[quote=Jett Ryu]
I smell the Modern Warfare games coming true, but I hope that I didn't just jinx us. If I was my old self I'd suggest whacking Putin, but that might just send us into war anyway. Personally, considering Russia's alliance with China, we Americans would be screwed.
[/quote]

LOL

As someone who knows a Russian or two, Russians hate the Chinese. They sell the Chinese equipment, because the Russians see dollar signs from the deal. The only people in Asia they really give a shit about are the Indians, and thats because they are paying out the ass (For them at least) to get their hands on the T-50/PAK-FA.

[quote=So Boerd]
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/08/31/putin-threatens-nuclear-war-over-ukraine.htmlDoes anyone know if Russia has a two man rule for nuclear weapons? Hoping there will be a coup if he invades, say, Estonia and NATO resists, prompting a nuclear threat from him.
[/quote]

The Russians would have an issue with just walking into any Baltic nation due to the presence of US forces.

[quote=So Boerd]
The issue is, our nuclear force has decayed. We need a more credible first strike capability. Russia bolsters it nuclear force.I used to buy into MAD, but thought experiments in light of recent events have changed my mind.Suppose Russia rolls into Estonia. With a weak nuclear arsenal and conventional force (which, thankfully, we don't have), sufficient only to devastate Russian cities but with no counterforce capabilities, we can:1. Use our nuclear weapons and bear the full Russian response (commit suicide but do significant damage to Russia)2. Let them have it.With a credible first strike capability and a large conventional force, we can escalate conventionally to test Russian resolve. The question becomes the resolve of Russia and limits the requisite resolve on the part of the United States.
[/quote]

No we however have an armed forces that is more equipped for a war of attrition. Believe it or not the Russians don't have any reserves of the modern equipment they are currently producing, any kind of serious losses of modern aircraft, tanks, etc. would greatly impact the Russians.