Meanwhile, in Kherson

 

As a break from all the mid-term gloom, a thread on the latest Russian retreat. A trap? A “strategic regrouping,” perhaps, as those invested in Russian success might say.

It’ll be interesting to see how this is digested and excreted by the propaganda talk shows, which have been rather glum of late. They bring on a war correspondent to tell the folks how the valorous troops will soon be capturing more villages, and he says “we’re advancing 3 centimeters a day.” You turn to Solovyev’s daily reenactment of the thoughts of a sullen hungover bear who fell out of a tree last night and totally blames the tree, and you hear A) wistful remarks about how great it would be if the IIRG helped out Russia on the ground, or B) miserable monologues about how Russian culture, the beacon of enlightenment, will be lost if they don’t win, and this means the end of everything good in the world, or C) broadsides against the system that somehow did not produce the Army they thought they had (wreckers, you know, and prolly Jews), or D)  criticism of the draftees for not being motivated enough.

If I had to predict, I’d say Solovyev will lay this move at the feet of the elements in the military who have pursued an erroneous strategy to obtain a noble goal  – even though he previously said that anyone who attacked Ukraine would be a war criminal, but hey, people can change their minds, especially after a visit from the FSB and a suitcase of Euros. He will never slight Putin, but amplify the stab-in-the-back motif and blame NATO. The latter is interesting, since there seems to be a dichotomy in propaganda messaging: A) Of course we have the ability to defeat NATO, overwhelmingly, we have such marvelous toys and a great army, and B) of course we’re getting pasted in Ukraine, they have NATO on their side.

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  1. Scott R Member
    Scott R
    @ScottR

    It seems that this situation must crescendo into a very scary crisis, with resolution on the back side, one way or another.

    • #1
  2. iWe Coolidge
    iWe
    @iWe

    What is amazing is that the Red Ripple may end the war sooner, in Ukraine’s favor. A Red Tsunami would have emboldened the Russkies. 

    The positive Unintended Consequences of a weak R win are amazing. DeSantis passes Trump. Rs realize they need a platform and some guts. Biden stays and may well run again. The war may end – the right way – sooner. 

    Go figure.

    • #2
  3. The Reticulator Member
    The Reticulator
    @TheReticulator

    James Lileks: D)  criticism of the draftees for not being motivated enough.

    Idea for Volodymyr Zolkin’s YouTube channel:  If he and the prisoner at the table cannot get through to the prisoner’s mother, or if the mother denounces Zolkin’s team as fascists and refuses to talk to her son, they could give Solovyev a call and discuss the prisoner’s motivation. 

    I recently learned about the channel and have subscribed to it.  I like listening to the Russian conversations, but have found that if I try to just listen while working on on other projects on another monitor, I don’t understand nearly enough to get any good out of it. I need the subtitles.  And besides, I like to watch the facial expressions and body language. But the conversations are long so I haven’t had the time to watch very many of them.

    I have sometimes wondered if these Ukrainian journalists aren’t skirting too close to the edge of the Geneva conventions on the treatment of war prisoners, but from things they’ve said they seem to be aware of the rules. And I learned from Wikipedia just now that I’m not the first person to wonder about that, and that Zolkin argues back.  

    Here is the last one I watched, a few days ago:

     

     

    • #3
  4. cdor Member
    cdor
    @cdor

    Wow, finally a place to get the REAL truth about what’s happening in Ukraine. Next to Hunter Biden, this is the place for answers. Really, is there any place for real answers?

    • #4
  5. HeavyWater Inactive
    HeavyWater
    @HeavyWater

    iWe (View Comment):

    What is amazing is that the Red Ripple may end the war sooner, in Ukraine’s favor. A Red Tsunami would have emboldened the Russkies.

    The positive Unintended Consequences of a weak R win are amazing. DeSantis passes Trump. Rs realize they need a platform and some guts. Biden stays and may well run again. The war may end – the right way – sooner.

    Go figure.

    Kevin McCarthy’s indication that a Republican House would be reluctant to continue aid to Ukraine about 10 days before the election might not have cost the GOP many votes, but when his attitude was echoed by Marjorie Taylor Greene’s “no more money for Ukraine” talk at a campaign event, this only reinforced the image of the Republican party as being owned by Putin.  

