Quote:
Originally Posted by kato13
I think we are in total agreement then. The first 6 months was totally logical for the US particularly given how much of the ordinance was sitting on shelves waiting to be destroyed as it was nearing its "Best use by" date. Now that we have depleted our stocks, while it is still the right thing to do, the costs of new production make it a little less clear.
I want the US to support Ukraine, but I want Europe to do more as even if a non Russian Ukraine is in US interests, this should be more of their fight as the refugee issue you mentioned effects them more directly.
Germany is my biggest sticking point. After hostilities began they could have moved harder into using US and Qatari supplied LNG, instead of continuing, to this day, to directly fund the Russian war effort. If this is truly a European war of survival, Germany should be more willing to make more sacrifices. I know the gas from the US can be up to 10 times more expensive than the extremely cheap Russian gas but we could cut that cash flow entirely, thus saving more Ukrainian lives.
For all of this millennium Germany (the worlds 3rd largest economy) felt it could slash its military effectiveness by coasting under the US defense umbrella and made energy deals that truly emboldened Putin (including shutting down their nuclear plants at least partially due to cheap Russian gas). It annoys me. Not so much I want to abandon the good people of Ukraine, but opening our checkbook would be easier if I felt Germany was reaping more of what they had sown.
EDIT
Getting back on topic of this thread. Who in 1984 would have thought a reunited Germany would only have three divisions in 2022, none of which would be combat effective without a 3 month ramp up, and even that timeline is debatable.
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I do agree with you that Europe should support the effort more especially Germany. If Germany needs oil, maybe the Brits can offer them a deal as well for North Sea crude, I don't know, I'm not a petroleum engineer but just a thought. I'm still not quite on board with the US supporting almost everything in the Ukraine but if it has to be, we need to have the rest of NATO members pony up more. Still, a big concern is where if all members are willing and strong enough mentally as well as physically to do this. It's like the Vietnam War, the US and allies were strong enough physically but we were not as willing and without that will, gusto if I may, it does not matter how much or little stuff you have in your forces. That's why I'm am not too strong with support, I just think we have too many weaknesses right now from the leadership on down. I do believe we have enough hardware but without the "software," it would fail. You rightly pointed out that Germany is the worst, they bought into a mindset that cripples their thought processes and that really made them weak. I just don't want things to snowball out of control to the point where bad decisions end up taking us into Twilight: 2025.