All Things Russia & Ukraine

[Peter Brown]

Looks like Iran just obliterated a US base in Erbil Iraq with 12 missiles.

US airplanes headed to Teheran to return the favor?

https://twitter.com/nexta_tv/status/150 ... 60193?s=21

Wasn’t Joe just negotiating with this regime this week for more oil? Even though rational actors told him to never negotiate with the Iranians?

The world gets more dangerous by the minute fellas. I trust Lloyd Austin in spite of the woke nonsense. But Milley, no. As far as Joe goes, even less. As far as Trump goes, less than that.

I hope we make it to 2025.

https://twitter.com/amichaistein1/statu ... 63360?s=21

[Typical Lax Dad]

https://www.wsj.com/amp/articles/missil ... 1647138802


A missile strike early Sunday that landed in the vicinity of a new American consulate under construction in northern Iraq originated from Iran, according to U.S. officials.

The attack comes as the U.S. is edging closer to cementing a deal to revive the 2015 agreement with Tehran that constrains Iran’s nuclear program.

U.S. officials said that the missile attack may have been in retaliation for an Israeli airstrike in Syria on Monday that killed two members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman said after the Israeli strike that Iran would take steps to hold Israel accountable.

Israel has been carrying out airstrikes against Iranian-backed militias and Iranian personnel in Syria as it seeks to prevent Iran from transferring weapons to Hezbollah, the Lebanese militia group. The campaign includes placing mines on ships carrying oil and other goods that are bound for Syria.

The Iranians have previously sought to pressure the U.S. to constrain its Israeli ally.

In October, Iran directed five drones at the al-Tanf garrison in southern Syria, which is defended by a small contingent of U.S. forces and American-trained Syrian fighters. The Iranians said in a confidential message to the U.S. at that time that the attack was in response to an Israeli airstrike that killed two Iranian officers in Syria, U.S. officials said.

In January, the massive U.S. Embassy complex in Baghdad was struck by four rocket attacks that injured at least two individuals but no U.S. personnel were hurt. That attack originated from inside Baghdad and was believed to have been carried out by an Iranian-backed militia group.

A State Department spokesman didn’t provide details of the new rocket attack, its origins or say what the targets may have been.

“The incident is being investigated by the government of Iraq and the Kurdish Regional Government,” according to a State Department statement. “We condemn this outrageous attack and display of violence.”

The U.S. has a consulate inside Erbil, the capital of the semiautonomous Kurdish region in Iraq, and is building a new one 8 miles from the center of the city.

The strikes come as Washington has been rushing to complete talks to revive the 2015 nuclear agreement with Tehran. That agreement, which could also lead to the release of U.S. detainees, was close to being completed until Russia raised a fresh demand that its trade with Iran be exempted from Ukraine-related sanctions, Western officials say.

In January 2020, Iran fired ballistic missiles at the Al Asad base in western Iraq where U.S. troops were deployed. That was meant to avenge President Trump’s decision to order a drone strike that killed Major General Qassem Soleimani, the commander of Iran’s paramilitary Quds Force.

[old salt]

Russian soldier claims the Russian military is resorting to execution squads to control their solders

That’s strange. The military expert here believes The Ukraine is being liberated. It’s not a real country. Those soldiers are fighting for freedom from the USA’s influence.

...& the mass media expert here thinks it a tv game show.

The mass media expert is exposing your years of boot licking. Own it. You defended Putin’s right to take Ukraine….you implied those people are Russian….. I believe your sentiment was basically if Russia wants to take it, The Ukraine should do something about it…like Mexico wanting to take Texas…. Don’t backtrack now….for years you said standing up to Russia doesn’t matter. It mattered when you were being paid to do it.

