4 Mar 14
Additional comments on Russia and Ukraine, from friend in a position to know:
“Russia’s conventional military power is substantial, vastly exceeding ours! Unlike Western nations, Vlad P has hundreds of thousands of Ivans and Sergeis who will stand on a cold, Crimean street corner, or a street corner anywhere else, and say, ‘This is mine now, and, if you don’t like it, you’ll just love what happens next!’
Russians see Crimea and their ‘near abroad,’ and core to their national interests. They have demonstrated willingness to use force in pursuit of these interests, as they see them.
Russians have a capacity for suffering that is not matched in the West. 26 million Russians perished during WWII, and half of their country was brutally occupied. This is seared into their national identity. 100 million Russians died of famine and violence in the 20th century. They simply are not impressed with ‘tough talk’ from the mouths of fat, puerile Western politicians who have never known a hungry day in their sheltered lives!
Vlad P is obviously seeking to recreate an economic version of the former Soviet Union. He knows all too well that Western Europe has become so dependent on Russian natural gas and other resources, that they will be unwilling to put on a winter coat, let alone send their sons to die in a military confrontation.
Contrary to popular belief, there is still a critical need for that the big, modern army! Tanks, artillery, rifles and hard infantry may have gone out of fashion in the USA and in Western Europe.
Curiously, the Chinese, North Koreans, Iranians, and Russians apparently didn’t get that memo!”
Comment: And, our dubious “nuclear arsenal,” that hasn’t be updated in decades, grows more irrelevant, and less feared, by the day!
“Imagine what old Roman Legionaries were doing as the Empire crumbled. Running around, shouting alarm, while being greeted only by sneers and laughter by hordes of lavishly painted, intoxicated debauchers.”
G Rogers
/John
