That construction is simply dropping an implied "if". It's a rhetorical trick, bordering on dishonest - it's trying to paint a false picture and make something

That construction is simply dropping an implied "if". It's a rhetorical trick, bordering on dishonest - it's trying to paint a false picture and make something sound weightier or more exciting than it is, by making you think about a hypothetical as if it actually happened when it didn't.