    • #5
  6. The Reticulator Member
    The Reticulator
    @TheReticulator

    cdor (View Comment):

    Wow, finally a place to get the REAL truth about what’s happening in Ukraine. Next to Hunter Biden, this is the place for answers. Really, is there any place for real answers?

    Russian bots have real answers for any questions you might have. 

    • #6
  7. cdor Member
    cdor
    @cdor

    HeavyWater (View Comment):

    iWe (View Comment):

    What is amazing is that the Red Ripple may end the war sooner, in Ukraine’s favor. A Red Tsunami would have emboldened the Russkies.

    The positive Unintended Consequences of a weak R win are amazing. DeSantis passes Trump. Rs realize they need a platform and some guts. Biden stays and may well run again. The war may end – the right way – sooner.

    Go figure.

    Kevin McCarthy’s indication that a Republican House would be reluctant to continue aid to Ukraine about 10 days before the election might not have cost the GOP many votes, but when his attitude was echoed by Marjorie Taylor Greene’s “no more money for Ukraine” talk at a campaign event, this only reinforced the image of the Republican party as being owned by Putin.

    How many Americans have any idea what is happening in Ukraine? The next question is, how many care? I never heard anyone mention Ukraine, be they Democrat, Republican, or Zoroastrian in the entire campaign.

    • #7
  8. Randy Weivoda Moderator
    Randy Weivoda
    @RandyWeivoda

    HeavyWater (View Comment):

    iWe (View Comment):

    What is amazing is that the Red Ripple may end the war sooner, in Ukraine’s favor. A Red Tsunami would have emboldened the Russkies.

    The positive Unintended Consequences of a weak R win are amazing. DeSantis passes Trump. Rs realize they need a platform and some guts. Biden stays and may well run again. The war may end – the right way – sooner.

    Go figure.

    Kevin McCarthy’s indication that a Republican House would be reluctant to continue aid to Ukraine about 10 days before the election might not have cost the GOP many votes, but when his attitude was echoed by Marjorie Taylor Greene’s “no more money for Ukraine” talk at a campaign event, this only reinforced the image of the Republican party as being owned by Putin.

    I am not a fan of Marjorie Taylor Greene, but there is a wide gulf between not wanting to send more money (we are $30 trillion in debt, you may recall) and being owned by Putin.  I do not want Russia coming out of this thinking that it is fine to bite off pieces of their neighbor’s territory every few years, but I don’t want to give Ukraine a blank check, either.  Even if MTG’s stance is that she thinks Russia should be able to annex it’s neighbors, that does not translate into that being the position of the entire Republican Party.

    • #8
  9. The Reticulator Member
    The Reticulator
    @TheReticulator

    HeavyWater (View Comment):

    iWe (View Comment):

    What is amazing is that the Red Ripple may end the war sooner, in Ukraine’s favor. A Red Tsunami would have emboldened the Russkies.

    The positive Unintended Consequences of a weak R win are amazing. DeSantis passes Trump. Rs realize they need a platform and some guts. Biden stays and may well run again. The war may end – the right way – sooner.

    Go figure.

    Kevin McCarthy’s indication that a Republican House would be reluctant to continue aid to Ukraine about 10 days before the election might not have cost the GOP many votes, but when his attitude was echoed by Marjorie Taylor Greene’s “no more money for Ukraine” talk at a campaign event, this only reinforced the image of the Republican party as being owned by Putin.

    I didn’t know McCarthy said anything like that. I probably would have voted straight Republican anyway, even if I had known. I certainly wouldn’t have voted for Democrats.

    • #9
  10. HeavyWater Inactive
    HeavyWater
    @HeavyWater

    Randy Weivoda (View Comment):

    HeavyWater (View Comment):

    iWe (View Comment):

    What is amazing is that the Red Ripple may end the war sooner, in Ukraine’s favor. A Red Tsunami would have emboldened the Russkies.

