Is Putin's nuclear saber rattling a sign of strength or weakness

[independentusa]

Putin first mentioned his nuclear weapons when saying other countries should not interfere in his attack on Ukraine. Now, when his troops are having a lot more trouble in taking the country than he and his people expected and even his oligarchs are beginning to turn on him after the sanctions, he has turned up the heat on the nuclear saber rattling by raising the threat level of his forces. So do you think that this is a sign of his strength which Trump keeps praising or his weakness caused by the whole world and many of his own people turning against him?

 

[CaughtInThe]

What do parents threaten their kids with if their kids don't do what they REALLY want them to do?

The worst possible punishment.

 

[Checkerboard Strangler]

WEAKNESS
Who in their right mind telegraphs their intention in absolute terms besides a coward?
When we decided nukes might be necessary against Japan, we made mention of an awful weapon but we didn't
go much beyond stating that it was terrible.
Putin made noises about "consequences the likes of which you've never seen" and that sounded credible, but when he
directly mentioned nukes, that was the sign of fear.

Never telegraph to your opponent, unless you want to give them time to prepare.

 

[Airyaman]

It's really all he has left. I think he believed this would go differently but it appears almost nothing is going as planned. When you're backed into a corner you get desperate. Let's hope calmer minds in Russia can stop him.

 

[BirdinHand]

I think it is an absolutely terrifying prospect. I can’t pretend to understand his thought process, but damn…the question needs to be how does the world keep nuclear weapons from flying.

 

[Simpletruther]

Putin first mentioned his nuclear weapons when saying other countries should not interfere in his attack on Ukraine. Now, when his troops are having a lot more trouble in taking the country than he and his people expected and even his oligarchs are beginning to turn on him after the sanctions, he has turned up the heat on the nuclear saber rattling by raising the threat level of his forces. So do you think that this is a sign of his strength which Trump keeps praising or his weakness caused by the whole world and many of his own people turning against him?

With 6 thousand nuclear warheads, whether he is acting out of fear or strength is moot. The only question is will he follow through.

 

[poweRob]

Putin first mentioned his nuclear weapons when saying other countries should not interfere in his attack on Ukraine. Now, when his troops are having a lot more trouble in taking the country than he and his people expected and even his oligarchs are beginning to turn on him after the sanctions, he has turned up the heat on the nuclear saber rattling by raising the threat level of his forces. So do you think that this is a sign of his strength which Trump keeps praising or his weakness caused by the whole world and many of his own people turning against him?

Definitely weak. Man his military looks so weak and I think he's not liking how that is getting out to the rest of the world. So talking nukes is cover for that. IMO.

I mean...



They seem to fail at some basic logistics.

 

[poweRob]

Go go go Ukranians!

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[Gateman_Wen]

Putin first mentioned his nuclear weapons when saying other countries should not interfere in his attack on Ukraine. Now, when his troops are having a lot more trouble in taking the country than he and his people expected and even his oligarchs are beginning to turn on him after the sanctions, he has turned up the heat on the nuclear saber rattling by raising the threat level of his forces. So do you think that this is a sign of his strength which Trump keeps praising or his weakness caused by the whole world and many of his own people turning against him?

Weakness. He's at his limit.

 

[LetsGoBrandon]

Putin first mentioned his nuclear weapons when saying other countries should not interfere in his attack on Ukraine. Now, when his troops are having a lot more trouble in taking the country than he and his people expected and even his oligarchs are beginning to turn on him after the sanctions, he has turned up the heat on the nuclear saber rattling by raising the threat level of his forces. So do you think that this is a sign of his strength which Trump keeps praising or his weakness caused by the whole world and many of his own people turning against him?

Weakness and fear.

 

[poweRob]

 

[DarkWizard12]

Putin first mentioned his nuclear weapons when saying other countries should not interfere in his attack on Ukraine. Now, when his troops are having a lot more trouble in taking the country than he and his people expected and even his oligarchs are beginning to turn on him after the sanctions, he has turned up the heat on the nuclear saber rattling by raising the threat level of his forces. So do you think that this is a sign of his strength which Trump keeps praising or his weakness caused by the whole world and many of his own people turning against him?

depends on if he's actually willing to do it, and i think he is.

He feels his country is backed to a corner for reasons we can only speculate(although i have my ideas, and it's far more than ukraine). Russia is a country that's about to crack, and when they do, a nuclear option becomes almost inevitable because...well...if they're going down, they'll take the rest of the world with them.

 

[poweRob]

depends on if he's actually willing to do it, and i think he is.

He feels his country is backed to a corner for reasons we can only speculate(although i have my ideas, and it's far more than ukraine). Russia is a country that's about to crack, and when they do, a nuclear option becomes almost inevitable because...well...if they're going down, they'll take the rest of the world with them.

Brilliant military analysis there armchair general.

 

[DarkWizard12]

Malcolm doesn't know the shit he's saying. Is putin really the guy to bluff? WE bluff, that's what the US does.

I HIGHLY doubt putin would do this and not be serious about it, and by all accounts, his behavior....it's in line with someone who's serious. This man has pride, and if his country falls, he might actually take the rest of the world with him.

