by islander on February 26, 2022 7:22 am
"Last night NATO activated, for the first time in its history, the NATO Response Force. The US, as part of NATO, has put around 12,000 troops on heightened alert, and has deployed some 7-8,000 troops already, including the famed 3d Infantry Division (Rock of the Marne, motherfuckers, Dogface Soldier here), 82nd Airborne, and 2nd Cavalry Regiment. Additionally, a number of F35s and Apache helicopter are moving out.
This is going to raise questions or prompt discussions. You may see misinformation, and you certainly will see idiots talking out of their ass. No, we are not at war with Russia and no, we are not sending them into Ukraine (yet).
1.) The US President is not violating the War Powers act because no war has been declared, no troops are being sent into combat, this is not an "Operation Other Than War", and the President does not need Congress's permission to send US troops to friendly nations. Looking at you, Mike Lee from Utah.
2.) US troops are potentially going to be (if not already) deployed to places like Poland and Romania. Some elements have already been there for months. Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland share a common border with Russian stooge and "Ukraine Invasion Enabler" Belarus. Poland, Slovakia, and Romania share a common border with Ukraine.
3.) Ukraine is not a member of NATO--this whole thing started, in part, because Ukraine had signaled that it wanted to join NATO. Part of the criteria for joining NATO involves "a commitment to democratic civil-military relations and institutional structures" and there was some brouhaha about Ukraine's rampant political corruption, which is the formal reason NATO had not allowed Ukraine to join. Informally, NATO also feared that Russia would flip its shit, and so here we are. Ukraine began the official process in 2008, but it was put on hold in 2010 when its president backed out. Ukraine reinitiated the process after the 2014 annexation of Crimea (part of Ukraine) by Russia.
4.) NATO was created expressly for the purpose of defending Europe against Russia. Its members include former Soviet "republics" and Warsaw Pact members. This situation right here is exactly why NATO was created, and the US as part of NATO is obligated to participate.
5.) Russia's "claim" that a lot of pro-Putin/pro-Russia Rube-publicans are echoing (because they hate freedom and Joe Biden so much) is that the US lied about expanding NATO eastward toward Russia. Former Soviet republics/satellites/clients such as Poland, Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia have joined NATO, and Russia is mad AF. Ukraine continuing to make progress on its application process was one of the final straws for Russia.
6.) No NATO member has declared war on Russia. Yet.
7.) Russian troops have officially begun the process of besieging and attacking Ukraine capital of Kyiv. There's a story going around that some US official asked Ukraine's president Zelenskyy to please evacuate. The president said "The fight is here. I need ammunition, not a ride." It is worth noting that if Russia manages to capture and hold Kyiv, that is not the end of Ukraine. It's also worth noting that if Russian troops enter Kyiv and begin fighting, you can expect most of Kyiv's residents to wage a nasty guerrilla war, and civilian casualties are going to mount. Russian troops may not want to be there, but they will defend themselves even if they are the aggressor. And they will not hold back.
And finally, just because it's f*cking hilarious what a farce admitting Russia to the UN is: 8.) Russia vetoed a UN Security Council motion that would have condemned the country’s invasion of Ukraine. Noteworthy: UAE and India abstained from voting."
It's incomprehensible to me that any honest, thinking person could support what the Roaring Bear from Delaware has done to the people of Ukraine. 
