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>"This has to be deescalated." What do you mean by "this"? Do you mean the attack on Poland, the continuing war on Ukraine, or mutually assured destruction in
by nickff 4y ago
>"This has to be deescalated."
What do you mean by "this"? Do you mean the attack on Poland, the continuing war on Ukraine, or mutually assured destruction in general? What do you mean by "deescalated"? Do you mean someone should surrender? Who and why would they?
- pmoriarty 4y agoWhatever it takes to prevent nuclear war. Because the alternative is everybody dies.
- mantas 4y ago„Whatever it takes“ is so 1938. The only way is to stop Russia once and for at least some time.
- ceejayoz 4y agoOK, but what does that look like? The West largely took the "deescalate" approach when Russia invaded Georgia, seized part of Moldova, and took the Donbas then Crimea. It's very clear that these sorts of deescalations also serve to embolden future attempts. Ala Ender's Game, the best deescalation may be to give the bully a spanking they'll never come back from.
- pmoriarty 4y ago"the best deescalation may be to give the bully a spanking they'll never come back from" Assuming that works without sparking a nuclear war, that might be a real option... but there's a very real risk of a nuclear war (accidental or otherwise) breaking out over this. Just how much nuclear chicken are NATO and Russia willing to play? I'm afraid the world is going to find out before long.
- ceejayoz 4y agoThere's a risk of nuclear war in not doing anything, too. When someone gets blackmailed, it's rarely good to give in, because that tells the blackmailer they've got leverage. They get $100 out of you, and you're back to square one; they can demand another $100 now knowing it's worth at least that much. Eventually you wind up having to say no, and the consequence you were trying to avoid happens anyways. Nuclear blackmail is the same. At some point, you have to draw a line in the sand and say "nope, you can't take that". If it's not the Ukranian border, it's the Polish one in a few years.
- mrguyorama 4y agoRussia is free at any time to withdraw their forces. If Russia launches a single nuke, at any point, that is their fault, their choice, and their responsibility.
- pmoriarty 4y agoBeing able to point the finger of blame at someone will be of absolutely no consolation to the billions of people killed in an all-out nuclear war.
- throwaway23597 4y agoYou don't have the right attitude. You have to have the mindset that even nuclear war is preferable to rolling over for Russia time and time again. Ironically, this is the attitude that best helps PREVENT nuclear war.
- woeirua 4y agoSo would you have us cede Ukraine, and Poland, and Lithuania, and Estonia to Putin? Because any direct conflict with Russia risks nuclear war? You can't give into nuclear blackmail because otherwise it makes a nuclear war _more likely_, as there will be an asymmetry in the willingness to use nuclear weapons.