I agree, Col Vindman. And I am also disturbed that Netanyahu gets more and more money and support from this Administration and tens of thousands of Palestinians are paying with their lives! How I wish Ukraine could have been this fortunate. I do not understand.
Sorry Col Vindman, but until July 26, 2025 (or before) This nation, for 249 years has been a democracy, requiring the consent of Congress on al;l matters. On rare occasions the reigning President can make short term Executive decisions as President Biden made on Ukraine. But the 118th Congress has been under the sole control of the MAGAts who are under control of trumpscum. Now that we've lost all four branches of Government to said magats Ukraine will pay the price. Unless and until the Liberal Progressives gain control of large number of States, large enough to uphold our (maybe revised) Constitution, then and only then we the liberal progressives can once again help support Ukraine. Lets all hope that Europe, under the threat of further Putin aggression come to Ukraine's assistance.
Your response to this explanation added to my distress, Fay Reid - not a “blame” - the reality of all we face and the horror for Ukraine and its people. From the start I’ve not at all understood in a human way why the MAGAts were not fully with Ukraine. Oh yes I know. I can’t and don’t understand.
Col Vindman, for you and your brother, because we are a bit familiar with your stories and your compelling willingness to speak truth, I have thought how painful this all must be. For all displaced by choice or necessity, how horrible.
I am FURIOUS with the Biden Administration for its approach to Ukraine from the beginning !!!
It has been haphazard and imagining that Biden's real moves to WINNING the war would start a nuclear war....now, we just look feckless and stupid...no strategy or understanding of what needed to happen YEARS ago when Russia/Putin took Crimea!!! This is disgusting and a lower note if possible to the end of the Biden Administration. Anne Bartley
It’s easy to blame the Biden Administration. Our aid to Ukraine was stalled for many months by the Republican House of Representatives. Those Republicans back a possible Putin asset in our President-Elect who has put forward a possible Russian asset to head our intelligence agencies, and the “America-first” stance of our incoming regime will be isolationist. Putin’s disinformation attacks on our elections and the divisions in our nation have succeeded in taking down America as the leading nation in the NATO alliance. Once he helped elect Trump and the MAGA loyalists replaced patriotic conservatives, the war of the internet was largely won. Now we will be controlled by a theocratic kakistocracy funded by billionaire oligarchs. It seems we’re defenseless in the information warfare space.
I think the politically based policy of the outgoing administration was and is ridiculous. The war if not concluded, should have been well contained at least a year and a half ago. Americans lack understanding of what invasion is and who dictators are since we’ve not had one of consequence until now. Fear makes too many of us hesitant and not know how to deal with and/or overcome it. Playing politically to those who think it safer to cowtow, capitulate and otherwise bend to the desire of fiends like Putin will always come out on the losing end. I regret Ukraine will pay a price for our lack of will and knowledge of what a real ally is. The Greatest Generation gave us a blueprint but we’re not following it.
I understand the desire to avoid making this look like a proxy war, but to my mind it looks More like one when we intervene too closely in setting usage stipulations thus affecting strategy and tactics than when we simply give Ukraine aid in the form of money and (generally old) equipment and honor the age old human understanding of gifts: It is now yours and you do with it as you wish.
My own approach would from the first have been to be seen to be shipping support materials to Ukraine while Russian troops were lined up at the border, and then if that did not deter them from crossing over to have hit them with our best version of shock and awe. We would probably be in a better place today with fewer total lives lost (on both sides), far less destruction of Ukrainian cultural treasures, and possibly even in a better place so far as the US party power distribution now.
Do you have any idea on how much of the currently promised aid has already been sent and how much has passed beyond the point of no recall thus far?
Of course Putin is threatening to go nuclear! It’s his only strategy, and a pathetic one at that. If he was serious, he would’ve done it long ago. I’m sickened by how the US has cringed and allowed itself to be manipulated by this weak madman. If trump was half the strongman he pretends to be, he’d crush little Vlad. Let’s see what happens - putin sycophant or putin’s worst nightmare?
He can’t. They are pals as is Tulsi, Vlad’s messenger.
My distress from the start has been horrible. As I wrote above and others have, I can’t and don’t understand. The rush to help Israel and bupkis to Ukraine except, as another responder wrote, in essences pennies and old equipment has made not a bit of sense.
