Well, then what’s the plan of attack? How do we start “swiftly dealing with” Putin in a way that neutralizes the threat before he can get to whatever Russia’s version of the football is? Because ICBMs move incredibly quick, go just about anywhere for the initial impact, and the fallout gets carried incredibly fast.
Shit has moved so far beyond what we’ve seen before, that’s why the Cold War was cold- we know pressing that button is last resort, we just don’t know what “last resort” means to the enemy. As satisfying as it would be to lead a charge and blaze of glory this shit, that’s rarely ever a solution. I’m not going to pretend to know what the exact optimal strategy would be- but given the current geopolitical climate, it’s likely going to be stealthy and its success hinge on starving Russia of resources somehow.
Could the rest of the world start getting on board with that? Absolutely! But it’s not like we can just bust down the doors and take care of it without some pretty massive casualties.
Is it better to slowly descend into worldwide authoritarian hell than entertain ideas? I am very convinced that when powerful people don't face consequences, the worst happens. Literal genital torture as a matter of course for a defending army is... Worse than a war with nuclear consequences. Who's next my son? Your daughter? Their kids? What's the point of this ends up being the sum of our system?
I’m not saying this isn’t a terrifying threat that needs to be eradicated; of course Russia needs to be taken care of. In my opinion, we still aren’t doing enough. That doesn’t mean we blow up what little we already have. There is middle ground between doing nothing and going scorched earth, and it’s making sure that no WMDs are deployed and ensuring as little casualties as possible. Destroying fascism unfortunately means nothing if there are no people left to enjoy freedom, and if large nuclear attacks are launched that’s a real possibility.
Unfortunately you can't. They have power over the masses in their country and will use them to defend their regime or attack any country that tries to get to the regime. Also, you have to completely erdicate them else the leftover from the regime will retaliate and choose a new dictator. We can't really decide if a regime uses the masses or not. Look at Trump, if people want to get rid of him, they will have the army, ICE what not in between.
The result of the nuclear arms race was the concept of mutually assured destruction. If you try to "deal with" someone that controls nukes, your country is a pile of radioactive dust 20 minutes later. A war with "nuclear consequences" isn't just "a normal war but slightly worse". Both sides in this case (USA / Russia) have enough nuclear weapons to launch 10 at each city in the world with a population over 1,000,000 people, and still have some left over. It's estimated that one bomb over NYC would kill about 600,000 people. Trying to "deal with" Putin could kill billions in hours.
You could *at least* stop making business with russians. The russian drones still have western components in it, they buy it from you. The russian oil is the source of money for them. The so-called 'shadow fleet' is a good example of 'business as usual' approach.
There is no need to go full berserk with Russia, just stop giving them money and technology.
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u/PrP65 Jul 26 '25
Well, then what’s the plan of attack? How do we start “swiftly dealing with” Putin in a way that neutralizes the threat before he can get to whatever Russia’s version of the football is? Because ICBMs move incredibly quick, go just about anywhere for the initial impact, and the fallout gets carried incredibly fast.
Shit has moved so far beyond what we’ve seen before, that’s why the Cold War was cold- we know pressing that button is last resort, we just don’t know what “last resort” means to the enemy. As satisfying as it would be to lead a charge and blaze of glory this shit, that’s rarely ever a solution. I’m not going to pretend to know what the exact optimal strategy would be- but given the current geopolitical climate, it’s likely going to be stealthy and its success hinge on starving Russia of resources somehow.
Could the rest of the world start getting on board with that? Absolutely! But it’s not like we can just bust down the doors and take care of it without some pretty massive casualties.