Ukraine / Russia

VikingsGuy said:
I would guess minimum would be “independent” land bridge to Crimea with pro-Putin puppet. “Better” would be annexing land bridge to crimea outright. Ukraine promise no NATO would be a bonus as would full control of Black Sea access Ukraine used to have.
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Thank you. I have read quite a bit about the Black Sea since you posted this and hopefully have a better understanding of it now.
 
Rhcuam said:
Putin has made enough people disappear, glow from radiation poisoning, and God only knows what to else to be feared if you were on his radar. Obviously I don’t think he’s an active member on Hunttalk because it seems to be very busy making billions of dollars every day and trying to take over the world.
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If Putin is trying to take over the world and Ukraine is just the first step, the billions we are spending today is an absolute bargain.
 
Just in case Putin is a lurking member of Hunttalk and needs a distraction from the stress of the special operation, I hereby invite him to join this years bear hunt. I have the prestigious honorary bacon pants ready to wear for his comfort and recognition from the wild creatures of the forest. We’ll even supply vodka for his security detail….
 
antlerradar said:
If Putin is trying to take over the world and Ukraine is just the first step, the billions we are spending today is an absolute bargain.
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I meant that more like a Dr. Evil taking over the world, not actually conquering the world. So it’s still missspent money.
 
Rhcuam said:
I meant that more like a Dr. Evil taking over the world, not actually conquering the world. So it’s still missspent money.
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It's all fun and games until you don't pay the $1 million.

Then it's a third movie in a franchise that only succeeds because of Beyonce.
 
Gerald Martin said:
Just in case Putin is a lurking member of Hunttalk and needs a distraction from the stress of the special operation, I hereby invite him to join this years bear hunt. I have the prestigious honorary bacon pants ready to wear for his comfort and recognition from the wild creatures of the forest. We’ll even supply vodka for his security detail….
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Geez, you know your not in the in crowd when he gets a invite before you did. 🥲
 
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As I said on another thread, I won't be able to follow Ukraine any more, as my expertise on constitutional jurisprudence is urgently needed on another forum. Try to keep up, folks. ;)
 
I just read the cliff notes Version of his victory day speech. Assuming all translations are correct, I thought it was interesting that he stated Ukraine was a preemptive attack to protect Russia numerous times, I think he is starting to create an out for himself. He understands he’s not taking all of Ukraine at this point. I think I’ll be lucky to hold onto the Russian separatist regions.
Now if he has to retreat back to Russia he can tell the Russian people the mission is complete Ukraine is weakened and no longer threat and they won’t know any different.
 
I am only guessing, but I cant help but think that ease in which he took, Crimea just 8 years ago gave him a misguided opinion of how easy it would be to take Ukraine. If Finland and a couple others who were not part of NATO, joins, he now has a large border with a Nato Country and possibly another smaller country in thr Black Sea joining Nato. He has lost ships, tanks, and other equipment---plus his yacht in Fiji. Perhaps his rationalization about winning is just additional proof that we are dealing with a mad man. A mad man with a nuclear arsenal !!!
 
Randi said:
I am only guessing, but I cant help but think that ease in which he took, Crimea just 8 years ago gave him a misguided opinion of how easy it would be to take Ukraine. If Finland and a couple others who were not part of NATO, joins, he now has a large border with a Nato Country and possibly another smaller country in thr Black Sea joining Nato. He has lost ships, tanks, and other equipment---plus his yacht in Fiji. Perhaps his rationalization about winning is just additional proof that we are dealing with a mad man. A mad man with a nuclear arsenal !!!
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It's hard to read the mind of a despot. But one thing is clear, he has learned he has zero chance of beating NATO in a conventional war. That bodes well for Poland and Finland (assuming they join). And until he is truly insane, going nuclear is just an "end western civilization" play, so I think that is less likely. We will see.
 
