There appears to be a market
Current Affairs Ukraine
- Thread starter Mutzo Nutzo
- Start date
- Status
Sassy Colombian
Member: Team PoP
I hope not either, but he is acting like an unhinged man. I fear that if Zalensky doesn't agree to his terms and his military continues suffering the defeats they have been encountering that he is going get his ego hurt and would want to win this war at any cause, even if it means going nuclear. Today several intelligence officials testified in Congress and told lawmakers that the danger of Putin using a nuclear weapon is increasing “precisely because the conflict in Ukraine is going badly"
Concern Rising That Putin Could Use Nuclear Weapons
Russian “escalate to de-escalate” doctrine suggests Putin is thinking the unthinkable.
www.defenseone.com
Bluerover
Player Valuation: £60m
I expressed my serious concerns about this last week and one poster labelled me a doom sayer. That doesn't bother me, but I had 37 years working for three Irish Government Ministries, dealing with the EU, the UN, the FAO and other international bodies. I think I can sense when things are not going well.I hope not either, but he is acting like an unhinged man. I fear that if Zalensky doesn't agree to his terms and his military continues suffering the defeats they have been encountering that he is going get his ego hurt and would want to win this war at any cause, even if it means going nuclear. Today several intelligence officials testify in Congress and told lawmakers that the danger of Putin using a nuclear weapon is increasing “precisely because the conflict in Ukraine is going badly"
View attachment 158440
Concern Rising That Putin Could Use Nuclear Weapons
Russian “escalate to de-escalate” doctrine suggests Putin is thinking the unthinkable.
Russia at the moment is a serious threat.
This is not a time for heads in the sand. Putin is very dangerous, not just to the population of Ukraine, but to the rest of Europe and potentially the world.
I am also concerned about China. They are still an ally of Russia even since the end of the USSR. They also have huge economic grips on many nations, including the US.
Sassy Colombian
Member: Team PoP
You have the knowledge and the experience to understand the danger the world finds itself that some other posters here don't. I'm one that's always trying to be my positive self but this whole situation has me as concerned as you. It is not about being a doom sayer, it is the reality of having a deranged man in charged of the largest stockpile of nuclear weapons in the world. And a deranged man with a hurt ego is even more dangerous.
I agree this is not the time for heads in the sand. For example we really need to be providing those fighter jets to Ukraine but now Poland and the US are flipflopping about it.
I'm not sure that Xi would be willing to jeopardize China's economy to rescue Russia's. For some reason I still think Xi is more sane than Putin and he may not be want to lead China towards a new era of economic isolation from the West just because of Russia (maybe that is my positive self speaking lol)
Bluerover
Player Valuation: £60m
Sass, you are a breath of fresh air in your contributions to many threads on this site.
I am now retired but my antennae are still sensitive regarding international relations.
Putin gathered 100,000 troops as well as ships around Ukraine. He then blatantly lied when he said there was no intention to invade. Now we see so many innocent people suffering because of an invasion.
I really fear that he is capable of accelerating this. He clearly does not care about the importance of human life.
It seems he wants to replicate the Russian Empire that existed under Nicolas iI. If he is not stopped, it won't end with Ukraine.
Russia will suffer huge casualties in Ukraine, and even if there is a military take over, they will not be able to keep a population of 40million plus quiet
He doesn't seem to care. Other former Soviet states must be really concerned.
BrendanGOT
Player Valuation: £30m
WSJ News Exclusive | Saudi, Emirati Leaders Decline Calls With Biden During Ukraine Crisis
The Persian Gulf monarchies have signaled they won’t help ease surging oil prices unless Washington supports them in Yemen, elsewhere.
www.wsj.com
Bluerover
Player Valuation: £60m
Just been watching the coverage on Sky. It literally had me in tears. Estimated that a million have already packed up in suitcases and fled their homes and this could go to two million.
Footage of little kids wheeling their bags and waiting interminably to get on a bus.
Meanwhile, their fathers, uncles and I am sure many female relations are staying behind to try and resist this bully.
As an Irishman, we have a history of losing millions through famine and forced emigration in the 1840s.
Even if there was peace in the morning, the damage already caused will take generations to recover.
I Don't think I have ever felt so concerned.
Footage of little kids wheeling their bags and waiting interminably to get on a bus.
Meanwhile, their fathers, uncles and I am sure many female relations are staying behind to try and resist this bully.
As an Irishman, we have a history of losing millions through famine and forced emigration in the 1840s.
Even if there was peace in the morning, the damage already caused will take generations to recover.
I Don't think I have ever felt so concerned.
Doesn’t anyone remember Japanese internment camps?
Nobody even remembers the hate Muslims got after 9/11 or the Asians after covid.
Martin Alvito
Player Valuation: £50m
Extremely hard to say. I don't recall Biden being on record about what he would do in such a scenario, which is probably smart. Handcuffing oneself to a clear WMD response strategy generally isn't a good plan, because it gives the opposition the ability to exploit the edges of that strategy. That said, once they start flying it's probably best to be very clear about where the limits are.
To explain by way of (poker) analogy, my read of Biden is that he's a generally conservative player who prefers not to escalate when he thinks he's behind if the option reasonably exists, but that has difficulty getting out of a hand once committed. This is not the best strategy for maximizing influence over time, but tends to be the absolute risk minimizer as far as WWIII is concerned. What he would probably do in response is draw a line in the sand and make it very clear that he will no longer back down, up to and including WWIII and thermonuclear exchange, if that line is crossed. Since it's so obvious to any observer that he has difficulty rationally walking away from that sort of commitment, that approach probably prevents the situation from escalating beyond his line in the sand.
The central paradox of international relations is that strategies for becoming stronger in the international system and strategies for avoiding/defusing conflict are near mutually exclusive. A strategy like Putin's requires tolerating intentionally producing human misery within and without in return for strengthening one's own hand, and risks losing it all. A strategy like Biden's has the virtues of being morally preferable and lower-risk, but is a long-term loser. The Republican/Democrat divide over security can at least partially be explained by differences in objectives, risk tolerances and morality. To a mainstream Republican, Biden is "weak" because he is not perpetually seeking to increase America's power and influence despite the risks and costs. To a mainstream Democrat, a leader that pursued those objectives and turned a blind eye to risks and costs would be a loose cannon.
Lobster Johnson
Player Valuation: £35m
Bizarre. that.
Lobster Johnson
Player Valuation: £35m
And then I read this... Pete's been at the port again.
- Status