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| FarleyMcFirefly said: I pretty much never post in political threads, but here is just one. |
You may not post again in this thread, but that doesn't mean that you won't read any of the responses your post gets.
I have a friend who thinks similarily to you and it shouldn't come as a surprise that the same guy was irrationally afraid of COVID-19, similar to you. Corona started around three years ago, so since then you got to see that the reality that played out was far less bad than you had imagined in spring 2020. Basically, there are rational fears and concerns, and then there's paranoia. Now here's how Russia vs. Ukraine and the West works:
1. When Russia took Crimea from Ukraine, and later on parts of the oblasts Luhansk and Donetsk, the West forced Ukraine into negotiations with Russia to have peace. Said peace treaty was supposed to let Russia have Crimea while the other parts were supposed to be handed back to Ukraine over the next few years that followed. But the West and Ukraine bending over only resulted in this much bigger war that we have now, because Russia's confidence that they can do what they want increased due to the displayed weakness of the West.
Therefore the suggestion that peace needs to be negotiated in the sense that Ukraine must make concessions to Russia will only bring us all back into this very same situation in a few years when Russia has rebuilt its army, because that's how things work when the good people show no spine when confronted with fascists. The only long term solution against fascism is to defeat them on the battlefield in a manner that scares them to try again.
On a sidenote, it's very oblivious to speak of provoking Russia when Russia has been doing all these things without the West doing anything to them.
2. Is Putin like Hitler? No, he isn't. The nazis saw themselves in a war of extinction, meaning that either their enemies all die or all the German people. Putin and his buddies aren't ready to die, instead they fight a plain war for the conquest of another country. The only way that Putin might consider using nukes is if the united West were to march towards Moscow, but nobody has any intention to invade Russia, so that's off the table anyway.
3. This war isn't solely about Ukraine and Russia. On the geopolitical stage, a demonstration of a weak and spineless West in the matter of the Ukraine war would encourage China to start war against Taiwan. China has already stated that they want a reunion of China and Taiwan, and have explicitly stated that they will use force if necessary. Since Taiwan has no interest in reuniting with China whatsoever, the only logical consequence is another war, only with even bigger consequences on the lives of everyone around the globe, because China is more intertwined with the rest of the world than Russia is.
Therefore it is of utmost importance to defeat Russia on the battlefield, because that's just about the only way to prevent a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. In other words, winning one war can prevent another war from happening altogether. China is watching closely here and they are already certainly second-guessing if an attack on Taiwan is worth it. China's people tolerate its government because it has brought them wealth, but should that break down - and it would if China got sanctioned by the West - then tremendous unrest within China would threaten the way things can be run by the government.
4. Your suggestion that Ukraine will eventually request manpower from the West is unreasonable. Ukraine doesn't lack people who are willing to fight off the Russian invasion, that's why they've only ever asked for equipment. But even if your suggestion had an ounce of truth to it, it would be in your own best interest that all the weapons Ukraine needs are delivered as soon as possible. The sooner they get the weapons, the less of their people will have to die, the less need they'll have to request military personnel from other countries.
5. Lastly, your ignorance on the subject at large is what plays into Russia's hands. Last spring it was already said that Russia's only chance to win this war is to convince the common people of the Western nations that Russia can win this war, thereby making all the respective governments hesitate to support Ukraine any longer.
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It would have been great if the long-lasting peace we have had in Europe since the end of World War II would have never come into question, but it's unavoidable to face the reality that history repeats itself in one way or another. That's why it's so important to learn from history. Many of the West's leaders have tried to employ stalling tactics against Russia which has similarities to how the allied nations of the 1930s tried to appease Hitler. The sad thing is that back then the leaders had to stall for time because none of their armies were ready for a full scale war, but today we have a situation where the bad guys are heavily outclassed in all areas, yet our leaders still hesitate time and time again before they start to do the right thing. The longer the processes are dragged out, the longer the war will last, the more lives will be lost. Russia has shown that they deliberately target civilians in Ukraine, so I seriously wonder what's holding the West back. As in, how much worse can Russia realistically get, because ABC weapons are off the table anyway. The floodgates for equipment should be opened by now.
A lasting peace solution in Europe can only be that Russia is completely pushed out of Ukraine, followed by Ukraine joining NATO. Otherwise Russia might just think they can try again next decade.
Legend11 correctly predicted that GTA IV will outsell Super Smash Bros. Brawl. I was wrong.
