re: #88 SpaceJesus

pretty sure I don’t have to have Kremlin access to realize that the Russians would never be insane enough to attack a NATO nation.

OK, let me put this simply.

The idea from Putin’s POV is not to attack NATO or Russia’s former “client states” with conventional forces. Because Russia hasn’t got enough conventional forces left to get the job done, and for the forseeable future at least can’t afford to build back up to the point where they could mount such an operation.

However, they still have enough nuclear assets to use as a credible threat to blackmail both their former “associates”, and the West, into giving them what they want, both economically and politically. Such as acquiescing in their actions in Georgia, or maybe even quietly killing the proposed oil/gas pipeline through Turkey that would seriously cut into their revenues. The game being “Don’t do anything that would adversely affect our income, or Oops! little atomic “accident” on your heads.”

(Incidentally, increasing revenues from Gasprom will, over time, give Putin & Co. enough moolah to rebuild their conventional military to the point where they can seriously think in “empire-building” terms again. Bet. On. It.)

As it stands now, Russia is the equivalent of the local mob running a protection racket, and getting away with it, because nobody has a way of avoiding getting their kneecaps broken if the mob decides to “make an example” out of them. Missile Defense would at least deprive them of one crowbar to swing at said kneecaps.

The fact that President Obama is opposed to giving our allies (and, incidentally, us) that much protection against thuggish behavior on the part of a government which has repeatedly proven itself to be untrustworthy (Putin’s) tells me that once again, he values the “goodwill” of people who don’t like us more than he values our commitments to our actual friends.

As with everything else he does, this is a simple expression of his “Your friends are not my friends, and I don’t like your friends- or you- at all” worldview.

/I hope this clears thing up.

cheers

eon