UKRAINE/RUSSIA WAR - looks like it’s started

I saw that there were some questions about the Presidents authority to order military action or send troops anywhere in the world.

Google “ War powers Act”

Congress gave away the right to declare war 65 years ago with the passing of this act. Now the President has the authority to declare war on anyone they wish at any time thanks to congress being little bitches.

So much for the constitution and checks and balances!

Congress hasn’t officially declared war since WW2 because congress gave that power away to the President.

These were not wars according to Congress:
Korea
Vietnam
Panama
Grenada
Gulf war 1
Iraq war
Afghanistan

originally posted by: Oldcarpy2
a reply to: valerias

No.

Prince Charles tested positive some time ago but is fine.

Her Maj has cold like symptoms.

If you think Wills is going to declare war any time soon, let alone her Maj, you are very much mistaken.

I am not expecting a declaration of war, but I am also interested why William is having these meetings and not HMTQ or Prince of Wales.

originally posted by: Oldcarpy2
a reply to: JinMI

Deploying assets into friendly NATO countries?

Are you saying hostilities against them are "imminent"?

You know something we don't?

Most if not all of us here can only guess at what will happen next. My worthless guess is that unless the Ukraine invasion drags on for months - if Vlad takes Ukraine and the pitiful sanctions are all the resistance he gets from Europe and the US - then all of the non-nato, ex-soviet nations are already as good as gone (‘gone’ as in taken by vlad in the same manner as Ukraine).

That’s not to say I think nato should take part in this war. As difficult as it is to watch, any nato action will start the countdown on those nukes. That’s obviously a price that is never worth paying under any circumstances. Putin’s out-moved us and while his actions are deplorable they’re singing from a similar songbook the west has deplorably sung from using lies to invade other nations to empire build, asset build and protect their own interests rather than those of the civilians they claim to be rescuing from despots.

So in my very humble opinion NATO’s only rational military move possible is to fill the nato-nations broadening non-nato nations will troops and hardware to deter vlad from getting tempted to follow up the taking of all the ex-Soviet nations with ingress into those nato neighbours, such as Poland. Sadly, that means a return of the iron curtain, but we shouldn’t be in denial of what’s at stake if we show any weakness in those borderlands that might tempt Putin to throw the dice and set foot on them.

It’s unlikely that Putin would ever do something that dumb. Whatever one thinks of the man he’s a smart cookie who evidently plays a good game of chess, metaphorically speaking (no idea how is actual chess game is). But who knows what might seem permissible once he’s taken all of those non-nato nations; conquest can probably dizzy the most stable of minds with delusions of grandeur. So Putin needs to see asap that even if nato doesn’t launch nukes in response to an incursion on nato, then the conventional war with his nato-neighbours will be of magnitudes costlier than Ukraine and far too high a price for his premiership to survive.

So I agree, ingress on nato nations is not imminent, not even (I hope) likely. But those non-nato nations should be preparing for the worst. The only thing that will stop Putin rebuilding the Soviet Union is a costlier Ukraine campaign than the Russian people can stomach (Putin can hide the media, but he can’t hide the body bags), and harder sanctions; acting on Swift. The latter will hurt the west, so I don’t see our greedy kleptocrats doing that, the oligarch and oil industry tentacles are too tightly wound around our politicians.

I believe it is now only a question of time - perhaps within the year - before the old Soviet Union is back.

The only other move from nato (that I can think of, so by no means a definitive statement) is to fast track those non-nato ex-Soviet nations into nato while Putin’s occupied with Ukraine. But Imo opinion that’d be a mistake. No military analyst will be able to guarantee that this wouldn’t escalate this into a global existential crises. He’s said this himself and calling his bluff on that would be as dumb as dumb gets. It’s a ‘move’, which I hope the west are wise enough not to make.

Sorry that was so long winded - if I had more time I’d have made it shorter.

a reply to: valerias

.....but I am also interested why William is having these meetings and not HMTQ or Prince of Wales.

Delegation of duties.
And preparing him for when he does assume the throne.

Charles won't 'rule' for anywhere near as long as his mother has.

a reply to: Freeborn

Indeed! Imo tptb would prefer to skip Charles and crown the young prince they’ve been grooming for donkeys years. An process probably made all the easier once the poor lad’s mother was removed from the picture. It’s a tragic story.

a reply to: McGinty

William seems like a half decent sort of guy, free from the aloofness and arrogance that surrounds his father.

