re: Lindsay Graham says the US has blocked the Pols from giving the Ukrainian’s some Migs.

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What would happen if the US committed to writing that Ukraine will never be a member of NATO?

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would Putin believe it? No idea. Honestly I would try anything at this point. We give him that assurance and he leaves Ukraine permanently. That's what I would offer. I've read the various post pre-invasion that one country shouldn't be allowed to say who can join NATO and in the face of it, I agree. But if that one country has a leader willing to blow up everything then the calculus changes. You calm down a nutcase holding a live grenade you don't dare him to pull the pin.
In the past, appeasement was seen as weakness and it was re:chamberlain. But nukes forever changed the world. I'm constantly amazed that in my 56 years on earth there's never been a breech of MAD. I sincerely would try anything to see that continue

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Appeasing tyranny never ends well. Not doing something because you’re afraid the bully will hit harder/escalate is appeasement. Putin is counting on that weakness from the west.

NATO should do everything they can to make Putin’s mission fail, short of sending troops and firing weapons

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you should first reconcile these two opposing positions before you can offer a workable path forward

Well the Japanese attacked us at Pearl because we had placed an oil embargo on them and we later added one or 2 other sanctions on them. They kept negotiating with us but pushed up the timetable to attack. The lesson we should learn is that it doesn’t always take a military action to get you into a war. If you are squeezing another country pretty hard with economic sanctions they just might attack you back using a military action and starting a world war.

What is the cost benefit of this?

They would likely be quickly destroyed by Russia either on the ground or in the air.

And would further escalate tensions

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The first 2 paragraphs do not advocate war. They advocate doing everything you can just short of war, including arming Ukraine.

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Okay, but what if that's what Putin is counting on? I mean, that's weakness from his perspective, right?

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If you are squeezing another country pretty hard with economic sanctions they just might attack you back using a military action and starting a world war.

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the concept of "world war" changed forever in 1945

I find it unfathomable that Putin is willing to take the world to the brink of annihilation over Ukraine but reading through Soviet history there were many who seriously considered first strike as a viable option during the cold War. Never underestimate the arrogance of our species nor its thirst for bloodshed

And how do we know that in a couple of months that the Russian economy doesn’t totally collapse from all of these sanctions. Then the people over there take to the streets and the mob forms to overthrow Putin and his cronies running the government. Are you certain that Putin wouldn't launch every nuke he had just as a middle finger to both the people of Russia and the West? I could see him doing that. I most certainly could see Iran and the DPRK doing that if the people ever had an uprising and came for those leaders.

Damn...just planted my sweet corn today...think I could get a blow up of this for the crows and coons.

Send Miss Lindsay and his pussy hat over there