the Russians have already stated that is their intention should they win in Ukraine,
Demonstrably false. Ukraine is being invaded precisely because it is NOT a NATO nation and as a pre-emptive Russia defense of its own borders after decades of NATO/US broken promises to not make hostile moves toward Russia, promises made in the 1990s and broken ever since. This is a PREEMPTIVE DEFENSIVE POSTURE by Russia.
The US did nearly the same thing in Cuba with the Russians. The US threatened war when discovering threatening encroachment. Had the Russians not backed down, we'd have viewed their posturing on our figurative border as a threat. This is not a hard historically factual analogy to understand.
The US has "pre-emptively" invaded many nations, to include N. Korea, Vietnam, and Iraq as "pre-emptive defensive" moves. Again, this too is not a difficult analogy to grasp. Super-powers often take "pre-emptive defensive" moves to include invading others when they feel threatened.
Of these 4 analogies, versus what Russia is doing, Russia is the MOST morally and legally correct. Cuba, N. Korea, Vietnam, and Iraq were never part of the USA, nor have large % of citizens who want to be in the USA. Unlike Ukraine, which was part of Russia more than it wasn't in the last hundred years. And a large % of Ukrainians are of Russian descent and want to be Russians.
there seems to be a lot of Putin apologists on these pages.
False. Next, a hypothetical. If Russia were meddling in Mexico, or Arizona, you can bet the US would not tolerate it and we'd be at war to defend our security on our border. Why is Russia entitled to less sovereignty than the US? This isn't apologizing for Russia. It's trying to get Americans to wake up, think critically, to avert a nuclear war that we will LOSE.
Putin agreed where Ukraine's borders were in 1991 then invaded Crimea in 2014 when the West did nothing, that bolstered his opinion that the West is a pushover, the result is the invasion last year.
Incorrect. The agreements in the 90s promised that NATO/US would not encroach. Guess what we have done since? We've added NATO members and placed nuclear weapons, military bases, and defensive weapons in several eastern European nations in violation of same, and direct threats to Russia. Again, the US would not tolerate such acts on our borders.
This week a NATO general has acknowledged the Ukraine war started in 2014. Ukraine has been killing Russians for nearly a decade. It was not started by Putin, FYI. After corrupt evil Ukraine's killing Russians for decade(s), the Minsk agreements attempted resolution of such fighting.
the only way to stop a bully is to stand up to him or he will just continue to bully others.
This failed argument was the lie pushed on Americans since the 1950s with the "red scare" that created paranoia and ramped up the MIC arms race. It got us into a failed war in N. Korea (60,000 dead Americans), failed war in Vietnam (60,000 dead Americans), failed wars in Iraq and Afghanistan for 20 years (5000 dead Americans). This nonsense ideology has put the US in a hot or cold war almost every day since the 1960s, killed millions of people around the globe, and cost trillions of US tax dollars.
And it's accomplished almost nothing positive, whereas it's created a big deep state government run by corrupt MIC and government officials and politicians who are oppressing Americans more daily.
You claim to be a "doomsday" prepper. Well, I hate to break it to you but the biggest threat and causes of "doomsday" are caused by your viewpoints. Our biggest threats are economics, corrupt deep state government with too much power, and war with superpowers.
Your views have caused the bulk of $33 trillion in debt and endless needless wars - this time with superpower(s) that can strike Americans on US soil.
The world is far safer if the west backs out of Russian affairs, Russia reclaims Ukraine, and is a safe stable trade partner with the west as it has been. Look at the early 2000s. Russia was a strong trade partner with good relations - providing energy, food, ammunition, etc. to the west. Now, we're on the brink of nuclear war, closer than any time in history.
Are you willing to trade Houston for St. Petersberg? San Diego for Kazan? Hundreds of thousands of American GIs for Ukraine? Because that's where this is headed.