Russian propaganda pushed by the Kremlin has “infected” part of the Republican base, a senior GOP congressman has said, as indications grow that a vital U.S. military package for Ukraine will come up for a vote with U.S. lawmakers this month.

“I think Russian propaganda has made its way into the United States, unfortunately, and it’s infected a good chunk of my party’s base,” House Foreign Affairs Committee chair and Texas Republican, Michael McCaul, told Puck News.

A new tranche of military, economic and humanitarian aid for Ukraine, worth around $60 billion, has been ensnared in Congress for months by infighting, causing deep concerns in Kyiv as Russian forces inch westward and gain territory while Ukrainian forces contend with shortages along the frontlines.

  • Kissaki@beehaw.org
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    8 months ago

    I’m not sure which of the parties you label a loser. I certainly think there are gains in supporting Ukraine. Maybe moreso for the EU than the US which is far away at least geographically and on an isolated continent.

    • Scrof@sopuli.xyz
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      8 months ago

      There are nothing but gains for opposing Russia and its ilk (China, Iran, NK, Hamas etc.). There is everything to lose by being complacent.

      • FiniteBanjo
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        8 months ago

        Honestly it seems like even the Taliban is fucking with Russia at this point, some ISIS claim responsibility for that theatre attack a while ago.

        • t3rmit3@beehaw.org
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          8 months ago

          ISIS and Taliban are not at all related, much less ISIS-K…

          ISIS and the Taliban are literally enemies.

          • FiniteBanjo
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            8 months ago

            I looked it up and you’re right, the two groups have been getting into gunfights in the streets recently.

            How odd, both groups want to expand the power of Islamic Theocratic Rule, and Taliban is a melting pot but they’ve never shown ill will to Sunnī militants before. What’s causing the divide? Leadership dick measuring contest?

            • t3rmit3@beehaw.org
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              8 months ago

              both groups want to expand the power of Islamic Theocratic Rule

              Sure, but they have pretty significant divergences in their beliefs about Islamic jurisprudence. IS-K (IS Khorasan) is heavily populated by Salafists, who the Taliban (who are mainly Deobandis) suppressed prior to the US invasion. Now that the US is gone, they’re back to beefing.

              But also, ISIS-K’s explicit goal is the establishment of a caliphate across the Khorasan region, which includes Afghanistan, and obviously the Taliban isn’t down with handing over power to them.

              • FiniteBanjo
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                8 months ago

                Is Khorasan not Sunni? The fuck were they beefing for before the US invasion?

                • t3rmit3@beehaw.org
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                  8 months ago

                  Just like in any religion, there are many more subdivisions and sects than just the larger overall factions. Within Sunni and Shia, there are extremely diverse ranges of beliefs. Salafism is a sect of Sunnism that believes that only the laws and practices of the era that Mohammad lived in were valid. Deobandism on the other hand is extremely heavy in academic analysis and refinement of Islamic jurisprudence, and is very famous for its scholars wanting to debate other religious scholars on theological grounds. They have a very large body of works that they consider important treatise on Islamic law, and Salafists often accuse them of not being true Muslims because of this. Sort of a Lutheranism (Deobandi) vs Fundamentalism (Salafi) dynamic.

                  • FiniteBanjo
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                    8 months ago

                    Alright but hear me out, if the Protestants and Fundamentalists were at war with the Catholics and also at risk of being invaded by the world powers then you’d think they’d at least be smart enough to stop killing each other for a few minutes.

                    I’m going with the Leadership Dick Measuring Contest theory I presented earlier.

    • FiniteBanjo
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      8 months ago

      Who could possibly be the loser in this situation? Is it:

      1. Ukraine, All of Europe, the USA, and the rest of NATO?

      or

      1. Russia

      hmmmmmmm

      Such a tossup /sarcasm

      It’s Russia. Russia is losing. They’ve got enemies within and all around, the world is closing off trade with them and they don’t have half the local resources that the failed Soviet Union once had. Once this is over, then there is a non-zero chance they spend the next half a century competing with the east as Cheap Labor for China and the USA.