Ambassador McFaul has it right

[bucolic_frolic]

Link to tweet

Michael McFaul
@McFaul
Resupply those fighting for the free world in Ukraine. Now!
4:15 PM · Feb 25, 2022·Twitter Web App

__________

Because they are, in ways we sense more than know, they are fighting for freedom everywhere. If they win, a weight is lifted from the shoulders of free nations everywhere.

[qazplm135]

1. short of nukes

give them whatever they want, for free, maybe add on a hello Vlad sticker.

[bucolic_frolic]

2. Adam Kinzinger is calling for a blockade of UKR airspace

Asking NATO to enforce a no-fly zone. He feels it's now or never, for Ukraine, and for the west. Seriously, he said this today.

[BigmanPigman]

4. I caught that and was very pleased since last night

CNN had a member of the Ukrainian Parliament on and she said the exact same thing. This is what they must have NOW in order to gain any leverage.

[bucolic_frolic]

5. Since we can't engage, it might spark WW3, I wonder if we, or others, might

scramble communications. NATO, a third country, a neighboring country, an Anonymous project. Something to level the playing field.

[SergeStorms]

6. I agree with that 100%.

That should have been done already. Putin will bomb Ukraine into a parking lot if he's allowed.

[radius777]

8. Gen Wesley Clark said something similar. /nt

[qazplm135]

11. He's right

Putin takes Ukraine he will be emboldened to go further.

War is coming, anyone who thinks we can just sit back, sacrifice a country or two and avoid it is wrong.

[wnylib]

12. Major escalation. Are we prepared for the consequences?

Can the US defend the inevitable attacks on us from Russian nuclear subs that already exist on both of our coasts? Can we endure the inevitable cyber attacks on US cyber systems, including those used in military defense?

Russia will respond to air space intervention in Ukraine. If we can handle the Russian retaliation to us, I am all for it. But are we ready to get fully engaged in this war, or are there other ways to stop Russia without escalating to a world war?

[TomSlick]

18. Are we prepared for the consequences if Putin is allowed to swallow Ukraine?

Are we prepared for Putin to invade Poland, the Baltic States, Slovakia? How about Germany?

I am not convinced Putin is a rational actor but even he surely knows that if there is a nuclear attack on the US, Moscow will be reduced to a landscape of smoking glass. It's called MAD for a reason.

[wnylib]

19. I know very well that Putin presents

that kind of danger to Europe and the world.

But is a world war the best way to defeat Putin, with all its loss of life and destruction?

If the US gets directly involved in the war, which is what intervening directly in the air space would do, then we would be directly at war with Russia. NATO would be under no obligation to defend us if we engage voluntarily without being attacked. They might send arms and other aid, but it would be OUR war, not theirs.

I am all for totally destroying Putin. But I do believe that we should use our heads about how we do it.

[TomSlick]

28. The question remains.

Are we prepared to accept the invasion of other nations that are part of Putin's dream of restoring the Soviet empire?

If Ukraine falls, Poland or the Baltic states are next. The fire must be fought at some point. If the fire is not stopped in Ukraine, we will have to fight the fire after US troops die in Poland.

Putin will not be brought to reason with economic sanctions, he is simply too far down the road. There must be some effective effort made to stop the invasion before we have to fight him with infantry and armor in Poland.

[wnylib]

38. Another question exists.

Is military defeat on the battlefield the only way to destroy Putin? Putin nearly destroyed the US through Trump, without firing a shot at us. Are we all brawn and no brain?

Putin is now the world's pariah. Russians are being turned out of countries around the world, including oligarchs. Accounts are frozen. Air space over other nations is getting denied to Russians. Biden just announced sanctions on Putin's personal finances and there are already sanctions on 5 banks where the oligarchs deal. Anonymous has hacked Russian media and the Russian Defense Ministry. Pressures are increasing and spreading so that Russia is being squeezed in all aspects of life from everywhere. Their own people are voicing dissent in large numbers.

