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Claim: 'Kyiv is the mother of all Russian Cities'

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Comments

  • Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 24,420 Mod ✭✭✭✭robindch


    recedite wrote: »
    Its similar to the statements they made that the airliner was shot down by a "Russian-made" missile, followed up by a later (and much lower key) statement their there was "no evidence of direct Russian involvement".
    I don't quite see what the problem here is - if the US or NATO claims that MH17 was brought down by Russians, then they'll have to do something much more serious than the mickey-mouse sanctions they've been implementing so far. While there was lots of circumstantial evidence of Russian involvement, there was no incontrovertible evidence of "direct" involvement, so the statement seems accurate.
    recedite wrote: »
    What the western public saw was the newspaper headline "Putin's Missile".
    That's probably not surprising, given that the gunmen which Putin is backing boasted about having BUK's, boasted about having shot down a large plane, had phonecalls leaked with multiple sources including some in Russia, as well as what the one of the gunmen admitted, quite possibly accidentally.

    While all this evidence is compelling, it's not incontrovertible and the EU and US have deemed it insufficient to do much more than sanction a few more individuals and companies. All the newspapers have to do is sell copy. They don't have a responsibility, at least in principle, to act upon what they say, unlike the US and EU.

    Are you suggesting that the missile that brought down MH17 wasn't Russian, and was fired -- albeit at the wrong plane -- without the knowledge, help or connivance of Russian soldiers, the military and the Kremlin?


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,247 ✭✭✭stevejazzx


    recedite wrote: »
    What the western public saw was the newspaper headline "Putin's Missile".
    robindch wrote:
    That's probably not surprising, given that the gunmen which Putin is backing boasted about having BUK's, boasted about having shot down a large plane, had phonecalls leaked with multiple sources including some in Russia, as well as what the one of the gunmen admitted, quite possibly accidentally.

    Hmm... Saddam's WMD's and Putin's Missile -
    Neither have materialized and as time goes by alternative motives from the US become apparent i.e war.

    Coming from a place where I had firmly believed that the separatists were undoubtedly responsible I now have growing concerns

    - The picture of the BUK's that the rebels were supposed to have is now apparently in question. (due to the time of year (trees) and location (poster)

    - The phone calls have apparently been withdrawn as evidence as they are apparently spliced together from different times

    - No evidence that BUK was launched from rebel area now

    - Russia claims to have evidence of Ukrainian BUKs in the area.

    This post break down Russia's questions

    I just wish that the US and Ukraine would release the flight audio and high res sat imagery. They have it recorded why can't we hear it? Mh17 went on a sudden 14km divergence before it exploded. The audio would likely explain why; it;s crucial.


  • Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 24,420 Mod ✭✭✭✭robindch


    stevejazzx wrote: »
    as time goes by alternative motives from the US become apparent i.e war.
    It's sentences like this that really confuse me.

    On the one hand, we have the US which has bent over backwards to make it clear that, to a very large extent, it doesn't give a hoot about Ukraine, that it has no interest whatsoever in a European war and has issued sanctions against a small number of individuals and fewer corporations. Putin, on the other hand, has violated the security understanding which has generally kept international peace in Europe since 1945, has legitimized violent ethnic nationalism in an ingroup with members in many European countries, has invaded Ukraine twice, has stolen one province and destabilized the rest, has cheered on clearly fraudulent "referendums" in east Ukraine and Crimea, has initiated, supported and failed to condemn actions by Russian-flagged gunmen and others which have lead to the deaths of thousands, has whipped up his own population into a dangerous jingoistic whirlwind, has lied through his teeth for months, and generally made it clear that the international agreements to which Russia are party aren't worth the paper they're written on.

    And you say that it's the US which has stood back and done virtually nothing which wants war?

    I really don't get it :confused:


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,247 ✭✭✭stevejazzx


    robindch wrote:

    And you say that it's the US which has stood back and done virtually nothing which wants war?

    I really don't get it :confused:

    Done nothing - in what way do you mean?

    - They've spent 5bn on influencing Ukraine democratic process since 1992.
    - They've had their most senior staff members on the streets supporting the revolution.
    - They are preparing various bailout packages.
    - They recently supplied non lethal military gear.
    - They have lead the cause in condemning Russian actions and have made Ukraine a non NATO ally and have threatened and implemented sanctions.
    - The vice presidents son is working with Burisma to quote "get Ukraine off its dependence on Russia for energy".
    - They have given strategic support to the Ukraine directly with CIA and congress has just passed an urgent aid bill for Ukraine.
    - The US will train the National Guard and on and on.

