- Joined
- Apr 22, 2019
- Messages
- 34,215
- Reaction score
- 15,563
- Gender
- Male
- Political Leaning
- Progressive
"...we believe Moscow has developed plans to inflict widespread human rights abuses – and potentially worse – on the Ukrainian people." - Secretary of State Blinkin
Do we want a world filled with more war where murder is rewarded? Maybe we should save the costs of police and jails by not arresting murderers anymore, just provide some 'aid' to victims by sending out some guns to people to protect themselves, and when murders greatly increase, say we wish the innocent well.
I'm not suggesting the US go to war in Ukraine, because of the nuclear danger primarily. But we can't allow everyone with nuclear weapons to decide to demand to rule the world, or else, either.
It's one thing to threaten to conquer Russia that could trigger nuclear defense, and another to take effective measures to thwart Russia wrongfully committing war on Ukraine.
What we're doing is good as far as it goes, with some military aid, diplomatic support and sanctions on Russia. But I'm not sure it's as much as we should do. I could lay out some random ideas for more, but those specifics aren't the point.
We need better ways of dealing with these threats. If we let Ukraine be conquered, it's like the police chief saying 'we regret the gang murders but have decided it's better to allow them'. What happens from that?
One minute we're exaggerating foreign threats to justify our own actions; and learning a lesson that's wrong; but the next we're faced with real threats, and mistakenly not doing enough.
If one citizen is threatened by an armed criminal, we go to great lengths to protect them, understanding the need to deter such acts. This is no different, but on a far larger scale.
OK, maybe we should give those few random examples. Arming Ukraine with drones to use in their territory - and Russia. Information warfare launched inside Russia to build opposition to Putin. Arming dissident groups in Russia. Attempting to bar travel and trade with Russia somewhat like our misguided Cuba embargo, but with broader participation. And removing Russia from the Security council, at least until regime change.
Do we want a world filled with more war where murder is rewarded? Maybe we should save the costs of police and jails by not arresting murderers anymore, just provide some 'aid' to victims by sending out some guns to people to protect themselves, and when murders greatly increase, say we wish the innocent well.
I'm not suggesting the US go to war in Ukraine, because of the nuclear danger primarily. But we can't allow everyone with nuclear weapons to decide to demand to rule the world, or else, either.
It's one thing to threaten to conquer Russia that could trigger nuclear defense, and another to take effective measures to thwart Russia wrongfully committing war on Ukraine.
What we're doing is good as far as it goes, with some military aid, diplomatic support and sanctions on Russia. But I'm not sure it's as much as we should do. I could lay out some random ideas for more, but those specifics aren't the point.
We need better ways of dealing with these threats. If we let Ukraine be conquered, it's like the police chief saying 'we regret the gang murders but have decided it's better to allow them'. What happens from that?
One minute we're exaggerating foreign threats to justify our own actions; and learning a lesson that's wrong; but the next we're faced with real threats, and mistakenly not doing enough.
If one citizen is threatened by an armed criminal, we go to great lengths to protect them, understanding the need to deter such acts. This is no different, but on a far larger scale.
OK, maybe we should give those few random examples. Arming Ukraine with drones to use in their territory - and Russia. Information warfare launched inside Russia to build opposition to Putin. Arming dissident groups in Russia. Attempting to bar travel and trade with Russia somewhat like our misguided Cuba embargo, but with broader participation. And removing Russia from the Security council, at least until regime change.