Merriam-Webster Word of the Year 2017

[Patriam1066]

Originally Posted by loramin [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

So are you arguing the cold war didn't happen? Because I'm pretty sure it did. And again, without the bomb it would not have been "cold" at all. As I said, the fact that we very nearly had WW3 even with the bomb just shows how willing the countries involved were.

The Cold War would've always been cold

The USSR didn't even have china as an ally and couldn't hope to possibly win an all out conflict with the west

Nukes gave the soviets staying power. So did oil. They've never actually had anything to offer. Cold War would've happened because of natural disagreements between the two preeminent powers given that there were no natural agreements between the two. Even without nukes, why would the soviets risk a war with the US by invading Europe? Maybe they could win, but it's doubtful. In the long run, they were fucked, just as in the long run Russia is pretty fucked today

Nukes keep India and Pakistan from all our war. They prevented nothing between the soviets and NATO, assuming you grant Russians the capacity for rational self interest. Also, you argued that dropping the bombs on Japan was needed to demonstrate our nuclear arsenal. You think a test on a deserted island in the pacific wouldn't mean as much? Human beings didn't need to be incinerated to prove a point.