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Telecom Ronin |
Shocked...shocked I am  My BIL escaped 10 days ago, he originally did not serve due to a medical condition. It still cost him $4k so that his paperwork would be filed "correctly"  My SIL and Niece have been with us since July thank god. His report was it's bad, we found him an appt in Poltava to get away from the front but he left due constantly being stopped and hassled for not speaking Ukrainian, most in the east do not, they know it but it is not their native tongue) Kids are being issued draft papers on thier way to work or to the shop. For whatever reason Zelinsky has been hesitant to pull back from Bachmut, even the US is telling him to do so now. Replacements have been fed into the Rus arty meat grinder for very little (read: no) gain. The tanks would have been great 6 months ago but now....who is going to drive them, as someone else mentioned the M1 ain't a T-62 and if they don't know what they are doing are we just selling them new battlefield statues? | |||
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| Gracie Allen is my personal savior! |
^^^ NATO is already providing Ukrainians with battalion-level combined arms training and seems to expect to give them the logistical and user training needed for NATO armor at the same time. http://www.voanews.com/a/expan...germany/6919862.html At the same time, the alacrity with which the Ukrainians have learned to use other sophisticated Western weapons seems to show that the Ukrainians don't have as steep or long a learning curve to go through as, say, some Afghan farm kid. Ukraine used to be the technological center of the old USSR and the difference between the Ukranian use of tech and the Russian use of tech is pretty damned big.
Say what? .gov is contracting for replacements on a multi-year basis. At the same time, Russia's too busy with Ukraine to meddle in conflicts on its own borders (Armenia/Ajerbaijan, with Armenia recently entering talks with NATO) to pick a fight with us and we're not drawing down the inventories we would need in a fight with China over Taiwan (which China makes a lot of noise about, but seems increasingly NOT eager to start).
Not that it's optimal, but NATO logistics centers in Germany and Poland should be able to bear much of that weight. If it's necessary to send in advisers with wrenches, then so be it. As for the infrastructure, I'm not sure heavier tanks are necessarily going to be an issue. The ground may not have frozen over much this year, but mud season is coming to an end. At the same time, if the Russians are stuck to the roads then current Ukrainian armor is at no disadvantage and heavier armor shouldn't be stuck to the roads, right? Paging MBinky, MBinky to the white courtesy phone... | |||
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| Lawyers, Guns and Money  |
Recall Rand Paul tried and failed 100% to tie the aid to transparency and full disclosure how funds were spent and allocated. There would be tracking and accountability…and OUR Congress said, heck no, they get the $$$ and we don’t ‘want to know’….what does that tell you? Exactly what we are finding today. The $$ goes to Z, his generals and a gosh darn lot of it is returned to US politicians. Multiple Ukraine Officials Removed or Resigned as Widespread Corruption and Embarrassing Financial Graft Discovered While Volodymyr Zelenskyy was on tour banging his tin cup for NATO donations, apparently his top government officials were skimming the books and building an extravagant life on the backs of the U.S. taxpayers. Slava Ukraini! However, on a brutally obvious note, I mean the wife of Zelenskyy went Christmas shopping in Paris and spent over €40,000 in a few hours on ritzy Avenue Montaigne. Where did people think she got that money? In an effort to stop the embarrassing revelations of internal corruption from weakening support for the inbound flows of cash from corrupt U.S. officials, the government of Zelenskyy has begun getting rid of the officials who were stealing the war money. But hey, don’t worry, remember, President Zelenskyy decreed rules making it illegal for any political opposition to exist; so, there’s nothing to worry about – just a seating rotation of the same corrupt group. KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Several senior Ukrainian officials, including five front-line governors, lost their jobs Tuesday in a corruption scandal plaguing President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s government as it grapples with the nearly 11-month-old Russian invasion. Ukraine’s biggest government shake-up since the war began came as Poland formally requested permission from Germany to transfer a modest number of its Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine. Germany builds the high-tech armor, and Warsaw needs Berlin’s permission to send them to a non-NATO country. Zelenskyy was elected in 2019 on an anti-establishment and anti-corruption platform in a country long gripped by graft, and the new allegations come as Western allies are channeling billions of dollars to help Kyiv fight against Moscow. Officials in several countries, including the United States, have demanded more accountability for the aid, given Ukraine’s rampant corruption. While Zelenskyy and his aides portray the resignations and firings as proof of their efforts to crack down on graft, the wartime scandal could play into Moscow’s political attacks on the leadership in Kyiv. The shake-up even touched Zelenskyy’s office. Its deputy head, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, prominent for his frequent battlefield updates, quit as the president pledged to address allegations of graft — including some related to military spending — that embarrassed authorities and could slow Ukraine’s efforts to join the European Union and NATO. (read more) https://theconservativetreehou...covered/#more-242562 "Some things are apparent. Where government moves in, community retreats, civil society disintegrates and our ability to control our own destiny atrophies. The result is: families under siege; war in the streets; unapologetic expropriation of property; the precipitous decline of the rule of law; the rapid rise of corruption; the loss of civility and the triumph of deceit. The result is a debased, debauched culture which finds moral depravity entertaining and virtue contemptible." -- Justice Janice Rogers Brown "The United States government is the largest criminal enterprise on earth." -rduckwor | |||
