[Nan3cy]

The April 30 issue of ISW's discussion of the Ukraine War is quite interesting.  The comings and goings and whose on first mess that was and is the Russian command structure is hard to believe.

https://understandingwar.org/backgrounde...023#_edn56

ISW brings real insider knowledge.  I have had a chance to work with General Keane, and he is "read in" on a lot of action.  
He was Deputy Commander at CENTCOM under Petraeus so he knows a lot about the general theater and the weaponry.  

But, from here in WDC, both parties struggle with minority factions that do not see strategic value in Ukraine. 
Bernie Sanders et.al. want to cut the DOD by $400B; "Stop forever War".  
Some of the Right Wingers see China as a MUCH bigger threat, and Ukraine is a deliberate distraction by the Russia-China Tandem.

True, but we have seldom gone to war with everyone voting Yes.  Thanks to Pearl Harbor, Roosevelt finally was able to support England the way he wanted.

Actually, it was thanks to Hitler declaring war on the US. Had Hitler not done so, Roosevelt would have had a devil of a time getting Congress or the populace to support a "Europe first" i.e. Help England policy. While in the long run such a policy "made sense", the population was mad at Japan, not Germany, because of Pearl Harbor. The isolationist elements in Congress would be easily outflanked on Japan, but not on Germany. The declaration of war on Dec. 8 was against the Empire of Japan only. The argument would have been made loud and long that one enemy was enough, no need to take on Germany if we didn't have to. That argument would have had lots of traction. Hitler took that off the table on Dec. 11 with his declaration of war. Only then did the US respond in kind.

Agreed. Goose, what’s your take on why Hitler declared war on the US? Aside from invading the Soviet Union, it’s always seemed to me as if that was the stupidest thing Hitler did during WWII.

[Nan3cy]

The April 30 issue of ISW's discussion of the Ukraine War is quite interesting.  The comings and goings and whose on first mess that was and is the Russian command structure is hard to believe.

https://understandingwar.org/backgrounde...023#_edn56

ISW brings real insider knowledge.  I have had a chance to work with General Keane, and he is "read in" on a lot of action.  
He was Deputy Commander at CENTCOM under Petraeus so he knows a lot about the general theater and the weaponry.  

But, from here in WDC, both parties struggle with minority factions that do not see strategic value in Ukraine. 
Bernie Sanders et.al. want to cut the DOD by $400B; "Stop forever War".  
Some of the Right Wingers see China as a MUCH bigger threat, and Ukraine is a deliberate distraction by the Russia-China Tandem.

True, but we have seldom gone to war with everyone voting Yes.  Thanks to Pearl Harbor, Roosevelt finally was able to support England the way he wanted.

Actually, it was thanks to Hitler declaring war on the US. Had Hitler not done so, Roosevelt would have had a devil of a time getting Congress or the populace to support a "Europe first" i.e. Help England policy. While in the long run such a policy "made sense", the population was mad at Japan, not Germany, because of Pearl Harbor. The isolationist elements in Congress would be easily outflanked on Japan, but not on Germany. The declaration of war on Dec. 8 was against the Empire of Japan only. The argument would have been made loud and long that one enemy was enough, no need to take on Germany if we didn't have to. That argument would have had lots of traction. Hitler took that off the table on Dec. 11 with his declaration of war. Only then did the US respond in kind.

Agreed. Goose, what’s your take on why Hitler declared war on the US? Aside from invading the Soviet Union, it’s always seemed to me as if that was the stupidest thing Hitler did during WWII.