Re: Should the US intervene if Russia/Belarus invades Ukraine?

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TrueTexan wrote: Fri Apr 16, 2021 11:31 am As for the Ukraine, we are just hopefully getting out of twenty year war we didn't win, do we need another one? The Ukraine has been ether a vassal state or part of Russia off and on for centuries. If Putin really wants it there is nothing we can do except what we did in Afghanistan when Russia invaded it. Give arms to the resistance and let them wear down the Russians. But don't send any troops into that area.

We haven't "won" a war since WWII. We need to totally rethink our military posture and really debate before sending troops anywhere outside our NATO and other Mutual military aid countries like Japan.
Both countries have common roots, it’s a recipe for disaster. You’re right we need to rethink and check our interventionist tendencies at the door. We need a new diplomatic shift in our approach to other nations. Our example in many sectors is flawed, perhaps a good look in the mirror would be appropriate.
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"Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated!" Loquacious of many. Texas Chapter Chief Cat Herder.

Re: Should the US intervene if Russia/Belarus invades Ukraine?

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Alternate take - compulsory universal service after high school. Switzerland and Israel come to mind. No deferments, no vote without service, but I'd wholeheartedly support a more diverse vision about what "national service" entails. Provides firearms and other defensive training across the board, eliminates the need for licenses, ensures that all parties are prepared to protect the republic and Constitution. Might even allow some transformative interpretations of "policing."

Re: Should the US intervene if Russia/Belarus invades Ukraine?

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Russian troops began pulling back to their permanent bases Friday after a massive buildup that has caused Ukrainian and Western concerns.

On Thursday, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu declared the sweeping maneuvers in Crimea and wide swaths of western Russia over, and ordered the military to bring the troops that took part in them back to their permanent bases by May 1.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed the announcement.

The Russian Defense Ministry said Friday that its forces that took part in the massive drills in Crimea were moving to board trains, transport aircraft and landing vessels en route to their permanent bases.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Kyiv would await intelligence confirmation of the pullback.

“We want to see that Russian deeds match Russian words,” Kuleba said Friday during a visit to Romania. “What was said was not enough, we want to see that this will be implemented and all these forces will be removed from our border.”

He added that if the pullback is confirmed, “this would mean a real easing of tension.”

He thanked NATO and the EU countries for offering “very firm and immediate support to Ukraine”

While ordering the pullback of military personnel, Shoigu ordered their heavy weapons kept in western Russia for a massive exercise called Zapad (West) 2021 later this year. The weapons were to be stored at the Pogonovo firing range in the southwestern Voronezh region, 160 kilometers (100 miles) east of Russia’s border with Ukraine.

The U.S. and NATO have said the troop buildup was the largest since 2014, when Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula and threw its support behind separatists in Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland of Donbas. More than 14,000 people have been killed in seven years of fighting between Ukrainian troops and the Russia-backed separatists.

The concentration of Russian troops amid increasing violations of a cease-fire in the conflict in eastern Ukraine raised concerns in the West, which urged the Kremlin to pull its forces back.

Moscow rejected the Ukrainian and Western concerns, arguing that it is free to deploy its forces anywhere on Russian territory. But the Kremlin also sternly warned Ukrainian authorities against trying to use force to retake control of the rebel east, saying it could intervene to protect civilians there.

Asked if the Kremlin thinks that the Russian troop pullback could help ease tensions with the United States, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said the issues were not connected.

“It’s not an issue for Russia-U.S. relations,” Peskov said in a call with reporters. “We have said that any movement of Russian troops on Russian territory doesn’t pose any threat and doesn’t represent an escalation. Russia does what it thinks is necessary for its military organization and training of troops.”
https://apnews.com/article/europe-russi ... 050af7e502
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"Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts." - Daniel Patrick Moynihan

Re: Should the US intervene if Russia/Belarus invades Ukraine?

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Yep, but still a lot of Russian Spetsnaz special forces troops in the eastern region of Ukraine around Donetsk. Biden reportedly is considering more arms shipments for Ukraine.
But the Kremlin also sternly warned Ukrainian authorities against trying to use force to retake control of the rebel east, saying it could intervene to protect civilians there.
Last edited by highdesert on Fri Apr 23, 2021 7:58 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts." - Daniel Patrick Moynihan

Re: Should the US intervene if Russia/Belarus invades Ukraine?

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While Russia is backing down on the Ukraine border, one has to believe that this was a deliberate action by Putin to test various Western reactions, with no real plan to invade. Putin may have a very limited view of the world but his tactical ability should never be underestimated.
"Even if the bee could explain to the fly why pollen is better than shit, the fly could never understand."

Re: Should the US intervene if Russia/Belarus invades Ukraine?

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YankeeTarheel wrote: Fri Apr 23, 2021 1:00 pm While Russia is backing down on the Ukraine border, one has to believe that this was a deliberate action by Putin to test various Western reactions, with no real plan to invade. Putin may have a very limited view of the world but his tactical ability should never be underestimated.

Yes, saber rattling. The major powers aren't going to war, they use proxies even countries like Iran use proxy groups in Lebanon and Yemen. Putin skillfully took back the Crimea without a fight and built a bridge connecting Russia with Crimea. The West did impose sanctions on individual Russians and the Russian state that are still in effect. Putin does know when and how to play his hand.
"Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts." - Daniel Patrick Moynihan

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