Kiev did not fall quick and theres a magnitude of difference between our puppet government in Afghanistan and a government in Kiev that polls well and also...hasnt folded. US support has been minimal...if Russia was going to march on Kiev it would have happened already
Kiev and the Ukraine language areas would have the Russian army there but look like Mosul during the Anbar awakening or Troubles Belfast. I think Kiev could stand if Russian Generals (correctly) thought they couldn't fight an insurgency without recruiting middle class Russians. The Mearsheimers of the world say insurgencies dont matter, spheres of influence are what matter... every Ukranian is armed and knows how to make a molotov and, as Ive said, they remember the horrors of the USSR. Without Western support we'd be witnessing a mass genocide and civil war. Basically 2000s chechnya on a much larger scale and in Europe
To add to that, Putin would be likely dropping chemical weapons the same way Assad did. IDK how much yall know (or care)...but the Chechen war was horrific on both sides. Mass rape, infanticide, soldiers going door to door and shooting everyone up so Russians could move in. The autocrat apppointed to rule Chechnya has concentration camps for LGBT people...he was appointed by Putin. I like to think preventing that in Ukraine is worth it
Russia will turn off the gas to Europe in the winter. Then we will find out how much resolve our allies have.
I'm unclear why you brought Trump into the Ukraine thread. he's not president, and has no role in defining our strategy there.
It baffles me that people have been caught up in the sensationalism that has been the Ukrainian propaganda of how they are/were “winning”
Kyiv never fell. Not even close. That was also at a time when most US aid hadn't gotten to Ukraine. The Ukrainians largely fought off the Russians at the outskirts of Kyiv relying on equipment they had before the war started.
What clearly defined goal? Spreading democracy to the Middle East? Reforming Islam? Solving the Israeli Arab conflict? None of those were clearly defined goals. Getting rid of Saddam was a tactical goal that without understanding why we should get rid of Saddam isn't a strategic goal.
Iraq was a neo-cons wet dream right down to execution. Use as little troops as possible and rely on mercs/contractors to run a war on the cheap and "spread democracy" and holy **** did it blow up in our faces.
Ukraine might not be winning but they certainly aren't losing. As stated above the defense of Kyiv was due almost exclusively to Ukraine's own weapons as that was early on in the war. Now that the war has dragged on for months yes Ukraine likely can't sustain itself without foreign aid. As we've been talking about wars are won by logistics and as such the USSR likely would've been defeated by the Germans in WWII without foreign aid. Same goes to the UK. From what I can see the war is stalemated. Russia is entrenched in areas where the population already supported them and were fighting against the Ukrainian military. They are seeming having difficulty moving much beyond that.
You can’t be serious Russia can end this tomorrow if they want they’re doing it in seige like fashion. If you think Ukraine has any chance of winning against the 1a/1B superpower you are delusional. It sucks but they lost and need to accept Russia’s conditions. Our money going in is a complete waste and probably being siphoned through corrupt politicians
I don't know, but if we're going to provide them with weapons, something I support, don't half-ass it. give them what they need to succeed.
Removing Saddam and his WMD. in the wake of 9/11 his support of terrorists was untenable. And we succeeded at the primary objective. failure came later.
Ah yes, Saddam who famously...imprisoned jihadis, had a secular regime, opposed the Taliban, Iran, and Syria, and did not posess nuclear weapons. The same Saddam who, after a decade of sanctions, was left with a neutered army and thousands if not millons of starving Iraqi children who couldn't eat or have access to basic healthcare because of US led sanctions. People in Bush's cabinet talked about an Iraq invasion well before 2000. Domionists/evangelicals thought we could convert Iraq and build a Christian state The same folly Israel fell for in Operation Great Pines. Not to mention we send 1/3rd of estimates the Pentagon said we'd need, left the sons of GOP donors in charge of managing most of the country, and had to bribe the Anbar tribes and Sadrists to keep some facade of peace.
