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Yes, many. Among them are the UN Charter, the 1975 Helsinki act, the 1990 Charter of Paris, and the 1997 NATO-Russia founding act. None of which place any limit on NATO's expansion or which exclude Ukraine from joining NATO. All of them recognize each nation's sovereign right to determine their own alliances and allegiances. Russia is a party and signatory to every one of these treaties and agreements. Make note, Bashi didn't provide any treaty or agreement that limited NATO's expansion - no such document exists. He provided you a video of a guy saying that Putin (Putin, specifically) warned us not to. That's different. There is no reading of the facts which alleviates Russia's full responsibility as the aggressor in this conflict. They are in direct violation of every one of those treaties. One could argue, as Bashi does, that it was unwise to allow NATO to expand eastward, and that can be a basis for a good argument, but it's also fully opinion, and there is no treaty or arrangement that Ukraine or any other NATO member state has violated that Bashi can point to which places any legal blame on the West. Ask him to provide a receipt. He'll be unable. In 1999, Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia (all former Soviet satellites) joined NATO. Czech and Poland also join the same year. In particular, Poland's accession into NATO had been underway for the entire decade - starting in 1990. Notably, Russia signed the NATO-Russia founding act in 1997 - which as far as years are concerned, comes after 1990 the last time I checked. Also of note, Poland was once a former Soviet satellite. Hey, the more you know! Right? Tough for me to know how long and on what setting I would have to microwave my brain in order to believe that Russia was super upset about its former satellites joining NATO, but would also simultaneously sign an agreement saying it's cool, but then again, I'm no statesman. Hence, why the entire line about them being upset over Ukraine joining NATO is total horse shit. In 2008, Ukraine (and Georgia) were "invited" to NATO at something called the Bucharest summit. As his final act as President before stepping down, Putin expressed discontent that Ukraine would be invited to NATO. Understandable. Falls squarely into Bashi's opinion that "we provoked" this conflict. We get it. Putin didn't want Ukraine in NATO. And because Putin didn't want it, it's our fault. This is the one fact Bashi can lean on and which comprises the totality of his argument. Putin didn't want it. Undisputed. Flash forward to 2014 and Vlad is back in power pushing little green men into Ukraine. I, for one, can always tell who the good guys are in any conflict by who's soldiers are wearing unmarked uniforms, occupying another state's parliament buildings, and then holding "elections" for them which in turn result in the dissolution of their government. Flash forward to 2022, and Putin has his full-on invasion. Personally, my opinion is that Putin is concerned about Ukraine becoming (more) Westernized because of the enormous economic power they wield both in terms of agriculture and energy. Putin (or Russia) losing a substantial amount of their economic leverage over Europe would be strategically devastating for Russia. NATO expansion is a pretext because Ukraine can continue down the path of Westernization with or without being a NATO member state. Yeah, there is a complicated relationship between NATO and Russia given the legacy of warfare in Europe in the 20th century, but there is nothing which has ever limited any state from choosing their own alliances - and this includes Ukraine. Anyone who wants to read them can find them on the internet. Russia has signed all of them. I predict two things. First, that this war will end with Russia annexing eastern Ukraine (Crimea), permanently. As the trade to achieve peace, what is on the west side of the front (Ukraine) will eventually be allowed to join NATO. The second prediction I have is that Bashi will down vote this comment.

For anyone adding to the list of events that made voters rebuke the Dems, we now have a woman imprisoned for 9 years because she argued 2020 voting machines were compromised*, but we have several Dems in Pennsylvania outwardly admitting to violating voting law because they want to count invalid votes. Literally breaking the law trying to sway an election in their favor and not one mention of bringing charges. The gross imbalance of legal action depending on party affiliation is sickening and a major reason voters have walked away from the Dems. I will happily eat crow in the future if every one of them ends up in prison for years. *For those interested in what actually brought a 9 year sentence: “Peters was convicted of three counts of attempting to influence a public servant, one count of conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation, first-degree official misconduct, violation of duty and failing to comply with the secretary of state.” Of note she didn’t actually manipulate any vote counts, unlike the Pennsylvania people mentioned above. So I guess they need over 9 years of incarceration…

Then Europe will get what it deserves. why should we fund their defense when they could do it themselves but choose not to?

I think you are misinterpreting that quote. It argues that Russia did not want to intervene, but may feel compelled to in a Ukrainian CIVIL WAR. It does not imply that Russia would feel forced to invade to keep them out of NATO. Invading was Putin's choice to try to regain a puppet state/buffer zone. The idea that Ukraine's choice in alliances is an act of war against Russia remains, as it always was, dumb.

Bashi, you’re a coward and fool for supporting Russia and an embarrassment to have in the US military. It’s bad enough that I have to assume you’re a troll. Good day.

Indeed, it was totally unnecessary for Putin to invade a nation unprovoked.

You don't have to tell me, I know. Had a buddy who was ecstatic that we were able to keep Norvell when 'Bama was shopping last off-season tell me - "I hope we lose to Charleston Southern this week so CMN gets fired." What a time to be alive!

A lot of Trump’s proxy voices have said as much but I’ve never seen anything official come out of his statements. Basically it’s portrayed as being the carrot or a VERY big stick to negotiate with. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

There is some nuance but in short it is known as the Budapest Memorandum - the Wiki Page does a good job of breaking it down. In short, when the FSU fell apart Ukraine had a large number of nuclear weapons and the west was looking for a way to secure those weapons and prevent proliferation. The west gave Ukraine "security assurances" but in the end the document is NOT binding. As Americans we have a very short memory, we basically made a promise to protect Ukraine thinking peace had broken out and Russia fueled by capitalism, was going to be a peaceful friend. Now that Putin has attacked Ukraine twice we are pretending like we didn't give our word. Yet another reason countries around the world don;t take our promises and foreign policy seriously.

