Quote Originally Posted by CrossLOPER View Post
This is a question to which the answer has totally eluded me, but could you explain why you would want to?
Want to fight Putin? I want to fight Putin about a much as my grandfather wanted to fight Hitler - but it's starting to look as though it might be as necessary.

Quote Originally Posted by Don Corleone View Post
Putin has had his media repeatedly stress that while Soviet military doctrine precluded offensive nuclear options, modern Russia reserves the right of nuclear first strike capability for any reason.
He's still not going to attack with Nukes, there's no point unless we invade Russia itself and that's not necessary, or profitable.

They're going to the Baltics next, then Poland. Any further "negotiations" will just embolden him to expand Warsaw ~1986 boundaries. Don't forget, Putin considers Berlin as rightfully his.
Moldova is a more likely target, followed by Hungary, cutting Romania and Bulgaria off from the rest of NATO - Poland, Romania and Bulgaria are more hostile to Russia than Hungary or Austria, or indeed even Greece.

As for "what we're going to do about it"... Come on.... Doesn't everyone remember the famous hot-mike incident in 2011 when Obama told him to wait until after he got relelected, then he'd let Putin do whatever he wanted?
Experience says that America will never do the right thing for Europe unless pushed or outraged, although Americans have affection for Europe it is a distant and vague affection, you will never inconvenience yourselves to help us, which is why your wisest politicians created NATO, to force you to do the right thing. Unfortunately the end of the cold war has resulted in an American AND European drawdown beyond the point of safety and now we will reap the whirlwind.