During the two generations of the Cold War, the American military had one truly great fear.
A Russian Hitler.
The fear was that someday, Russia would have an irrational leader, a man who could not be counted on to act in the best interests of the Soviet Union … or the world as a whole.
If someone were to acquire power in Russia who didn’t see that no one could win a nuclear war, or even desire to bring on a worldwide Gotterdammerung, it could lead to a worldwide apocalypse.
Thankfully, whether it was Khruschev, Brehznev or any of the other leaders during that time, they at least had the level of sanity to understand the consequences of starting a nuclear war.
Vladimir Putin may not be that sane, although to be fair, it might just be that he wants the rest of the world to think that. When he warned that countries helping Ukraine defend itself against Russia’s invasion could face retaliation beyond anything they could imagine, it was seem as a thinly veiled threat of nuclear attack.
It has become fairly obvious, both from things he has said and things he has done, that Putin is trying to rebuild the old USSR.
Of course it’s a very different world than in 1939, and there are ways even weak opposition can do serious damage to stronger foes. For one thing, computer hackers can take down all sorts of systems. Imagine heating systems coming down during a Russian winter, or having to do without electricity.
But anything the weaker side can do, the stronger side can do just as well.
And just as there were millions of Americans, mostly of German ancestry, who believed in Hitler, there seem to be all sorts of people, mostly on the right, who support Putin.
That makes for a complicated situation at this weekend’s annual Conservative Political Action Conference, aka Whitestock. I’m old enough to remember when liking Russia was anathema to conservatives, but an awful lot of folks on the right have the attitude that they trust Russians more than they trust Democrats.
Especially if Putin does turn out to be the American nightmare.
The Russian Hitler.