does still indicate Russia's overall weakness in comparison to expectations
I don't understand statements like this in light of the american defeat in Afghanistan after 20 years. By all measures the technological imbalance was much greater in that case.
The world just doesn't have the stomach for true total war anymore, not that that's necessarily a bad thing.
Given the presence of nuclear arsenals in the world, that would be an undeniably good thing in balance with potential extinction. I just don't believe it
Humanity isn't fundamentally that different from a century or two ago. It hasn't changed enough to just lose the stomach for total war, but it did make a successful conscious effort to lock the forks away once complete nuclear destruction was the centerpiece on that table. The modern global powerhouse cultures just haven't been hungry enough to consider breaking open the lock or digging in bare handed yet. But hard, hungry times are coming, so we may see how strong the world's resolve really is.
That's what I figured, but I see this "expectations" argument come up time and time again, by folk critical of the loopy left. I guess the russia-man-bad-and-weak is a uniparty endeavor.
The very beginning of the war where Russia tried to fight it by not killing Ukrainians or damaging anything was weird, They clearly didn't start the war assuming that the US was going to turn it into an existential conflict where the only end conditions are completely interdicting Ukraine and killing every fighting age male living there or vaporizing and replacing the entire Russian government.
It's weird from our point of view but from what I've seen from Russian media since the start of the war, they see the Ukrainians as wayward brothers so it's understandable to a degree why they've led the war with restraint.
I'm sure the west's support surprised them and even to this day I'm still not sure why we have turned this into a existential crisis and risk a nuclear conflict over Ukraine of all places. I'm curious too how long this can go on especially if they're dumb enough to go ahead with the oil price cap which will totally end up fucking the west harder than anything before now.
I don't understand statements like this in light of the american defeat in Afghanistan after 20 years. By all measures the technological imbalance was much greater in that case.
America lost Afghanistan for the same reason Russia is have some issues in Ukraine:
Not wanting to kill everyone and maintain infrastructure intact.
If America went into Afghanistan and killed every fighting age male indiscriminately, Afghanistan would be America's territory.
We did not, so we had to let it go.
Russia has been restrained as fuck in this war. If they let loose -- even just a little -- it'd been over already.
The world just doesn't have the stomach for true total war anymore, not that that's necessarily a bad thing.
People also have a warped sense of how long, well anything really, should actually take because of the internet.
Given the presence of nuclear arsenals in the world, that would be an undeniably good thing in balance with potential extinction. I just don't believe it
Humanity isn't fundamentally that different from a century or two ago. It hasn't changed enough to just lose the stomach for total war, but it did make a successful conscious effort to lock the forks away once complete nuclear destruction was the centerpiece on that table. The modern global powerhouse cultures just haven't been hungry enough to consider breaking open the lock or digging in bare handed yet. But hard, hungry times are coming, so we may see how strong the world's resolve really is.
That's what I figured, but I see this "expectations" argument come up time and time again, by folk critical of the loopy left. I guess the russia-man-bad-and-weak is a uniparty endeavor.
The very beginning of the war where Russia tried to fight it by not killing Ukrainians or damaging anything was weird, They clearly didn't start the war assuming that the US was going to turn it into an existential conflict where the only end conditions are completely interdicting Ukraine and killing every fighting age male living there or vaporizing and replacing the entire Russian government.
It's weird from our point of view but from what I've seen from Russian media since the start of the war, they see the Ukrainians as wayward brothers so it's understandable to a degree why they've led the war with restraint.
I'm sure the west's support surprised them and even to this day I'm still not sure why we have turned this into a existential crisis and risk a nuclear conflict over Ukraine of all places. I'm curious too how long this can go on especially if they're dumb enough to go ahead with the oil price cap which will totally end up fucking the west harder than anything before now.
There was no leadership in Afghanistan on either side. That is why Afghanistan always wins against modern armies.