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War in Europe
Slate ^ | August 29, 2014 | Anne Applebaum

Posted on 08/30/2014 9:30:24 AM PDT by No One Special

Putin has invaded Ukraine. Is it hysterical to prepare for total war with Russia? Or is it naive not to?

WARSAW, Poland—Over and over again—throughout the entirety of my adult life, or so it feels—I have been shown Polish photographs from the beautiful summer of 1939: The children playing in the sunshine, the fashionable women on Krakow streets. I have even seen a picture of a family wedding that took place in June 1939, in the garden of a Polish country house I now own. All of these pictures convey a sense of doom, for we know what happened next. September 1939 brought invasion from both east and west, occupation, chaos, destruction, genocide. Most of the people who attended that June wedding were soon dead or in exile. None of them ever returned to the house.

In the past few days, Russian troops bearing the flag of a previously unknown country, Novorossiya, have marched across the border of southeastern Ukraine.

In retrospect, all of them now look naive. Instead of celebrating weddings, they should have dropped everything, mobilized, prepared for total war while it was still possible. And now I have to ask: Should Ukrainians, in the summer of 2014, do the same? Should central Europeans join them?

I realize that this question sounds hysterical, and foolishly apocalyptic, to American or Western European readers. But hear me out, if only because this is a conversation many people in the eastern half of Europe are having right now. In the past few days, Russian troops bearing the flag of a previously unknown country, Novorossiya, have marched across the border of southeastern Ukraine. The Russian Academy of Sciences recently announced it will publish a history of Novorossiya this autumn, presumably tracing its origins back to Catherine the Great.

(Excerpt) Read more at slate.com ...


TOPICS: Extended News; Foreign Affairs; Russia
KEYWORDS: anneapplebaum; europeanunion; nato; russia; ukraine
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1 posted on 08/30/2014 9:30:24 AM PDT by No One Special
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To: No One Special

World wide conditions are much the same today as they were in Europe prior to WWII. All it will take is a little spark to re-ignite the conflagration that actually began with WWI and never put out. In general mankind is too proud to admit error and too stupid to learn from its mistakes. Putins reminder about Russia’s nuclear capability should not be dismissed. If, God help us, that cat is let out of the bag WWII will look like a church picnic.


2 posted on 08/30/2014 9:40:47 AM PDT by Don Corleone ("Oil the gun..eat the cannoli. Take it to the Mattress.")
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To: Don Corleone

The only scum capable of using nukes are the Muzzies. Even NK’s leader Jong-Un is not that stupid.


3 posted on 08/30/2014 10:05:47 AM PDT by SgtHooper (Anyone who remembers the 60's, wasn't there!)
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To: Don Corleone

What concerns me is how China responds to Putin’s moves. More specifically, if Russia “gets away” with its encroachment into Eastern Europe, then China will behave in a similar manner by expanding and pressuring countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, Korea, and Japan. Therein lies the real threat.


4 posted on 08/30/2014 10:39:18 AM PDT by LjubivojeRadosavljevic
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To: No One Special
September 1939 brought invasion from both east and west,

In that case the author ought to recognize that Germany's unstable alliances with Russia (WWII) and Austria-Hungary were the causes of European wars. Germany has recently suggested giving up on an centralized Ukrainian government. Greater Ukraine is not worth any military expenditure.

5 posted on 08/30/2014 11:56:03 AM PDT by palmer (This comment is not approved or cleared by FDA)
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To: No One Special

I guess if the president needs to start a war with Russia to help him politically, us conservatives should follow along, at least from what I read at this site.

...I guess.


6 posted on 08/30/2014 12:02:56 PM PDT by BobL (...part of Agenda 21 (whatever that is))
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To: BobL
I guess if the president needs to start a war with Russia to help him politically, us conservatives should follow along, at least from what I read at this site.

Don't sweat it. As history has repeatedly demonstrated, war with Russia will be a walk in the park, over by Christmas. Except for cool footage on TV of stuff blowing up followed by Russian troops meekly surrendering, we won't even notice. I doubt the NFL season will be affected. Life here will continue uninterrupted.

Once they complete their LGBT sensitivity training, we'll send our downsized force of professional volunteers to take on Russian conscripts in their own backyard. It'll be a breeze!

And if you disagree with me, you're nothing but Putinista scum.

7 posted on 08/30/2014 12:13:43 PM PDT by Drew68
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To: Drew68

Good point, why even bring sweaters.

