Our military power is meaningless against Putin's craziness

[Cyrano]

Using our military and all our weaponry to help defend Ukraine would very quickly escalate into full scale war. And take that another step. If Putin is being defeated and his forces are being pushed back, it would be a tremendous humiliation to him. Would he decide to go out in a blaze of glory by using his nuclear weapons? Nobody knows. And no one really wants to find out. Therefore, we will not confront him with our military.

We, and NATO, must impose every sanction possible on Russia. We've got to make the oligarchs feel the hurt to the point where they want Putin gone and they make it happen.

However, his biggest threat to us, and the entire west, is his use of internet malware. He could shut down, and even destroy our electrical systems, our transportation systems, our communications systems and our business systems.

Of course, we could do the same to Russia, and that might be all that stops him from all out digital warfare. However, digital warfare, like a shooting war, is unpredictable. Once unleashed, there's no predicting the unintended damage that can be done anywhere and everywhere. (The internet is connected to and controls countless systems in virtually the entire world.)

The last time a maniac wanted to extend his empire, there were no nuclear weapons or internet. That world no longer exists. I don't know if Putin has become mentally unbalanced, but stopping him has little to do with our military capabilities. To stop him, we must make Russia pay an intolerable price for Putin's aggession.

[dalton99a]

1. Kick

Sen. Mark Warner (D., Va.), the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said Mr. Putin had brought decades of general peace to an end with his invasion. Mr. Warner said it was time to increase the pain level of sanctions and bolster NATO allies’ defenses.

In a CNN interview on Thursday, Mr. Warner said any Russian cyberattack against Ukraine that bleeds into bordering NATO allies could invoke Article 5 of the organization’s founding document, which says an attack on one member of the alliance is an attack on all and compels allies to come to each others’ aid.

“Every option must be placed on the table to stop Putin’s malevolence that not only threatens Ukraine and Eastern Europe, but the security of all liberal democracies around the globe,” said Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D., N.H.), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) called the invasion a war crime. “Putin and his cronies should be pursued by international law enforcement agencies for the purpose of seizing their lavish apartments, fine art, yachts, and other material goods purchased through stealing the Russian people blind,” Mr. Graham wrote on Twitter.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/biden-expected-to-detail-harsh-sanctions-on-russia-after-putin-attacks-ukraine-11645711417

[uponit7771]

2. K&R, I think people are in shock about Putin's craziness in attack all of UKR. Biden admin did a

... kick ass job of warning the world that the Russians are coming but the majority of people thought it would just be the eastern part of the nation at most.

Putin has gone batshit ... we're all in troube

[Cyrano]

3. Yes, all who believe in democracy are in trouble

As usual, fucking authoritarians do not hesitate to punch the world in the face.'

And, as usual, those who believe in democracy are, once again, playing an uncertain defense.

[Irish_Dem]

4. Putin has the upper hand right now. He is showing off his power and strength.

He knows that no one will stop him.

It is a major shift in world power.