[yldstrk]

as the old saying goes, from small changes come big results

[CorporateStepsister]

Why do I believe that if Putin goes to war with NATO, that Putin will drag the war into US territory? That it won’t just stay in the East, but will come into the US hemisphere?

[Cen-Tejas]

........my god!...........full blown war with Russia and we have children in command of our military!

God help us...............please!

[SoFloFreeper]

Damn, that Obama is QUITE the diplomat, isn’t he?

[faithhopecharity]

We have an acquaintance who was thrown out of the city dump once. Didn’t hurt him a bit.

[SampleMan]

Russia would be crushed in a conventional war with NATO, and no one likely knows that more than Putin. No it wouldn't be easy, and millions would likely die (even without going nuclear), but Russia would be crushed.

Russia simply doesn't have the numbers to fight such a war, and it most certainly doesn't have the conventional weapons or infrastructure to quickly make them.

NATO doesn't have the forces in being for such a large front war either, but they would fair much better than the Russians on the expanses of Poland and Belarus, where the large tank battles would rage. In the south, Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria are sharp hilled geography sprinkled with tiber patches and pillbox-like houses. Ivan would have a very tough go of it, against those peoples, where willingness to fight would make all the difference. Ivan would also have to contend with some really pissed off Ukrainians overlooking his supply lines.

The Baltic states might get taken before they could be protected, but I wouldn't count Sweden and Finland out of the game, just because they aren't NATO. And China might just decide it was time to annex a good sized chuck of Siberia, while everything was sorting out in the west.

Once again, the Poles would do a lot of the fighting and the dying.

[rbmillerjr]

Russia, flexing its muscles and begins to choke itself.

Putin, ya azzhat, you act like a two bit rogue state and you get treated like one.

[hinckley buzzard]

Note that this talk is coming from McFaul, the Obamanoid ambassador to Russia the last five years, when the regime was totally butchering foreign policy. McFaul and his band of bunglers from State would like nothing more than to divert attention and blame to focus on Putin instead of their own incompetence and failure.

[Ciexyz]

Russia will start looking for new friends now. Three guesses who’s first on the list.

[Paul R.]

Dang, for an Ambassador to Russia who resigned just last month, this McFaul guy comes down on Putin very hard. (Is it ok to post a link to McFaul’s op ed in NYT?)

Then again, back in 1994, it appears that some hard line Russkis arranged for a gunshot through his office window, so he’s probably under no illusions, unlike some here...

Interesting history on (former) Ambassador McFaul:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_McFaul

[afterhoursarmory]

Russia (as has China) are quietly prepping for a financial meltdown in the U.S. and the debasement of the U.S. dollar as the world reserve. Look into how much gold each country has been gobbling up over the past decade. In China, (if memory serves) it is illegal to sell gold that might leave the country.
I think we are seeing some good times in the U.S. economically as of current. However, that still does not offset our terrible spending problems, debt problems and un-funded liabilities across the country. Sad but true statement. Until we radically downsize the government and spending that debt clock is going to be burning up the numbers.

/side note, think I read recently Russia dumped U.S. Treasuries.