tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8304928500646903522.post4029523556725272050..comments2024-03-28T18:32:05.933-04:00Comments on bensozia: Links 25 March 2022Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01037215533094998996noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8304928500646903522.post-85734897113691421562022-03-27T10:43:31.979-04:002022-03-27T10:43:31.979-04:00@Anonymous
Good luck with that, tough guy. Leave...@Anonymous<br /><br />Good luck with that, tough guy. Leave me and mine out of it.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14456987412710878404noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8304928500646903522.post-67617179137497646912022-03-26T22:36:44.996-04:002022-03-26T22:36:44.996-04:00It also means that looking to defeat Russia outrig...It also means that looking to defeat Russia outright may be a very bad idea indeed.<br /><br />Eh..again? Thanks, comrade, we'll go with defeating them.<br /><br />https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2018/04/24/the-soviet-roots-of-invoking-fears-about-world-war-iii/Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8304928500646903522.post-44723595153265212722022-03-25T14:30:51.129-04:002022-03-25T14:30:51.129-04:00Amazing 30-second time-lapse video of the port of ...<i>Amazing 30-second time-lapse video of the port of Amsterdam.</i><br /><br />To clarify something that isn't clearly stated - this doesn't depict normal harbor traffic, but rather is footage from the "SAIL Amsterdam" event which is held every five years, in which sailing ships from all around the world converge on the city's east harbor.G. Verlorennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8304928500646903522.post-10304563453270791992022-03-25T11:07:05.548-04:002022-03-25T11:07:05.548-04:00In the vein that I mentioned above, the Russian si...In the vein that I mentioned above, the Russian signal this morning that they MAY be "satisfied" with their takings in the east of Ukraine is something it might be wise to respond to. Such a negotiation would be in no way satisfying for Ukraine, the West, or a moral conscience. It would not ensure that Putin has "learned his lesson," nor would it properly honor the bravery of the Ukrainian people. Welcome to international politics in the nuclear age. Perhaps ISW should stop looking to WWI and WWII and consider instead Korea in 1954 or perhaps Hungary in 1956 as the relevant examples.<br /><br />I suppose, as a counter-example, one might cite the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. There the US armed the resistance and kept arming it until the Soviets were, in fact, completely defeated. Vietnam the same, with the US defeated in this case. But I'm not sure we can rely on Putin to play the role of Gorbachev or Nixon. Several observers have already commented that Putin is much more reckless about talking about WMD than the Soviets ever were. In this sense he and Trump really are soulmates.<br /><br />Long term, I think the best strategy may be to keep Putin as bottled up but unoffended as possible, and wait for his life to run out.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14456987412710878404noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8304928500646903522.post-66523808270202298752022-03-25T10:16:20.347-04:002022-03-25T10:16:20.347-04:00Interesting that the ISW assessment of Ukraine doe...Interesting that the ISW assessment of Ukraine doesn't mention the possibility of Russia using WMD. That would change the international politics of the war dramatically. And while the ISW is lauding the idea of a even more arming of the Ukrainians, I'm concerned this may push Putin too much to the wall in a world where nuclear Armageddon is real possibility. The existence of nuclear weapons means there are limits to the usefulness of analogies from, say, 1916. It also means that looking to defeat Russia outright may be a very bad idea indeed.<br /><br />Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14456987412710878404noreply@blogger.com