    It's kind of similar to Brazil in 1964 - the CIA was instrumental in a coup d'etat after which the US ambassador to Brazil said that Brazil's new found freedom (beneath a new leadership of ultra fascists) would greatly improve the climate for foreign investment.
    The investment here is related to future energy and preventing Russia's monopoly and growth in the area while at the same furthering NATO's defense installations along Russia's borders.
    There's nothing in the above paragraph which is denied by the US.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 13,992 ✭✭✭✭recedite


    robindch wrote: »
    Are you suggesting that the missile that brought down MH17 wasn't Russian, and was fired -- albeit at the wrong plane -- without the knowledge, help or connivance of Russian soldiers, the military and the Kremlin?
    ^ That is a prime example of the kind of innuendo being put out by the US/Nato spindoctors.
    The first part is true; all BUKs were made in Russia/USSR at one time or another, and the plane was almost certainly brought down by one.

    The second part, that it follows then that Putin must have ordered or "connived" in the attack is the false conclusion which people are making.
    From your own link above;
    Khodakovsky said it was widely known that rebels had obtained BUKs from Ukrainian forces in the past, including three captured at a checkpoint in April and another captured near the airport in Donetsk. He said none of the BUKs captured from Ukrainian forces were operational.
    While he said he could not be certain where the BUK system operating on rebel territory at the time of the air crash had come from, he said it may have come from Russia.
    Assuming this report is genuine and true, this particular rebel commander does not know whether the other rebel commander subsequently got the captured BUKs working.
    So what we actually know is that all three; Kiev Ukraine, Rebel Ukraine, and Russia have BUKs in their arsenal. And all BUKs are "Russian made". That's all we know.

    Having said that, IMO Rebel Ukraine is most likely to have fired the missile, but not with the intention of bringing down a passenger plane. And speculating that, it still does not make Putin responsible.
    robindch wrote: »
    It's sentences like this that really confuse me.
    On the one hand, we have the US which has bent over backwards to make it clear that, to a very large extent, it doesn't give a hoot about Ukraine, that it has no interest whatsoever in a European war.....
    I really don't get it :confused:
    Take off the blinkers then. :)


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 3,232 ✭✭✭Brian Shanahan


    Seeing as Russia have made their naked power grab official over the last few days with army units operating openly on Ukrainian soil and attacking Ukrainian troops in defiance of all international law and treaty, are any of the "Russia are the wronged party" crowd going to apologise for their wrongheaded castigation of the rest of us?


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 35,329 ✭✭✭✭Hotblack Desiato


    The recent silence in here speaks volumes, Brian.

    Scrap the cap!



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,247 ✭✭✭stevejazzx


    Seeing as Russia have made their naked power grab official over the last few days with army units operating openly on Ukrainian soil and attacking Ukrainian troops in defiance of all international law and treaty, are any of the "Russia are the wronged party" crowd going to apologise for their wrongheaded castigation of the rest of us?

    Can you link to where Russia made this official?
    Not disagreeing with you per se - I'm just not aware they'v admitted it?


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 3,232 ✭✭✭Brian Shanahan


    stevejazzx wrote: »
    Can you link to where Russia made this official?
    Not disagreeing with you per se - I'm just not aware they'v admitted it?

    So instead of facing up to the facts of the situation, you obfuscate and deny.

    Very big of you, Steve, I must say.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,247 ✭✭✭stevejazzx


    Seeing as Russia have made their naked power grab official
    stevejazzx wrote: »
    Can you link to where Russia made this official?
    Not disagreeing with you per se - I'm just not aware they've admitted it?
    So instead of facing up to the facts of the situation, you obfuscate and deny.

    Very big of you, Steve, I must say.

    No not all - I am genuinely interested in reading where Russia has made this official as you've somewhat stated - if they haven't made this official then perhaps you could elaborate as to precisely what you think is going on - seeing as you have repeatedly refused to justify and stand over your previous soundbite that 'Putin is a Nazi' it would be refreshing if you provided an in depth analysis of what you believe is happening here at which stage your call for an apology can be properly determined.


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 13,992 ✭✭✭✭recedite


    ..seeing as Russia have made their naked power grab official..
    The statement is untrue.

