OK, new guy. Defend your statement.
How?
Which country shall the US invade? Which Russian cities shall the US bomb?
Should the CIA assassinate Putin? Send infected hookers to Russia to give him AIDS? Contaminate his supply of tiger blood?
Or should our government complain to the United Nations, send a strongly worded letter, or start a Twitter campaign?
Not trying to speak for the n00b...but stopping Putin doesn't have to automatically equate to invading Russia or having him taken out with a CIA wet works team.
Putin is exploiting a weakness in the U.S. and it's foreign policy right now. He sees us withdrawing forces in Europe cutting our military to pre WWII levels and he knows that the moves he's made so far...with the current Administration...won't be stopped.
He knows that any "red line" ultimatum we give about his aggressive moves in Eastern Europe are impotent.
If anything all we have done when he invaded the Crimea and the Ukraine was exactly what you're mocking the new guy about...we ran to the U.N. and cried.
He's got more troops and equipment massed around the Ukraine than we have in total in Europe. And Obama is trying to make USAREUR even smaller before he leaves office.
All we have permanently stationed in Europe right now in the way of land fighting forces is a Cavalry Brigade and a Light Infantry Brigade. That's it.
If we want to stop Putin and prevent him from acquiring any more of the former USSR than we already have...we need to put forces back in place in Europe that we've taken away. Pre positioning equipment and rotating units in looks nice for the media and helps logistically when you need to train stateside soldiers over in Europe...but from a tactical standpoint Putin has us by the short hairs and he knows it.
If it were me...I'd put at least one division and a heave brigade permanently back either Germany or Poland. Return the attack helicopter battalion to the Aviation Brigade in Germany and return at least two fighter wings to Europe...again in either Germany or Poland. I'd also start having our Bomber groups return to rotating in to Europe for training like we used to do.
On the political side...I'd start offering the European countries that get there Natural Gas from Gazprom a better deal if they buy from the U.S. Putin pays for his war machine from oil and gas profits. He's got most of Eastern Europe living in fear of having their gas supplies cut off if the oppose him. Lets take that bullet away from him.
Secondly I'd push...HARD to get the NATO countries to adhere to their obligation to put 2% of their GDP towards defense. IIRC none of the countries outside of the U.S....except maybe England is even coming close to doing that.
That is how you stop Putin.