    The positive Unintended Consequences of a weak R win are amazing. DeSantis passes Trump. Rs realize they need a platform and some guts. Biden stays and may well run again. The war may end – the right way – sooner.

    Go figure.

    Kevin McCarthy’s indication that a Republican House would be reluctant to continue aid to Ukraine about 10 days before the election might not have cost the GOP many votes, but when his attitude was echoed by Marjorie Taylor Greene’s “no more money for Ukraine” talk at a campaign event, this only reinforced the image of the Republican party as being owned by Putin.

    I am not a fan of Marjorie Taylor Greene, but there is a wide gulf between not wanting to send more money (we are $30 trillion in debt, you may recall) and being owned by Putin. I do not want Russia coming out of this thinking that it is fine to bite off pieces of their neighbor’s territory every few years, but I don’t want to give Ukraine a blank check, either. Even if MTG’s stance is that she thinks Russia should be able to annex it’s neighbors, that does not translate into that being the position of the entire Republican Party.

    Let’s stipulate that Marjorie Taylor Greene isn’t a Putin stooge and her public statements on aid to Ukraine do not represent the views of the entire Republican party.  

    Combine MTG’s statements with Kevin McCarthy’s statements with Donald Trump calling Putin’s moves in Ukraine “genius” and “savvy” and it presents an air of “Putin wants the GOP to win.”  This isn’t to say the other two-thirds of the Republican members of Congress who voted for Ukraine aid in the late spring of this year deserve to be lumped into the MTG, McCarthy, Trump camp.  But politics isn’t always fair.  

    • #10
  11. The Reticulator Member
    The Reticulator
    @TheReticulator

    cdor (View Comment):

    HeavyWater (View Comment):

    iWe (View Comment):

    What is amazing is that the Red Ripple may end the war sooner, in Ukraine’s favor. A Red Tsunami would have emboldened the Russkies.

    The positive Unintended Consequences of a weak R win are amazing. DeSantis passes Trump. Rs realize they need a platform and some guts. Biden stays and may well run again. The war may end – the right way – sooner.

    Go figure.

    Kevin McCarthy’s indication that a Republican House would be reluctant to continue aid to Ukraine about 10 days before the election might not have cost the GOP many votes, but when his attitude was echoed by Marjorie Taylor Greene’s “no more money for Ukraine” talk at a campaign event, this only reinforced the image of the Republican party as being owned by Putin.

    How many Americans have any idea what is happening in Ukraine? The next question is, how many care? I never heard anyone mention Ukraine, be they Democrat, Republican, or Zoroastrian in the entire campaign.

    I don’t know the number.  I don’t know what I’d do with the number if I had it. 

    But I do know that our freedom at home is diminished by loss of freedom in large countries like China and Russia. There is a limit to what we can do about it, but maybe Ukraine can lead the way in preserving freedom. And maybe not.

    Yesterday Vlad Vexler made the excellent point that if/when Ukraine wins its war, then it will have to start dealing with the same issues that are currently dividing our country and many European countries.  I think Ukraine has a good chance of handling them well, and perhaps even of setting some good examples for the rest of us, but it is by no means certain it will work that way.  Any help we give to Ukraine should be given with that in mind.

    • #11
  12. Mad Gerald Coolidge
    Mad Gerald
    @Jose

    So the Red wave has turned into a trickle?

    I see what you did there.  Very clever!

    • #12
  13. Doug Watt Member
    Doug Watt
    @DougWatt

    From The ISW:

    Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, November 9

    The Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) ordered Russian forces on the west (right) bank of the Dnipro River to begin withdrawing to the east (left) bank on November 9. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu ordered the withdrawal of Russian troops across the Dnipro River during a highly staged televised meeting with Commander of the Russian Armed Forces in Ukraine Army General Sergey Surovikin on November 9. During the televised meeting, Surovikin recommended the withdrawal and Shoigu accepted his decision, giving Surovikin the task of ensuring the “safe transfer of personnel, weapons, and equipment” to the east (left) bank.

    You can read the entire story by clicking on the link. Russian Marines, or Naval Infantry have sustained heavy losses, so heavy that they have asked to be removed from the front lines.

