Kieselguhr [none/use name]

  • 0 Posts
  • 36 Comments
Joined 3 years ago
Cake day: September 14th, 2021
  • Kieselguhr [none/use name]@hexbear.nettonews@hexbear.net•Bulletins and News Discussion from October 28th to November 3rd, 2024 - LDP Falls Flat / Yet Neoliberalism / Rampages Onward - COTW: JapanEnglish
    57·
    9 days ago

    The Western narrative starts to shift closer to reality, maybe?

    nevermind:

    spoiler

    In return for Mr Zelensky embracing this grim truth, Western leaders need to make his overriding war aim credible by ensuring that Ukraine has the military capacity and security guarantees it needs. If Ukraine can convincingly deny Russia any prospect of advancing further on the battlefield, it will be able to demonstrate the futility of further big offensives. Whether or not a formal peace deal is signed, that is the only way to wind down the fighting and ensure the security on which Ukraine’s prosperity and democracy will ultimately rest.

    This will require greater supplies of the weaponry Mr Zelensky is asking for. Ukraine needs long-range missiles that can hit military targets deep in Russia and air defences to protect its infrastructure. Crucially, it also needs to make its own weapons. Today, the country’s arms industry has orders worth $7bn, only about a third of its potential capacity. Weapons firms from America and some European countries have been stepping in; others should, too. The supply of home-made weapons is more dependable and cheaper than Western-made ones. It can also be more innovative. Ukraine has around 250 drone companies, some of them world leaders—including makers of the long-range machines that may have been behind a recent hit on a huge arms dump in Russia’s Tver province.

    The second way to make Ukraine’s defence credible is for Mr Biden to say Ukraine must be invited to join NATO now, even if it is divided and, possibly, without a formal armistice. Mr Biden is known to be cautious about this. Such a declaration from him, endorsed by leaders in Britain, France and Germany, would go far beyond today’s open-ended words about an “irrevocable path” to membership.

    This would be controversial, because NATO’s members are expected to support each other if one of them is attacked. In opening a debate about this Article 5 guarantee, Mr Biden could make clear that it would not cover Ukrainian territory Russia occupies today, as with East Germany when West Germany joined NATO in 1955; and that Ukraine would not necessarily garrison foreign NATO troops in peacetime, as with Norway in 1949.

    NATO membership entails risks. If Russia struck Ukraine again, America could face a terrible dilemma: to back Ukraine and risk war with a nuclear foe; or refuse and weaken its alliances around the world. However, abandoning Ukraine would also weaken all of America’s alliances—one reason China, Iran and North Korea are backing Russia. Mr Putin is clear that he sees the real enemy as the West. It is deluded to think that leaving Ukraine to be defeated will bring peace.

    Indeed, a dysfunctional Ukraine could itself become a dangerous neighbour. Already, corruption and nationalism are on the rise. If Ukrainians feel betrayed, Mr Putin may radicalise battle-hardened militias against the West and NATO. He managed something similar in Donbas where, after 2014, he turned some Russian-speaking Ukrainians into partisans ready to go to war against their compatriots. For too long, the West has hidden behind the pretence that if Ukraine set the goals, it would decide what arms to supply. Yet Mr Zelensky cannot define victory without knowing the level of Western support. By contrast, the plan outlined above is self-reinforcing. A firmer promise of NATO membership would help Mr Zelensky redefine victory; a credible war aim would deter Russia; NATO would benefit from Ukraine’s revamped arms industry. Forging a new victory plan asks a lot of Mr Zelensky and Western leaders. But if they demur, they will usher in Ukraine’s defeat. And that would be much worse

  • Kieselguhr [none/use name]@hexbear.nettonews@hexbear.net•Bulletins and News Discussion from September 23rd to September 29th, 2024 - The War In The NorthEnglish
    67·
    1 month ago

    I’ve watched a couple of minutes of Aaron Máté debating hasbara on Piers Morgan, and it always amazes me how natural they try to make settler colonialism. One of the debaters was Fleur Hassan.

    Fleur Hassan-Nahoum is an Israeli politician, media expert and policy maker. She currently serves as Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem in charge of foreign relations, international economic development and tourism.

    Fleur Hassan-Nahoum was born in London and grew up in Gibraltar. She is the daughter of Sir Joshua Hassan, who served as the first Mayor of Gibraltar and, later, also served as the first Chief Minister of Gibraltar,[2] and his second wife, Lady Marcelle Bensimon,[3] both of Moroccan and Portuguese Jewish origin.

    Hassan-Nahoum grew up bilingual, speaking Spanish and English In 2001, Hassan-Nahoum emigrated to Israel.

    Imagine having to debate settlers like this during the ongoing settler colonial genocide. They condescendingly talk to you about the “generous peace deals” they offered to the Palestinians and Iran being the puppet master of Hamas and Hezbollah.

    It’s crazy. Fuckin mad world. Go back to London for fucks sake.

  • Kieselguhr [none/use name]@hexbear.nettonews@hexbear.net•Bulletins and News Discussion from July 29th to August 4th, 2024 - Haters Stay Mad(uro) - COTW: VenezuelaEnglish
    0·
    3 months ago

    Hungarian Foreign Ministry press secretary said it was fake news

    I fucking hate the EU. They want to sanction Venezuela, while they fuckin support Israel where, at the the same time there’s a riot for the right to gang rape prisoners of war.

    The EU is the second-largest arms supplier to Israel after the US. According to figures from the European External Action Service’s COARM database, between 2018 and 2022, EU member states sold arms worth 1.76 billion euros ($1.9bn) to Israel.

    Arms have continued to flow from EU countries to Israel even after the International Court of Justice made an interim ruling in January that the Israeli army was plausibly committing genocide. The EU has a system in place to implement arms embargoes but has refused to apply to Israel, leaving member states to slowly implement measures under pressure from civil society with scant political will to do so and falling far short of what is required.

    Sure you fuckin wankers, put an arms embargo on … checks notes… Venezuela? Wtf?! You pieces of shit