March 10, 2022
The alleged madness of Vladimir Putin
By Lev Stesin
Is Vladimir Putin mad? This question, of a rather specific medical nature, is critically important for the future of the world and millions of human lives. Are we dealing with a rational individual? Are we confronting a man whose ultimate goal is a murder-suicide? And why is that important to know? Why is Vladimir Putin's state of mind of great significance in the decision-making process undertaken by leaders in the U.S. and Europe. The answer is simple and horrifying: nuclear weapons.
The politics of the Cold War was based on the assumption that any nuclear exchange between the great powers would lead to mutual destruction (though a few on both sides from time to time doubted that outcome). Another rule, no less important, was that the powers left the right to resort to the nuclear options only when directly threatened by another nuclear power. There were a few notable exceptions to the rule: the Cuban Missile Crisis and nuclear posturing by the superpowers during the Yom Kippur War. Yet the history of the Cold War and those two events in particular only underscore a rational nature of the people at the helms of both superpowers. None of the conflicts, including in Vietnam and Afghanistan, directly and indirectly involving both superpowers, led to one side threatening the other with a nuclear strike.
The current war in Ukraine began with a highly irrational event. Vladimir Putin decided to go forward with a full-scale invasion of his neighbor despite small chances of achieving his goals. So tiny are those chances that few observers believed that the invasion would take place until it did.
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https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2022/03/the_alleged_madness_of_vladimir_putin.html