And their S-400 SAMS that can reach 100,000 and defeat EVERY western aircraft built (and even those on the drawing board)...are just bluster, in it’s actually a conspiracy, cooked up by unanimous agreement of every arms expert in the world in a smoke-filled room in Moscow.

Anyone that disagrees with that is a Russian APOLOGIST.


8 posted on 08/30/2014 12:18:47 PM PDT by BobL (...part of Agenda 21 (whatever that is))
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To: BobL
Good point, why even bring sweaters.

Funniest thing I read here was someone posting that we need not worry about Russia's nuclear arsenal, that nine out of 10 of their ICBMs probably don't even work.

Uh, huh... What about the one in 10 that do?

9 posted on 08/30/2014 12:33:55 PM PDT by Drew68
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To: palmer
not worth any military expenditure

I' don't the Poles will be to happy to acquire a new, long border with Russia.

Frankly, the Kaliningrad Oblast should be seized and held until Russia gives up the eastern Ukraine.

10 posted on 08/30/2014 1:40:11 PM PDT by pierrem15 (Claudius: "Let all the poisons that lurk in the mud hatch out.")
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To: BobL
I'm sure its a decent system, but if they are so good, why do we and the Israelis blow through them so easily?

We spent the whole Cold war tremendously overestimating the Soviet Union's military prowess.

11 posted on 08/30/2014 1:42:16 PM PDT by pierrem15 (Claudius: "Let all the poisons that lurk in the mud hatch out.")
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To: BobL

Not everything is about Obama, and the US has interests apart from whether certain actions benefit or do not benefit Obama politically.


12 posted on 08/30/2014 1:43:33 PM PDT by pierrem15 (Claudius: "Let all the poisons that lurk in the mud hatch out.")
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To: No One Special
Too bad the Polish aren't members of the nuclear club. I know that the Ukrainians wish they were. And the Germans and Japanese better start thinking about joining.
13 posted on 08/30/2014 1:51:35 PM PDT by 2001convSVT (Going Galt as fast as I can.)
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To: BobL
I'm sure its a decent system, but if they are so good, why do we and the Israelis blow through them so easily?

We spent the whole Cold war tremendously overestimating the Soviet Union's military prowess.

14 posted on 08/30/2014 1:52:08 PM PDT by pierrem15 (Claudius: "Let all the poisons that lurk in the mud hatch out.")
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To: AdmSmith; AnonymousConservative; Berosus; bigheadfred; Bockscar; cardinal4; ColdOne; ...

originally posted here:

http://freerepublic.com/focus/news/3198700/posts


15 posted on 08/30/2014 1:52:56 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
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To: LjubivojeRadosavljevic
What concerns me is how China responds to Putin’s moves. More specifically, if Russia “gets away” with its encroachment into Eastern Europe, then China will behave in a similar manner by expanding and pressuring countries such as RUSSIA, Malaysia, Singapore, Korea, and Japan. Therein lies the real threat.

There, fixed it. Siberia is wide open to Chinese expansion, and they do have a historical pretext.

16 posted on 08/30/2014 1:53:20 PM PDT by Carry_Okie (Democrats: the Party of slavery to the immensely wealthy for over 200 years.)
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To: Drew68

You two are Chamberlain brothers right?


17 posted on 08/30/2014 2:43:11 PM PDT by free_life (If you ask Jesus to forgive you and to save you, He will.)
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To: Carry_Okie
There, fixed it. Siberia is wide open to Chinese expansion, and they do have a historical pretext.

Okee Dokee - thanks for editing :-)

18 posted on 08/30/2014 2:57:51 PM PDT by LjubivojeRadosavljevic
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To: free_life
You two are Chamberlain brothers right?

Of course. Because everyone who doesn't want to start World War III over east Ukraine is an appeaser.

19 posted on 08/30/2014 3:15:16 PM PDT by Drew68
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To: 2001convSVT

The UKRAINE gov’t was the 3rd largest nuclear power until they signed the Budapest Memorandum with The Russian Federation, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States of America reaffirm their commitment to Ukraine (other nations signed similar agreements.) Ukraine honored their commitment & allowed their weapons to be destroyed.

* Please see:
http://www.freerepublic.com/perl/pings?more=368187928


20 posted on 08/30/2014 4:56:51 PM PDT by UMCRevMom@aol.com
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