Putin thought he could defeat Ukraine in three days, and the result is two years and plus of war, tens of thousands of casualties that he will admit to, and US-made weapons now being fired into Russia. I don't see him being the kind of 4D Chessmaster you seem to think he is.
Aidinthel
At this point Putin's goal is pure personal survival. He needs to not lose the war because that would make him look weak, which is very dangerous for a dictator. To keep himself alive and in power he is willing to throw any amount of Russian soldiers into the meat grinder.
Of course they saw it coming, that's why they banned abortion in the first place. It's all about control.
All South Korean male citizens are required to perform 18-21 months of military service.
While this is true, the fact that war would be a bad idea doesn't necessarily mean it won't happen. People make bad decisions all the time.
If politicians want people to have more children, maybe they could do something to make having kids less ruinously-expensive.
There is no red line. Netanyahu could literally kill and eat a Palestinian baby on live TV and nothing would change.
it does seem excessively lurid to suggest, without direct evidence, that they have been raped in captivity for the past several months
But you're just going to do it anyway?
Israel DOESN'T dictate American domestic policy, evangelical Christians do. They believe that the existence of the state of Israel is a necessary step to bring about the Second Coming of Jesus, so they're all in and absolutely nothing can sway them.
The worst thing about the campus protests is that there are no universities left in Gaza.
Note the framing: it's the PROTESTS that are creating the rifts, not the support for genocide. Everything would be fine if the plebians sat down and shut up.
Both have the same ultimate cause, as well: politicians safe at home demanding immediate results no matter what it costs.