Putin addressing Russian people 1 PM ET.

[Joseph Tracy]

 My last post did not make it through; 2nd try. Susan Hall West’s posts are not appearing on the archives? Also her last post( maybe others too) Has this  attached to the bottom-  You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Turco Int'l Issues Group" group. There are instructions about how to unsubscribe from theis group which I never joined but to be honest I don’t like having someone post here who is not being entered in the archives. Other’s toughts about this?


More hypocrisy. The US says Ukrainian independence  good, Donbass independence, Yemeni independence, Nicaraguan independence, Venezuelan independence bad. We have a right to zones of influence that we made up, and to starve people who want to elect their own leaders, but when the evil Russians insist that a  Russian speaking majority population in eastern Ukraine should have security and self determination and that Russia has a right to a zone of security, then  that is a sign of their imminent invasion. 
  Should the Russians legitimately be concerned about Nato? Consider  some exerpted proposals in this article by  CIA and Pentagon veteran who helps run NATO’s powerful think tank the Atlantic Council, Matthew Kroenig in Feb 18 2022 article in Foreign Policy magazine. Legitimizing Nuclear war if needed to contain the evil capitalists of China and Russia.

	The United States remains the world’s leading power with global interests, and it cannot afford to choose between Europe and the Indo-Pacific. Instead, Washington and its allies should develop a defense strategy capable of deterring and, if necessary, defeating Russia and China at the same time.

	Finally, if necessary, Washington could always take a page 	from its Cold War playbook and rely more heavily on nuclear 	weapons to offset the local, conventional advantages of its 	rivals. The presence of U.S. tactical nuclear weapons in Europe helped deter the massive Soviet Red Army for decades. 	Similarly, the United States could rely on threatening nonstrategic nuclear strikes to deter and, as a last resort, thwart a Chinese amphibious invasion of Taiwan or a Russian tank incursion into Europe.

	To be sure, there are risks associated with nuclear deterrence, but nuclear weapons have played a foundational role in U.S. defense strategy for three-quarters of a 	century—and will likely continue to do so for decades to come.
First, Washington should increase defense spending. Contrary 	to those who claim that constrained resources will force tough choices, the United States can afford to outspend Russia and China at the same time. The United States 	possesses 24 percent of global GDP compared to a combined 19 	percent in China and Russia. This year, the United States will spend $778 billion on defense compared to only $310 billion in Russia and China.
Moreover, the United States could go so far as to double  spending (currently 2.8 percent of GDP) and still remain below its Cold War average (close to 7 percent of GDP). Indeed, given that this new Cold War is every bit as 	dangerous as the last one, a meaningful increase in defense spending, focused on the 21st century’s emerging defense 	technologies, is in order.

As to who is whose puppet, Europe and US have poured over 20 billion into Ukraine and got caught planning the installation of post coup leader. Ukraine appears to be the only country with a  battalion in their army led by Nazis and other far right elements. Some say they are recruiting far righters fromother parts of Europe. 

> On Feb 21, 2022, at 12:50 PM, Susan Hall-West <susanhw83 at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Okay, Mark has officially gone 'round the bend! Roth and post-modernism conflate with Putin's obvious plan to take the two additional provinces in Eastern Ukraine. Mark, are you in a bar? 😆
> 
> Susan
> 
> On Mon, Feb 21, 2022, 12:36 PM Mark Kohut <mark.kohut at gmail.com <mailto:mark.kohut at gmail.com>> wrote:
> https://twitter.com/JeffreyKirkwood/status/1495551712890953731?s=20&t=Wz-otJ7Unwncshl7msBE1w <https://twitter.com/JeffreyKirkwood/status/1495551712890953731?s=20&t=Wz-otJ7Unwncshl7msBE1w>
> 
> 
> 
>  <https://twitter.com/ChristopherJM>
> Christopher Miller
> @ChristopherJM
>  <https://twitter.com/ChristopherJM>
> ·
> 5h
>  <https://twitter.com/ChristopherJM/status/1495726950110875649>
> Donetsk & Luhansk puppet “govts” appeal to Russia for “military assistance.” This may seem silly since their armed forces are essentially an extension of Russia’s. But it might be the appeal needed for Russia’s Federation Council & Security Council to approve troops for Donbas.
> 
> 
> 
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