Could The Moscow Madman Turn The World Into Radio Active Ash?

[1still_waters]

An anchor on a Russian state owned TV station said.

"Russia is the only country in the world realistically capable of turning the United States into radioactive ash,"

State TV says Russia could turn US to 'radioactive ash'

This really influenced my thinking.

I think of the psychology of an active shooter.
The only thing on their mind is death.
They have no regard for their own self.
They're willing to perish.

We rarely hear of this character trait applied to a world leader.


In the past cold war, there was a certain understanding that those in power had some regard for life.
Those in power knew that human life was on the line behind all the threats and rhetoric.
They knew they could be held accountable for war crimes.

What if Putin is different?
What if Putin doesn't care?
What if Putin has the madman makeup of an active shooter?
What if he gets cornered by the international community and decides to take the world down with him?

This is a man who has the ability to turn the world into radio active ash with one command.

Putin has an estimated 8,420 nuclear warheads at his disposal according to CNN.
Nuclear weapons: Who has what?

One potential madman with possibly no regard for others and no regard for himself, with one command, could launch 8,420 nukes upon the world.

A man with no regard for himself doesn't care about losing power through losing a war.
A man with no regard for himself doesn't care about being tried for war crimes.
A man with no regard for himself doesn't care about sanctions.

Is Putin showing the signs of a madman?
Is he wise enough to care about his own well being?
What if he is pushed into a corner?
What if pushing him into a corner is actually a bad thing?

 

[Agricola]

Old news that... RUssia has been able to turn US into dust since the 60s.

Actions of Putin over Crimea could have been a bloodbath, but it hasn't, he has just done what most nations do, seen an opportunity to claim more land for his nation. The instability of Ukraine and illegal ousting of the democratically elected leader has played right into Russias hands as we can now see.

THe USA has nothing to fear.

 

[crossnote]

Old news that... RUssia has been able to turn US into dust since the 60s.

Actions of Putin over Crimea could have been a bloodbath, but it hasn't, he has just done what most nations do, seen an opportunity to claim more land for his nation. The instability of Ukraine and illegal ousting of the democratically elected leader has played right into Russias hands as we can now see.

THe USA has nothing to fear.

Obama's policy of talking loudly but carrying a little stick hasn't helped much either.

 

[RachelBibleStudent]

at this point putin's geopolitical aspirations are pretty much the same as hitler's...as long as putin is in charge of russia he is a threat to the entire world...

 

[RachelBibleStudent]

this is a good article that expresses nearly the name point of view as 1still_waters' post...
Analyst: Crimea’s Annexation Shows World a New and Far More Dangerous Putin | The Interpreter

here is an excerpt that is especially relevant to the issue of putin's psychology and his increasingly apparent messianic complex...

That in turn means, he continues, that "the discourse of Realpolitik is giving way to risk, heroism, the hero-ization of suicide, and … [a handing oneself over to] 'fate,'" a shift that "does not consider any other possibilities for the future, except success" and thus does not make the kind of calculations that most political leaders do.

 

[faroukfarouk]

this is a good article that expresses nearly the name point of view as 1still_waters' post...
Analyst: Crimea’s Annexation Shows World a New and Far More Dangerous Putin | The Interpreter

here is an excerpt that is especially relevant to the issue of putin's psychology and his increasingly apparent messianic complex...

So the prospect of street protesters in Kiev making policy for the Russian nuclear fleet is, in contrast, benign?

Likewise, the US, if its nuclear fleet were by treaty based in another country, would not allow such a situation to arise, either.

 

[Angela53510]

As my Ukrainian grandmother would say,

"Dat dirty Russian Cossack dog!"

I thought Putin was a pretty good guy, for a Russian leader of the former Soviet Union. My thoughts have changed radically. Putin could pretty much destroy the whole world, but why would he?

A dictator needs someone to dictate. It will be interesting to see if he continues this aggression.

 

[faroukfarouk]

at this point putin's geopolitical aspirations are pretty much the same as hitler's...as long as putin is in charge of russia he is a threat to the entire world...

So: if only the West paid millions of dollars to some countries within the Commonwealth of Independent States, of which Russia and Ukraine form a part? Is this a 'solution'? or start a war against Russia? is this a solution?

President JF Kennedy was regarded by US military leaders as a wimp over Cuba...until he diplomatically solved the Cuban Missile Crisis by removing US missiles from Turkey, after Kruschchev removed Soviet missiles from Cuba.

Clamoring for the West to intervene militarily in Russia's backyard isn't going to bring solutions any more than Soviet intervention in Cuba would have done so; Cuba being, according to the historic Monroe Doctrine, in the US's own backyard.