As long as they don't interfere in the governance of this country I'm pretty much apathetic towards them all.....beats having a Trump/Biden/Macron/Putin as Head of State!

originally posted by: Freeborn
a reply to: valerias

.....but I am also interested why William is having these meetings and not HMTQ or Prince of Wales.

Delegation of duties.
And preparing him for when he does assume the throne.

Charles won't 'rule' for anywhere near as long as his mother has.

Most possible reason, but they also tweeted a personal message of support for Ukraine and its President, weird I thought royals weren't involved in politics

Can someone tell me who is responsible for sending the Ukrainians the Javelin anti-tank weapons...they are using so effectively against Russian tanks?

Was it Obama, Trump or Biden?

Hi guys. I'm Russian. Those who consider all Russians to be Kremlin bots can immediately pass by. I am writing to those who want to see an alternative point of view.

You may not know, but the war in Ukraine has been going on for 8 years. After the coup, some Ukrainians decided that they no longer wanted to live in this nightmare. This is Crimea. Some Ukrainians questioned the legitimacy of those who came to power in Kiev as a result of the coup. This is Donbass. In the beginning, there was no thought of joining Russia or an independent state. But as a result of the actions of the Ukrainian army, more than 13,000 Ukrainians were killed (according to the UN) who consider the Kiev regime illegal. Several hundred children. And the population of Donbass began to look at the situation differently. So a side effect of these military actions was the rapid rapprochement of the Donbass resistance with Russia.

Then there were attempts to negotiate peacefully - "Minsk 1" and "Minsk 2".
Ukraine - represented by the President of Ukraine - refused to implement these peace agreements. They did it repeatedly, despite the persuasions of France, Germany and Russia.

France, Germany and Russia are the guarantors of the implementation of the Minsk agreements. Russia, as a guarantor, went to a military operation to force peace. Russia, as a guarantor of the implementation of the Minsk agreements, will force Ukraine to fulfill the peace agreement signed by the Kiev regime with Donbass.

Meanwhile, NATO countries, instead of helping to force Ukraine to fulfill its own obligations to end the conflict, are supplying Ukraine with weapons. Apparently, the politicians of the NATO countries really need as many Ukrainians as possible to die there in addition to the Russian military. The more weapons there are, the higher the intensity of the fighting and the more people die. Including the civilians of Ukraine - the fighting will take place there.

I am against war and the suffering of civilians. But this endless beating of Donbass must stop.

You don't have to believe me. All this is verifiable. Check it out.

a reply to: McGinty

Agreed.

This is what it looks like when the mainstream media is disappointed by the relatively small amount of destruction they are able to film and broadcast.

"Where is putin? He must be seriously ill."

news.yahoo.com...

Probably more of a "hope" on the part of fox news.

I have similar sentiments regarding some high level oppressors here in the United States.

a reply to: IAMTAT

Estonia, and the US in 2018, I think?

originally posted by: BZiker
Hi guys. I'm Russian. Those who consider all Russians to be Kremlin bots can immediately pass by. I am writing to those who want to see an alternative point of view.

You may not know, but the war in Ukraine has been going on for 8 years. After the coup, some Ukrainians decided that they no longer wanted to live in this nightmare. This is Crimea. Some Ukrainians questioned the legitimacy of those who came to power in Kiev as a result of the coup. This is Donbass. In the beginning, there was no thought of joining Russia or an independent state. But as a result of the actions of the Ukrainian army, more than 13,000 Ukrainians were killed (according to the UN) who consider the Kiev regime illegal. Several hundred children. And the population of Donbass began to look at the situation differently. So a side effect of these military actions was the rapid rapprochement of the Donbass resistance with Russia.

Then there were attempts to negotiate peacefully - "Minsk 1" and "Minsk 2".
Ukraine - represented by the President of Ukraine - refused to implement these peace agreements. They did it repeatedly, despite the persuasions of France, Germany and Russia.

France, Germany and Russia are the guarantors of the implementation of the Minsk agreements. Russia, as a guarantor, went to a military operation to force peace. Russia, as a guarantor of the implementation of the Minsk agreements, will force Ukraine to fulfill the peace agreement signed by the Kiev regime with Donbass.

Meanwhile, NATO countries, instead of helping to force Ukraine to fulfill its own obligations to end the conflict, are supplying Ukraine with weapons. Apparently, the politicians of the NATO countries really need as many Ukrainians as possible to die there in addition to the Russian military. The more weapons there are, the higher the intensity of the fighting and the more people die. Including the civilians of Ukraine - the fighting will take place there.

I am against war and the suffering of civilians. But this endless beating of Donbass must stop.

