Relying on God, Not America: A Report from the Church in Ukraine
“ ‘As an American, it was sad for me to see President Trump not supporting a country that has freedom and democracy,’ he said. ‘It helps to remember my most important citizenship is in heaven, and I think Ukrainian believers are sensing that more than ever now too.’” - TGC
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One of the most discouraging things for me in all this is to see how many conservatives have bought the Russian lies about the conflict--that it's about NATO membership, that Ukraine isn't a real country, etc.. Back in the 1980s, conservatives knew better than to trust Kremlin rhetoric.
And it's worth a visit to the Suko's website. Inspiring couple with a lot of insight about the world over there.
Aspiring to be a stick in the mud.
The fundamental issue: 3 years of proxy fighting have produced stalemate. America has spent borrowed money to fund the war. Much of that money has enriched arms producers and Ukraine officials, and wasted on nonmilitary uses. The author of the article stresses freedom in Ukraine but then later mentions forced recruitment. Odd. At this point the origin of the conflict is irrelevant. Are you and other Americans willing to commit more money and U.S. military to remove Russia from Ukrainian territory? I doubt it. Therefore some form of negotiated settlement. Otherwise prepare to spend more borrowed money and see U.S. military die.
Wally Morris
Huntington, IN
The fundamental issue: 3 years of proxy fighting have produced stalemate. America has spent borrowed money to fund the war. Much of that money has enriched arms producers and Ukraine officials, and wasted on nonmilitary uses. The author of the article stresses freedom in Ukraine but then later mentions forced recruitment. Odd. At this point the origin of the conflict is irrelevant. Are you and other Americans willing to commit more money and U.S. military to remove Russia from Ukrainian territory? I doubt it. Therefore some form of negotiated settlement. Otherwise prepare to spend more borrowed money and see U.S. military die.
Exactly. I am no fan of Putin and I do not agree with what he did. Still we have to face the reality of the situation. Russia is aligned with North Koria and both CNN and ABC are reporting about it (pay special attention to the ABC report)
If more countries get involved, expect China, Iran, Venezuela, Cuba... to also be involved. How far are we willing to take this or should we look for a compromise to stop the bloodshed? These are not easy answers and I get why both sides have their opinions. There is an argument that we need to just have WWIII to stop Russia and China from advancing, but that is not something I would look forward to at all.
Would I be willing to spend more money? Sure. Seize the $500B of frozen Russia funds and use that to decisively win this conflict. The problem we have had is that 1) we have tippie toed into this, just slowly providing better and better weapons trying not to anger Russia, which has dragged this on way too long and 2) we are scared of these "red lines" that Russia keep giving, even though we have crossed them on more than 5 occasions with no response. Europe needs to step up a lot more. I don't think we need WW3. We need to give them advanced weapons, and put advisors and some special forces on the ground. Russia is so incredibly ineffective it wouldn't take much to push this over.
The key thing to remember regarding Putin is that he's not risking the things that matter the most to him. His air force, apart from stand-off attacks from the Caspian Sea, is largely irrelevant because so many planes have been shot down by stingers, Patriots, and such. He has yet to institute a draft, especially among his power base in western Russia.
What he's doing is sacrificing the lives of eastern Russians and foreigners, especially troublesome minorities and criminals--just as he did in Syria, where Russian intervention killed about half a million Syrians, mostly civilians. But when his forces decided to attack U.S. forces in Khasham and got slaughtered, there was no attempt at retaliation.
In other words, he's nowhere close to the "existential crisis" level where we'd get nukes used. He is rather the schoolyard bully who might be well deterred by a good bloody nose.
Aspiring to be a stick in the mud.
The U.S. has spent $175 billion, Europe $140 billion. I am amazed that people so casually talk about expanding this war. Perhaps you should send your relatives to fight instead of wanting others to fight the war. We are witnessing the slow realignment of world powers, possibly creating the foundation for some of the alliances of the Tribulation. I would be careful what you wish for.
Wally Morris
Huntington, IN
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