Putin, and most of the Russian talking heads, are like that guy from the Iraq war. I can’t remember the name, Baghdad Bob or something like that? Just totally separated from reality.
Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf (Arabic: محمد سعيد الصحاف; Muḥammad Saʿīd Al-Ṣaḥḥāf)[citation needed] is an Iraqi former diplomat and politician. He served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1992 to 2001. He came to worldwide prominence around the 2003 invasion of Iraq, during which he was the Minister of Information under Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, acting as spokesman for the Arab Socialist Ba’ath Party and Saddam’s government. He has also been nicknamed Baghdad Bob or Comical Ali (a play on “Chemical Ali”) for his notable and colorful television appearances as the Information Minister of Iraq
This is just Putin testing the waters and checking to see what NATO will do in this scenario. I can guarantee they’d be a lot more careful if we just told them “Any Russian or Belarusian aircraft or missile in or near the Ukrainian AO will be tracked by NATO forces. Any Russian or Belarusian aircraft or missile that crosses from the Ukrainian AO into NATO airspace or territory will be shot down with prejudice.” And then did it. That is the sort of “red line” that Putin understands.
The sad part is that the West doesn't need a conventional army either to intimidate Russia. Those armies are simply needed for defense as the pure existence of properly working countries is already so intimidating, that Russia constantly feels the need to lash out and threaten them.
pravda.com.ua
Top