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US and Russia need to reestablish Cold War playbook to avert nuclear escalation, senior general says
Stars and Stripes ^ | 4/9/24 | John Vandiver

Posted on 04/10/2024 8:20:15 PM PDT by hardspunned

STUTTGART, Germany — The United States needs to revive the lines of communication with Moscow that helped both countries avoid nuclear conflict during the Cold War, the top American general in Europe said this week. “We could read each other’s signals. We knew how to send signals to each other… almost all of that is gone now,” Gen. Christopher Cavoli, NATO supreme allied commander and head of U.S. European Command, said Monday.

(Excerpt) Read more at stripes.com ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs
KEYWORDS: hotline
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Incredibly, no one in DC seems to care about this any longer. You get the feeling they think it doesn’t matter since we’d probably “win” the nuclear war with Russia anyway.

I’m nearly seventy and these are truly the most dangerous days America has faced in my lifetime. What helped to prevent WWIII during the Cuban Missile Crises no longer exists.

1 posted on 04/10/2024 8:20:15 PM PDT by hardspunned
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To: hardspunned

The “hotline” of old was designed to prevent misunderstandings. This modern bunch of childish jackasses wants to run provocative actions, blow up pipelines, launch terrorist attacks, bomb the Kerch bridge, target Russian warships etc... then think they can avoid any unpleasantness by just chatting on the phone?

The problems are not coming from lack of communication, the lack of communication has come from the problems. Problems we were the author of.

We do not bring enough honesty or goodwill to the table for anyone to want a hotline.


2 posted on 04/10/2024 8:29:14 PM PDT by DesertRhino (2016 Star Wars, 2020 The Empire Strikes Back, 2024... RETURN OF THE JEDI. )
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To: hardspunned

It’s just Putin. When we dealt with the Soviets, we were able to speak to the Politburo.


3 posted on 04/10/2024 8:32:30 PM PDT by MinorityRepublican
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To: MinorityRepublican

That’s really wrong. In the Soviet era, the rubberstamp politburo was not our direct contact. Politburo members having direct contact with the west would have been arrested.

And if you think Putin is the problem, you need to recalibrate. The ones who would actually replace him, not the DC/London fantasy football pick, are FAR more hard line.


4 posted on 04/10/2024 8:38:21 PM PDT by DesertRhino (2016 Star Wars, 2020 The Empire Strikes Back, 2024... RETURN OF THE JEDI. )
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To: hardspunned

““We could read each other’s signals. We knew how to send signals to each other… almost all of that is gone now,” Gen. Christopher Cavoli, NATO supreme allied commander and head of U.S. European Command, said Monday.”

Yeah, when you are running a proxy war and when our “president’s” stated national policy is the overthrow the Russian government, communications do tend to break down. Weird....

This must pass for “deep thought” at the Pentagram.


5 posted on 04/10/2024 8:43:01 PM PDT by DesertRhino (2016 Star Wars, 2020 The Empire Strikes Back, 2024... RETURN OF THE JEDI. )
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To: DesertRhino

I like that name.


6 posted on 04/10/2024 8:44:40 PM PDT by cowboyusa (AT THIS POINT, I'M WARMING TO AN AMERICAN PINOCHETE. )
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To: MinorityRepublican

It’s embarrassing to see how clueless you actually are.


7 posted on 04/10/2024 9:03:01 PM PDT by hardspunned (Former DC GOP globalist stooge)
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To: cowboyusa

Use it freely senor!


8 posted on 04/10/2024 9:11:44 PM PDT by DesertRhino (2016 Star Wars, 2020 The Empire Strikes Back, 2024... RETURN OF THE JEDI. )
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To: DesertRhino

No reason to have a line of communication open just in case one or both sides want to reach out before the buttons are all actually pushed? That is scary, scary stupid. The idiots in DC think they can bluff their way right up to Armageddon and the Russians would never deliver on their promises made. After the first tactical nukes start to pop off, no, no reason to have the ability to talk to the other side before total commitment. That’s the catastrophic idiocy this article tries to address.


