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PaperclipPerfector  1yr ago (text post)   28734 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of August 28, 2023

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And of course you can’t have any discussion about appeasement without someone invoking WWII. As if that was the sole appeasement in the history of military affairs.

Appeasement works when you can buy time to improve defenses. When Russia invaded Ukraine, we should’ve strengthened our NATO allies (a core goal for the US); not a corrupt state that was outside our sphere of influence.

As I've argued on previous occasions, every Russian tank, plane and helicopter destroyed in Ukraine is one that wont be able to threaten Poland, Latvia, Finland, Et Al.

Clearing out old stock to significantly weaken the largest regional threat is strengthening our allies, and as others have pointed out, likely at a far lower price point than trying to fortify the Russian border.

Is Poland under threat? If the Russians can't even reach Kiev, it seems unlikely that they're poised to sweep into Warsaw.

Not as much of a threat as it was before the Russian army was revealed to be a paper tiger, but yes it is absolutely under threat.

Well that sacrifices the Baltics too who have been good since they would be militarily indefensible without Ukraine.

And every post communist country does the “corruption” game until they improve institutions and do the Poland game (tracking do be one of the wealthiest Euro countries in a decade). Country’s don’t pop out of Russian sphere and become good Euro countries day 1 but they all seem to get to that point with time.

Why is it sacrificing the balkans? You could while Ukraine was being invaded move a bunch of military installations into the Balkans so that if Russia expanded (questionable whether they would) they wouldn’t be facing a group trying to get it together but a group that is already together.

The Baltics, not the Balkans. Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are small and flat. The original defense plans for a Russia-NATO war called for abandoning them first and counterattacking from Poland.

You would need trenches and permenent troops like S Korea to even have a chance at protecting it. It’s just an area Russia has better access too and shorter supply lines. Ukraine for NATO is likely cheaper than keeping 150k troops combat ready for the next 50 years.

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