acting, makes plain the extremely long planning cycle for an operation this size, and allows us to share intelligence credibly with our allies. However, it should be made plain that Ukraine is not going to hold out against Russia in any meaningful way. The thing for the US to do now is set aside petty squabbles, draw close to its allies, and begin to plan for the future. There are many ways to turn this unfortunate series of events into an opportunity for the US.
Thanks guys, I'll read the link.
"Never underestimate Joe's capacity to fuck shit up", B.H. Obama, about Joe Biden.
Good. I was thinking about this last night. In the aftermath of WWII, Austria was partitioned four ways just like Germany. Part of the agreement for the reformulation of an independent and democratic Austria was that they would remain neutral,and per a 1955 declaration, not join NATO. I don't see why Ukraine, which is obviously not going to ever be part of NATO, can't make a similar declaration and enter into a broker peace as a neutral nation, in exchange for the immediate withdrawal of all Russian forces. Russia's future trajectory isn't bright, to say the least, and simply buying time until Putin isn't around anymore makes way more sense. Like I said in the other thread, time is on our side.
I don't know what the Ukrainian president's reputation was prior to this, but he appears to be really rising to the occasion as well as their populace as a whole.Fat Cat wrote: ↑Fri Feb 25, 2022 6:02 pmI was speaking with someone last night about this and made the same point. The US had limited options, but straight out said, "Putin's gonna do X, Y, and Z and all his appeals are bullshit and lies, he's already made the call." And sure enough, Putin did X, Y, and Z and all his appeals were bullshit and lies, he had already made the call.Grandpa's Spells wrote: ↑Fri Feb 25, 2022 3:23 am Despite the criticisms, it seems like the US intelligence community did a pretty super job and the Ukrainians are determined to deny Putin a quick victory.
I give them props for that because it erodes the dramatic impact of Putin's performance acting, makes plain the extremely long planning cycle for an operation this size, and allows us to share intelligence credibly with our allies. However, it should be made plain that Ukraine is not going to hold out against Russia in any meaningful way. The thing for the US to do now is set aside petty squabbles, draw close to its allies, and begin to plan for the future. There are many ways to turn this unfortunate series of events into an opportunity for the US.
https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles ... insurgencyA Yahoo News report in January described a covert CIA training program for elite Ukrainian special operations forces and other intelligence personnel that was launched in 2015 by the Obama administration following Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014. According to the report, the effort included the deployment of CIA paramilitary officers to Ukraine. Such programs mature over time as trust grows between the trainers and their foreign counterparts and as the recipients teach what they have learned to others.
U.S. and Ukrainian officials have long planned for this day. In all likelihood, a covert program to help organize the resistance to Russia already has communications infrastructure, intelligence collection capabilities, and operational plans in place. And the tactics developed to support defensive operations against an invader can transition to those aimed at hobbling an occupying force.