Umm half a million people is more than just a military base. And ethnically clensing them just because it secures the west's borders. How can you claim the moral high ground when you are doing to the people of Konigsburg/Kalingrad what Putin wants to do to Ukraine capture the land for strategic reasons and remove the population.
Let's say Soviets liked their military bases big. Though it's not even that ridiculously big...
Fort Bragg is the most populous US military base at 270k, of which only about quarter is active duty, so not that far off.
Secondly, Russia\Soviet Union has taken this land in 1945 by conquest, no questions about that, and settled it with military and military families. Russia\Soviet Union has no historical relationship with that place from before WW2.
Now imagine USA has built a 2x Fort Bragg sized base in Okinawa, kicked out the locals to Japan's main islands, and then claimed it as a US state.
I'm sorry but Poland's claim is like China's claim to Mongolia or other territories like Siberia.
More like China's claim to Hong Kong, except better. It could also be reasonably contested for division with Lithuania though.
I mean the city was started by the Teutonic Order, which then turned into Prussia when the Teuton's abandoned their faith and oaths, and while Prussia was a Polish vassal for a little while, Poland never directly controlled it. And in the modern day people say vassal states are bad, and we shouldn't have them. Now personally I think that if Russia is totally beaten then they should be forced to give that territory up, and Poland should get military access to that territory. But I think that the city should be not a part of Poland but an independent city state with full internal sovereignty they can have any laws they want and don't have to obey Polish laws in the city, but they won't be given full powers to make foreign treaties so they can't go back to Russia, however Poland should be allowed military access.
Considering the experiences with such solutions in the past, there is a reason why things like this aren't offered as a serious solution to this and many other contested territories anymore. The problem is that this thing would be basically an open invitation for Russia to start a crisis around it as soon as the geopolitical winds become more favorable to it. No one wants that.
Also Teutons\Prussians aren't exactly natives of that area either.
I'm sorry this is the words of a loser. "Oh but the libs will just promise more than we give." Then offer more than the libs. Learn history in Ancient Rome the optimates lost the side that won the Populares were the ones that were giving bread and circuses to the masses. If the Republic is to fall better to be on top of the heap than sticking to the principles of a loser. So fuck your "principles of American conservatism" They might have worked in the past but in the current age strategies need to change.
That is true, but it's just one lesson of historical statecraft. The other lesson, also from Rome, is that the road that leads to bankrupcy, evading bankrupcy by currency debasement, and then controlling prices to fix that is not a road one wants to take. Commies are not to be copied, they are a warning and left to their own devices they inevitably cause an economic disaster.
I think the optimal compromise position here would be for the GOP to care more about the economic interests of its more or less realistic "grassroots" electorate, but at the same time do not engage in a bidding war against the DNC over the underclass and DNC's favored groups.
