Ukraine invasion

[Eltab]

Vietnam is a weird beast. The US decisively won every single battle and still lost the war.

And, even in Vietnam, losses were extremely one sided.

President Johnson trapped himself inside a box of Can'ts that crippled his policy and strategy options. Any proposal that would break the ongoing stalemate got the reaction "We can't do that".

Subsequent Presidents have learned from LBJ's experience and mistakes.

 

[Ryujin]

The US Armed Forces learned the hard way that "racking up the body count" does not equal "winning the war". My favorite post-Vietnam analysis quote:
"Attrition is not a strategy. In fact, attrition is irrefutable proof of the absence of a strategy."

Whenever body count numbers are brought up I remember how, in Vietnam, they would assume a number of casualties because even though they didn't see many bodies, they just had to have generated a certain number based on ammunition expenditure.

 

[Sepulchrave II]

Put it in perspective. Both the US and Russia spent similar amounts of time in Afghanistan. About twenty years. The Russians killed about 1.5 million Afghans in that time. The Americans about 15000.

Ehh...according to the Costs of War Project the US war killed 176,000 people in Afghanistan; 46,319 civilians, 69,095 military and police and at least 52,893 opposition fighters. According to the Uppsala Conflict Data Program, the conflict killed 212,191 people.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday said that nine million people are at risk of famine in the aftermath of the war and as a result of sanctions. So...no?

 

[IvyDragons]

When Zelensky goes to Turkey to negotiate a peace settlement with Putin. Putin uses the super bowl ring he stole to deliver a fatal poison.

 

[Ryujin]

When Zelensky goes to Turkey to negotiate a peace settlement with Putin. Putin uses the super bowl ring he stole to deliver a fatal poison.

I'll take, "What you get when you elect a Bond villain" for $400, Alex.

 

[Rabulias]

When Zelensky goes to Turkey to negotiate a peace settlement with Putin. Putin uses the super bowl ring he stole to deliver a fatal poison.

If they meet face to face I don't think they will shake hands. And I think they will be set across a big table from each other. Putin may be just as afraid of Zelensky.

 

[Umbran]

Mod Note:
Folks,

Just a reminder that this thread does not exist for you to argue over Vietnam. Keep it on topic, please and thanks.

 

[Umbran]

If they meet face to face I don't think they will shake hands. And I think they will be set across a big table from each other. Putin may be just as afraid of Zelensky.

If you want to make sure Ukrainians continue to vigorously resist Russian occupation, the perfect way to do it would be killing Zelensky at peace talks.

Edit - noting for myself - it is spelled "Zelenskyy".

 

[Zardnaar]

I thought he was gonna pull a Constantine XI or Leonidas.

But they won around Kyiv.

 

[Cadence]

Ehh...according to the Costs of War Project the US war killed 176,000 people in Afghanistan; 46,319 civilians, 69,095 military and police and at least 52,893 opposition fighters.

The previous poster sounded like they were trying to separate out the direct US and direct USSR ones. The Cost of War ones you cite for Afghanistan combine both the "Taliban side" and "US side". They are separated from 2007-2014 for civilian deaths in figure 2 at https://watson.brown.edu/costsofwar...es Afghanistan and Pakistan 2001-2014 FIN.pdf