Mind you, in the world of international diplomacy, being brutally honest is also a way to send a message.
I’m not denying that. But reporting that we have plans is not the same as reporting that we are updating our plans because we’re afraid we might use them soon. The press typically fails to see the distinction.
An attack on Iran is my greatest fear for the rest of this administration’s term. In fact, I think the election being close might actually be to our benefit. If Bush thinks McCain is going to lose anyway, he may be more likely to order the attack to make sure it gets done. I don’t remember where I read it, but there was some indication about the neocon thinking on Iran that suggested the possibility.
Of course. And it’s also typical of the Russians.
Keep in mind that the same circumstances that the Russian general was referring to would also apply to Canada, Australia, etc. If the nukes start flying, there are a number of targets outside the US that would be strategically relevant.
Some people here already seem to have forgotten that little incident known as “World War 2” in which the USSR annexed the territory of Königsberg and rechristened (remarxed?) it Kaliningrad.
Kaliningrad remained with Russia after the collapse of the USSR, continues to house a big Russian navy base, and… shares a border with Poland. Oh, and another border with Lithuania, biggest of the three Baltic states that have already joined NATO.
So the exact distance from Warsaw to some city in Inner Mongolia is perhaps not all that relevant to the presence of an American missile defense system in Poland, or the Russian indignation thereabout.
“Zed’s dead, baby.”
He’s confused? Bewildered? Are you sure you are using nonplussed properly? It doesn’t mean apathetic, which is what context suggests you are going for here. The average American doesn’t care about Georgia one way or another (including the U.S. State, for that matter).
Let me try again.
I didn’t ask “How misleading was that headline?” I asked “What should the headline have been so that it was more accurate?”
No, Anti-Bunny suggested that Americans should be shocked (i.e. “nonplussed”) by Russia’s actions in Georgia, and I was just glibly pointing out that given the proximity it’s more likely that Russians would be shocked by our actions in Poland.
You’re right that a random person on either side would actually probably be indifferent, which I was also trying to convey via the nonstandard definition. Maybe I was going for too much… at least the names all proved popular!
“Poland is exposing itself to nuclear attack, say Russkies”
That is comparable to preferring “Teen gets driver’s license, exposing himself to speeding tickets” over “Teen threatened with speeding ticket.”
OK. Now I understand where you’re coming from.
No, it’s not comparable. When a teen gets a driver’s license, there’s a slight chance that they’ll get a speeding ticket… and even then, they’ll only get one if the teen takes an additional action: they go over the speed limit.
Russia was indicating that there’s much more than a slight chance of Poland getting nuked, and that chance is directly tied to the issue at hand.
If the article headline is sensationalized, you knee-jerked too far the opposite direction. This isn’t a non-declaration, it is news, and it is concerning. The problem with your headline is precisely that it fails to capture that Russia’s statement is an escalation of sorts, and that the situation is becoming quite volatile. Of course, the problem with the original headline is that it misses the gradations that are the bread and butter of diplomacy.
Yeah, but a nuclear war still has to occur in the first place.
Russia was indicating that there’s much more than a slight chance of Poland getting nuked, and that chance is directly tied to the issue at hand.
I don’t see anything in the article to suggest that Russia is contemplating a nuclear attack on Poland in the short or medium term.
After all, Nogovitsyn elaborated with, “By hosting these, Poland is making itself a target. This is 100 per cent certain. It becomes a target for attack. Such targets are destroyed as a first priority.”
So what? I live a few hours from Washington D.C, and I assume that’s a first priority target too. Am I being threatened by Nogovitsyn as well?
Note to Grifman:
Radek Sikorski, the Polish foreign minister, told The Daily Telegraph the new US missile shield deal, and its timing, was unrelated to Georgia. “It [the deal] is a coincidence,” he said. “Georgia made a dramatic backdrop to it, but the timing had nothing to do with Georgia.”
I had no idea the Russians kept that place. It’s reminisent of the British and Hong Kong, Kuwait, Belize and such. I’m surprised a military enclave in the midst of NATO hasn’t been more news worthy. And now the Russians are threatening to deploy nuclear weapons there, although I would have thought the Baltic fleet was nuclear armed to begin with.
They don’t get a lot of press because Russians do all their waterboarding at home.
It’s basically one huge military base. The Russians have had nukes there since 2001.
If the Washington Times and ‘anonymous sources’ in the Clinton administration can be believed, yes. Personally I take both sources with a heaping spoonful of salt.
If true, or or even just perceived as true, this just might possibly be the real reason for the NATO anti-missile system recently agreed to by Poland, or at least a strong talking point for the Bush admin.
Given that it’s the site of Russia’s main all-weather naval base in Europe, I’d be more surprised if there WEREN’T nuclear weapons stored there.
How about “Russian general states obvious”? Every pole I know (me included) understands consequences of anti-missile system on the Polish soil. What that general said is a no-news and not a threat either. It’s just stating facts: Polish gov isn’t the brightest bulb in the box
Assuming that Jakub is Russian is pretty funny, actually.
NO BLOOD FOR SHEEP!
I have a Polish friend named Jakub. I know no Russians named Jakub.
If everyone thinks that Russia has tactical nukes in Kaliningrad, they don’t actually have to be there for Russia to enjoy the deterrence value thereof, do they? ;)
Next up on the world stage: Cold War, Part 2. Coming to a planet near you!