    But listening to some of the news reports on RTE and BBC, they give the impression that the Russian army have declared war on Ukraine and have openly invaded with columns of tanks etc. so I can see how the mistake can arise.
    I don't think any of us here are privy to what extent, if any, the Russian military are helping the separatists. If it is happening, it would be classified as tactical information and would not be released. Claims and "evidence" by the Nato and Kiev authorities about a Russian invasion are still unconvincing.


  • Site Banned Posts: 8,331 ✭✭✭Brown Bomber


    Seeing as Russia have made their naked power grab official over the last few days with army units operating openly on Ukrainian soil and attacking Ukrainian troops in defiance of all international law and treaty, are any of the "Russia are the wronged party" crowd going to apologise for their wrongheaded castigation of the rest of us?
    Yeah...And while I am at it I think I should apologise for doubting that Kuwaiti babies were getting thrown from their incubators by Emmanuel Goldstein/Putin/Hitler/Saddam


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 13,992 ✭✭✭✭recedite


    Great to see the Scottish referendum underway. Whatever the outcome, its setting a precedent for how a civilised society should behave in the 21st Century. It will have a big effect on how other democracies are expected to deal with their own separatist movements in the future.

    BTW there is a load of Polish cheese in Lidl at the moment, presumably we can thank the Russian trade sanctions for that. Morski and Tylzycki aren't bad, but I still prefer good old Irish Kilmeaden, the fillet of cheddar.


  • Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 24,420 Mod ✭✭✭✭robindch


    recedite wrote: »
    Great to see the Scottish referendum underway. Whatever the outcome, its setting a precedent for how a civilised society should behave in the 21st Century. It will have a big effect on how other democracies are expected to deal with their own separatist movements in the future.
    Aside from a few reports of scuffles, minor voter intimidation, unevidenced claims of media bias and man unanswered questions -- yes, it's good to see the process being run fairly following a long, good debate in front of a mostly well-informed electorate presented with a simple, clear choice.

    322612.png

    Meanwhile, briefly back on forum topic, prominent Putin-supporter Patriarch Kirill -- he of the miraculous, disappearing Breguet watch -- receives a surprising gift from an adoring factory:

    http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/09/16/russia-church-fighter-idINL6N0RH4IP20140916?irpc=932
    Reuters wrote:
    Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, was presented with an unlikely gift for a religious leader this week as he toured a factory in Russia's far-east - a single-seater fighter jet SU-35. Kirill was presented with the jet after giving workers at the civilian and military aircraft plant icons blessed by himself, the church said in a statement on its official website on Tuesday.

    The patriarch, with whom President Vladimir Putin has fostered increasingly close ties in recent years, addressed the workers on the importance of protecting Russia. "Russia cannot be a vassal. Because Russia is not only a country, it is a whole civilization, it is a thousand-year story, a cultural melting-pot, of enormous power," RIA news agency quoted him as saying.

    "In order for us to be able to live a sovereign life, we must, if necessary, be able to defend our homeland." Kirill's church is aligned with Putin's drive to reunite the former Soviet sphere of countries, with the Russian Orthodox Church exerting considerable influence through its 165 million members in Russia and other former USSR republics. Critics of the Russian Orthodox Church have said it is acting as a de-facto government ministry for Putin, including in foreign affairs, and have warned that such political engagements could backfire.

    That also goes for Ukraine, where Kirill's Moscow Patriarchate is at odds with the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Kiev Patriarchate that seceded from Moscow after Ukraine gained independence in 1991. The Moscow Patriarchate dominates in the Russian-speaking East, where Ukrainian forces have been battling a pro-Russian separatist insurgency since April.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 13,992 ✭✭✭✭recedite


    Most of those points on your graphic can be summarised in the one key difference; The UK government agreed to let the Scots themselves decide.
    Kiev was never prepared to allow the people in Crimea, or the russophile eastern regions generally, their right to self-determination. All the militarisation that occurred followed on from that one fact.

    The last point is incorrect. Scotland will only start the negotiations re divvying up state assets in the event of a yes vote. Of equal importance would be their allocation of UK national debt, which Salmond has said would largely depend on whether they are allowed to continue to print scottish sterling banknotes.

    It turns out that Patriarch Kirill is only getting a model fighter jet, something that he can easily keep up his sleeve with his other loot :D


  • Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 24,420 Mod ✭✭✭✭robindch


    recedite wrote: »
    Kiev was never prepared to allow the people in Crimea, or the russophile eastern regions generally, their right to self-determination.
    Secession is explicitly permitted by the Ukrainian constitution and could have been done peacefully, had the legal process been followed - do remember that Yanukovich and his Party of the Regions were markedly pro-Russian and had the legal power and political muscle to hold a referendum.
    recedite wrote: »
    All the militarisation that occurred followed on from that one fact.
    Rubbish. Putin violated Ukraine's sovereign integrity because he knew that (a) nobody could or would stop him and (b) within Russia, with sufficient hysterical propaganda, it would bolster his flagging popularity and neutralize what was a growing anti-Putin, anti-corruption movement much in the style of the Maidan protests themselves which led to Yanokovich's departure.