 

[1still_waters]

You can deal with a ruler who fears consequences.

Putin may not care. We need to quit assuming this guy is thinking rationally.
He may be a suicidal sociopathic active shooter with 8400 nukes at his disposal.

If you find yourself thinking that it doesn't make sense, keep in mind, you're thinking reasonably and rationally.
Suicidal sociopaths don't think like us.

 

[1still_waters]

Hopefully there are sound minded people in the Kremlin we're in contact with.

 

[kayem77]

This is not news. Russia has had nuclear capability that far exceeds the US' for a long time. To be honest, I don't see Putin's actions as a real threat, just a potential threat. The annexation of Crimea to Russia would not be completely different to the annexation of Texas to the US. The people made a vote and 90% of Crimeans want the change. Is it right? Probably not, I'm not sure. But what else can be done? Start a war with Russia? I don't think that would be wise. The people aren't exactly opposing the change, and Russia is only doing what in reality any other country would do: Take advantage of the situation.

 

[SonInMe]

Its not accurate at all to say Russia had superior nuclear arms since the 60's.

One reason why Nixon was ''successful''' with detente was the Russians were afraid of him. They thought he was a nut.

Obama is a joke, to us, to the world and to Putin.

If Bush was in, Putin would not act so bravely.

If Russia wants to nuke us, He will be glowing shortly after, along with the rest of his country.

Sabre rattling.

 

[SarahM777]

This is not news. Russia has had nuclear capability that far exceeds the US' for a long time. To be honest, I don't see Putin's actions as a real threat, just a potential threat. The annexation of Crimea to Russia would not be completely different to the annexation of Texas to the US. The people made a vote and 90% of Crimeans want the change. Is it right? Probably not, I'm not sure. But what else can be done? Start a war with Russia? I don't think that would be wise. The people aren't exactly opposing the change, and Russia is only doing what in reality any other country would do: Take advantage of the situation.

Never mind that Crimea is also mostly ethnic Russian (Almost 60%),and Crimea was also Russian at one time but was GIVEN to the Ukraine by Kruschev back in the 1950's. None of that has anything to do with it.

 

[GodIsSalvation]

Yes both Putin and Obama have enough nuclear weapons on stand by at any given moment that they could severely rearrange the world.

Is Putin a madman? Perhaps.

Though I personally find Putin to be quite intelligent and calculated, unlike your typical school shooter whom is highly emotional and irrational.

I do not agree with Putin's annexation of Crimea though and I think it is obviously quite a dirty move. I also do not trust the election results as genuine. One must keep in mind that Putin sent his army into Crimea and installed a puppet government in Crimea weeks before the election. How can one call the elections fair with Russian troops actively occupying Crimea?

As for the claims that America ousted a "democratically" elected government. This is in fact also untrue. One must go back two years ago to when Putin shut off Ukraine's heating gas during one of their most brutal winters causing hundreds to literally freeze to death in order to influence the Ukrainian election to install his puppet Yanukovych. Yanukovych's flight to Russia after his ouster just further proves he was Putin's puppet all along. The people of Ukraine did not rise up against the Kremlin's puppet for no reason.

Russia's nuclear threat I personally view as a sign of their weakness and it betrays their greatest fears. See this issue here isn't that America wants take Ukraine as the Russian propaganda is saying. The issue here is that Russia broke a 4 way agreement that America and UK are also party to. Per the terms of the agreement Ukraine's new government has the option of asking America to fight Russia because Russia broke the agreement. I think this is Putin and Russia's greatest fear. And with good reason. A war between NATO and Russia pretty much means a collapse of civilization as we know it and a return to the Dark Ages. Nobody will trully win such a war. Just as Russia is put in a tough spot here, so too is America because we can't look weak or break our agreement, but we also can't start war with Russia for which will destroy the world. So basically, short of starting a devastating war all both sides can do is talk tough and hope one side blinks.

So far I feel as if President Obama is handling the situation appropriately and in a proper fashion having rallied our allies both in NATO and outside of it and also by putting some sanctions on Russia's elite (though he has only put minor sanctions in place for the moment, but this is a very shrewd and good move by Obama because it leaves open room and a groundwork to build off of when Russia makes their counter-move in this metaphorical chess game.) Also Obama has managed to get the UN Secretary General to support us and many UN member nations to condemn Russia. Obama has also managed to keep China from jumping in on Putin's side, which is very crucial.

