sherpa

Well thanks. I want to point out that unless this thing ends or is toned down soon, we are getting very close to being at war with the Russians. Using the number of times third party countries have provided weapons to their surrogates, this is getting close to direct conflict. Vietnam was a surrogate war. Korea a little less less so, but still. Since then, the Middle East with Yom Kippur and the Six Day War are direct evidence of surrogate confrontation. In my view, we are getting too close to direct confrontation, and Putin is near the end. Best to be prudent here, and as horrible as it might be, let the combatants work it out without our direct involvement.

Be glad to. If you give any indication that you have any idea about any of this, I'd be most pleased to not respond. Your weapon of the week club subscription isn't going to convince anyone. These are very complicated issues, and a serious discussion suggests one knows something about them, as well as putting periods at the end of sentences.

Ya. The strategic move involves the Nov mid terms. Joe want to hitch his wagon to Zelenskyy, Not necessary and a waste of money, and again, the Russians would probably do something special during this thing that would cost a lot of lives. Hopefully, it doesn't happen.

We don't need to show him military superiority, and doing this wouldn't add anything that isn't obvious on a daily basis of their "performance." What he would probably do is some kind of relatively large strike during this photo op that would damage the Ukraine and kill scores of them for no good reason.

I need to explain this to you? Have you lived under a rock since his inauguration? First thing he does is kill the Keystone pipeline. Next he suspends leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and New Mexico. Enacted an Executive Order that activates the use of Federal Agencies, including the SEC, to enforce energy related mandates. The Build Back Better plan imposed new taxes on natural gas, home heating and manufacturing. In addition he mandated that only one relatively senior administration official can approve new drilling permits, and there are over 4000. There isn't a chance in hell that this new roadblock will ever result in more efficient domestic production. Instead, he authorizes a release of some minor supply from the strategic oil reserve. Totally useless, as is his new 15% ethanol plan, which is not only stupid, its counterproductive. The man succeeds at nothing, and it isn't the Saudis fault.

What an incredibly stupid and unnecessarily expensive photo op. Anything they need to talk about can be done by aids or through other, non personal contact. Almost a guarantee that some Russian offensive move will be made during this visit that will damage the Ukraine as a form of a Putin slap.

I thought about adding that. It is certainly true.

And the Saudis form domestic policy in the US. It's always someone else's fault. The buck gets passed here.

I doubt Putin gives a rat's about the Dems. And blaming the Saudis? Ya..That makes sense. A president that on his first day indicates through executive order that he is openly hostile to domestic production, and it is up to the Saudis to minimize the effect of a Russian invasion of the Ukraine. Biden made his bed. It isn't up to others to sleep in it.

I have no idea.

A partisan would say he prevented it, which is the best thing one can do. I don't believe that, but Putin chose his time.

I don't know if "problem" is the right word. If you are going to burden countries with providing very expensive and sophisticated weapons to another country, you need to ensure that the recipient has the skill and manpower to employ them., and the ability to keep them functional. Not sure they had that. Throwing a bunch of Mig 29's at the Ukraine without the ability to man them, control them, knowing that the runways could be wasted on day one is probably a decision that needs consideration. Placing a cadre of SAM 300 systems in place suggests that you better be able to tell who is friend and who is foe, and I'm not sure they had that. These issues are not video games. There are lots or issues on the periphery that are involved in weapons system's calculus.

Both are Russian systems.

I am really reticent to comment on this, but these things are far more complicated than is ever discussed on message boards. It is very difficult and extremely threatening to swap military suppliers. For the Ukraine to suddenly decide to swap their Russian defense system to a US/NATO system would have been incredibly aggressive as seen by the Russians. Basically a NATO agreement. Further, the Ukrainian regime is not known for lack of corruption, and keeping US top shelf stuff away from hostile foreigners is a big part of defense trade, and always a huge consideration. See the refusal to sell F-35's to Turkey, a NATO country. I have no doubt that when this thing comes to an end a good deal of US taxpayer paid military material will be ultimately sold to the highest bidder, no matter how despicable. The thought of providing the Ukraine with top of the line "stuff," and the training required to use it is not realistic nor advisable.

