Musings is Fun & Politics — Tech is just Tech 🙂
Bottom Line Up Front: Russian military modernization has been described as a “rebirth” more than once — in the 2000s, again before the 2022 Ukraine invasion, and now once more in 2025. Each cycle promises reform, new technology, and force generation, but the results often reveal the same weaknesses in logistics, corruption, and sustainability. The latest ISW update on Russian force generation and technological adaptations is only the newest chapter in a long-running pattern of déjà vu moments.
False dilemmas and Russian expansion dominate MAGA commentary about Ukraine, creating dangerous straw man arguments that ignore both logical reasoning and historical reality. Commenters like Niketas Choniates at the New Neo blog twist Ukraine’s requests for military aid into extreme misrepresentations about “sending American boys to die” and “taking nukes” – classic false binary thinking that serves Russia’s interests while undermining America’s strategic position.
Many MAGA bloggers and commenters bash Ukraine while unknowingly supporting America’s longtime enemy, Russia, who has been responsible for countless American deaths since WWII by backing Communist countries and terrorist-supporting nations. These voices ignore Russia’s documented expansionist history and resent Ukraine for not delivering Trump’s political opponent Biden “on a silver platter” – while simultaneously blaming Ukraine for Trump’s 2020 loss.
Bottom Line Up Front: Reporting from our remote Florida Swamp news desk – it’s déjà vu all over again. Trump’s peddling the same “security assurances” that screwed Ukraine in 1994 with the Budapest Memorandum.
Ukraine gave up the world’s third-largest nuclear arsenal for American “security assurances” – worthless promises that evaporated when Putin invaded. Now Trump’s coordinating with Putin while offering Ukraine new “security assurances” as part of his Nobel Peace Prize lust. Same diplomatic double-talk, same escape clauses, same setup for betrayal.
Ukraine’s been down this road before and got abandoned. Here’s the documented pattern of how “security assurances” became American code for “we’ll bail when convenient.”
Trump has diverged from key allies, such as NATO members like the United Kingdom and Germany, to align with Russia on Ukraine, providing Vladimir Putin with incentives to continue military actions against Ukrainians.
For decades Iran has chanted “Death to Americans!” ‘Americans think Trump backs Russia over Ukraine as he heads to NATO’ – I’m not sure “think” is the correct word especially after Trump has continued to blame Ukraine for Russia invading and then reinvading it. Now we have this – ‘Putin vows to back Iran and … Read more