Scale of 1 to 10....

[gimmethesimplelife]

How worried are you about nuclear war? I'll start with a 7.....but this may be higher than most as I'm getting daily emails from Austria that are increasingly worried. Rob

[Rogar]

I'd probably go with about a 2. I'd like to think that Putin knows the consequences would be severe and to his great disadvantage. But that's not a zero.

[Alan]

I agree with Rogar. Actions have consequences and I believe Ukraine is in possession of thousands of nuclear weapons along with long range missiles and delivery systems. Even if Putin is not concerned with consequences, I'd bet the people he depends upon to initiate a nuclear attack are.

[JaneV2.0]

I'd say about a 2--in other words, the usual threat level--unless Putin is deranged enough to want to be the engineer of Russia's total anhelation.

[ToomuchStuff]

I would say probably 4, which I would believe is the defcon level we are at.

Higher, we might get a decent soundtrack out of it, like Miracle Mile.
Lower and more constent and we might see a repeat of tv movies of the week"

https://youtu.be/_8l5xznESLc

[Rogar]

I agree with Rogar. Actions have consequences and I believe Ukraine is in possession of thousands of nuclear weapons along with long range missiles and delivery systems. Even if Putin is not concerned with consequences, I'd bet the people he depends upon to initiate a nuclear attack are.

The Ukraine has thousands of nuclear weapons?

I was thinking along the lines of a bin Ladin solution. Hopefully there are options other than nuclear annihilation.

[Alan]

The Ukraine has thousands of nuclear weapons?

Well, they did, at one time they held the 3rd largest nuclear arsenal in the world. They agreed to phase them out some time ago but I'd not be surprised if they've held onto a reserve.


Hopefully there are options other than nuclear annihilation.
Me too, but once Putin heads down that road there won't be many options left. I also doubt that complete annihilation would result, a few small devices which take out the command and control centers of the Soviet Military as well as any known Putin hideouts would probably suffice.

[Rogar]

Well, they did, at one time they held the 3rd largest nuclear arsenal in the world. They agreed to phase them out some time ago but I'd not be surprised if they've held onto a reserve.


Me too, but once Putin heads down that road there won't be many options left. I also doubt that complete annihilation would result, a few small devices which take out the command and control centers of the Soviet Military as well as any known Putin hideouts would probably suffice.[/COLOR]

I have a feeling that Ukraine is not the poster child we've been lead to believe, so it wouldn't surprise me. But that's just a feeling.

Leon Panetta wrote an opinion piece on the subject for Politico. I might guess the former defense secretary might have a little insight. He gives the odds of Russia using nukes at 20-25%. He said the US and western nations would chip in with all the conventional weapons at their disposal to insure Putin is defeated in the Ukraine in the case of small scale nukes, but stopped short of an invasion into Russia. Just one guys opinion.

I'd wager we have a few secret weapons in our arsenal reserved for occasions like this.

[bae]

10.

Odds low, consequences high, best to have a preplan in place, proper training, proper equipment, proper organization.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Og9Usv82CdU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Og9Usv82CdU

[ToomuchStuff]

10.

Odds low, consequences high, best to have a preplan in place, proper training, proper equipment, proper organization.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Og9Usv82CdU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Og9Usv82CdU


Really, on the high end of the scale?

[bae]

Well, they did, at one time they held the 3rd largest nuclear arsenal in the world. They agreed to phase them out some time ago but I'd not be surprised if they've held onto a reserve.


They gave up their weapons in 1994(?). Nearly 30 years ago. If they kept a few, I doubt they'd be functional, as Ukraine doesn't seem to have a service program in place for such things, and they do require maintenance and component replacement.

[rosarugosa]

I don't worry much about things that are so far beyond my locus of control. I only sweat the smaller stuff!

[LDAHL]

While I’ve always believed the military aphorism that you need to “honor the threat”, I personally don’t see a nuclear exchange as very likely.