RollingInMud
1mo ago
Don't forget, that it's not about accessing the Persian gulf per se, it's about increased risk for the civilian maritime transportation which will drive up insurance costs, freight companies will start declining contracts etc. Just a threat of sinking any civilian vessel will affect those things.
RollingInMud
1mo ago
Could that lead to something similar to 1973 oil crisis, which was yet another nail in the Nixon's coffin? Trump campaigning on reducing inflation and lowering gas prices, he balked at introducing the tariffs on the scale he planned, but here he might not have the leverage.
At the same time, it's a huge boon for Putin, just after his minister of economic development was talking at the Economic Forum in Saint Petersburg of the risk of recession...
RollingInMud
1mo ago
why this airstrike is grounds for impeachment whereas all the other airstrikes and drone attacks over the decades weren't
Just like with attempts to impeach Biden over his "corruption" (while Trump exhibiting levels of corruption comparable to Russian oligarchs) -- the only analysis that can be provided is sociological or political, not legal. It can be summarized as "your side did it". And also -- it'll be popular with voters.
RollingInMud
1mo ago
You mentioned Vietnam, but Soviet Union operated some SAM units on the side of Viet Cong. Not to mention repairing equipment, training soldiers and assisting in other ways on the ground. To my knowledge, it doesn't happen in Russia-Ukraine War (aside from "International Legion" who are just volunteers and mercenaries from all around the world). The US couldn't do anything about that.
RollingInMud
1mo ago
Interestingly enough, a lot of Russian frontline units also depend on Starlink.
Also, there is a lot of American tech in Russian missiles.
Does US support Russian invasion of Ukraine?
RollingInMud
1mo ago
actual wars he/Russia involved in since 1991
Also in the article wasn't mentioned intervention in Kazakhstan, behind-the-scenes FSB operations in Belarus, Montenegro etc., or simply acts of terrorism like Skrypal poisoning, or murder of Zelimkhan Khangoshvili in Berlin, or dozens of similar acts around the world. It indicates that Putin is "adventuresome" and prone to risk-taking, even at the cost of worsening relationships with other countries who do not threaten him. Having nuclear weapons is certainly an additional factor of why he is so bold, coupled with masterful utilization of useful idiots in the West, both on the left and the right, who'll cry about escalation every time someone will threaten to respond in kind.
RollingInMud
1mo ago
Ukraine started responding to its economic malaise by stealing gas meant for transit to EU customers to help itself meet its own demand
Wasn't it just propaganda? Just like Russia banned Latvian canned fish imported to Russia every time they had a dispute about Soviet legacy in Latvia and the status of Russian language? On flimsy pretense that the fish was spoiled, or whatever. I still remember numerous reports on Russian state TV about Latvians trying to poison Russian population with their rotten fish, Georgians -- with their vine, Moldavians — with their apples...
The same with "stolen" gas -- you still need to keep "technical gas" inside the pipes to keep the pressure, and as countries westward of Ukraine still consumed their (as they paid for it), Ukraine had to siphon gas off some in order to keep operating the compressor stations. EU also didn't find any proof that the gas was stolen IIRC. But at the core, Russians hated that Yushchenko was the president of Ukraine, and not their puppet Yanukovych. That's why they raised the price of the gas from something like $50 to $250 in the first place -- as to pressure Ukraine to submit.
No hard questions about who shot first.
True. But if you do your diligence, you'll find that we (Russians) were rarely good guys.
Not directed at you, and I mostly agree with the rest of your message, but who are those "MIC" people? Do they have names? It's just like left constantly complain about "capitalism", "patriarchy", or what else have you, but for the anti-establishment left and right it's "MIC". Do we have credible reports of Raytheon CEO visiting Trump, asking him to bomb Iran? (an interesting aside, Wikipedia doesn't even have an article for their CEO).
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