Russia to Retaliate Against the US Over Sanctions, Troops and Warheads Ready

originally posted by: tsurfer2000h
a reply to: hopenotfeariswhatweneed

china is interested while the huge population of the U.S is buying.....as the populations grow china will have many other cash cows to work with...

But none with the economy of the US, and none that will supply the monetary flow the US brings into China.

this is true....but there is no guarantee that trend will continue....

originally posted by: MrSpad
Russia's response will not military, they are not going to start a losing shooting war.
To put things in perspective

The US Air Force alone is more than twice the size of Russia's

The US Navy alone dwarfs Russia's fleets

The US military alone has 1.3 million active duty members, Russia has over 700K. NATO in total has over 3 million active duty members.

The US is a member of 4 military alliances, NATO, Rio Pact, Treaty of Manilla, ANZUS and has mutual defense treaties several nations. All these treaties treat an attack on any member as an attack on all. In theory an attack on the United States would activate treaties with 50 nations. And that does not count many other US allies not covered by direct treaty.

So let us put the idea that a sane Russia would ever conduct any military action against the US. The results would not be good for Russia.

Oh dear!

originally posted by: xuenchen
An odd one here in some legislation.

H.R.5859

I saw this earlier and it really got my attention as well. Putin is well known for using energy as a political weapon and the US is clearly saying if he does so against NATO states then there will be repercussions very quickly. It's not that he MUST sell to NATO, just that if he signs a contract to sell then he has to honor the contract.

It gets trickier with the reverse gas flows NATO has been sending gas into Ukraine with. That is when Russia cut some gas delivers to an EU country only a few months ago.

This is a smart move by the US to warm up additional costs on Russia if they decide to play energy games this winter. Better to know what the costs will be than guess that the US and EU will do nothing if you cut off the gas supply.

a reply to: MrSpad

That's on if the status quo stays the same hypothetically, with as many nations and allies the US have pi... ticked off over the years its a wonder we have any allies at all.

originally posted by: paraphi
I don't know why the Russians are so fixated on the sanction arrangements by the US, considering Russia/US trade is actually comparatively low.
The killer for Russia is the EU sanctions.
Could it be that the focus on the US by media controlled or sympathetic to Russia is trying to paint a different picture. Essentially create a well-known bogey man in the US? The politics of the new Cold War, perhaps?

The reality is that the US ultimately calls the shots because it carries the BIG STICK. The EU doesn't even come close to the military strength of the US. So if the US calls for more sanctions then the EU will likely follow suit after complaining and taking weeks to get their act together.

Thus US sanctions matter. You are correct however, bilateral trade between the US and Russia is so little there is no actual effect from US sanctions.

a reply to: MrSpad

While I concur, let's not forget who Russia is aligned with. Some of them could care less about the size of opposing armies.

I have a feeling some in the East would chop at the bit at the idea of taking America down.

a reply to: Auricom

Just who is Russia 'aligned with'?

They are completely isolated. China is benefitting from the world oil prices as much or more than any other country.
Not only does their cost of imported oil drops, the disposable income of the rest of the worlds 'working class' increases with the lower gas prices. That leads to more purchases of Chinese manufactured goods. India falls into the same category...so who's left for Russia to align with?

A point missed is internal forces in Russia-master chess players- don't want WWIII any more than we do. Look for a bullet in the back of Putin's head rather than revolt. After all, all he has to do is back off from the Ukraine and the sanctions end. He gets to keep Crimea, Georgia is anyone's guess..

The oil prices are as much a short term surplus and those prices aren't going down any time soon short of some Mid-East flare-up. Even then, the effect is regional affecting EU more than anyone else.

If I'm right about the oil prices then Russia is screwed no matter what, economically. Others in Russia may see the only out as aligning with the western crooks and join the rest of Europe in IMF backing to save them from both war and collapse. (The overall strategy in the first place?)

