4 ms·

> Putin does not roll a dice every morning and launches a nuclear missile if a six shows up. You wish! The problem here is that Putin is not rational.

SvenSchnieders 5y ago
He might not be rational, but surely nobody can argue that he is insane to that level – at least, I haven’t seen anything that suggests that.
- raducu 5y ago
  He's just a little bitch screaming to everyone's face "I'm gonna use nukes!" hoping we give him what he wants. What does he have to lose by alluding to using nukes right now? Nukes are the only thing stopping the West from rolling into Moscow, the magic wears off if the clock strikes 12. Nukes only work for the 15 minutes before they are used, Putin and Lavrov keep crying "Nuklear wolf!".
  - zabzonk 5y ago
    > Nukes are the only thing stopping the West from rolling into Moscow Yeah, tell Napoleon and Hitler how easy that is.
    - raducu 5y ago
      Napoleon and Hitler were not defeated by Russia. Napoleon/Hitler could have raised 3 more armies if they were fighting just Russia. On the contrary, Putin is the new insane and isolated Hitler.
      - jeremyjh 5y ago
        The Soviets destroyed 3 times as many German divisions as the western front allies combined.
        raducu 5y ago
        Because the german forces were split and the allies supplied USSR, otherwise the USSR would have collapsed. Without the allied material support and the german forces being split, the USSR would have been deffeated. It's not something that I would have liked, just the truth. People claiming Russia to be invulnerable miss the real lesson of those conflicts -- the ballance of power. The ballance of power is set against Russia right now, if the West remains strong in its unity and resolve, Russia will collapse.
all2 5y ago
This makes me chuckle. The Bad Orange Man played the "insane king" role really, really well. Everyone was on their best behaviour until he left office. Peace talks in the Middle East progressed. Russia stayed in their borders. North Korea huffed and puffed and ultimately did nothing. Trade with China became more favorable to the US. It's almost like his foreign policy was effective. To your point: Putin isn't nuts. He's just a really good politician. He's pragmatic and knows the value of being seen as "crazy" and "he might actually launch a nuke".
- xwdv 5y ago
  You will get a lot farther if you are an insane man with a gun, than if you’re just a regular man with a gun.
- fassssst 5y ago
  Syria
- cwaffles 5y ago
  Trump also pushed the EU and the rest of Asia towards China https://www.americanprogress.org/article/trump-withdraws-america-world-xis-china-takes-advantage/ https://www.americanprogress.org/article/trump-withdraws-ame...
- zabzonk 5y ago
  The same was said about Nixon during the Vietnam war (which he inherited, but would never have started) but it is a really risky stratergy once you start ramping up the mania levels and passing them on to your nuclear forces, which Nixon (a good president, all in all) nor the Big Orange ever did.
- guelo 5y ago
  Trump wanted to destroy NATO and European unity, he was doing Putin's job for him.
  - hunterb123 5y ago
    Destroy it by pressuring its members to pay 2% GDP? Or what are you referencing? And how does sending Javelins to Ukraine or blocking Nordstream 2 help Putin?
raducu 5y ago
So? Whoever is insaner wins? Nah, remind Putin that we all saw how much the russian army sucks and in case of nuclear war the US still wins after they get out of their bunkers.
- ghufran_syed 5y ago
  with the greatest respect, this is the greatest evidence of insanity I’ve seen in this thread…
  - raducu 5y ago
    This is the only approach that works and won the US the Cold War. A credible threat that if the USSR dared to use nukes, NATO would use nukes against the USSR. Do you think Putin is a genious and it didn't cross other USSR leaders minds the same idea -- "surely, the USA would not use nukes again us if we used just a few nukes against a weaker NATO member"? The only sane answer is to absolutely make sure the other guy knows you're going to use nukes the second they use them. Macron's retort to Putin needs to be shouted from the rooftops -- we also have nukes, you're not that special.
    - k__ 5y ago
      Also, the question is: if Putin orders it, would it happen?
- altdataseller 5y ago
  Nobody wins in a nuclear war.
  - gpt5 5y ago
    This is actually exactly what Putin said - that NATO is much stronger, but if there is a nuclear war, it's going to be bad for everybody.
animal_spirits 5y ago
People look like they make irrational decisions when viewed from the outside with little inside knowledge, there is definitely more to this than we are aware of.
dang 5y ago
Please don't post unsubstantive and/or flamebait comments to HN. The issue is not that you're wrong about you-know-who, the issue is that it has seriously degrading effects on internet threads, and we're trying to avoid that here. To the extent possible. If an article is substantive, it deserves better than this—much better, actually. And if it isn't substantive, it shouldn't be on HN's front page. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
drusepth 5y ago
>You wish! The problem here is that Putin is not rational. "There is no greater danger than underestimating your opponent." - Lao Tzu