    To apparently believe that militarization and the thousands of deaths that followed was in any sense Kiev's fault or doing, or had anything to do with the "suppression of the Russian language and/or the rights of Russian speakers" is to misunderstand what happened at a very profound level indeed.


  • Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 24,420 Mod ✭✭✭✭robindch


    Russia declares that the Scottish referendum didn't follow international law because of "the size of the room" where the votes were counted. While one of the leaders of the pro-Russian gunmen in Donetsk said he believed the result had been falsified because the government did not win by a large margin.

    http://ria.ru/world/20140919/1024703912.html
    http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/sep/19/russia-calls-foul-scottish-referendum


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 13,992 ✭✭✭✭recedite


    robindch wrote: »
    Secession is explicitly permitted by the Ukrainian constitution and could have been done peacefully, had the legal process been followed - do remember that Yanukovich and his Party of the Regions were markedly pro-Russian and had the legal power and political muscle to hold a referendum.
    If the constitution allows secession only with the agreement of the central government, but the central govt. has a policy not to allow it, then you can hardly say "it could have been done peacefully".
    In the past, the regions didn't want to secede while the central govt. was pro-russian or neutral in outlook. Crimea sought autonomy from the start (the break up of USSR), but not actual secession. It was only when the American-backed Maidan regime seized power and instigated anti-Russian measures that the russophiles became agitated.

    robindch wrote: »
    Russia declares that the Scottish referendum didn't follow international law because of "the size of the room" where the votes were counted.
    The observers noted that they were confined to the perimeter area of a large aircraft hangar sized room, where they could not see what was going on towards the centre of the "room". They suggested that if international observers had been at a referendum under the same conditions in Russia, with a similarly "improbable" high turnout, the vote would have been said not to comply with international standards. Which is probably correct.
    In this very thread, did you not cite the high number of ballots counted in the Crimean referendum as evidence that is was rigged?


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,247 ✭✭✭stevejazzx


    Where was it claimed that the militarization that occurred was exclusively in reaction to threats to Russian language and rights of Russian speakers?

    Recedite said
    recedite wrote:
    Kiev was never prepared to allow the people in Crimea, or the russophile eastern regions generally, their right to self-determination.

    To which you replied
    robindch wrote: »

    To apparently believe that militarization and the thousands of deaths that followed was in any sense Kiev's fault or doing, or had anything to do with the "suppression of the Russian language and/or the rights of Russian speakers" is to misunderstand what happened at a very profound level indeed.

    This idea that the situation in Ukraine is, in any way, one dimensional; a Putin lead onslaught on international laws and borders, is just balmy. To understand this affair one should have a substantial understanding of; pre and post Soviet union politics, a historical perspective of Russia and Ukraine (hence thread title) - a considerable knowledge of modern Ukraine, it's west east division, a comprehensive understanding of US foreign policy and a good grasp of the current geo-political and economic situations - that are ultimately the base cause of of all modern conflicts and wars.
    Your gross over simplification of the affair and the almost exclusive blame you place on Putin in relation to all of this, displays, for any discerning reader, not only a profound misunderstanding of the affair but a fatal inability to navigate the essential external factors involved within it, which in turn automatically invalidates most of your opinion on it.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 35,329 ✭✭✭✭Hotblack Desiato


    I am a discerning reader;

    and your constant Putinist apologism is wearing really rather thin.

    Your post is a nothing; it says nothing other than that you claim by mere assertion that people who disagree with you are ill informed.

    How arrogant can one get?

    Scrap the cap!



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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,247 ✭✭✭stevejazzx


    I am a discerning reader;

    and your constant Putinist apologism is wearing really rather thin.

    Putin apologist? What nonsense. If you read the thread you'd know that I'm not a Putin apologist, having criticized him and indeed agreed with most criticisms of him in this very thread no less; it is worrying therefore that you haven't as yet discerned that; in fact this in and of itself invalidates your opening gambit above which claims you are a discerning reader. (BTW haven't we already been over this exact point re Putin?).


