Russia - threadbanned users in OP

Russia is going to get a hand up from the 3rd world.

Soviet Russia and Nazi Germany, we all know ow that couple, both volatile both extremely alike, an intense love that fell apart due to their shared pathologies.

Sanctions have very rarely changed any country from its path.

At the most it will stop Russia from its next imperial adventure.

It's not going to stop this one.

Yes, that would be one. I suppose information warfare & messing with elections and referendums here is another. Or disrupting or damaging the operations of those US MNCs we are so proud of in some way (dunno how exactly though - pilfering their IP for example?).

That is all staying on the low end of that aggression scale.

I don't want the Irish public to be worried and biting their nails over it (going to an opposite extreme)!

Just, I expect that if (or I suppose it will probably be when, with the way the world is going) the govt. starts to try and spend some more money on this stuff there will be a public outcry, stemming from or driven by the mindset I criticised. That belief we're either untouchable here or noone would wish us ill or bother with us, and security/defence etc. is really for others to consider somewhere out there in the big bad world perhaps.

It is a waste, who would harm us in Ireland anyway, what about the health service and housing etc. Anyway - sorry I'll pack up the soapbox and stop taking it off topic!

I wasn't commenting on military capability, I was just saying that both are a cancer. I couldn't care less who has better tactics, they'd both be better off ceasing to exist.

Why should a good deed in the past have me ignore the obvious attrocities in the present? The Russians arguably brought facism to an end anyway, and I don't think that gives them a free pass on the world stage. I'm glad for the western comforts I'm acustomed to but that doesn't mean I have to agree with US that exists today. They're not a democracy, it is clear that the strings are being pulled by lobbyists and the real power that is money. The whole thing is corrupt, there's no good side. Greed and corruption all round.

The US has mostly stopped meddling in overseas wars, given up of the idea of forcing regime change and even took a large amount of flak for withdrawing from Afghanistan last year (something that seems to have escaped the attention of the certified loons of the extreme left).

The US are funding a war in Yemen and have a military influence in every corner of the world. Them not being formally and directly involved in conflict doesn't take away the influence they're having in some of the most war torn regions at the moment. They haven't stopped meddling at all, Biden only signed off on 500m in arms support to Saudi Arabia, Trump provided them before him. This has nothing to do left v right politics, I've no interest in that simplistic shite.

No question in my mind this is one of the key areas where a significantly beefed up defense and security forces spending should be going. I would hope the past 6 odd months will prove to be a wake up call in that regard.

Direct US involvement in wars has been much reduced since around 2015 or so. Yes, they have a huge arms industry but that is something of a separate discussion. The withdrawal from Afghanistan was even seen as popular by the American public.

The legions of closet Putin fans on social media keep referring back repeatedly to Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya etc (hello Mick and Claire) but are ignoring the new reality of a generally less interventionist US.

I had or have no intention of derailing the thread. As I said, I responded to someone who posted about American geoplitical influence and only to share my views on what they had said, advising that I felt both were as bad as eachother. I understand that the thread subject is Russia, but does that mean we can't share our views on the US response or the attitude at the moment towards the US? Does that not limit the discussion? I understand that line not being welcome when it comes to bolstering a view that Russia are somehow in the right here, but that isn't what i'm doing. I was only ever responding to a a statement that I felt I could add to, maybe even have a conversation about and it was all in the context of this current conflict, the subject of the thread.

If the mods want to put me in my place, then fine. That's their job and i'll respect their views on the matter.

Are you saying the wider geopolitical landscape has no place on this thread? I was responding to others when discussing what you mentioned above, and that all stemmed from views on Russia. Discussing the evils that Russia are accountable for alongside similar evils in the world isn't taking things off topic. Would a conversation about the Galway intercountry hurling team be much if you couldn't discuss the league? I'm not saying justifying how bad Galway are, i'm just sharing my views on the state of the league overall.

This whole conversation is only snowballing because of your input, it was a short lived thing otherwise and something others were happy enough to talk about.

Based on the footage we’ve all seen, it looks like the Russians are still using some of those 7,000 tanks 70 years on….!

Selling arms to a nation is not meddling in their affairs. Christ, if that was the case, who is meddling in Irish affairs by selling arms to us?

There is no comparison between the US and Russia. You only have to look at Putins many excuses for this invasion to see where his mindset is.