Vladimir Putin's fight, WW 3 edition
Let's be clear about this. I don't want U.S. boots on the ground if it can be avoided. Russia attacking a NATO country invokes Rule 5, which says that an attack on one is an attack on all. At that point, war with Russia can't be avoided. Is Rule 5 the only thing that should trigger a NATO response? A strong case can be made that other extenuating circumstances should trigger WW3.
Shouldn't intentionally bombing children's hospitals or civilians living in a nation's capitol also constitute a NATO response? Further, what if NATO's judgment on Russia's military is off badly? I wrote earlier that Russia is a nuclear power put it isn't a superpower. I'm still convinced of that.
Joe Biden is guided (misguided?) by conventional wisdom. When President Reagan called the former USSR an "evil empire", Democrats howled at the top of their lungs. 'You can't do that. You'll start WW3,' they said. President Reagan then put Pershing II missiles into western Europe. Apparently, he didn't worry about escalation.
WW3 didn't happen but the USSR did collapse. Predictably, conventional wisdom was wrong. Anyone that thinks that Putin will leave Ukraine without getting thrown out is foolish. Willfully agreeing to leave Ukraine isn't likely. The odds of Russia capturing and holding Kyiv are higher than Putin leaving Ukraine voluntarily. (Actually, they're about the same.)
I don't want WW3 but I don't fear it, either. It isn't like Russia is a military juggernaut.
It's time world leaders (other than President Zelenskiy) got fitted for new bifocals. The Russians aren't 10 feet tall and their military isn't that tough. I'd say that it's time to cut Putin down to size but he isn't that tall to begin with.
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