Naturally I am somewhat biased towards my own country in this matter. However I would add that Russia seems to have the upper hand because they are strongly united under Putin and he will now be even more popular with his own people as taking Crimea is an epic feat in Russian History. Unfortunately America is in a very vulnerable position here because as usual the worthless Democrat and Republican Parties use this issue to divide the nation for political points, not realizing that BOTH their Parties are equally crappy and worthless to begin with, and on the Geo-political stage are so much more worthless and completely irrelevant.

Objectively though, it is quite an interesting geo-political situation we have going on here no doubt and we are literally witnessing high stakes history in the making.

 

[SarahM777]

To understand Crimea, take a look back at its complicated history


Why exactly did Premier Nikita Khrushchev transfer the Crimean Oblast to the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic? In an informative post over at Slate, Joshua Keating picks up on a few possibilities. For one, the award of Crimea -- a strategically important place also great for agriculture -- was seen as a "gift" for Ukraine, whose people had suffered terribly during World War II. Peasants from Crimea could now be rewarded with land in Ukraine. Khrushchev, though Russian himself, had worked his way up through the Ukrainian Communist Party and likely felt a tie to the region.
It also probably didn't feel like a big deal at the time: Back in the days of the Soviet Union, the difference between Ukraine and Russia perhaps felt nominal. By 1991 and the Soviet collapse, things were obviously a little different. While many apparently expected new President Boris Yeltsin to demand that Crimea be returned to Russia, it never was. (As a side note, when hard-liners tried to force President Mikhail Gorbachev out in a coup in 1991, the Soviet leader was at his vacation home -- in Crimea).

When Ukraine held a referendum on independence in December 1991, 54 percent of Crimean voters favored independence from Russia. It was a majority, but the lowest one found in Ukraine. Following a brief tussle with the newly independent Ukrainian government, Crimea agreed to remain part of Ukraine, but with significant autonomy (including its own constitution and legislature and – briefly – its own president). In 1997, Ukraine and Russia signed a bilateral Treaty on Friendship, Cooperation and Partnership, which formally allowed Russia to keep its Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol.



(Full article)

To understand Crimea, take a look back at its complicated history

 

[MarkMulder]

An anchor on a Russian state owned TV station said.


State TV says Russia could turn US to 'radioactive ash'

Well so can Obama...

 

[Donkeyfish07]

It's true, the philosophy of mutually assured destruction. Russia isn't some third world country the white house can boss around any time it pleases them. I have a feeling these recently passed sanctions are going to come back to haunt the current administration. It's not like Russia is not going to retaliate. There's potential for some completely unnecessary escalation here.

 

[GodIsSalvation]

It's true, the philosophy of mutually assured destruction. Russia isn't some third world country the white house can boss around any time it pleases them. I have a feeling these recently passed sanctions are going to come back to haunt the current administration. It's not like Russia is not going to retaliate. There's potential for some completely unnecessary escalation here.

Eh the sanctions are just for show, and you have to realize the EU all ready has planned to put sanctions in place before Obama announced his own yesterday (I have heard that Obama is placing 11 Russian officials on the sanction list with EU having a list of 21 officials.) This is really the least we can do non-militarily. I do not think this will escalate things further as Putin has clearly escalated them all ready and all ready he has his own game plan in place. This biggest worry here is that the Russians are going to try to seize more of Ukraine. This is quite plausible at the moment as it has been reported a fair sized Russian army is stationed near the East Ukrainian border and there are rumors of Russian agitators calling for referendums like in Crimea in East Ukraine.

 

[Donkeyfish07]

Eh the sanctions are just for show, and you have to realize the EU all ready has planned to put sanctions in place before Obama announced his own yesterday (I have heard that Obama is placing 11 Russian officials on the sanction list with EU having a list of 21 officials.) This is really the least we can do non-militarily. I do not think this will escalate things further as Putin has clearly escalated them all ready and all ready he has his own game plan in place. This biggest worry here is that the Russians are going to try to seize more of Ukraine. This is quite plausible at the moment as it has been reported a fair sized Russian army is stationed near the East Ukrainian border and there are rumors of Russian agitators calling for referendums like in Crimea in East Ukraine.

We wouldn't listen to them if a similar situation had happened in Mexico or Canada, I just don't understand why anyone expects them to listen to us. I don't see how the sanctions are supposed to help. They've got leverage against us too. The ruble is very weak compared to the dollar but that doesn't mean they are unable to cause us any economic hardship. If they want to hit us with something back as retaliation for the sanctions, and we respond once again.....it could get pretty ugly even if it's purely political and economic blows being traded.

 

[jb]

THe USA has nothing to fear.

Last famous words! lol...