VikingsGuy said:
It's hard to read the mind of a despot. But one thing is clear, he has learned he has zero chance of beating NATO in a conventional war. That bodes well for Poland and Finland (assuming they join). And until he is truly insane, going nuclear is just an "end western civilization" play, so I think that is less likely. We will see.
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good point.

Poland certainly did not show much respect for the Russian Ambassador today.
 
Cheesehead said:
I know and respect how we try to keep HT neutered from political conversations. That said, I saw the below photo of a child’s stuffed animal that exactly mirrored a stuffed hedgehog my 3 year old son has. Choked up a bit. I’d prefer keeping the discussion clear of R/D entanglements. But damn, it feels like we are entering an end of the Post Cold War period. Curious how the HT crew feels how this is going to damage the economic situation we live in? Russia as a major exporter of gas/wheat/nickel/steel/rare earth metals?…general sense of how that will cause further inflation if they are cut off from SWIFT / export markets. I think we all hope things sizzle out but this seems far more serious than Chechnya/ Balkans.

Not interested in partisan fights but more reflections from those who have lived through these sorts of things and have insights .
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I think what ever political party you subscribe to, you would have to be pretty incentive not to be disturbed by what is going on over there. I have no connection to the people of Ukraine but my heart breaks for them but at the same time I am proud for them for the fight they are putting up. As a kid I was always big for my age and when ever I saw a bully picking on someone on the playground I would put myself between them. I realize that this situation is much more complicated than that and there is a lot more at risk than a black eye, but I am glad the US is doing something and I wish it were more.
 
Chip on my shoulder, please forgive me.

One thing that is interesting in the US vs many other countries is how we 100% fetishize service members. That doesn't happen in most of our peer countries.

I wore camo and carried a tan Kifaru backpack on a flight to Alaska last year and was stopped by no less than six women who tearfully thanked me for my service. It was weird and made me uncomfortable

One thing I'm pretty sure of after having been to 27 countries and seen, for only a small example, the (loosely translated) Museum of American Atrocities in Ho Chi Minh, we generally in the US get a very censored version of what our military is up to abroad. Go there and see all the napalm-warped infants and fetuses of people that in our circumstance we would consider doing their Red Dawn duty to protect their homeland.

Ever heard of No Gun Ri? Few people have ...top 2 atrocities, up there with My Lai in terms of worst tragedies that US forces have inflicted on civilians (excluding Native Americans...they were just butchered wholesale, and as a card carrying member I find it more than a little annoying that we don't count). Two Master's degrees and I had never heard of No Gun Ri.

I say all this for a simple reason: my wife is uber liberal, and she was giving me grief the other day about how the American Empire was doing its dirty deeds again in the Ukraine/Russia situation. I strongly countered it because I do think this nation has a lot of good in its DNA, a lot of ability to be the 'good guy' in the world...

But I also think most Americans have an extremely binary view that we are 100% black/white and good/bad. Say Abu Ghraib or Haditha and they bristle or much more likely, don't even recognize it. We've done a lot of good and a lot of bad. Let's not pretend we're blameless, but let's continue to move forward in supporting the things that are clearly good, like Ukraine, and condemning what is bad. Carry on but keep your eyes open.
 
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Cheesehead said:
.

But I also think most Americans have an extremely binary view that we are 100% black/white and good/bad.
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With all due respect sir, I disagree. And the word I disagree with is "most". We do have some citizens who act and preach from the "extreme " point of view, no argument . I still think the majority of Americans, regardless of which side they agree with are living the American dream. The employment of their choosing and their family occupy the majority of their time. I deliberately look for people who dont necessarily agree with me, so that I can not just teach, but also learn and hopefully we both come away with a better understanding of an issue, or at the very least, have a broader understanding of why those who disagree with me, do so.

The country of Ukraine ( in my opinion ) was not a choir boy, so to speak, but they did not deserve to be invaded by a mad man. And I did not say Russia, as I still believe the majority of Russian citizens do not agree with their leader. BUT, unlike America ( warts and all ) they are not allowed to express their views.
 
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