Originally Posted by
Niall_Quinn
I know there is ONE enemy, ultimately, when you break it all down.
As a kid I studied Cold War geopolitics. That might sound ridiculous, but it wasn't because I wanted to be a politician, it was because I collaborated on table-top wargames and the early computer simulations and we always wanted to make that shit as realistic as possible. So we read our books and subscribed to our journals and had heated, nerdy debates about Soviet echelon strength versus limited NATO technological response and attrition rates long into the night. Some of us ended up producing (helping to produce - myself in a minor way) the databases for possibly the most realistic publicly available simulation ever created (discarded now for bullshit), one that was used in the 90s by NATO training programs. I still have off the shelf board games that were never played but repurposed to build new games focused on political and military conflict. I knew every piece of equipment on the battlefield, every senior figure that would command those pieces, not in a Top Trumps way, but down to terrain management, refuelling, labour and maintenance availability, adverse production penalties for re-supply given a changing political landscape and competing demands, personality profiles. Back then there was a wealth of material to draw on, the honest observations of generals and admirals and career politicians who seemed to be able to speak more freely. Not so today.
The point being...
I fully understood, and still do, what a sphere of influence is. And if you don't have a command of that knowledge you can't possibly know what is happening in the Ukraine or why it is happening. You can break it down to the emotional bullshit and throw out platitudes like war is bad. Of course it is. Who even needs to think about that? But war is sometimes a consequence, despite being the worst consequence. Actions have consequences. When you ignore those actions you lose the ability to comprehend the consequences. It all just becomes an enraged tweet or an impotent sanction. Then you do stupid, disconnected things that play into enemy hands at your expense.
I would also say, we are very, very lucky and we should be very, very grateful to Vladimir Putin and the people around him (both pro and con) we aren't all dead already. Not that I trust him to remain so restrained. We'll see. Back in the 80s and 90s, if this shit had happened we certainly would be dead, without a doubt. Russia has come a long way since those days and, contrary to the absolute bullshit being sold to rapid buyers by the mainstream media, seems to have accepted secondary status as a matter of pragmatism and realism. The US and it's "allies" (by which I mean lapdogs - absolute fucking SHAME On Germany, for instance, how humiliating), are still playing the primacy status and are causing the bipolar shift and return to the 80s and 90s we see unfolding before our eyes. It is ENTIRELY their fault and to their short term benefit. Because, I have to say, it doesn't seem as if there is a braincell operating on any level in the west, except maybe that French EU chick who seems to have a handle on things. Thank fuck for her or this would be a lot worse by now. Impressive woman, they should put her in charge. But the rest of them, they see a dollar (even though the dollar will die as a result of this) and that's all that matters. They even have the death of the dollar covered for their benefit. So they can play 4D chess, but only in the same way a fox calculates how to break into the chicken coup.
There was a moment for peace and the west did everything possible to derail it. Simple facts. Read the history books and the commentary from people who were involved at the time. This is not because they didn't want peace, it's because conflict suited their goals better. Peace was never considered as relevant. Can you imagine having to deal with people like that? When they will fuck you over for a balance sheet and never think once about you? Whether you are an individual or an entire nation?
Anyway, sure, I support Putin 100% in this and I'm absolutely happy to say it. I don't support him and the rest of the shit he does. But in this, 100%. It's actually a no-brainer. I'd be incredibly worried if one of the last holdouts against THEM didn't stand up when the red line was crossed. He may be the last chance we have. Doesn't look like WE'RE going to do anything to defend our own arses.
As for the people of Ukraine, which people do you mean? The Maidan crowd in the west? The population in the east? The crime lords in Odessa? Which people? There are many people, all disjointed, disconnected, with competing interests and (in some cases) rather dark outlooks. I, of course, will have immediate sympathy for civilians on the ground, regardless of their banner. Wouldn't want to to be me and mine. That's a human response. But that's not the world we live in. People can pretend if they like, but Ukraine exists in the same space as Syria, or Libya, or Yemen, or Iraq, or Afghanistan. And anyone who can be partially compassionate is a hypocrite, which means most. I don't want war but I also realise we are at a stage of human development where war still exists and at least if the more favourable combatant (in this case Russia) prevails it is a step in the right direction. I wonder where some of these heroes and victims stood when well documented atrocities were being conducted against their fellow countrymen? My sympathy wanes a little when I think of that. It evaporates when I think of the Ukrainian state as a political entity. Absolutely, I am totally against that horrific manifestation and the throwback to ultimately dark times it throws up. I'm very pleased to see Ukraine (the state) crushed. About time. Somebody had to put a stop to that shit rather than collaborating with it and making potential future atrocities even worse. I'm talking reality, not emotion.
Was it a good thing to bomb Germany? Discuss. What was the end goal? How do you equate the suffering? Were we advanced enough as a species to prevent it ever happening?
What about the atomic bomb? The arch-hypocrite and only user of such demonic power, smashing another nation with claims it threatens the world because of the very power the claimant previously unleashed. Hypocrisy aside, is it a simple calculation to determine who is right and wrong?
I have the unfair benefit of being able to analyse this without paying heed to the mainstream media. I fear you do not enjoy that privilege. Although you could.
Have my posts really aged badly? Show me.
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