Not every Russian is hell-bent on suicide. Putin could be assuming room temperature very, very soon....

a reply to: lostbook

Not yet... But soon though.

a reply to: lostbook

America better be careful.. As they will be dragging Canada further into this # storm. We don't need to be invaded by Putin.

originally posted by: snypwsd
America better be careful.. As they will be dragging Canada further into this # storm. We don't need to be invaded by Putin.

What is he going to do? Levitate the troops here?

If i were Putin:

1: Shut down all borders exept with nations that is cooperating.
2: Start development for alternative energies that the rest of
the world dare not.
3: Start research/development in medicin that the rest of the
world dare not.
4: Threaten to release ALL information that has been accumilated
over time.
5: MIDDLEFINGER

originally posted by: Miccey
If i were Putin:

1: Shut down all borders exept with nations that is cooperating.
2: Start development for alternative energies that the rest of
the world dare not.
3: Start research/development in medicin that the rest of the
world dare not.
4: Threaten to release ALL information that has been accumilated
over time.
5: MIDDLEFINGER

If Putin really had incriminating documents that would damn a nation that has been threatening him, he would have already released it.

a reply to: nwtrucker

While I agree with the points you're making, we shouldn't underestimate Russia or who they're friendly with. When I said "east", I wasn't only referring to China, but also countries in the middle east.

We could face a war brought to American shores by jihadists working with theses countries in conjunction with Russia. I don't see Russia as an enemy, that's not the point of my posts. I don't think Putin wants a war with the West, even if he does like "poking" it from time to time. He's just flexing muscle and reminding us all that the once feared bear is still kicking. I do however believe some of Russia's allies are, as I said, chomping at the bit.

I'm just wanting to counter other responses here in the thread that states "America has X amount of X and X and X". Over and underestimation isn't a good thing, and it's important to look at all the possibilities.

originally posted by: ScientificRailgun

originally posted by: Miccey
If i were Putin:

1: Shut down all borders exept with nations that is cooperating.
2: Start development for alternative energies that the rest of
the world dare not.
3: Start research/development in medicin that the rest of the
world dare not.
4: Threaten to release ALL information that has been accumilated
over time.
5: MIDDLEFINGER

If Putin really had incriminating documents that would damn a nation that has been threatening him, he would have already released it.

Im not talking about documents that HAS happend.. Im talking
in general... Lets say there IS a way to "produce" electricity
and they know it and some others do, but dare not persue
due to financial preidcaments... Or medicin or maybe even
about life itself... Or outside...If you think big...

originally posted by: Miccey
Lets say there IS a way to "produce" electricity
and they know it and some others do, but dare not persue
due to financial preidcaments...

Huh? What kind of 'financial predicaments' would prevent a nation from producing electricity other than complete collapse?

originally posted by: nwtrucker
After all, all he has to do is back off from the Ukraine and the sanctions end. He gets to keep Crimea, Georgia is anyone's guess..

I suspect that not all sanctions will be dropped unless Crimea is returned to Ukraine. The problem is a little different than the little statlets Russia created in Georgia and Moldova. In this case Russia fully annexed Crimea and this carries a whole different legal ramification internationally.

I fully expect the financing limitations to under 3 months to remain no matter what happens in East Ukraine. Technology restrictions for Arctic drilling will also be difficult to lift.

originally posted by: Miccey
If i were Putin:

2: Start development for alternative energies that the rest of
the world dare not.

That's about the stupidest thing I've read today....congratulations!

You do know Russia's exports are about 70% energy related??? Why would a country very dependent on selling current energy products try to spread a way to not buy those goods?

a reply to: noeltrotsky

An actual, monitored vote might sort the Crimean issue out.

It is amazing how people think this kind of economic war cannot possibly lead to all out war.This kind of stuff is dangerous and will only lead to war eventually in time.Life is to unpredictable and anything could happen.So much trouble in the world going on it is not looking good.

a reply to: Auricom

Agreed!

No one man runs everything in a country without some serious backup and support.

That mechanism must be getting strained to and even beyond the limits within Russia.

Mid-East support is limited to plausible deniability from what I can see. Not much any faction could do that Russia couldn't herself. Even infiltration of the U.S. is trumped by Russia from the cold war era.