Maybe if we pay off their debt, they’ll have what they need to kill all the Roooskies. We should do that, then double it, just for good measure. Then they’ll have what they need to take the war to Moscow. It’ll be the best money we’ve ever spent, no American lives lost, and millions of dead Russians for pennies on the dollar. Russia’s almost done anyways, we just need this summer advance to finish them off.

Are you serious?

^^^That's a familiar 'Hmmm, where have I heard this before' post from 'P220Smudge'...He just leaves off the wink/sarcasm/wise-ass emoticon to keep everyone on their toes!

I'm not amused.

I'd like an answer, please

I hope they are working 24x7 on building nukes. The NNPT is obviously dead and since Potato is not upholding the US' end of the Budapest bargain the only way to make him get off his kiester and stop the silly slow drip of supplies and idiotic bans on striking deep into the Commie territory, is to have that device. Not to use it, mind it, just having it would suffice. Look at Israel: when you have nukes suddenly every Dick and Harry are rushing in to close your airspace from incoming missiles even though technically they don't have any obligation to do so.

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:
Are you serious?

Of course not. It’s parody.

"Of course not" nothing.

I've been an outspoken critic of our involvement in this conflict since day one.

What are you asking me? I'll give you a clear answer.

I've already asked you, and you may be surprised to learn that I don't keep track of the opinions of every member on every topic.

Ok, well since I feel like I'm being called to the mat, I want to make sure we're totally clear with each other. I don't know what you're trying to communicate with the following:

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:
"Of course not" nothing.

Have I angered you? If my position is yet unclear, I'll speak plainly.

I resent the hell out of being told by friends, family, coworkers, and forum members in an ever-louder chorus that I'm a traitor to democracy for not wishing to support a war that won't be won with money we don't have, and war material we are short on. That chorus built to a fever pitch and yet has gone silent in recent months, and if my poking them in the ribs about it is unwelcome on these pages, then advise me so, and I won't post it again. But I do not apologize for my sentiments and my opinions on the matter. You were right, I was right, a number of us were right; we were called unpatriotic and told that it's our duty as Americans to support these stupid foreign wars - criticized, mocked, and implied to be cowardly or selfish for not wanting to buy in for this.

Ukraine is broke, their army is broken, and yet we persist in this. Why? Because of "sovereign nations" and "illegal wars"? No, it's to launder money for our elites, to keep people who have dirt on our failure of a president quiet about what they know of his corrupt business dealings, and to appease what's left of the donor class Cold War Hawks who still have wet dreams about nuking Russia, as evidenced even on this page. What's Ukraine going to do with nukes? They're going to have to use them, of course, but I suppose to some that's preferable to Russia taking half of Ukraine. Then NATO gets involved, and we have a whole new discussion on our hands about what's going to be our level of commitment.

Or.

Or I can point out how silly the mantra from that side has been so far, with the benefit of the perspective of time, and not a little "I told you so" implied for good measure. Russia, who has been purportedly on the verge of defeat for two years now is winning this war. I was told this couldn't happen, many times by many people, and in this very thread, no less.

You want to make sure we're totally clear with each other? Just who do you think you're talking to? You're going to cool your jets or I'm going to cool them for you.

You made a flat statement, not one single hint of humor in it and I asked you a direct question and now you've got your panties in a twist and I have had enough of it.

Now, are you and I totally clear? I don't want to hear anything else about it. Period.

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:
Now, are you and I totally clear?

Yes. I wanted to understand you, and now I do.

quote:

Originally posted by wcb6092:
Much of Ukraine’s recovery—including the construction of basic infrastructure, civic buildings, as well as training people to rebuild the country—will never turn a profit, and will thus need to be shouldered by the country’s allies. The current impasse raises a worrying prospect: that distrust between them and private investors will slow down progress. Mr Marchenko was right to remind Ukraine’s commercial creditors that a country’s army is only as strong as the economy behind it. He could also have reminded Ukraine’s allies that an economy is only as strong as the army keeping it in existence.

