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Yes, good point. The truth is Europe is utterly helpless militarily. They can't defend against Russian action in Eastern Europe without American military power.

Yes, good point. The truth is Europe is utterly helpless militarily. They can't defend against Russian action in Eastern Europe without American military power. So they have to accept these sanctions as the cost of that protection. This is no doubt part of the why the United States has lobbied so strongly against the development of an integrated EU army, which is the probably the only way Europe can by itself deter aggression on its periphery.

creato 5y ago
I don’t know about an integrated EU army, but the US has been lobbying for Europe to expand its defense capabilities for years, that wasn’t just Trump.
Balero 5y ago
I think Russia's incompetent invasion goes to show that Europe can defend itself against Russia (at least discounting Nuclear Weapons, but who can defend there, and not just retaliate). And further more, that they should prepare in order to defend even more capably. In general some countries in Europe, notably Germany, have been relying on the US and to a lesser extent France, UK and Poland to defend them from Russia. But recent events have caused a change in tack here.
- JumpCrisscross 5y ago
  > Russia's incompetent invasion goes to show that Europe can defend itself against Russia The incompetence cuts both ways. They're unlikely to win a land war in Europe. But they're apparently happy to start wars they can't win.
  - Balero 5y ago
    Hopefully after this pointless fiasco they will be less happy to start something. But it is a good reason for European countries to keep supplying Ukraine, and to build their own defence forces. Good point though! I hadn't thought of that.
jhgb 5y ago
> The truth is Europe is utterly helpless militarily. They can't defend against Russian action in Eastern Europe without American military power. If you paid any attention to recent weeks, it would have occurred to you that the rest of Europe would obliterate Russian forces if Russia dared to attack with its absolutely inept ground forces.
malka 5y ago
> created: 61 days ago hmmm.
- legalcorrection 5y ago
  Give me a break. If you look through my other comments and still think I'm a paid shill, then you're paranoid and seeing ghosts.
orwin 5y ago
I'm pretty sure the Russian cannot detect French Rafale in enemy territory, and while MICA can hit most Russian planes without troubles AND defend against R77s, i'm not convinced old long distance missile like the R-27 can actually lock on a Rafale, let alone hit it. Also i'm not sure there is a chance for any Russian fighter to avoid getting hit by a Meteor, so i guess Russia would have to destroy Eu satellites and hope the US doesn't lend theirs? Also i think Europe have more MICA-VF than Ukrainian had manpads. So the Russian would have to go ground-only. I don't think they have something as good as MICAVF to defend against let's say SCALP, so most of the artillery would have to stay under cover (and again, need to destroy EU satellites). I'm pretty sure the fuel tech used in the Meteors could be used in AtS missiles too, and that would render any artillery useless as long as any EU satellites can discover the piece. Basically, mechanized infantery and tanks would have to be the way to go.

creato 5y ago

I don’t know about an integrated EU army, but the US has been lobbying for Europe to expand its defense capabilities for years, that wasn’t just Trump.

Balero 5y ago

I think Russia's incompetent invasion goes to show that Europe can defend itself against Russia (at least discounting Nuclear Weapons, but who can defend there, and not just retaliate). And further more, that they should prepare in order to defend even more capably. In general some countries in Europe, notably Germany, have been relying on the US and to a lesser extent France, UK and Poland to defend them from Russia. But recent events have caused a change in tack here.

JumpCrisscross 5y ago
> Russia's incompetent invasion goes to show that Europe can defend itself against Russia The incompetence cuts both ways. They're unlikely to win a land war in Europe. But they're apparently happy to start wars they can't win.
- Balero 5y ago
  Hopefully after this pointless fiasco they will be less happy to start something. But it is a good reason for European countries to keep supplying Ukraine, and to build their own defence forces. Good point though! I hadn't thought of that.

jhgb 5y ago

> The truth is Europe is utterly helpless militarily. They can't defend against Russian action in Eastern Europe without American military power. If you paid any attention to recent weeks, it would have occurred to you that the rest of Europe would obliterate Russian forces if Russia dared to attack with its absolutely inept ground forces.

malka 5y ago

> created: 61 days ago hmmm.

legalcorrection 5y ago
Give me a break. If you look through my other comments and still think I'm a paid shill, then you're paranoid and seeing ghosts.

orwin 5y ago

I'm pretty sure the Russian cannot detect French Rafale in enemy territory, and while MICA can hit most Russian planes without troubles AND defend against R77s, i'm not convinced old long distance missile like the R-27 can actually lock on a Rafale, let alone hit it. Also i'm not sure there is a chance for any Russian fighter to avoid getting hit by a Meteor, so i guess Russia would have to destroy Eu satellites and hope the US doesn't lend theirs? Also i think Europe have more MICA-VF than Ukrainian had manpads. So the Russian would have to go ground-only. I don't think they have something as good as MICAVF to defend against let's say SCALP, so most of the artillery would have to stay under cover (and again, need to destroy EU satellites). I'm pretty sure the fuel tech used in the Meteors could be used in AtS missiles too, and that would render any artillery useless as long as any EU satellites can discover the piece. Basically, mechanized infantery and tanks would have to be the way to go.