I think not. The fact of political ideology being in flux, as definitions obscura the passage of the appearently confounded , and conflated sources and objectives ( of power) ; and WILL exercise such. with aimless futility; the winner all subscribes to the ultimate aim of appearances, knowing well the topological and essential indifferance underneath it’s facade.
( That can be safely said without trying to understand Nietzche through Heidegger thriugh ultimately Derrida, forwards and back.)
That is to imply that politics have been reduced to metaphor, and that the sublime ought to beat the ridiculous notion that physics and metaphysics are becoming at all separable.
Think You’right. This taking over is missed by the gargantuan Chinese and Russuans, for the subtle difference belies that this overtaking for them , to all appearances means some kind of ideological return to a status quo, with threats of nuking prople to death, whereas the truth lies elsewhere.
That Teller, the ‘father’ of thermonuclear device, has suggested for space based and other kinds of defense against his own creation, has been largely forgotten . However , since such 'Star Wars efforts have not been simply given up to the whimsy of political will, there is more than mere speculation of progress made in those areas, not to the extent of a total security shield, but tolarge enough degree to stop and think about consequences of major benefits or destruction gained by rebel rousing for political effect.
This may come off as presumptive, however it’s factored intosimulated scenarios.
How much of these headlines fueled by BY Times desire to generate more prifuts? ( not that such inflammatory journalism could not ignite the fuel that passes rhetituc to more literal reactions by Putin Buden, and all other theater actirs?
[b]BRUSSELS — The string of strikes against Ukrainian cities and key infrastructure on Monday galvanized long-standing calls from the government to its allies for more sophisticated air defense systems and longer-range weapons.
The Russian attacks appeared to signal a significant escalation, raising pressure on the United States and other European countries that have been slow to provide Ukrainian forces with the most advanced weapons systems.
But while a chorus of U.S. and European leaders condemned the attacks and declared their continued support for Ukraine, it was not clear that they would accelerate or expand their deliveries as a result of the strikes.
In a Monday statement, President Biden condemned “the utter brutality” of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war. The latest attacks “killed and injured civilians and destroyed targets with no military purpose,” he said, and “only further reinforce our commitment to stand with the people of Ukraine for as long as it takes.”[/b]
Putin and Biden in the ultimate game of “chicken”?
Will it all finally come down to what each of these men think that the other man is thinking?
Some more fateful version of the Prisoner’s Dilemma? What is the rational thing to do when you are not sure what the other thinks is the most rational thing to do?
Both men embracing belligerence in regard to the other…and the rest of us just not knowing who is or is not either bluffing or not bluffing.
Former Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Mike Mullen calls Putin ‘a cornered animal’ over stumbles in Ukraine
John L. Dorman Oct 9, 2022, 4:39 PM
Former Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Mike Mullen.
Fmr. Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Mullen said Putin was “a cornered animal” over Ukraine stumbles.
“I think he’s more and more dangerous,” Mullen said of the Russian leader on ABC’s “This Week.”
Mullen’s comments came after a weekend attack on the strategically vital Kerch Strait Bridge.
Russia doesn’t want to end Ukraine aggression against Russia… Russia is not interested in merely dominating to end a brutal war… Putin wants to take Ukraine territory and resources. Not a nuclear disaster.
Vladimir Putin’s nuclear arsenal is immensely more varied and formidable than Khrushchev’s. And Putin’s frenzy intensifies as his Ukraine blunder reveals the hollowness of the great-power strutting it was intended to validate. In contrast, Khrushchev quickly recognized that he needed what Kennedy ultimately provided — an escape from the strategic cul-de-sac into which his impulsiveness had driven him. Putin validates nostalgia for Khrushchev: The world today might be closer to a use of a nuclear weapon than it was then.
Putin’s “frenzy”. Enough said?
[b]Today, Hastings writes, the delicate military and diplomatic task is to counter “Putin’s obsessive resentment, his craving for respect and willingness to take huge risks and to initiate hideous atrocities around Russia’s borders in pursuit of a pan-Slav fantasy.” So, “the scope for a catastrophic miscalculation is as great now as it was in 1914 Europe or in the 1962 Caribbean.”
Khrushchev was fond of a quote that Vladimir Lenin attributed to Napoleon Bonaparte: “On s’engage et puis on voit” — more or less, “Start something, then see what happens.” Putin has seen what happened after he started something in Ukraine — NATO energized, Russian power revealed as suited only for war crimes. What happens next, or doesn’t, will depend on the sort of skill and luck seen 60 Octobers ago.[/b]
It all comes down to whatever the fuck is going on inside Putin’s head. And in Biden’s. That’s what makes it all ominously unpredictable.
[b]United States and Allies Vow Long-Term Support for Ukraine
In the wake of widespread missile attacks by Russia, defense officials from more than 50 countries met to discuss Kyiv’s weapons requests. Germany delivered a new, ultramodern air-defense system and the Netherlands promised $14.5 million in missiles.[/b]
Will this be the button that pushes Putin to push a few nuclear buttons of his own?
Me, I’m sticking with this entirely personal assessment:
[b]Of course, here’s the thing with those like Biden and the government officials in Europe hell bent on taking us to the brink of mutually assured destruction.
In the event of a nuclear war, they and their loved ones will no doubt be whisked away to some secret underground bunker…a bunker that will be will stocked with all the luxuries they are used to now.
'Over the weekend, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu called his counterparts in the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and—interestingly—Turkey. In these calls, Shoigu claimed that Ukraine is about to use a “dirty bomb,” which would ostensibly allow Russia to open the door to retaliation with nuclear weapons. Today, General Valery Gerasimov, the chief of the Russian general staff, called his American and British counterparts to press the same case.
‘The liberal Democrats note that the war’s disastrous consequences are increasingly felt far beyond Ukraine, including elevated food and gas prices in the United States and spikes in the price of wheat, fertilizer and fuel that have created global food shortages, not to mention the danger of a nuclear attack by Moscow.’
Our only hope?
‘The letter, sent to the White House on Monday and obtained by The Washington Post, could create more pressure on Biden as he tries to sustain domestic support for the war effort, at a time when the region is heading into a potentially difficult winter and Republicans are threatening to cut aid to Ukraine if they retake Congress.’
[b]'As the Russian Army continues to falter in Ukraine, the world is worrying that Vladimir Putin could use a tactical nuclear weapon. Maybe — but for now, I think Putin is assembling a different weapon. It’s an oil and gas bomb that he’s fusing right before our eyes and with our inadvertent help — and he could easily detonate it this winter.
'If he does, it could send prices of home heating oil and gasoline into the stratosphere. The political fallout, Putin surely hopes, will divide the Western alliance and prompt many countries — including ours, where both MAGA Republicans and progressives are expressing concerns about the spiraling cost of the Ukraine conflict — to seek a dirty deal with the man in the Kremlin, pronto.
‘In short: Putin is now fighting a ground war to break through Ukraine’s lines and a two-front energy war to break Ukraine’s will and that of its allies. He’s trying to smash Ukraine’s electricity system to ensure a long, cold winter there while putting himself in position (in ways that I’ll explain) to drive up energy costs for all of Ukraine’s allies. And because we — America and the West — do not have an energy strategy in place to dampen the impact of Putin’s energy bomb, this is a frightening prospect.’[/b]
A “dirty deal” with tyranny? At least from the perspective of most in the West?
On the other hand, what if Putin does go the nuclear route? How exactly will Biden and the NATO alliance react to that? Will they provide Ukraine with nuclear weapons? Will they nuke Moscow?
In other words, what might spark an actual exchange of nukes on a global scale?