He is almost 70 and has plenty of time, 20+ years in power to amass a big enough war chest, and this is it. Come on! His attack on Ukraine has WWII vibe to it.
What’s your definition of military super power?
We do our best to try and destroy the value of the dollar and it just gets more valuable. Kind of like Tesla stock.
The ruble closed at the highest level in five years against the euro as more European companies appeared to be complying with Vladimir Putin’s demand that they switch to paying in Russia’s currency for natural gas.We do our best to try and destroy the value of the dollar and it just gets more valuable. Kind of like Tesla stock.
The Strong Dollar and the War in Ukraine | Econofact
The dollar's value against six major currencies reached a 20-year high in mid-May. How has the war in Ukraine contributed to the rise? What are the implications?econofact.org
www.bloomberg.com
Not to interrupt a good rant with economics, but monetary strength actually hurts export-dependent countries (like Russia). This is why China refuses to let the Yuan float.The ruble closed at the highest level in five years against the euro as more European companies appeared to be complying with Vladimir Putin’s demand that they switch to paying in Russia’s currency for natural gas.
Ruble Hits 5-Year High as Gas Buyers Bend to Putin’s Will
The ruble closed at the highest level in five years against the euro as more European companies appeared to be complying with Vladimir Putin’s demand that they switch to paying in Russia’s currency for natural gas.
The rouble has firmed about 30% against the dollar this year despite a full-scale economic crisis in Russia, making it the world's best-performing currency
Russian rouble leaps to near 7-year high vs euro
The Russian rouble firmed more than 6% against the euro on Monday to a near seven-year high, boosted by capital controls, strong oil prices and an upcoming month-end tax period.www.reuters.com
We do our best to try and destroy the value of the rouble and it just gets more valuable. Kind of like Tesla stock.
Lots of money to be made in the rebuild if you know the Big Guy
I better question to ask is do the Europeans believe he is committed to that. Looking at the level of support that is be given by the countries that would most impacted it does not appear that they believe that.
www.ifw-kiel.de
It would appear that the Germans are still funding the Russian military
On a normalized basis it doesn't seem so off. Of course Germany is the notable exception - but Europe is more than just Germany. From your link:I better question to ask is do the Europeans believe he is committed to that. Looking at the level of support that is be given by the countries that would most impacted it does not appear that they believe that.
Ukraine Support Tracker - A Database of Military, Financial and Humanitarian Aid to Ukraine
The Ukraine Support Tracker lists and quantifies military, financial and humanitarian aid promised by governments to Ukraine.
They have no choice in the short term. Just like our "tough on China" policy ended up increasing imports from China. It will take a decade or more for NATO(incl. US) to pull back from hostage status with Putin/Xi. But I doubt our spoiled domestic consumers will ever let that happen, because $500 60" HDTVs have become our birthright. We are addicted to cheap stuff and internationally supported currency.It would appear that the Germans are still funding the Russian military
Germany and Italy approved Russian gas payments after nod from Brussels - sources
Germany and Italy told companies they could open rouble accounts to keep buying Russian gas without breaching sanctions against Moscow following discussions with the European Union, sources said.
This is a European problem, and they really don't seem that interested/invested in fixing it, because they knew that we would pony up the bucks to pay for the resistance. Trump was right in telling them that they needed to start paying their fair share, should have been said long before that.
The Marshall Plan was the template we have used for the last 75 years. That worked very well for Europe, and for the US. It made us the Superpower we are. I do agree that the same philosophy broadly applied since hasn’t worked out too well. That probably comes from politicians not being the brightest kittens in the litter and being very focused on satisfying the complainers rather than understanding and solving problems.
I think we’ve officially talked ourselves in a circle can I believe this was covered 100 pages ago, yes it worked great in World War II, it hasn’t worked great since then.
We took Afghanistan very quickly the bullshit nation building that we did for the next 19 1/2 years was a time and money suck. They don’t calll Afghanistan the graveyard of Empire‘s for nothing.
The difference seems to be projecting a plan that is socially, economically, and politically consistent for a large portion of people within a devastated country(ies) and projecting an entirely different set of values that don't naturally fit with much of the target population and doing so over a very short span of time. We have not yet found the intelligence to do the latter well or the humility to stop trying to in the face of repeated failure.
An argument was made that it doesn’t work well when dealing with what are essentially civil wars.
