I think that there is a lot more going on in Kazakhstan than meets the eye.
Massive violent & armed protests break out over the country at the same time - supposedly over fuel prices.
Massive security operation with troops from friendly countries drafted in to support the current government.
Then today the head of Kazakh national security is arrested on suspicion of treason.
To me this feels like an attempted coup by the security chief with some military units involved. Russia has been brought in to put down the coup so they are not behind it.
I totally agree. But what isn't recognised I think is that Russia takes Ukraine far more seriously than NATO or by extension the US does. So the external repercussions to Ukraine from taking an anti-Russian policy will be far more severe than economic sanctions or diplomatic disapproval. Russia can and has endured repercussions against what it views as a vital strategic interest. Can Ukraine? Will the US not at some point trade recognition of Russian advances in Ukraine for something it wants?
Lets face it - by taking a hostile anti-Russian stance since 2014, Ukraine has irrevocably lost Crimea. It has lost day-to-day control of its eastern provinces and has reduced itself to a bargaining chip between Russia and EU/NATO over what remains. For all time, Russia now has a veto on Ukrainian policy because of the "frozen" conflict. For all these real losses, it has gained no more than well wishes from the EU and NATO. Any person with Ukrainian interests at heart would have not encouraged Ukraine to become the host to the next round of EU/NATO vs. Russia. Whoever wins, Ukraine loses.
This is the lesson Georgia learned in 2008. In April 2008 at the Bucharest summit, NATO - with deep objections voiced by Germany - issued a statement that Georgia would at some point in the future be a NATO member. This essentially pretended that all of Europe would go to war to defend Georgian borders. A clearly insane claim given the disputed South Ossetia, which Russia cared more about than NATO did given the very short 2008 war between Russia and Georgia on that dispute. 14 years later, no Georgian membership of NATO. Whatever the russophobia that guides the media, there is yet some sane voices in policy making that have prevented inviting Georgia to NATO any time since.
This is the reality. People might hate Putin a lot. They might have an irrational hatred and fear of Russia and a complete dismissal of its interests as a nation and a state. But the peoples and countries living close to Russia cannot afford that sort of insane hatred. Distant allies who promise much and deliver little only encourage conflicts which re-establish a brutal reality: Russia, right or wrong, is stronger than its neighbours. So Russia's neighbours need to cultivate a good relationship with Russia's rulers. The US will never go to war over the borders of Ukraine or Georgia. Russia will. This is simple realpolitik.
“Right, as the world goes, is only in question between equals in power, while the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must.” Thucydides observed that at least 2,400 years ago. The real question is how are so many people so naïve 2,400 years later?
Just looking at the russian forces flowing into Kazakhstan ,lots of armoured vehicles and electronic warfare teams ,
Definitely not a short term visit ,so far something like 140 flights have come in from russia in less than 48 hours.
There's been various claims that the protests were cover to allow certain factions to maintain power,and this inviting the Russians to put down protests gives those on power the ability to bypass their own military forces and use Russia to maintain the status quo.
Kazakhstan has a military strength of just over 100,000 men and women and a reserve of another 130,000 that can be called up as well as active conscription ,
So why the need for several thousand Russian special forces and armour
It's called Twitter ,we have social media in the west , instead of Kremlin am radio and tv broadcasting 24/7 Soviet era propaganda ......
is this from a comic for ten year olds?
Minor point of order: Ireland broke the peg with sterling in the late 70s by joining the European Exchange Rate Mechanism. The value of the Irish pound had more to do what the Deutschmark and Bundesbank was doing than the British Pound and the BOE.
Ironically , I think there was zero chance of Ukraine joining NATO before Russia invaded,
Of course they are perfectly entitled to do it.
And Ukraine is perfectly entitled to join Nato and allow US nuclear warheads be stationed on their border. But all of these things have external repercussions.
LOL
Comedy hour ?
Firstly, there is no evidence of a 'massive internal deployment of troops'. Even if there was, it is just Russian troops in Russia which they are perfectly entitled to do. They always denied there was any intention to invade Ukraine, and a month later it seems they were telling the truth. It's been very common practise for Russia to assemble large numbers of troops for exercises and simply to demonstrate that they can for the purposes of deterrence.
I have absolutely no idea what you are on about with your first point. I have neither acknowledged anything nor posted much in the thread.
A massive internal deployment of troops to a border is not just "Russian troops in Russia".
Well, at least you've progressed to acknowledging you were wrong. But I'd point out there is no evidence there ever was 100,000 Russian troops positioned to invade Ukraine.
Russian troops in Russia is just a normal day.
Imagine that ,but somehow it's someone's fault
The 100,000 troops the Russians deployed on the border did a pretty good job of pushing the story all by themselves.
So here we are in January 2022 and the much wailed about Russian invasion of Ukraine has not happened. Same as it was in April 2021 when there was similar wailing about a Russian invasion then. Which did not happen. Hopefully, when the next "Russia to invade Ukraine" stories are trumpeted by the media people might start being savvy enough to stand back and wonder who is pushing this story, and what do they hope to gain from it? More money from arms sales to Ukraine? Preventing the opening of NS2?