    I don’t see an immediate end to this war. Putin is trying to get Belarus more involved than just providing a staging area for Russian forces. There is some resistance to this in Belarus among some military commanders, as well as in the lower ranks.  

    • #13
  14. Randy Weivoda Moderator
    Randy Weivoda
    @RandyWeivoda

    HeavyWater (View Comment):
    Combine MTG’s statements with Kevin McCarthy’s statements with Donald Trump calling Putin’s moves in Ukraine “genius” and “savvy” and it presents an air of “Putin wants the GOP to win.”

    What was it that Kevin McCarthy said?  As far as Trump, well, yeah.  Donald Trump has expressed admiration for how the Chinese Communists brutally put down the demonstrations at Tiananmen Square.  Anytime a strongman stomps on someone — whether they deserve it or not — Donald Trump is going to applaud it.  Then possibly reverse himself when he finds out that view is unpopular.

    • #14
  15. The Reticulator Member
    The Reticulator
    @TheReticulator

    Doug Watt (View Comment):
    I don’t see an immediate end to this war. Putin is trying to get Belarus more involved than just providing a staging area for Russian forces. There is some resistance to this in Belarus among some military commanders, as well as in the lower ranks.  

    What is your source for that last sentence?  My best guess has always been along those lines, but all I had was a hunch based on paying occasional attention to Belarus over the past years, and noting their level of involvement in the war so far. 

    • #15
  16. HeavyWater Inactive
    HeavyWater
    @HeavyWater

    Doug Watt (View Comment):

    From The ISW:

    Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, November 9

    The Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) ordered Russian forces on the west (right) bank of the Dnipro River to begin withdrawing to the east (left) bank on November 9. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu ordered the withdrawal of Russian troops across the Dnipro River during a highly staged televised meeting with Commander of the Russian Armed Forces in Ukraine Army General Sergey Surovikin on November 9. During the televised meeting, Surovikin recommended the withdrawal and Shoigu accepted his decision, giving Surovikin the task of ensuring the “safe transfer of personnel, weapons, and equipment” to the east (left) bank.

    You can read the entire story by clicking on the link. Russian Marines, or Naval Infantry have sustained heavy losses, so heavy that they have asked to be removed from the front lines.

    I don’t see an immediate end to this war. Putin is trying to get Belarus more involved than just providing a staging area for Russian forces. There is some resistance to this in Belarus among some military commanders, as well as in the lower ranks.

    I don’t see Belarus’s military as being very formidable.  Also, there is a significant opposition movement within Belarus that is opposed to Lukashenko and Putin and supportive of Ukraine.  So, while Ukraine’s military has to at least pay attention to the Belarus-Ukraine border in case of an attack, if such an attack were to occur, Ukraine’s military would likely crush Belarus’s military.

    I am not an expert.  So, I’d be interested to read alternative views on this.

    • #16
  17. HeavyWater Inactive
    HeavyWater
    @HeavyWater

    Randy Weivoda (View Comment):

    HeavyWater (View Comment):
    Combine MTG’s statements with Kevin McCarthy’s statements with Donald Trump calling Putin’s moves in Ukraine “genius” and “savvy” and it presents an air of “Putin wants the GOP to win.”

    What was it that Kevin McCarthy said? As far as Trump, well, yeah. Donald Trump has expressed admiration for how the Chinese Communists brutally put down the demonstrations at Tiananmen Square. Anytime a strongman stomps on someone — whether they deserve it or not — Donald Trump is going to applaud it. Then possibly reverse himself when he finds out that view is unpopular.

    Kevin McCarthy said that if the GOP gains control, essentially “there won’t be a blank check for Ukraine.”  I will provide a link below to a story that provides some quotations of McCarthy’s actual words.

    But even if one can read what McCarthy actually said and think, “Hey, I agree with the idea that there shouldn’t be blank check,” I think it gave the Democrats a talking point:

    “Putin can’t win the battlefield against Ukraine.  But Putin can win at the ballot box in the midterms if the GOP decides to cut the Ukrainians off from additional aid.”

    I always thought that it was unlikely that a GOP controlled House would prevent any additional aid to Ukraine from being appropriated.  Still, McCarthy’s statements caused people to wonder if this was a possibility.