 

[The Old Soul]

Given how many 'questionably stable' countries have nuclear weapons of one form or another, it seems all but inevitable that that red button is going to get pushed by someone somewhere before the world realizes just how destructive having thermonuclear explosives in your pocket can be.

Given its a when and not an if, it would be best if someone puts in the codes sooner rather than later. Yes, it would be devastating to millions/billions and the planet in general, but given current technologies, there is a good chance mankind in one form or another would survive, and realize that any future nukes would the worst possible alternative going forward.

If we are now re-entering another cold war with nuclear capacities at the forefront, the technological improvements of warfare and nuclear development would assure capabilities of even lesser countries to destroy the entire human race, and most every living thing on the planet.

Considering the number of crazy violent people in positions of authority and in the general population of the world, the greater the risk and greater the consequences if the current levels of buildups continue and are not reversed. Military actions should be in our past, and not the future (or end) of the human race.

 

[DarkWizard12]

Brilliant military analysis there armchair general.

well, you asked the question. what I'm sad to see is people unwilling to swallow their egos. In better times, when stuff like this came up, we found a way to negotiate.

 

[jnug]

Putin first mentioned his nuclear weapons when saying other countries should not interfere in his attack on Ukraine. Now, when his troops are having a lot more trouble in taking the country than he and his people expected and even his oligarchs are beginning to turn on him after the sanctions, he has turned up the heat on the nuclear saber rattling by raising the threat level of his forces. So do you think that this is a sign of his strength which Trump keeps praising or his weakness caused by the whole world and many of his own people turning against him?

This is what Putin actually said.

Putin warns interference would lead to 'such consequences that you have never encountered in your history'​

So first you have to convince me he was rattling his nuclear saber and that this is not media hysteria.

 

[Warcok]

Remember when dimocrats were screeching Trump was gonna trigger ww3?

One year into Xiden's dementia tour and we are literally on the cusp of it. 🤣

 

[Cameron]

Putin first mentioned his nuclear weapons when saying other countries should not interfere in his attack on Ukraine. Now, when his troops are having a lot more trouble in taking the country than he and his people expected and even his oligarchs are beginning to turn on him after the sanctions, he has turned up the heat on the nuclear saber rattling by raising the threat level of his forces. So do you think that this is a sign of his strength which Trump keeps praising or his weakness caused by the whole world and many of his own people turning against him?

I think it's probably meant for an internal more than external audience. He knows the notion that we'd use nuclear weapons preemptively against him is dumb, but his people may not.

 

[Cameron]

This is what Putin actually said.

Putin warns interference would lead to 'such consequences that you have never encountered in your history'​

So first you have to convince me he was rattling his nuclear saber and that this is not media hysteria.

You're a few days late on news.

Putin puts Russia's nuclear forces on alert as fighting in Ukraine continues

The order means Putin has ordered Russia's nuclear weapons prepared for increased readiness to launch.

www.cbsnews.com

 

[Antiwar]

It's really all he has left. I think he believed this would go differently but it appears almost nothing is going as planned. When you're backed into a corner you get desperate. Let's hope calmer minds in Russia can stop him.

Escalation isn't a one-way street.

 

[multivita-man]

Putin first mentioned his nuclear weapons when saying other countries should not interfere in his attack on Ukraine. Now, when his troops are having a lot more trouble in taking the country than he and his people expected and even his oligarchs are beginning to turn on him after the sanctions, he has turned up the heat on the nuclear saber rattling by raising the threat level of his forces. So do you think that this is a sign of his strength which Trump keeps praising or his weakness caused by the whole world and many of his own people turning against him?

On one hand, it's clearly a sign that he's losing. The guy that Trumpists and Fox News viewers like to think of us a 'genius' and a 'chess player' is clearly not. He ****ed up and he knows it. He kinda reminds me of some of the assholes I knew as a child. Anyone remember the kid who'd brag he could beat you in a footrace, lose the race, and then threaten to kick your ass because he couldn't stand losing? Putin's that guy. Putin's losing and he knows it. And he's angry about it.

But none of that should make any of us sleep better tonight. He does have nuclear weapons - lots of them. And he's in total control of his military forces until a heroic Russian general or two steps up and saves Russia and the rest of us from total destruction. This is a very serious situation. I don't think Putin wants to go there, but he doesn't want to lose, either, and he's isolated. And there's a lot riding on the line right now for him. If he loses power, he's either dead, in jail for life, or on the run for life. He has a lot to lose, and he has a lot of power at his fingertips that can prevent him from losing.

 

[multivita-man]

Escalation isn't a one-way street.

That's right, it isn't, but we had better not escalate for the sake of escalating. We have to be thinking of an off-ramp here - all countries need to be thinking of one.

 

[Airyaman]

Escalation isn't a one-way street.

How do you think he got into that corner?

 

[Antiwar]

The US and Russia both use their nuclear arsenals as threats. The US is the only country to have used nuclear weapons in war, and the US probably has one of the worst (if not the worst) records of testing nuclear weapons on people.