Maggie's Farm

Gallup found that 57% of Germans would be willing to fight if Germany were involved in a war, more than the United States at 41%. Notably, a quarter of Americans have indicated they could take up arms against the United States.

Your source is a bit misleading. In the Stern poll, about 38% of Germans said they would probably or definitely defend Germany if faced with a foreign threat. The comparison to the United States, provided above, helps provide the context. If you start with misleading statistics, your conclusions will be unfounded.

feeblemind: I believe that is indicative of how deep the political divide is in this country.

Quite so.

feeblemind: So Milley was running the whole Ukraine war with Russia without telling the public -report

That the United States was providing technical and military assistance to the Ukrainians to fend off Russian aggression isn't news. The effect has been to prevent Russia from toppling Ukraine, degraded their military capacity, and damaged their reputation. However, Russia will remain a threat as long as Putin and the oligarchs maintain power.

feeblemind: One wonders how badly this will damage long term relations with Russia?

Obama attempted to coax Russia "to come in out of the cold," but Russia repudiated cooperation, invaded a sovereign nation—even after providing security assurances. Meanwhile, Russia is cajoling Trump to abandon America's alliances. "Chaos is a ladder."

James: Which is whose authority Milley engaged in those action on.

Seriously? Miley was nominated Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff by President Donald Trump and confirmed to the position by a near unanimous vote of the Senate. He reported to the Secretary of Defense, who was also confirmed by the Senate, and to the elected President of the United States. That’s the source of his authority. Biden was a strong supporter of Ukraine, but he had to balance that against instigating a wider war.

James: Ukraine cannot win an operational victory without the direct intervention of outside forces.

The goal is that Ukraine survives, and Russia is deterred from future aggression. Ukraine has in effect acted in the defence of Europe.

James: Trump is correct in his assessment of NATO, and NATO should have been disbanded 30 years ago.

There’s a reason Russia attacked Ukraine rather than NATO nations also on their periphery: Ukraine is not in NATO. NATO has successfully kept Russian aggression in check.

It’s also important to remember that Russia had agreed to honor Ukrainian sovereignty. No lasting peace can be had with Russia when it can’t be trusted. Selling out the Ukrainians, which Trump seems intent on doing, will not guarantee American security or keep the United States out of foreign conflicts.