    On social media people would say, “Putin is counting on a GOP victory in the midterms.”

    Maybe that was always hogwash.  But if McCarthy had done the opposite, if McCarthy had said, “If the GOP gains control of the US House, we will continue to support Ukraine 100 percent.  Putin’s aggression must fail” it would have provided a much different aroma as election day 2022 approached.

    Here’s a link.

    https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-donald-trump-humanitarian-assistance-congress-c47a255738cd13576aa4d238ec076f4a

    • #17
  18. cdor Member
    cdor
    @cdor

    Randy Weivoda (View Comment):

    HeavyWater (View Comment):
    Combine MTG’s statements with Kevin McCarthy’s statements with Donald Trump calling Putin’s moves in Ukraine “genius” and “savvy” and it presents an air of “Putin wants the GOP to win.”

    What was it that Kevin McCarthy said? As far as Trump, well, yeah. Donald Trump has expressed admiration for how the Chinese Communists brutally put down the demonstrations at Tiananmen Square. Anytime a strongman stomps on someone — whether they deserve it or not — Donald Trump is going to applaud it. Then possibly reverse himself when he finds out that view is unpopular.

    It should be easy enough. When one makes a statement that so and so said this or did that, why not just pop in a hyperlink so everyone reading can evaluate your sources…unless, of course, Donald Trump said this to you directly.

    • #18
  19. Bishop Wash Member
    Bishop Wash
    @BishopWash

    HeavyWater (View Comment):

    iWe (View Comment):

    What is amazing is that the Red Ripple may end the war sooner, in Ukraine’s favor. A Red Tsunami would have emboldened the Russkies.

    The positive Unintended Consequences of a weak R win are amazing. DeSantis passes Trump. Rs realize they need a platform and some guts. Biden stays and may well run again. The war may end – the right way – sooner.

    Go figure.

    Kevin McCarthy’s indication that a Republican House would be reluctant to continue aid to Ukraine about 10 days before the election might not have cost the GOP many votes, but when his attitude was echoed by Marjorie Taylor Greene’s “no more money for Ukraine” talk at a campaign event, this only reinforced the image of the Republican party as being owned by Putin.

    Did you know that Trump was a Putin stooge? That’s why Trump handed all of Ukraine over to Putin in 2018. Wait, no. Trump increased our domestic energy production, thereby weakening Russia and threatened to bomb those pretty little domes if Putin made any advances.

    Slava Raytheon!

    • #19
  20. HeavyWater Inactive
    HeavyWater
    @HeavyWater

    Bishop Wash (View Comment):

    HeavyWater (View Comment):

    iWe (View Comment):

    What is amazing is that the Red Ripple may end the war sooner, in Ukraine’s favor. A Red Tsunami would have emboldened the Russkies.

    The positive Unintended Consequences of a weak R win are amazing. DeSantis passes Trump. Rs realize they need a platform and some guts. Biden stays and may well run again. The war may end – the right way – sooner.

    Go figure.

    Kevin McCarthy’s indication that a Republican House would be reluctant to continue aid to Ukraine about 10 days before the election might not have cost the GOP many votes, but when his attitude was echoed by Marjorie Taylor Greene’s “no more money for Ukraine” talk at a campaign event, this only reinforced the image of the Republican party as being owned by Putin.

    Did you know that Trump was a Putin stooge? That’s why Trump handed all of Ukraine over to Putin in 2018. Wait, no. Trump increased our domestic energy production, thereby weakening Russia and threatened to bomb those pretty little domes if Putin made any advances.

    Slava Raytheon!

    I didn’t say Trump was a Putin stooge.  

    Trump did say, when Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine, that Putin was “savvy” and his decision was “genius.”  

    When Trump was president he said that he trusted what Putin told him more than he trusted the CIA. 

    You might agree with all of this.  But the broader American public might view the GOP as being a bit too willing to hand Putin a victory in Ukraine by cutting aid off from Ukraine.  

