Putin issues another warning: 2024-06-14

Putin's warning is quoted, and commented on, by Larry Johnson here:

2024-06-14

https://sonar21.com/vladimir-putin-puts-west-on-notice/

"American and her NATO allies are fools if they dismiss or ignore Putin’s stark message today."

I want to add two comments:

1. People who buy stocks are familiar with a common slogan coming from brokerage houses'

"Past performance is no guarantee of future returns."

I want to modify that to 

"Past restraint is no guarantee of future restraint."

We are told over and over again, by "experts", 

that Putin has issued threats in the past and not followed through on them.

True, but this is no guarantee.

We might recall an old saying 

"There's always a first time."

2. We really are now in uncharted territory.

The U.S. and Russia, or its predecessor the Soviet Union, have on at least two occasions, been on opposite sides of shooting wars.

In Vietnam, not only did the U.S. back the South Vietnamese militarily, but we were heavily involved ourselves, with ground troops and aircraft, to the tune of 57,000 casualties, 

against the North Vietnamese backed, and supplied, by the Soviet Union.

But this never involved U.S.-supplied weapons directly striking the Soviet Union.

Likewise in Afghanistan the U.S. and the Soviet Union backed opposing sides.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet%E2%80%93Afghan_War

But again, there were no direct attacks on Soviet territory using U.S.-made weapons.

Now, in 2024, that critical line has been crossed.

U.S.-produced weapons are being used, with the approval of the U.S., to attack military targets in Russia-proper.

And there is clamor from politicians, the media, and various "experts", on both sides of the Atlantic, to strike more targets in Russia.

https://www.politico.com/news/2024/06/13/democrats-pressure-ukrainian-strike-rules-00163201

https://www.politico.com/news/2024/06/14/europe-presses-us-to-lift-ukraine-weapons-limits-00163443

Some "experts" are claiming that Russia's real red line will be if their population centers, e.g. Moscow and St. Petersburg, are attacked.

I think this is absurd, and belied by Russia's own statements.

The Russian military, like that of the U.S., has various facilities critical to its strategic deterrence, 

some of which are within Ukraine's striking range.

If those facilities come under attack, they have said they will respond strategically, to what is behind the attack.

Like Larry Johnson, I think they are dead serious in that.

I want to stress that this is the most fateful thing I have seen in my 77 years.

Putin, like his predecessors as leaders of first the Soviet Union and then Russia, has the complete power to destroy the civilized world.

We, the U.S., never gave his predecessors any cause to start a global thermonuclear war.

Correspondingly, they never threatened one.

Now, in 2024, the West is clearly giving Putin cause for retaliation, and he is quite clearly saying, 

if you don't stop provoking Russia, you may get exactly what you don't want.

How stupid do you have to be to not see the danger the West is getting into?