I agree, Col Vindman. And I am also disturbed that Netanyahu gets more and more money and support from this Administration and tens of thousands of Palestinians are paying with their lives! How I wish Ukraine could have been this fortunate. I do not understand.
Sorry Col Vindman, but until July 26, 2025 (or before) This nation, for 249 years has been a democracy, requiring the consent of Congress on al;l matters. On rare occasions the reigning President can make short term Executive decisions as President Biden made on Ukraine. But the 118th Congress has been under the sole control of the MAGAts who are under control of trumpscum. Now that we've lost all four branches of Government to said magats Ukraine will pay the price. Unless and until the Liberal Progressives gain control of large number of States, large enough to uphold our (maybe revised) Constitution, then and only then we the liberal progressives can once again help support Ukraine. Lets all hope that Europe, under the threat of further Putin aggression come to Ukraine's assistance.
Your response to this explanation added to my distress, Fay Reid - not a “blame” - the reality of all we face and the horror for Ukraine and its people. From the start I’ve not at all understood in a human way why the MAGAts were not fully with Ukraine. Oh yes I know. I can’t and don’t understand.
Col Vindman, for you and your brother, because we are a bit familiar with your stories and your compelling willingness to speak truth, I have thought how painful this all must be. For all displaced by choice or necessity, how horrible.
I will never understand it all.
Who can understand people who admire dictators? Certainly not me.
I am FURIOUS with the Biden Administration for its approach to Ukraine from the beginning !!!
It has been haphazard and imagining that Biden's real moves to WINNING the war would start a nuclear war....now, we just look feckless and stupid...no strategy or understanding of what needed to happen YEARS ago when Russia/Putin took Crimea!!! This is disgusting and a lower note if possible to the end of the Biden Administration. Anne Bartley
It’s easy to blame the Biden Administration. Our aid to Ukraine was stalled for many months by the Republican House of Representatives. Those Republicans back a possible Putin asset in our President-Elect who has put forward a possible Russian asset to head our intelligence agencies, and the “America-first” stance of our incoming regime will be isolationist. Putin’s disinformation attacks on our elections and the divisions in our nation have succeeded in taking down America as the leading nation in the NATO alliance. Once he helped elect Trump and the MAGA loyalists replaced patriotic conservatives, the war of the internet was largely won. Now we will be controlled by a theocratic kakistocracy funded by billionaire oligarchs. It seems we’re defenseless in the information warfare space.
I think the politically based policy of the outgoing administration was and is ridiculous. The war if not concluded, should have been well contained at least a year and a half ago. Americans lack understanding of what invasion is and who dictators are since we’ve not had one of consequence until now. Fear makes too many of us hesitant and not know how to deal with and/or overcome it. Playing politically to those who think it safer to cowtow, capitulate and otherwise bend to the desire of fiends like Putin will always come out on the losing end. I regret Ukraine will pay a price for our lack of will and knowledge of what a real ally is. The Greatest Generation gave us a blueprint but we’re not following it.
I understand the desire to avoid making this look like a proxy war, but to my mind it looks More like one when we intervene too closely in setting usage stipulations thus affecting strategy and tactics than when we simply give Ukraine aid in the form of money and (generally old) equipment and honor the age old human understanding of gifts: It is now yours and you do with it as you wish.
My own approach would from the first have been to be seen to be shipping support materials to Ukraine while Russian troops were lined up at the border, and then if that did not deter them from crossing over to have hit them with our best version of shock and awe. We would probably be in a better place today with fewer total lives lost (on both sides), far less destruction of Ukrainian cultural treasures, and possibly even in a better place so far as the US party power distribution now.
Do you have any idea on how much of the currently promised aid has already been sent and how much has passed beyond the point of no recall thus far?
Agree.
Of course Putin is threatening to go nuclear! It’s his only strategy, and a pathetic one at that. If he was serious, he would’ve done it long ago. I’m sickened by how the US has cringed and allowed itself to be manipulated by this weak madman. If trump was half the strongman he pretends to be, he’d crush little Vlad. Let’s see what happens - putin sycophant or putin’s worst nightmare?
He can’t. They are pals as is Tulsi, Vlad’s messenger.
My distress from the start has been horrible. As I wrote above and others have, I can’t and don’t understand. The rush to help Israel and bupkis to Ukraine except, as another responder wrote, in essences pennies and old equipment has made not a bit of sense.
I don’t believe trump will challenge putin much at all either.