[TrumpCard]

Can't believe we're still talking about this dumb theoretical. If Russia attacks a NATO country, they are going to lose even harder than they are losing now. The US didn't respond to Pearl Harbor by giving in to the Japanese. Poland or any other country that gets attacked by a weak and rapidly weakening Russia is not going to be deterred in the slightest.

IMHO, the fact that we're discussing this hypothetical reflects that the war effectively has been on pause for 3 weeks while the Russians withdrew from the North and have been repositioning and reconditioning their forces.  The first 5 weeks of the war were much more eventful and unpredictable, with the Ukrainian resistance surprising and riveting the world.  So there was lots to discuss here.  During this pause, the notewothy events mostly have been "diplomatic" in nature, namely decisions to increase military aid, decisions to expand sanctions against Russia and the Russian regime, and discussions about further NATO expansion.  Not as exciting message board material.  We may be coming to another eventful stage of the war as Russia readies its next phase of its attack.  However, NATO's decision to put it's finger more heavily on the scale with military aid is reducing the likelihood that Russia actually could annex most of Ukraine.  So even as the next phase of the shooting war is about to begin, the suspense we felt in the initial phase is not likely to return.  So we need something to occupy ourselves, and we Stanford sports fans have become expert at creating debates over issues far smaller than those that remain in doubt in the Russia/Ukraine conflict.

[TrumpCard]

Can't believe we're still talking about this dumb theoretical. If Russia attacks a NATO country, they are going to lose even harder than they are losing now. The US didn't respond to Pearl Harbor by giving in to the Japanese. Poland or any other country that gets attacked by a weak and rapidly weakening Russia is not going to be deterred in the slightest.

IMHO, the fact that we're discussing this hypothetical reflects that the war effectively has been on pause for 3 weeks while the Russians withdrew from the North and have been repositioning and reconditioning their forces.  The first 5 weeks of the war were much more eventful and unpredictable, with the Ukrainian resistance surprising and riveting the world.  So there was lots to discuss here.  During this pause, the notewothy events mostly have been "diplomatic" in nature, namely decisions to increase military aid, decisions to expand sanctions against Russia and the Russian regime, and discussions about further NATO expansion.  Not as exciting message board material.  We may be coming to another eventful stage of the war as Russia readies its next phase of its attack.  However, NATO's decision to put it's finger more heavily on the scale with military aid is reducing the likelihood that Russia actually could annex most of Ukraine.  So even as the next phase of the shooting war is about to begin, the suspense we felt in the initial phase is not likely to return.  So we need something to occupy ourselves, and we Stanford sports fans have become expert at creating debates over issues far smaller than those that remain in doubt in the Russia/Ukraine conflict.