Comments by "andy99ish" (@andy99ish) on "Swedish Minister of Defence Delivers Powerful Statement at NATO! A Pivotal Moment in Global Security" video.

@ClemensKatzer Poland will follow the USA. And the USA, as so often in the past, has reached its limits to fund an unwinnable war. More generally the Baltic countries should be advised, that NATO is not an insurance for mini countries wanting to provoke Russia. That might sound harsh, but realism in the end is much more ethical than feeding illusions, which in the end led to massive damage of the Ukraine.
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NATO is not at war with Russia.
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@platinaatje6134 "What did the "US gave Europe for free??" Let me inform you: a) the Marshall plan. b) coverage from Soviet threat for 45 years.
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@Lasse65 If Russia is so weak, why is everybody so afraid of it ? Your infantile arguments are on top self-contradicting.
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@ I hasten to inform you that the biggest NATO country in Europe, Turkey, is not putting in money. And I would advise you to be careful with thinking and stating that any NATO country is at war with Russia. That is frivolous.
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@ No single NATO country is under attack. Be careful with words.
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@VilhelmEdgren "Europe" did not found the USA. But Europeans who wanted to change their individual lives and by seceding from their European motherland set up a republic, which was exceptional in its times. Let's not pretend that the US did not develop anything new.
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Sloganeering is unethical. The Ukraine is destroyed. Let's see who is ready to pay for its reconstruction.
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@scottweir6799 It was the USA who saved Europe from its own ideas, like national socialism and communism. Sure, the USA did some silly thing too. Yet never of that magnitude.
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@alhambrabiker1476 Poland is following the US since 35 years. And does so now too. You are uninformed.
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@ Russia has her interests and strength. Same for the USA. This is what drives the negotiations.
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@ Dream on.
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espesia: I am sure that this approach will greatly facilitate negotiations with Putin.
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Do you want a nuclear war with Russia ?
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@VilhelmEdgren Read the Federalist Papers. There important new concepts in them. New = new combinations of old elements. And new = that they did not remain in the realm of intellectual debate, but were put into practice. Another source of what was new in the USA is De Tocqueville' Democracy in America. I have so far only read quotations. But that is already enough to say, that for Europeans much in the USA (mainly in terms of society, culture and mentality) was new, even as early as in the 19th century.
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@VilhelmEdgren I am European. And my emphasis is on intellectual innovation. American colonists, who indeed were inspired i.a. by Aristotle, Cicero, Locke and Montesquieu, set up a constitution, which in its structure was unprecedented. Just take the issue how the federalist principle is constructed in the US constitution.
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Yes, White Guilt part 23. We are all so impressed with your virtuous self-depreciation.
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So a Swede is able to pivot the global military balance ? I do wonder if there is a bottom to nonsense like that.
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@alhambrabiker1476 I live in Poland and I read what the Polish PM Donald Tusk says. Poland follows the USA, just as it did during the last 35 years. And even more so, if NATO will be weaker.
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@ I am well within the grand European rationalist and realist tradition, if you ever heard about them. If you have counterarguments feel free to present them. If you have none, feel free to remain silent.
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@orcuttnyc "Yadda yadda yadda" American progressive, I suppose ?
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@kinngrimm Russia is slowly grinding forward. The average of the swarm of expert assessments is that Russia can continue that war for at least 2-3 years in terms of equipment, manpower not being the issue, unlike the Ukraine. If by "not losing" you mean no territorial concessions, then this war is not "not losable" if that makes you happy. I'll stick to unwinnable though.
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@jplater9191 Poland is tired of supporting the Ukraine in an unwinnable war. On top Poland sees that it gets nothing in return, not even the an acceptance of the Volhynia massacres, let alone an apology. On top Poland, its armory depleted by massive aid to the Ukraine, is more dependent on the US than ever. Mr. Tusk is elastic enough to pay lip service to the EU and yet to remain a close US ally. The same can be said of both presidential candidates.
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@spartannl8227 Reason will not go away. No matter how vulgar you are
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Clemens: Russia is no more aggressive than the USA is. Or have you forgotten the Iraq invasion of 2003, to give you just one example ? Now it is ok for an European to think more about Europe than them Arabs. Yet to picture a power as an inherent villain, to dehumanize it, is ethically dishonest and positively adds to the risk of war. I am for sure not a pacifist, yet belligerence, even its keyboard variant, is dangerous.
