Favorite team:Arkansas 
Location:Fast lane, behind a slow driver
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Occupation:Life in the fast lane, behind a slow driver
Number of Posts:8395
Registered on:11/27/2010
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Does anyone else find this weird as shite?
Looks like a new incarnation of JB is back.

RA'd
quote:

But I'm not wanting US troops put on the ground anywhere if there is a possibility it WAS caused by the other side. They seem to be pretty good at figuring those things out now.


Nor do I, I have two son in law’s in the military.
Not yet, you need to read back through the conversation.

This originated with the question of would a drone strike on a European company supplying Ukraine be considered an attack. Someone responded with the statement that yes it would be but only if it could be verified as legit. Which lead to the series of responses that prompted my response you asked about.

No, it hasn't happened yet, but if it did happen would you consider that a reason for NATO countries to invoke article 5?
It's one thing for a drone to fly off course, that's going to happen to both sides.

It is an entirely different thing for a drone to fly off course and hit a facility being used to support Ukraine. One is plausible, one isn't
And what do you think the European response to a US failure to support NATO would be?
quote:

Russia is not outright attacking a NATO country...it's not going to happen.


Would you consider a Russian drone strike on a Rheinmetall factory in Germany an outright attack? Or a drone strike on the British company manufacturing Storm Shadow cruise missiles an outright attack? Serious question.
quote:

But not as good as Buc-ees i assume?


I guess that depends on how you define "good"?

Buc-ees is just a big convenience store with shopping attached. Wally's handles the core gas/food/drinks just as well as Buc-ees. Their other inventory/shopping is not nearly as robust as that part of Buc-ees.

So if your looking to stop and spend an hour while the wife looks at a bunch of shite you don't need. Buc-ees is your place. If you just want to fill up, take a piss, grab a drink and some snacks... they are both competent at that.
Think down the 4D chessboard a couple of moves.

Let's say Russia launches some type of limited attack on NATO countries and the US refuses the Article 5 invocation as you seem to want.

What will Europe's response to that be? My guess is that the collapse of NATO (which is what we're talking about) will mean the US loses all access to European basing, porting, overflight, intelligence sharing, etc....

One of the core foundations of our superpower status is that we can force-project across the world very quickly; if we lose basing in Europe, we lose all of that. Those bases aren't just there to protect against Russia; they allow our military to function effectively.

quote:

Russia can't defeat Ukraine on the ground. Its once massive armor forces are now in tatters. Its only threat to Europe is nuclear.


Russia could absolutely launch drone and missile strikes against European-based arms manufacturers producing war materials for Ukraine.

I think that would be foolish for Russia to do, but it is a possibility.

The only way Russia would do that is if they know the US won't be part of the response.

I was in the one in St. Louis two days ago.

It's a nice convenience store; I like their popcorn.

quote:

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Posted on 8/27/26 at 7:18 pm to Coeur du Tigre
NY Times article
quote:
C.I.A. Chief Delivered Bleak Assessment of Russia’s War in Secretive Moscow Visit

John Ratcliffe’s meeting this week with a Russian intelligence chief was aimed at pushing the Kremlin to pursue a peace deal with Ukraine.
quote:
C.I.A. analysts have long questioned whether Mr. Putin’s advisers have given him honest assessments of the war’s trajectory and toll.
quote:
Last month, Mr. Ratcliffe spoke out pointedly about Russian troop losses during the war, and Moscow’s inability to advance on the battlefield. He noted that the life expectancy of a Russian soldier on the front lines was less than 35 minutes.

And he added that Russia had gained only about 1 percent of Ukraine’s total territory in the 18 months since he became C.I.A. director, a development he attributed to Ukraine’s “mastery” of drone technology.

Before Mr. Ratcliffe met with Mr. Bortnikov in Moscow, he spoke with his Ukrainian counterparts, assuring them that he would be exploring Russian positions, not making concessions on behalf of the Ukrainians.


In light of recent military developments across Europe, the purpose of this trip was probably either:

1) Warning Russia not to do it
2) Telling Russia we wouldn't participate

As petty as Trump is at times, It would not be a stretch to assume something like this happened:

1) Trump: NATO we need your help with Iran
2) NATO: NO
3) Trump to Putin: We won't come to Europe's aid since they didn't help with Iran
4) Russia: Leroy Jenkins!

The only way it makes ANY sense that Russia might launch some kind of attack on NATO, is that Russia knows the US won't come to NATO's aid.

If the US refuses its obligations to NATO, the consequences of such monumental stupidity will be severe for our country. For me, this is a red-line issue with Trump.
The only way this makes any sense is if Russia knows that the US won't participate. NATO is built around the US military; without the US Military, NATO will be handicapped.

So that is the only way I see the Russians willing to try something, if they already know the US won't support NATO.

We have to support NATO; the global ramifications of not doing so will be severe.
Agreed, public officials should only be able to sign NDA's under very limited and strict circumstances.

You seriously aren't that obtuse?

I wasn't saying every neighborhood has a New Africa Community sign, i was saying many neighborhoods (especially newer ones) have signs denoting the neighborhood name. There have to be at least 6 to 10 within a few miles of my home, including my own. Its the same concept.



Yes, that’s why I included it

No different than any other subdivision sign, your neighborhood probably has one.
I think this is just a regurgitation of what we've been hearing about for a couple of months.