Putin is a damn genius!

[Chainfire]

WWIII may be about to begin, and we are busy talking about Donald Trump's bathroom habits. Sir Basil Liddell-Hart referred to this as "The art of the indirect approach." And some people don't think that Donald is the tool of the Russians...

[FalloutShelter]

1. Putin is a Bond villain.

[PCIntern]

24. He even LOOKS like one of the Bond films' characters

That general who first appeared I believe in From Russia With Love as a middle-level SMERSH officer then later as a General. Except that Putin is actually more believable. He’s the real thing.

[FalloutShelter]

25. For sure!

[Fozzledick]

30. Trump is an Austin Powers villain.

[FalloutShelter]

33. LOL

If he were only as ineffectual and harmless.

[Brainfodder]

37. I was thinking comic book villain, but yeah that will do as well!

But Waddle Dump to me, more like Scooby Do villain quality that even teenagers see through?

Pull off his mask and it's..... holy cow it's attached and real?

[Irish_Dem]

2. Yes Putin wants the US bogged down in chaos and division.

Damages our reputation and national security.

Yes I have been saying for years now that he is an evil genius.

[Walleye]

3. Right wingers refuse to acknowledge the basic facts. Putin hates the United States

Those who agree with Putin also hate the United States

[Chainfire]

6. But through years of brainwashing, they think of themselves as the only true Patriots.

The see Putin as a hero; a manly man in a world of sissy leaders. They want to put God, through Trump or Putin, in charge, put the minorities back in their rightful places, and make America great, for straight, white, Christian men, again. These people need a big daddy figure to lead them. It is the same mentality that believes that God created men in his own image, when the truth is that men created God in their own image. Some people get everything ass-backwards...

They will need God to help them, because they have no clue what they are asking for. They don't know that they, and their families, will be the first victims of their Fascist dreams. Lemmings, thinking that they are on vacation, marching to the sea.

[Walleye]

7. First thing Putin would do would be to take their precious guns

[Chainfire]

10. You and I know that,

but they don't.

They think that they would be revolutionary heroes with the world at their feet. Men will cower before them and women will swoon over them. Putin would be grateful for their help and would treat them like royalty. (the way the Soviets treated their Royalty, no doubt)

You have to remember, Right Wingers are ignorant of history. They believe anything that the right-wing media tells them. What a nasty surprise would follow their "success."

[dalton99a]

4. Putin is a murderous sociopath with a Napoleonic complex

King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands meet with Vladimir Putin, 2013

[Doodley]

5. Putin has been encouraged by Trump and the likes of Tucker Carlson.

[Chainfire]

8. That could present a chicken and egg question.

[bigtree]

9. if he invades it will serve as justification for more NATO expansion

...Russia can't sustain the isolation and cost (political and material) of another cold war.

It would be a huge miscaculation. Whatever benefits he sees in attacking Ukraine would be overshadowed by withering sanctions and further arming of his neighbors against him.

His crops will wither and every first born will be a changeling! (got carried away)

Best case for him would be a Kim Jong style bluff to try and gain concessions on something.

[Chainfire]

12. Putin has a hell of an advantage.

His army is "there" and NATO's ain't...

There is no doubt in my mind that he could fight his way through to a victory in Ukraine before we could react in kind. It would be Poland in 1939 again. His calculation is the same as Hitler's; we are politically too weak to go to war over Ukraine. He may be right.

Putin is playing a frightful game of chicken, he is driving at breakneck speed at oncoming traffic. We will only find out at the last second if he will get back in his lane or go out in a blaze of historic glory.

[bigtree]

13. it would ramp up Ukraine's desire to align with the West

Every neighboring country would flip its security goals to resisting Russia. NATO would reinforce the defences of its eastern members. Sweden and Finland might even join.

Not seeing this as 'genius,' as much as a potential miscalculation, both outside of Russia and within.

[wnylib]

22. And just like with Germany and Poland, Allies are

going to fight if he tries to go beyond Ukraine.

It occurs to me that Biden has said that we will not send ground troops into Ukraine. But, Biden has not said that we wouldn't use drones or missiles from outside Ukraine. Is this why Biden and other NATO nations have told our people to leave? We don't want to hit our own in drone and missile attacks?

But we might hit Ukrainian citizens accidentally. I would be very anxious if I were a Ukrainian right now sandwiched between two armies. They are brave and deserve all the help we can give, but if fighting does break out, they could be damaged from both sides, one intentionally, and one accidentally.

Given the RW extremist infiltration of US military and their worship of Putin, I hope our military in the region are vetted on their loyalties.

Too much to hope, I guess, that Putie would visit the front and be greeted by a drone.

[imanamerican63]

14. Hillary's emails?

[Beachnutt]

16. "BUT HER E MAILS"

link

https://shop.onwardtogether.org/

[greatauntoftriplets]

15. Evil genius.

[robbob]

17. Hey, the more ridicule and scorn that gets heaped on TFG

the less likely we will have to deal with him in 2024. We can multitask; laugh at him, prosecute him, AND deal with Putin. And Covid. And the economy. And global warming. And…

[Greybnk48]

18. Putin is a sociopathic, psychopathic, vicious, brutal fuckface.

"Genius" is the LAST word I would use for that sawed off Napoleon wanna-be.

[Chainfire]

27. You left out that he has tiny feet, bad breath and body odor.

Your assessment is about correct. Why, Putin would qualify to be a senior Republican party leader.

However, give the man his due. He came up from being a minor KGB figure to head SPECTER and foment plans for world domination. Where is 007 when we need him?

I am supposing that we will see how smart the man is, or isn't, in the next few weeks.

[Smackdown2019]

19. Ukrainians are not going to let themselves be walked over

Chances are it be a bulldozer effect when this happens, but those Ukrainians are prepared as much they can be and it would not surprise me if it be during the superbowl. It be Monday their time... so anything is possible...

Freedom is right that can be lost. Sometimes, others step up to ensure it prevails. Stalingrad was fought close quarters.... defenders have advantages....

[Midnight Writer]

20. Thankfully, we invested trillions on Reagan's Star Wars Missile Defense System, so

we don't have to worry about any foreign nukes hitting us.

[Kaleva]

21. Us ignoring TFG's bathroom habits will not influence Ukraine in any way

We could have numerous threads here on the 1st page discussing the situation with Ukraine and that would have no effect on what happens

[wnylib]

23. But it will affect the degree of our

willingness to support Ukraine and Biden's decisions.

[Kaleva]

28. I think the majority of DUers will support Biden in regards to the Ukraine

Regardless of how little we talk about it.

[wnylib]

34. I think so, too. I also know that people

who are not registered here and do not post here do read our posts and discussions

And of course, not all Dems agree with each other on all issues, do we?

[Kaleva]

35. +1

[Chainfire]

26. The Romans called it "food and circus."

[Kaleva]

29. Are you saying we here at DU are being misdirected?

Since there are more threads about TFGs bathroom habits then about the Ukraine?

[Chainfire]

32. I prefer the term distracted.

We should be laser focused on the overt act, led by the President, to destroy Democracy in order to stay in office. Mishandling government documents is to the criminality of Donald Trump as becoming obsessed over speeding violation of an escaping axe murderer.

Yep, I prefer distracted.

[Kaleva]

36. Ok

I'm just saying that no matter what we focus on, it will have impact on how things turn out.

[Celerity]

31. panem et circenses, bread and circuses

[Chainfire]

39. I wish that I could be ripped off for a half a million bucks. ;)