NATO troops in Poland and other NATO countries are a deterrent to Russian spread. We WILL fight if he moves in that direction and not alone. It would be the US and ALL of NATO on one side and Russia alone on the other.

[TomSlick]

43. If we can use our brains and not our brawn, there will be peace in our time.

[wnylib]

47. Bullshit reference. We are taking action.

The comparison is invalid.

A better comparison is the hawks who pressured Kennedy to invade Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis. They even tried to subvert his strategic moves to force him into fighting. Kennedy resolved the situation without war. And, before you claim that he gave in and appeased the Soviets with removal of missiles in Turkey, they were outdated and scheduled for removal anyway.

[TomSlick]

48. Time will tell. History doesn't always repeat itself but that's how the smart money bets.

We are surely "doing something." Chamberlain was "doing something." His intentions were honorable. He simply did not realize that he was dealing with a megalomaniacal tyrant.

It may be that I am wrong. It may be that Putin is not a mentally unstable war monger. Maybe he has exaggerated his dreams of restoring the Soviet empire. Maybe he really does respect the territorial integrity of his neighbors other than Ukraine. Maybe he really is a peace loving, rational actor. After all, things are not always as they appear.

Time will tell.

[wnylib]

49. Chamberlain refused to acknowledge

that Hitler was a dangerous megalomaniac. I do not see a trace of that naivete in Biden. Chamberlain failed to arouse his own nation's awareness or to rally other nations to put the pressure on Hitler at the time of Munich which might have deposed Hitler, or at least would have created a united front against Hitler and Germany.

Biden has been sounding the alarm about Putin for weeks before the invasion of Ukraine. He is leading a united coalition against Putin. He has turned Putin into a world pariah. He has deployed US troops in Europe, along with NATO troops as a deterrent to Putin spreading beyond Ukraine.

Comparing Biden to Chamberlain is not only inaccurate, but quite an insult to our Democratic president from a DU poster.

Now I am through with your trolling. 'Bye.

[DoBotherMe]

29. His henchmen

Should take him out.

[wnylib]

39. Yes, and our pressures can accelerate and contribute to that end.

[Meowmee]

36. This

[mitch96]

3. "Resupply those fighting for the free world in Ukraine." I wonder if any gun humpers here in the US

would donate a few of their AR-15's to Ukraine? ..... I doubt it..
m

[SergeStorms]

10. They need them....

to fight the "invading" armies at the Mexico/U.S. border. To hear them tell it, Biden has removed all border and custom stations. No one is even being stopped anymore, it's wide open.

You can't argue with these lunatics. They read it on one of their fascist, reich-wing chat boards, so it must be true.

[calimary]

14. But, asking seriously, IS THERE a way to contribute toward that?

Anybody know?

How could we civilians help? Or donate? Or send care packages?

[mitch96]

25. I'd be ok with donating $$ but I'm not gonna throw the money down some black hole.

The scammers are out there in time of crisis. Especially half way around the world..
m

[calimary]

26. No kidding. That's why I started asking here.

This is open season for opportunists of all kinds.

[c-rational]

7. He is so right, and your words saying a weight will be lifted from the shoulders of free nations

also rings true.

[RussBLib]

9. just say some Russian missiles landed in Poland

and use it as a pretext to enter Ukraine.

or....since Russia has violated international law by invading, a NATO assault is justified. Didn't Zelenskyy ask NATO for help?

[wnylib]

13. Are you ready for a full blown world war?

Is the US ready? Are you aware of our vulnerabilities, like Russian subs that already exist on both our coasts?

If we can successfully defend our own country from Russian retaliation for intervening in Ukrainian air space, then we could do it. But are you prepared to lose some of our coastal cities in the process? Our cyber communications?

[MOMFUDSKI]

15. Seems like it will either be a full blown world war or

putin does as he pleases for as long as he lives. What's it gonna be?

[wnylib]

16. Fortunately, better informed, creative minds

are not locked into that kind of either/or binary thinking. They are actively involved in less destructive, less escalating ways of bringing Putin down and supporting Ukraine.

