So what happens if russia is successful in

[Beachnutt]

taking over Ukraine ?
If Ukraine is destined to lose this battle then whats the point in all the death and destruction ?

[lame54]

1. Then they have to hold it

[bucolic_frolic]

2. Jeremy Bash was on with Nicole Wallace today

He said this is a new Cold War. We will be defending the NATO borders with Russia and Ukraine for decades. Troops, military bases, and all the fixins.

We defeated the U.S.S.R. by engaging in an arms race that bled their economy dry. Maybe Putin is returning the favor. He's sure pricked the overbought stock market.

[uponit7771]

13. USSR never spent their appropriations on military GROWTH during most of the 80s because they...

... were busting a big chunk of their GDP change it in Afghanistan.

Afghanistan was VERY VERY expensive for USSR and this is underplayed by the Right.
They never built the rest of the military up beyond what they had in the early 80s beyond maintenance and better jets.

CIA doc page 11 - https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/DOC_0000499320.pdf

Page 14 illustrates the 14 billion rubles that the USSR was spending in 86 in Afghanistan ALONE.

It wasn't military expansion via arms race that sunk the USSR it was the money they were pouring into Afghanistan that bleed cash on hand extra funds dry.

The CIA was claiming 20 billion rubles that year was spent on the military and could estimate 14 billion spent in Afghanistan.

Other estimates that it was 4 times larger came because Gorbechev's admin out the Soviet MIC claiming it really spent 77 billion TOTAL but that was in 89.

https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/economics/research/centres/eri/bulletin/2008-09-2/harrison/#:~:text=Its%20official%20statistics%20had%20lied,a%20fraction%20of%20the%20truth.

The right likes to give RayGun full credit for the "arms race" but there's more too it historically IMHO.

[PortTack]

3. The point is that Putin won't stop. He will invade the Baltics next as they were once part of russia

The entire European continent is at risk

[Beachnutt]

4. I totally understand that but I don't

understand a fight of a chihuahua vs a doberman while all the other dogs stand and watch.
If they are destined to lose then the fight is coming to other countries at some point.
Putin has to be stopped now.

[Sherman A1]

8. The other dogs are not standing by and watching

The Ukrainians are being armed by Nato countries and the Soviets while much bigger do have their weaknesses.

[maxsolomon]

7. The 3 Baltic Republics are in NATO

He won't dare.

Ukraine is the thorn in his side. Their 2014 Revolution is his nightmare.

[uponit7771]

12. After Putin's recent speech I don't know, he sounded like I said he sounded for YEARS; angry at west

... for the fall of USSR.

Shit, it wasn't our fault they busted their 1970s extra cash from high oil prices on Afghanistan.

[ChicagoRonin]

5. Then Putin and Russia will (re)learn an age-old lesson

Empires can last a very long time. But in all cases, they gradually become more expensive and more difficult to maintain. Especially if you decide on being a bully and expansionist. And it costs a lot more to govern people oppressively than allow some fairness and equality. Oppression breeds resentment, and no matter how much you put it down, you can't extinguish unhappiness. So an outsized portion of your revenues go to maintaining surveillance, guards, upkeeping military equipment. In the meantime innovation stalls, the economy sputters (except for those at the top, breeding more resentment), smart people escape to greener pastures (or are executed, reducing your national brainpower).

How long did the Soviet Union last? 69 years?

[uponit7771]

11. +1, USSR literally blew their rainy day money on Afghanistan instead of investing it in future

... Russian infrastructure.

If Putin takes over all of Ukraine I think the insurgency will be worse there than Afghanistan for both us and them.

We did the same with Iraq and Afghanistan except the US gov can tax its citizens more with lower buying power and higher taxes for the middle class.

That's what Putin's Whore did IMHO, we're still stinging hard from SALT caps

[Bettie]

6. Then, he'll move on to his next target

and the next, and the next, until someone stops him.

[uponit7771]

9. Insurgency will be worse than Afghanistan IMHO and the reason they wont take over the whole

... country.

That would be suicide IMHO

[LisaL]

10. Ukraine becomes a part of Russia?

NT

[Captain Zero]

14. I wouldn't be surprised if

Russians take it over.
Then discover/manufacture "evidence" about
Bo/Joe Biden getting millions from Ukraine connection. They've been spit balling that for years.

[dwayneb]

15. Russia will take Ukraine blitzkreig style

Ukraine is the greatest strategic prize in the region.

Once he is established well in Ukraine, he will continue to expand his empire, gobbling all the remaining non-NATO countries.

The only question in my mind is whether he will dare to attack a NATO country. My guess is he will attack them with disinformation and Active Measures tactics, just as he has attacked us here in the USA for a decade at least.