I was cruising along thinking I'm not so old ... and then Son_1 turned 40, and then he turned 45. How does this happen? When did my hair and beard turn almost all-white?
Hasn't anyone read a history book around here? Didn't the schools require them to study US history and government?
During the build up to WWI ("The Great War") and its early stages about a century ago, the US had its head in the sand. But as a late entrant that didn't have already its people and infrastructure being overrun or assaulted, the nation was able to come out of it in a good spot.
In the late 1930s through the mid 1940s, the same thing happened with WWII. The US's isolationism (and being separated from the combatants by oceans) helped keep things good until the attack on Pearl Harbor brought the war to the US.
In WWIII (in preparation since at least 2008--don't pretend it is avoidable, either), ignoring or failing to prepare will not prevent severe damage to infrastructure and population.
I think this is wishful thinking. I think Mr Putin's position is relatively secure. Short of a complete battlefield rout that puts Russia under the control of an occupier (fat chance of that!), Russian institutions, the Russian people, and even the Russian oligarchs will stand with Putin.
A few months from now, when the total Russian war deaths reach 1 000 000, people will still be saying the same. They often compare this to what happened when the Soviets had something like 50 000 casualties during their invasion of Afghanistan, but the invasion of Ukraine is already around fifteen times that many without any significant threat to his continued rule.
A GNU+Linux bearing nomad migrating across a Windows-centric desert. I save the world from incompetent headquarters IT folks. I invite comment and discussion, but I dislike arguing.