Tsar Vladimir II (Russia annexes the Donbas region of Ukraine) Loathsome Trump approves

Russian military forces have invaded Ukraine to ostensibly defend the two separatist regions in the Donbas created by the Vladimir Putin 2014 engineered crisis.  Russian diplomats and Putin have declared the proto-republics are "ancient Russian lands" and Ukraine itself has no right to Statehood.  A question of why Vladimir Putin decided to invade Ukraine now, instead of when his pliant poodle was in power in the United States?  This question forgets that Traitor Trump was in the process of dismantling NATO through his blustering and blundering and at the bidding of Putin. 

Donbas area seized by Russia

Remember how odd it was when Donald John Trump was attacking NATO so vociferously?  Went out of his way to spew all sorts of shit at NATO conferences and even discussed unilaterally pulling the United States out?  Putin expected Donnie Two-Scoops to continue undermining NATO.  TFG's re-election would have undoubtedly put him on a path to pulling the United States out of NATO completely and thus leaving Alliance effectively neutralized.    If not for the Covid Pandemic, this on-going invasion and piecemeal annexation of Ukraine probably would have happened 2+ years ago.

Also never forget Donnie Traitor Trump sought to entice President Zelensky to fabricate a Ukrainian scandal involving Joe and/or Hunter Biden.  Of course, Zelensky would have learned very quickly that Trump doesn't pay those who do dirty work for him (as Jim Comes found out) and Trump would have turned a blind eye to Putin's rapacious recreation of Imperial Mother Russia.

It's no secret, Putin has sought to reinvigorate Russia through successful military conflicts, standing up to America, and having the Russian people view his own personal strength as a reflection of Russia's power and influence.  As to whether Putin imagines himself an inheritor to the Tsar of All the Russias or a heir to Stalin it makes no difference.

Putin started his tough guy rise when he responded to the 1999 Second Chechen War with "rub them out in the outhouse."  Since then, he flexed Russia's military might in 2008 in Georgia, with the annexation of Crimea in 2014.  Add in the stymying of President Obama in Syria when Russia successfully defended Assad despite his use of chemical weapons and war crimes.  (In this Putin has been helped immensely by the American dirtbag left and such perfidious reactionaries like Tulsi Gabbard and of course, the entire Republican Party which idolizes Vlad's "strength").  

But, the while the Pro-Putin GOP fumbles with how to blame Biden, the dirtbag left is clearly on board with the domestic abusers language of blaming NATO (and the US) for Russian aggression.  Unsurpisingly, the dirtbag left not only blames Biden but, casually dismisses the suffering the Ukrainian people are going to go through at the hands of an Authoritarian dictator's war of aggression.

Fortunately, President Biden, continues to ignore the non-stop twitter trolling from so-called leftist bros and has smartly and bravely, reinvigorated US leadership of NATO.  This, has strengthened the backbone of the new German Chancellor Olaf Scholz who announced the first major sanction against Putin's aggression.  Smartly, President Biden, the EU and NATO have started with low-level responses, instead of leading with a Sunday Punch, and relying on a slow tightening.

It probably won't be enough.  Putin took a bite of Ukraine in 2014 and now will work on consolidating this chunk. 

Update:

The Loathsome Traitor TFG had an on-air orgasm praising Putin,

“I said, ‘This is genius,'” Trump said on a right-wing podcast. “Putin declared a big portion of … Ukraine … as independent. Oh, that’s wonderful. … I said, ‘How smart is that?’ And he’s going to go in and be a peacekeeper. That’s strongest peace force. … We could use that on our southern border. That’s the strongest peace force I’ve ever seen. There were more army tanks than I’ve ever seen. They’re going to keep the peace all right. Here’s a guy who’s very savvy … I know him very well. Very, very well.”

And Matt Gertz on Twitter has already staked out what the Treasonous GOP response will be attack Biden from both ends.  Republicans see Putin's Fascism and weep for what they don't have here... yet...

The Anti-Benghazi Back to Iraq III: it's been too long I'm glad we're back

Cause We're Back, Yes We're Back

We're Baa-a-a-a-a-a-a-ack

We're Baa-a-a-a-a-a-a-ack

We're Baa-a-a-a-a-a-a-ack, in Iraq

Yes, We're Back in Iraq 

The US launched some airstrikes at the end of the year which apparently killed 50 US trained erstwhile allied security forces. After the strikes, the US Embassy in Baghdad came under an "attack" and the protesters bypassed all the ineffectual defenses but, the attacks did not result in any lives lost. The Department of Defense officially claimed Iranian backed Shia-militias were responsible because leaders were spotted int he crowd. Less talked about by the DoD was Secretary of State Pompeo slashed funding for the security in a repeat of the embassy funding cuts done by Republicans in 2011.

Donald Trump began tweeting out "Anti-Bengahzi" because he is an illiterate buffoon who can't even spell let alone comprehend the forces Dickless Cheney and George W(worst POTUS Ever) unleashed during their Great Boondoggle along the Tigris and Euphrates. Iran became the preeminent power in the Middle East as a direct result of the Iraq War.

As the tensions escalate we face the near certainty of a renewed Iraq War. Or worse still a proxy War with Iran in Iraq which will eventually spill into direct war with Iran. Trump is blustering boob who, in fits of phony toughness, has publicly and repeatedly staked out the maximalist position of 100% retaliation at any provocation. Thus, Trump can not rely on diplomacy when faced with an escalating crisis and even if he wished to, his undermining of the State Department during his Ukrainian Crimes has closed that avenue for him. And there is no longer a so-called adult in the Oval Office to keep the childish Trump from lashing out in a fit of pique. Thus, he's left only with the military option.

But, as is always the case once Trump fucks something up the Magat Horde take it upon themselves to retcon his mistakes into glory whilst finding a way to Blame Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton.

In this case, the decision seems to be to blame John Kerry. Rightwing social media is circulating pictures of a White House visit in 2011 by the Nouri Al-Malki administration in which Hadi Al-Amiri takes part.

This alone is all the rightwing Wurlitzer needs to spin a million and one fables via a million and one tweets. The Joy of being a Conservative is having No Memory and acting as though incidents and people spring up ex nihilio. To conservatives on-line (and the bots that amplify them) until December 31st 2019 there never was a Hadi Al-Amiri. He isn't the Minister of Transportation. He wasn't part of the post Saddam post Coalition Provisional Authority Government. He never fought in the Iran-Iraq War, which was fomented by Ronnie Raygun, Donald Rumsfeld, and George Bush Senior. Nope. Instead Had Al-Amiri sprung up from Barack's tears of capitulation from the desert during Obama's Surrender World Tour.

Propaganda Never Sleeps.

Right now, the US has proclaimed at the direction of the "President", a targeted airstrike at Baghdad Airport has killed General Qasem Soleimani. Thus raising the question: under what authority was this attack authorized? The Ancient crumbling AUMF? Don't expect Republicans to break with Trump over this bombing they've given themselves completely to MAGA. And the jingoistic war-boners this is giving the Magat Horde on-line gives lie to the Donald the Dove narrative they careful curated for Media consumption.

So now... now we await the response from the Shia Arabs, Iranian directed militia forces, and Official Iraqi government. Will they ratchet up incidents to force Trump to respond with his phony bravado and send the troops surging back to Iraq? Or is the long awaited Invasion of Iran about to begin?