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US Foreign Policy 3.0: We're The Mets of International Diplomacy

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LynahFan said:
ICYMI:

https://youtu.be/6Y2GUZFjbBM

Actual reveal at the 12:00 mark.
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This is a big deal, I think. I know the plane hasn't even flown yet, but a smaller B1 that costs like 1/3 of it, that has the potential to control drones, is a big, big deal. I'd read some speculation that these are capable of remote piloting as well (but no formal news on that, near as I can tell), which would be incredible.


Watching Russia - who we thought was a near-peer militarily - just shit all over themselves in Ukraine should make a lot of people around the world re-evaluate their assessment of the US Military.
 
Interesting.
An unnamed US defense source told The Times that the Pentagon is no longer insisting that Ukraine should not strike military targets within Russia.[1]The source noted that the Pentagon has changed its perspective on this matter following the recent intensification of Russian missile strikes on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure over the last few months and that the Pentagon has become less concerned regarding the risk of escalation, including nuclear escalation, with Russia.[2] The Times suggested that this development is a “green light” for Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian territory.[3] Ukrainian commitments to Western partners previously stipulated that Ukraine had the right to use force to regain all its territory, including territory seized by Russia in 2014.[4] The US has previously not made an effort to prevent Ukraine from striking legitimate military targets located on sovereign Ukrainian territory, and the alleged statement made by the undisclosed US source is an extension of the previous policy. International law allows Ukrainian forces to strike legitimate targets even in Russian territory, especially targets from which Russian forces are launching attacks on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure.https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-december-10
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https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-december-10
 
Kepler said:
Not this sh-t again.
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Croatia, Albania, somewhere near Romania
It's Euro and NATO, why the hell do we go
Pristina, blew up huh, head for Macedonia
I'll race ya

Somewhere far overseas
There's a place called Kosovo
That's where you don't wanna go if you're Albanian at all

Protecting human rights
Air strikes and fire fights
And we'll be dropping our bombs
Wherever Serbian bad guys hide
Just up from Kosovo

Somalia, Grenada, or rescuing Kuwait yeah
We screwed ya Rwanda, wish we coulda helped ya
Iraqi embargo, that's where we got hustled

Ooo so now we're helping out in Kosovo
We'll kick some ass
And then we'll see how it goes
And then we really don't know
Good luck to Kosovo

Milo-so-vitch, you sorry son of a bitch

Every time we go
To little places like Kosovo
We never really know what happens after we go
Tough luck for Kosovo

Croatia, Albania, somewhere near Romania
It's Euro and NATO, why the hell do we go
Pristina, blew up huh, head for Macedonia

Well we're heading down to Kosovo
We'll kick some ass
And then we'll see how it goes
And then we really don't know
That sucks for Kosovo

Somalia, Grenada, or rescuing Kuwait yeah
We screwed ya Rwanda, wish we coulda helped ya
Iraqi embargo, how it is we don't know

Ooo I wanna take you down to Kosovo
We'll get there fast
And then we'll take it slow
That's where we wanna go
Way down to Kosovo
 
Lukashenko between a rock and a hard place. I'd be more sympathetic if, well, you know.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko likely deflected Russian President Vladimir Putin’s efforts to coerce Belarus into further Russian-Belarusian integration concessions during a meeting in Minsk on December 19. Putin and Lukashenko refrained from publicly discussing the Russian invasion of Ukraine, with both leaders noting that Belarus still faces a Western threat.[1] Putin announced that he may consider training Belarusian combat aviation crews for the use of “munitions with special warheads” due to the “escalating” situation on the Union State’s external borders.[2] ISW has previously assessed that Lukashenko uses the rhetoric of defending Belarusian borders against the West and NATO in an effort to avoid participating in the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[3] Lukashenko had also used similar hints about the possible deployment of nuclear weapons in Belarus on February 17 in the context of claimed Western aggression.[4] Lukashenko noted that Russia will deliver S-400 air defense complexes and Iskander complexes, while Putin stated that both leaders discussed the formation of a united defense space.[5] ISW continues to assess that Belarus’ participation in Putin’s war against Ukraine remains unlikely. The fact that Putin appears to have accepted Lukashenko’s talking points without persuading Lukashenko to adjust them indirectly supports this assessment. Lukashenko would likely adjust his rhetoric to create some plausible explanation to his own people about why he was suddenly turning away from the fictitious NATO invasion threat he has manufactured to join Putin’s disastrous invasion of Ukraine.

The Kremlin has also attempted to conceal Putin’s likely original intentions to pressure Lukashenko into further concessions regarding integration with the Russian Federation. Putin notably stated that “Russia is not interested in absorbing anyone,” when referring to Belarus.[6] This statement followed Lukashenko’s reiteration of Belarusian independence and full sovereignty on December 16 and appears to be a defensive reaction to Lukashenko’s comments.[7] Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov also stated that Putin did not go to Belarus to convince Lukashenko to join the war, noting that such speculations are unfounded and “foolish.”[8] Peskov had avidly denied Putin’s intention to invade Ukraine days before the start of offensive operation in a similar fashion, to be sure, but this denial is more likely an attempt to cover up Putin’s desperation to involve Lukashenko in the war and apparent failure—again—to do so.
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And to follow that up, first time I agree with the neocons.

US policy should recognize that the Kremlin’s intent regarding Ukraine is maximalist, inflexible, and will not change in the foreseeable future. The West should stop expending resources trying to change a reality it does not control and focus on what it can shape plenty: denying Russia’s ability to wage a war against Ukraine.

Negotiations, ceasefires, and peace deals are not off-ramps but rather on-ramps for the Kremlin to renew its attack on Ukraine in the future under conditions that advantage Russia. They are means to the same ends—full control of Ukraine and eradication of Ukraine’s statehood and identity.

The vital US interest in preventing future Russian attacks on Ukraine can be best achieved by denying Russia the capability to carry out those attacks. The immediate requirement is preserving Ukraine’s momentum on the battlefield—accounting for a possible renewed offensive from Russia this winter—to ensure that Ukraine secures the most advantageous position possible. The West should also eliminate Russia’s ability to attack Ukraine in the future, including by denying Russia a military foothold in Ukraine from which to launch attacks, resisting "peace" deals that the Kremlin will use to buy time to reconstitute its forces, not empowering the Russian defense industrial complex with access to Western markets, and committing to building Ukraine's defensive capabilities over the long term.
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Exactly. Ex-actly. As with the Right in this country, this is not an enemy you can negotiate with or contain. That will only give them the chance to regain their strength. This is an enemy we must be always driving to disarm and break. This is an implacable, lethal snake we must defang.
 
“Zelensky is basically an ungrateful international welfare queen.” -- Dump Jr, today, while Zelensky was in DC

The whole family is on the Russian payroll. End the Right, everywhere. Save the world.
 
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