You mean years of saying what it would take to keep this war from happening. I never defended Putin's right to take Ukraine. I pointed out that it was part of Russia for all of modern history & that ethnic Ukrainians were Russian during that time. They did not stand up for themselves before. They considered themselves to be Russians. This is the first effective display of Ukrainian nationalism. In 2014, the Russians just walked into Crimea & the Donbass. This is the first time they have fought for their independence -- thanks to 8 years of the US training & arming them. We fomented 2 revolutions & regime changes which did not last. Now we have fomented & facilitated a war to maintain their independence. Why don't you own that. Yes, we're standing up to Russia, fighting a proxy war for the independence of part of their heartland. Our dismemberment of Russia continues. That's how the Russians see it.

[Typical Lax Dad]

Russian soldier claims the Russian military is resorting to execution squads to control their solders

That’s strange. The military expert here believes The Ukraine is being liberated. It’s not a real country. Those soldiers are fighting for freedom from the USA’s influence.

...& the mass media expert here thinks it a tv game show.

The mass media expert is exposing your years of boot licking. Own it. You defended Putin’s right to take Ukraine….you implied those people are Russian….. I believe your sentiment was basically if Russia wants to take it, The Ukraine should do something about it…like Mexico wanting to take Texas…. Don’t backtrack now….for years you said standing up to Russia doesn’t matter. It mattered when you were being paid to do it.

You mean years of saying what it would take to keep this war from happening. I never defended Putin's right to take Ukraine. I pointed out that it was part of Russia for all of modern history & that ethnic Ukrainians were Russian during that time. They did not stand up for themselves before. They considered themselves to be Russians. This is the first effective display of Ukrainian nationalism. In 2014, the Russians just walked into Crimea & the Donbass. This is the first time they have fought for their independence -- thanks to 8 years of the US training & arming them. We fomented 2 revolutions & regime changes which did not last. Now we have fomented & facilitated a war for them to maintain their independence. Why don't you own that. Yes, we're standing up to Russia, fighting for the independence of part of their heartland. Our dismemberment of Russia continues. That's how the Russians see it.

That is how you see it. Don't be ashamed. It's a free country. Munchausen Syndrome.

[old salt]

Russian soldier claims the Russian military is resorting to execution squads to control their solders

That’s strange. The military expert here believes The Ukraine is being liberated. It’s not a real country. Those soldiers are fighting for freedom from the USA’s influence.

...& the mass media expert here thinks it a tv game show.

The mass media expert is exposing your years of boot licking. Own it. You defended Putin’s right to take Ukraine….you implied those people are Russian….. I believe your sentiment was basically if Russia wants to take it, The Ukraine should do something about it…like Mexico wanting to take Texas…. Don’t backtrack now….for years you said standing up to Russia doesn’t matter. It mattered when you were being paid to do it.

You mean years of saying what it would take to keep this war from happening. I never defended Putin's right to take Ukraine. I pointed out that it was part of Russia for all of modern history & that ethnic Ukrainians were Russian during that time. They did not stand up for themselves before. They considered themselves to be Russians. This is the first effective display of Ukrainian nationalism. In 2014, the Russians just walked into Crimea & the Donbass. This is the first time they have fought for their independence -- thanks to 8 years of the US training & arming them. We fomented 2 revolutions & regime changes which did not last. Now we have fomented & facilitated a war for them to maintain their independence. Why don't you own that. Yes, we're standing up to Russia, fighting for the independence of part of their heartland. Our dismemberment of Russia continues. That's how the Russians see it.

That is how you see it. Don't be ashamed. It's a free country. Munchausen Syndrome.

I am not ashamed. I'm saddened by this senseless war. ...& ethic Ukrainians populate all of Russia.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnic_gr ... t_2010.svg

[Typical Lax Dad]

Russia election meddling : worse than a crime -- a blunder

U.S.-Russian hostility is now inevitable, and the results could be tragic.

I thought your crew didn't like it when America "apologized" for past behavior??

And here the "American Conservative" is apologizing for rigging other's elections, expanding NATO, and generally being mean to Putin. In other words, it's "our fault" that Putin is being mean back. Therefore, we should stop complaining about Russia's meddling....that's the answer here?


Do these so called analysts have anything to say about America's path forward that isn't drenched in irony?

You have no clue about "my crew".

