Quote:
Originally Posted by IliketoPuck
Stare him right in the face and tell him if you pull the trigger, the first response is going to land right on top of his little 5'5" head, and then the rest of his country ten seconds later.
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Agreed. Doing this and trying to stop it from reaching that point are not mutually exclusive at all.
Quote:
Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction
The thing that scares me is that mutually assured destruction is a scenario almost certain to play out one day. Whether it is tomorrow or 200 years from now, I don't know, but I think it is only a matter of time until someone fanatical and bitter enough comes along and puts things in motion. Think about the kind of people who do mass shooting, suicide bombings, murder suicides of their families. Whether that is Putin or not, I don't know, but I wouldn't be shocked. Eventually, someone will come into power somewhere who is deranged enough though, in my opinion.
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Another part of the equation is the constant evolution of military tech and shifting sense of advantage between rivals as innovations aren't equal. It's times when someone believes they have an advantage over their opponent that action is most likely to be taken. A dangerous aggressor who thinks he may have an edge is a bad situation, especially because military tech will catch up and reduce that advantage with time, so their window of opportunity may just be fleeting and increases the incentive to act while opportunity exists. It would be great if the US came out with something to effectively neutralize the perceived advantage of hypersonic weapons asap.