[RussBLib]

21. no guarantee it would develop that way

the punk needs to be slapped around a bit

[wnylib]

24. No guarantee, either, that is shooting from the hip

without a well planned strategy would work, either.

Bring him down, yes. But do it intelligently, with full awareness of consequences and the fact that he would definitely retaliate in some way. So we have to think through what his retaliation would be and prepare for it before going off half-cocked.

[RussBLib]

30. impossible

to have full awareness of consequences. It's a fantasy. Sending NATO in is far from ideal, but it just might be the best response. No way to know.

We attacked Iraq after they invaded Kuwait. No NATO there, and we actually had no right to do it, but it was the right thing to do.

Extraordinary circumstances....

[wnylib]

40. I disagree that attacking Iraq

over Kuwait was the right thing to.do. But that is a whole other story that I will not debate now. The focus now is Ukraine and Russia.

[monkeyman1]

17. Vlad won't be in good standing in short order ! Russian privileged will see to that !!

[Cheezoholic]

20. Russian dissidence is the key here IMHO

I honestly see no way out of this unless the Russian people rise up and destroy the power this fuckhead has. Seriously, we cant directly engage Russian forces without going to Defcon obliteration. Unfortunately the heavy sanctions are meant, and will, hurt the Russian people the most. The bet is when the Russian people have had it, they will kick this asshole and his cronies to the street. It very well could be a bloody fight internally for Russia but the only way out of this, IMO, is putrid and his ilk are removed from the world stage. Somebody tell me how this ends peacefully and we go back to the status quo. Tell me. This is the most dangerous time globally since the missile crisis. We need to help, support, motivate the Russian people by any and all means to get them to stop this. Sorry, but it is THEIR responsibility now. The entire world could be on the brink if they don't do something now.

[FakeNoose]

22. I think NATO is sending supplies now, as of today

I just heard it on MSNBC about an hour ago. It's a big deal because NATO has never done it before.

[PatSeg]

23. That gave me the chills

[AlexSFCA]

27. the only thing that can stop putin is Russian people

As painful as it is, imposing severe sanctions on entire russian population with immediate effects - will cause millions to rebel against the regime in no time. Examples of super simple immediate sanctions - swift, ban US, EU and UK corps operating in russia - think Microsoft, Visa, Mastercard, etc. No access to their servers. Suspend all US, EU and UK travel visas for the entire population. Sanction any western corporation that continues business with russia. These are so severe that they will be short lived as ordinary Russians will rebel in tens of millions against putin.

[CaptainTruth]

31. I hope NATO arms arrive in time to make a difference.

I saw reports of NATO equipment crossing the border from Poland today, I'm hoping to see confirmation tomorrow.

[bucolic_frolic]

33. One of the correspondents on CNN said just a few minutes ago

that Ukraine forces do have Stinger missiles. That's how the Afghans turned the tide against the Soviets in the 1980s.

[L. Coyote]

34. Also, I read the Ukrainians are destroying Russian tanks in a single shot. Tanks are worthless if

all you need is a US-made Javelin shoulder-launched anti-tank weapon.

Link to tweet

[Cheezoholic]

42. But you need one to replace

the one you shot. This is a logistics battle atm. I dont see how NATO can resupply faster than the putrids right now. I hope they can

[L. Coyote]

44. Russia has a lot of tanks, but most are at the Chinese border.

That's a long ways to move a tank. Especially compared to a shoulder-fired anti-tank weapon.

[blue-wave]

32. There should be a steady stream of weapons into Ukraine

Throughout this illegal invasion. Keep the weapons flowing into Ukraine!!!

[Sgent]

41. We should take a page out of Putin's playbook

and deliver the 64 ordered F-35s to Finland tomorrow along with some USAF pilots who are on long term vacation. Finland very much may want to enact a no-fly zone in Ukraine.

[Maeve]

45. I heard him on the BBC the other day

Asking if it were Sept 1939, would they be reporting the Nazi take on the invasion of Poland. He f-ing kicked ass. This is our time, How will we respond?