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| Gracie Allen is my personal savior! |
^^ For one thing, Zhelinsky is actually cleaning out the corruption no matter where he finds it, and that's the only way to climb out of the mess left Ukraine by previous governments - including the one that actually played footsie with the Bidens. For another, there is no surer way of publicizing secret or confidential military information than by making it available to those big-mouthed attention whore scumbags in Congress. On the whole this is good news, not bad news. | |||
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| Lawyers, Guns and Money |
Has he checked in his own bedroom? I mean the wife of Zelenskyy went Christmas shopping in Paris and spent over €40,000 in a few hours on ritzy Avenue Montaigne. Where did people think she got that money?  "Some things are apparent. Where government moves in, community retreats, civil society disintegrates and our ability to control our own destiny atrophies. The result is: families under siege; war in the streets; unapologetic expropriation of property; the precipitous decline of the rule of law; the rapid rise of corruption; the loss of civility and the triumph of deceit. The result is a debased, debauched culture which finds moral depravity entertaining and virtue contemptible." -- Justice Janice Rogers Brown "The United States government is the largest criminal enterprise on earth." -rduckwor | |||
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| Member |
UAF are familiar with Western military practices, they were operating in Iraq and Afghanistan with us. Their officers have either been observers or, attended various NATO schools so, at the planning-level they understand how we do things and they've been to exercises at Graff, Poland and Romania. The invasion in 2014 was the wake-up call for those naysayers internally about needing to change their methods and drop the old Soviet-practices which the old-guard was clinging to. | |||
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Unflappable Enginerd |
Oh, we're producing, just not near as fast as we're using. We're pulling assets and reserves from all over the world, too. I could easily link pages of search results supporting both of those points. And let's not forget that a LOT of the newer equipment, read "smart" weapons, use CHIPS sourced from Taiwan, and yes, even China. The old "requirements" for sourcing weapons and components entirely from the US has been heavily diluted over the last several decades (post USSR collapse) via subcontractors and sub-subcontractors. Newer tech weapons made entirely within the US has, over time, become a bit of a myth... Of course it does depend on "which" weapons we might be referring to. __________________________________ NRA Benefactor I lost all my weapons in a boating, umm, accident. http://www.aufamily.com/forums/ | |||
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| Lawyers, Guns and Money |
Bang War Drums Loudly, Joe Biden Announces U.S. Sending Tanks to Ukraine as Deeping NATO War Against Russia Continues The Biden administration is pushing the United States into war against Russia to protect Washington DC’s political and financial interests in Ukraine. None of this is a surprise as both Republican and Democrat politicians in DC continue to use Ukraine as a money laundering operation for key U.S. stakeholders. Today Joe Biden announced he is sending 31 ‘Abram Tanks’ from the U.S. arsenal into Ukraine to further push the United States into direct conflict with Russia. The potential for direct U.S. military engagement in Ukraine is now just a matter of formality, as the Abram’s tanks will be accompanied by military advisors, trainers, and the processes to sustain and maintain them on the battlefield. We are being pushed into a war that few Americans want. This is getting out of hand mostly because the Russians are defeating Ukraine in the war. Without the U.S. operators and material involved, Ukraine cannot win. However, the Biden administration view Ukraine as a U.S. proxy in Europe, and as such all of the corrupt DC systems are in alignment to continue escalating this conflict. This is happening against the backdrop of Ukraine officials being caught stealing money given to Ukraine to fight the war. None of this is good, and it is likely to get worse. https://theconservativetreehou...ntinues/#more-242567 "Some things are apparent. Where government moves in, community retreats, civil society disintegrates and our ability to control our own destiny atrophies. The result is: families under siege; war in the streets; unapologetic expropriation of property; the precipitous decline of the rule of law; the rapid rise of corruption; the loss of civility and the triumph of deceit. The result is a debased, debauched culture which finds moral depravity entertaining and virtue contemptible." -- Justice Janice Rogers Brown "The United States government is the largest criminal enterprise on earth." -rduckwor | |||
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Member |
If M-1 tanks are going to Ukraine, does that mean U.S. "contractors" are going to be maintaining the tanks? ...let him who has no sword sell his robe and buy one. Luke 22:35-36 NAV "Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves." Matthew 10:16 NASV | |||
