Saturday, October 17, 2015

Did The West Underestimate Russia's Military Power

Military parade in Red Square. Wikipedia

The Diplomat: How The West Underestimated Russia’s Military Power

Focusing on shortcomings in equipment made Western military analysts underestimate Moscow’s military capacity.

Russia’s military reforms have been misunderstood and its capabilities underestimated by the United States and Europe. That’s the conclusion of a new report by the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR).

The Russian military’s tactical and operational weaknesses became most blatantly apparent to the Kremlin during the 2008 Russo-Georgian War, when the U.S.-trained Georgian forces proved a much more agile and motivated adversary than expected.

As a consequence, Russia initiated the most far-reaching military (the “new look”) reforms since the 1930s divided up into three distinct phases, according to the ECFR study:

WNU Editor: They did not only underestimate the Russian military .... more importantly .... they underestimated Putin's determination and will power to succeed, and the Russian population's support of him.

1 comment:

Bob Huntley said...

..... and overestimated their own ability to con the world into thinking they had things in hand and a will to win.