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cold war

I read in the papers daily almost now of the military build up in European countries as counter measure to other countries acts of aggression what i would like to hear is peoples opinions is this putin and his aggressive tone or is he just testing the west to see what he can get away with and have we made the situation worse by dancing to putins tune and making these military manoevres
Picklebobble · 56-60, M
They aren't manoeuvres.
Putin is siding with Al Asad in Syria and is using his ships to cut through European waters in a bid to get to and from the battle zone quicker.
Whilst the rest of Europe sees this mess in Syria as Al-Assad either tightening his grip on the Syrian people. Or a freedom fight between the established government and 'The Rebels'.
So Europe is understandably cautious in not being seen to be picking a side !
But if a terrorist group from Syria decided to make life harder for Putin. They might decide to commit unspeakable acts on the Eurpean mainland.
And having just extricated ourselves from twenty years of stupidity in Iraq and Afghanistan due to Bush Jnr.
Nobidy in Europe wants to go through all that again !!!!
Wraithorn · 51-55, M
I do see many countries having grandstanding competitions. I also see many countries provoking others. It's difficult to tell who is the aggressor and who is just defending their rights. There is a lot of manipulation going on in this world that we know nothing about.

I see many countries getting their own citizens to support what they are doing to other countries by using the media and other propaganda to spread lies.

If I look at and read the news what I see are phallus symbols everywhere. Fighter planes, aircraft carriers, missiles etc....

There is a "My penis is bigger than yours" contest going on all over the world. The superpowers of the world are acting like childish pubescent teenagers.
Mugin16 · 46-50, M
Russia is not aggressive. They have made only defensive moves. Putin strikes me as a rather cautious man. The Russians have always warned the U.S. not to expand NATO further eastwards but the U.S. government has ignored these warnings. Now the U.S. works hard to bring Georgia, Ukraine and Moldovia into NATO, which for Russia is a red line (especially the Ukraine).
SW-User
Well, the West is more aggressive than Putin by now, look what Putin has lost last ten year, the whole Warsaw pact is gone and intsead his back yard is full of aggressive Yanks in an occupied Ukraine.
Mugin16 · 46-50, M
It was not "Putin" who lost the Warsaw Pact. That happened in the last 1980s under Gorbachev when the Soviet Union still existed (and not ten years ago). The Russian state almost collapsed in the 1990s and went bankrupt in 1998. The Russian people suffered hardships, which people in the West can barely imagine.
SW-User
@Mugin16: Still no reason to enlarge the Nato into Russian's direction in the way they did, look, I'm not a Putin fan but please stop playing the innocent one, it's clear who's the aggressor, and that's not Russia now.
Mugin16 · 46-50, M
@kingkyrie: I absolutely agree with you: It is the West and particulary the U.S. who is the aggressor. The enlargement of NATO was a mistake. I just corrected your statement.
smiler2012 · 56-60
kingkyrie you may see this as a lose lose for putin but it brought an end to the cold war suspicion mistrust and nuclear annihilation but America is not all at fault here with putins interference and intervention in former soviet bloc countries how can you built a partnership with a man who is devious as putin
SW-User
How can you build a partnership with your former enemy puts a puppet government in charge of a neighbor country and, as cherry on the cake, bring a lot of arms into that same country?
The even had the bloody shame to make an American secretary of state in the Ukraine, if you can't call that a provocation, what else is ?
SW-User
It's a little bit of testing but he's already taken back buts if Ukraine an Georgia, even if by proxy. I've got friends in Lithuania who are genuinely worried.
karinaal · 70-79, F
Putin already in Ukrain has shown that he aggressively is trying to expand the Russian borders and to re-establish the Russian empire.
smiler2012 · 56-60
mugin16 so do you think this is a Russia thinking this is a smack in the face for them seeing old soviet block countries deserting them and joining the other side or is it more a case of Russia fearing having nato on there own doorstep and if so have a very short memory in the days of the cold war where soviet bloc countries bordered a nato country
Mugin16 · 46-50, M
I think the Russian do not like to have NATO right on their border. The Russians have been invaded by Germans, Poles, Swedes, French over the last 1,000 years or so. They lost 13 million people in WWII. Russia has no natural borders - no oceans, rivers or mountains protecting them. Their only defense in the pas was pushing their border as far away from their heartland in order to have enough time to stop an invasion. Now they have thousands of nuclear weapons of course.
smiler2012 · 56-60
mugin16 maybe so but that is the geographical map and remember during the cold war west Germany had a communist country on there border
smiler2012 · 56-60
kingkyrie ok what is your take here we are more or less trying to sort out the problem in Syria and trying to get rid of isis with putins co operation but when you have a man like putin who backs the murdering regime that governs Syria and categorically refuse to help remove him from power and is killing innocent civilians in there bombing raids
Mugin16 · 46-50, M
If you remove Assad, then you will have Islamist radicals like the Islamic State or other groups taking over the country. Is that what you want?

Also, what I really do not understand is why so many Americans and other Westerners have a problem with Putin supporting Assad when the U.S., the UK and France have been toppling regimes and bombing and invading countries all over the Middle East for 15 years. How many innocent civilians were killed in these wars by the West? How many innocent civilians were killed by American drone strikes? The U.S. and UK are currently supporting Saudi Arabia's indiscriminate bombing in Yemen.
SW-User
First of all, Putin jumped in after more than five year of,let's say "poor results". Second what has the West to do with Syria and not all other dictator regime's, why just that country and not let's say Sudan, Saudi Arabia, ore Nigeria to bring "justice"? Third, Assad is maybe a cruel dictator but you want to replace it by the "moderate rebels" who slaughter ten year old kids on the market place by slitting it's head off?
Time to stop with all those political correct non sense and let's just tell truth, we/you want power, nothing more ore less, but stop with the fucking lie we come to bring "justice", we are the same kinda pigs as Putin and maybe even worse.
smiler2012 · 56-60
wraithorn that is quiet true propaganda is always is not always a good thing
Valentine · M
Show weakness or disinterest and he will take advantage
smiler2012 · 56-60
wraithorn I like your assessment of this brinkmanship but what I fear is one miscalculation could escalate into something more dangerous
karinaal · 70-79, F
@Wraithorn:
https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-press/2015/russia

http://www.rferl.org/a/1096228.html
Wraithorn · 51-55, M
@karinaal: Interesting, thanks.
karinaal · 70-79, F
@Wraithorn: You are welcome.
sighmeupforthat · 46-50, M
Why, that's very interesting.

 
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