[LeChuck]

This is a simplistic, even childlike, view of the relationship between the US and Europe. The situation is the way it is because the US wanted it like that. Statesman like Dean Acheson and George Marshall designed it this way. To throw 75 years of relative peace and stability away because you feel it’s unfair? A world that revolves around American military, economic and cultural power, and uses the U.S. dollar as its reserve currency unfair? It galls me that small, arrogant, petty people with no notion of history are throwing all this away because they have a schoolyard understanding of fair and unfair.

[absolutelastone]

Crimea was 10 years ago now. And Obama at that time didn't intervene, in fact he called on Europe to spend more on defense. Europe is much bigger (in population) and richer than Russia. This is a different situation than the cold war.

[jeswin]

> This is a simplistic, even childlike, view of the relationship between the US and Europe. The situation is the way it is because the US wanted it...

People who do know history would tell you that you don't get peace by dismantling industrial and military capacity. To blame this on "because the US wanted it that way" is just naive. The US might have wanted it that way, but so what? It happened because it was easier to sell domestically compared to allocating hundreds of billions on say, 5th gen fighters.

[davrosthedalek]

Yeah, I am sure Poland would have been SUPER HAPPY if Germany would have invested more in military in the late 90s. France as well. /s

[naasking]

> It galls me that small, arrogant, petty people with no notion of history are throwing all this away because they have a schoolyard understanding of fair and unfair.

Or maybe your ivory tower understanding simply ignores the realities of the working class people who voted for Trump to do away with these policies.

[SecretDreams]

I've got to imagine this forum is officially compromised at this point with these style of posts on here?

I'm shocked by the level of pro-Russia content coming from you and other posters. I hope it's just brigading. I'm devastated if any meaningful amount of Americans feel this way. It's a fall from grace I didn't think I'd see in such real time.

[naasking]

The fact that you interpret any pushback to your opinion as pro-Russia is one of the main problems in modern discourse. You're so ideologically captured that everything has become binary.

[SecretDreams]

Quite the opposite. I've just come to the realization that discourse with individuals arguing in bad faith is more harmful to society than any fleeting chance I may have of convincing the individual their path is the wrong one.

[naasking]

Doubtful. Public discourse online is often not about convincing interlocuters, but mostly about whoever is watching/reading.

[SecretDreams]

Hence why you waited to respond despite having made other posts since my response?