Thanks for posting that wcb. I had not given much thought to the Ukraine's crumbling economy and it ramifications to the west. Not a pretty picture (militarily and economically) of the quagmire that Biden has gotten us into

Victor Davis Hanson on parallels between this war and the 1939-40 Winter War (Soviet Union & Finland):
https://townhall.com/columnist...r-1939-1940-n2641436

A lot of unanswered questions.

Retired Marine two-star general found dead on Twentynine Palms training center

Maj. Gen. William F. Mullen retired in 2020 as the commander of Training and Education Command, and was recently in Ukraine reviewing military training there.

https://taskandpurpose.com/new...l-mullen-found-dead/

A retired Marine General who once oversaw all training across the Marine Corps and who recently was in Ukraine to review that nation’s military training was found dead on Twentynine Palms training center, the service’s largest training base.

Maj. Gen. William F. Mullen, 59, who retired from the Marines in 2020, was “found deceased” on June 29 on the base, the Marines confirmed in a statement to Task & Purpose. According to an online database maintained by the San Bernardino County coroner’s office, Mullen was found at the base’s Building 1651, a non-descript single-story classroom building used by the base’s Communication-Electronics school. Mullen was once the commander of Twentynine Palms before taking over as the Commanding General of the Marine’s Training and Education Command, which oversees the service’s professional curriculums and training centers.

Demanding training was a theme in Mullen’s career. As a young officer, Mullen graduated from the Army’s Airborne and Ranger schools, the Marine’s Summer Mountain Leader course and the Royal Marine Arctic Warfare Survival courses. As a battlefield commander, he led a battalion commander in Fallujah, Iraq from 2005 to 2007. In retirement, Mullen lived in Arvada, Colorado, according to local media and the coroner’s office, and the University of Colorado’s leadership center listed him as a board member. He also recently met with Ukrainian defense officials and spoke about that nation’s training schools.

The Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) is currently investigating the cause of death..

Mullen was in Ukraine in February and met with Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine Natalia Kalmykova. In photographs and an interview published in Ukrainian media, Mullen appeared to be involved in reviewing and developing training programs for Ukrainian troops, particularly at officer academies.

In an interview with a Ukrainian reporter, he expressed strong support for U.S. military support for the country.

“Ukrainians don’t have that much. Our country is not helping much these days. I am not satisfied with this. I think that politicians are not paying attention to what is really important in the world, but to what is happening in their own little world in Washington,” Mullen said. “I do not like it. Need to help. We must, we must send more aid. We have already sent a lot, but we need to keep sending money because it is a good help in your fight.”

The Naval Criminal Investigative Service is investigating the death. No details on his death or how he was found were released.

More at link

Regarding Maj. Gen. Mullen: I would say:

- >70% chance he died of natural causes... >60 Yrs old, military service is hard on the body, I believe while some may appear ok in their prime or on the back-9, the "Stress" lets call it takes it's cut off the back-side and bam, you drop dead at 60 something.

- 25% chance he was assassinated because he saw and was going to sound off how there is no way our hundreds of billions are being put to good use

- 4% an accident, shit happens

- 1% it was the water at camp lejune (LOL)


(FWIW: I am soundly in the camp of not giving one more fucking cent to any foreign country. Secured loans to buy American made goods only.)

Instead of 25% chance of assassination, maybe make that 20% chance of suicide and 5% chance of assassination or murder.

And about 90% chance what they come up with is a lie.

Germany revealed it would slash its military aid to Ukraine from £6.72bn to £3.36bn next year, according to its draft budget.

https://www.independent.co.uk/...ack&utm_medium=email

The country’s finance minister assured that the bulk of the money and military aid Kyiv needs has been secured “for the foreseeable future thanks to European instruments and the G7 loans.”

The blow to Kyiv comes as Donald Trump named as his vice presidential pick Senator JD Vance, who opposes military aid for Ukraine and warned Europe will have to rely less on the US to defend the continent.

Ukraine’s defence minister has said the war-hit nation will find a way to battle Russia’s invading forces even if Mr Trump wins a second term and imperils vital US support.

More at link