They're not apologizing. They're pointing out the hypocrisy & fecklessness of our childish Russophobia.

Americans voted Trump into office, & not because of Russia's piddly social media pranks & their exposing the rigged, corrupt DNC primary.
Sore losers (in both parties) can't come to grips with why voters chose Trump.

We're pissing away all that we won in the Cold War, for what ? So Ukraine can join NATO & the EU ? It's just stupid.

Would it be stupid if Vlad helped Hillary win? You speak for all Trump voters now? COAUSNO

It would be just as stupid to blame Russia for Americans voting for Hillary, because of the collusion & Manchurian Candidate narratives her campaign propagated, based on the Russian disinformation dossier they purchased. SLTLD.

Childish.....

[Typical Lax Dad]

...& nuance is a concept beyond your grasp.

No. That's not it. It's your constant game of: The libs are doing it wrong. Putin is always winning....unless you mention Trump. Then you change gears, and tell us that Trump is being hard on Putin. Yet at the exact same time....Putin is still winning. And then you bring up the Deep State, insisting that they are in the way of Trump flawlessly dealing with Putin. And no matter what happens in the world, Putin is winning, America is doing it wrong and losing......right up until you mention Trump. It's just ridiculous.

You don't want to admit that your worldview starts with a conclusion, and works its way back to a premise.

Nordstream makes Germany overdependent on Russia for energy & puts NATO & other EU nations at risk. Putin already showed his willingness to use this as a weapon when he turned off the gas transiting to & thru the Ukraine to the EU in winter.

And if Germany shuts it down, your ridiculous logic says

Russia's building Nordstream 2 to divide the EU/NATO.

There it is again. You just got done telling me that Trump made NATO stronger than ever. What happened?

Putin has plenty of money to rebuild his military & use it for his adventurism abroad, which you continue to fail to acknowledge.

To what end? Again: NATO is stronger than ever, remember? He doesn't have anywhere near enough money to compete with the US, let alone NATO.

As for his adventurism----he's in Syria. What did he get for that? A rookie Cal Ripken card?

It's checkers masquerading as chess.

Here's a better example, because we can look back on it, decades later: what did invading Afghanistan do for the Soviets?

A bunch of pointless dead Russians. All this "project of power" nonsense is neat-o to discuss in think tanks and Grad school seminars. But in the end, does it move the football?

Nope.

You make no distinction between Putin & the USSR in the Cold War.
What does the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan have to do with what Putin's doing now ?

Putin is spending very little, relative to what he's causing NATO to expend to counter him.
He got a warm water port in the E Med, at a bargain price, without having to rebuild Syria, while the US destroyed IS for him.
He just had his 2 old transport planes stop in Syria, pick up his S-300 missile techs there, & fly them into Venezuela to set up the S-300's he sold Maduro months ago, greatly limiting our military options there, for very little investment. He might have just saved Maduro, just like he saved Assad.
He's getting a lot of bang for his buck.

You clearly don't understand Nordstream. It gives Putin the ability to cut off gas transiting Ukraine & supplyin E EU, without disrupting supply to Germany & W EU. A method he has already used to starve Ukraine & divide E vs W EU.

...& you can't acknowledge that Putin has played a weak hand skillfully, while we've played a strong hand badly.
I keep waiting for signs of Russia's economic collapse which you predict.

turn on your TV

[old salt]

Russia election meddling : worse than a crime -- a blunder

U.S.-Russian hostility is now inevitable, and the results could be tragic.

I thought your crew didn't like it when America "apologized" for past behavior??

And here the "American Conservative" is apologizing for rigging other's elections, expanding NATO, and generally being mean to Putin. In other words, it's "our fault" that Putin is being mean back. Therefore, we should stop complaining about Russia's meddling....that's the answer here?


Do these so called analysts have anything to say about America's path forward that isn't drenched in irony?

You have no clue about "my crew".

They're not apologizing. They're pointing out the hypocrisy & fecklessness of our childish Russophobia.

