4 ms·

"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 re

"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 ago
There'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 ago
Russia 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 ago
  Being 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 ago
    You 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.
dragonwriter 4y ago
> 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. If you aren't ever willing to militarily confront Russia, even over an actual attack, because of the possibility of nuclear war, you thereby grant Russia—or any other nuclear power now or in the future—unlimited license for aggression and conquest.

ceejayoz 4y ago

There'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 ago

Russia 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 ago
Being 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 ago
  You 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.

dragonwriter 4y ago

> 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. If you aren't ever willing to militarily confront Russia, even over an actual attack, because of the possibility of nuclear war, you thereby grant Russia—or any other nuclear power now or in the future—unlimited license for aggression and conquest.