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Post by jdredd on Jan 30, 2019 18:09:55 GMT -5
I'm theorizing the West's fear of Russia had it's origins in the invasion of Europe by the Huns in the 4th and 5th Centuries, followed by the Mongols in the 13th and 14th Centuries. A mythology of ruthless invaders from the East.
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Post by jdredd on Feb 10, 2019 20:12:36 GMT -5
www.nytimes.com/2019/02/10/opinion/russia-inf-treaty.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage"These provocative acts undermine Euro-Atlantic security. In response, we are simply trying to defend our allies and ourselves against the threat Russia poses to all of us. Prudence and our obligations to our citizens demand that. Over the next six months, the United States will continue to consult closely with its NATO allies to better understand the danger we collectively face, and to develop conventional, not nuclear, means to deter the use of such missiles. NATO’s mission is to deter and defend, and to provide a security umbrella to all members of the alliance. Unlike Russia, the United States has scrupulously complied with the I.N.F. Treaty and its other international arms control obligations. We hope that the Kremlin uses this time to come back into compliance and destroy its noncompliant 9M729 missile systems. But Russia’s leaders must understand that we will not hesitate to develop the capabilities necessary to ensure the security of ourselves and our allies." Ooooooo...9M729! Sounds dangerous! But here is old Kay Bailey mouthing the Russophobic line. The sad thing is, our foreign policy is Republican designed and Democrat approved. Has been since 1945.
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Post by jdredd on Oct 28, 2019 14:20:11 GMT -5
www.nytimes.com/2019/10/28/opinion/trump-russia.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage"It’s worth emphasizing that Ukraine is currently battling Russian proxies in a conflict that, as Mr. Taylor pointed out, has claimed over 13,000 lives. The coercive scheme by Mr. Trump and his associates weakened Ukraine’s warfighting capabilities and strengthened Russia’s hand — all to induce Ukrainian interference into the domestic politics of the United States. The Russian intelligence services could not have conjured up a more fertile environment for their influence apparatus. This effort to coerce Ukraine into staining Mr. Biden with corruption allegations provides a ready-made — and officially United States government-sanctioned — line of attack for its disinformation operations. And Mr. Trump’s allies’ parallel efforts to discredit the Mueller investigation and advance the theory that the “real collusion” in 2016 was somehow perpetrated by the Clinton campaign and Ukraine provides Russia with a potent narrative of deniability about its own malign activities." Yep, those rotten Russkies are at it again. What's funny is Trump's alleged softness on Russia, which would imply the Democrats are the tough guys.
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Post by jdredd on Nov 12, 2019 3:49:38 GMT -5
www.nytimes.com/2019/11/12/opinion/russias-comeback-isnt-stopping-with-syria.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage "For many in the West, Russia’s return to the world stage over the past few years has come as a surprise, and not an especially pleasant one. After the downfall of the Soviet Union, the country was written off as yesterday’s snow, a regional power, a filling station masquerading as a state. Five years later, however, Russia is still resilient, despite the Western sanctions imposed over its actions in Ukraine. It has effectively won, militarily, in Syria: Today it is a power broker in that country; the victory has raised its prestige in the Middle East and provided material support for Moscow’s claims to be a great power again. Those who experience this moment with some discomfort should get used to it: Russia is not a superpower, but it is back as an important independent player. And it will be playing in various regions around the world in the years to come."
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Post by jdredd on Nov 17, 2019 19:53:21 GMT -5
www.nytimes.com/2019/11/16/opinion/sunday/trump-foreign-policy.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage"But the uncertainty around alternatives will not prevent them from emerging, on the right and left alike, even if the establishment ultimately wins its war with Donald Trump. And if Trump’s manifest corruption and buffoonery has strengthened that establishment in certain ways — by persuading liberals, for instance, to subsume their skepticism of the national security state in newfound Russophobia — his political resilience is also an indicator of the limits on its influence. The Senate Republicans who are likely to ultimately vote for Trump’s acquittal are unlikely to fully defend the specifics of his conduct. But the critique of American priorities that the professionals would like to see buried by association with his misconduct — that critique will rise again."
As I have said so often in the past, you can count on a conservative to do the wrong thing but you can't count on a liberal to do the right.
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Post by jdredd on Sept 1, 2020 16:44:32 GMT -5
www.nytimes.com/2020/09/01/us/politics/us-russia-military-tensions.html?action=click&module=News&pgtype=Homepage"WASHINGTON — Russian fighter jets repeatedly veered 100 feet in front of a U.S. Air Force B-52 bomber over the Black Sea. Six Russian warplanes flew close enough to Alaska that Air Force F-22s scrambled to intercept them. And seven U.S. soldiers were injured when a Russian armored vehicle deliberately rammed an American patrol in northeast Syria. Within a few days last week, smoldering tensions between the United States and Russian militaries flared around the world. Already fraught with fresh evidence of election interference, the relationship between Washington and Moscow has grown even more tense after the recent military encounters. Joseph R. Biden Jr., in a speech in Pennsylvania on Monday, rebuked President Trump for failing to publicly address the altercation in Syria: “Did you hear the president say a single word? Did he lift one finger?
