Germany could not rely on us to let them talk tough then send billions to Russia and allow Putin to bypass Ukraine.
Even with that, it's not like the world is going to stop paying Russia hundreds of millions of dollars daily for its oil.
not sure, but one of the benefits of global social media is that if Russian citizens are ordinarily accustomed to having open Facebook and twitter access, and then that access is revoked (temporarily or otherwise), then I have to think those Russian citizens are gonna start wondering what the hell is going on. In that way global social media has had at least a modest democratizing effect on places like Russia
Yes, this is what happens when you tell your allies that you don't like them and aren't aiming to defend them. They have to build relationships elsewhere. Nord Stream 2 didn't start development until 2018, after the Trump had made clear his feelings about Europe. Europe similarly started work on it's massive China trade deal for the same reasons. Germany built relationships to secure its future without US assistance. These things make it less likely Russia would invade Germany, which is their primary goal (over protecting Ukraine). As noted earlier in this thread, Germany is not very powerful militarily - by US design after WW2 - and largely has relied on its alliance with the US as protection. Without that, they have to make other plans. It's the reality of politics.
fwiw I recommend people follow Hall on twitter if they don't already. He's not posting terribly much at the moment, but it doesn't get much more "insider insight" than the retired Russian bureau chief for the CIA. Plus it's interesting to see what he retweets.
You don't think Biden's constant warnings of when Russia was going to advance and the intelligence they shared with the world helped prepare Ukraine for this invasion at all?
He also retweeted a post that falsely claimed the state department pledged to continue to work with the Russians on many US interests
In January, Biden said that Russia would not be punished for a "minor incursion" into Ukraine. This statement was widely criticized around the world, and particularly by Ukraine, which forced the White House to quickly try to "clarify" the statement and clean up the mess. Putin clearly heard these words and at that point in time, knew he could invade Ukraine without consequence. A clear-cut example of a reckless and irresponsible comment by Biden, which moved us closer to where we are at today in Ukraine. Biden cannot escape blame for this. A complete foreign policy blunder. And now Ukraine and the world suffer the consequences. Biden suggests Russia may not be heavily punished for a 'minor incursion' into Ukraine, prompting White House scramble to clarify https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/poli...ng-white-house-scramble-to-clarify/ar-AASXWa8
Quite ironic if social media has had a democratizing effect on authoritarian states while an authoritarian effect on democracies.
Good one. Have been finding the following one useful too -- I think he's legit. https://twitter.com/christogrozev
A pipeline that was 90% complete and the sanctions were having no effect in stopping. Biden just accepted reality that it would be finished in months and worked to repair the relationship with Germany, which on its own stopped the pipeline after Russia invaded anyway.
