Russia a "second-rate" military power?

Retired General Jack Keane made some very good points just yesterday morning, on FNC: He noted that Russia is "a second-rate military power," masquerading as a "superpower."

He concluded, therefore (and I am paraphrasing), that the US should not take into consideration Russia's likely response (as, for instance, in Syria a few days ago), when we wish to take own military actions.

Thoughts?

 

Russias saving grace is its nukes,afaic. Its conventional military has some "good stuff", but nothing much has changed from ww2 it seems....high casualty rates still seem normal, discipline is a question, power projection is also a question.

 

Russia is a second rate military power except that it possesses nukes. Aside from the nukes, Russia doesn't even come close to our capabilities.

 

I would say Russia no longer can count on China either. Frankly i have not assessed Russia's military in many many years so i just am not qualified on this.

 

How about 'Don't believe everything you're told by retired military hasbeens who are trying to get their long-forgotten names back into the news.'?

 

Bragging again! God how I loathe braggarts and bullies with a passion!

 

Hey! I'm not a bully, Mister!

 

Very troubling that you got called a bully. They have to read all of your posts, not just one.

 

nukes makes them a super power...they were warned well in advance of the Syrian strike so they could avoid casualties and not be compelled to strike back. the usa needs absolutely to fear russian power, a miscalculation could be the end of all of us.

 

He called me a braggart too, so he was half right

 

He is correct since Russia is a low second to the US.

http://www.businessinsider.com/these-are-the-worlds-20-strongest-militaries-ranked-2015-9#3-china-18



FWIW, Russia has fallen off the Top 10 list of Top Global Economies. https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/022415/worlds-top-10-economies.asp

 

With the caveat being, "aside from nukes..."

Russian military quality degraded quite a bit from the fall of the Soviet Union up to a few years ago. From Grozny to their invasion of Georgia in 2008, The Russian military performed terribly and only succeeded based on massive overpowering of their opponents. But since then, the Russian Army has modernized quite a bit and although it's hard to say with accuracy, I think most of their newer equipment is on par with First World militaries. I can't really say about their training though.

 

Using nukes is suicide. Jihadists are suicidal, but the Russians are not.

 

Does anyone seriously think that Russia would ever use its nuclear arsenal--even if a conventional war were going poorly for it?

If nuclear weapons would make Russia a "superpower," then India, Pakistan, Israel--even Brazil--must qualify as superpowers, also.

 

I see Russians using low yield nukes in not so distant future.

 

If they do....it'll just escalate from there....depends where and what they use it on?

 

Against who?

BTW, a nuke is a nuke regardless of yield.

 

I certainly think that Putin will do whatever he thinks is in Russia's best interest, and he which he believes that he can get away with.

But just why do you think it would be in Russia's best interest to use nuclear weapons?

And against which country do you believe he would use them?

 

There was a report by someone in the US assessing military threats and they talked about Russia developing very low yield nuclear weapons for use in conventional warfare.
Against whom? They could use that against Syrian rebels. A 1 kiloton nuke dropped at the place of that chemical bomb in Douma would result in similar death toll.

 

As I said above, a small nuke, let’s say 1kt, could be used anywhere. For example - against Syrian rebels. If these small yield nukes become common in conventional warfare, Russia might even start selling them to non-nuclear states.

 

Possible, but modern weaponry....at least for highly technological nations like the West, can use precision munitions to accomplish desired goals. In short, they can use a fly swatter to kill a fly, not a shotgun.

 

https://foxtrotalpha.jalopnik.com/this-is-what-it-looks-like-when-the-worlds-smallest-nuk-1684923814

Under that link watch the video. After abou 3:30 you’ll see the explosion. Nothing catastrophic. Looks like that’s what Russia wants to start developing and using in conventional warfare.

 

It wouldn't be the first time the Russians did something epically stupid.

 

If Russia were to use even a "small nuke," it would almost certainly be met with a larger nuke from the US--remember, Donald Trump is not Barack Obama--and the inevitable escalation would have begun.

Vladimir Putin is many things; but stupid is not one of these.

I seriously doubt that he wishes to begin WWIII...

 

If he does/did....I would guess he wouldn't do the underground bunker thing....maybe after the launch codes are pressed, he would just reach for a pistol and put it in his mouth, and one knows the rest!