9 posted on 04/10/2024 9:13:33 PM PDT by hardspunned (Former DC GOP globalist stooge)
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To: hardspunned

That’s movies. The hotline idea is long dead, because the trust is long dead. And DC is hellbent on escalation. Once tactical nukes pop, there is no phone call that can stop it. Neocons in DC and London have no reverse gear. They will only use a hotline to issue ultimatums and threats.

We are way past a hotline.

A hotline is for accidents and deconfliction. When DC is prosecuting a war against them, a hotline doesn’t help much. It especially doesn’t help when DC has pissed away every bit of trust and reputation we had.

The chance for communication ended in fall of 2021 through January of 2022. The Russians repeatedly asked for talks and we coldly and publicly refused saying we would only discuss what WE believed should be discussed but their security concerns and NATO expansion was nothing we would ever discuss with them.

So now, we are at war, constantly escalating and they see no reason to talk to us.

And this General knows it. It’s a childish idea that he gets a back channel to chat while at war and trying to depose, kill or arrest their leader. What do you say when you call?

Silliness... but a nice insight into the magical thinking of DC/London.


10 posted on 04/10/2024 9:39:15 PM PDT by DesertRhino (2016 Star Wars, 2020 The Empire Strikes Back, 2024... RETURN OF THE JEDI. )
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To: MinorityRepublican

Where do you come up with these things?

Do you hear this somewhere else, or is it just a vivid imagination?


11 posted on 04/10/2024 10:04:21 PM PDT by Red6
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To: MinorityRepublican

If that were the case, someone would have killed Putin years ago.


12 posted on 04/10/2024 10:59:19 PM PDT by LukeL
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To: DesertRhino

For the group running the District of Corruption and, in Canaduh, d’Ottawa, ‘deep thinking’ involves figuring out what number follows, ‘1’, ‘2’, ‘3’,... They are all mentally taxed beyond measure, with such a problem. No wonder that both Amerikka and Canaduh are in such deep doo doo.

God help us all!


13 posted on 04/10/2024 11:47:33 PM PDT by A Formerly Proud Canadian ( Ceterum autem censeo Justinius True-dope-us esse delendam. sic semper tyrannis.)
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To: hardspunned
Well...it seems Gen. Milley’s approach, a phonecon with his ChiCom counterpart in Oct. 2020, has not rubbed off on Gen. Cavoli. He apparently respects the Constitution.
14 posted on 04/11/2024 3:33:21 AM PDT by PerConPat (The politician is an animal which can sit on a fence and yet keep both ears to the ground.- Mencken)
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To: hardspunned

Moscow has little reason to listen, to a country that:

- can not produce enough 155mm artillery shells

- fails to produce enough electricity

- can not repair a bridge

- can not figure out that a male is a male and a female is a female

- can not assemble a safe commercial airliner

- is afraid to cook red meat on a gas or charcoal fired grill

- can not control its borders

- etc.


15 posted on 04/11/2024 3:47:44 AM PDT by linMcHlp
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To: DesertRhino

Yup they already communicated more clearly than words ever could


16 posted on 04/11/2024 3:48:38 AM PDT by rottweiller_inc
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To: hardspunned

Lives are cheap nowadays, with abortions, euthanasia, mass murder events the once unthinkable idea that nuclear war would be terrible has now been softened to “nuclear war would help get rid of a large percentage of the population we want to get rid of anyway.”


17 posted on 04/11/2024 4:53:55 AM PDT by The Louiswu (Pray for Peace in the world.)
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To: linMcHlp

They have every reason to listen to a country that can completely destroy them with nuclear weapons.


18 posted on 04/11/2024 6:01:06 AM PDT by hardspunned (Former DC GOP globalist stooge)
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To: hardspunned

19 posted on 04/11/2024 6:03:48 AM PDT by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: hardspunned
Maybe we another shoe banging incident to get people's attention.


20 posted on 04/11/2024 6:09:19 AM PDT by McGruff (Don't underestimate Joe's ability to f*** things up - Barack Obama)
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