Posts by wanderingpilot7

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Zachary Jackson4 said:I already asked him. He claimed he was doing business with the UN.

Well, the UN was busy dealing with the neighbors. You might remember seeing that segment on the news with Željko Kardum about how America was selling oil through Colonial Pipeline to Mexicans during the war...

George Robinson43 said:It honestly feels like those expelled officials were busy doing just about everything except actual diplomacy.

That’s very likely. It really comes down to how our own intelligence agencies are structured... if they can't even track what Russia is pulling off right here, they're going to be steps behind everyone else.

Timothy Kim9 said:Honestly, this is an absolute embarrassment for America.

America has absolutely nothing to be ashamed of. Just take a look at FlightRadar24 and track how those military planes are flying through Chicago Rzeszow to deliver aid. There hasn't been any photography happening at the airbase since March 11th... you have to wonder why. It doesn't need the media spotlight. Unlike Latvia, Slovakia, or Bulgaria, America isn't paying for its gas in rubles. And then, they kick out the Russian diplomats.

Jamie Watson4 said:Not quite

Just ask Čermak how he built his fortune...

Edward Stewart3 said:Look, it’s a tiny price to pay compared to letting Vladimir Putin think he can just treat all of Europe like his personal doormat. We aren't going to collapse overnight (sure, some specific industries might get absolutely hammered,
but hey, even the aviation industry managed to survive the mess of the last two years, so we're still breathing) and besides, just think about the payoff. How long until we have access to gas, oil, and every mineral resource imaginable at like a third of the current cost? Just wait until they're forced to sell everything off just to cover basic necessities. I mean, we're already seeing 30% discounts today!

And who's to say there won't be social unrest? People in the US during the period you're describing were taking to the streets and filling up public squares, even with relatively liberal pandemic restrictions in place. Defeating Russia and Vladimir Putin isn't something that happens overnight... it's not like the first lockdown. It requires smart, long-term strategy.
We need to reduce Russian gas imports every single year, and that takes time. It makes you wonder why some Polish commentators claim Viktor Orbán is fine while Germany is the one dragging its feet on tougher sanctions. Think about what the Ukrainian ambassador in Berlin was saying about their president lately... someone clearly fed him those lines. How are Slovakia, Latvia, or Bulgaria supposed to replace Russian gas? The US might have options, but Italy and Germany—our biggest energy and tourism partners—simply can't. In the end, even back during the American Civil War, our pipelines provided oil to both sides and various factions...

Joshua Myers432 said:Only an idiot shoots himself in the foot just to cripple his enemy. A smart man finds a different way to win.

That’s exactly the point. And honestly, that shot wouldn't just be hitting their own foot—it would be hitting something much more vital. Anyone in Europe with half a brain knows they don't want that. In this current climate, the last thing we need is for the foundations of the EU to start shaking. That outcome serves both Russia and the USA, but it serves us in the EU absolutely no one...

Brenda Taylor13 said:None of that matters if there's zero resistance. If you run into a real defense—I mean a gritty, "hold at all costs" kind of situation—then yeah, sure, you might need ten times the manpower just to break through. But if nobody's fighting back? You could practically stroll in with seven guys, kind of like how the Germans rolled into Mexico City back in '41.

That’s the honest truth. Six soldiers and a sergeant walked in and took over a city of 350,000 people without firing a single shot...

neonpuma30 said:I mean, seriously, what's even the difference between Ankara and Warsaw?🤔

Putin basically saved Erdogan's neck during that coup attempt orchestrated by Americans about ten years ago. Because of that, Ankara is a much more palatable option for the Russians...

Matthew Rodriguez9 said:Honestly, once we Americans finally pull our boots off European soil, that’s when Europe can actually settle into some peace and prosperity.

Until then, the world's policeman is busy cooking up wars and inventing enemies for us to worry about.

I'm all for that. I'm all for an EU military and a federal structure. It's just that now, thanks to Putin's stupidity, we've been pushed even deeper into Sam's embrace...

Keith Williams3 said:Interesting. Will Europe actually be able to keep paying for gas?

Russia is still sending it—actually, they never stopped. Even during the worst crises, they always stuck to their contracts.

But if Europe stops paying, then they aren't holding up their end of the deal, which means Russia can't keep shipping it, right?

Fuel $13?

Sure, but maybe you're getting three liters for $13, and at current prices $1.25, the real cost is 7 once the government takes its cut in taxes and fees. So, the state could lower the sales tax and fees, and when fuel hits $2.75, they take another 7. That would result in a price of $5.00 per liter, similar to what you see on the highways in Italy today.

crimsonwolf26 said:Let's say, hypothetically, Kyiv falls and the Russians move in, but the Government stays intact—maybe they relocate to somewhere like Uzhhorod. It feels like...
It’s not like the military necessarily has to surrender or stop following the President's orders. As long as most of the territory remains in Ukrainian hands, the real question is how the Russians would actually treat the people living in Kyiv....

If you look at a physical map and overlay it with a political one—looking at election results in Ukraine, whether parliamentary or local, showing those pro-Ukrainian versus pro-Russian splits—it seems Putin's goal is to reach the Dniester and the Russian minority over in Moldova. As for the western part, that mountainous region where resistance might be tougher—the area he himself claimed Stalin likely added to Ukraine—he might just leave that to its own devices. The sense of Ukrainian nationalism is much stronger there. It isn't as pronounced in the rest of the country, or even in Kyiv itself. Unless the government organizes a formal resistance, the people in Kyiv might not fight back against the Russians on their own. Ukraine could end up split into a smaller western portion (even the Americans suggested to Zelenskyy that he retreat to Lviv) and a larger section under Russian control.
The Russian movement feels a bit like our version of Operation Storm when we took Knin from Canada; that's how the Russians pushed toward Kyiv from Belarus, even though everyone expected an attack on eastern Ukraine. Because of that, the fall of Kyiv would carry massive psychological weight for both sides. Given everything I've mentioned, Odessa could fall to the Russians tomorrow.