Is it ever true that an “invader gains nothing”? Or are you just (strangely) saying that there is more to lose than to gain?
Everyone on reddit is ranting about how it will be another Afghanistan… but what if it were merely another Chechnya? If Putin believes it to be that, he might well decide to invade/annex.
“Strong” support? What’s that mean? Sure, the bullies are beating up the nerd, but the nerd will win because you intend to cheer him on from the sidelines?
Is Chechnya a comparison you want to make? Russia fought two wars over it before successfully subduing them. To this day, there are still suspicions that there were false flag attacks where Russia killed its own citizens to bolster support for the war and bring Putin into the presidency.
Russia fought two wars over it before successfully subduing them.
Which, if there was some magical factor in the universe that made them always win the second war, we could expect them to lose the first, right? Except there is no such magical factor.
The first loss is explainable and quite irrelevant.
To this day, there are still suspicions that there were false flag attacks where Russia killed its own citizens to bolster support for the war
So? Even if true, that doesn’t alter my point at all.
The point is (for those who need pictures drawn in crayon for them) Russia has reasons to expect that it might prevail in such a war, in a permanent way, with what their culture and regime considers to be acceptable losses.
The pretense for that war, the ethics of it, its justifiability, these things are all besides the point.
You’re an American, so why don’t you tell me what you gained from the quagmire in Afghanistan?
People of Donetsks and Luhansk are ethnically Russian and they want independence. Weird how westerners only care about people’s right to self determination when it suits them. The leaders of these republics explicitly asked Russia for help after Ukraine failed to abide by Minsk agreements that require Ukraine to give Donbas autonomy.
Is it ever true that an “invader gains nothing”? Or are you just (strangely) saying that there is more to lose than to gain?
Everyone on reddit is ranting about how it will be another Afghanistan… but what if it were merely another Chechnya? If Putin believes it to be that, he might well decide to invade/annex.
Ukraine will have strong western support so it won’t be as easy as Chechnya. Although Putin might decide to annex anyway.
“Strong” support? What’s that mean? Sure, the bullies are beating up the nerd, but the nerd will win because you intend to cheer him on from the sidelines?
Should have kept their nukes. Now they’re fucked.
Is Chechnya a comparison you want to make? Russia fought two wars over it before successfully subduing them. To this day, there are still suspicions that there were false flag attacks where Russia killed its own citizens to bolster support for the war and bring Putin into the presidency.
Which, if there was some magical factor in the universe that made them always win the second war, we could expect them to lose the first, right? Except there is no such magical factor.
The first loss is explainable and quite irrelevant.
So? Even if true, that doesn’t alter my point at all.
The point is (for those who need pictures drawn in crayon for them) Russia has reasons to expect that it might prevail in such a war, in a permanent way, with what their culture and regime considers to be acceptable losses.
The pretense for that war, the ethics of it, its justifiability, these things are all besides the point.
You’re an American, so why don’t you tell me what you gained from the quagmire in Afghanistan?
People of Donetsks and Luhansk are ethnically Russian and they want independence. Weird how westerners only care about people’s right to self determination when it suits them. The leaders of these republics explicitly asked Russia for help after Ukraine failed to abide by Minsk agreements that require Ukraine to give Donbas autonomy.
Stop trying to invent reality.