    Your post is a nothing;


    I am sorry it doesn't fit your agenda. You seem intent on picking me up wrong and labeling me as you see fit - you're going to have make a better attempt at understanding me than that - I'm calling for a more balanced understanding of this extremely complex affair. On a forum where people generally consider themselves as having good reasoning, where a scientific approach to data and information is encouraged it is bewildering how similar to the mainstream news posters in this particular thread sound when offering their views on this affair.

    it says nothing other than that you claim by mere assertion that people who disagree with you are ill informed.


    This again throws grave doubt upon your opening claim of being a discerning reader.
    I simply didn't in any way claim that people who disagreed with me were ill informed.
    I claimed that people who do not possess the necessary information and understanding of the affair but who nonetheless made sweeping statements about others being ill informed (as Robin did earlier, in a post to which I highlighted and replied to; and the one to which to you now refer) were ill informed; which is a really quite colossally different thing altogether.


    How arrogant can one get?

    In what is surely the final nail in the coffin with regard to your claim of being a discerning reader you offer an insult at a person who is calling for a better understanding of something vastly complicated and someone who has pointed out the clear arrogance of another.

    Your problem appears straightforward - you don't seem to believe there is any valid opposing viewpoint in relation the Ukrainian conflict other that that set out by western media. That's fine but there's no need for wayward insults particularly when you aren't even properly digesting the full extent of what is being discussed.

    In relation to your repetitive use of the word nothing above - I would like to remind you that I have contributed heavily to this thread and set out my points as clearly and as honestly as I could. Surely it is not expected of me to reiterate my keys points of contention every time I post? If this is now the new status quo then surely this same claim could be leveled at anyone who contributes? If this is not case and the current status quo does indeed hold then these your remarks of yours claiming that my post "is a nothing" is automatically disqualified from being any form of valid criticism.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,247 ✭✭✭stevejazzx


    Robindch wrote:

    I sincerely hope there are millions who disagree with what Putin's doing just now, but if there are, they're not making many waves, at least in public.

    Well here's a start

    http://www.rferl.org/content/russia-antiwar-marches-ukraine/26597971.html
    Robindch wrote:

    ...because he knew that it would bolster his flagging popularity and neutralize what was a growing anti-Putin, anti-corruption movement much in the style of the Maidan protests themselves which led to Yanokovich's departure.

    See above - it appears that your grasp of the current Russian mood ins't
    entirely accurate.


  • Site Banned Posts: 8,331 ✭✭✭Brown Bomber


    robindch wrote: »
    Aside from a few reports of scuffles, minor voter intimidation, unevidenced claims of media bias and man unanswered questions -- yes, it's good to see the process being run fairly following a long, good debate in front of a mostly well-informed electorate presented with a simple, clear choice.

    322612.png

    Meanwhile, briefly back on forum topic, prominent Putin-supporter Patriarch Kirill -- he of the miraculous, disappearing Breguet watch -- receives a surprising gift from an adoring factory:

    http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/09/16/russia-church-fighter-idINL6N0RH4IP20140916?irpc=932

    What your graphic fails to mention is the precursor to the Crimean referendum - The violent coup, spearheaded by anti-Russian nationalists and Neo-Nazis and facilitated by outside powers against a democratically elected and legitimate government. None of this happened in Scotland.


  • Site Banned Posts: 8,331 ✭✭✭Brown Bomber


    I am a discerning reader;
    I am not convinced.
    and your constant Putinist apologism is wearing really rather thin.
    For me, Steve (along with recedite) is speaking far more eloquently, objectively and from positions of knowledge and understanding than anyone else by some distance.

    I'd like to see you expand on your slur of "Putinist apologism" by a) defining it and b) providing examples.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,247 ✭✭✭stevejazzx


    I am not convinced.


    For me, Steve (along with recedite) is speaking far more eloquently, objectively and from positions of knowledge and understanding than anyone else by some distance.

    I'd like to see you expand on your slur of "Putinist apologism" by a) defining it and b) providing examples.

    Thanks for that BB

    Here's a definitively non Putin view of things - from an Americans viewpoint that manages a fair degree of perspective and objectiveness, views that I contest have not been represented fairly here.


    If you can stand his accent (it reminds of Charlie Sheen and that makes it very hard to listen to) - then Dan Carlin is a fairly well respected amateur historian who I have had very little exposure to but he covers Ukrainian conflict fairly well here and represents my views on the matter fairly closely.
    He also covers the Putin / Nazi angle, the involvement of US and the main stream medias poor coverage.