Americans voted Trump into office, & not because of Russia's piddly social media pranks & their exposing the rigged, corrupt DNC primary.
Sore losers (in both parties) can't come to grips with why voters chose Trump.

We're pissing away all that we won in the Cold War, for what ? So Ukraine can join NATO & the EU ? It's just stupid.

Would it be stupid if Vlad helped Hillary win? You speak for all Trump voters now? COAUSNO

It would be just as stupid to blame Russia for Americans voting for Hillary, because of the collusion & Manchurian Candidate narratives her campaign propagated, based on the Russian disinformation dossier they purchased. SLTLD.

Childish.....

How did your Steele dossier & collusion theory work out ?
Now you have your war of revenge for Russian election meddling.
Congrats. Enjoy the mass media propaganda.

[old salt]

...& nuance is a concept beyond your grasp.

No. That's not it. It's your constant game of: The libs are doing it wrong. Putin is always winning....unless you mention Trump. Then you change gears, and tell us that Trump is being hard on Putin. Yet at the exact same time....Putin is still winning. And then you bring up the Deep State, insisting that they are in the way of Trump flawlessly dealing with Putin. And no matter what happens in the world, Putin is winning, America is doing it wrong and losing......right up until you mention Trump. It's just ridiculous.

You don't want to admit that your worldview starts with a conclusion, and works its way back to a premise.

Nordstream makes Germany overdependent on Russia for energy & puts NATO & other EU nations at risk. Putin already showed his willingness to use this as a weapon when he turned off the gas transiting to & thru the Ukraine to the EU in winter.

And if Germany shuts it down, your ridiculous logic says

Russia's building Nordstream 2 to divide the EU/NATO.

There it is again. You just got done telling me that Trump made NATO stronger than ever. What happened?

Putin has plenty of money to rebuild his military & use it for his adventurism abroad, which you continue to fail to acknowledge.

To what end? Again: NATO is stronger than ever, remember? He doesn't have anywhere near enough money to compete with the US, let alone NATO.

As for his adventurism----he's in Syria. What did he get for that? A rookie Cal Ripken card?

It's checkers masquerading as chess.

Here's a better example, because we can look back on it, decades later: what did invading Afghanistan do for the Soviets?

A bunch of pointless dead Russians. All this "project of power" nonsense is neat-o to discuss in think tanks and Grad school seminars. But in the end, does it move the football?

Nope.

You make no distinction between Putin & the USSR in the Cold War.
What does the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan have to do with what Putin's doing now ?

Putin is spending very little, relative to what he's causing NATO to expend to counter him.
He got a warm water port in the E Med, at a bargain price, without having to rebuild Syria, while the US destroyed IS for him.
He just had his 2 old transport planes stop in Syria, pick up his S-300 missile techs there, & fly them into Venezuela to set up the S-300's he sold Maduro months ago, greatly limiting our military options there, for very little investment. He might have just saved Maduro, just like he saved Assad.
He's getting a lot of bang for his buck.

You clearly don't understand Nordstream. It gives Putin the ability to cut off gas transiting Ukraine & supplyin E EU, without disrupting supply to Germany & W EU. A method he has already used to starve Ukraine & divide E vs W EU.

...& you can't acknowledge that Putin has played a weak hand skillfully, while we've played a strong hand badly.
I keep waiting for signs of Russia's economic collapse which you predict.

turn on your TV

That was 3 years ago & Europe is still buying their energy,
while you're paying for it at the pump & the checkout counter.
Well done.

[Typical Lax Dad]

Russia election meddling : worse than a crime -- a blunder

U.S.-Russian hostility is now inevitable, and the results could be tragic.

I thought your crew didn't like it when America "apologized" for past behavior??

And here the "American Conservative" is apologizing for rigging other's elections, expanding NATO, and generally being mean to Putin. In other words, it's "our fault" that Putin is being mean back. Therefore, we should stop complaining about Russia's meddling....that's the answer here?


Do these so called analysts have anything to say about America's path forward that isn't drenched in irony?

You have no clue about "my crew".

They're not apologizing. They're pointing out the hypocrisy & fecklessness of our childish Russophobia.

