concordtom said:
Big C said:
helltopay1 said:
1) If Russia only invades a little bit and doesn't kill too many people, chances are it's ok
2) If we win the elections this fall, it's normal and good...If they win, they cheated
Joe Biden. President of the new Banana Republic...
BTW, If Biden goes soft on Putin, is that an example of
Russian collusion???Just asking...
I would basically "give" Ukraine to Russia, though I wouldn't phrase it like that. As far as I'm concerned, they can "have" all the countries that directly border them to the west, except Finland.
We were headed to be friends with post-USSR Russia, until the talk about Ukraine joining NATO. We are not now natural enemies with Russia. This is all hype and bad diplomacy. Russia and the US have mutual interests. We should grow those.
This is not a domino theory deal, like we feared in the 1960s. Russia was attacked by first Napoleon, then Hitler. They feel like they need a buffer zone. We should set up a carrot-and-stick deal with them, so they don't commit any atrocities or do anything totally against the will of the Ukrainian people.
I'd set it up so it doesn't come across as a "policy of appeasement". Putin is a despot, but he's content to be that in his own realm. His own people can choose to deal with him, or not.
I disagree strongly
Even if he's not going to domino, you don't toss bullies reward for effort.
China-Taiwan
We can't police the world
But we can oppose clear wrongs in various ways.
I disagree with your disagreement, also strongly, but I agree that we can oppose clear wrongs in various ways.
Part of the problem might have been my wording... "giving" him Ukraine... letting him "have" countries to form a buffer zone. I don't mean he gets to annex those countries, just that he can feel comfortable that they are in his sphere of influence. Making overtures about Ukraine joining NATO was always going to be too tough for Putin to handle. Economic opportunities? Sure. Formal military alliance? No way.
Let's realize what we can do and what we can't. There is no possible way we would send troops to Ukraine or to Taiwan. Well, unless we are crazy.
The best we can do in these cases is...
+ sell them some mid-level weapons
+ build international coalitions against atrocities and against countries that take over other countries
+ shine an international spotlight on wrongdoing
+ apply a firm carrot-and-stick approach (economic rewards/sanctions)
Too bad we don't believe in the United Nations anymore because the organization wasn't enough of a puppet for us.