You don't have to believe me. All this is verifiable. Check it out.

Great post and well put mate. I'm English and I don't fully understand the intricacies of the partisan politics in the region. I think a lot of the people calling for the rashest of action would do well to read more before they sign off
on sending weapons and calling for war.
I agree as everyone does that Putin invading is bad, however we must acknowledge the reality of why and what the feelings of people who actually live there are. This is more complicated than "Russian man bad".

Whenever something as complicated and multi faceted as this gets distilled into "a battle of good vs Evil" its never good and oversimplifies and muddies the waters.

a reply to: BZiker
thanks for the perspective you don't get to hear on this side of the world very often.
Here it seems mostly just big country bad little country need help

The argument that Russia is only helping insurgents fight genocied is just as legit an argument as going into Iraq after them WMD's Sadam didn't have.
May Russia bring the same amount of peace to its neighbors that the US has to the countries it tried to make into its own image

Stop taking over countries people

a reply to: BZiker

Thanks for your perspective.

I read your post as saying that this is purely about issues within Ukraine and Crimea.

So am I right in inferring from this that you are thereby saying Putin/Russia will not at any point put any Russian boots on the soil of any other ex-Soviet country?

a reply to: BZiker

I can assume many in Russia feel that Putin has essentially hijacked their country. He has quieted his dissenters, and used KGB style tactics to maintain a lofty control of a short lived democracy. The Ukrain should then, by all means, invade portions of Russia and liberate those who would be liberated? Their is no justifiable excuse for what Putin has done, and hopefully he has hastened the trek to his own political demise

a reply to: McGinty

So am I right in inferring from this that you are thereby saying Putin/Russia will not at any point put any Russian boots on the soil of any other ex-Soviet country?

I think that question has already been answered.

www.foxnews.com...

news.sky.com...

watching a war on twitter. Clown world surrealism!!!

twitter.com...

a reply to: Xcouncil=wisdom
I don't impose my point of view. And I read this forum with interest. I decided to speak out for the first time.
You guys have a lot of right thoughts. But your ideas about Russia are extremely outdated and far from reality.
This draws the focus of your thought away from reality.

I spoke out only because I hope to see some reasoning taking into account what I have told.
I will also be happy to answer questions. If you have them. And if I have the answers.

originally posted by: onthedownlow
a reply to: BZiker

I can assume many in Russia feel that Putin has essentially hijacked their country. He has quieted his dissenters, and used KGB style tactics to maintain a lofty control of a short lived democracy. The Ukrain should then, by all means, invade portions of Russia and liberate those who would be liberated? Their is no justifiable excuse for what Putin has done, and hopefully he has hastened the trek to his own political demise

I'm sorry to disappoint you. But the majority of Russian citizens support Putin. Not in everything and not always. But in matters of foreign policy, support is high. Many perceive him as a man who pulled the country out of a catastrophe. There are also protest sentiments among some young people, marginals and groups close to them. But they are incoherent and do not find broad support among the population. It should be understood that the modern standard of living of Russians is higher than ever before in the history of Russia. And sanctions certainly slow down this process, but the replacement of vacant niches in the economy creates thousands of new jobs. We are sure that our children will live better than us.

And your comparison is emotional. We have not bombed two cities with a population of more than a million people in each for 8 years, simply because they have doubts about the legality of the current government. Our leadership is trying to stop this. The Kiev authorities do not fulfill their obligations and have been killing civilians for 8 years. In addition, all this time shells and missiles are flying into our territory. Several times there were hits at border outposts and peaceful villages on our territory.

If you want an analogy, then here it is - imagine that the Mexican authorities in the territories adjacent to Texas have surrounded several large cities and are systematically shooting them with artillery. China and Russia supply Mexico with weapons, and shout to the whole world that the bloody CIA regime supplies the rebels (probably they will be called terrorists or drug dealers) with weapons and generally claims Mexican territories.
All attempts to come to an agreement peacefully lead to nothing. The President of Mexico has stated dozens of times that he will not fulfill his obligations. And in the end, he will declare that he wants to get an atomic bomb for himself, simply because he does not consider himself safe next to the United States with its bloody CIA regime.
At this moment, the US authorities decide that it is time to resolve this issue. The peace enforcement operation begins. The whole world is worried about the unfortunate Mexico being raped by the bloody CIA regime. Cuba supplies weapons to Mexicans. Sanctions are being imposed against the United States. The reasons for them are actively created by the special services of Mexico.

Now that's a great analogy. Immerse yourself in it.