Americans voted Trump into office, & not because of Russia's piddly social media pranks & their exposing the rigged, corrupt DNC primary.
Sore losers (in both parties) can't come to grips with why voters chose Trump.

We're pissing away all that we won in the Cold War, for what ? So Ukraine can join NATO & the EU ? It's just stupid.

Would it be stupid if Vlad helped Hillary win? You speak for all Trump voters now? COAUSNO

It would be just as stupid to blame Russia for Americans voting for Hillary, because of the collusion & Manchurian Candidate narratives her campaign propagated, based on the Russian disinformation dossier they purchased. SLTLD.

Childish.....

How did your Steele dossier & collusion theory work out ?
Now you have your war of revenge for Russian election meddling.
Congrats. Enjoy the mass media propaganda.

You brought it up more than anyone I know.... there you go again... the War in Ukraine in the United States of America's fault. Like any employee, you attitude changes once the paychecks stop.... It don't matter.

[old salt]

Russia election meddling : worse than a crime -- a blunder

U.S.-Russian hostility is now inevitable, and the results could be tragic.

I thought your crew didn't like it when America "apologized" for past behavior??

And here the "American Conservative" is apologizing for rigging other's elections, expanding NATO, and generally being mean to Putin. In other words, it's "our fault" that Putin is being mean back. Therefore, we should stop complaining about Russia's meddling....that's the answer here?


Do these so called analysts have anything to say about America's path forward that isn't drenched in irony?

You have no clue about "my crew".

They're not apologizing. They're pointing out the hypocrisy & fecklessness of our childish Russophobia.

Americans voted Trump into office, & not because of Russia's piddly social media pranks & their exposing the rigged, corrupt DNC primary.
Sore losers (in both parties) can't come to grips with why voters chose Trump.

We're pissing away all that we won in the Cold War, for what ? So Ukraine can join NATO & the EU ? It's just stupid.

Would it be stupid if Vlad helped Hillary win? You speak for all Trump voters now? COAUSNO

It would be just as stupid to blame Russia for Americans voting for Hillary, because of the collusion & Manchurian Candidate narratives her campaign propagated, based on the Russian disinformation dossier they purchased. SLTLD.

Childish.....

How did your Steele dossier & collusion theory work out ?
Now you have your war of revenge for Russian election meddling.
Congrats. Enjoy the mass media propaganda.

You brought it up more than anyone I know.

Do you read the NY Times ?

[Typical Lax Dad]

Russia election meddling : worse than a crime -- a blunder

U.S.-Russian hostility is now inevitable, and the results could be tragic.

I thought your crew didn't like it when America "apologized" for past behavior??

And here the "American Conservative" is apologizing for rigging other's elections, expanding NATO, and generally being mean to Putin. In other words, it's "our fault" that Putin is being mean back. Therefore, we should stop complaining about Russia's meddling....that's the answer here?


Do these so called analysts have anything to say about America's path forward that isn't drenched in irony?

You have no clue about "my crew".

They're not apologizing. They're pointing out the hypocrisy & fecklessness of our childish Russophobia.

Americans voted Trump into office, & not because of Russia's piddly social media pranks & their exposing the rigged, corrupt DNC primary.
Sore losers (in both parties) can't come to grips with why voters chose Trump.

We're pissing away all that we won in the Cold War, for what ? So Ukraine can join NATO & the EU ? It's just stupid.

Would it be stupid if Vlad helped Hillary win? You speak for all Trump voters now? COAUSNO

It would be just as stupid to blame Russia for Americans voting for Hillary, because of the collusion & Manchurian Candidate narratives her campaign propagated, based on the Russian disinformation dossier they purchased. SLTLD.

Childish.....

How did your Steele dossier & collusion theory work out ?
Now you have your war of revenge for Russian election meddling.
Congrats. Enjoy the mass media propaganda.

You brought it up more than anyone I know.

Do you read the NY Times ?

