The part about the debris is a a really big deal. Instead of two big hunks-o-technology zipping around at, what is it ~17,000 mph we now have an uncountable number of smaller bits and chunks—thousands? “millions upon millions?” (heh, he, Carl) from who knows what sized components and shards down to microscopic “particles.” Those little buggers are every bit as problematic and “deadly” as the bigger ones as one article describes it, “it just becomes a shotgun slamming into a shotgun sending more shotguns into other shotguns”—chaos ad infinitum. Real "Shooting stars."
Everything I am seeing agrees that this is only the beginning and that this chain-reaction turned perpetual motion/collision machine will go on for many years—some say hundreds and some figure even longer than that. That debris cloud will not only expand but has the potential and a high probability of eventually making debris clouds of whatever it encounters as it zips through orbiting flotsam surrounding the planet.
Putin? Hard to say. He is a chessplayer's chessplayer. I thought the Rooskie bird was a dead canary, space junk. The Iridium was something altogether different. Follow the money. ;)
From what I read, the Iridium bird was also near end of life cycle. Originally a system of commercial birds, later contracted for military SatPhone use.
There were already plans to de-orbit the birds. Think I read there were 74 total.
Heaven only know how many other satellites are up there. They are certainly not all ours anymore.
Bigger threat is a Nuclear Iran. The Krazy Mullas will use them, but Israel will destroy them before they do. Probably without our help now.
How long do you think Obozo will last in office?
Butterflies -> tornadoes bump!