Russian Paranoia

[Mortblanc]

History has proven that Cuba was not the personal face down that it was promoted to be. The resolution of the Cuban crisis was a behind the scenes diplomatic trade of missile sites in Turkey, on the Russian border, for missile sites in Cuba.

The western powers also learned that the Soviets had much better surface to air missile systems than we did and for the first time realized that the Soviets were manufacturing enough of their new AK rifles to export them in mass to arm entire nations.

As for the present, Russia is simply doing what Russia does when the chance is presented. They are seeking a warm water port, which has been their goal for 1000 years. They are conducting activities in places that 30 years ago would have been considered Russian internal politics, not world politics.

Look back to the Chech uprising, the Hungarian uprising, the treatment of Poland or any other resistance to Soviet influence during the 1950s and 1960s. What is happening today is mild compared to their actions in the past. 50 years ago they would have simply moved a couple of armor divisions in and been done with the job and told the US, GB and the UN to go F-off.

Worry over sanctions??? Back then it was illegal to buy anything from them anyway, not just sanctioned goods!

No one is going to do anything to the Russians. They know that as long as they are taking small chunks of property they have owned in the past no one is going to risk even a limited action against them.

As for the nuclear option???

You thought that had gone away???

The best use for nukes is against build ups of troops as they mass for invasion and against surface naval fleets. The buildup of troops for invasion, as we did in GB during WW2, against a nuke holding nation is an impossibility.

We lived for an entire generation with nuclear power being used as a social/political tool, and now it is back on the tool bench. But then, many of the people alive today do not remember that, and the shock is terrifying.