You brought it up more than any person (fixed it) that I know.... there you go again... the War in Ukraine is the United States of America's fault. Like any employee, your attitude changes once the paychecks stop.... It don't matter.

[old salt]

...the War in Ukraine is the United States of America's fault. Like any employee, you attitude changes once the paychecks stop.... It don't matter.

I never liked stupid, unnecessary, preventable wars. I'm grateful I was never dragged into one.

[Typical Lax Dad]

...the War in Ukraine is the United States of America's fault. Like any employee, you attitude changes once the paychecks stop.... It don't matter.

I never liked stupid, unnecessary wars. I'm grateful I was never dragged into one.

The folks in The Ukraine need to lay down. It's a stupid war. deh Russian.

[old salt]

...the War in Ukraine is the United States of America's fault. Like any employee, you attitude changes once the paychecks stop.... It don't matter.

I never liked stupid, unnecessary wars. I'm grateful I was never dragged into one.

The folks in The Ukraine need to lay down. It's a stupid war. deh Russian.

They have no choice but to fight. The men were stopped from leaving at the border.
They were told the Russians would not attack. It was western media hysteria.

[Typical Lax Dad]

Perhaps you should try to look at it from the perspective of the Russian people.
It's their country & their history. They feel the post Cold War order was imposed on them by the West.
Their resentment is not without some merit.

Ah yes, I think that all us Americans long for the days of the Soviet Union.

Let's see what we can do to put those countries back under the rightful, and caring thumb of Vlad. Putin, shall we?

I don't think anyone would care if the Ukrainians voted to be part of the Soviet Union again. Voted. Without troops in their front yard.


The thing I don't get how quickly and easily you sympathize with the Soviet viewpoint.....and yet seem utterly oblivious to the Iranian perspective when you advocate that we casually and thoughtlessly renege on the Nuclear Deal, as if trust is wholly immaterial to negotiations.

Help a brother out? Where is this coming from?

Old Salt prefers the bullet.

[Typical Lax Dad]

...the War in Ukraine is the United States of America's fault. Like any employee, you attitude changes once the paychecks stop.... It don't matter.

I never liked stupid, unnecessary wars. I'm grateful I was never dragged into one.

The folks in The Ukraine need to lay down. It's a stupid war. deh Russian.

They have no choice but to fight. The men were stopped from leaving at the border.
They were told the Russians would not attack. It was western media hysteria.

Zelensky is holding them hostage and forcing conscripts to fight? Vlad is righteous..... Old Soviet.

[Brooklyn]

re conscripts, am surprised no one is saying that male only conscription is sexist

[Typical Lax Dad]

Long implied ? I've long believed that the USSR should not have been broken up.
In that radical idea I agreed with GHW Bush, Gorbachev, Scowcroft, Zbig Brzzzkii, Henry the K & Putin.
The Ukraine, as a nation-state, is a false construct.
The Tartars & Cossacks in Crimea prefer being a part of a corrupt Russia to being part of a corrupt Ukraine.
How many casualties were there in Russia's "invasion" of Crimea ?
Should the US void our illegal annexation of TX & return it to Mexico ?
...now California ? ...maybe.
US Manifest Destiny = Good ; Russian Manifest Destiny = Bad.

You are on record for believe the natives here did not get screwed.

More dishonorable lying from you. Produce a quote.

I didn’t take an oath. You did. Disgraceful...you are free to say “the natives got a raw deal”....

Manifest Destiny applies to The Ukraine. Someone needs to get the message to Sleepy Joe.

[old salt]

...the War in Ukraine is the United States of America's fault. Like any employee, you attitude changes once the paychecks stop.... It don't matter.

I never liked stupid, unnecessary wars. I'm grateful I was never dragged into one.

The folks in The Ukraine need to lay down. It's a stupid war. deh Russian.

They have no choice but to fight. The men were stopped from leaving at the border.
They were told the Russians would not attack. It was western media hysteria.

Zelensky is holding them hostage and forcing conscripts to fight? Vlad is righteous..... Old Soviet.

Imagine Nixon closing the border to draft age young men.