Mr. Biden, the Democratic Party’s nominee for president, also criticized Mr. Trump for failing to raise the issue of suspected Russian bounties on U.S. troops in Afghanistan during multiple phone calls with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia in recent months.
” This is not good for the China bashers. Does America want to take on two adversaries at once? Hitler tried that. And another reason I ain't voting for Biden.
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Post by jdredd on Nov 8, 2020 16:00:26 GMT -5
So Putin is losing his bro Trump. So sad. I bet Trump wished he could have run America like Putin runs Russia.
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Post by jdredd on Feb 25, 2021 15:26:58 GMT -5
www.nytimes.com/2021/02/25/opinion/nord-stream-2-navalny.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage"That puts Berlin at odds with the United States, which has already slapped financial sanctions on companies helping to build Nord Stream 2, arguing that the pipeline rewards Russia and deepens Europe’s reliance on Russian gas. In large part because it has no effect on their constituents, Nord Stream 2 is a rare bipartisan issue among members of Congress. Imposing sanctions allows American legislators to sound tough on Mr. Putin at little cost.Underneath the heated assertions and veiled threats lies the mundane reality that Russia’s ability to use gas as a tool of political pressure is already much diminished — something the completion of Nord Stream 2 would do little to change. But canceling the project as punishment for Mr. Navalny’s treatment is unlikely to achieve much, either. He is clearly a threat the Kremlin wishes to vanquish, at some cost. The clamor over Nord Stream 2 shows, more than anything, a simple truth: When it comes to dealing with Russia, there are very few good options." Here is Washington taking a break from bullying China to bully Russia.
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Post by jdredd on Jun 20, 2021 19:45:26 GMT -5
www.nytimes.com/2021/06/19/opinion/sunday/biden-putin-trump.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage"In that world, Putin was a figure of extraordinary menace, the leader of an authoritarian renaissance whose tentacles extended everywhere, from Brexit to the N.R.A. He had hacked American democracy, placed a Manrian candidate in the White House, sowed the internet with misinformation, placed bounties on our soldiers in Afghanistan, extended Russian power across the Middle East and threatened Eastern Europe with invasion or subversion. In this atmosphere every rumor about Russian perfidy was pre-emptively believed, and the defense of liberal democracy required recognizing that we had been thrust into Cold War 2.0.'
I only posted this column by Ross because he used the term "Russophobia" in the title. But he does make an interesting point.
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Post by jdredd on Jul 15, 2021 13:48:14 GMT -5
The motive behind Brexit has always been a bit of a mystery to me, but I'm getting the impression part of it was disgust with the Germans "cozying up" to Russia, with Nord Stream 2 as evidence.
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Post by jdredd on Dec 8, 2021 0:57:19 GMT -5
So why would Russia even want Ukraine? Just sounds like trouble to me. Crimea I can understand, with the naval base of Sevastopol. Lots of Russian blood spilled there wresting it back from the Germans. One theory is that the Russians don’t want the possibility of Ukraine joining that great anti-Russian alliance, NATO. Still, is that worth going to war for? As usual, I don’t know enough to make any conclusions. It does appear that Biden may be more anti-Russian than Trump, for whatever reasons. I really do wish America had a real peace party. Even the Greens of Germany apparently want Germany to be “tougher” on China because of their human rights record with the Uygurs. Unfortunately, the human world is so messed up you have to prioritize your finite resources.
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Post by jdredd on Dec 14, 2021 19:51:25 GMT -5
Is Russia planning to invade the Ukraine? Ted Cruz says so, for what that is worth. But all I’ve heard is that the Russians have “massed” 100,000 troops on Ukraine’s border. 100K troops? Are you kidding? Conquer Ukraine with that few troops? That’s insane IMHO.
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Post by jdredd on Dec 30, 2021 17:37:52 GMT -5
Do the EU with it’s panzers are still talking about letting Ukraine join the Russia-hating NATO alliance. Sure, why not jab a stick in the eye of the rotten Russkies? Things are pretty dull as they are.
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Post by jdredd on Jan 24, 2022 2:59:22 GMT -5
Finland and Sweden joining NATO? Is anti-Russian paranoia gotten that bad? What is with the new generation of Europeans? All this without a Communist in sight. That was one of the attractions of Communism, that it would end Nationalistic wars. It failed.
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Post by jdredd on Jan 24, 2022 23:53:56 GMT -5
Ha-ha! None other than Tucker Carlson is ripping the anti-Russian Establishment for getting us involved with Ukraine. My contempt for him has shrunken a bit. And it’s fun to see the right divided.
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