People might also begin to wonder what is gained by pretending that Ukraine's borders are a vital strategic interest for ordinary people in the US, the UK, France or Germany? Ukraine is clearly ethnically divided between a Ukrainian speaking west and a Russian speaking east who see their futures in the west and the east respectively. If survival of Ukraine's borders as they were in 2013 was truly a strategic interest of the EU/NATO, then surely they would have been more cautious than encouraging a make or break decision between the west (EU/NATO) and the east (Russia). Instead they were hugely reckless. So it clearly was not then, and it is not now. The Ukrainian conflict is best understood as an ethnic civil war, beginning with the violent overthrow of a democratically elected government that drew its support from the east. In the absence of massive repression or near total autonomy, multicultural states break down. Always have, always will. Civil wars of course draw in foreign backers so it is no surprise Russia is backing the Russian speaking east in that conflict. The only question is if EU/NATO is best served by getting dragged into the next great war sparked by ethnic conflict in some far-off country. With nuclear weapons this time.
Russia views Ukraine as a vital strategic interest. It absolutely requires a friendly, or at least neutral Ukrainian government. Any sane person in the US, UK, France or Germany does not view Ukraine as a vital strategic interest. Because it is not. Pretending otherwise only invites disaster for the countries involved. For all the advice and declarations of support from EU/NATO, the situation of the Ukraine in 2022 is markedly worse than it was in 2013. Russia is not an "evil empire", but it is a regional power and it is deadly serious about what it considers to be it's strategic interests rightly or wrongly. People need to grow up and recognise that consequences don't flow only one direction. The Ukrainians need to realise that they need to account for Russia when making policy. This is not as outrageous as it sounds: An independent Ireland still had to account for the UK after 1922, and the Irish currency was tied to decisions made in the Bank of England right up until the introduction of the Euro. Even today, the Irish government must defer to the EU. This is the reality of realpolitik.
The presence of post-Soviet Russian tanks (i.e tanks that were never purchased or developed under licence by Ukrainian armed forces) in Ukraine during the conflict is well established and beyond dispute.
This leaves us with two scenarios:
1. The Russian army was handing over high-value military hardware such as tanks to defecting Russian sympathetic secessionists previously in the Ukrainian army (possible but unlikely)
2. Russian tank divisions were active in Ukraine from 2014 onwards (more likely given the preponderance of evidence that many thousands of Russian servicemen were active in the Donbas)
You made that claim and only you .........
Didn't think this one through at all 🤣
Piss poor attempt at deflection
There you go. "Russian tanks in Ukraine in 2014". Except this picture is of Russian tanks in South Ossetia in 2008. Sorry that you are such a sucker but some men one just can't reach.
Now are you going to continue to use this pic as proof of Russian tanks in Ukraine in 2014? Or are you going to grow a pair and admit that you were fooled? I would. I've been wrong before and I'll be wrong again. And when proven wrong I've had the spine to say "Fcuk, I was wrong!"
Something tells me that you can't summon that simple quality.
No, the Earth is very round. In fact I've been around it. What was it that Ferdinand Magellan said?
"The Church tells me that the Earth is flat. But I've seen the shadow of the Earth on the Moon and I trust the shadow more than I trust the Church".
And you know, Gatling tells me that the IDF didn't lose any tanks in Lebanon in 2006 but a senior Israeli commander who was in the battle testified that nearly 50 were obliterated and their crews killed. I trust the commander more than I trust Gatling.
Is that you egg ???
"When outside forces like ISIS or western funded Neo Nazis are unleashed to destabilise places like Syria or Ukraine"...
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Forgot about flat earth too
Why is the pathetic "whataboutery" buzzword always trotted out when hypocrisy and double-standards are laid bare. Do you think it helps your argument? If you are so cock-a-hoop about Russia influencing its neighbours yet don't say a word about America conducting pogroms in Central and South America, that's not "whataboutery" it's hypocrisy. And when this is tabled the weasel-worded retort is "well America isn't perfect. It has its issues."
Either rail against ALL colonialism/imperialism/oppression/subterfuge/crimes against humanity/corruption/illegal wars/murder/ethnic cleansing/etc. or rail against none of it.
Don't cry foul about Russian planes flying close to the UK but in international airspace which they are perfectly allowed to do but screech that it's a dastardly provocation yet give a pass to Brit and US warships sailing directly at Chinese vessels in the Straits of Taiwan. The examples are myriad.
That's not your crappy whataboutery, it's HYPOCRISY.
You see when the US or the Brits or the French invade places like Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Somalia and kill millions in order to appropriate their resources and make dynastic riches for themselves, they tell suckers like you that it's to "help" these people or to spread democracy. They spin you yarns about WMD's that could wipe you out or babies being thrown out of incubators or soldiers being given Viagra so they are well-hard for their rape rampages or that the country is so fcuked that the people have to eat flamingoes. And you swallow this crap, hook, line and sinker. Millions dead over lies that you don't have the nuts to acknowledge. Yet When outside forces like ISIS or western funded Neo Nazis are unleashed to destabilise places like Syria or Ukraine and someone does something to resist. then you call it "aggressive expansionism".
Are you really that foolish?
No .
🤦
Another day another deflection , and another derailing.
So the pictures of Russian tanks in South Ossetia were published and used to try to mug people off that they were actually in Ukraine and you fell for it. Congratulations.
No, they're not peaceful protests. But the government is calling them terrorists and calling help from CSTO, even though it looks like they're facing a disorganised angry mob (with guns). That's some heavy use of the panic button by a weak government.
Yeah it seems that a lot of the companies involved fled a crack down in china too
Lol no Russian tanks in Ukraine 🙈🙈🙈.
But yeah derailing the thread
I'm not spoofing about anything. You were the one who told complete lies about the IDF. I'm merely pointing out your lies. In fact you are even lying about your lies. And to cap it all you then accuse people of derailing a thread by exposing your lies.
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