Putin Invades the Ukraine

[Dondilion]

Originally Posted by donquixote99

1. Are you sure 'faltering support' is a fair reading?

2. Reason give in second sentence of story is "The move is reportedly a strategic effort by the U.S. to ensure ongoing support for Kyiv, according to the Post."

What is the real reason?

The growing realization of the existential nature of the escalation.

[donquixote99]

1. What is 'the existential nature of the escalation?' Do not take the existence of the 'escalation' as a given in your answer.

2. How do you know that a growing realization of the above exists among policymakers and is crucial to their decisions?

[Dondilion]

Originally Posted by donquixote99

1. What is 'the existential nature of the escalation?' Do not take the existence of the 'escalation' as a given in your answer.

2. How do you know that a growing realization of the above exists among policymakers and is crucial to their decisions?

What?
The president himself caused consternation.

[finnbow]

Originally Posted by Dondilion

US is privately asking Ukraine to drop its public refusal to have peace talks with Russia.

https://thehill.com/poicy/internatio...shington-post/

As usual, the real reason for faltering support is not floated.

"He (Putin) wants to break the Ukrainians not at the front line, where that’s not proving possible, but by breaking the West's will to support them. The weak link in this war, potentially, is us."

https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/ar...ying-new-phase

What a lot of people don't realize is how Ukraine's beating up on Russia is also quite beneficial to the West as well as being a great bargain. Through the expenditure of ~2% of the US's annual defense budget, the US is enabling Ukraine to thoroughly trash Russia's military, undermine its economy, and wreck its imperial ambitions in its former satellite states while strengthening NATO in the process. A win-win for Ukraine and Western democracy (and the reason MAGA fascists oppose it).

[donquixote99]

Originally Posted by Dondilion

What?
The president himself caused consternation.

To enable communication and understanding, please try to answer my questions as asked, more completely. It does not matter what consternation the President caused (in some circles in any case), when I do not basically understand what you are talking about. I am indeed seeking to drill into things you implicitly claim as facts, that I do not know to be facts. This involves analyzing your terminology, rather than accepting the implications of it unquestioningly.

[donquixote99]

Originally Posted by Dondilion

What?
The president himself caused consternation.

On the face, you seem to be replicating a rhetorical technique that avoids explicit claims, in favor of leading others to think your sayings must be very deep since they can't really follow them. This technique can persuade by leading the audience members to create their own conclusions, since conclusions are left unsaid. These conclusions may vary from person to person, but each is convinced they have just received a convincing argument in favor of them!

[Dondilion]

A one-sided assessment. Europe is being destabilized.

[finnbow]

Originally Posted by Dondilion

A one-sided assessment. Europe is being destabilized.

Actually, Russia has been doing whatever it can to destabilize Europe and the USA by propping up anti-democratic clowns and causes from Trump to Brexit to Orban to Le Pen to Italy's Meloni to Germany's Schröder (among others) to Serbia's Vučić. Russia losing in Ukraine will hopefully result in the diminishment of its malignant influence here and on the continent as it tries to rebuild its own shattered military, economy and (hopefully) political system.

I'm curious as to the genesis of and reasons for your Putin love. Enlighten me.

While you're at it, read this thread from Timothy Snyder, one of the foremost experts on that part of the world.
https://twitter.com/TimothyDSnyder/s...60108537610240

[donquixote99]

BREAKING NEWS
Russia is retreating from the key city of Kherson, Moscow’s commander in Ukraine said, in a potentially devastating blow to Russia’s war effort.

Wednesday, November 9, 2022 11:00 AM ET

Ukrainian intelligence agencies were working to assess Russia’s movements, the chairman of the defense and intelligence committee in Ukraine’s Parliament said, noting that the announcement could be misdirection from the Russian military.

NY Times

[Chicks]

^^^^^^

Originally Posted by Dondilion

Ukraine cannot take kherson. It tried woefully hard and did
not make an impact.
Now I believe Zelensky has blundered by putting so much of his force in one spot just near the border with Russia.

Uh-huh. Your long-standing Pootin love affair was never meant to be, sorry to say.