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0 pointsthrowaway484761y ago0 comments

Rearmament is stupid. For every $1 spent destroying Russian equipment it's equivalent to $10 not spent on deterrence over the next 10 years. The only thing more expensive than a war is an arms race.

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9 comments · 5 top-level

edouard-harris1y ago· 4 in thread

Rearmament is deterrence. Unless you have a big enough stick, you can't deter anything.

throwaway48476OP1y ago

You don't need to deter what doesn't exist.

Tadpole91811y ago

Makes sense a throwaway account is spreading Russian propaganda and self conflicting within 1 comment of itself.

> We should spend money on deterrence.

Then

> You don't need to deter what doesn't exist.

I guess next you'll say Russia isn't even at war with Ukraine and we shouldn't believe our lying eyes?

1 more reply

edouard-harris1y ago

Deterrence is usually the reason why a category of nation-state aggression doesn't exist. Otherwise, the fact that we've never had a global nuclear war would be sufficient to prove that we don't need to deter a global nuclear war.

regularjack1y ago

It was you who brought up deterrence...

consp1y ago

It's also a way to subsidize your own country by subsidizing the arms industry. Pretty much what has happened in the US in the past years (pretty much all "gifts" are subsidies of the arms industry).

ethbr11y ago

The combination of both is usually optimal.

- Investing in deterrence is cost effective... up to a point.

- Directly sending Ukraine arms is cost effective... up to a point.

Right now, it's fair to say that (relative to Russia) Europe has been underinvesting in defense for a couple decades.

Good news: they seem to have recognized this and invested in recapitalizing their industrial defense base.

Paradigma111y ago

I agree somewhat but this is also aimed at independence from the US. The US has shown itself to be an unreliable ally that can get you in a dangerous position and then leave you hanging.

So much of that money is going to close the capability gaps.

Bayart1y ago

It's not just Russia we need to be weary about. America needs to be guarded against.

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