    Btw I certainly don't agree with everything he says but I see can he makes a marked and honest attempt at trying to understand the affair.

    You can skip to about 15 mins in as he goes on an ridiculously long and rambling intro first.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,247 ✭✭✭stevejazzx


    Discussion -

    Possibility of Ukraine in NATO

    http://www.democracynow.org/shows/2014/9/5
    (question starts at 26.28)

    For people still struggling to understand the complexities of this affair - particularly as referenced by the thread title - have a listen to the answer given here.
    "Ukraine is linked to Russia not only in terms of being Russias essential security zone but it linked conjugally so to speak - there millions if not tens of millions of Ukrainians married to Russians - put it in NATO and you're gong to put a barricade between millions of families"

    With that answer in tow - imagine Russia's reaction to the heavily US supported coup in Kiev in February and now this rapid deployment force that is to be deployed in the Baltic republic, Poland and Romania. A real military expansion of NATO directly on Russian borders. So conveniently for the US they will get what they have been seeking long before this crisis.


  • Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 28,820 Mod ✭✭✭✭oscarBravo


    Ukraine is linked to Russia not only in terms of being Russias essential security zone...
    Why does Russia get to consider a sovereign nation its essential security zone? What if Ukraine doesn't want to be Russia's security zone?


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,247 ✭✭✭stevejazzx


    oscarBravo wrote: »
    Why does Russia get to consider a sovereign nation its essential security zone? What if Ukraine doesn't want to be Russia's security zone?

    That's very true but the key word here is linked; as in historically linked.
    There's a certain symbiosis predisposed or inferred. The mistake here would be to not understand the history.
    Even if we remove relationship this wouldn't give NATO the right to use Ukraine as a further defense base. Russia has a real concern on its borders and legitimately so - NATO has none.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1,190 ✭✭✭obplayer


    stevejazzx wrote: »
    That's very true but the key word here is linked; as in historically linked.
    There's a certain symbiosis predisposed or inferred. The mistake here would be to not understand the history.
    Even if we remove relationship this wouldn't give NATO the right to use Ukraine as a further defense base. Russia has a real concern on its borders and legitimately so - NATO has none.

    What is Russia's real concern? If Ukraine are happy to be used by NATO as a defence base then why, as a sovereign nation, should they not? Just because Russia, as a country, is as paranoid as a mad paranoid thing why does that mean we should build the rest of the world's foreign policy around this?


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,247 ✭✭✭stevejazzx


    obplayer wrote: »
    What is Russia's real concern? If Ukraine are happy to be used by NATO as a defence base then why, as a sovereign nation, should they not? Just because Russia, as a country, is as paranoid as a mad paranoid thing why does that mean we should build the rest of the world's foreign policy around this?

    This is such a desperately ill informed comment and summation that I don't know where to start.
    For one there is nothing exceptionally paranoid about Russias mistrust of NATO (particularly after promises that were made after soviet troops withdrew from East Germany). NATO has had needless and reckless expansionist ideals under successive US governments that have directly jeopardized the non proliferation agreement* that took so long to build up. Russia hasn't sought any such expansionism. It has only been diluted. The myth of current Russian expansionism seeps exclusively from a retarded western media that is a direct mouthpiece for US foreign policy; a policy predicated on ensuring economic prosperity for American business through the destabilization of other countries. This is something that used to be considered a conspiracy theory but is now so well established as fact that it has become impossible to offer an alternative. You could literally throw a dart at South America or the Middle East and hit a country that has suffered under such a policy. US FP hasn't been drafted to accommodate for a crazy and paranoid Russia, it has crafted these situations, or at the very least taken advantage of them, mostly for its own benefit or for its own security interest.

    Have a look at this

    USvsNext152012.jpg

    You can't spend this much on defense and not recoup your cost somehow. By exporting democracy the US believes it is entitled to a cut of the infrastructure and natural resources of whatever country it has decided to subvert or simply bomb.


    Here's one of many, many Chomsky fact heavy, multi referenced lectures on US foreign Policy history
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6WbdYVl3Co

    Heres' a little piece that sums US foreign policy amid the drone strike scandal a couple of years ago -
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3I8VfXkVrs



    *Most of the world’s countries argue the US and its NATO allies have violated Articles 1 and 2 of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), because the Pentagon has a NATO nuclear weapons sharing program. In addition, “Through its continued construction of nuclear weapons the US is the chief violator of the NPT and the chief cause for the development of Russian and Chinese nuclear weapons,”


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