Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Is The Russian Military Falling Apart?

Russia's President Vladimir Putin (L) greets the commanders of units, participants of the Victory Day parade at Red Square in Moscow, Russia, May 9, 2015.

David Nye: 5 ways Russia’s military is literally falling apart

Russia has been saber-rattling so hard that cracks are forming in the blade and the hilt seems to be falling off. The military has been embarrassed by a number of of high profile failures and missteps in the past few years.

To be clear, the Russians aren’t helpless and certain units are deadly. They have a large nuclear arsenal, some of the world’s quietest submarines, and an impressive new tank. But here are six reasons Russian military planners can’t be sleeping easy.

WNU Editor: Being Russian and being from a family that has long history of serving in the military .... I can provide some perspective to this debate. One .... I saw the Russian military fall part after the fall of the Soviet Union. To put it bluntly .... it was not a pretty site. Two .... the Russian military of today dos have a lot of problems, but it is definitely not like the military from 25 years ago .... far from it.

1 comment:

B.Poster said...

"They have a large nuclear arsenal, some of the world's quietest submarines, and an impressive new tank." The submarines and the nuclear arsenal are more than enough to defeat the United States on the battlefield and this does not even factor in Russia's cyber warfare or other espionage capabilities. Like it or not the Russian military is the world's most powerful and it is going to stay this way for the foreseeable future. The United States and other so called "Western" nations simply need to adjust to this reality and act accordingly. Doing so means good outcomes out comes are very possible. If we fail to do so, it seems hard to imagine how good outcomes are possible.

Now if true that certain aspects of the Russian military are indeed falling apart then this means we may still have some time to engage in serious peacemaking overtures with Russia before it is to late. A good place to start would be to acknowledge Russia's position in Ukraine and Eastern Europe. In exchange, they can assist us in ensuring Iran does not acquire nuclear weapons.

While Russia's military is the most powerful, it does have some problems just like all militaries do. Unlike America, Russia is on the right path to addressing these problems. As such, an deterrent we might have against them is only going to be more problematic as time goes on. As such, now is probably the time to try and make the deal with Russia on Iran and Eastern Europe. Iran poses an existential threat to America. Any assistance we can get here would be extremely helpful. If we could enlist the support of Russia and China the world's most powerful militaries, this would be extremely helpful for us.