• leweb
    +3

    Ok, so let's say Russia stirs some unrest among their sympathizers in, say, Estonia, and uses it as an excuse to annex it as they did with Crimea. Are we gonna risk nuclear war because of a small country? I find this very unlikely. And even more so with the current administration. I'm sure Putin is just waiting for the right time to do this, and he usually has the patience to wait, and a good eye to know when is the right time.

    • kxh
      +3

      Russia once messed with a country close to the borders of the US and it didn't go well. The US didn't like it at all. Why do they think Russia would be happy when countries on its border are encouraged by the US do stuff Russia doesn't like?

    • AdelleChattre
      +2

      Since the first Cold War ended, when has Russia annexed a country? If your only example is Crimea, I don't think a U.S.-funded neo-fascist coup in which a rump legislature declared the elected Ukrainian government fugitives quite counts as 'an excuse.' Anyone whose eyes were open for what happened in Ukraine will not've been surprised Russia acted.

      Since you say you're sure the Russian president is just biding his time before snatching up Balkan countries, I assume you have examples in modern history in which Russia was the aggressor nation in takeover after takeover. You know, like the U.S.

      • leweb
        +5

        You know how much I sympathize with the American attitude of assuming that anyone who's not a vassal is an enemy. But Putin is not an idiot. NATO has become a heavy weight being held by a very thin cord. I don't even think it's about taking over other countries as much as it is getting rid of threats next to the border, as kxh mentioned.

        • AdelleChattre
          +4

          Guess which country's military budget is fourteen plus times the other's. Hint: it's the one waging eight wars right now.

          • leweb
            +3

            Hey, no argument there!