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Russia has literally won wars because the opposition underestimated how much Russia was willing to engage in scorched earth tactics.
by Iefthandrule 5y ago
Russia has literally won wars because the opposition underestimated how much Russia was willing to engage in scorched earth tactics.
- avmich 5y agoRussia - as a state - lost to its own part, Chechnya. It couldn't invade Ukraine as planned, splitting off "Malorossiya". 2021 isn't 2008, or even 2014. Nobody's going to fight like it's Great Fatherland War, no matter how many times "can repeat" is repeated.
- Iefthandrule 5y agoI was not referencing the invasion of Ukraine however.
- vbezhenar 5y agoChechen terrorists fought for independence. Chechnya is part of Russia, so Russia won that war. They did not plan to invade Ukraine, they planned to provide the conditions for fair voting in Crimea and they did that, which allowed for Crimea to join Russian Federation.
- baq 5y agodriving voters off the territory you plan to hold a vote on is a well known tactic for centuries at this point, as is getting your voters onto the territory you want annexed with a 'fair vote'.
- caskstrength 5y ago> They did not plan to invade Ukraine, they planned to provide the conditions for fair voting in Crimea and they did that, which allowed for Crimea to join Russian Federation. What is this brazen propaganda of Russian militarism doing on hn?!
- hungryforcodes 5y agoDon't even mention Afghanistan.
- vbezhenar 5y agoAfghanistan is a tough nut. US failed there as well.
- CamperBob2 5y agoThey're welcome to scorch their own piece of Earth. LEO belongs to the civilized world. This is nothing but vandalism... an infantile nation acting out without fear of punishment.
- Bud 5y agoThere is no "civilized world". Not anymore. Trumpism settled that. There's the EU, and the rest of the world is failed states.
- CamperBob2 5y agoEh, seems a bit dramatic. We had our Trump, the Soviets had their Stalin, China had their Mao, the EU had their Hitler and their Mussolini and their Petain and ... Especially after the events of the 20th century, there's not much moral high ground left at the international level. Trump certainly sucks, but he's too incompetent to be genuinely dangerous. Strictly bush-league compared to some of the "enlightened" European leaders we've seen.
- bobthechef 5y agoAre you comparing Trump to Stalin and Mao? (Also, there was no EU when Hitler, Mussolini, etc. were around, and the EU is not a monolithic bloc with a meaningful identity today either.)
- ClumsyPilot 5y agoI think credit must be given to hundreds of people and institutions that have limited and restricted more of trump's crazy ideas, often at the cost of their careers. Who knows what he would do if he was an absolute dictator. Power corrupts and messes with your head.
- CamperBob2 5y agoIf you'll (re-)read the post, you'll find that a key point is that Trump is not in their league at all. He would probably be better compared to Berlusconi. Trump won't be the last of his breed, of course. (Also, there was no EU when Hitler, Mussolini, etc. were around, and the EU is not a monolithic bloc with a meaningful identity today either.) Given the relatively short time that's elapsed since the last world war started by Europeans, I think this amounts to a special pleading.