    • #20
  21. Doug Watt Member
    Doug Watt
    @DougWatt

    The Reticulator (View Comment):

    Doug Watt (View Comment):
    I don’t see an immediate end to this war. Putin is trying to get Belarus more involved than just providing a staging area for Russian forces. There is some resistance to this in Belarus among some military commanders, as well as in the lower ranks.

    What is your source for that last sentence? My best guess has always been along those lines, but all I had was a hunch based on paying occasional attention to Belarus over the past years, and noting their level of involvement in the war so far.

    Radio Free Europe has reported that some parents in Belarus have started hiding their sons to avoid conscription call-ups, to include getting them out of Belarus. Lukashenko’s hold in power in Belarus is somewhat tenuous. RFE has reporters on the ground in Belarus, and some of what they report may also come from Polish intelligence sources.  

    • #21
  22. Bishop Wash Member
    Bishop Wash
    @BishopWash

    James Lileks: As a break from all the mid-term gloom, a thread on the latest Russian retreat. A trap? A “strategic regrouping,” perhaps, as those invested in Russian success might say.

    I know the go to slur for those not excited about weakening America by sending all of our munitions to Ukraine is that they want Russia to succeed. However, looking at it objectively, Russia was exposed in Kherson and pulling back across the river gives them a more defensible position. So it’s probably more of a regrouping than a trap.

    • #22
  23. HeavyWater Inactive
    HeavyWater
    @HeavyWater

    Bishop Wash (View Comment):

    James Lileks: As a break from all the mid-term gloom, a thread on the latest Russian retreat. A trap? A “strategic regrouping,” perhaps, as those invested in Russian success might say.

    I know the go to slur for those not excited about weakening America by sending all of our munitions to Ukraine is that they want Russia to succeed. However, looking at it objectively, Russia was exposed in Kherson and pulling back across the river gives them a more defensible position. So it’s probably more of a regrouping than a trap.

    During the Cold War there was a term used to describe people who took positions advantageous to the Soviet Union even though they weren’t on the Soviet Union’s payroll.  

    Useful Id***ts.

    • #23
  24. Doug Watt Member
    Doug Watt
    @DougWatt

    Poland has completed their border fence on the Belarusian border, and they’re close to completing their border fence on the border of Kaliningrad.

    • #24
  25. Bishop Wash Member
    Bishop Wash
    @BishopWash

    HeavyWater (View Comment):
    When Trump was president he said that he trusted what Putin told him more than he trusted the CIA. 

    The CIA that spied on him and worked to undermine his administration? The CIA that manufactured the Russian Collusion Hoax? Gee, why wouldn’t he trust them? In that situation, I’d trust the rantings of bum on the street corner over the CIA. Trump’s statement speaks more about the CIA than Putin.

    • #25
  26. HeavyWater Inactive
    HeavyWater
    @HeavyWater

    Bishop Wash (View Comment):

    HeavyWater (View Comment):
    When Trump was president he said that he trusted what Putin told him more than he trusted the CIA.

    The CIA that spied on him and worked to undermine his administration? The CIA that manufactured the Russian Collusion Hoax? Gee, why wouldn’t he trust them? In that situation, I’d trust the rantings of bum on the street corner over the CIA. Trump’s statement speaks more about the CIA than Putin.

    But you aren’t the median voter that a candidate for public office needs to persuade in order to win an election.

    A huge majority of Americans have a disapproving opinion of Putin.  

    So, when Trump says things that are complimentary of Putin, that median American voter hears it and remembers it.  Then, later, when Kevin McCarthy says there will be no blank check for Ukraine, the median American voter hears that too and this is compounded when Marjorie Taylor Greene says that if the GOP wins, Ukraine will not receive another red cent. 

    It sounds a bit like the US Congress in the early 1970s eliminating aid to the South Vietnamese as they were being attacked by the communists.  

    You might agree with Trump.  But the median American voter might conclude that the Republican party can’t be trusted because it’s too full of useful id***s.  

    • #26
  27. cdor Member
    cdor
    @cdor

    HeavyWater (View Comment):

    Randy Weivoda (View Comment):

    HeavyWater (View Comment):
    Combine MTG’s statements with Kevin McCarthy’s statements with Donald Trump calling Putin’s moves in Ukraine “genius” and “savvy” and it presents an air of “Putin wants the GOP to win.”

