| >> it has the potential to end our current era of unprecedented peace and prosperity. >Is this supposed to be sarcastic? Or are we just ignoring iraq, yemen, libya, afghanistan because they're far enough away and aren't white? Not at all. Even considering Iraq, Yemen, Libya, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Syria, Tigray, Chad, Myanmar, Sudan, Rwanda, Nigeria, and all of the other conflicts combined, we are globally in an era of unprecedented peace and prosperity. Fewer people per capita are dying in wars than ever in the history of humanity. Fewer people live in poverty, by far, in the history of the world. Fewer children dying before 5 years old. I can speak more about this if anything is unclear. > because they're far enough away and aren't white? I'm not saying it's you, but those who are quick to fling accusations like that are often struggling internally with their own racism. Just a thought. > So I'm genuinely interested, how do you see that going? The Ukrainian army marching in red square? Russia entirely out of Ukraine. Despite what you have been told, the war is going quite well for Ukraine and quite badly for Russia. Ukraine has a very good chance to win, and by win that means Russia even out of Crimea. > What do you think is more likely to lead to nuclear conflict, absolutism or a negotiated peace? What is "likely" to lead to nuclear conflict is Russia deciding to use nuclear weapons. There is no other path to nuclear conflict. That is Russia's choice. Assuming the threat is real (arguable), being cowed in the face of such threats will lead to more threats and more escalation, not less. I can speak more about this if something is unclear. > which seems to be the latest argument used by people with a poor understanding of history Again, your own discourse here is pretty inflammatory. You can be more persuasive without hostility. The relevant history here is - and it sucks to say this because Godwin has made a joke of it, but here we are - the relevant history here is Nazi Germany. The world should never have given into Hitler's demands, because doing so led to more instability, not less. That is a clear lesson we would ignore at our peril. As an aside, the USSR and Nazi Germany were allies at the beginning of WW2. USSR didn't turn out to be better than the Nazis in any respect. While Germany has come to terms with its past, Russia never truly owned it. Russia is continuing the same policies, and the same genocides, as it did then. >>Russian mafia leaders must be brought to trial for breaking international law A condition of normalizing trade and diplomatic relationships will be Russia extraditing its war criminals. When Russia loses this war and Putin loses his leadership, the subsequent leadership may be willing to negotiate. |