@molotovinpeikko The point of NATO was to be an allied bulwark against invasion from a hostile communist force. When communism croaked in 1989-92, that mission was no longer necessary (although in theory, I suppose working to integrate Russia in and then use it against a Chinese communist bulwark would be doable...)
I'm somewhat isolationist in terms of foreign policy -- in my opinion, what happens to Ukraine is both tragic and not the USA's problem. The european countries can fight that fight if they wish to. I think Putin is a brutal and bloody old-fashioned style tyrant, but he does not represent a threat to US security outside of the nuclear deterrent, which is also a situation we screwed up in the 90s and 2000s (I work in the US nuclear industry). Putin does represent a threat to US allies that have largely shirked their defense responsibilities for decades (cough *GERMANY* cough) while expecting Uncle Sam to be the security guarantor. In my opinion this is a European conflict and not one the US need get involved in. That being said, it's turned out rather nicely to the extent Ukraine's success in repelling the Russians will make Beijing think twice about fucking around with Taiwan.
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@molotovinpeikko The point of NATO was to be an allied bulwark against invasion from a hostile communist force. When communism croaked in 1989-92, that mission was no longer necessary (although in theory, I suppose working to integrate Russia in and then use it against a Chinese communist bulwark would be doable...)
I'm somewhat isolationist in terms of foreign policy -- in my opinion, what happens to Ukraine is both tragic and not the USA's problem. The european countries can fight that fight if they wish to. I think Putin is a brutal and bloody old-fashioned style tyrant, but he does not represent a threat to US security outside of the nuclear deterrent, which is also a situation we screwed up in the 90s and 2000s (I work in the US nuclear industry). Putin does represent a threat to US allies that have largely shirked their defense responsibilities for decades (cough *GERMANY* cough) while expecting Uncle Sam to be the security guarantor. In my opinion this is a European conflict and not one the US need get involved in. That being said, it's turned out rather nicely to the extent Ukraine's success in repelling the Russians will make Beijing think twice about fucking around with Taiwan.