SvenSchnieders 5y ago

He might not be rational, but surely nobody can argue that he is insane to that level – at least, I haven’t seen anything that suggests that.

raducu 5y ago
He's just a little bitch screaming to everyone's face "I'm gonna use nukes!" hoping we give him what he wants. What does he have to lose by alluding to using nukes right now? Nukes are the only thing stopping the West from rolling into Moscow, the magic wears off if the clock strikes 12. Nukes only work for the 15 minutes before they are used, Putin and Lavrov keep crying "Nuklear wolf!".
- zabzonk 5y ago
  > Nukes are the only thing stopping the West from rolling into Moscow Yeah, tell Napoleon and Hitler how easy that is.
  - raducu 5y ago
    Napoleon and Hitler were not defeated by Russia. Napoleon/Hitler could have raised 3 more armies if they were fighting just Russia. On the contrary, Putin is the new insane and isolated Hitler.
    - jeremyjh 5y ago
      The Soviets destroyed 3 times as many German divisions as the western front allies combined.
      - raducu 5y ago
        Because the german forces were split and the allies supplied USSR, otherwise the USSR would have collapsed. Without the allied material support and the german forces being split, the USSR would have been deffeated. It's not something that I would have liked, just the truth. People claiming Russia to be invulnerable miss the real lesson of those conflicts -- the ballance of power. The ballance of power is set against Russia right now, if the West remains strong in its unity and resolve, Russia will collapse.

all2 5y ago

This makes me chuckle. The Bad Orange Man played the "insane king" role really, really well. Everyone was on their best behaviour until he left office. Peace talks in the Middle East progressed. Russia stayed in their borders. North Korea huffed and puffed and ultimately did nothing. Trade with China became more favorable to the US. It's almost like his foreign policy was effective. To your point: Putin isn't nuts. He's just a really good politician. He's pragmatic and knows the value of being seen as "crazy" and "he might actually launch a nuke".

xwdv 5y ago
You will get a lot farther if you are an insane man with a gun, than if you’re just a regular man with a gun.
fassssst 5y ago
Syria
cwaffles 5y ago
Trump also pushed the EU and the rest of Asia towards China https://www.americanprogress.org/article/trump-withdraws-america-world-xis-china-takes-advantage/ https://www.americanprogress.org/article/trump-withdraws-ame...
zabzonk 5y ago
The same was said about Nixon during the Vietnam war (which he inherited, but would never have started) but it is a really risky stratergy once you start ramping up the mania levels and passing them on to your nuclear forces, which Nixon (a good president, all in all) nor the Big Orange ever did.
guelo 5y ago
Trump wanted to destroy NATO and European unity, he was doing Putin's job for him.
- hunterb123 5y ago
  Destroy it by pressuring its members to pay 2% GDP? Or what are you referencing? And how does sending Javelins to Ukraine or blocking Nordstream 2 help Putin?

raducu 5y ago

So? Whoever is insaner wins? Nah, remind Putin that we all saw how much the russian army sucks and in case of nuclear war the US still wins after they get out of their bunkers.

ghufran_syed 5y ago
with the greatest respect, this is the greatest evidence of insanity I’ve seen in this thread…
- raducu 5y ago
  This is the only approach that works and won the US the Cold War. A credible threat that if the USSR dared to use nukes, NATO would use nukes against the USSR. Do you think Putin is a genious and it didn't cross other USSR leaders minds the same idea -- "surely, the USA would not use nukes again us if we used just a few nukes against a weaker NATO member"? The only sane answer is to absolutely make sure the other guy knows you're going to use nukes the second they use them. Macron's retort to Putin needs to be shouted from the rooftops -- we also have nukes, you're not that special.
  - k__ 5y ago
    Also, the question is: if Putin orders it, would it happen?
altdataseller 5y ago
Nobody wins in a nuclear war.
- gpt5 5y ago
  This is actually exactly what Putin said - that NATO is much stronger, but if there is a nuclear war, it's going to be bad for everybody.

animal_spirits 5y ago

People look like they make irrational decisions when viewed from the outside with little inside knowledge, there is definitely more to this than we are aware of.

dang 5y ago

Please don't post unsubstantive and/or flamebait comments to HN. The issue is not that you're wrong about you-know-who, the issue is that it has seriously degrading effects on internet threads, and we're trying to avoid that here. To the extent possible. If an article is substantive, it deserves better than this—much better, actually. And if it isn't substantive, it shouldn't be on HN's front page. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

drusepth 5y ago

>You wish! The problem here is that Putin is not rational. "There is no greater danger than underestimating your opponent." - Lao Tzu