Well right at this second... yeah of course. Admitting Ukraine to NATO right now would be a declaration of war on Russia obviously so no... it's not going to happen anytime soon at least until Putin's war is overwith. In January of 2022 though should they have been admitted to the EU and maybe NATO before Putin decided to invade? I think that's the question at hand. Probably not since Putin would have dropped bombs the day that the application was sent over. NATO membership has to happen when there is relative peace, and stability. We can decide to fight for a country that is not a NATO country with the concept of bringing them in afterwards, but the conditions for NATO membership are that it's a defensive alliance on a stable democracy. I do think there's a serious conversation to be had about considering that option of an alliance in order to consider them in the future. But imagine if Ukraine gets admitted this afternoon, and then in a week Zelensky is killed and Russia successfully installs a puppet and manages to get some level of governing infrastructure up and running. You've just essentially admitted Putin to NATO which is kind of a bad freaking idea.
Again, our government's JOB is to protect our COUNTRIES interests first - Yemen is not equal to the Ukraine in THEIR JOB DESCRIPTION - which you obviously know but pedantically claim some moral high ground issues - in general - I agree with you - but that is not who decides we go to war. I believe we will HAVE to fight Russia - clearly Putin is trying to goad us into it......because he knows there is no good end game here for him - so am in favor of waiting it out......for now. But, I personally believe this will end in WW3. Let me ask you a question @Sweet Lou 4 2 when would you be in favor of war against Russia? DD
This is important. Steve Bannon is highly influenced by Dugin and a movement called traditionalism. You have a couple of nut jobs who managed to gain tremendous influence and are pushing their bizarre ideology globally.
First you say that we have to treat people equally. Then you say wait wait wait, we also have to consider our country's interest first. So are people equal or not? Is it about our country's interest or not? What are you saying here? Which one is it? I don't agree the Ukraine is in our strategic interests. That's your opinion, I respect that. I think you are wrong. Ukraine strategically has no more value than Georgia did. We don't have to fight Russia - you're right, that's your belief. And I don't believe this will end in WW3. I've already stated many times when you fight Russia - when they attack NATO.
They could not have met the conditions for the last 8 years since Russia had Crimea and there was fighting in the eastern part of the country. Before that, Ukraine was pro-Russia and had no interest. Furthermore, Ukraine's own constitution prevented it until very recently.
But they also can't get Adidas track suits...how are they going to leave the house to create this glorious utopia?
I find it hard to believe you can't grasp the nuance - as a personal choice yes, they are all equal - as a government choice for what is best for their country - no they are not equal. Ok fair enough - I think you have to stand up to bullies or they will bully others - so to me, this is a unique chance to basically shut Putin down forever..... Is it right this moment? No, but if you truly believe all people are equal then shouldn't you be for stopping Putin killing all those children and people in hospitals? Or are they not equal in your eyes? Or just not worthy of going to war over....which sort of fits into my first point. DD
This isn't shocking but I agree with you. We are seeing largely what Ukrainians are showing and I also think the Ukrainian government is doing everything possible to keep morale high. I did see something from the State Department and it listed casualties for Ukrainian soldiers at about 1/3 of those of Russians.... but it is likely very inexact and unknown. Further, the Russians as invaders likely would lose more while getting into position. While it has been slow, they typically send in their worst regiments as cannon fodder. They are now largely in the Ukraine and fanning out into position so the tide could very quickly change. Well most of the Western media is actually on the ground with the Ukrainians so that is part of it and also the Ukraine has proven excellent at social media. While I think the Ukrainians have fought very well so far, this is is just the beginning. Towns are starting to be surrounded.
Once I again I find this a contradiction. Yes people are all equal in my eyes. But we don't interfere in Georgia, Yemen, with the Uyghurs. We didn't do anything with Syria used chemical weapons on people. We never stood up to the bullies before but now we should - its not because people are equal, that's for sure. And it's not because Ukraine is in our strategic interest. This isn't about people being worthy to go to war over. War is something that you have to have clear outcomes and goals - and that is not this situation. A war to save people which would in fact cause the death of many more people doesn't make sense to me.
Putin's main objective was to occupy Kyiv, and they have not done that. That is not what I would consider bias reporting, but just a fact. The fact is that all I hear about is how Russia is targeting civilians, and how indiscriminately they are deploying their artillery. I also hear that Russia is slowly gaining ground in certain areas. I don't think anyone thinks that Russia is not doing significant damage. I mean the humanitarian efforts in Maruipol. Putin second goal or maybe his first goal is to kill Zeleneky, but that has not happened. So, I don't know.