    What was it that Kevin McCarthy said? As far as Trump, well, yeah. Donald Trump has expressed admiration for how the Chinese Communists brutally put down the demonstrations at Tiananmen Square. Anytime a strongman stomps on someone — whether they deserve it or not — Donald Trump is going to applaud it. Then possibly reverse himself when he finds out that view is unpopular.

    Kevin McCarthy said that if the GOP gains control, essentially “there won’t be a blank check for Ukraine.” I will provide a link below to a story that provides some quotations of McCarthy’s actual words.

    But even if one can read what McCarthy actually said and think, “Hey, I agree with the idea that there shouldn’t be blank check,” I think it gave the Democrats a talking point:

    “Putin can’t win the battlefield against Ukraine. But Putin can win at the ballot box in the midterms if the GOP decides to cut the Ukrainians off from additional aid.”

    I always thought that it was unlikely that a GOP controlled House would prevent any additional aid to Ukraine from being appropriated. Still, McCarthy’s statements caused people to wonder if this was a possibility.

    On social media people would say, “Putin is counting on a GOP victory in the midterms.”

    Maybe that was always hogwash. But if McCarthy had done the opposite, if McCarthy had said, “If the GOP gains control of the US House, we will continue to support Ukraine 100 percent. Putin’s aggression must fail” it would have provided a much different aroma as election day 2022 approached.

    Here’s a link.

    https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-donald-trump-humanitarian-assistance-congress-c47a255738cd13576aa4d238ec076f4a

    Maybe I need glasses, but I read the link (thank you for including it), and it is an AP article in which McCarthy states that if the R’s win the House, as Speaker, he was not going to give Ukraine a blank check.  Do you object to not giving out blank checks? Mccarthy did not say he would stop any funding, he said our country is suffering and we don’t have an endless supply of money. He could have truthfully said, we don’t have any money. AP has become another typical opinion-is-news journalistic endeavor to a great extent.

    • #27
  28. HeavyWater Inactive
    HeavyWater
    @HeavyWater

    cdor (View Comment):

    Here’s a link.

    https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-donald-trump-humanitarian-assistance-congress-c47a255738cd13576aa4d238ec076f4a

    Maybe I need glasses, but I read the link (thank you for including it), and it is an AP article in which McCarthy states that if the R’s win the House, as Speaker, he was not going to give Ukraine a blank check. Do you object to not giving out blank checks? Mccarthy did not say he would stop any funding, he said our country is suffering and we don’t have an endless supply of money. 

    My point is that between Donald Trump’s comments about Putin being “savvy” and “genius” and Kevin McCarthy’s comments about “no blank check” and Marjorie Taylor Greene’s “not one more red cent to Ukraine,” the median American voter might think a victory at the polls for the Republican party would represent a victory for Putin.  

    Maybe that is unfair.  But politics is often unfair.  

     

    • #28
  29. Manny Coolidge
    Manny
    @Manny

    I keep waiting for that point where Putin is “relieved” of his duties. Relieved the hard way.  With so much Russian loss in life, weaponry, respect, and treasure, you would think some would internal Russian people would find a way out.

    • #29
  30. James Lileks Contributor
    James Lileks
    @jameslileks

    Bishop Wash (View Comment):

    James Lileks: As a break from all the mid-term gloom, a thread on the latest Russian retreat. A trap? A “strategic regrouping,” perhaps, as those invested in Russian success might say.

    I know the go to slur for those not excited about weakening America by sending all of our munitions to Ukraine is that they want Russia to succeed. However, looking at it objectively, Russia was exposed in Kherson and pulling back across the river gives them a more defensible position. So it’s probably more of a regrouping than a trap.

    It wasn’t a slur. Certainly not all who are convinced of the inevitability of Ukrainian defeat, or are critical of the US aid policy,  are invested in Russian success. Some are, because they believe Putin is an admirable, strong leader who says anti-woke things, and Russia is a natural ally against China and a strong culture from which we might draw a lesson or two. 

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