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@ Oh sure. The EU should steal Russia's money. That will guarantee peace for a long time, won't it ? And the EU should interrupt badly needed energy imports from Russia for even more time. Another great idea !
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@rmdomainer9042 That is no reasoning, nor is it circular, nor infantile. It is a paraphrase, lucidly exposing the fundamental contradiction within his position. And you follow him. Once you make up your mind if Russia is to be feared or not to be feared, feel free to present your views. Before you might gain an understanding what "circular", "contradiction" and "reasoning" means. Even if English is not your first language.
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@Lasse65 There is no such thing as the n-th strongest overall military power. Russia in terms of strategic and tactical nuclear capabilities is at the top. Conventionally it was generally overestimated. Yet as so often in its history Russia learns from mistakes and is getting better. It has already directly and indirectly destroyed the Ukraine to a large part and indirectly damaged the West via inflation, which i.a. brought Trump to power. Only a fool would not respect their military power. When it comes to attacking other countries Russia is less active than the USA. Yet only a foolish neighbor would provoke them.
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LOL So you, an American, tell us Europeans not to listen to Americans ? According to your advice, we should not listen to you either ! Signed, a European.
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@scottweir6799 Falklands: US logistic support was crucial for the British success. And the US provided that despite the fact that they supported the Argentinian Junta. Read eg. "One Hundred Days" by Admiral Woodward. Or Lady Thatcher's memoirs. And please do not use derogatory terms for other countries. That makes you look rather uncivilized.
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@briankgruber Oligarchy is natural for Russian countries in a large sense (Russia proper, White Russia = Belarus, Ukraine). Zelensky turned into an oligarch too. In the next few month US and European politicians will have the task to explain to their naive public, that Putin is not the devil incarnate, nor is Zelensky the defender of democracy. Once that is achieved a more even headed approach will prevail. Trump's main problem is that he is ahead of the public opinion, which was manipulated by his predecessor into manichean schemes.
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@andersmalmgren6528 "Great Britain bought time, the USA gave money and the Soviet Union gave blood". As a historian I agree with that simplification. Yet you are wrong with "Europeans" (other than Russians, Ukrainians, Belorussians) doing the heavy lifting. Continental European countries were neutral/friendly/cooperating (Italy, Spain, Portugal, Finland, Hungary, Slovakia, most Balkan countries, France to a large part, Sweden, Ireland, Switzerland, Turkey). Nearly all of the occupied nations on balance supported the Nazis (i.e. brief resistance vs. supplying volunteers for Estonian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Belorussian, Ukrainian, Norwegian, Dutch, Belgian, Danish, Bosnian SS Divisions). The only big continental country which stands out is Poland. Then the US, under progressive Mr. Roosevelt, handed 1/3 rd of Europe to the Georgian "Uncle Joe" Stalin. So that was not a specifically Baltic fate. I encourage you to broaden your horizon ! So the big picture is: Continental Europeans invent strange ideologies (communism, national socialism) and then kill each other. Even now they are not able to achieve lasting peace (Balkan wars of the 1990s, Ukraine). The USA first helps and then abandons. Far from perfect - but better than continental Europe.
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@andersmalmgren6528 As a historian I know that Munich 1938 was a rather rare instance of underestimating a major power. More often wars came from the opposite, i.e. exaggerated fears. Trump is doing the unavoidable, in a businesslike style, which offends many. But let's not forget that Macron and Scholz have failed before. Now Ukrainian territory loss and no NATO are possibly unavoidable. The issue of reparations is open. The most important thing however is the post-war order. And Putin did not win overall. NATO came even closer via Scandinavia, Europe turned anti-Russian. The Ukraine is therefore a draw.
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@briankgruber Ukrainians do not laugh about the fact, that Z who promised to cleanse politics, enriched himself to the level of oligarch. That why he is quite unpopular and that is why he now stripped his rival Poroshenko of his political rights. Instead of laughing you should be grateful that you get information not served by mainstream media.
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