Ukraine - somebody explain to me

[myboynoah]

What's the over/under for Trump claiming he knew this was going to be a disaster for Puten?

I bet he's been secretly rooting for the Russians so that it would confirm his "genius" statements and show Biden to be a loser. As that has become a less likely outcome, he's probably enjoyed the narrative put forward by some of his lackies defaming Ukraine and Zelenskyy and hoped that narrative would gain momentum. As that become less likely, he'll need to find a new avenue to comment on the biggest story out there. Claiming foresight that Puten invading Ukraine would be a disaster seems a plausible next step.

He needs to find an antedote for those genius comments.

[chrisrenrut]

Powerful message from Arnold Schwarzenegger to the people of Russia:

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[Pelado]

Powerful message from Arnold Schwarzenegger to the people of Russia:

Damn.

[myboynoah]

This is pretty disturbing in a lot of ways.

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[myboynoah]

While Russian school children are being led in doing "Z" displays, this is happening in Ukraine.

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[Lost Student]

Powerful message from Arnold Schwarzenegger to the people of Russia:

That was awesome.

And is it just me, or does the Governator have the General Authority speaking affectation down pat?

[SteelBlue]

And is it just me, or does the Governator have the General Authority speaking affectation down pat?

I told my wife that was the best conference talk I've heard in years.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Everyone clamoring for NATO to get involved (no-fly zone, etc) needs to pipe down. Great article about how that would be a gift to Putin.

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/ar...ention/627092/

Only one military force in the world can save Putin from utter humiliation now: NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. NATO intervention in Russia’s war on Ukraine could halt that country’s barbarous attacks. But it would mean war between Putin’s regime and the West, and this war would be such a gift to Putin that we should expect that he will soon do everything he can to provoke it.

The U.S. and Europe should resist such provocations.

[Jeff Lebowski]

This is pretty disturbing in a lot of ways.

Three observations:

1) Reminds me of a trump rally

2) They are in a near-complete information vacuum.

3) Reports coming out today that most of these people are state employees that were required to attend.

[USUC]

Everyone clamoring for NATO to get involved (no-fly zone, etc) needs to pipe down. Great article about how that would be a gift to Putin.

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/ar...ention/627092/

Francis Fukuyama made a good point that it is much better for Ukraine and the US to not have NATO sucked into this.

The Biden administration’s decisions not to declare a no-fly zone or help transfer Polish MiGs were both good ones; they've kept their heads during a very emotional time. It is much better to have the Ukrainians defeat the Russians on their own, depriving Moscow of the excuse that NATO attacked them, as well as avoiding all the obvious escalatory possibilities. The Polish MiGs in particular would not add much to Ukrainian capabilities. Much more important is a continuing supply of Javelins, Stingers, TB2s, medical supplies, comms equipment, and intel sharing. I assume that Ukrainian forces are already being vectored by NATO intelligence operating from outside Ukraine.

https://www.americanpurpose.com/arti...ng-for-defeat/

[Jeff Lebowski]

3) Reports coming out today that most of these people are state employees that were required to attend.

Case in point:

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Really interesting thread. People were forced to attend. Some were tricked into going - they were told it would be a concert.

Also...

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[myboynoah]

I think it underscores both a lack of communication with and commitment from the soldiers fighting on the front lines.

Keep in mind too, that the old Soviet model for leadership in their army is that the officers micromanage their subordinates. The enlisted soldiers do not make decisions independently, and there's not a lot of flexibility in the way junior officers carry out the orders of their superior officers. If they could have brute forced their way through Ukraine, that model could have worked for them. Now that they have to adapt, it requires the decision makers to be up close and personal.

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[Bo Diddley]

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It's the opposite of what US Forces are trained to do. Or most successful generals have been those who encourage and empower their junior officers to take initiative and operate semi independently.

[myboynoah]

Case in point:

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Really interesting thread. People were forced to attend. Some were tricked into going - they were told it would be a concert.

Also...

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Yeah, one of the ways in which it is disturbing. Also, seeing those Russian celebs perform is nauseating. Are they doing it out of fear? Some have speculated that one of the singers performed badly on purpose.

[myboynoah]

It's the opposite of what US Forces are trained to do. Or most successful generals have been those who encourage and empower their junior officers to take initiative and operate semi independently.

And a strength of the Israeli Defense Forces as well. No doubt the Ukrainians are very decentralized.

Looks like they may have gotten another general.

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