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| Staring back from the abyss  |
You don't say. A full year in and Ivan is losing ground in the the only area of Ukraine that they've been able to take - the far eastern edge of the country. I suppose you could call that winning, in a Charlie Sheen sort of way. ________________________________________________________ "Great danger lies in the notion that we can reason with evil." Doug Patton. | |||
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| Internet Guru |
Endlessly sending billions to the corrupt regime in Ukraine certainly isn't winning for the U.S. taxpayer. | |||
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The Ayatollah of Rock 'n' Rollah |
The US spending of 5.6% of its defense budget to destroy nearly half of Russia’s conventional military capability seems like an absolutely incredible investment. There are a lot of moral arguments for backing Ukraine, but the Machiavellian reasoning is impeccable. -Tom __________________________ "For the cause that lacks assistance/The wrong that needs resistance/For the Future in the distance/And the Good that I can do" - George Linnaeus Banks, "What I Live for" | |||
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Shall Not Be Infringed |
^^^Yes, Brilliant Plan...Impeccable Reasoning! NONE of the spending in Ukraine was originally 'budgeted' spending. It's ONE HUNDRED BILLION DOLLARS we do NOT have! We're printing the money and giving away military hardware we'll need to replace at additional cost! Just consider the continued devaluation of the dollar and the resultant inflation that's occurring. The price of many things you NEED to buy (most?) are up 40%, the price of energy has DOUBLED!! Yes, Brilliant...If you're Zelensky! ____________________________________________________________ If Some is Good, and More is Better.....then Too Much, is Just Enough !! Trump 2024....Make America Great Again! "May Almighty God bless the United States of America" - parabellum 7/26/20 Live Free or Die! | |||
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| Gracie Allen is my personal savior! |
Well, let's see. You do know he and she have had long and successful entertainment careers, right? And that's beyond the possibility that some "store employee" might've been misquoted, made something up to get attention or was trying to boost attention to and buisness for the store. By the way, what is "would have spent" supposed to mean in this context? Did she actually spend any money at all or did SGM News pick this up from a tabloid? | |||
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| Shall Not Be Infringed |
^^^Sooo, nothing but pure speculation in Zelensky's defense there...Gotcha ____________________________________________________________ If Some is Good, and More is Better.....then Too Much, is Just Enough !! Trump 2024....Make America Great Again! "May Almighty God bless the United States of America" - parabellum 7/26/20 Live Free or Die! | |||
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| Be not wise in thine own eyes  |
How much of a hit is the U.S. willing to absorb in the battle for Ukraine? Seems we likely have a Russian ship with hypersonic missiles near or within striking distance of the East Coast. A RUSSIAN warship armed with hypersonic missiles has been simulating a massive strike as it sails to the US coast. Link “An unconfirmed Russian Telegram channel report says it was “spotted on radar in neutral waters of the Atlantic Ocean - at an effective salvo launch distance from the US coast”.” Sending M-1 Tanks over to Ukraine is a bad idea. Pretty soon we will cross the line that aught not be crossed. “We’re in a situation where we have put together, and you guys did it for our administration…President Obama’s administration before this. We have put together, I think, the most extensive and inclusive voter fraud organization in the history of American politics,” Pres. Select, Joe Biden “Let’s go, Brandon” Kelli Stavast, 2 Oct. 2021 | |||
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| Peace through superior firepower  |
More fear-mongering from the news media. Do you honestly think Russia is going to fire missiles at the East Coast? | |||
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| Gracie Allen is my personal savior! |
I don't dispute that that's the case now. The point I was making is that the only way to solve the problem is to produce, and expanded production efforts are underway. The only thing to worry about is whether need will exceed supply at some point in the interim, and that seems unlikely right now.
We were behind the curve on having sources for chips before Putin attacked Ukraine because of the whole Kung Flu brouhaha. One of the few good things is that this has spurred increased chip production in other locations (like Korea) and fabrication plant building domestically (like Texas and Ohio) that should be producing chips in a few years. Not perfect, but we have or are developing alternative sources for chips in case the Chinese or Taiwanese chip supply is cut off. | |||
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| Conveniently located directly above the center of the Earth  |
Never had run across this potential before this story today: https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news...hanistan/ar-AA16JmRL No, I am not speculating on the reality or not. This source is largely unknown to me. | |||
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| Gracie Allen is my personal savior! |
Gimme a break. There's nothing speculative about their both having been in entertainment, and the breathless lack of specificity in the clipping that the Twit seems to be citing sure sounds like it came straight out of a tabloid. | |||
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