Funny…Mexico certainly isn’t doing everything they can to stop the illegal flow of people, drugs, etc from their country into ours.

If you think Russia is justified because they used to own it, would you support a Mexican invasion to retake W. Texas?

Sure, but the court of public opinion should still have an expectation of evidence. Point me to a single piece of evidence. One. That's all I want to see. This conversation is irrelevant specifically because of the number of times Democrats have outright lied about these exact situations to smear their opponents. If they hadn't pulled this as many times as they have, allegations might have more weight. And so far the only thing I've heard that is remotely substantiated about Gaetz is that he goes/went to sex parties. So yeah if my daughter decides to be a swinger with a soft spot for narcissists, then exactly what would I be objecting to? I'm also not sure what you mean by "let" my daughter date him. Is she a minor in this hypothetical? If so then obviously I'm not letting a minor date someone my age. If she's an adult, I'm not sure what type of backwards old-timey nonsense you're asking. My daughter will no more need my permission to date as an adult as I needed my father in law's permission to marry my wife. Look, I know you've still got wounds here from the number of times you've been wrong, so kudos for sticking around. But your inability to comprehend a simple point is keeping you in this Doom loop of nonsensical posts. Allegations are no longer trustworthy. We simply have to see the evidence that is made against politicians in this era to be able to make a decision. Your example illustrates this perfectly. All of the evidence regarding Trump's 34 felonies have been laid bare, and they are found wanting. I'm not denying that he had sex with a pornstar and then paid her off to keep quiet. That's the most believable thing I've heard in this entire election. I wish our choices were better than this, but they're not. If you can't tell why Americans didn't give a shit about these convictions, you're as out of touch as the Democrats who watched breathlessly as their candidate went down in flames. Trump has been pitched as a rapist, a literal Russian spy, the harbinger of Doom for democracy, a literal Nazi, a racist, a sexist... You get the idea. For nearly a decade we have listened to every shade of "expert" explain the many and incontrovertible ways that Donald Trump was a criminal and villain. And after all of that, to include a multi-year special prosecutor investigation with the full weight and resources of the federal government behind it, we get... "ledger entries for legal expenses." Cognitive dissonance indeed.

To maybe draw this away from insults and back to rational discussion. For those who are against - do you think we should turn a blind eye to Russian aggression? If no what is your response, diplomacy and sanctions or just ignore it. Do you think he will stop at Ukraine? What do you see as the impact of Ukraine under Putin's control? For those who are in favor - How do you mitigate the potential for the conflict to spill over? What are the downsides of providing munitions and money? What do you say about Ukrainian corruption? I've stated many times I am in favor of the support we have provided, for a relatively low cost we have removed Russia as a near-peer threat for many years to come. That being said I do have concerns about striking deep into Russian territory with American made weapons.

One can only support a nation in duress if they are obligated by a treaty: the opinion of a simpleton troll. Glad you’re not an officer and just an online Putin simp.

i'm not supporting them you DOLT! there are circumstances that the US/NATO have done since 2014 that have lead to Russia deciding to invade. being blind to historical foreign policy won't magically make the russians go away. don't be manipulated like a fool

Innocent. Until. Proven. Guilty. If you have some evidence you would like us to consider, share it. Unless *you* know why the DOJ didn't prosecute Gaetz, why waste everyone's time with hypotheticals?

Ukraine is a friendly democratic nation with zero expansionist desires that was invaded by an unfriendly, undemocratic nation with expansionist desires. That’s the reason that Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, and Finland joined NATO. Because none of them could trust Russia. And as long as Putin is in power and attempting to derail our foreign policy on every continent, neither can we. Abandoning Ukraine is giving him a historic come from behind win, and it damages trust in the US for every ally.

Just checked, FY17 had 60 selects. The two best years were FY19 with 90 selects and FY22 with 100. And those numbers are just for pilot, not the other rated positions

Hey you walnut, this isn't your strong suit but try thinking from a perspective other than your own. I understand why you don't support Trump over Harris. Obviously I think it's the wrong decision, but I have the cognitive capacity to view it from your perspective based on what you've said. Are you too stupid to do this, or are you just too hurt from the loss to do anything but snipe right now? I sincerely hope that the rest of your party, or better put, the people who think like you do absolutely nothing to analyze the constitutional failings of "their side." Because nothing at this point would make me happier than 4 years of trump followed by 8 years of JD Vance. You had a literal cartoon of a toxic progressive running for president against Donald Trump. That's why Trump won. If you sincerely think that a riot at the Capitol is the most dangerous threat to the Constitution in the past decade or so, then you just aren't paying attention. Some of us are familiar with and care about the entire Constitution, not just the parts that are convenient to our political narrative. I have two candidates who selectively favor parts of the Constitution/BoR. The Democrats far and beyond threaten more of, and more important parts. When the Republicans start threatening all of the norms of Congress, the executive branch, and the supreme Court, then I will wholeheartedly agree with you. But you are pretending like Donald Trump started all of this, when in fact he is just a response to the constitutional disregard of progressives for the past 20ish years.

Yes! Preach gurl! Very. Important. Points. With. Periods. We. Totally. Consider. Evidence. On. This. Forum. So. It’s. Worth. Your. Time. To. Present. It. To. The. Group. And most importantly, even if convicted of 34 felonies, still innocent! It’s called cognitive dissonance people!

Social media has destroyed your mind, good luck