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Unless the Strategic Rocket Forces were in much worse condition in 2003 than everyone thought, the idea that a few interceptors in Poland threatened Russian str
by hx87 10y ago
Unless the Strategic Rocket Forces were in much worse condition in 2003 than everyone thought, the idea that a few interceptors in Poland threatened Russian strategic deterrence in any way was laughable. In all likelihood the object was a screen for other concerns such as NATO expansion.
- gonvaled 10y agoWhat has the effectivity of the shield to do with anything? The shield was mainly a signal by the USA: “I can do whatever, whenever and wherever“, and Russia has been saying “not really“ for the last ten years.
- pjlegato 10y agoRussia could never have perceived the relatively insignificant missile shield as a serious or realistic threat. It was thus not a major factor in Russia's strategic calculations.
- gonvaled 10y agoWhat part of “signal“ is unclear to you?
- pjlegato 10y agoLet's skip the insulting tone. The signal value was, at best, an extremely minor signal. The shield was never a significant military threat to Russia, which was obvious and well known to both the US and Russia at the time. The only information it carried was that Poland was choosing the US over Russia, which had also been extremely obvious to everyone for a long time, since they had been announcing it to anyone who would listen for years. The shield was thus of utterly insignificant value as a signal in terms of Russia's decision to join or not join international organizations. It was a signal to Poland, not to Russia.
- gonvaled 10y agoYou keep using that word “threat“ “military threat“. It was not a military signal: it was an “I own the world“ signal. And Russia has made sure to send its very own signal too.