The Cliff Notes version of this is that what the Ukraine wants, regarding their airspace problem, is first line US stuff, and that isn't going to happen.

Italy is a member of NATO, so the answer is obvious. Putin isn't Hitler, and the Russian military "performance" is nothing like what the Germans did at the start of WWII. In short, his advance is already pretty much geographically stopped. Again, how is the Ukraine going to conduct offensive operations inside Russia? Further, NATO being what it is now, with Canada and Germany, among others, not keeping up their military capabilities, anything done would be overwhelmingly US, and this isn't our fight, yet. We can't be everyone's big brother all the time.

Not to quibble, but I doubt the Ukraine has the ability to employ weapons that would penetrate Russia, and the effort might be catastrophic for the rest of the world. Name specifics, 'cause that's where the rubber meets the road.

Washington Nationals 2019. University of Virginia Cavaliers basketball 2019 University of Virginia Baseball 2015.

You can frame your view any way you desire. In point of fact, the US military has had its issues with improper behavior over the years. Those individuals, once identified, have for the most part, been prosecuted. We have lost thousands of our folks abiding by the rules of engagement that are specific to each situation. What is going on in the Ukraine bears no resemblance to anything the US has done.

Biden didn't just cancel Keystone. He also issued an executive order that all drilling permits must be approved by a single relatively senior administration official. I believe there are about 4000 permits. Ya...She's going to get to them. The issue of existing permits that are not being drilled is a specious argument. There are lots of reasons why approved permits are not drilled, and I doubt anyone here can speak with authority on the matter. We can do anything we do with oil by using natural gas, which we have an ungodly supply of domestically, and burns cleaner. New on the horizon is the development of solid oxide fuel cells, which can use nat gas, solar, wind or hydrogen. Nat gas and hydrogen don't use near the real estate of solar or wind. Hydrogen produces no greenhouse gasses. Not reasonable? Here's a list of companies that have figured out it works, and have established on site energy production using this, and ensuring they are not cut off when the grid goes down or some local gov entity decides to limit access, as has happened in California many times. Target. Morgan Stanley. Intel. Safeway. Macy's. IBM. IKEA. Comcast. Kelloggs. Staples. Home Depot. Google. Adobe. Honda. FedEx. Yahoo. Owens Corning, and a municipality in Connecticut.

As someone who has served in the US military as an officer and was involved in ROE, and very familiar with what and how the US conducts itself, I find any comparison with what the Russians have done in the Ukraine with how how the US military operates to be grossly ignorant and insulting. Bad things happen in war. Intent and professionalism are important. Barbarisms and murder cannot be tolerated.

Which it never was. They wasted an entire continent for 45 years, and the waste continues.

Too bad the guy was legitimately crazy when he died.

My "favorite" pol. When I was flying Dulles to LA, which I did for two years, she would usually be on the Friday morning flight to LA, and the late Sun flight back. She is the single most imperious individual I have ever seen, and among pols and celebs, there were plenty. It got so bad that I used to get out of my seat early make sure that I was there when she got off, since she was always in first class, to see if she would ever even make eye contact. It got to be a joke. She held everyone in contempt, including her "staff," who used to board early, drop off all her "work" in her first class seat, then go back to their seat in the main cabin. Always left a huge mess in her seat. Just a despicable woman.

Maybe "air strike," but there been a few skirmishes along the way. The Chinese attacked Zhenbao Island in 1969, killing dozens of Soviets. Additionally, E. Royce Williams, a Naval Aviator flying an F9 Panther from USS Oriskany shot down four Mig 15's in a single one vs seven engagement during the Korean War. The story was kept secret for fifty years because of the risk of a US Soviet war, and wasn't admitted by the US until Russia publicized the names of its killed pilots. There is a move afoot to award Williams, a Congressional Medal of Honor, which he richly deserves. Naval Aviator whacks four Migs in one secret engagement.